High School Track

Mt. Pleasant will compete in the Williamsburg Co-Ed invitational tonight.

The Fairfield girls’ team will host their relays tonight with Central Lee making the trip, while the Trojan boys’ team will participate in the Dennis Anderson relays.  

Mediapolis will host the Dave Aamodt Relays tonight with Danville, Wapello, West Burlington/Notre Dame, and Winfield-Mt. Union making the journey.

The WACO relays are scheduled for tonight with New London, Van Buren County, and Columbus competing.

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team had their home opener spoiled by Keokuk last night, losing a tight meet 5-4. Lila Cook collected her first Varsity win in singles over Elizabeth Stanbaugh 8-1 and Hannah Villaplaza won her singles match 8-2. The pair of Cook and Villaplaza also won their doubles match 8-5. Hali Crane and Zoey Carlsen combined to win a 9-8 nailbiter, which ended in a 12-10 tiebreaker in the favor of the Panthers. 

The boys’ team executed their second sweep of the season over Keokuk on the road last night. Mt. Pleasant will compete against Fort Madison on Thursday, April 10th, with the boys at home and the girls on the road.

Fairfield will face off against Burlington on Thursday with the boys on the road and the girls at home.

High School Golf

The Central Lee girls’ team lost a close match against Mediapolis last night 257-267. Marie Young led the Hawks with a 9-hole score of 62. The boys’ team had better luck against the Bulldogs, coming out on top 165-177 as Carson Morrison and Mylan Lowenberg each carded a 40 for the course. Central Lee will travel to Holy Trinity Catholic on Thursday, April 10th. 

Mediapolis will square off against Louisa-Muscatine on Friday, April 11th, at home.

The New London girls’ team outdueled Danville yesterday 206-254 as Karlee Furnald tabbed a 60 for the Bears. The Danville boys’ team carded a score of 208 against the Tigers with Mattix Furnald shooting a 42. New London will host Central Lee on April 15th. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team traveled to Fairfield yesterday for their first SEC meet of the year and finished in 2nd place with a score of 163 with Washington taking home a team score of 153. The Panthers were led by Brody Engle and Merrick Lamm as the duo shot a 38 and 39, respectively, through nine holes. Fairfield finished in 3rd place as Archer Kreuter carded a 41. Washington’s Drew Conrad paced the field with a 36.

The next boys’ SEC meet will take place on Thursday at Fort Madison. 

Wapello split their matchup against Hillcrest Academy yesterday with the girls’ team winning 211-248 and the boys losing 170-192. The girls were led by Emma Gerhardt’s 46 and the boys’ team had Barrett Garrison card a 44. Wapello will take on Highland on Thursday on the road.

Burlington Notre Dame will host the Nike Invitational with Danville, Central Lee, Van Buren County, Mt. Pleasant, and Winfield-Mt. Union competing today.

Columbus will take on Lone Tree today at home. 

WACO will travel to Hillcrest Academy on Friday.

High School Soccer

Central Lee swept Keokuk last night as the girls’ team snuck past the Chiefs 2-1 and the boys’ team walloped Keokuk 9-2 as Colton Taft nabbed two goals and three assists in the win for the boys. The Central Lee girls’ team will host Mid-Prairie tonight at 5 pm.

The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team withstood Burlington’s second half comeback attempt to win 3-2 in the road showdown. The Burlington Notre Dame girls’ team lost to the Grayhounds 3-0. The Burlington Notre Dame girls’ team will take on Monmouth-Roseville on the road on Thursday, April 10th, at 5 pm, while the boys’ team will travel to Solon on Friday, April 11th, at 5:30 pm.

Mt. Pleasant took care of business against Columbus last night with the girls’ team winning 10-0 and the boys’ team crushing the Wildcats 9-0. Dylan White, Akbar Wilson, and Samuel Schaapen each netted two goals as White added two assists in the winning effort. The Panthers will square off against Fairfield on Thursday with the boys’ team making the trip west at 5 pm and the girls’ team playing at home at 4:30 pm.

The WACO boys’ team fell to Fairfield last night 4-1 with Chaz Wohnoutka scoring a goal and totaling three assists in the win for the Trojans. The Warriors will hit the road to face off against Central Lee tonight at 7 pm.

The Mediapolis girls’ team will square off against Fairfield tonight on the road. 

Wapello will travel to compete against Cedar Valley Christian tonight with the girls’ team playing first at 5 pm.

The Danville boys’ team will take on Mediapolis on Thursday at home with gametime at 5:30 pm.

Southeastern Community College                                                     

The softball team will face off against Indian Hills Community College tomorrow, April 9th, in a doubleheader.

The baseball team will host Ellsworth Community College today at 4 pm. The Blackhawks moved up the NJCAA Division II Baseball ranks to #4 in this week’s poll. The squad is currently on a 13-game win streak, winning their contests by an average of 8.6 runs per game.

