Author: Nathan Bloechl

Prep Cross Country: Danville-NL Boys’ Headed Back to State:

Danville-New London’s Ty Carr went 16:43 good for first place as the Bears earned a team trip back to the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet in Fort Dodge.

The Bears finished second in the team standings behind only Tipton, who finished with 33 team points. Danville-New London had 44.

Monticello placed third.

Alexander Julian placed fifth for the Bears, Julian ran 17:09, Rylan Martin placed seventh finishing 17:13.

Seth Bailey placed 13th for Danville-New London, running 17:52.

Mediapolis’ Owen Schmidgall and Solomon Zaugg just missed out on state appearances, finishing 16th and 17th respectively.

The top-15 qualifiers head to state.

Charlie Sieck of Starmont placed second while Tipton’s Clay Bohlmann rounded out the top-three.

The 1A and 2A State Cross Country Meet will be held on Saturday, October 30th in Fort Dodge.

Prep Cross Country: Columbus Advances to State, W-MU’s Hemsworth Heads to State:

The Columbus cross country team is heading to state after a second place finish at yesterday’s state qualifying cross country meet in Iowa City.

Regina won the event, with Columbus finishing 25 points better than that of the Wildcats.

Winfield’s boys’ placed fourth.

They were led by Game Hemsworth, who advanced as an individual to the 1A state meet.

Hemsworth ran 18:29.14.

Kohlby Newsom was the Wolves team runner-up, he missed the state meet by two spots finishing in 17th place in 19:15.30.

WACO was led by Wyatt Dennis’ 21st place marker.

On the girls’ side WACO was led by Hannah Dennis who placed 36th.

Winfield-Mount Union had two runners finish; Maggie Hutton and Olivia Martinez.

Prep Football: WACO Readies for Postseason Opener, Other Area Matchups:

The undefeated No. 5 WACO football team will look to get their postseason started in a big way tonight when they welcome in 5-3 Edgewood-Colesburg in a first round tilt.

WACO finished their regular season 8-0 and enjoyed an idle week last week in preparation for their home playoff scrap.

Simeon Reichenbach has been the offensive catalyst for the Warriors this year, rushing for over 1,000 yards and 19 total touchdowns.

Quarterback Isaac Oswald has only thrown the ball 69 times, but has tossed eight scores and ran for four more.

Jonah Clark has been his top target — with Clark hauling in three touchdowns. He’s also ran for two of his own.

The lynchpin of WACO’s success this year has been their defense, however.

The Warriors are yielding just 12.3 points per game, a total that’s one of the best in 8-Player.

Cael Funk has been Edgewood’s best player this year, throwing for 734 yards, rushing for 407 and totaling 19 touchdowns.

He’ll need to be on his best for the Vikings to pull an upset.

Tonight’s game will kick at 7:00 p.m. and you can listen on KILJ-FM with the pre-game show at 6:30 p.m.

Other area matchups tonight in the first round of the playoffs:

• North Tama at Wapello
• Highland at Lynnville-Sully
• New London at No. 1 Montezuma
• Cardinal at West Branch
• Mediapolis at Pella Christian

Other area regular season finales:

• Keokuk at Solon
• No. 1 North Scott at Mount Pleasant
• Fairfield at Grinnell
• Fort Madison at Burlington
• Washington at West Burlington Notre Dame

Women’s College Basketball: Wesleyan Announces 21-22 Schedule:

The Iowa Wesleyan women’s basketball team have announced their 2021-22 schedule.

The Tigers will open up next week Wednesday at home against Waldorf University.

It will mark the first game back for head coach Steve Williamson who resumes his role at Iowa Wesleyan after a highly successful stint at William Penn.

Iowa Wesleyan will host ten home games this years and compete in 18 games on the road in their first year competing in the Continental Athletic Conference.

The Tigers will also host this year’s conference tournament, which is slated to be played February 24th-27th at Ruble Arena.

 

Prep Volleyball: Holy Trinity, New London Sweep, W-MU Advances; Other Finals:

No. 5 Holy Trinity 3, Seymour 0 

Sophomore phenom Mary Kate Bendlage drilled 11 kills to lead fifth-ranked Holy Trinity to a sweep of Seymour yesterday in Fort Madison.

The win was Melissa Freesmeier’s 1,000th career victory.

Natalie Randolph chipped in with eight kills as the Crusaders rolled.

Seymour ends their year 19-12.

Holy Trinity improved to 30-10.

No. 13 New London 3, WACO 0 

New London advanced to semifinal action where they will battle Holy Trinity, with a sweep of WACO yesterday.

Natalie Burden had a match-high 17 kills while adding two blocks.

Emma Nye paced the Tigers back row with 23 digs while Elly Manning and Aliyah Christensen each had 15 assists.

