Author: Slaten Swords

High School Track

The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released the full list of state qualifiers yesterday. Here’s a look at the at-large bids from our local schools.

The Columbus boys’ team added Lamar Ceant to the 200-meter dash and the 110-meter hurdles. Ty Muniz will run in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs. The Wildcats will have teams in the shuttle hurdle, 4×100, 4×200, and 4×800 meter relays. The Columbus girls’ team will see Isabella Forbes throwing the shot put. 

For the New London boys’ team, Riley Raines will be participating in the 1600-meter run and Logan Franklin will join the fray in the long jump.

Winfield-Mt. Union’s Kohlby Newsom will run in a trio of events: the 400-meter dash, the 800-meter run, and the 1600-meter run.

Kate Lanz of Wapello will be competing in the 200 and 400-meter dashes. 

The WACO girls’ team’s Carlee Lunsford claimed a spot in the 800-meter run, while Josie Dykstra will be competing in the 400-meter hurdles. In the field events, Bren Graber will be one of two freshmen participating in the high jump. The Warriors will be running in the distance medley relay. 

For the boys’ team, Jude Dykstra will be running in the 800-meter run and the 1600-meter run. Louden Huisenga will be in contention for the high jumping crown, while Hayden Shelman snuck in with an at-large bid for the long jump. The Warriors will also have a squad in the distance medley relay.

The Danville girls’ team had the team of Delaney Newberry, Macie Wagner, Alaina Gourley, and Miya Orbiana clinched a spot in the 4×400 meter relay. The boys’ team will feature Nick Powell competing in the 800-meter run and Jackson Shacklett in the 3200-meter run. The Bears will run in the 4×100, 4×200, 4×400, the distance medley, and the sprint medley relays. 

The Van Buren County girls’ team had Kayley Snowgren earn a spot in the 800-meter run. The Warriors will sport a relay team in the 4×100, 4×200, and 4×800 meter relays. 

On the boys’ side, the Warriors will compete in the 4×200 and 4×400 meter relays. Lincoln Bainbridge will participate in the 200-meter dash.

The Mediapolis girls’ team will have Kira Messer sprint in the 100-meter dash.

The West Burlington/Notre Dame girls’ team will have Ady Lamm, Kaylee Webb, Jilian Nickel, and Kaitlyn Kipp running in the distance medley relay. The boys’ team will see Landry Haberichter claim a spot in the 100-meter dash. Logan Hamma will be participating in the 400-meter hurdles. Mason Watkins will insert himself into the high jump conversation. Lastly, the Falcons will have a team in the 4×100 and 4×200 meter relays.

Stay tuned to KILJ for updates and results throughout the three-day event starting on Thursday, May 22nd. For a full list of our local state qualifiers, follow this link: Full List of State Qualifiers

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team fell to Fairfield yesterday in the Region 1 first round 5-0. The Trojans advanced to the quarterfinals to take on Central DeWitt on Tuesday, May 20th, at Xavier High School. 

The Burlington Notre Dame girls’ team shutout Fort Madison before losing to Xavier 5-0 yesterday. The Burlington girls’ team defeated Muscatine 5-3 to advance to the regional semifinals to take on Bettendorf on the road on Tuesday. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will compete against Grinnell for the first round of the team Substate 7 tournament at Kennedy High School today.

The Fairfield boys’ team will face off against Centerville at home today for their first round matchup for Substate 8.

High School Golf

The Wapello girls’ team hosted the Class 1A Region 5A first round meet yesterday and the Arrows finished on top with a team score of 416. Columbus claimed 2nd place with a 426 and New London was able to advance with a 3rd place score of 430.

The Tigers’ Emma Busby was the medalist with an 18-hole score of 93 followed by Kinlee Brown of Columbus, shooting a 94, and Wapello’s Emmalin Marshall taking home a 95. Elizabeth Griffin of Holy Trinity Catholic shot a 100, the 5th best score of the course, and Kellee Milks of Winfield-Mt. Union tied for 6th with a score of 105, allowing both individuals to advance to the Regional finals. 

WACO was led by Morgan Meyer’s 9th place score of 106 and Danville’s Eastin Chipman shot a 107. 

The Region 5 final will take place at Little Bear Country Club in Midland on Wednesday, May 21st. 

The Mediapolis and Central Lee girls’ teams both had their seasons come to an end yesterday in the Class 2A Region 5B meet with the Bulldogs claiming 5th place with a team score of 441. Cardin Miller and Payton Gerling each carded a 106 for the Bulldogs, which was good enough for 13th place. Central Lee’s Marie Young finished in 10th place with an 18-hole score of 100.

The boys’ Class 1A District meet for Winfield-Mt. Union, Wapello, Holy Trinity Catholic, and Danville’s Alex Holtkamp and Graylon Walker will take place at Heritage Oaks in Wapello on Monday, May 19th. 

The boys’ Class 2A District Meet for Mediapolis and Central Lee will take place in Pella on Monday. 

The boys’ Class 3A District meet featuring Washington will be hosted by West Delaware on Monday at Pin Oak Links. 

The Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield girls’ teams will compete in the Class 3A Regional on Wednesday at Edmundson Golf Course. 

High School Soccer

The boys’ SEISC tournament semifinals took place at Central Lee last night and it will be the same championship matchup from the past three years after #6 Burlington Notre Dame shutout the hosts 3-0 and Mediapolis snuck past Highland 3-2 as the Bulldogs won in penalty kicks. Lance Ludens and Quincy King scored the goals for Mediapolis. The Nikes and Bulldogs will face off at Central Lee today at 10 am with Mediapolis attempting to defend their crown.

