Sports, Saturday, November 6th

By Nathan Bloechl · Saturday, November 6th, 2021 at 9:43 am CDT

Prep Football: Dome Matchups Set:

The matchups at the dome are set as state semifinal football will commence next week.

Here are all the scraps for next week’s round:

Class A

#7 East Buchanan vs #1 West Hancock

#4 Woodbury Central vs #2 Grundy Center

Class 1A

#8 Beckman Catholic vs #1 Van Meter

#4 Dike-New Hartford vs #6 West Sioux

Class 2A

#3 Southeast Valley vs #1 Waukon

Williamsburg vs #5 West Lyon

Class 3A

#4 Solon vs #3 Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley

#1 Harlan vs #5 Humboldt

Class 4A

#4 Lewis Central vs #3 Waverly-Shell Rock

#7 Winterset vs #2 Xavier, Cedar Rapids

Class 5A

Ankeny vs #5 West Des Moines Valley

#7 Iowa City High vs #2 Southeast Polk

Men’s College Basketball: Williams Woods Takes Down Wesleyan:

Iowa Wesleyan led by three at halftime, but saw William Woods rally in the second half as it was the Owls securing a 67-62 win last night.

The Owls used a 34-26 second half run to earn the victory.

Former Fort Madison standout Kaleb Cresswell had 18 points to lead the Tigers in the loss, while New London prep Alex Dentlinger chipped in with 12 points and six boards.

William Woods was paced by Makenzie Fessler and his game high 26 points and six boards.

Wesleyan, now 1-3, will take on Columbia College on today in Columbia, Missouri.

Tip is set for 1:00 p.m.

Women’s College Basketball: Wesleyan Steamrolls Hannibal:

Iowa Wesleyan held Hannibal-LaGrange to just 25% shooting from the field as Iowa Wesleyan rolled to a 69-29 victory yesterday on the road.

Brielle Baker led Wesleyan with 14 points while Kyla Moore and Maci Kuchta each had 11.

Kassi Kraft had 12 points and nine boards off the bench for the Tigers.

Former Mount Pleasant star Maddie Williamson had seven points, two rebounds and two steals in a reserve role as well.

Wesleyan improved to 2-0 under Steve Williamson and will play Williams Baptist University today at noon.

College Volleyball: Iowa Fires Vicki Brown;

Iowa athletic director Gary Barta has announced that Hawkeye volleyball coach Vicki Brown has been terminated without cause.

A national search for a new head coach will begin immediately.

Brown was named Iowa’s 10th head coach in program history in September, 2019.

She first joined the Hawkeyes in 2017 as associate head coach, followed by three months as the team’s interim head coach.

A native of Toledo, Ohio, Brown compiled a 17-56 overall record in two-plus seasons.

The Hawkeyes have eight matches remaining in the 2021 season.

Jaquelyn “Jaqui” Rae Tolson

By Theresa Rose · Saturday, November 6th, 2021 at 2:10 am CDT

Jaquelyn “Jaqui” Rae Tolson Age 71, passed away on Sunday October 31, 2021, at Great River Hospice House in Burlington, Iowa. Jaqui was born in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, on September 11, 1950. She graduated from Mt. Pleasant Community High School in 1968 and went on to attend Southeastern Community College graduating with an Associate degree in nursing. She later attended Iowa Wesleyan University, graduating in 1994 with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing. Jaqui loved nursing and worked for over 45 years at Burlington Medical Center, which later became Great River Medical Center, and is now known as Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center. A natural born caregiver, she cared for her parents, Ailleen and Glenwood until their passing.

Jaqui was passionate about many things in life. Born into a musical family, Jaqui loved music and enjoyed singing in the First Presbyterian Church choir, during her free time. She also loved art, drawing and painting in her leisure time. In her early years, Jaqui spent her time creating ceramic and crochet masterpieces that she shared with her loved ones. Jaqui was an avid traveler, and she ventured around the country by bus, car, or train attending graduations, weddings, recitals, birthday parties, and family holidays. While she spent her entire life avoiding planes, that never stopped her from showing up for her family and friends. Above all else, Jaqui loved her family. She was Godmother to her nieces, Timeka and Cherie, and favorite aunt to many more. Jaqui was a true blessing to all who knew her.

