Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Southeast Conference (SEC) has officially released the All-Conference Awards and underclassmen rule both the 1^st Team and 2^nd Team with a total of only five seniors on either list. Burlington yielded the most 1^st Team selections.

Wrestler of the Year

Earning Wrestler of the Year and the only member of Keokuk to make the 1^st or 2^nd Team was Jalyiah Gardner. The All-SEC 1^st Team honoree tore through the regular season and earned the #3-seed for the 2025 state tournament. An inspired performance saw Garnder skip her way to the championship bout for the 140-pound weight class.

Against #8 Teagan Carritt of Logan-Magnolia-Woodbine, Gardner was unable to grab one last win, falling to Carritt. Gardner touts a 41-4 record for the season and 2^nd place at the state tournament. She finished the season with a 44-5 record.

Burlington

The Grayhounds had seven members earn 1^st Team honors with four of the wrestlers making a trip to the state tournament.

In the 105-pound weight class, Grace Navarre, a sophomore, was able to collect 31 wins during the season and punch her ticket to the state tournament. Grabbing the #13-seed, Navarre pulled off an upset with a 1-0 decision victory over #4 Lila Sheehan of Mason City.

However, Navarre would fall in her next two matches and claim a 32-19 record for the season.

In the 110-pound weight class, junior Sarina Cline grabbed 1^st Team honors. Cline snatched 30-plus wins for the season and finished just a spot short of punching her ticket to the state tournament.

Brooklyn Sparrow, a junior in the 120-pound weight class, took home 1^st Team honors. Sparrow collected 15 wins for the season.

In the 135-pound weight class, sophomore Mia Oddo also turned in a stellar campaign that ended with a trip to the state tournament and 1^st Team All-Conference. Oddo had a tough draw as the #16 seed and turned in a record of 25-25.

Amaziah Twillie, a freshman in the 155-pound weight class, pulled off two terrific upsets as she knocked off the #4 seed and advanced to the semifinals. However, Twillie could not parlay her day one success onto day two as her day started with a loss to #1 Haylee McGrew of Ankeny in the semifinals.

In the consolation bracket, #4 Shanona Emmanuel of Iowa City, City High took advantage of the rematch, registering a quick pin of Twillie. The loss sent the freshman to the 5^th place match where #9 Kalen Jo Westerfield of Lewis Central pulled off the win by fall.

Twillie collected a 6^th place finish and a 29-13 record.

Tabbing 1^st Team All-SEC honors was senior Kiara Rodriguez of the 190-pound weight class. The senior performed well on day one of the state tournament , but Rodriguez fell to #9 Maddison Wright of Lewis Central, placing her in the 7^th place match but due to medical forfeit she could not wrestle. Ending her season with a 37-6 record and 8^th place at state.

Lastly, Alannah Peterson took home 1^st Team All-SEC honors in the 235-pound weight class as she also made a run through the state tournament. On the final day, Peterson took down #7 Sage Dzeladini of North Scott by major decision to take one more step towards the bronze.

However, Peterson lost by ultimate tiebreaker to #3 Aniyah Smith, casting her to the 5^th place match. With a rematch against #5 Delilah Subsin of Ottumwa in place Peterson had learned everything she needed from her first matchup, defeating the Bulldog by fall.

Peterson took home 5^th place and a 24-6 record for the season.

Freshman Wandy Luna (115), senior Emma Warth (125), junior Sara Cruz (130), and sophomore Macy Peterson (170) yielded 2^nd Team honors.

Fort Madison

The Bloodhounds had two state qualifying wrestlers for the season and two wrestlers grab 1^st Team honors.

In the 125-pound weight class, Briena Fenton, a sophomore, competed well throughout the season and collected the #14-seed for the state tournament. Fenton went on to finish the season with a 36-18 record.