The WACO boys’ team downed Sigourney Keota last night 1-0 behind Keiran Luitjens netting the lone goal and Holden Hughes nabbing five saves. The Warriors will take on Danville on the road in the Class 1A Substate 5 first round at 7 pm on Tuesday, May 20th.

The Central Lee girls’ team will start Regional play on Monday, May 19th, on the road against Fairfield at 7 pm.

The Wapello girls’ team will face off against Mid-Prairie in the Class 1A Region 3 first round at 7 pm on Monday.

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will compete against Ottumwa on Monday on the road at 4:30 pm.

The Mediapolis girls’ team will face off against Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union on Wednesday, May 21st, at 7 pm at home for postseason play.

This Day in Sports History

1875 – The first Kentucky Derby: Oliver Lewis aboard Aristides wins in 2:37.75.

1915 – Cubs George “Zip” Zabel relieves with 2 outs in the first and winds up with a 4-3 19-inning win over Brooklyn in the longest relief job ever.

1964 – The first Tim Horton’s coffee and donut shop opens in Hamilton, Ontario by NHL player Tim Horton.

Mt. Pleasant, IA- Baseball and late spring into summer, hard to name a better tandem–possible trio–than those two and Henry County knows that well as a crowd gathered around the Mt. Pleasant REC Youth Baseball Fields on Thursday night for the opening day of the 2025 season.

The warm and breezy evening provided a perfect backdrop to introduce the 60th season of youth baseball in Mt. Pleasant as the organization touts about 200 Mt. Pleasant youth involved in the baseball program. Mt. Pleasant teams will be competing against other Henry County teams from Salem, Winfield, and Wayland.

It was also provided an opportunity for Board President Ryan Duffie to present Willy Amos with a plaque to honor his dedication and service as a longtime board member and president of the Mt. Pleasant Youth Baseball Asscoiation.

Of course, no opening day is complete without a ribbon cutting. The Mt. Pleasant Kiwanis Club presented their dedicated playground that certainly got its use from the off-duty ballplayers and spectators alike.

Overall, it was a terrific night to start playing baseball in Henry County.

Here’s a look at the four divisions, the team names, and the coaches for the 2025 season.

T-Ball Teams:

Durham Bulls
Coached by: Sam Taylor

Fort Wayne TinCaps
Coached by: Matthew Krogmeier

Bradenton Marauders
Coached by: Logan Wall

Greensboro Grasshoppers
Coached by: Shawn Warner

Midland Rockhounds
Coached by: Jake Rohde

 

Coach Pitch teams:

Eugene Emeralds
Coached by: Dan Henderson

Carolina Mudcats
Coached by: Ryan Duffie & Seth Krogmeier

Bowling Green Hot Rods
Coached by: Matt Donnolly

Charleston River Dogs
Coached by: Adam Wade

 

American League teams:

Lansing Lugnuts
Coached by: AJ Rash

Norfolk Tide
Coached by: Marvel Jones

Somerset Patriots
Coached by: Dave Rogers

 

National League teams:

Rochester Red Wings
Coached by: Luis Aranda

Scranton RailRiders
Coached by: Tyler Horn

Prep Track and Field- Teams from all over Iowa traveled to select high schools Thursday night to compete for a chance to punch their ticket to the 2025 State Track and Field meet in Des Moines. Southeast Iowa will be well represented, here’s a look at our local qualifiers and what event they will be participating in.

Girls Class 1A

Danville: Alaina Gourley in the 400-meter dash and the 800-meter run. The Bears will have the team of Violette Sowell, Macie Wagner, Delaney Newberry, and Gourley run in the sprint medley relay. Additionally, Newberry, Wagner, Gourley, and Miya Orbiana clinched a spot in the 4×400 meter relay.

Winfield-Mt. Union: Josie Nelson will sprint in the 100-meter hurdles and Kynlee Buffington will compete in the long jump.

WACO: Carlee Lunsford will be competing in the 800-meter run. Josie Dykstra earned a spot in the 400-meter hurdles. The Warriors will have Natalie Wagler, Taelyn Egli, Dykstra, and Lunsford running in the distance medley. In the field events, Bren Graber will be one of two freshmen participating in the high jump.

Wapello: Kate Lanz will be sprinting in the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter dash.

Columbus: Isabella Forbes will be chucking the shot put as she enters as the 21^st seed.

Van Buren County: Kayley Snowgren will be participating in the 800-meter run. The team of Aida Troutman, Ava Loeffler, Daphny Wells, and Emma Coffin will run in the 4×100 and 4×200 meter relays. Lastly, the 4×800 meter relay team will feature Rory Philips, Gabby Titus, Rylee Philips, and Snowgren.

Boys Class 1A

New London: London Franklin will participate in the 100-meter dash and the long jump. In the 1600-meter run, Riley Raines earned an at-large bid. The squad of Cale Westerbeck, Gavin Strawhacker, Brigham Porter, and Franklin will run in the 4×100 and 4×200 meter relays. Logan Franklin will join the fray in the long jump.

Winfield-Mt. Union: Kohlby Newsom will compete in a trio of events: the 400-meter dash, the 800-meter run, and the 1600-meter run.

Wapello: Kolton Small will throw in both the shot put and discus.

