Author: Slaten Swords

Burlington, IA- The Flint Hills Golf Course housed seven teams yesterday for the 18-hole Nike Co-Ed Invitational yesterday with the Central Lee boys’ team and the Highland girls’ team hoisting their respective titles by the end of the meet.

Girls Tournament

The Huskies touted the two best individual scores of the day with Emersyn Schultz shooting an 81 and Adusyn Prottsman carding an 84. Both golfers sported 3-over rounds on the back-nine. Highland finished with a team score of 389 as all five golfers touted scores within the top 21 spots.

Fort Madison finished in 2^nd place with a team score of 412. Leading the Bloodhounds was the duo of Ava Taylor and Kylie Lumino as Taylor shot a 96 and Lumino a 97 with mirror-like scores between the front and back nines.

Van Buren County finished with the bronze with a team score of 428 followed by Mt. Pleasant with a team mark of 432. Sophia Jirak touted the sixth best score of the day with a 99 through the 18 holes.

The Panthers were the definition of consistent with Izzy Zihlman, Sophia Walderbach, and Vivian Cornell each shot a 110, but Ashlynn Beauchamp led the squad with a 102.

Emersyn Hopkins of Notre Dame/West Burlington tied for the third best score, individually with a 96, shooting a 44 on the first nine holes—one of just four players to shoot under 50. The Nikes tabbed a team score of 454.

Winfield-Mt. Union’s duo of Kelle Milks and Ashlyn Bender each finished with a round of 113, while Danville had Aubrey Nahorny card a 119 to lead the Bears with Marley Garland taking home a 130.

Boys Tournament

In a showdown between Central Lee and Winfield-Mt. Union, the two squads made up six of the seven best scores on the course, but it was the Hawks that touted Carter Jones, who shot par (71) for the course, that led the to victory for Central Lee with a team score of 303.

Helping the flock was Caleb Larson and Mylan Lowenberg each notching a round score of 77 (+6), while Bo Herdrich finished seven-over for the 18-hole course.

The Wolves had Justin Knipfer tab a 76, the second-best individual score of the day, with Konner Kinneberg taking home a 79. Cody Milks and Nick Sparrow’s 82 helped Winfield-Mt. Union take home the silver with a team score of 319.

Mt. Pleasant finished in 3^rd place with a total score of 328. Brody Engle nabbed a 77 (+6) to tie for the third-best score of the meet. Alex Barton shot an 82 followed by Logan Calhoun and Merrick Lamm, taking home scores of 84 and 85, respectively.

Mason Watkins ended the day strong with a back-nine score of 39 to lead the Nikes with an 83 for the course. Sam Yonker (87) and Kaiden Dietzenbach (88) each carded a sub-90 round to outpace Van Buren County 348 to 355.

Leo Jirak led the Warriors as he finished in 8^th place individually, notching an 81 (+10). Will Cocherell managed to finish sub-90 with an 89 for the 18 holes.

Danville had Alex Holtkamp and Mattix Furnald pace the squad with a round of 87 and 88, respectively, as the Bears finished with a team score of 424, while Highland’s best golfer was Issac Giesman with an 18-hole final of 118.

High School Track

Mt. Pleasant traveled to Williamsburg to participate in a Co-Ed Invitational last night with the girls’ team grabbing 5th place with 52 team points and the boys’ team taking 14th place with 20 team points. Leading the girls’ team was Alex Scott in the 100-meter dash with a 2nd place time of 12.86 seconds, while Kynlee White nabbed 4th place in the 200-meter dash. White and Scott were joined by Ellie Freeman and Kiyah Sanders in the 4×200 with the squad taking 2nd place with a time of 1 minute and 46 seconds, while Taylor Williamson joined Sanders, Scott, and White for the 4×100 with a gold medal time of 50.56 seconds. In the field events, Ella Ensminger won the shot put with a heave of 38 feet and 9 inches. 

