Southeast Iowa- It’s time to put the four fingers up in the air for this year’s KILJ’s Sports Year in Review sponsored by H&R Block. As we highlight the final three months of the year, we start in Iowa City for the girls’ tennis state tournament.
Fairfield sent a quartet to the two-day competition and three Trojans finished in the top eight with the doubles team of Ria Ross and Syria Yammanur snatching 7th place and Natalie Steele finishing in 8th place in the singles bracket.
Down in Lee County, Mt. Pleasant collected their fifth win of the season in a 61-0 demolition of Fort Madison. The trio of Ryan Helling, Griffen Jones, and Ramzy Davis collected nearly 300 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The win lifted Mt. Pleasant into the top 10 rankings for Class 3A.
Elsewhere, Mediapolis’ Parker Holsteen rushed for 166 yards and two scores for a narrow 16-14 win over West Liberty and Wapello appeared poised to sprint their way into the playoffs as Rowen Atkinson tossed four touchdowns in a 40-27 win over Columbus.
Out on the trails, the WACO boys’ team usurped Columbus’ claim as the top team in the area, winning the Mike Jay Invitational with Jude Dykstra claiming the top spot followed by Locken Henderson and Garrett Landau in 3rd and 4th place, respectively. Victor Tovar led the Wildcats with a 6th place finish.
Individually on the girls’ side, WACO’s Josie Dykstra and Macie Carter took home the silver and bronze, respectively.
On the same night, the Mediapolis boys’ team won their home invitational, while the Central Lee girls’ team led by Aubree Bunnell won their side of the race. Burlington Notre Dame/West Burlington’s Cavin Denny took 4th place, following Silas Hulett of Mt. Pleasant. On the girls’ side, Mt. Pleasant’s Avery Fedler and Quintrie Lee led the entire pack with 1st and 2nd place finishes.
Out on the volleyball courts, the Southeast Conference was dueling for the conference crown, and Burlington reclaimed the banner from Washington going undefeated during the two-day event. Fairfield finished in 3rd place as Faith Jones nabbed 46 assists, while Mt. Pleasant grabbed 4th place in the conference.
Back out on the gridiron, the Panthers returned to Lee County, but even after three field goals from Dylan White, #9 Mt. Pleasant was on the verge of an upset as Keokuk held an 11-point lead with a little under nine minutes remaining in the game. Griffen Jones found the endzone on the next possession to get the game within striking distance; but with the Chiefs narrowing in on another touchdown, Mt. Pleasant needed a big play from the defense. A 90-yard pick-six by Lathan Novak-Watson and another interception by him on the next drive would seal a 35-34 comeback victory for Mt. Pleasant and move them up to #8 in the RPI with a chance to win the District Championship in a top ten matchup against Solon.
Fairfield managed to keep their playoff hopes alive with a booming win over the Bloodhounds and Danville watched their own win slip through their fingers after Nolan Glick secured a game winning pick six for a 32-27 win for Pekin.
The Southeast Iowa Super Conference was ready to decide a conference champion in cross country and the WACO boys’ team snuck away with the victory, while the Van Buren County girls’ team ran away with the title. Jude Dykstra of WACO grabbed the individual conference championship, while Simon Wendel of Mediapolis and Lincoln Bainbridge of Van Buren County rounded out the top three.
On the girls’ side, WACO’s Josie Dykstra and Burlington Notre Dame/West Burlington’s Hannah Ritter nabbed 2nd and 5th place, respectively. Van Buren County was led by Kayley Snowgren, who snatched 9th place.
Just a few days later, Mt. Pleasant’s Avery Fedler won the Southeast Conference crown in her inaugural season with the Panthers with a time of 18 minutes and 42 seconds, 24 seconds faster than second place. Quintrie Lee helped out the team effort with a bronze medal performance. On the boys’ side, Silas Hulett snuck into the top 10 with a 9th place time of 17 minutes and 42 seconds. Fort Madison swept the conference titles.
After a loss to Solon and Fairfield’s win over Keokuk, Trojan Stadium would get to host a win or go home week nine showdown against Mt. Pleasant. Otherwise, Danville earned the right to host their first playoff game after coming back to defeat Wapello 33-31, Mediapolis made it eight consecutive seasons of making it to the playoffs, and Columbus and Wapello each found a spot along with WACO—their 5th straight trip—due to tiebreakers.
Postseason volleyball was ready for opening serve in Class 1A and KILJ made the trip to Notre Dame where the Nikes took on WACO. Despite a resilient Warrior squad, the Nikes never trailed as Chloe Wenzel tabbed nine kills and four aces in the victory.
Wapello, who had put together three consecutive seasons undefeated play in the SEISC-North, swept New London, while Winfield-Mt. Union would get ready to take on #4 Holy Trinity Catholic on the Crusaders home floor after defeating Pekin in four sets.
The Crusaders would make quick work of the Wolves, while the Arrows executed the five-set upset against Notre Dame, setting up a rematch of last year’s semifinal showdown.
