Author: Nathan Bloechl

Prep Sports: Mount Pleasant Hosts Meet the Players Thursday:

The Mount Pleasant Athletic Department will host their annual “Meet the Players” event this Thursday at Mount Pleasant High School.

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a welcome from the Mount Pleasant Athletic Booster Club, who will also be serving meals.

At 7:15 p.m. introductions of cheerleaders, players, managers and coaches will commence.

The order of introductions will be cross country, football followed with volleyball.

The cheer team will also perform.

At 7:30 p.m. the volleyball team will host their scrimmage.

The event is free and open to the public.

Women’s College Basketball: Iowa’s Clark Tabbed FIBA U19 MVP:

University of Iowa women’s basketball sophomore Caitlin Clark won her third gold medal as Team USA defeated Australia, 70-52, in the U19 World Cup Final on Sunday.

Clark, a native of West Des Moines, Iowa, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Clark scored nine points, dished out eight assists, tallied eight rebounds, and recorded a block in the victory over Australia.

The USA team captain registered 14.3 points, 5.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds to go along with seven steals, and six blocks in seven U19 World Cup Games, helping Team USA win its ninth FIBA Women’s U19 World Cup gold medal.

College Football: Hawkeyes Name 16 to Player Council:

The University of Iowa football program has named 16 players to the 2021 Player Council.

Head coach Kirk Ferentz announced the group last Friday.

The group includes six seniors and 10 juniors.

The purpose of the group is to assist in formulating policies and being involved in team decision-making throughout the year.

Players were selected following coaching staff and player input.

This year’s group features prominent players in Ivory Kelly-Martin, Tyler Linderbaum, Tyler Goodson, Spencer Petras and Tyrone Tracy.

Iowa opens up their fall schedule September 4th at home against Indiana.

You can listen to that game on FM 105.5.

PGA Golf: Kisner Wins Remarkable 6-Man Playoff:

Kevin Kisner birdied the second extra hole to win a record-tying six-man playoff at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday.

Kisner struck his approach to 3 feet on the 18th hole at Sedgefield and made the putt for his first PGA Tour victory since 2019 and fourth of his career.

Kisner began four shots off the lead and shot a 4-under 66, making birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to reach 15 under and the playoff. He beat Adam Scott, Roger Sloan, Kevin Na, Si Woo Kim and Branden Grace after they all had made pars on the first extra hole.

Kisner improved to 1-5 in playoffs.

College Football: Iowa’s Tracy Ready to Explode:

Iowa receiver Tyrone Tracy says the Hawkeyes are feeling confident as they get ready for a new season.

The Hawkeyes stumbled out of the gate last year by losing two close games before rallying with six straight victories to end a COVID shortened season with a record of 6-2.

“Everyone has a smile on their face, people are walking around with a chip on their shoulder. Right now, we are at the best place possible. We had a great spring and we’re having a great summer and if we keep this [up] we will be a pretty dangerous team come fall” Tracy said.

Tracy says quarterback Spencer Petras has taken charge of the offense.

In his first season as a starter, Petras finished third in the Big Ten in passing yards for an offense that averaged nearly 32 points per game.

With Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Brandon Smith traying to make NFL rosters Tracy is expected to become one of the leaders of the Hawkeye offense.

Iowa will open their season September 4th at home against Indiana.

You can listen to that game on FM 105.5.

College Football: Several Regional Players Named to Senior Bowl Watch List:

Officials from the Senior Bowl have released their 2021-22 watch list and several in-state products were named to the list.

Iowa State led in-state programs with 12 selections:

• O’Rien Vance (LB)
• Chase Allen (TE)
• Eyioma Uwazurike (DL) (Eye-e-oma, Ooo-waz-ur-reak-ay)
• Greg Eisworth II (DB)
• Mike Rose (LB)
• Jake Hummel (LB)
• Brock Purdy (QB)
• Xavier Hutchinson (WR)
• Colin Newell (OL)
• Anthony Johnson Jr. (CB)
• Tarique Milton (WR)
• Charlie Kolar (TE)

The Hawkeyes had three named to the watch list:

• Riley Moss (DB)
• Zach VanValkenberg (DE)
• Matt Hankins (DB)

UNI also had one player selected in offensive lineman Trevor Penning.

The Senior Bowl will be played on February 5th in it’s annual location in Mobile, Alabama.

Major League Baseball: Field of Dreams Game Likely in 2022:

Last night’s Field of Dreams game in Dyersville featured eight home runs, including a final two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth that secured the 9-8 victory for the Chicago White Sox.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says there’ll be a Field of Dreams game again next year, likely in August.

“The reception that this event has received has been so positive that we will be back,” Manfred said. “I think it’s pretty clear we’ll be back next year and we’ll have to talk about it after that.”

Kevin Costner, the star of the iconic 1989 movie that inspired last night’s game, also made several appearances.

The White Sox and the Yankees wore special retro uniforms for last night’s game and the players entered the field through the rows of corn surrounding the outfield.