Jaqui was preceded in death by her mother and father, Ailleen Rebecca (Turner) Tolson and Glenwood Floyd Tolson; her sister Mildred “Milli” (Henry) Dawson, and nephew Jeffrey Dawson. She leaves to cherish her in fond memory, siblings; sister, Carolyn Rumph (Madison, WI) and brother, Gerald “Jerry” (Karen) Tolson (Louisville, KY); nephew, Kevin Dawson; nieces, Charlesetta Dawson, Luana (Fred) Steele, Lisa (Keith) Elzia, Cherie Rumph and Timeka Rumph; great-nephews and nieces, Brandon, Derek, Tia, Noah, Joshua, Asia, Staisha, Cymaron, and Gabriella, “adopted siblings” Debbie McClain and Reynolds Roth, and a host of other relatives and friends.

Jaqui’s homegoing celebration will be held on Saturday, November 13, 2021 with visitation at 10:00 AM followed by the service at 11:00 AM at the First Presbyterian Church in Mt Pleasant. Interment will be in Forest Home Cemetery.  In order to accommodate social distancing and reduce the risks of COVID-19, masks will be required, and the service will be live streamed on the church’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/fpc.mtpleasant. Kimzey’s Funeral Home in Mt. Pleasant is in charge of all arrangements. Those who wish to pay their respects may do so at the funeral home on Friday, November 12 from noon until 8:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Jaqui’s honor to the Iowa Wesleyan University Nursing program, the Glenwood and Ailleen Tolson Music Scholarship at Iowa Wesleyan, or the American Diabetes Association.

The family would like to thank everyone for their love and kindness shown to Jaqui and the family during this time. The family would particularly like to thank the caregivers at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Great River Hospice House for their compassionate care and concern for Jaqui.

 

Patrick McCormick

By Theresa Rose · Saturday, November 6th, 2021 at 1:34 am CDT

Patrick McCormick, 64, of Mount Pleasant, died Friday, November 5, 2021, at his home. Funeral Services are pending at the Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel.

Prep Volleyball: Randolph, Bentz Sisters, Deery Named to All-Tournament Team

By Nathan Bloechl · Friday, November 5th, 2021 at 11:53 am CDT

Cedar Rapids — The Class 1A All-Tournament team has been announced and four area players were honored.

Burlington Notre Dame’s tandem of Jenna and Josie Bentz were recognized, while Holy Trinity sophomore Natalie Randolph was also selected.

Nike junior Gabby Deery was named the 1A All-Tournament Team captain.

Deery’s 67 kills paced the Nikes offensively as there was simply no defending her.

Lauren Wilson and Nia Howard of Springville and North Tama’s Jaydn Rausch rounded out the All-Tournament choices in 1A.

Prep Volleyball: Just Did It — Notre Dame Repeats as Queens of 1A Volleyball

By Nathan Bloechl · Friday, November 5th, 2021 at 11:53 am CDT

(Photo Courtesy: Bryon Houlgrave // desmoinesregister.com) 

Cedar Rapids — There’s no more questions.

There’s no more debate.

1A volleyball for the foreseeable future runs through Notre Dame, the Super Conference and southeast Iowa.

For the second consecutive year, the Notre Dame Nikes captured a state championship, cementing their status as the most dominant program in the sport at their level.

For what it’s worth — and head coach Mike Davis would agree — it wasn’t as easy as it was last year for the Nikes.

They were missing the tournament MVP from a year ago in Katy Stephens.

Her absence thrust rising superstar Gabby Deery into the limelight and not only did she excel, she exceeded.

Deery provided her capstone performance in last night’s title game drilling home a match-high 18 kills, propelling the Nikes to a 3-1 win over Springville.

Deery finished the three day tournament with an absurd 67 kills.