Van Buren County: The sprint medley team of Bryce Moquin, Kayden Simmons, Izaak Loeffler, and Lincoln Bainbridge will participate along with the distance medley team with Bryce Newcomb replacing Moquin in the lineup. The Warriors also had the team of Moquin, Newcomb, Simmons, and Loeffler get a spot in the 4×200 meter relay. Newcomb, Simmons, Loeffler, and Bainbridge will also be running in the 4×400 meter relay. Bainbridge earned an at-large bid for the 200-meter dash.

Columbus: Alexander Rees and Lamar Ceant will perform in the 200-meter dash and the 110-meter hurdles. Riley Kaalberg will sprint in the 100-meter dash. Ty Muniz will join the groups in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs. The Wildcats will have the team of Rees, Lamar Ceant, Jonathan Miranda, and Riley Kaalberg run in the shuttle hurdle relay. Juan Chairez, Rees, Ceant, and Kaalberg will compete in the 4×100 meter relay. Dakota Aney and Tyson Kaalberg will join Riley Kaalberg and Chairez in the 4×200 meter relay. Ryan Villa, Muniz, Cade Storm, and Victor Tovar will participate in the 4×800 meter relay.

WACO: Jude Dykstra will be running in the 800-meter run and the 1600-meter run. The team of Gage Samo, Hayden Shelman, Louden Huisenga, and Dykstra will compete in the distance medley. Huisenga will be in contention for the high jumping crown. Shelman snuck in with an at-large bid for the long jump.

Danville: Nick Powell will be participating in the 800-meter run. Jackson Shacklett found a spot in the 3200-meter run. The squad of Drake Bielser, Jaden Bauer, Landon Seibert, and Kessler Whaley will run in the 4×100 meter relay. Ty Frazier will substitute in for Whaley for the 4×200 meter relay. Noah Horn, Frazier, Powell, and Whaley will compete in the 4×400 meter relay. The distance medley team will consist of Whaley, Seibert, Horn, and Powell. Lastly, the squad of Bielser, Bauer, Whaley, and Horn will participate in the sprint medley relay.

Girls Class 2A

Mediapolis: Kira Messer took an at-large bid for the 100-meter dash.

Boys Class 2A

Mediapolis: Simon Wendel will display his endurance in the 1600-meter run. Lathan Keller will compete in the high jump. The team of Kyler Crow, Noah Schmidgall, Henry and Will Luttenegger will run in the 4×100 and 4×400 meter relay.

Central Lee: Kegan Damico will sprint in the 400-meter dash.

Girls Class 3A

Mt. Pleasant: Alex Scott and Kiyah Sanders qualified for the 100-meter dash, while Scott will also be running in the 200-meter dash. The team of Kynlee White, Taylor Williamson, Sanders, and Scott will run in the 4×100 meter relay. Ellie Freeman will jump in for Williamson in the 4×200 meter relay. Izzy Sloat will join Freeman, Sanders, and White for the sprint medley relay. In the field events, Sloat and Linzy Striegel will compete in the long jump and Ella Ensminger will toss the shot put.

Fairfield: Lilly Bergren will participate in the 100 and 400-meter hurdles. The squad of Isabel McCready, Hayley Reinier, Ireland Cranston, and Bergren will compete in the shuttle hurdle relay. Elyse Setterstrom will join Lorence in throwing the discus.

Fort Madison: Mara Smith qualified for the 800-meter run. Avery Rump and Jordyn Marshall will run in the 1500 and 3000-meter runs. Addison Rump, Smith, McKayla Schinstock, and Avery Rump will participate in the 4×800 meter relay. Brylie Lorence will be throwing the discus and the shot put. Lastly, the team of Lillian Gelsthorpe, Olivia Buckner, Avery Rump, and Smith will compete in the distance medley relay.

Keokuk: Layonna Stewart will join Bergren in the 100-meter hurdles. Stewart will be joined by Baylee Billings, Alaya Carr, and Kylee Hoard in the 4×100 meter relay. The squad of Violet Shead, Preslie Weigert, Camryn Atterberg, and Billings will run in the 4×400 meter relay. Atterberg qualified for the high jump. Atterberg, Shead, Carr, and Ada Wood grabbed an at-large bid for the 4×200 meter relay.

West Burlington/Notre Dame: Ady Lamm, Kaylee Webb, Jilian Nickel, and Kaitlyn Kipp will be running in the distance medley relay.

Washington: Jaedyn Moore will sprint in the 200-meter dash. Iris Dahl will pace herself in the 1500-meter run. Leighton Messinger will participate in the 100 and 400-meter hurdles. The shuttle hurdle relay team will consist of Leighton Salazar, Layla Green, Kendall Hinrichsen, and Messinger. Moore will hop in for Green to run the 4×100 meter relay. The squad of Lauren Drahota, Jaslyn Villa, Lauren Horak, and Hinrichsen will compete in the 4×400 meter relay. Lastly, Hinrichsen, Dahl, Emma and Lauren Horak will run in the 4×800 meter relay.

West Burlington/Notre Dame: Landry Haberichter snatched a top ten seed as an at-large bid for the 100-meter dash. Logan Hamma will be participating in the 400-meter hurdles. The squad of Maddox Diewold, Colby Booton, Eli Oleson, and Haberichter grabbed a spot in the 4×100 meter relay. Hamma will jump in for Oleson to run in the 4×200 meter relay. Lastly, Mason Watkins will insert himself into the high jump conversation.

