High School Track

The Southeast Conference Meet commenced yesterday and the Mt. Pleasant girls’ team edged out Washington, 160.5 to 157, to reclaim the conference title, while the Fairfield boys’ team ran away with the banner, scoring 152 points.

On the girls’ side, Alex Scott collected two golds, sprinting to wins in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.49 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a mark of 25.86 seconds. The Panthers dominated the relays, snatching the 4×100, 4×200 (the team of Ellie Freeman, Kynlee White, Kiyah Sanders and Scott established a new SEC meet record of 1 minute and 44 seconds), 4×400, and the sprint medley relays. In the field events, Izzy Sloat grabbed the win in the long jump with a leap of 16 feet and 7.5 inches.

The Fairfield girls’ finished with 52 points as Lilly Bergren took the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.84 seconds. The Trojans grabbed the win in the shuttle hurdle relay.

On the boys’ side for Fairfield, Gabe Tejada continued his dominance with victories in the 400-meter dash (50.43 seconds) and the 800-meter run (1 minute and 57 seconds). The hurdling tandem of Ryan Giberson in the 110-meter hurdles and Dylan Adam in the 400-meter hurdles each secured golds with Giberson picking up a time of 15.26 seconds and Adam clocking in a time of 57.19 seconds. In the field events, Eli Zillman and Giberson shared the conference title as they each cleared 6 feet and 2 inches. Zillman would finish with his own conference title in the long jump with a mark of 21 feet and 7 inches. The Trojans went on to win the sprint medley and shuttle hurdle relays. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team collected 59 points as they finished in 2nd place in the shuttle hurdle relay with the team of Kaden Schadt, Keegan Heaton, Franky Lopez, and Caleb Shepherd, and Jaymisen Rich took the silver in the shot put with a heave of 44 feet and 7.5 inches.

Different year, same champions for the Southeast Iowa Super Conference as Mediapolis swept the boys’ and girls’ South division, while the Columbus boys’ team claimed their third consecutive North title and the Pekin girls’ team made it back-to-back for the North division.

Starting with the boys’ south division, Mediapolis ran away with the title, accruing 171 points with New London coming in 2nd place with 105 points. 

Mediapolis was led by Nathan Schmidgall in the 400-meter dash, winning with a time of 53.21 seconds. Simon Wendel swept the long distance events. The Bulldogs took the shuttle hurdle relay. Lathan Keller leapt 6 feet and 2 inches to win the high jump. Jackson Woods tossed the shot put 40 feet and 3.5 inches to seal the win.

New London’s 4×100 meter relay team of Cale Westerbeck, Gavin Strawhacker, Brigham Porter, and London Franklin set a new record with a time of 43.36 seconds. The same team also won the 4×200 meter relay. In the field events, Cael Wilka claimed the discus with a throw of 126 feet and 11 inches and London Franklin won the long jump with a mark of 20 feet and 9.25 inches. 

Kayden Simmons of Van Buren County won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.72 seconds, while Lincoln Bainbridge took the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.7 seconds. Bryce Moquin, Simmons, Izaak Loeffler, and Bainbridge claimed a record in the sprint medley relay with a time of 1 minute and 35 seconds. The Warriors claimed the 4×400, 4×800, and distance medley relays.

West Burlington/Notre Dame had Landry Haberichter snatch the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.76 seconds. Logan Hamma grabbed an individual title in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.84 seconds. Danville’s lone win came in the 800-meter run as Nick Powell clocked a time of 2 minutes and 4 seconds.

In the girls’ south division, Mediapolis claimed 179 points with Van Buren County taking 2nd place with 139 points and Danville in 3rd place with 95 points.

For the Bulldogs, Kira Messer’s time of 12.96 seconds won the 100-meter dash. Amelia Pfeiff took the 100-meter hurdles. Bryn Wright paced her way to a win in the 1500 and 3000-meter runs. Mediapolis picked up wins in the 4×100, 4×200, and 4×800 meter relays. Payton Harris took the discus with a throw of 110 feet and 3.5 inches. Avery Crear claimed the high jump with a leap of 4 feet and 10 inches. 

Danville had Delaney Newberry claim the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.47 seconds. Alaina Gourley grabbed the victory in the 400-meter dash with a sub-one minute time and the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 28 seconds. The Bears won the sprint medley and 4×400 meter relays. Alivia Bauer’s leap of 15 feet and 2.5 inches won the long jump. 

Olivia Ritter of West Burlington/Notre Dame finished in 1st place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1 minute and 14 seconds. The Falcons won the shuttle hurdle and distance medley relays. Lastly, Central Lee’s Aubrey Weber took the shot put with a throw of 30 feet and 5.5 inches. 