Mara Smith earned 1^st Team honors for the 130-pound weight class. The junior qualified for the third straight year for the state tournament. Smith started off the third session with a matchup against #10 Tatum Heaberlin of Gilbert on her path towards third place. Smith collected a hard-fought victory by fall to advance one step closer to the third-place match.

Smith pinned #11 Brielle Parke of Linn-Mar to punch her ticket to the bronze medal match against #3 Kylee Shoop of West Delaware. Unfortunately, Shoop proved to be too much, defeating Smith by major decision.

Smith finished in 4^th place and with a 46-6 record for the season.

Taking home 2^nd Team honors were sophomore Kat DiPrima (140), junior Tatum Peters (155), and junior Mady Emmett (190).

Mt. Pleasant

The Panthers had two wrestlers finish their season with 1^st Team All-SEC honors with one making the trip to the state tournament.

Paris Phosy took a big step in improvement for her sophomore campaign, snatching 1^st Team All-SEC for the 115-pound weight class. Phosy collected 15 wins, including a 5-3 record against other SEC foes.

If there was an award for it in the SEC, Zenlynn Lee, a junior, would most certainly have earned Comeback Wrestler of the Year after missing all of last season with a knee injury and returning to dominate, taking home 1^st Team honors for the 145-pound weight class.

Lee’s time at the state tournament did not quite go to plan as the #6-seed, but in a year where she said that she was trying to get back to full form and still grabbed a 23-7 record for the year, it was mighty impressive.

Earning 2^nd Team honors for the Panthers was freshman Quintrie Lee (110).

Fairfield

Samantha Lyons gets to soak up the spotlight as the only Trojan on the 1^st Team, as the sophomore grabbed the spot at the 170-pound weight class. Lyons had no trouble on day one of the state tournament, advancing to the semifinals.

Unable to pull off one more upset, Lyons was set loose in the consolation bracket, where she handled #6 Gracie Pinckney, advancing to the third-place match on a 7-1 decision victory over Pickney. Lyons would garner 4^th place after losing to #2 Layna DeMoss of Benton by major decision.

Lyons ended the season with a 35-6 record.

Sophomore June Conner (100), junior Alyia Abbot (105), and sophomore Kendra Allsion (235) snatched 2^nd Team honors.

Washington

The Demons did not have any 1^st Team wrestlers but grabbing 2^nd team honors were sophomore Ryha Wellinton (135) and senior Peggy Miller (145).

Wrestling Academic All-Conference

Wrestler Team

Alannah Peterson Burlington

Edine Saint Amine Burlington

Brooklyn Sparrow Burlington

Emma Warth Burlington

Alyia Abbott Fairfield

Kendra Allison Fairfield

Madalyn Emmett Fort Madison

McKayla Schinstock Fort Madison

Tatum Peters Fort Madison

Mara Smith Fort Madison

Jalyiah Gardner Keokuk

Jaylah Gardner Keokuk

Reagan Haage Keokuk

Katie Ettinger Mount Pleasant

Zenlynn Lee Mount Pleasant

Peggy Miller Washington

Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Southeast Conference (SEC) has officially released the All-Conference Awards with Fairfield tabbing the most All-Conference 1^st Team Selections and a share of the Wrestler of the Year award. Here’s the breakdown by team.

Co-Wrestler of the Year

The shared honor goes to a pair of seniors: Fairfield’s Cason Miller and Washington’s Aaron Boone. A longer section about them will be listed with their team.

Mt. Pleasant

The Panthers finished the conference gauntlet undefeated, snatching their first SEC title in over a decade. With that success three Panthers earned a spot on the All-SEC 1^st Team in juniors Lane Beckler, 126-pound, and Ramzy Davis, 150-pound, and senior Payton Walker, 190-pound.

Beckler finished his season with a 21-10 record and was flawless against other conference competition. His best finish of the season was second place at the WACO Invitational, where he fell by an 8-7 decision against a state qualifier in Kane Forseen of New London. Beckler fell just short and nabbed 3^rd place at the state qualifying meet.