Boys Class 3A

Fairfield: Gabe Tejada will look for a championship in the 800-meter run. Dylan Adam will be in the 400-meter hurdles. The distance medley team of Blake Burnett, Ousman Saine, Tejada, and Adam will be competing. Eli Zillman and Ryan Giberson will battle for the high jump title as Zillman looks to defend his championship. Zillman also earned a spot in the long jump along with Spencer McCready. The team of Burnett, Adam, Giberson, and McCready will compete in the shuttle hurdle relay. Lastly, the sprint medley team of Dayson Workman, Voss Richardson, Ethan Bisgard, and Tejada will be running.

Keokuk: Ryan Bair will be zooming in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Chayse Smith will be sprinting in the 400-meter dash. Kurt Joy, Tramell Smith, Travarius Smith, and Drew Campbell will run in the 4×100 meter relay. Bair will tag out Joy to compete in the 4×200 meter relay. Chayce Smith and Brenton Hoard will participate with Travarius and Tramell Smith in the 4×400 meter relay. Joy, Bair, Campbell, and Travarius Smith will compete in the sprint medley relay.

Fort Madison: Peyton Lambert will run in the 400-meter dash. Nolan Guzman will take off in the 800-meter run. Mason McLey, Nolan Guzman, Riley Tripp, and Lambert will look to win the 4×800 meter relay. Dayton Lamar cleared 23 feet in the long jump to take the District Championship and enter as the favorite. Brayton Schneider will toss the discus, while Urijah Brooks and Caden Barnes will heave the shot put. Kenden Bowie will challenge the Fairfield powers in the high jump. Brandon Klein will compete in the Wheelchair Para events.

Washington: Tyler Alderton will compete in the 800-meter run. The squad of Logan McDole, Sawyer Tschantz, Carson Ryan, and Alderton will run in the 4×800 meter relay. Seth Shepherd, Keider Gomez Valdez, McDole, and Alderton will participate int eh distance medley relay. In the field events, Greyson Hartman will throw both the shot put and discus. Josh Anderson will be participating in the Wheelchair Para events.

Girls Class 4A

Burlington: The Grayhounds will be prowling in the field events with Lilian Mennen participating in the high jump. Kylee Hill will look to defend her title in the shot put and look to improve upon her 4^th place finish in discus last year.

Boys Class 4A

Burlington: Laderrias Shealey will compete in the 100-meter dash.

Up Next

Stay tuned to KILJ for updates and results throughout the three-day event starting on May 22^nd.

High School Track

For Class 1A, only first place finishers from each state qualifier automatically qualified for the state meet with the next 14 best performances statewide getting a spot. Here’s a look at local qualifiers from WACO’s meet.

The Columbus boys’ team took the team win with 123 points with New London finishing in 4th place with 67 points. 

Columbus had Alexander Rees outsprint his teammate Lamar Ceant by six-hundredths of a second in the 200-meter dash. Rees pulled off another upset against Ceant in the 110-meter hurdles, outdueling his teammate by two-hundredths of a second with a time of 14.72 seconds. The Wildcats had the squad of Rees, Ceant, Jonathan Miranda, and Riley Kaalberg take the shuttle hurdle relay with a time of 1 minute.

For the Tigers, London Franklin claimed the top spot in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.32 seconds. New London’s team of Cale Westerbeck, Gavin Strawhacker, Brigham Porter, and Franklin won the 4×100 and 4×200 meter relays. 

Winfield-Mt. Union’s Kohlby Newsom cruised to victories in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.27 seconds and the 800-meter run with a mark of 1 minute and 57 seconds. 

Kolton Small of Wapello swept the throwing events with a toss of 49 feet and 5.75 inches in the shot put and a mark of 140 feet and 7 inches in the discus. 

On the girls’ side, WACO was the highest team finisher with a 5th place team score of 62 points followed by Danville with 61 points. The Warriors finished in 2nd place in two events, including Jose Dykstra’s time of 1 minute and 9 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles. 

The Bears had Alaina Gourley claim 1st place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.87 seconds and the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 24 seconds. Gourley anchored the sprint medley relay squad of Macie Wagner, Violette Sowell, and Delaney Newberry as they won the race with a time of 1 minute and 52 seconds. 

Josie Nelson of Winfield-Mt. Union’s time of 16.25 seconds won the gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles. Freshman Kynlee Buffington clinched the win in the long jump with her best leap of the season, getting a mark of 17 feet and 8 inches. 

Van Buren County made the trip to Wayne last night and the boys’ team finished in 2nd place with 106 points, while the girls’ team collected 96 points for 4th place. 

On the boys’ side, the Warriors had the team of Bryce Moquin, Kayden Simmons, Izaak Loeffler, and Lincoln Bainbridge win the sprint medley relay with a time of 1 minute and 35 seconds. Bryce Newcomb replaced Moquin in the distance medley, which claimed 1st place with a time of 3 minutes and 37 seconds. The girls’ team took second place in five different events.

For Classes 2A and 3A, the top two place winners advance to state along with the next eight performances statewide.

Mediapolis made the trip to Monticello last night and the boys’ team claimed 2nd place with 71.5 points, while the girls’ team accrued 48 points for 7th place. Simon Wendel finished in 2nd place with a time of 4 minutes and 35 seconds in the 1600-meter run. The Bulldogs had the squad of Kyler Crow, Noah Schmidgall, Henry and Will Luttenegger grab 1st place in the 4×100 meter relay with a time of 44.64 seconds and the 4×400 meter relay with a mark of 3 minutes and 27 seconds. Lathan Keller cleared 6 feet and 1 inch to take 2nd place in the high jump.