“Her plans got moved up with [Katy] got hurt, but she got the note in the mail that said hey we’re doing this a year early. And midway through this year, she really started figuring this out and her efficiency was out of this world” head coach Mike Davis said.

For her efforts she was named 2021’s 1A Tournament MVP.

Josie Bentz had 13 kills in the win while Megan Harrell and Abby Korschgen each had eight.

Jenna Bentz paced the Nikes with 42 assists.

After falling behind in set one — one they eventually lost — the Nikes outscored Springville 75-57.

“I don’t know what it is, it’s ridiculous to think how many times we’ve had to gnaw and claw to get back into a game” Davis said.

“But these girls, they never give up. I was thinking this might be a tough road for us but they came back in that second game like the first never happened. It’s just amazing” 

Notre Dame will graduate Josie and Jenna Bentz, Megan Harrell, Katy Stephens and Maisey Belger, so the road to a three-peat may be harder.

But with arguably 1A’s best player in tow in Gabby Deery, anything may be possible.

“We’re still going to be good, I want to go play good teams, we may have a ton of losses — but when it comes to this time of year, we’re going to be ready.”

Other state final results from yesterday:

  • Dike-New Hartford 3, Western Christian 0
  • West Delaware 3, West Liberty 1
  • Western Dubuque 3, Waverly-Shell Rock 0
  • Pleasant Valley 3, Cedar Falls 0

Prep Football: Audubon Outlasts WACO in Heartbreaker

By Nathan Bloechl · Friday, November 5th, 2021 at 11:49 am CDT

(Photo Courtesy: Dana Royer /// thehawkeye.com)

Wayland — Braden Wessel’s fourth quarter punt return sent the Audubon Wheelers to the UNI Dome, defeating WACO 34-30 in a heartbreaking 8-Player Quarterfinal yesterday in Wayland.

The Warriors, leading 30-28, saw Wessel scamper 70-yards, weaving in and out of tacklers to give the Wheelers a lead they would not release.

They did earlier in the tilt, however, as WACO rallied in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 28-16 into the game’s last moments, WACO saw Jon Rice and Simeon Reichenbach both score rushing touchdowns to give the Warriors a 30-28 lead.

Reichenbach was particularly outstanding.

The senior to be rushed 28 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns, while Jon Rice added 37 and two scores of his own.

A week after rushing for 301 yards and six touchdowns in their win over Montezuma, Wheeler quarterback Gavin Smith was held to just 84 yards by arguably 8-Player’s stingiest defense.

The loss ends WACO’s season at 10-1, falling one game of an appearance at the UNI Dome.

Audubon improved to 10-1 and is at the Dome for the second time in three seasons.

Their opponent is unknown at this time.

College Wrestling: Wesleyan Debuts Saturday

By Nathan Bloechl · Friday, November 5th, 2021 at 11:46 am CDT

Mount Pleasant — The Iowa Wesleyan men’s wrestling team will debut in 2021 this weekend when the Tigers travel to Indianola to take part in the Luther Hill Invitational.

The Tigers will lean Jesus Diaz, Zach Thomas and Brendon Lunsford — three returners who saw mat time last year and earned their sports as national qualifiers.

With 15 newcomers, head coach Shawn Contos is excited to see the growth and development of his youth movement tomorrow.

Action from Indianola on Saturday begins at 9:00 a.m.

Sports, Friday, November 5th

By Nathan Bloechl · Friday, November 5th, 2021 at 11:31 am CDT

Prep Volleyball: Notre Dame Repeats, Defeats Springville:

There’s no more questions.

There’s no more debate.

1A volleyball for the foreseeable future runs through Notre Dame, the Super Conference and southeast Iowa.

For the second consecutive year, the Notre Dame Nikes captured a state championship, cementing their status as the most dominant program in the sport at their level.

For what it’s worth — and head coach Mike Davis would agree — it wasn’t as easy as it was last year for the Nikes.

They were missing the tournament MVP from a year ago in Katy Stephens.