March Madness

The KILJ bracket challenge, sponsored by The Press Box and Wiley’s Interior Furnishings and Design, is officially over as Florida claimed their program’s third national championship after defeating Houston last night 65-63. Walter Clayton Jr. was named Most Outstanding Player. 

You can find the updated standings here: KILJ Bracket Challenge Standings

This Day in Sports History

1974 – Hammerin’ Hank Aaron hits his 715th home run off of L.A. Dodger Al Downing, breaking Babe Ruth’s record in Atlanta.

1975 – Cleveland’s Frank Robinson debuts as the first African American baseball manager. He also batted second, belting a home run as his club defeated the New York Yankees 5-3. 

2014 – Mike Babcock wins his 414th career game as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, becoming the winningest coach in Red Wings history. He passed Jack Adams, who the coaches award is named after.

March Madness- What a game, what a tournament, and what a finish. The 2025 men’s basketball national champion has been crowned along with KILJ’s Bracket Challenge winner as 15 brackets (33%) accurately predicted this year’s titleholder.

What Happened

Florida had last been a national champion in 2007, which capped off consecutive years of finishing atop the mountain. For Houston, it was an opportunity for the Cougars to reign in their first championship in program history as they hadn’t been to the dance since the mid-1980s.

In a matchup of Houston’s dynamic defense and Florida’s unstoppable offense, it was the Cougars that controlled the tempo. Houston limited the Gators to just 28 first half points, resulting in a three-point lead at the break for the Cougars.

A J’Wan Roberts jumper even had Houston holding on to a 42 to 30 lead five minutes into the second half. Yet, Florida clawed their way back into the game, tying the game on a Walter Clayton free throw with 7:54 remaining in the game.

Then the two heavyweights traded blows until Houston grabbed a 63 to 62 lead with 2:05 to play in the game and that lead stuck for over a minute. Then Alijan Martin made both free throws to take the lead with Will Richard nabbed the ball back for the Gators, leading to Denzel Aberdeen nailing one free throw to give the Gators a 65 to 63 lead with 19 seconds remaining.

Again, it was the Florida defense that slammed the door, causing a turnover at the buzzer as Houston could not generate a last-second shot opportunity. The Gators are champions for the third time in their program’s history and the first time in 18 years, taking down Houston 65-63.

For the KILJ Bracket Challenge, Karen Brimhall is the champion with Terry McWilliams taking second place and Zoey Freeman, who was in 15^th place before the Final Four, nabbing third place.

Brimhall was always near the top of the list as she went on an absolute tear from the second round to the National Championship game, accurately predicting 27 of the final 31 games. McWilliams nabbed 25 of the final 31 games, while Freeman went 13 of the final 15.

The most impressive climb belongs to Allie Liechty-Hultman as her bracket went from 40^th place after the first two rounds to being one of just four brackets to collect at least 300 points this year.

KILJ would like to thank The Press Box and Wiley’s Interior Furnishings and Design for sponsoring our bracket challenge this year and we would like to thank all of you for participating! You have a year to study up for KILJ’s Bracket Challenge in 2026!

Standings

1. Karen Brimhall: 346
2. Terry McWilliams: 340
3. Zoey Freeman: 324
4. Allie Liechty-Hultman: 318
5. Josh Moon: 298
6. Tim Liechty: 296
7. Julie Liechty: 296
8. Jeff Broeg: 292
9. Depot Divas: 292
10. Abbie Leichty: 290

West Burlington, IA- The Southeastern Community College (SCC) baseball team’s 13-game winning streak moved the Blackhawks up one spot to #4 in week five of the NJCAA Division II Baseball Poll.

Sporting a 28-6 record, the Blackhawks could not stop scoring over their past five games of their streak, averaging 12 runs per game and winning by at least five runs in every contest. Two of their five wins came against previously ranked #12—now #19—Kirkwood Community College.

The Blackhawks have been on a different level at the plate, smacking 14 doubles and hitting 11 home runs over their past two series. Of course, their pitching has kept up to task, allowing two runs or less in three of the five contests.

Since losing four consecutive games in early March, SCC has gone 18-1 over the course of the past month. The Blackhawks will host Ellsworth Community College tomorrow, April 8^th, at 4 pm.

Prep Football- The Iowa High School Athletic Association released the football schedules for the 2025 and 2026 regular seasons with Classes 2A, 1A, A, and Eight-Player teams having the possibility to add a ninth game if they do not qualify for the postseason. Here’s a look at our local schools for 2025.

Class 4A

Burlington will start the year with a home matchup against rival Fort Madison then hit the road to take on Oskaloosa and Washington. The Grayhounds will face off against Keokuk in week four to end out non-district play.