Moving to the boys’ North Division, Columbus outraced Pekin with 179 points, while WACO rounded out the podium with 97 points. 

For the Wildcats, Lamar Ceant was unstoppable, collecting a trio of gold medals in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and the 110-meter hurdles, which included a record time of 14.45 seconds. The shuttle hurdle relay team also set a record with a 1st place time of 1 minute and 1 second. 

WACO’s Jude Dykstra claimed two conference titles with wins in the 800-meter run and the 1600-meter run. Louden Huisenga won the high jump with a leap of 6 feet and 1 inch. The Warriors claimed the distance medley relay with a time of 3 minutes and 40 seconds. 

Wapello’s Justyn Faulkner took home the win in the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.11 seconds. Kolton Small snatched the shot put title with a mark of 47 feet and 11.25 inches. 

In the girls’ North Division, WACO finished in 4th place with 87 points, while Winfield-Mt. Union took 7th place with 40 points followed by Wapello and Columbus, respectively. 

WACO’s Bren Graber took home the lone win for the Warriors in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1 minute and 12 seconds. 

For the Wolves, Josie Nelson hopped her way to a 1st place time in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.61 seconds. Kynlee Buffington leapt 16 feet and 3.5 inches to win the long jump.

The Co-Ed state qualifying meets will take place on Thursday, May 15th. 

High School Tennis

The Southeast Conference held their tournament yesterday and the Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield boys’ teams each claimed a conference champion. 

Starting with the boys’ tournament, the Panthers had the team of Max Heater and Dane Cook slotted as the #4 seed and the team of Sawyer Fulton and Lou Schimmelpfennig as the #2 seed. The team of Cook and Heater narrowly escaped their first-round matchup against Drew and Mason of Burlington, winning the tiebreaker 11-9. The semifinals had the Panther duo pinned against the #1 seed in Fairfield’s Han and Cass and they pulled off the upset with 7-5 wins in both sets. On the bottom half of the bracket, the team of Fulton and Schimmelpfennig breezed past their first showdown and needed their own tiebreaker win over Keokuk’s Hoppe and McNally to advance to the championship match. In a Maroon and Gold championship showdown, the team of Fulton and Schimmelpfennig claimed the first set 6-1, but Cook and Heater would execute one more upset and force a tiebreaker, winning 10-8 to earn the conference crown. Han and Cass took 3rd place and Anderson and Emerson of Fairfield claimed 5th place.

In the singles bracket, Mt. Pleasant’s Beckham Prough had an arduous journey to the 5th place match, winning a play-in game before running through the consolation bracket. Prough would defeat Fort Madison’s Fraise 7-1 for 5th place. Elijah Rynders would claim 7th place for the Panthers. 

Fairfield’s Rumin Lou would drop only three games on his way to the conference championship, besting fellow Trojan Bowen Zhang in the championship bout. 

In the girls’ tournament, Bethany Drury of Mt. Pleasant defeated Marlee Weiler of Fort Madison 8-3 to finish in 7th place. Audrey Richmond claimed 9th place with a win over Mady Emmett of Fort Madison. The team of Hali Crane and Zoey Richmond finished 2-2 in the tournament and 7th place overall after taking down Elizabeth Stanbaugh and Baylee Picton of Keokuk. Lastly, Lila Cook and Hannah Villaplaza defeated Crowther and Vincent of Fort Madison in the 9th place match 8-6. 

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will venture to Fairfield on Monday, May 12th, for individual regionals.

The Fairfield boys’ team will host the District singles and doubles tournament on Wednesday, May 14th, with Mt. Pleasant making the trip.

High School Golf

New London will take on Wapello at home today.

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference girls’ tournament is scheduled for Monday, May 12th.

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will compete in their SEC tournament on Wednesday, May 14th. 

In Class 1A, Winfield-Mt. Union will host their Section meet on Wednesday 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 district meet. 

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 on Wednesday. 

High School Soccer

The Central Lee boys’ team defeated Albia last night 2-0. The Hawks will face off against Hillcrest Academy on Saturday, May 10th, at home at 10:30 am.

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team secured their first conference crown since 2013 last night after shutting out Burlington 2-0. Akbar Wilson and Asa Rose each netted a goal for the Panthers. 

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team had their three-game win streak snapped last night by the Grayhounds in a 9-1 final. The Panthers will take on Fort Madison on Monday, May 12th, with the girls’ team at home and the boys on the road. 

The Danville boys’ team spoiled Highland’s senior night with a 2-1 win last night.