On the boys side, Jack Newman finished in 4th place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 58.48 seconds and Avin Truong collected six points of his own with an 8th place finish in the 100-meter dash and a 4th place leap of 6 feet in the high jump. The shuttle hurdle relay team of Newman, Kaden Schadt, Gavin Kerr, and Keegan Heaton took 5th place, while Truong and Kerr were joined by Ryan Helling and Griffen Jones for a 6th place finish in the 4×100 meter relay. 

The Fairfield girls’ team hosted their own relays last night and Fort Madison took home 1st place with 120 points followed by the Trojans with 84 points. For Fairfield, the 800-medley relay team snatched 1st place with a time of 1 minute and 59 seconds. Lily Bergren sprinted to a 1st place time of 16.99 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles and with that success the Trojans finished in 1st place in the shuttle hurdle relay and the 400-meter hurdles with Ireland Cranston logging a time of 1 minute and 14 seconds. 

Central Lee collected 23 points as Allison Gruntmeir’s 2nd place time of 18.36 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles led the Hawks. 

The Trojan boys’ team narrowly won the Dennis Anderson Relays last night, outpacing Davis County with 141 points versus the Mustangs’ 139. Gabe Tejada won the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.38 seconds. The Trojans dominated the hurdles with Ryan Giberson taking the 110-meter hurdles and Dylan Adam taking the 400-meter hurdles by two-tenths of a second (58.64 seconds). Fairfield grabbed 1st place in the 4×400, the sprint medley, and the shuttle hurdle relays. In the field events, Eli Zillman leapt to a 1st place finish in the long jump with a distance of 21 feet-even, while Giberson won the high jump with a height of 6 feet and 6 inches. 

Mt. Pleasant, Wapello, WACO, and Fairfield will compete in the Demon Relays tomorrow, April 10th. 

Mediapolis, Danville, West Burlington/Notre Dame, Wapello, and Winfield-Mt. Union participated in the Dave Aamodt Relays last night and here’s some of the highlights. On the boys side, the Bulldogs won the meet with 135.5 points. Henry Luttenegger took the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.54 seconds. Gannon Gunn hopped his way to the gold in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.72 seconds. Mediapolis grabbed 1st place in the 4×200 and shuttle hurdle relays. In the field events, Lathan Keller and West Burlington/Notre Dame’s Mason Watkins tied for 1st place in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet. 

Winfield-Mt. Union took the bronze with 82 points, while Danville finished in 4th place with 77.5 points followed by West Burlington/Notre Dame with 56 points. The Wolves were led by Kohlby Newsom’s 1st place time of 1 minute and 54 seconds in the 800-meter run and the 1600-meter run with a time of 4 minutes and 39 seconds. That endurance helped in the distance medley with a 1st place time of 4 minutes and 3 seconds. Cooper Buffington edged out Wapello’s Kolton Small in the shot put with a winning heave of 46 feet and 7.75 inches. Small would go on to win the discus with a toss of 140 feet and 2 inches.

Danville won the 4×400 and sprint medley relays, while Jackson Shacklett paced his way to the win in the 3200-meter run with a time of 9 minutes and 48 seconds. Logan Hamma took 1st place in the 400-meter hurdles for the Falcons.

On the girls’ side, Mediapolis finished in 2nd place with 101 points, while Danville’s 77 points were good enough for 4th place. The Bulldogs had Kira Messer win the 100-meter dash. The Bulldogs grabbed 1st place in the distance medley and shuttle hurdle relays.

The Bears were led by Alaina Gourley’s 1st place time of 1 minute in the 400-meter dash and a gold medal time of 1 minute and 11 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles. Danville also won the sprint medley. Winfield-Mt. Union’s Josie Nelson took the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.40 seconds. Wapello’s Natalee Marks won the shot put with a throw of 30 feet and 7 inches. 

New London, Danville, Mediapolis, and Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to West Burlington/Notre Dame to compete in the Co-Ed Falcon Relays tomorrow.

The WACO relays ran yesterday and the Columbus boys’ team won the meet with 143 points, while the Van Buren County girls’ team took home the crown with 111 points. Starting with the girls, Rylee Phillips grabbed 1st place in the 1500-meter run and 3000-meter run. The Warriors squad won the distance medley relay. 

