High School Track

The Washington boys’ team will host the Steve Roth Relays on Thursday, March 27th, with Fairfield, Mediapolis, Wapello, Mt. Pleasant, Danville, West Burlington/Notre Dame, Columbus, WACO, and Winfield-Mt. Union all competing. 

The Danville, Fairfield, Mediapolis, New London, WACO, Winfield-Mt. Union, West Burlington/Notre Dame, and Mt. Pleasant girls’ teams will meet up in Burlington for the Falcon Relays on April 1st. Panther head coach Scot Lamm wants his team to get back up top the pedestal of the conference again,

“That’s always the goal. Washington hadn’t won the conference since 1979, and like I said, you know, we won ten of the last 12 and we certainly pride ourselves on being good not only in Southeast Iowa but across the state. Yeah, that’ll be the goal all year long, and we’ll try to chase down the demons and see if we can get that conference title back to Mount Pleasant.”

High School Basketball

The 2025 Pizza Ranch All-Star Game is scheduled for Saturday, March 29th, at Dallas Center-Grimes High School with three of our local players and a coach making the trip to compete. 

On the girls’ Southeast team, WACO’s Ella Huisenga, who ranked 2nd on the team in points and 1st in rebounds, earned a spot and accompanying her will be her coach Lisa Graber. The Southeast squad will face off against the Northwest team for the first round at 10:45 am.

On the boys’ Southeast team, a pair from the Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division will join forces in West Burlington’s Mason Watkins and Luke Hellige of Holy Trinity Catholic. Watkins and Hellige both finished within the top 10 in the state in points per game and as their respective program’s all-time leading scorer. The Southeast and Northwest will square off for their first round matchup at noon. 

Southeastern Community College                                                     

The softball team will host a doubleheader against Marshalltown Community College tomorrow, March 26th. 

The baseball team will hit the road tomorrow to take on Ellsworth Community College in a doubleheader. 

College Basketball

The #6-seed Iowa woman’s team proved to be outmatched in their showdown with the #3-seed Oklahoma yesterday, losing 96-62. Lucy Olsen collected 20 points in the loss. The Hawkeyes finished the season with a 23-11 record. 

Ben McCollum will be the 23rd head coach in Iowa men’s basketball history after accepting the job yesterday. McCollum sports an 81.8 winning percentage in his career and holds four NCAA Division II National Championships when he coached at Northwest Missouri State. He was named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year after leading Drake to a conference regular season and tournament title along with a win in March Madness. McCollum will have an introductory press conference today at 3:30 pm.

March Madness

The KILJ bracket challenge, sponsored by The Press Box and Wiley’s Interior Furnishings and Design, is officially underway with nearly 50 brackets submitted with the top three set to receive prizes. 

The standings have been updated through the first two rounds. For a look at the top 10 breakdown, follow this link: KILJ Bracket Challenge Standings

The standings will be updated after the Elite Eight, Final Four, and championship matchup. The Sweet 16 will be back in action on Thursday, March 27th.

This Day in Sports History

1934 – The Masters Tournament was held for the first time. Horton Smith becomes the inaugural Champion with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole.

1972 – Chicago Blackhawks’ Bobby Hull becomes the 2nd NHLer to score 600 goals, with a goal in Boston assisted by his brother Dennis.

1986 – Kurt Browning becomes the first figure skater to land a quadruple jump.

Mt. Pleasant, IA- Two rounds of March Madness are down for the men’s NCAA tournament with the Sweet 16 looming ahead on Thursday, March 27^th, it is the perfect time to update what has happened in the pool of 64 and the standings heading into a bit of a reprieve.

What Happened

The prediction amongst the people of southeast Iowa was that upsets were so last year and that came to fruition as only seven upsets prevailed through the first round with #12 McNeese State pulling off the biggest upset, knocking out Clemson—an upset only four brackets had.

Home state pride proved successful until the second round as Iowa State and Drake were eliminated by Ole Miss and Texas Tech, respectively.