Central Lee traveled to PCM and Kegan Damico’s 2nd place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.91 seconds earned the senior a spot at the state meet. On the girls’ side, Aubrey Weber took the bronze in the shot put with a heave of 34 feet and 6 inches. 

Mt. Pleasant hosted their state qualifier last night and the girls’ team took home 2nd place with 154 points as a team, while the Fairfield boys’ team grabbed the silver with 120 points.

On the girls’ side, Mt. Pleasant had Alex Scott collect victories in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.31 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a mark of 26.17 seconds. Kiyah Sanders also qualified in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.88 seconds, which was good enough for 2nd place. The Panther team of Kynlee White, Taylor Williamson, Sanders, and Scott took the 4×100 meter relay and claimed 2nd place in the 4×200 meter relay with the squad of Ellie Freeman, White, Sanders, and Scott. Freeman, Sanders, and White were joined by Izzy Sloat to finish in 2nd place in the sprint medley relay with a time of 1 minute and 51 seconds. Additionally, Sloat managed to leap 16 feet and 9.25 inches in the long jump to finish in 2nd place. The last automatic qualifier for Mt. Pleasant was Ella Ensminger in the shot put with a 2nd place heave of 39 feet and 3.5 inches. 

Fairfield’s Lilly Bergren won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.47 seconds and claimed the silver in the 400-meter hurdles with a mark of 1 minute and 8 seconds. 

On the boys’ side for Fairfield, Gabe Tejada won the 800-meter run with a time of 1 minute and 58 seconds. In the 400-meter hurdles, Dylan Adam took 2nd place with a time of 55.68 seconds. The distance medley team of Blake Burnett, Ousman Saine, Tejada, and Adam claimed 1st place with a time of 3 minutes and 38 seconds. In the high jump, the Trojans grabbed both the gold and silver as Eli Zillman cleared 6 feet and 7 inches, followed by Ryan Giberson with a leap of 6 feet and 5 inches. 

Stay tuned to KILJ for a full list of our local state qualifiers and for updates and results throughout the three-day event starting on Thursday, May 22nd. 

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will compete against Grinnell for the first round of the team Substate 7 tournament at Kennedy High School tomorrow, May 17th.

The Fairfield boys’ team will face off against Centerville at home tomorrow for their first round matchup for Substate 8.

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will travel back to Fairfield today for their team Regional Tournament. 

High School Golf

The girls’ Class 1A Region 5 meet will take place today in Wapello with Winfield-Mt. Union, WACO, New London, Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, and Columbus making the trip. 

The Mediapolis and Central Lee girls’ teams will head to Kalona for the Class 2A Region 5B meet today. 

The Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield girls’ teams will compete in the Class 3A Regional on Wednesday, May 21st, at Edmundson Golf Course. 

The boys’ Class 1A District meet for Winfield-Mt. Union, Wapello, and Holy Trinity Catholic will take place at Heritage Oaks in Wapello on Monday, May 19th. 

The boys’ Class 2A District Meet for Mediapolis and Central Lee will take place in Pella on Monday. 

The boys’ Class 3A District meet featuring Washington will be hosted by West Delaware on Monday at Pin Oak Links. 

High School Soccer

Camryn Bailey was unstoppable for the Mediapolis girls’ team last night, notching four goals in a 5-1 victory against Keokuk. The Mediapolis girls’ team will face off against Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union on Wednesday, May 21st, at 7 pm at home for postseason play.

The Fairfield girls’ team escaped Centerville last night with a 2-1 victory, snapping a seven-game winless streak. Emmelia Miller and Lexi Mast picked up the goals for the Trojans. The Fairfield boys’ team will travel to Oskaloosa tonight at 6:30 pm.

The boys’ SEISC tournament semifinals are set for tonight. Mediapolis will take on Highland with the winner advancing to the championship tomorrow, May 17th, at Central Lee at 10 am. #6 Burlington Notre Dame will travel to Central Lee tonight for their semifinal matchup scheduled to start at 7 pm.

The WACO boys’ team will hit the road to take on Sigourney Keota tonight at 5 pm.

The Burlington Notre Dame girls’ team will host Davenport Central tonight at 5 pm.

The Central Lee girls’ team will start Regional play on Monday, May 19th, on the road against Fairfield at 7 pm.

The Wapello girls’ team will face off against Mid-Prairie in the Class 1A Region 3 first round at 7 pm on Monday.

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will compete against Ottumwa on Monday on the road at 4:30 pm.

Southeastern Community College

The Iowa Community College Athletic Association Conference (ICCAC) has released the Division II All-Region Baseball teams and Southeastern Community College’s head coach Justin Schulte took home Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season, while Abrahan Rios was named Defensive Player of the Year.

In his 20th season at the helm for the Blackhawks, the three-time Coach of the Year winner led the team to his second consecutive ICCAC regular season title with a 29-4 record. Additionally, under his leadership, Schulte helped SCC fly as high as being ranked 3rd nationally and currently sit in 6th with a 48-13 record. If the Blackhawks earn an at-large bid for the NJCAA World Series, then it would be their third straight appearance.

Abrahan Rios was a force at the plate with a 0.294 batting average and had the ability to push across runs with 34 RBIs for the season, but he also possessed an elite glove. Rios committed only two errors in 52 games and recorded 228 outs in ICCAC play, which ranked second in the conference.