WACO took home 82 points for 4th place as Carlee Lunsford won the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 32 seconds and the 4×400 meter relay team snatched their win with a time of 4 minutes and 37 seconds.

On the boys side, Columbus took the 4×100 and 4×800 meter relays. Itai Zapiensz won the shot put and Fritz Figaro grabbed the discus with a heave of 124 feet and 9 inches. Van Buren County, who took 2nd place with 95 points, had Lincoln Bainbridge outsprint the field in the 800-meter run and Jace Duncan win the 400-meter hurdles. The Warriors also won the sprint medley relay. WACO found success in the field events with Hayden Shelman taking the long jump with a leap of 21 feet as New London’s London Franklin finished in 2nd place with a distance of 20 feet and 8 inches and Louden Huisenga taking the high jump with a height of 5 feet and 10 inches. 

High School Tennis

Mt. Pleasant will compete against Fort Madison tomorrow, April 10th, with the boys at home and the girls on the road.

Fairfield will face off against Burlington tomorrow with the boys on the road and the girls at home.

High School Golf

Central Lee will travel to Holy Trinity Catholic tomorrow, April 10th. 

The next boys’ SEC meet will take place tomorrow at Fort Madison, while the girls’ teams will make the trip to Fairfield. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will compete against Columbus tomorrow at home.

Wapello will take on Highland tomorrow on the road.

Danville will face off against Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow at Flint Hills Golf Course.

Mediapolis will square off against Louisa-Muscatine on Friday, April 11th, at home.

WACO will travel to Hillcrest Academy on Friday.

New London will host Central Lee on April 15th. 

High School Soccer

The Central Lee girls’ team lost to Mid-Prairie last night 6-0, while the boys’ team snuck past WACO 3-2 as Peter Seyb netted two goals for the Hawks.  

Central Lee will be back in action on Friday, April 11th, at 5 pm with the girls’ team facing off against Washington at home and the boys’ team competing against Sigourney Keota on the road. 

The WACO boys’ team will travel to Hillcrest Academy tomorrow, April 10th, at 6 pm. 

The Mediapolis girls’ team fell to Fairfield last night 2-0. The Bulldogs will square off against Tipton tomorrow at home with gametime at 5:30 pm.

The Wapello boys’ team will host Highland tomorrow at 5 pm.

The Burlington Notre Dame girls’ team will take on Monmouth-Roseville on the road tomorrow at 5 pm, while the boys’ team will travel to Solon on Friday, April 11th, at 5:30 pm.

Mt. Pleasant will square off against Fairfield tomorrow with the boys’ team making the trip west at 5 pm and the girls’ team playing at home at 4:30 pm.

Columbus will face off against Mid-Prairie at the Muscatine Sports Complex tomorrow with the girls’ team playing first at 5 pm.

The Danville boys’ team will take on Mediapolis tomorrow at home with gametime at 5:30 pm.

Southeastern Community College                                                     

The softball team will face off against Indian Hills Community College today in a doubleheader.

The #4 baseball team fended off Ellsworth Community College last night 6-3 to extend their win streak to 14 games. The Blackhawks will travel to Des Moines Area Community College tomorrow, April 10th. 

This Day in Sports History

1912 – The first exhibition baseball game at Fenway Park (Red Sox vs Harvard).

1941 – The PGA establishes the Golf Hall of Fame.

1965 – First baseball game at Houston Astrodome, Astros beat NY Yankees 2-1 in exhibition as Mickey Mantle hits MLB’s 1st indoor homerun; US President Lyndon Johnson and wife Lady Bird attend.

High School Track

Mt. Pleasant will compete in the Williamsburg Co-Ed invitational tonight.

The Fairfield girls’ team will host their relays tonight with Central Lee making the trip, while the Trojan boys’ team will participate in the Dennis Anderson relays.  

Mediapolis will host the Dave Aamodt Relays tonight with Danville, Wapello, West Burlington/Notre Dame, and Winfield-Mt. Union making the journey.

The WACO relays are scheduled for tonight with New London, Van Buren County, and Columbus competing.

