High School Track
Mt. Pleasant celebrated their seniors at the Panther Relays last night and the girls’ team exited with the team crown, collecting 129.5 points, while Mediapolis led the boys’ teams with 118 points.
On the girls’ side, Alex Scott took 1st place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.66 seconds and the 200-meter dash, clocking a time of 26.45 seconds. The Panthers also swiped a victory in the 4×200 meter relay. Some of the top finishes for the seniors included a 3rd mark for Alexis Wagner in the 800-meter run, a 3rd place throw in the shot put for Ava English, and Savannah Slobodnik grabbing 6th place in the shot put and discus.
Winfield-Mt. Union was led by Josie Nelson, who took home the bronze in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.58 seconds, and Kynlee Buffington as she leapt 16 feet and 10.75 inches to clinch 2nd place in the long jump.
Danville’s Alaina Gourley took 6th place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.16 seconds. Kate Lanz of Wapello took home 4th place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1 minute and 3 seconds to lead the Arrows.
WACO’s Josie Dykstra finished in 4th place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1 minute and 12 seconds. Bryn Wright of Mediapolis earned the silver in the 1500-meter run with a time of 5 minutes and 17 seconds. Central Lee’s Aubrey Weber tossed the discus 109 feet and 11 inches to finish in 3rd place. West Burlington/Notre Dame had Kaitlyn Kipp grab 5th place in the 800-meter run.
On the boys’ side, the Bulldogs won three events to help capture the team win. Will Schmidgall outsprinted the competition in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.29 seconds and outpaced the field in the 1600-meter run with a mark of 4 minutes and 37 seconds. Lane Rigdon took the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 12 seconds.
Mt. Pleasant grabbed 4th place with 85 points as Avin Truong took home the win in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet and 9.5 inches. The Panthers finished in 2nd place in four other events. Danville’s Isaac Shinn won the 3200-meter run, clocking a time of 10 minutes and 22 seconds.
The Mt. Pleasant and Mediapolis girls’ team will travel to Washington to participate in an invitational tomorrow, April 24th.
Central Lee, Wapello, Van Buren County, Columbus, and West Burlington/Notre Dame will travel to compete in the Gardner-Wilson Relays at Louisa-Muscatine High School tomorrow.
The Mt. Pleasant, Fairfield, and Mediapolis boys’ teams will compete in the Ike Ryan Relays at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont High School tomorrow.
The WACO boys’ team hosted the Warrior Relays and finished atop the Class B team rankings with 157 points, while Van Buren County captured 1st place in the Class A division with 117 points.
Starting with the hosts, Hayden Shelman ran down a 1st place time of 23.73 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Shelman would take home another gold in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet and 11.5 inches. In the 800-meter run, Jude Dykstra took 1st place with a time of 2 minutes and 9 seconds and he followed that up with a victory in the 3200-meter run with a mark of 10 minutes and 32 seconds. Louden Huisenga cleared 5 feet and 8 inches to win the high jump.
Winfield-Mt. Union’s 129.5 points were good enough for 2nd place as a team. Kohlby Newsom displayed his endurance in the 1600-meter run, getting 1st place with a time of 4 minutes and 48 seconds. Cruz Hagmeier hopped his way to a 1st place time of 15.69 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. The Wolves were able to win the 4×800, sprint medley, and distance medley relays. New London grabbed 1st place in the 4×100 and 4×200 meter relays.
Wapello’s Justyn Faulkner took home the gold in the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.02 seconds. Kolton Small swept the throwing events, winning shot put with a heave of 48 feet and 8 inches and discus with a toss of 138 feet and 7 inches.
For Class A, Lincoln Bainbridge led Van Buren County with a 1st place time of 2 minutes and 6 seconds in the 800-meter run. Gavin Noll paced his way to the gold in the 1600-meter run with a sub-five minute time. Kayden Simmons grabbed the win in the 110-meter hurdles. Landry Loeffler earned the gold in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11 minutes and 29 seconds, which was 30 seconds faster than second place. The Warriors won the 4×200, 4×400, sprint medley, and distance medley relays.
Landry Haberichter of West Burlington/Notre Dame exhibited his speed, taking the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.18 seconds and the 200-meter dash, registering a time of 22.82 seconds. Logan Hamma gathered 1st place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.97 seconds. Mason Watkins cleared 6 feet and 2 inches to win the high jump. Central Lee’s Kagan Damico was the best finisher for the Hawks with silvers in the high jump and the 400-meter hurdles.
Winfield-Mt. Union will celebrate their senior night tomorrow at the Pankoke Relays with Danville, New London, and WACO making the trip.
