July
College Sports: Two Former Mount Pleasant Standouts Named Heart of America Scholar Athletes
Two former Mount Pleasant standouts were named Heart of America Scholar Athletes, the league announced in July.
Brady Sartorius of men’s basketball and Pat Canby of football were honored.
In order to qualify for the honor, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of 3.40 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) and must have accumulated a minimum of 60 credit hours and completed at least 5 semesters.
Grand View’s men’s basketball team finished 11-12, while the football team finished 7-1.
College Basketball: Former Mount Pleasant Standout Playing in TBT Tournament
Former Mount Pleasant standout Jordan Ashton competed for top cash prizes as a part of the TBT Basketball tournament, where he suited up with the Peoria All-Stars.
Ashton, a 6-4 guard who starred at Iowa State and Northern Iowa, joined a roster of 13 other former collegiate players in a field of 64 tournament.
The No. 13 seed in the Illinois bracket, Ashton’s group took on No. 4 “Always Us” — a team of Oregon alumni in the first round.
Last year, the Golden Eagles — Marquette alumni — won the tournament.
Prep Baseball: New London Heads to State for the First Time Since 2006
For the first time since 2008, the New London Tiger baseball team reached the pinnacle of the Iowa High School State Baseball tournament.
The Tigers rode timely hitting, slick fielding and elite pitching to a 4-2 win in July over Mount Ayr in Oskaloosa clinching their spot in Carroll in the Class 1A State Baseball Tournament.
New London got the scoring started in the 2nd inning and never trailed, grabbing the first olive on Ryan Richey’s booming solo home run, his first of the season.
Then, the Tigers held off every rally started by Mount Ayr.
Kooper Schulte inherited a jam in the 6th as the Raiders put the first two men on and chased New London starter Hecniel Rodriguez.
Schulte induced three ground balls and kept the Tiger lead intact at 3-2.
From there, New London would add on the bottom of the 6th.
Ryan Richey reached on a fielder’s choice and after a Seth Bailey single that put runners on the corners with two men gone, Josh Catala stepped to the plate and grounded an 0-2 fastball into left field for a much-needed insurance run.
That gave the Tigers their 4-2 they would not relinquish.
Schulte worked a scoreless, 1-2-3 7th inning to earn the save as New London then mobbed him.
Hecniel Rodriguez earned the win — he was stellar over five innings, allowing just four hits and two runs while striking out nine.
New London improved to 26-1 with that win before bowing out in Round One to Kee High of Lansing.
August
Prep Basketball: It’s Here — Shot Clock Coming to State of Iowa
For the first time in the history of high school basketball in Iowa, shot clocks will be introduced to the game in the start of the 2022-23 season.
The decision was finalized at August’s Iowa High School Athletic Association Board Meeting.
Now, the state will mandate shot clocks in all varsity boys and girls basketball games starting in the 2022-23 season.
The timer will be set for :35 seconds on each offensive possession.
Iowa became the 10th state nationwide to adopt a shot clock, joining Georgia, Massachusetts, California, Maryland, New York, Washington, South Dakota, Rhode Island and North Dakota.
Major League Baseball: Field of Dreams Game Puts Iowa on Center Stage
More than three decades after the film, the Field of Dreams was back in center stage in August as the world watched the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees play in Dyersville in the MLB Field of Dreams game.
It marked Iowa’s first ever Major League Baseball game, with a crowd of 8,000 in attendance, more than the double that of the population of Dyersville itself.
Both teams wore throwback jerseys for the contest, harkening back to the legends of the 1919 season.
The White Sox defeated the Yankees 9-8.
Prep Football: Not Bad — W-MU’s Buffington Provides Ten Touchdowns as Wolves Break the Scoreboard
The Winfield-Mount Union football team scored early and often as the Wolves rolled to a 84-34 win over Moravia in August.
The noteworthy bit was Cam Buffington making his debut at quarterback — it did not disappoint.
The Iowa recruit finished 11-of-15 passing for 288 yards and six touchdowns, while rushing 19 times for 152 yards and four more touchdowns, accounting for 10 in total.
September:
College Football: Wesleyan’s Esquivel Named Conference Offensive Player of the Week
Iowa Wesleyan quarterback Gavin Esquivel was named the North Star Athletic Association Conference offensive player of the week for the week of September 14th
Esquivel completed 24-of-40 passes for 393 yards and three touchdowns.
Esquivel’s longest completed pass was 69 yards and the gunslinger connected with 10 different receivers in the game.
Esquivel was the first Iowa Wesleyan football player to earn conference honors as the Tigers joined the conference this season along with their return to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletic.
College Wrestling: Iowa Adds Women’s Wrestling
The University of Iowa announced in September the addition of women’s college wrestling — the Hawkeyes are the first power five program to do so.
With the addition of women’s wrestling, Iowa now offers 22 sports including 14 women’s teams.
The program is slated to begin competition in the 2023 season.