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team had their home opener spoiled by Keokuk last night, losing a tight meet 5-4. Lila Cook collected her first Varsity win in singles over Elizabeth Stanbaugh 8-1 and Hannah Villaplaza won her singles match 8-2. The pair of Cook and Villaplaza also won their doubles match 8-5. Hali Crane and Zoey Carlsen combined to win a 9-8 nailbiter, which ended in a 12-10 tiebreaker in the favor of the Panthers. 

The boys’ team executed their second sweep of the season over Keokuk on the road last night. Mt. Pleasant will compete against Fort Madison on Thursday, April 10th, with the boys at home and the girls on the road.

Fairfield will face off against Burlington on Thursday with the boys on the road and the girls at home.

High School Golf

The Central Lee girls’ team lost a close match against Mediapolis last night 257-267. Marie Young led the Hawks with a 9-hole score of 62. The boys’ team had better luck against the Bulldogs, coming out on top 165-177 as Carson Morrison and Mylan Lowenberg each carded a 40 for the course. Central Lee will travel to Holy Trinity Catholic on Thursday, April 10th. 

Mediapolis will square off against Louisa-Muscatine on Friday, April 11th, at home.

The New London girls’ team outdueled Danville yesterday 206-254 as Karlee Furnald tabbed a 60 for the Bears. The Danville boys’ team carded a score of 208 against the Tigers with Mattix Furnald shooting a 42. New London will host Central Lee on April 15th. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team traveled to Fairfield yesterday for their first SEC meet of the year and finished in 2nd place with a score of 163 with Washington taking home a team score of 153. The Panthers were led by Brody Engle and Merrick Lamm as the duo shot a 38 and 39, respectively, through nine holes. Fairfield finished in 3rd place as Archer Kreuter carded a 41. Washington’s Drew Conrad paced the field with a 36.

The next boys’ SEC meet will take place on Thursday at Fort Madison. 

Wapello split their matchup against Hillcrest Academy yesterday with the girls’ team winning 211-248 and the boys losing 170-192. The girls were led by Emma Gerhardt’s 46 and the boys’ team had Barrett Garrison card a 44. Wapello will take on Highland on Thursday on the road.

Burlington Notre Dame will host the Nike Invitational with Danville, Central Lee, Van Buren County, Mt. Pleasant, and Winfield-Mt. Union competing today.

Columbus will take on Lone Tree today at home. 

WACO will travel to Hillcrest Academy on Friday.

High School Soccer

Central Lee swept Keokuk last night as the girls’ team snuck past the Chiefs 2-1 and the boys’ team walloped Keokuk 9-2 as Colton Taft nabbed two goals and three assists in the win for the boys. The Central Lee girls’ team will host Mid-Prairie tonight at 5 pm.

The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team withstood Burlington’s second half comeback attempt to win 3-2 in the road showdown. The Burlington Notre Dame girls’ team lost to the Grayhounds 3-0. The Burlington Notre Dame girls’ team will take on Monmouth-Roseville on the road on Thursday, April 10th, at 5 pm, while the boys’ team will travel to Solon on Friday, April 11th, at 5:30 pm.

Mt. Pleasant took care of business against Columbus last night with the girls’ team winning 10-0 and the boys’ team crushing the Wildcats 9-0. Dylan White, Akbar Wilson, and Samuel Schaapen each netted two goals as White added two assists in the winning effort. The Panthers will square off against Fairfield on Thursday with the boys’ team making the trip west at 5 pm and the girls’ team playing at home at 4:30 pm.

The WACO boys’ team fell to Fairfield last night 4-1 with Chaz Wohnoutka scoring a goal and totaling three assists in the win for the Trojans. The Warriors will hit the road to face off against Central Lee tonight at 7 pm.

The Mediapolis girls’ team will square off against Fairfield tonight on the road. 

Wapello will travel to compete against Cedar Valley Christian tonight with the girls’ team playing first at 5 pm.

The Danville boys’ team will take on Mediapolis on Thursday at home with gametime at 5:30 pm.

Southeastern Community College                                                     

The softball team will face off against Indian Hills Community College tomorrow, April 9th, in a doubleheader.