New London improved to 26-13.

Holy Trinity has won five straight in the series, including a 3-0 sweep this year.

That game will be played Monday night at Shottenkirk Gymnasium.

You can listen on FM 105.5 and kilj.com.

Winfield-Mount Union 3, Wapello 2 

In a thriller in Wapello, it Winfield-Mount Union pulling out a gutsy, five-set win over the Arrows 3-2.

The slugfest was decided with a 15-10 Winfield-Mount Union win in the fifth set.

Melina Oepping paced the Lady Wolves with 15 kills, Bradie Buffington chipped in with 10.

Keetyn Townsley was a brick wall in the back row providing 59 digs.

Lindsay Massner led Wapello with 15 kills.

Winfield improved to 22-10.

No. 1 Notre Dame 3, Lone Tree 0 

Notre Dame stormed out of the gates and never looked back as they cruised to a sweep over Lone Tree last night.

The win hooks the Nikes and Winfield-Mount Union up with each other next Monday at Father Minnett Gymnasium.

Gabby Deery had 11 kills in the win while Josie Bentz added eight.

Notre Dame improved to 33-8 with the win.

Lone Tree ended their season 7-21.

Other area finals: 

• Mediapolis 3, Van Buren County 0
• Danville 3, Pekin 0
  • They’ll meet next week in a regional semifinal.
• No. 10 West Burlington 3, Davis County 0
  • They’ll take on No. 4 West Liberty in the regional championship Tuesday.

Girls’ Cross Country: Panthers 7th at SQM in Solon:

Mount Pleasant finished 7th at yesterday’s state qualifying meet in Solon.

Three runners had lifetime bests for the Panthers.

Mount Pleasant was led by freshman Alexis Wagner who finished 18th in a time of 20:46, a near :45 second improvement.

Abby Blint ended 28th with a time of 21:10.

Bella Meador, Jenna Gilmore and Jayden Housh all were the next cluster of finishers for the Panthers.

Solon was the team champion, with Mount Vernon and Marion rounding out the top three.

Kayla Young of Solon was the meet champion in a time of 19:24.8.

Boys’ Cross Country: Mount Pleasant Finishes 6th: 

Mount Pleasant sophomore Ben Carthey missed out on the state cross country meet by just four seconds leading the Panthers to a 6th place finish in the team standings.

Carthey ran 17:24.

Nathan McWilliams finished 31st for the Panthers in a time of 18:02 while Christian Bracht-Wagner finished 36th.

Marion won the team standings with Solon and Mount Vernon rounding out the top three.

Shane Erb of Marion was the meet medalist, running 15:56.5.

Men’s College Basketball: Drake Tabbed as Preseason Favorites:

For the first time on record, Drake has been picked as the preseason favorite in the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball race by a voting panel consisting of coaches, sports information directors and media.

The Bulldogs are coming off three of the most successful seasons in program history and the team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 13 years, taking second in the league race last year (26-5, 15-3).

The Bulldogs received 29 first-place votes.

Loyola finished in second, with UNI in third.

Missouri State and Southern Illinois rounded out the top-five.

Prep Volleyball: Mount Pleasant Falls in Five Set Thriller:

In what turned into a back and forth affair, the Mount Pleasant volleyball team was beaten yesterday by Fairfield in five sets, 3-2.

The Trojans took sets 1, 3 and 5.

Mount Pleasant won sets 2 and 4, 25-23 and 25-22.

Mallory Lyon had 15 kills in the victory, while Maya Lane had 13.

Maddie Jones had 27 assists, while Brynley Allison had 22.

Stats wee not made available for Mount Pleasant.

Fairfield will now travel to top-seeded Oksaloosa, Thursday night.

The Panthers end their season 20-15 and champions of the Southeast Conference.

Prep Volleyball: Class 1A, 2A, 3A, Second Round Play Tonight:

Postseason volleyball continues to ratchet up as second round play opens up in the area tonight.

In Class 1A, Region 8, top-seed Holy Trinity will welcome in Seymour — who are fresh off a 3-0 sweep of Moulton-Udell.

The Warriors are 19-11 on the season, while Holy Trinity enters 29-10.

You can listen to that game on FM 105.5 and kilj.com.

Other second round action in Region 8 includes New London hosting WACO.

The Tigers easily swept Moravia on Monday, while WACO took down Keota in four sets.

New London beat WACO earlier this year in four sets.

The winners between those two scraps will play next Monday in the regional semifinal.

In Region 7, top-ranked and defending champion Notre Dame will be hosting Lone Tree.

The Lions defeated English Valleys 3-1 in their opener.

Should the Nikes win, they’ll battle either Wapello or Winfield-Mount Union who play each other tonight.