Michael Farina, Jackson Petsche, Zach Moorman, Keaton Fenn, and Owen Thomson were named to the All-Region First Team.

This Day in Sports History

1957 – NY Yankee players including Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and Hank Bauer are involved in a brawl at the Copacabana nightclub while watching Sammy Davis Jr. perform, leads to the Billy Martin trade.

1984 – Harvey Mackay pays $218,718 for 44,166 tickets to keep the Twins in Minnesota. The Twins sell 51,863 tickets but only 6,346 fans show up for the game.

2019 – Brooks Koepka ties the tournament record and breaks the course record when he shoots a 63 (-7) to lead the PGA Championship by one stroke after the 1st round at Bethpage Black, New York.

West Burlington, IA- The Iowa Community College Athletic Association Conference (ICCAC) has released the Division II All-Region Baseball teams and Southeastern Community College’s head coach Justin Schulte took home Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season, while Abrahan Rios was named Defensive Player of the Year.

In his 20^th season at the helm for the Blackhawks, the three-time Coach of the Year winner led the team to his second consecutive ICCAC regular season title with a 29-4 record after being voted to finish third in the conference this season and needed only three more outs to finish as conference tournament champs.

Additionally, under his leadership, Schulte helped SCC fly as high as being ranked 3^rd nationally and currently sit in 6^th with a 48-13 record. If the Blackhawks earn an at-large bid for the NJCAA World Series, then it would be their third straight appearance.

Abrahan Rios was a force at the plate with a 0.294 batting average and had the ability to push across runs with 34 RBIs for the season, but he also possessed an elite glove. Rios committed only two errors in 52 games and recorded 228 outs in ICCAC play, which ranked second in the conference.

The Blackhawks had five players earn a spot on the All-Region First Team and Second Team, along with one Honorable mention.

Michael Farina took home First Team infielder. The sophomore ranked 5^th in the conference in batting with an 0.379 average as he also slashed 0.497 on-base and 0.612 slugging. He also managed to crush eight home runs and tally 21 doubles on the year, which helped bring home 82 runs. He also sported a 0.959 fielding percentage.

In the outfield was Jackson Petsche, as his 0.985 fielding percentage ranked 8^th in the ICCAC. Additionally, he produced a slash line 0.374/0.494/0.632 with his nine home runs leading the team. Petsche accumulated 66 RBIs for the season.

The Blackhawks got strong seasons on the mound from two freshmen in starting pitcher Keaton Fenn and relief pitcher Zach Moorman. Sophomore Owen Thomson also took home First Team honors as a relief pitcher.

Earning a spot on the All-Region Second Team was: Rios as a catcher, Efrain Osorio as a utility, Caleb Klein as an outfielder, Trey O’Neil as a relief pitcher, and Maddux Frese as a starting pitcher. Andrew Hamlett was an Honorable Mention as a starting pitcher.

Up Next

SCC will find out if they are in the NJCAA World Series on Tuesday, May 20^th, after 4 pm when they announce the brackets and matchups.

Prep Girls’ Soccer- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released their seventh edition of the season’s top 15 rankings and for the first time this year one of our local teams has landed a spot on the exclusive list.

Class 1A

They are untied upon and undefeated, thus, Denver sits atop the rankings with a perfect 14-0-0 record. The only other team without a loss in the top 15 is #12 Maquoketa with a 9-0-1 record, but their strength of schedule hinders their resume. Bishop Heelan and Assumption round out the top three.

St. Albert was the one team to fall down the list from #9 to #14 as they lost three games in-a-row, including a 1-0 loss to #6 Treynor at their home field. The Saintes bounced back on Tuesday night with an 8-2 win over Logan-Magnolia, but they will be tested on Saturday, May 17^th, against #2 Bishop Heelan.

Class 2A

Waverly-Shell Rock entered the season as the team to beat and the best anyone has been to do is force a 0-0 tie—shoutout to Class 1A’s #10 Center Point-Urbana. This highlights a bigger issue for opposing teams, no one has scored against the Go-Hawks this season, including the defending champions and #2 Dallas Center-Grimes.

North Polk is ranked 3^rd in the class but moving down the list the records start to take a bit of a turn from #9 through #14. #9 ADM, #10 North Scott, #11 Bondurant-Farrar, and #14 Indianola all have the displeasure of playing in incredibly tough neighborhoods, resulting in records hovering around 0.500.

The most interesting choice to still rest in the top 15 is Pella. The Dutch deal with both Class 2A and Class 3A talents, which includes a recent 3-1 win over Indianola. However, Pella sports just a 4-6-1 record for the season.

An argument can be made that Fort Madison deserves to be on the list with a 12-1-2 record for the season, outscoring their opponents 74 to 5 in their wins. Especially since they hold an 0-1-1 record against the new #15 team:

Burlington finds their way onto the list for the first time this season, sporting an 11-2-2 record for the year. One of their losses was a shutout against Assumption last Friday 4-0. Beyond the loss, the Grayhounds secured their fourth straight season of at least sharing the Southeast Conference crown, third consecutive year sitting alone on the throne.

Senior Hunter Pender leads the squad in points (50), goals (19), and assists (12), while their goalie tandem of Traeh Pender and Kimberly Nelson sport a save percentage of 83.8%, allowing just 11 goals on the year.