The Fairfield girls’ team ended their five-game losing streak last night with a 2-2 tie of Keokuk. Fairfield will compete against Burlington on Monday with the boys at home and the girls on the road. 

The Mediapolis boys’ team snuck past Hillcrest Academy last night 4-3. The Bulldogs will await their first round opponent for the SEISC tournament slated to start on Tuesday, May 13th. 

The Mediapolis girls’ team will take on Wapello tonight on the road.

The WACO boys’ team will face off against Burlington Notre Dame tonight at 5 pm at home.

Columbus will compete against Wapello on Monday with the girls playing first at 5 pm with the boys’ game to follow.

The Central Lee girls’ team will host Burlington Notre Dame on Monday with game time at 5 pm.

Southeastern Community College                                                     

The baseball team received the #1-seed and a first-round bye for the ICCAC Region 11 tournament. The Blackhawks will face off against Des Moines Area Community College today.

This Day in Sports History

1901 – Cleveland’s Earl Moore no-hits the Chicago White Stockings for 9 innings but loses it and the game in the 10th inning 4-2.

1984 – The Chicago White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-6, in 25 innings. The game started on May 8th but action was suspended in the 17th inning at 1 am due to a city curfew.

1987 – Eddie Murray of the Baltimore Orioles became the first player to switch-hit homers in two consecutive games.

West Burlington, IA- The season is over for the Southeastern Community College softball squad after collecting a 29-14 record overall and getting knocked out of the Division I Region 11 postseason bracket. With the end of the season, the ICCAC released the All-Region teams with six members earning a spot.

1st Team All-Region

The Blackhawks had three players make the 1st Team in freshman catcher Jeliane Stewart, sophomore infielder Tayler Braun, and freshman outfielder Lydia Zaruba. Stewart also earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Stewart ended the season on an absolute tear as she smacked six of her 18 home runs in the final nine games of the season. She was also named ICCAC Player of the Week for April 14th through the 20th. She finished with a slash line of 0.455/0.523/1.054, adding 60 RBIs and four steals on the basepath. Stewart also had a fielding percentage of 0.982.

As the leadoff batter, Braun’s job was to get on base and her 0.420 batting average proved that she accomplished her job. She could also move on her own with 18 steals for the season, second on the team. Additionally, her bat could supply some power with a home run and two doubles contributing to 22 RBIs.

Lastly, another freshman showed her ability to play for the Blackhawks as Zaruba finished second on the team in batting average at 0433 and on-base percentage at 0.487. The Grimes native tallied 17 RBIs on five doubles, while blazing the basepath with 29 steals.

2nd Team All-Region

Sophomore infielder Ella Florey swatted four home runs and pushed across 25 runs at the plate as she sported a slash line of 0.317/0.410/0.554. She also only committed one error on the season with a 0.989 field percentage, highest on the team with at least 40 chances.

Outfielder Makenzie Sweeney has provided some more appreciation about the future of Blackhawks softball as the freshman batted 0.389 at the plate and took advantage of her opportunities with runners in scoring position, collecting 29 RBIs, which ranks tied for second on the team.

Lastly, sophomore pitcher Navy Clark was the main hurler for the Blackhawks and posted a 2.15 ERA, which included a couple no-hitters throughout the year. She pitched 101 innings and fanned 127 opponents with a K/7 resting at 8.8. Her 1.15 WHIP was also impressive.

Prep Girls’ Soccer- The first round of girls’ postseason soccer may sit 11 days away (May 19^th) but the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) has announced the Regional Pairings for Class 1A and here’s a look at our local matchups.

Region 3

In the top half of the bracket, Fairfield will host Central Lee at 7 pm with the winner advancing to take on #3 Assumption. The Trojans and Hawks have no prior matchup on the pitch.

Washington will square off against West Liberty in the quarterfinals at 7 pm at home on Wednesday, May 21^st. The Demons won the last contest 7-0 back in 2019.

On the bottom half of the bracket, Mid-Prairie will take on Wapello at home at 7 pm. The Golden Hawks have won the past three contests against the Arrows by a combined score of 25 to 1. The winner will travel to play Mt. Pleasant at East Lake Park.

The Panthers first matchup will take place at 5:30 pm on Wednesday as Mt. Pleasant has an opportunity to make a run to the Regional Championship with a 1-0-1 record against the teams on the bottom half.

Mediapolis will get a home game against Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union with gametime at 7 pm on Wednesday. The Bulldogs are on a five-game win streak against the Wildcats, including a narrow 2-1 back in early April.

If Mt. Pleasant were to advance, the Panthers tied Mediapolis 1-1 in the first game of the season, then mercy ruled the Wildcats 10-0 in the third game of the season.