For district play, Burlington will square off against Clinton then alternate road and home matchups against Davenport West, Davenport North, North Scott, and Western Dubuque.

Full List of Schedules: Class 4A Schedules

Class 3A

District four houses five of the six Southeast Conference squads with Solon filling in that last spot.

For Mt. Pleasant, the Panthers kick off the year at home against Mediapolis, who has made consecutive runs in the postseason, with back-to-back road games against Knoxville and Oskaloosa to make up weeks two and three. A home contest against Central DeWitt will end out non-district play.

Three of the Panthers’ five district games will be on the road with a home matchup against Washington getting it started. Mt. Pleasant will then head down to Lee County for the next two weeks with games against Fort Madison and Keokuk. Week 8 will see the Panthers take on Solon at home, then end the season on the road against Fairfield.

Fairfield will travel to Benton Community to kickoff the season. The Trojans will stay at home against Centerville and Mediapolis, then travel west to Knoxville. Fairfield will then face off against Solon to start district play at home. Washington and Fort Madison will greet Fairfield, then the Trojans will end the season at home against Keokuk and Mt. Pleasant.

Full List of Schedules: Class 3A Schedules

Class 2A

Mediapolis has a tough row to sow in non-district play with each game having the Bulldogs punch up to Class 3A. A road game against Mt. Pleasant, a home game against Keokuk, and a road showdown against Fairfield will populate the schedule for the first three weeks.

District play will pit Mediapolis against West Burlington/Notre Dame in Burlington, then a home contests against Wilton and West Liberty. A road game against Mid-Prairie and a final home game against Central Lee will end out the season.

West Burlington/Notre Dame will take on a familiar foe in Danville at home to kickoff the season. Then the Falcons fly away from home the following weeks with matchups against Fort Madison and Keokuk to round out non-district play.

After Mediapolis, WB/ND will alternate home and road games with a road showdown against Central Lee, a home game against Wilton, then a repeat of the pattern against West Liberty and Mid-Prairie to end out the season.

Lastly, Central Lee will host their first two opponents in Van Buren County and Albia before hitting the road to take on Fort Madison and West Liberty. Consecutive home games provide a reprieve in opponents of West Burlington/Notre Dame and Mid-Prairie. The Hawks will then stay on the road to tangle with Wilton and Mediapolis.

Full List of Schedules: Class 2A Schedules

Class A

District five will house a majority of our local teams including a newcomer in New London after nearly a decade of Eight-Player football. Starting with the Tigers, New London will host Cardinal to kickoff the season, then travel to Pekin and Highland before heading back home to take on Wapello.

The Tigers will then travel to Columbus, face off against Danville at home, take on BGM on the road, then tango with Van Buren County at home to end the season in mid-October.

Wapello will have to be road warriors to start the season with three of their first four contests away from home. Wapello will travel to Louisa-Muscatine before getting a home game against Highland.

Then its back on the road to square off against Pekin and New London. North Cedar and Columbus will make the trip to Wapello before the squad packs up to Van Buren County in week 7. Wapello’s final matchup will be a home game against Danville.

Columbus will host BGM and Van Buren County to start the season. Road trips to Danville and North Linn make up weeks three and four, respectively. The Wildcats will then take on New London at home before back-to-back road games against Wapello and Highland. Pekin will be their final contest in a home contest.

Van Buren County won’t see a home game until week three against Cardinal with matchups against Central Lee and Columbus getting the season going. The Warriors will stay at home against Danville in week 4 before traveling to Pekin.

Van Buren County will then square off against Highland and Wapello at home before taking on New London on the road.

Lastly, Danville will head east to compete against West Burlington/Notre Dame before facing off against Louisa-Muscatine and Columbus at home. The remaining schedule will trade off away and home games in that order with their opponents being Van Buren County, Highland, New London, Pekin, and Wapello.

Full List of Schedules: Class A Schedules

Eight-Player

WACO and Winfield-Mt. Union rest in district 5 along with Iowa Valley as these three squads have traded off being District Champion for the past three seasons.

WACO will square off against Central City, a team they went 2-0 against last year, on the road to start the season. The Warriors will stay on the road to square off against Winfield-Mt. Union with WACO winning last season’s contest. The WACO squad will then host HLV and Lone Tree.

The Warriors will face off against Belle Plaine on the road, then consecutive home games against English Valleys and Springville before ending the season in a road contest against Iowa Valley.

Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to Easton Valley before hosting their rival in WACO. The Wolves will hit the road to compete against English Valleys before staying at home for two weeks against Wayne and Iowa Valley.

Winfield-Mt. Union will battle HLV and Lone Tree on the road before wrapping up the season against Belle Plaine at home.

Full List of Schedules: Eight-Player Schedules

More

The 2026 schedules flip who will host the game. Week one is scheduled to kickoff on August 29^th with dates subject to change.