The baseball team will host Ellsworth Community College today at 4 pm. The Blackhawks moved up the NJCAA Division II Baseball ranks to #4 in this week’s poll. The squad is currently on a 13-game win streak, winning their contests by an average of 8.6 runs per game.

March Madness

The KILJ bracket challenge, sponsored by The Press Box and Wiley’s Interior Furnishings and Design, is officially over as Florida claimed their program’s third national championship after defeating Houston last night 65-63. Walter Clayton Jr. was named Most Outstanding Player. 

You can find the updated standings here: KILJ Bracket Challenge Standings

This Day in Sports History

1974 – Hammerin’ Hank Aaron hits his 715th home run off of L.A. Dodger Al Downing, breaking Babe Ruth’s record in Atlanta.

1975 – Cleveland’s Frank Robinson debuts as the first African American baseball manager. He also batted second, belting a home run as his club defeated the New York Yankees 5-3. 

2014 – Mike Babcock wins his 414th career game as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, becoming the winningest coach in Red Wings history. He passed Jack Adams, who the coaches award is named after.

March Madness- What a game, what a tournament, and what a finish. The 2025 men’s basketball national champion has been crowned along with KILJ’s Bracket Challenge winner as 15 brackets (33%) accurately predicted this year’s titleholder.

What Happened

Florida had last been a national champion in 2007, which capped off consecutive years of finishing atop the mountain. For Houston, it was an opportunity for the Cougars to reign in their first championship in program history as they hadn’t been to the dance since the mid-1980s.

In a matchup of Houston’s dynamic defense and Florida’s unstoppable offense, it was the Cougars that controlled the tempo. Houston limited the Gators to just 28 first half points, resulting in a three-point lead at the break for the Cougars.

A J’Wan Roberts jumper even had Houston holding on to a 42 to 30 lead five minutes into the second half. Yet, Florida clawed their way back into the game, tying the game on a Walter Clayton free throw with 7:54 remaining in the game.

Then the two heavyweights traded blows until Houston grabbed a 63 to 62 lead with 2:05 to play in the game and that lead stuck for over a minute. Then Alijan Martin made both free throws to take the lead with Will Richard nabbed the ball back for the Gators, leading to Denzel Aberdeen nailing one free throw to give the Gators a 65 to 63 lead with 19 seconds remaining.

Again, it was the Florida defense that slammed the door, causing a turnover at the buzzer as Houston could not generate a last-second shot opportunity. The Gators are champions for the third time in their program’s history and the first time in 18 years, taking down Houston 65-63.

For the KILJ Bracket Challenge, Karen Brimhall is the champion with Terry McWilliams taking second place and Zoey Freeman, who was in 15^th place before the Final Four, nabbing third place.

Brimhall was always near the top of the list as she went on an absolute tear from the second round to the National Championship game, accurately predicting 27 of the final 31 games. McWilliams nabbed 25 of the final 31 games, while Freeman went 13 of the final 15.

The most impressive climb belongs to Allie Liechty-Hultman as her bracket went from 40^th place after the first two rounds to being one of just four brackets to collect at least 300 points this year.

KILJ would like to thank The Press Box and Wiley’s Interior Furnishings and Design for sponsoring our bracket challenge this year and we would like to thank all of you for participating! You have a year to study up for KILJ’s Bracket Challenge in 2026!

Standings

1. Karen Brimhall: 346
2. Terry McWilliams: 340
3. Zoey Freeman: 324
4. Allie Liechty-Hultman: 318
5. Josh Moon: 298
6. Tim Liechty: 296
7. Julie Liechty: 296
8. Jeff Broeg: 292
9. Depot Divas: 292
10. Abbie Leichty: 290

West Burlington, IA- The Southeastern Community College (SCC) baseball team’s 13-game winning streak moved the Blackhawks up one spot to #4 in week five of the NJCAA Division II Baseball Poll.

Sporting a 28-6 record, the Blackhawks could not stop scoring over their past five games of their streak, averaging 12 runs per game and winning by at least five runs in every contest. Two of their five wins came against previously ranked #12—now #19—Kirkwood Community College.