The second round was thrilling but did not yield many upsets, especially on the right side of the bracket as only #6 BYU was able to down #3 Wisconsin in a tough game. The left side of the bracket was a bit more unpredictable as #5 Michigan, the Big Ten winner, and #6 Ole Miss advanced.

Oh and #10 Arkansas, coached by John Calipari, outpaced #2 St. John’s, coached by Rick Pitino, 75-66 to galivant into the Sweet 16 in a battle between two legendary coaches. Nine brackets predicted St. John’s to lose in the second round, but only three had Arkansas complete the task. Most did not have the Razorbacks escaping past Kansas in the first round.

Above all, seven of the top eight teams still remain and only four brackets lost their champion out of 46, although one lost their entire championship matchup.

Before we jump into the top 10, most people did an excellent job guessing the first round with 30 brackets at least guessing 25 games correctly. The most belonged to Mat Wilson and Terry McWilliams as each picked 28 first round matchups correctly.

The second round was also above average as 37 brackets at least picked 10 games right, though 16 were able to get up and over 12 correct. Wanda Broeker demolished the second round with 14 correct choices out of a possible 16 contests. Five brackets accurately guessed 13 games right.

Standings

1. Wanda Broeker: 110
2. Rick Bunnell: 104 Guessed the Arkansas Upset
3. Mat Wilson: 104 Guessed the Arkansas Upset
4. Curt Wilson: 102
5. Aaron Freeman: 102
6. Matt Donnolly: 102
7. Terry McWilliams: 100
8. Brent Broeker: 100
9. Janae Body: 98
10. Karen Brimhall: 98

More

Stay tuned to KILJ for an update on the standings after the Elite 8.

Iowa City, IA- The madness of March is not just confined to the hardcourt, but the coaching carousel as well with numerous coaches having announced their decision to accept vacant positions at other programs. You can add Ben McCollum to that list as Iowa has reached an agreement to have the 43-year-old lead the men’s basketball team next year.

It did not take McCollum long to make a name for himself at the Division I level as his first season at the helm of Drake yield a 30-3 record during the regular season that included the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament championships, which brought upon an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The #11-seeded Bulldogs pulled off one of the few upsets in the first round, handing the #6-seeded Missouri a 67-57 loss. Despite just entering the upper echelon of coaching, McCollum has exuded confidence in himself and his players,

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect this,” McCollum said late Thursday night after Drake secured its first NCAA tournament win since 2021. “… I expected exactly this. I expected [my players] to compete. I brought winners with me. That’s what I brought. I guess my superpower is finding winners, finding tough kids and believing in them. So, I kind of expected this. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. I know I try to be humble in other words. But man, I believe in these kids.”

His 31 wins this season were a program record for the Bulldogs as they finished a win away from their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1971.

Before coaching at Drake, McCollum dominated at the Division II level with Northwest Missouri State, totaling 394 wins in 15 seasons as he won four Division II titles. After returning to his home state, his overall record now sits at 425-95—a winning clip of 82%.

Now, coaching in the city he was born in; McCollum will now have to deal with the expectations of improving a Hawkeye team that has missed back-to-back NCAA tournament bids. Additionally, he will have to replace Fran McCaffery, the all-time winningest coach in Iowa history.

This will be McCollum’s first power conference job when the Hawkeyes tip-off in the upcoming winter. Iowa Athletics will be hosting an introductory press conference tomorrow, March 25^th, at 3:30 pm.

High School Track

The Columbus Co-ed Invitational is scheduled for tonight with Central Lee, New London, Van Buren County, and Winfield-Mt. Union making the trip to start the outdoor season.