Class 3A

The top five remained unchanged and only #10 Muscatine fell out of the top 8 as the Muskies lost to Davenport Central 4-2 this past Tuesday. Ames’ hiccup against Southeast Polk ejected the Cyclones out of the top 15. The Rams replaced them and hopped up two spots to #11 as they defeated #13 Dowling Catholic and currently ride a five-game win streak.

Despite Pleasant Valley having gone winless in their last five games and currently holding on to a 4-8-2 record, the Spartans cling on to the top 15 by rounding out the list.

More Information

Class 1A Regional soccer will be ready to commence their first round of action of Monday, May 19^th.

For a full look at the rankings, follow the provided link: 7th Edition of Girls’ Soccer Rankings

High School Track

Danville, Columbus, New London, Wapello, and Winfield-Mt. Union will make the trip to WACO for their state qualifying meet tonight.

Mt. Pleasant will host their state qualifying meet tonight with Fairfield and West Burlington/Notre Dame participating. 

Mediapolis will travel to Monticello, Van Buren County will go to Wayne, and Central Lee will make the trip to PCM for their state qualifying meets tonight. 

High School Tennis

The Fairfield boys’ team hosted the District singles and doubles tournament yesterday and the Trojans’ Rumin Luo breezed his way to a district championship without dropping a set. 

In the singles bracket for Mt. Pleasant, Elijah Rynders fell in his first round matchup to the #4 seed Dexter Westbay of Central DeWitt as he went on to finish in 3rd place. Beckham Prough won his first match against Camanche’s Ethan Hudson 6-3 in both sets but was shutout in the second round.

In the doubles tournament for the Panthers, the squad of Sawyer Fulton and Lou Schimmelpfennig defeated the team of Cass and Galusha of Fairfield to advance to the second round, but fell in the tiebreaker 11-9 to end their day. Dane Cook and Max Heater slammed Fort Madison’s duo of Broadhurst and Hennings before losing their second round match 6-2 and 6-4 to Dorsey and Hoerschelmann of Camanche.

Rumin Luo will compete at the State Singles Tournament in Waterloo on May 27th. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will compete against Grinnell for the first round of the team Substate 7 tournament at Kennedy High School on Saturday, May 17th.

The Fairfield boys’ team will face off against Centerville at home on Saturday for their first round matchup for Substate 8.

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will travel back to Fairfield tomorrow, May 16th, for their team Regional Tournament. 

High School Golf

The SEC girls’ teams competed for the conference crown yesterday and Keokuk clinched their second consecutive title with a team score of 367. Mt. Pleasant finished with a 419 as Sophia Walderbach led the Panthers with an 18-hole score of 95. Fairfield carded a 443 for the course. 

The Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield girls’ teams will compete in the Class 3A Regional on Wednesday, May 21st, at Edmundson Golf Course. 

In Class 1A, Winfield-Mt. Union finished as the Sectional champions with a team score of 336 followed by Wapello with a 350. Holy Trinity Catholic snuck past New London to take 3rd place with a score of 387 and will advance to Districts. 

The Wolves were led by Justin Knipfer’s first place card of 78 as Wapello’s Crew Peters won the tiebreaker for runner-up with an 86 along with Konner Kinneberg, Cody Milks, and Nicholas Sparrow of Winfield-Mt. Union. Max Kruse put up a 93 for the Crusaders as Brock Scheetz and Nathan Box each carded a 97.

WACO took 5th place and Danville snatched 6th place. The Bears had Alex Holtkamp and Graylon Walker, a personal best, each shoot an 89 to lead the squad, leading to the pair advancing to Districts as individuals. 

The District meet will take place at Heritage Oaks in Wapello on Monday, May 19th. 

Mediapolis almost grabbed the Sectional crown, but settled for the silver with a team score of 322 as Central Lee also advanced with the 3rd best team score of 327. Albia took the top spot with a 321. Caleb Larson for Central Lee led the local teams with a round of 75 followed by Mediapolis’ Max Griffin’s score of 78. 

Columbus was led by Kason Dopler’s 92 as the team finished in 8th place with a team score of 416. Van Buren County claimed 5th place with a 363. 

The Class 2A District Meet for Mediapolis and Central Lee will take place in Pella on Monday. 

The Mt. Pleasant and Burlington Notre Dame boys’ teams made the trip to Washington yesterday and the hosts were able to advance to Districts with a 2nd place score of 316 along with Solon and West Liberty. The Nikes grabbed 4th place with a team score of 333 and Mt. Pleasant finished in 7th place with a 365. Keokuk’s Mason Baker advanced as an individual as he shot a 79. 

The Fairfield boys’ team took 7th place at the Knoxville sectional with Pella, Knoxville, and Newton claiming the top three spots, respectively. Archer Kreuter took home an 86 for the Trojans. 

The Class 3A District meet will be hosted by West Delaware on Monday at Pin Oak Links. 

The girls’ Class 1A Region 5 meet will take place tomorrow in Wapello with Winfield-Mt. Union, WACO, New London, Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, and Columbus making the trip. 

The Mediapolis and Central Lee girls’ teams will head to Kalona for the Class 2A Region 5B meet tomorrow. 

High School Soccer

The Mediapolis girls’ team will compete against Keokuk tonight at 5 pm on the road. 

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will make the trip to Burlington Notre Dame tonight at 5 pm.

Fairfield will compete against Centerville tonight in a road doubleheader with the girls’ team leading off the night at 5:30 pm. 