The Blackhawks have been on a different level at the plate, smacking 14 doubles and hitting 11 home runs over their past two series. Of course, their pitching has kept up to task, allowing two runs or less in three of the five contests.

Since losing four consecutive games in early March, SCC has gone 18-1 over the course of the past month. The Blackhawks will host Ellsworth Community College tomorrow, April 8^th, at 4 pm.

Prep Football- The Iowa High School Athletic Association released the football schedules for the 2025 and 2026 regular seasons with Classes 2A, 1A, A, and Eight-Player teams having the possibility to add a ninth game if they do not qualify for the postseason. Here’s a look at our local schools for 2025.

Class 4A

Burlington will start the year with a home matchup against rival Fort Madison then hit the road to take on Oskaloosa and Washington. The Grayhounds will face off against Keokuk in week four to end out non-district play.

For district play, Burlington will square off against Clinton then alternate road and home matchups against Davenport West, Davenport North, North Scott, and Western Dubuque.

Full List of Schedules: Class 4A Schedules

Class 3A

District four houses five of the six Southeast Conference squads with Solon filling in that last spot.

For Mt. Pleasant, the Panthers kick off the year at home against Mediapolis, who has made consecutive runs in the postseason, with back-to-back road games against Knoxville and Oskaloosa to make up weeks two and three. A home contest against Central DeWitt will end out non-district play.

Three of the Panthers’ five district games will be on the road with a home matchup against Washington getting it started. Mt. Pleasant will then head down to Lee County for the next two weeks with games against Fort Madison and Keokuk. Week 8 will see the Panthers take on Solon at home, then end the season on the road against Fairfield.

Fairfield will travel to Benton Community to kickoff the season. The Trojans will stay at home against Centerville and Mediapolis, then travel west to Knoxville. Fairfield will then face off against Solon to start district play at home. Washington and Fort Madison will greet Fairfield, then the Trojans will end the season at home against Keokuk and Mt. Pleasant.

Full List of Schedules: Class 3A Schedules

Class 2A

Mediapolis has a tough row to sow in non-district play with each game having the Bulldogs punch up to Class 3A. A road game against Mt. Pleasant, a home game against Keokuk, and a road showdown against Fairfield will populate the schedule for the first three weeks.

District play will pit Mediapolis against West Burlington/Notre Dame in Burlington, then a home contests against Wilton and West Liberty. A road game against Mid-Prairie and a final home game against Central Lee will end out the season.

West Burlington/Notre Dame will take on a familiar foe in Danville at home to kickoff the season. Then the Falcons fly away from home the following weeks with matchups against Fort Madison and Keokuk to round out non-district play.

After Mediapolis, WB/ND will alternate home and road games with a road showdown against Central Lee, a home game against Wilton, then a repeat of the pattern against West Liberty and Mid-Prairie to end out the season.

Lastly, Central Lee will host their first two opponents in Van Buren County and Albia before hitting the road to take on Fort Madison and West Liberty. Consecutive home games provide a reprieve in opponents of West Burlington/Notre Dame and Mid-Prairie. The Hawks will then stay on the road to tangle with Wilton and Mediapolis.

Full List of Schedules: Class 2A Schedules

Class A

District five will house a majority of our local teams including a newcomer in New London after nearly a decade of Eight-Player football. Starting with the Tigers, New London will host Cardinal to kickoff the season, then travel to Pekin and Highland before heading back home to take on Wapello.

The Tigers will then travel to Columbus, face off against Danville at home, take on BGM on the road, then tango with Van Buren County at home to end the season in mid-October.

Wapello will have to be road warriors to start the season with three of their first four contests away from home. Wapello will travel to Louisa-Muscatine before getting a home game against Highland.

Then its back on the road to square off against Pekin and New London. North Cedar and Columbus will make the trip to Wapello before the squad packs up to Van Buren County in week 7. Wapello’s final matchup will be a home game against Danville.

Columbus will host BGM and Van Buren County to start the season. Road trips to Danville and North Linn make up weeks three and four, respectively. The Wildcats will then take on New London at home before back-to-back road games against Wapello and Highland. Pekin will be their final contest in a home contest.