The Washington boys’ team will host the Steve Roth Relays on Thursday, March 27th, with Fairfield, Mediapolis, Wapello, Mt. Pleasant, Danville, West Burlington/Notre Dame, WACO, and Winfield-Mt. Union all competing. For Panther head coach Shawn Striegel, the goal is getting better one day at a time,

“We talk about it every day in the locker room, and that’s get better today, get 1% better today. Focus on the details. You know, be coachable and those are things that, you know, I don’t really have to say a lot to them because they’re the kids are saying it 1st and so I’m excited for that, you know, as the season is. It’s gonna come pretty quick and if we can keep focusing every day by one or two percent, I like to see what this team can do by the end of the year.”

High School Basketball

The 2025 Pizza Ranch All-Star Game is scheduled for Saturday, March 29th, at Dallas Center-Grimes High School with three of our local players and a coach making the trip to compete. 

On the girls’ Southeast team, WACO’s Ella Huisenga, who ranked 2nd on the team in points and 1st in rebounds, earned a spot and accompanying her will be her coach Lisa Graber. The Southeast squad will face off against the Northwest team for the first round at 10:45 am.

On the boys’ Southeast team, a pair from the Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division will join forces in West Burlington’s Mason Watkins and Luke Hellige of Holy Trinity Catholic. Watkins and Hellige both finished within the top 10 in the state in points per game and as their respective program’s all-time leading scorer. The Southeast and Northwest will square off for their first round matchup at noon. 

Southeastern Community College                                                     

The softball team had a grueling four-game stretch, collecting a 1-3 record in the process. The weekend started with a dominant 7-1 showing against Southwestern Community College but dropped the rematch 12-10. Yesterday, the Blackhawks were swept by Iowa Western Community College 3-2 in game one and 17-9 in game two. Tayler Braun had an RBI double in game one, while Ella Florey crushed a home run and collected five RBIs in game two. The Blackhawks will host a doubleheader against Marshalltown Community College on Wednesday, March 26th. 

The baseball team handled business at home, defeating North Iowa Area Community College in a sweep. Game one saw Michael Farina lace a triple for two RBIs in a 5-1 victory. Game two featured a walk-off as Farina collected two more RBIs and a double in the 10-9 finish. The final game of the series was an offensive flurry with the Blackhawks winning 17-5 with Carter Thompson and Jackson Petsche tabbing three RBIs apiece. The baseball team will hit the road on Wednesday to take on Ellsworth Community College in a doubleheader. 

College Basketball

The #3-seed Iowa State men’s team’s defense was no match for the #6-seed Ole Miss, falling 91-78. Curtis Jones put up 26 points in the effort. The Cyclones finished the year with a 25-10 record. 

The #11-seed Drake men’s team’s Cinderella story came to an end in the second round against the #3-seed Texas Tech, 77-64. Bennett Stirtz scored 21 points in the loss. The Bulldogs gathered a 31-4 record for the season, a program record. 

The #6-seed Iowa woman’s team squashed the #11-seed Murray State 92-57 over the weekend to advance to the round of 32. Five players finished the night in double figures as Ava Heiden led the way with 15 points. The Hawkeyes will square off against the #3-seed Oklahoma today at 3 pm.

March Madness

The KILJ bracket challenge, sponsored by The Press Box and Wiley’s Interior Furnishings and Design, is officially underway with nearly 50 brackets submitted with the top three set to receive prizes. 

The Sweet 16 is set and despite a couple of close calls, seven of the top eight teams are still in the running for the National Championship with #10 Arkansas remaining as the highest-seed after knocking off #2 St. John’s.

Standings will be updated before the Sweet 16 and after the Elite 8, Final Four, and the championship game.

This Day in Sports History

1936 – The Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Maroons, 1-0, in 16:30 of the 6th period of OT; the record Stanley Cup playoff game lasts 9 periods (176 minutes).

1974 – 36th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: North Carolina State beats Marquette, 76-64; Wolfpack first title; first tournament officially designated as a Division I championship.

2019 – Two-time American League MVP Mike Trout signs the biggest contract in North American sports history, a $426.5 million, 12-year extension with the Los Angeles Angels.