Wapello is 26-10 while the Lady Wolves are 21-10.

In Class 2A, Mediapolis hosts Van Buren County, while Danville takes on Pekin, with the winners play Monday.

In 3A, after surviving Central Lee — West Burlington will take on Davis County.

The Lady Falcons are 29-3 on the year.

Davis County is 31-10.

Prep Cross Country: 3A State Qualifying Meets Today:

The prep cross country season will come to a head today and tomorrow with State Qualifying meets.

Today will be 3A races, which will begin at 4:00 p.m.

The IHSAA and IGHSAU do not charge admission for state qualifying meets. Host sites may apply parking fees.

In Class 3A, Mount Pleasant and Washington both traveling to Solon.

West Burlington Notre Dame will be in Solon as well, with Keokuk and Fort Madison also joining in on the fun.

The state meet in Fort Dodge has also been split over two days, with 4A and 3A racing on Friday, October 29, followed by 2A and 1A races on Saturday, October 30.

College Football: Iowa’s Linderbaum and Hankins Honored:

Two Iowa football players have been placed on the Associated Press Midseason All-American team.

Center Tyler Linderbaum and cornerback Matt Hankins were both selected.

Hankins was a preseason second-team All-Big 10 choice and has record 17 tackles and three interceptions this season.

Linderbaum was a preseason first-team All-America selection by several outlets.

He is widely panned as a shoo-in top-20 pick in next April’s NFL Draft.

Prep Volleyball: New London Makes Short Work of Moravia, WACO Wins, WMU Advances:

No. 13 (1A) New London 3, Moravia 0 

New London rolled early and never looked back as the No. 13 Tigers swept Moravia 25-5, 25-6, 25-5 to advance to Wednesday’s quarterfinal round.

The Tigers pounded out 17 aces while Natalie Burden had 11 kills.

Tysann Gipple chipped in with 10.

Elly Manning led New London with 16 assists while Aliyah Christensen had 15.

Lauren Long had two kills to lead Moravia.

The Mohawks end their year 2-21.

WACO 3, Keota 1 

It’ll be a matchup of Henry County programs on Wednesday in quarterfinal play after WACO took care of Keota yesterday in a four-set win.

WACO won sets one, two and four after Keota nabbed set three 25-23.

Ellah Kissell had 23 kills to lead the Warriors attack, while Grace Coble had 33 assists.

The win improved the Warriors to 21-12.

New London took down WACO 3-1 in Super Conference action on October 5th.

First serve for Wednesday’s tilt is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Winfield-Mount Union 3, Highland 0 

Keely Malone had seven kills and added five blocks as Winfield-Mount Union rolled past Highland 3-0.

In typical fashion, it was a balanced attack for the Lady Wolves, with Melina Oepping and Bradie Buffington each adding six kills.

The win moved Winfield to 21-10 on the year.

They’ll advance to Wednesday’s quarterfinal where they will scrap with Wapello, who swept Morningstar Academy.

The Arrows are 26-10.

Other finals last night:

• Van Buren County 3, Cardinal 1
• Durant 3, Columbus 2
• No. 10 (3A) West Burlington 3, Central Lee 1

Prep Volleyball: Mount Pleasant Opens Up at Fairfield:

Champions of the Southeast Conference, the Mount Pleasant volleyball team will begin their postseason push tonight when they take on Fairfield in first round play.

The winner of today’s tilt will move to Thursday’s semifinal round where top-seeded Oskaloosa awaits.

Fairfield, 12-19, has won two of three against Mount Pleasant this year and are 37-13 over the last 50 matches played.

You can listen to tonight’s game on KILJ-FM, with first serve set for 7:00 p.m.

Prep Football: Radio Iowa Football Poll Announced:

The latest Radio Iowa Football poll has been announced.

This will be the final poll for 8-Player, Class A, 1A and 2A.

WACO remained at No. 5.

Final 8-Player

1. Montezuma (9-0), LW #1 vs New London
2. CAM (Anita) (8-0), LW #2 vs East Mills
3. Easton Valley (8-0), LW #3 vs Dunkerton
4. Remsen St. Mary’s (8-0), LW #4 vs Exira/EHK
5. WACO (8-0), LW #5 vs Edgewood-Colesburg
6. Turkey Valley (8-0), LW #6 vs Springville
7. Lenox (8-0), LW #7 vs Lamoni
8. Audubon (7-1), LW #8 vs Stanton/Essex
9, Kee High (7-1), LW #9 vs Northwood-Kensett
10.Newell-Fonda (7-1), LW #10 @ Janesville