Up in Class 4A, Mt. Pleasant held the right to host Fort Madison and after a contentious first set, the Panthers led by Addison Clark and Alex Scott combining for 23 kills took down Keokuk in straight sets. Despite losing to Clear Creek Amana in the next round, head coach Alicia Schrader talked about the importance of collecting their first winning record since 2021,
“We just had a talk, and I told them that I think they really raised the standard for volleyball, for Mount Pleasant this year. I kind of told them a story back when that way back when I was in 8th grade and how, you know, at that time we had a new coach and we had these shirts that said we were doormats and a few years later after that we had three consecutive trips to the state tournament and I told them that’s what I see in them and they don’t know that all these middle school girls talk about them at home. They look up to them, they’ve really inspired a whole group of kids. So, making sure they know that they are just a huge part. I hope a huge part of change and lifting the standard for Mount Pleasant.”
Alex Scott took home All-SEC 1st Team honors, while Washington’s Leighton Salazar was named SEC Player of the Year for the third consecutive time.
With a trip to the playoffs on the line, Fairfield came out swinging, accruing a 22-6 lead at the halftime break. Mt. Pleasant appeared completely out of it after fumbling it into the endzone of their first drive of the second half. Yet, the Panthers never gave up. Three second half touchdowns and a couple of sacks from Max Sloat sealed a 25-22 win for Mt. Pleasant and their 18th trip to the postseason, their first in 15 years.
The Panthers would get their punches in against West Delaware, but the Hawks would eliminate Mt. Pleasant in a 35-21 final. Carter Myers took home Co-Offensive Line MVP with Greyson Hartman of Washington, Isaiah Lange was named Co-Defensive Line MVP, Dylan White was named Co-Specialist MVP, and head coach John Bowlin was named Co-Coach of the Year for the district. Ramzy Davis, Kellen Kohorst, Merrick Lamm, Jack Newman, Brody Clark, Griffen Jones, and Max Sloat joined the other three on the First Team All-District list.
Fairfield supplied four First Team players in running backs Ethan Bisgard and Zandrik Allison, along with Nolan Smith on the offensive line and Voss Richardson as a utility. Washington’s Blaine Rees earned a 2nd Team All-State honor.
Mediapolis would pull off the road upset in the playoffs against Centerville but fall to Mid-Prairie in the next round. Kyler Crow’s 23.5 tackles for loss earned him 2nd Team All-State defensive line.
WACO put five on the 1st Team with Hayden Shelman being named 1st Team running back as the junior produced 1,212 rushing yards and 22 total touchdowns for the season. Adam Stafford was named 1st Team offensive lineman as he helped pave the way for an offense that compiled 2,054 rushing yards and 33 rushing touchdowns. Niles Reichenbach took home 1st Team kicker and linebacker as he nailed a 30-yard field goal and amassed 35 tackles. Lastly, Trey Edeker’s eight tackles for loss earned the senior 1st Team defensive lineman.
Winfield-Mt. Union had seven players find a spot on the All-District Team. Tayson Samuels and Max Edwards were named to the 1st Team as pass catchers. Samuels hauled in 53 receptions for 615 yards and three touchdowns, while Edwards led the team with eight receiving touchdowns on 46 catches for 580 yards. Throwing the ball was 1st Team punter and 2nd Team quarterback Cody Milks. The junior averaged 36 yards per punt and tossed for 1,404 yards and 13 touchdowns, while running for another five scores.
Grant Anderson earned his second 1st Team offensive lineman honor as he provided the lanes for four yards per carry and the necessary time for Milks to throw the ball.
Switching back to cross country, Mt. Pleasant had a trio of runners qualify for the state meet in Fort Dodge. Avery Felder won the state qualifier and later took 24th at state. Quintrie Lee qualified as well as Silas Hulett on the boys’ side. Hulett managed a 53rd place time of 17 minutes and 3 seconds at the state meet, while Washington’s Andrew Rees took 18th.
The SEC was headlined by Iris Dahl of Washington as her 20th place finish outpaced the rest of the local field in Class 3A on the girls’ side.
In the Class 2A state boys’ race, Mediapolis was led by Simon Wendel’s 7th place time of 16 minutes and 36 seconds. Will Schmidgall’s 17th place finish aided the Bulldogs’ 13th place accumulation.
As individuals, Cavin Denney of Notre Dame/West Burlington took 66th place with a time of 17 minutes and 48 seconds.
On the girls’ side of the race, Hannah Ritter of Notre Dame/West Burlington led the local pack with a 39th place time of 20 minutes and 47 seconds. Central Lee’s Aubree Bunnell was five-seconds behind in 42nd place.
For Class 1A, unfortunately, a banged-up WACO boys’ team was unable to qualify as a team, but Locken Henderson finished in 89th place for the Warriors, followed by Isaac Shinn of Danville.
The Columbus boys’ team and Van Buren County boys’ team were able to qualify and, Lincoln Bainbridge collected a 7th place time of 16 minutes and 36 seconds, which helped Van Buren County take 12th place as a team. Gavin Noll aided the cause with a 59th place finish.
