Sports, May 16th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, May 16th, 2025 at 6:30 am CDT

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.

SOUTHEAST IOWA FISHING REPORT WEEK ENDING MAY 16TH

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, May 15th, 2025 at 8:20 pm CDT

Big Hollow Lake
Water temperature is 70 degrees early in the morning and warming into the mid-70s by afternoon.  Duckweed still isn’t too bad yet.  Bluegill – Good: Scout the shallows along the northside to findi spawning areas. Get the males to bite with small jigs tipped with a little live bait or just a worm and a bobber.  Channel Catfish – Good:  Try cut bait or nightcrawlers along the face of the dam.  Largemouth Bass – Good: Nesting is starting to wrap up; bass fry are emerging and will soon be leaving the nest along with dad.

Iowa River (Columbus Junction to Mississippi River)
River level is 3/4 bank full.  Water temperature is in the mid to upper 60’s. Try nightcrawlers or cut bait in the back edges of the sandbars. Use minnows or green sunfish around the log jams.

Lake Belva Deer
Water temperature is 70 degrees. The curlyleaf beds are getting thick.  Black Crappie – Good:  Anglers are catching crappie along the edges of the curlyleaf.  Bluegill – Good:  Fishing is good, especially if you find the spawning beds.  Don’t pass up the edges of the curlyleaf beds and any holes in them that you can get your bait into.  Channel Catfish – Good:  Look for catfish along the face of the dam when they are getting ready to spawn. Use cut bait,  nightcrawlers, or chicken liver.   Largemouth Bass – Good: The males are starting to move off the nests as the spawn starts to wrap up. You can still find some guarding the nest back into the trees.

Lake Darling
Water temperature is 74 degrees. Water clarity is very clear with over 6 feet of clarity.   Black Crappie – Good: Find crappies in shallow (a few feet out from shore) with water temperatures at 70+ degrees. Most crappie have retreated out over the rock piles in 6-8 feet of water; others are back out to their summer haunts in 10-12 feet of water. Bluegill – Good: Bluegills are on the beds. Find smaller bluegill in tight to shore and bigger ones nestingn 3-4 feet of water.  Channel Catfish – Fair: As the water warms, expect catfish to move the crevices in the rip-rap and around the culvert piles to prepare for their spawn. Use crawdads or minnows.  Largemouth Bass – Good: With the warm water temperatures, the bass spawn happened fast this year.The fry and the males are already leaving many of the nests; bigger females are out in deep water recovering from their efforts.

Lake Geode
Water temperature is near 70 degrees most days. Black Crappie – Good: Find 10- to 11- inch crappies; they have been spawning for the last few days.  Work the fallen trees and other near shore habitat.  Bluegill – Good:  Find males building nests in shallow bays.  Largemouth Bass – Good: The males are in shallow building nests; a few females are also in shallow.

Lake of the Hills
Water temperature is 69-70 degrees. Water clarity is 5+ feet.   Black Crappie – Slow: Just finished the initial stocking of black crappies; expect the crappie bite to pick up by this fall. Bluegill – Good: Try a worm and bobber close to shore; several spawning areas to choose from. Channel Catfish – Fair: Use nightcrawlers and stink bait along shore below Lambachs dam and by the spillways and parallel along the highway. Largemouth Bass – Good: Try nightcrawlers or soft plastics around the habitat in front of the fishing pier or around the trees and artificial habitat near shore.

Lost Grove Lake
Water is fairly clear at 6 feet+.  The curlyleaf is really coming in.  Black Crappie – Good:  Most crappies have moved out to deeper water and are suspended at 12-16 feet down. Try a jig and minnow.  Bluegill – Good: Use a worm and bobber or a small jig tipped with a worm “drift-trolled” to find them then switch to a small bobber and worm in 3 to 4 feet of water to catch bigger bluegills and redears.  Largemouth Bass – Good: Looking for the bigger bass?  Get way back into the trees or look for a piece of habitat that most anglers look right passed. Older bass are looking for places where people don’t bother them.