The boys’ SEISC tournament semifinals are set for tomorrow, May 16th. Mediapolis will take on Highland with the winner advancing to the championship on Saturday, May 17th, at Central Lee at 10 am. #6 Burlington Notre Dame will travel to Central Lee tomorrow for their semifinal matchup scheduled to start at 7 pm.

The WACO boys’ team will hit the road to take on Sigourney Keota tomorrow at 5 pm.

The Central Lee girls’ team will start Regional play on Monday, May 19th, on the road against Fairfield at 7 pm.

The Wapello girls’ team will face off against Mid-Prairie in the Class 1A Region 3 first round at 7 pm on Monday.

This Day in Sports History

1941 – New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio starts his 56-game hitting streak as he tallied the only RBI, in a 13-1 loss to the visiting Chicago White Sox.

1959 – Massachusetts marks the 100th anniversary of the first college baseball game, between Amherst and Williams. The teams reenact the original contest.

2010 – Jessica Watson at age 16 becomes the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world.

High School Track

Danville, Columbus, New London, Wapello, and Winfield-Mt. Union will make the trip to WACO for their state qualifying meet tomorrow, May 15th.

Mt. Pleasant will host their state qualifying meet tomorrow with Fairfield and West Burlington/Notre Dame participating. 

Mediapolis will travel to Monticello, Van Buren County will go to Wayne, and Central Lee will make the trip to PCM for their state qualifying meets tomorrow. 

High School Tennis

The Fairfield boys’ team will host the District singles and doubles tournament today with Mt. Pleasant making the trip.

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will travel back to Fairfield on Friday, May 16th, for their team Regional Tournament. 

High School Golf

The SEC girls’ teams will compete in their tournament today.

In Class 1A, Winfield-Mt. Union will host their Sectional meet today with Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, New London, WACO, and Wapello making the trip. 

Mediapolis, Central Lee, Columbus, and Van Buren County will make the trip to Pella for their Class 2A sectional meet today. 

The Mt. Pleasant and Burlington Notre Dame boys’ teams will head to Washington, while the Fairfield boys’ team will make the trip to Knoxville for their Class 3A District Qualifiers today. 

The girls’ Class 1A Region 5 meet will take place on Friday in Wapello with Winfield-Mt. Union, WACO, New London, Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, and Columbus making the trip. 

The Mediapolis and Central Lee girls’ teams will head to Kalona for the Class 2A Region 5B meet on Friday. 

High School Soccer

The boys’ SEISC tournament got underway yesterday with Mediapolis and Burlington Notre Dame hosting a pair of games and the semifinals are now set for Friday, May 16th. 

At Mediapolis, Highland defeated Hillcrest Academy for the first time since 2017, despite trailing 2 to 0 at halftime, winning 3-2 in extratime. Seth Ours tallied an assist for both goals for the Ravens.

In the nightcap game, Mediapolis shutout WACO 3-0 as the Bulldogs look to defend their SEISC championship. Mediapolis will take on Highland with the winner advancing to the championship on Saturday, May 17th, at Central Lee at 10 am.

Over in Burlington, the Nikes displayed why they are ranked #6 in Class 2A in a 10-0 trouncing of Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union to start off the night. Alessandro Markomichelakis netted four goals in the thunderous victory. 

Central Lee and Danville were locked in a tight battle after a second half goal by the Bears tied the game at one, eventually leading to penalty kicks, which the Hawks would exit on top of for the 2-1 victory. Peter Seyb had the lone goal for Central Lee. 

#6 Burlington Notre Dame will travel to Central Lee on Friday for their semifinal matchup scheduled to start at 7 pm.

The Central Lee girls’ team had no answers for Fort Madison last night, losing 10-0. The Hawks will start Regional play on Monday, May 19th, on the road against Fairfield at 7 pm.

The WACO boys’ team will hit the road to take on Sigourney Keota on Friday at 5 pm.

The Mediapolis girls’ team will compete against Keokuk tomorrow, May 15th, at 5 pm on the road. 

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will make the trip to Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow at 5 pm.

Fairfield will compete against Centerville tomorrow in a road doubleheader with the girls’ team leading off the night at 5:30 pm. 

The Wapello girls’ team will face off against Mid-Prairie in the Class 1A Region 3 first round at 7 pm on Monday.

High School Postseason Soccer

The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) released the postseason brackets and here’s the matchups for our local teams.

In Class 1A Substate 5, Danville and WACO will face off against one another in round one, which is slated to start at 7 pm on Tuesday, May 20th. The winner will take on West Liberty. In the bottom half of the bracket, Mediapolis earned a bye and will await the winner between Central Lee and Sigourney Keota, on May 27th.

In Class 2A Substate 5, Burlington Notre Dame earned the #1 seed and a first-round bye. The Nikes will compete against either Assumption or Solon. On the bottom half of the bracket, Wapello will take on Central DeWitt. 

Over in Substate 6, Fairfield will host Centerville in the first round with the winner advancing to play Mt. Pleasant on May 27th.

In Class 3A Substate 4, Burlington will play Clinton in the play-in game, while in Substate 6 Fort Madison will travel to Mt. Vernon for their second round matchup.

This Day in Sports History

1906 – The flagpole at the White Sox ballpark breaks during the pennant-raising.

1995 – At 43 years, 162 days Manchester City goalkeeper John Burridge becomes the oldest player to appear in an English Premier League match, a 3-2 home defeat to Queens Park Rangers.

2016 – Gabriel Medina becomes the first surfer ever to land the move “Backflip” in competition.