The Wildcats claimed 6th place behind Ryan Villa’s time of 17 minutes and 34 seconds for 50th place and Cade Storm’s 56th place time of 17 minutes and 40 seconds. The Wildcats compiled 227 points. For his team’s success, Steve Riley earned an At-Large Coach of Year honor for Class 1A.
For the girls’ race, WACO’s Josie Dykstra led the way with a 21st place time of 19 minutes and 54 seconds, while Macie Carter turned in a 59th place performance for the Warriors.
Iris Garza of Columbus snuck into the top 30 with a 29th place time of 20 minutes and 19 seconds. Danville’s Alaina Gourley clocked a time of 20 minutes and 41 seconds for 44th place.
As a team, Van Buren County finished in 7th place with 198 points. Kaylee Snowgren led the pack with a 57th place time of 20 minutes and 54 seconds, followed by Rylee Philips, who took 60th place with a time of 20 minutes and 56 seconds.
We go back to the volleyball courts where a fierce rivalry was starting to grow between the Crusaders and Arrows. At first there appeared to be no rivalry as Holy Trinity Catholic won the first two sets. Yet, the Arrows did not give up. This led to a fifth set and after trading the first 13 points for each team, the Crusaders pushed ahead to punch their ticket to their 5th straight regional championship. Presley Myers and Adalyn Kruse, who would finish as Co-SEISC-South Players of the Year, would each strike for 24 kills. Taeya Wagner would put up a 22 assist/11 kill double-double in the effort.
The Crusaders were unable to pull off the same story book ending in the next round as they fell 15-11 in the fifth set against Dunkerton, ending their season one game short of the state tournament. Myers and Wapello’s Mya Wagner, SEISC-North Player of the Year, were named 1st Team All-State. Addi Brockway of Notre Dame was placed on the 3rd Team and Kruse and Washington’s Salazar were put on the 4th Team.
In other news, the men’s SCC team finished the season 12-3-3, going undefeated at home in nine contests and finishing as the runner-up in the Region 11 tournament.
Helping the Blackhawks soar to their best season since 2020—a year that ended in the program’s first national title—was their trio of First Team All-Region athletes in Angel Frias, Louey Franks, and Yota Ishikawa.
In his first season at the helm, Henrique Vieira earned ICCAC Division II Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year for leading the Blackhawks to the Division II championship game, collecting a 7-1-2 conference record, and being ranked as high as #5 in the NJCAA rankings.
The Mt. Pleasant Youth Wrestling Club went to a tournament in Des Moines and two All-Americans were crowned. Kenai Mason’s marquee match of the weekend was his last of the tournament as he defeated the #3 nationally ranked wrestler in the 7th place match to finish with the All-American honor and with a 4-2 record. The other All-American was Kamden Ettinger as he battled through adversity on a first-round loss to secure four straight pins, including wins over the #2 and #5 nationally ranked wrestlers. Unfortunately, Ettinger fell in the 3rd place match to finish in 4th place.
Iowa State will have a new head football coach after Penn State hired Matt Campbell to an eight-year deal yesterday. The three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year led the Cyclones to eight winning seasons in his 10 years at the helm. Iowa State hired Jimmy Rogers yesterday to fill the slot, inking the former Washington State head coach to a six-year deal. Rogers led South Dakota State to a 27-3 record and the FCS Championship in his two years as head coach.
Mt. Pleasant’s Max Sloat will be continuing his football career at Mount Mercy University next year after signing his Letter of Intent yesterday. Sloat had a phenomenal year as the captain helped direct a defense that ranked in the top five for sacks. His 60 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown led to a First Team All-District honor.
As we approach the start of the new year, here’s some of the headlines from the first month of winter action. The Mt. Pleasant bowling team split their duel with Fairfield with the girls’ team sneaking out with an 18-pin victory (1,924-1,906) and the boys’ team falling 2,530-2,292. Shyann Smith bowled a meet high 342 pins for the Panthers, while Autumn McBride led Fairfield with 314 pins.
The #10 Mediapolis girls’ team and the Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team are still undefeated with the Bulldogs having knocked off a ranked opponent in Tipton and the Nikes scoring 70 or more points in six of their first eight games.
In the world of wrestling, 17 local athletes found a spot in the rankings with WACO’s Ian Maize, Notre Dame’s Kohen Dietzenbach and Kael Cook, Mediapolis’ Kyler Crow, and Fairfield’s Cael McCabe all going undefeated through the first month of action. On the girls’ side, Wapello’s Kenadee Helscher is looking to finish the job this year after nearly going undefeated last year and Samantha Lyons of Fairfield is undefeated and looking to finish the year as SEC Wrestler of the Year.
This has been KILJ’s Sports Year in Review for 2025! A big thank you to everyone that has had a hand in making this athletic year so memorable. We wish all of our student-athletes good luck in 2026 and wish everyone a Happy New Year! This has been KILJ’s Sports Year in Review brought to you by H&R Block!