Van Buren County won’t see a home game until week three against Cardinal with matchups against Central Lee and Columbus getting the season going. The Warriors will stay at home against Danville in week 4 before traveling to Pekin.

Van Buren County will then square off against Highland and Wapello at home before taking on New London on the road.

Lastly, Danville will head east to compete against West Burlington/Notre Dame before facing off against Louisa-Muscatine and Columbus at home. The remaining schedule will trade off away and home games in that order with their opponents being Van Buren County, Highland, New London, Pekin, and Wapello.

Full List of Schedules: Class A Schedules

Eight-Player

WACO and Winfield-Mt. Union rest in district 5 along with Iowa Valley as these three squads have traded off being District Champion for the past three seasons.

WACO will square off against Central City, a team they went 2-0 against last year, on the road to start the season. The Warriors will stay on the road to square off against Winfield-Mt. Union with WACO winning last season’s contest. The WACO squad will then host HLV and Lone Tree.

The Warriors will face off against Belle Plaine on the road, then consecutive home games against English Valleys and Springville before ending the season in a road contest against Iowa Valley.

Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to Easton Valley before hosting their rival in WACO. The Wolves will hit the road to compete against English Valleys before staying at home for two weeks against Wayne and Iowa Valley.

Winfield-Mt. Union will battle HLV and Lone Tree on the road before wrapping up the season against Belle Plaine at home.

Full List of Schedules: Eight-Player Schedules

More

The 2026 schedules flip who will host the game. Week one is scheduled to kickoff on August 29^th with dates subject to change.

High School Track

Mt. Pleasant will compete in the Williamsburg Co-Ed invitational tomorrow, April 8th. 

The Fairfield girls’ team will host their relays tomorrow with Central Lee making the trip, while the Trojan boys’ team will participate in the Dennis Anderson relays.  

Mediapolis will host the Dave Aamodt Relays tomorrow with Danville, Wapello, West Burlington/Notre Dame, and Winfield-Mt. Union making the journey.

The WACO relays are scheduled for tomorrow with New London, Van Buren County, and Columbus competing.

High School Tennis

Mt. Pleasant will square off against Keokuk tonight with the girls’ team hosting the Chiefs and the boys’ team hitting the road. 

Fairfield will face off against Burlington on Thursday, April 10th, with the boys on the road and the girls at home.

High School Golf

Central Lee will host Mediapolis today.

Van Buren County will venture to Holy Trinity Catholic for a showdown today. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to WACO today for a duel.

Danville will square off against New London today at home. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will compete in an SEC meet at Fairfield today, while the girls’ team will travel to Washington for their SEC showdown. 

Burlington Notre Dame will host the Nike Invitational with Danville, Central Lee, and Winfield-Mt. Union competing tomorrow, April 8th. 

Columbus will take on Lone Tree tomorrow at home. 

High School Soccer

Central Lee will travel to Keokuk tonight with the girls’ team playing at 5 pm with the boys’ team to follow at 7 pm.

Burlington Notre Dame will take on Burlington tonight in a road matchup with the girls playing first at 5 pm.

Mt. Pleasant will host Columbus tonight with the girls’ team playing first at 4:15 pm and the boys’ team to follow.

The WACO boys’ team will tangle with Fairfield tonight at home at 5 pm.

The Mediapolis girls’ team will square off against Fairfield tomorrow, April 8th, on the road. 

Wapello will travel to compete against Cedar Valley Christian tomorrow at 7 pm.

The Danville boys’ team will take on Mediapolis on Thursday, April 10th, at home with gametime at 5:30 pm.

Southeastern Community College                                                     

The softball team had their series against St. Louis Community College canceled over the weekend. The Blackhawks will face off against Indian Hills Community College on Wednesday, April 9th, in a doubleheader.

The baseball team continued their winning ways over the weekend with a three-game series sweep of Iowa Lakes Community College. Game one saw the Blackhawks take down the Lakers 18-8 as Caleb Klein destroyed the ball at the plate with a double, a home run, and two RBIs, but it was Connor Gaitens who walloped two home runs and tabbed four RBIs. Andrew Hamlett picked up the win on the mound for game two in a 9-2 final and the squad handled business in game three, winning 18-1. The Blackhawks will host Ellsworth Community College tomorrow, April 8th, at 4 pm.

