High School Track and Field
Day one of the 2026 Iowa High School State Track and Field championships is in the books and southeast Iowa already collected six gold medals and a couple other podium finishes. Here’s a look at the highlights.
Class 1A led us off yesterday and it was the field events that captured fire first. Pekin’s Anna Hadley reclaimed her shot put title with a toss of 43 feet and 9.75 inches. In the boys’ long jump, New London’s London Franklin flew on his last attempt to a personal best 22 feet and 4.25 inches to cement his first individual gold medal–he would later go on to qualify for the 100-meter dash finals with the 2nd fastest time of the heat. WACO’s Hayden Shelman would take 4th place in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet and 7 inches.
The girls’ 3000-meter run has a new state meet record for Class 1A after Chloe Glosser of Pekin raced to a time of 9 minutes and 37 seconds, which was nearly three-seconds faster than the old record and 24 seconds faster than second place. The two victories have Pekin sitting atop the standings.
The WACO girls’ and boys’ teams had their 4×800 meter relay teams finish inside the top 8 with the girls’ team of Carlee Lunsford, Macie Carter, Aliya Graber, and Josie Dykstra take 4th place, while the quad of Locken Henderson, Garrett Landau, Gavin Salgel, and Jude Dykstra captured 7th place.
Lastly, for Class 1A, Lincoln Bainbridge of Van Buren County nabbed the state championship in the boys’ 400-meter dash with a time of 48.08 seconds.
Classes 2A and 3A took over for the early afternoon and evening schedule and the throwing events were dominated by the Southeast Conference. Burlington’s Kylee Hill grabbed her first gold medal in the girls’ Class 3A discus, unfurling a throw of 151 feet and 3 inches. Greyson Hartman of Washington would follow it up in the boys’ Class 3A discus event, getting a mark of 189 feet and 5 inches, which was nearly 19 feet better than second place for the state championship.
Fairfield’s Eli Zillman was one failed jump away from at least tying for the boys’ Class 3A high jump title, but the Trojan settled for silver at 6 feet and 7 inches.
In the running events, Columbus’ boys’ shuttle hurdle team finished in 6th place to qualify for the Class 2A finals. Simon Wendel of Mediapolis paced his way to a silver medal time of 9 minutes and 25 seconds in the boys’ Class 2A 3200-meter run. Burlington’s Mylee Stiefel, West Burlington/Notre Dame’s Landry Haberichter, and Keokuk’s Ryan Bair each qualified for the 100 and 200-meter dash finals in their respective classes. Lamar Ceant of Columbus will join Haberichter in the boys’ Class 2A 200-meter dash finals, while Washington’s Jaedyn Moore will partake in the girls’ Class 3A 100-meter dash finals. Washington’s 4×800 meter relay squad took 7th place in the boys’ Class 3A division. Lastly, Mt. Pleasant’s Avery Fedler nabbed four points and 5th place in the girls’ Class 3A 400-meter dash with a time of 57.56 seconds.
Class 1A Full Results: Thursday Morning Recap
Classes 2A and 3A Full Results: Thursday Afternoon Recap
For a full look at today’s schedule for our local athletes, then follow this link: Friday’s Schedule
High School Soccer
The Washington girls’ team squashed Williamsburg last night, 7-2. The Demons finished the regular season with a 10-6 record.
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team lost to Mediapolis in their regular season finale last night, 4-0. Both teams prepare for their postseason matchups.
High School Postseason Soccer
In Class 1A Substate 5, Mediapolis will take on Pella Christian on Wednesday, May 27th, at 7 pm on the road.
Danville will travel to Burlington Notre Dame on Wednesday at 7 pm.
In Substate 6, the Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will hit the road to play Tipton on Wednesday at 7 pm.
Over in Class 2A Substate 4, the Washington boys’ team will square off against Mt. Vernon on Wednesday at 7 pm on the road.
The Fairfield boys’ team will look to knock off Solon in the substate semifinals on Wednesday at 7 pm on the road.
High School Golf
The boys’ Class 1A state tournament will take place at Westwood Golf Course on Tuesday, May 26th, from Newton as Winfield-Mt. Union and Hillcrest Academy’s Rowan Miller get ready to compete.
The boys’ Class 2A state tournament is slated to start on Tuesday at South Hills Golf Course in Waterloo with Central Lee, Mediapolis, and Burlington Notre Dame’s Sam Yonker making the trip.
The girls’ Class 1A state meet is scheduled to take place at Cedar Pointe Golf Course in Boone on May 28th with Highland and Wapello’s Emmalin Marshall competing.
Burlington Notre Dame’s Alexandria Booten will be heading to the American Legion Golf Course in Marshalltown on May 28th for the girls’ Class 2A state meet.
The girls’ Class 3A state meet will take place in Cedar Falls at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course on May 28th with Fort Madison’s Kylie Lumino participating.
High School Boys’ Tennis
Mt. Pleasant’s duo of Sawyer Fulton and Max Heater along with Fort Madison’s Rowan Benda will travel to Waterloo for the State Singles and Doubles competition scheduled for Wednesday, May 27th.
High School Baseball
The Mt. Pleasant bats are still trying to wake up, as they dropped their road contest to Cardinal last night, 4-1. Alek Barton had the lone hit, while Lowery nabbed the RBI for the Panthers. Mt. Pleasant will welcome Clear Creek Amana on Tuesday, May 26th, at 7 pm.
Wapello attempted a 7th inning rally, but ultimately fell short to North Cedar last night, 7-6. Kinnich Richenberger had a nice day at the plate with a pair of doubles and RBIs in the loss. Wapello will travel to Wilton tonight at 7 pm.
Van Buren County walloped Keokuk last night, 10-0. The Warriors will head to Central Lee on Tuesday for first pitch at 7 pm.
Central Lee will square off against Lone Tree tonight at 5:30 pm at home.
Fairfield will travel to Central Lee on Wednesday, May 27th, at 7 pm.
High School Softball
Central Lee defeated Holy Trinity Catholic last night, 8-3. The Hawks will look to continue that home momentum tonight against Lone Tree at 5:30 pm.
Holy Trinity Catholic will stay on the road to play Danville on Tuesday, May 26th, at 7 pm.
West Burlington/Notre Dame will host West Liberty on Tuesday at 7 pm.
Wapello will square off against Columbus on Tuesday at 7 pm on the road.
Local Summer Athletic Camps
Mt. Pleasant girls’ basketball is offering up a camp for any girls’ basketball players entering 3rd through 12th grades from June 23rd through the 25th located at the Mt. Pleasant High School Gym. The camp will focus on the fundamentals and introduce team concepts employed by the high school’s system.
If you would like to sign-up, then follow this link and fill out the form: https://kilj.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/mp-girls-bball-camp.pdf
Winfield-Mt. Union is encouraging students entering 3rd through 8th grade to stay active this summer with their Wolfpack Performance Training program that will feature 12 dates throughout June and the beginning of July from 9 am to 9:45 am to build speed and agility.
If you would like to sign-up, then head over to KILJ’s Facebook page and use their QR Code.
College Baseball
Iowa was eliminated from the Big Ten tournament yesterday by Purdue, losing 8-1. The Hawkeyes finished the season with a 33-23 record.
This Day in Sports History
1970 – The Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks were officially granted NHL franchises for the 1970-71 season.
2003 – At the Colonial in Fort Worth, TX, Annika Sorenstam became the first woman to play on the PGA tour in 58 years. She ended the day at 1-over par.
2003 – High school basketball star LeBron James signed a $90 million Nike endorsement deal.