Fairfield traveled to Ottumwa to participate in the Don Newell Classic last night and the boys’ team took 2nd place with 129 points and the girls’ team finished in 7th place with 27 points.
The Fairfield girls’ team will compete in the Golden Hawk Relays tomorrow at Mid-Prairie High School.
The 115th Drake Relays will get underway for our local high school athletes tomorrow. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be giving updates throughout the multi-day event. For a full list of all of our local athletes competing, follow this link: Drake Relays Roster
High School Tennis
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will host Fort Madison tonight, while the girls’ team will take on Keokuk on the road tomorrow, April 24th.
The Fairfield girls’ team will face off against Maharishi tomorrow at home.
High School Golf
Wapello will host an invite today with Danville, Columbus, and Winfield-Mt. Union competing.
The Holy Trinity Catholic girls’ team will participate in the Lee County Classic today at Sheaffer Memorial Golf Park along with Central Lee.
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will travel to compete in the Oskaloosa Invite tomorrow, April 24th.
The Fairfield girls’ team will hit the road to participate in the Golden Hawk Invitational tomorrow.
WACO will face off against Columbus tomorrow at home.
Mediapolis will host Holy Trinity Catholic tomorrow.
The Van Buren County and Burlington Notre Dame boys’ teams will participate in the Davis County Invitational tomorrow.
The Fairfield boys’ team will host an invite on Friday, April 25th, with Mt. Pleasant and Van Buren County making the trip.
New London will face off against Winfield-Mt. Union on Friday on the road.
High School Soccer
The Mediapolis girls’ team handled Keokuk last night, winning 4-0. The Mediapolis girls’ team will take on Monmouth-Roseville on Friday, April 25th, on the road at 5 pm. The Mediapolis boys’ team will travel to WACO on April 28th at 5 pm.
The Fairfield girls’ team shut out Knoxville last night 3-0. The Trojans will take on Burlington tomorrow, April 24th, at 5 pm with the girls’ team at home and the boys’ team on the road.
Central Lee swept Wapello last night with the girls’ team winning 9-1 and the boys’ team clobbering Wapello 10-0. In the boys’ game, Drake Weber scored a hat trick in the win with Colton Taft and Ayden Kent each adding two goals to the effort.
Columbus will host Central Lee at the Muscatine Soccer Complex tomorrow with the girls’ teams playing at 5 pm and the boys’ teams to follow at 7 pm.
Mt. Pleasant will square off against Fort Madison tomorrow with the boys at home and the girls on the road.
The WACO boys’ team will take on Highland on the road tomorrow at 5 pm.
Burlington Notre Dame will square off against Wapello tomorrow on the road with girls’ teams playing first at 5 pm with the boys game to follow.
The Danville boys’ team will travel to Hillcrest Academy on Friday at 5 pm.
Southeastern Community College
The softball team will close out the regular season today in a road doubleheader against Indian Hills Community College.
The baseball team is back at home today in a doubleheader against Des Moines Area Community College with game one at 3 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1869 – First professional baseball exhibition game: Cincinnati Red Stockings 24, Cincinnati Amateurs 15.
1954 – Hammerin’ Hank Aaron hits first of his 755 homers.
1964 – Houston Colt .45s Ken Johnson becomes the first and only major league pitcher to lose a 9 inning no-hitter, Reds win 1-0.
Harvey John Condon, 96, of Fairfield passed away Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at his home.
A public hearing held in Henry County drew a crowd of concerned residents and stakeholders Tuesday evening, as the Board of Supervisors invited comment on a proposed ordinance regulating large-scale wind energy projects.
Bob B. was the first to speak, commending the Supervisors and zoning committee for their hard work and stating that the ordinance, particularly Article 9, “looks pretty good.” However, he voiced concerns about the lack of fire suppression requirements in turbine units, as seen in neighboring counties.
Several other speakers addressed concerns regarding RWE, a company reportedly interested in developing wind projects in the area. Lynn Humphreys criticized the company for failing to follow up on public questions from a town hall held more than a year ago.
Melanie Patton called for additional provisions, including mandated fire suppression systems and careful monitoring of road use agreements with the county engineer. She emphasized the importance of safeguarding farmland and the future of Henry County.
In contrast, Bryan Messer questioned the legitimacy of the ordinance’s legal foundation. He cited a previous public statement from the Henry County Attorney’s Office, warning that elements of an earlier draft ordinance were likely indefensible in court. Messer criticized what he perceived as selective enforcement and a double standard in land use decisions.