Final Class A

1. West Hancock (8-0), LW #1 vs Alta-Aurelia
2. Grundy Center (7-1), LW #2 vs Saint Ansgar
3. North Linn (8-0), LW #3 vs Nashua-Plainfield
4. Woobury Central (7-1), LW #5 vs AHSTW
5. Logan-Magnolia (7-1), LW #6 vs LeMars Gehlen
6. Lisbon (7-1), LW #7 vs Bellevue
7. East Buchanan (7-1), LW #8 vs Newman Catholic
8. North Butler (7-1), LW #4 vs Nashua-Plainfield
9. Belle Plaine (7-1), LW #9 vs Earlham
10.Mount Ayr (6-2), LW #10 vs Madrid

Final Class 1A

1. Van Meter (8-0), LW #1 vs Pleasantville
2. Iowa City Regina (8-0), LW #2 Cascade
3. Underwood (8-0), LW #3 vs Nodaway Valley
4. Dike-New Hartford (8-0), LW #4 vs Eagle Grove
5. Sigourney-Keota (8-0), LW #5 vs Durant
6. West Sioux (7-1), LW #6 vs West Monona
7. Pella Christian (7-1), LW #7 vs Mediapolis
8. Dyersville Beckman (8-0), LW #8 vs South Hardin
9. South Central Calhoun (97-1), LW #10 vs Emmetsburg
10.Denver (7-1), LW (X) vs MFL MarMac

Final Class 2A

1. Waukon (7-1), LW #2 vs West Liberty
2. West Marshall (7-1), LW #3 vs Centerville
3. Southeast Valley (7-1), LW #1 vs Sheldon
4. OABCIG (7-1), LW #4 vs Red Oak
5. West Lyon (6-2), LW #5 vs Garner-Hayfield-Ventura
6. Greene County (7-1), LW #6 vs Roland-Story
7. North Fayette Valley (7-1), LW #7 vs New Hampton
8. Spirit Lake (6-2), LW #9 @ Osage
9. Estherville Lincoln Central (5-3), LW #8 @ #10 Central Lyon
10.Central Lyon /GLR (5-3), LW #10 vs #9 Estherville Lincoln Central

Class 3A

1. Harlan (8-0), LW #1 @ Knoxville
2. West Delaware (7-1), LW #2 vs Charles City
3. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (8-0), LW #3 @ Heelan
4. Solon (8-0), LW #4 vs Keokuk
5. Humboldt (8-0), LW #5 @ Algona
6. Nevada (7-1), LW #6 vs North Polk
7. Benton (7-1), LW #8 vs Central DeWitt
8. Sergeant Bluff-Luton (6-2), LW #9 vs Carroll
9. Independence (7-1), LW #7 @ Center Point-Urbana
10.ADM (Adel) (6-2), LW (X) vs Saydel

Class 4A

1. North Scott (8-0), LW #1 @ Mount Pleasant
2. Cedar Rapids Xavier (7-1), LW #2 @ Oskaloosa
3. Waverly-Shell Rock (7-1), LW #7 vs #9 Decorah
4. Lewis Central (6-2), LW #4 @ #7 Winterset
5. Indianola (7-1), LW #6 vs Boone
6. Bondurant-Farrar (7-1), LW #3 vs Norwalk
7. Winterset (7-1), LW #8 vs #4 Lewis Central
8. Webster City (6-2), LW #9 @ Denison-Schleswig
9. Decorah (6-2), LW #10 @ #3 Waverly-Shell Rock
10.Spencer (6-2), LW (X) vs Storm Lake

Class 5A

1. Cedar Rapids Kennedy (8-0), LW #1 @ Hempstead
2. Southeast Polk (7-1), LW #2 vs CR Jefferson
3. Ankeny (6-2), LW #5 vs DSM Lincoln
4. Urbandale (7-1), LW #4 vs Waukee Northwest
5. Dowling Catholic (5-3), LW #8 @ Waukee
6. WDM Valley (6-2), LW #3 vs DSM Roosevelt
7. Cedar Rapids Prairie (6-2), LW #6 @ #9 Linn-Mar
8. Iowa City High (7-1), LW #7 @ Davenport Central (Thur)
9. Linn-Mar (7-1), LW #10 LW vs #7 Prairie
10.Pleasant Valley (6-2), LW (X) @ Iowa City West

College Football: Iowa State’s Mevis Named Big 12 Special Teams POW:

Iowa State kicker Andrew Mevis was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, the league announced Monday.

Mevis booted field goals of 40, 41, 41, and 44 yards in Iowa State’s 33-20 road win at Kansas State this weekend.

The Fordham transfer is a sterling 10-of-12 on field goals this year and has yet to whiff on an extra point.

Iowa State hosts No. 8 Oklahoma State this Saturday with kick set for 2:30 p.m.