Her absence thrust rising superstar Gabby Deery into the limelight and not only did she excel, she exceeded.

Deery provided her capstone performance in last night’s title game drilling home a match-high 18 kills, propelling the Nikes to a 3-1 win over Springville.

Deery finished the three day tournament with an absurd 67 kills.

“Her plans got moved up with [Katy] got hurt, but she got the note in the mail that said hey we’re doing this a year early. And midway through this year, she really started figuring this out and her efficiency was out of this world” head coach Mike Davis said.

For her efforts she was named 2021’s 1A Tournament MVP.

Josie Bentz had 13 kills in the win while Megan Harrell and Abby Korschgen each had eight.

Jenna Bentz paced the Nikes with 42 assists.

After falling behind in set one — one they eventually lost — the Nikes outscored Springville 75-57.

“I don’t know what it is, it’s ridiculous to think how many times we’ve had to gnaw and claw to get back into a game” Davis said.

“But these girls, they never give up. I was thinking this might be a tough road for us but they game back in that second game like the first never happened. It’s just amazing” 

Notre Dame will graduate Josie and Jenna Bentz, Megan Harrell, Katy Stephens and Maisey Belger, so the road to a three-peat may be harder.

But with arguably 1A’s best player in tow in Gabby Deery, anything may be possible.

“We’re still going to be good, I want to go play good teams, we may have a ton of losses — but when it comes to this time of year, we’re going to be ready.”

Other state final results from yesterday:

  • Dike-New Hartford 3, Western Christian 0
  • West Delaware 3, West Liberty 1
  • Western Dubuque 3, Waverly-Shell Rock 0
  • Pleasant Valley 3, Cedar Falls 0

Prep Volleyball: Randolph, Bentz Sisters, Deery Named to All-Tournament Team:

The Class 1A All-Tournament team has been announced and four area players were honored.

Burlington Notre Dame’s tandem of Jenna and Josie Bentz were recognized, while Holy Trinity sophomore Natalie Randolph was also selected.

Nike junior Gabby Deery was named the 1A All-Tournament Team captain.

Deery’s 67 kills paced the Nikes offensively as there was simply no defending her.

Lauren Wilson and Nia Howard of Springville and North Tama’s Jaydn Rausch rounded out the All-Tournament choices in 1A.

Prep Football: Audubon Outlasts WACO in Heartbreaker:

Braden Wessel’s fourth quarter punt return sent the Audubon Wheelers to the UNI Dome, defeating WACO 34-30 in a heartbreaking 8-Player Quarterfinal yesterday in Wayland.

The Warriors, leading 30-28, saw Wessel scamper 70-yards, weaving in and out of tacklers to give the Wheelers a lead they would not release.

They did earlier in the tilt, however, as WACO rallied in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 28-16 into the game’s last moments, WACO saw Jon Rice and Simeon Reichenbach both scored rushing touchdowns to give the Warriors a 30-28 lead.

Reichenbach was particularly outstanding.

The senior to be rushed 28 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns, while Jon Rice added 37 and two scores of his own.

A week after rushing for 301 yards and six touchdowns in their win over Montezuma, Wheeler quarterback Gavin Smith was held to just 84 yards by arguably 8-Player’s stingiest defense.

The loss ends WACO’s season at 10-1, falling one game of an appearance at the UNI Dome.

Audubon improved to 10-1 and is at the Dome for the second time in three seasons.

Their opponent is unknown at this time.

College Wrestling: Wesleyan Debuts Saturday: 

The Iowa Wesleyan men’s wrestling team will debut in 2021 this weekend when the Tigers travel to Indianola to take part in the Luther Hill Invitational.

The Tigers will lean Jesus Diaz, Zach Thomas and Brendon Lunsford — three returners who saw mat time last year and earned their sports as national qualifiers.

With 15 newcomers, head coach Shawn Contos is excited to see the growth and development of his youth movement tomorrow.

Action from Indianola on Saturday begins at 9:00 a.m.