March Madness

The KILJ bracket challenge, sponsored by The Press Box and Wiley’s Interior Furnishings and Design, is gearing up for a fantastic finish with the championship game slated to start at 7:50 pm tonight. Florida is eyeing their first National Championship since they repeated in 2006 and 2007, while Houston aims to win their program’s first title.

You can find the updated standings here: KILJ Bracket Challenge Standings

This Day in Sports History

1943 – The NFL adopted the free substitution rule; helmets are made mandatory and a 10-game schedule for all teams was approved.

1958 – The Dodgers erect a 42-foot screen in left field at the LA Coliseum to cut down on home runs, since it is only 250 feet down the left field line.

1969 – Dodgers’ Bill Singer was credited with the first official save against the Cincinnati Reds.

Mount Pleasant, IA- Heartbreak City was the destination for most over half of the brackets for KILJ’s challenge after a Final Four that featured all four #1-seeds, a feat that has occurred just twice in March Madness history. An upset might not have happened on the hardcourt, but the hurt was felt in our rankings.

What Happened

This Final Four was one for the ages, which included two comeback victories and record setting moments. For one squad its an opportunity to reclaim glory from nearly two decades ago, while another searches for their first national championship and their first trip since 1984.

For the Florida Gators, halftime provide relief for what was an Auburn Tiger run that put them up nine points at the break. Yet, Walter Clayton Jr. continued his dominating ways, finishing with 34 points and knocking down five threes as the Gators snuck away with the 79-73 victory.

Clayton became the first player since Larry Bird to tally consecutive 30-point games this deep into the tournament. Florida, the SEC champion, is returning to the championship game for the first time since grabbing consecutive titles in 2006 and 2007.

Meeting the Gators will be the Houston Cougars after Duke surrendered a 9-0 run in the final 35 seconds, falling 70-67. The Blue Devils were outscored 28 to 11 in the final 12 minutes of the contest.

L.J. Cryer downed 26 points with six three-pointers in the winning effort for the Cougars. Duke’s Cooper Flagg, the Player of the Year, scored 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a run that ended one game short to cap off a spectacular freshman season.

Houston attended the championship game in 1983 and 1984 but will be attempting to nab their first title in program history tonight at 7:50 pm on CBS.

In terms of KILJ’s Bracket Challenge, eight brackets accurately guessed the championship game with seven picking Florida to win the title. Austin Buckert was the only one to pick Houston in the matchup.

Amazingly, 22 brackets still have a champion in play with 16 picking Florida; however, choosing Houston does not guarantee victory or even a top three finish with how well the top 10 has gone about choosing their winners up to this point.

Now, who were the biggest movers? Let’s start with the unfortunate; Wanda Broeker went from unstoppable to unlucky in the matter of a Saturday night. Her 230 points led the rankings, now those 230 points have her sitting in 14^th place and with no chance of advancement after selecting Auburn and Duke to dance.

Her desire to best her husband in the challenge will have to wait until next year.

In positive movement, Allie Liechty-Hultman went from being ranked 40^th after the first two rounds to now sitting in 4^th place. Tim Liechty also moved up the rankings from 31^st to 10^th in this edition. Surprisingly, no one in the top 10 selected Houston as the champion.

The top three will all be rooting for Florida, while those who embrace the whacky will certainly enjoy seeing the Cougars leave San Antonio as the champions. No matter what, the game should be entertaining.

Standings

1. Karen Brimhall: 282 Florida Champion
2. Terry McWilliams: 276 Florida Champion
3. Zoey Freeman: 260 Florida Champion
4. Allie Liechty-Hultman: 254 Florida Champion
5. Lysha Bunnell: 248
6. Brent Broeker: 236
7. Alan Buckert: 236
8. Janae Body: 234
9. Josh Moon: 234 Florida Champion
10. Tim Liechty and Julie Leichty: 232 Florida Champion
11. Tiffany Wilson: 230 Houston Champion