Railroad Lake
Water is very clear; a little algae around the edges. Black Crappie – Slow: Try small jigs around the trees and other habitat out away from shore. The spring spawn has wrapped. Bluegill – Good: Use nightcrawlers under bobbers or tip the hook of a small jig fished near shore Channel Catfish – Fair: Try nightcrawlers and stink baits. If there is a little wind, work the shoreline that it is blowing into. Largemouth Bass – Good: Use worm and bobber or cast with a nightcrawler rig.  Cast soft plastics around the brush piles closer to shore where the males are guarding nests.

Skunk River (Coppock to Mississippi)
River level is about 1/2 bank full. Try cutbait or minnows at the tail edge and back eddies of the rock riffs.

For more information on the above lakes and rivers call the Lake Darling Fisheries Office at 319-694-2430.

Joyce Ann Westerbeck – PENDING

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, May 15th, 2025 at 3:31 pm CDT

Joyce Ann Westerbeck, 75, of New London, died Thursday, May 15, 2025 at the University of Iowa Hospitals.  Arrangements are pending at Elliott Chapel, New London.

Abrahan Rios and Justin Schulte Headline All-Region Awards for Southeastern Community College Baseball

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, May 15th, 2025 at 1:30 pm CDT

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 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 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 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.

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 5th 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 8th 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 20th, after 4 pm when they announce the brackets and matchups.

Lucille (Gault) Humphreys

By Allison Jacobs · Thursday, May 15th, 2025 at 12:02 pm CDT

Lucille Gault was born on February 4, 1932, in Washington, Iowa, the daughter of Frank and Bertha (Strothman) Gault.  Lucille was a 1949 graduate of Crawfordsville High School, and went on to graduate from Iowa State Teacher’s College earning a bachelor’s degree with a major in Home Economics.  On June 20, 1953, Lucille was united in marriage to Robert Humphreys at the Crawfordsville Federated Presbyterian Church.  Lucille began her teaching career at Springville and then went on to teach at Wyman Consolidated School.  Once her children were born Lucille was a homemaker and farm wife.  Her family being the dearest to her as she was always involved in their activities and supporting them in all they did.  As well as being very involved within her community, being a member of Wyman Community Club, United Methodist Women, she was organist and pianist for over 30 years at the Winfield United Methodist Church and past president and member of Chapter GT P.E.O.  Lucille enjoyed sewing, gardening and was a great cook.

Lucille will be deeply missed by her children, Dr. Chris (Michelle) Humphreys of Stone Lake, Wisconsin, Anne (Vern) Dengler of Iowa City, Lynne Humphreys of Coralville, Paul (Lynn) Humphreys of Winfield and Mary Kay (Kevin) Rappenecker of Crawfordsville; nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Lucille was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Robert on February 2, 2017 and sister, Dr. Joyce A. Gault.

Prep Girls’ Soccer: Burlington Finds a Spot in the Class 2A Rankings for the First Time in 2025

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, May 15th, 2025 at 11:22 am CDT

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 17th, 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 3rd 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 19th.

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

Prison inmate Shawn King dies

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, May 15th, 2025 at 10:35 am CDT

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa – Shawn Demetric King was pronounced dead at 9:50 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at the Minimum Live-Out of the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility. King was 53 years old at the time of his death.

King had been serving a five-year term for crimes from Scott County. His sentence began on Jan. 12, 2024.

The Fellowship Cup Launches Summer Lunch Program for Henry County Youth

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, May 15th, 2025 at 8:19 am CDT

Mount Pleasant, IA — As summer approaches, The Fellowship Cup is once again stepping up to support local families through its Summer Lunch Program, providing much-needed food assistance to Henry County students 18 years old and younger.

Beginning Monday, June 9, families will be able to pick up weekly lunch supplies at The Fellowship Cup Community Room, located at 203 N Jefferson Street in Mount Pleasant. Pickup times are scheduled every Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The program, also referred to as the Summer Sacks Lunch Program, offers groceries and food supplies intended to help families prepare a week’s worth of lunches. However, participants should note that the Fellowship Cup does not prepare the lunches—families are responsible for assembling the meals themselves and ensuring the supplies last through the week.

To enroll a student, parents or guardians must either call The Fellowship Cup at (319) 385-3242, or submit a completed registration form to the Fellowship Cup office. The registration form requires basic student information including names, schools, address, and parent contact details. Forms can be dropped off or mailed to:
203 N Jefferson Street, Mt. Pleasant, IA 52641.

For more information, contact The Fellowship Cup directly or visit their location during regular business hours.