Davis captured 2^nd place twice throughout the season and ended up one win away from qualifying for the state tournament. The junior also went undefeated in SEC play as he collected a 24-11 record for the season.

Lastly, Walker caught fire by the end of the season and rode the momentum for as far as he could, falling to Logan Gardner of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in the 2^nd place match at the state qualifying meet. His best finish occurred at WACO as he took 2^nd place, losing to the eventual state champion in WACO’s Louden Huisnega. He ended the season with a 22-9 record.

Fort Madison

After graduating most of their seniors from a season ago not many gave the Bloodhounds a chance to stay competitive in the SEC, yet Fort Madison finished 4-1 in conference and second place overall with two All-SEC 1^st Team honorees and four 2^nd Teamers.

James Fuller earned the honor for the 120-pound weight class with 33-16 record for his freshman campaign. He earned the #10-seed for the state tournament and finished his run with a 1-2 record.

The other 1^st Team member was senior Aaron Warner of the 285-pound weight class. In his swan song season, Warner culminated a 31-13 record and handled business within the SEC, pinning all his opponents.

Grabbing All-SEC 2^nd Team honors were seniors Logan Pennock (132), Noah Swigart (138), Gavin Callahan (175), and freshman Ren Watson (190).

Fairfield

The Trojans may have finished third in conference with a 3-2 record, but Fairfield had the most individual success of the six teams in the SEC with five 1^st Team members and one more wrestler on the 2^nd Team, five of the six were state qualifiers.

In the 113-pound weight class, junior Cael McCabe would be a strong contender for SEC Wrestler of the Year after an impressive regular season yielded him the #2-seed in the Class 2A state tournament. On championship Saturday, The Trojan would thump Rowan Berndt of Notre Dame by technical fall to advance to the 3^rd place match.

McCabe would parlay that victory into a 7-1 decision win over #7 Kolbe Hanson of Iowa Falls-Alden to claim 3^rd place. He ended the year with a 37-3 record.

Aiden Westercamp claimed a 1^st Team spot in the 138-pound weight class as a junior. Westercamp spent most of the season wrestling up in the 150-pound weight class and managed to collect 25 victories by the season’s end.

Co-SEC Wrestler of the Year in the 157-pound weight class, Cason Miller ended his career with a victory, a coveted position for any wrestler. #3 Miller tangled #16 Hayden Schafer of Eagle Grove for 7^th place, and it was the Trojan who grabbed the decisive victory by an 11-2 decision to finish the year with a 39-4 record.

In the 175-pound weight class, Dain Burkhart had quite the junior season, earning himself a first-round bye at the state tournament. Unfortunately, Burkhart’s tournament run ended without him earning a place. Still, he finished the season with a 39-6 record.

Lastly, Dre Smithburg, 215-pound weight class, also enjoyed a senior campaign that saw him punch his ticket to the state tournament where he would finish unplaced. Smithburg finished the season with a 42-7 record.

Grabbing 2^nd Team honors for Fairfield was sophomore Zandrik Allsion in the 144-pound weight class.

Burlington

The only Grayhound to grab a spot in the 1^st Team selection was senior Braxton Hutchinson in the 106-pound weight class as the squad finished with a 2-3 record in conference. Hutchinson was constantly ranked throughout the season for Class 3A’s 106-pound weight class.

Unsurprisingly, Hutchinson made his way to the state tournament and earned his trip to the 3^rd place bout. In a rematch against #7 Abe Heysinger of Dubuque Hempstead—the wrestler who knocked him into the consolation bracket—the result was congruent with the first, a 1-0 decision win for Heysinger.

The Grayhound ended the year with a 42-6 record and 4^th place overall.

Taking home 2^nd Team honors was freshman Roy Brown (120), Buxton Carlson (126), Adrain Perez-Hall (157), Owen Difederico (165), and Caden Huff (285).

Washington

The Demons were only able to take down Keokuk on the year for their sole conference victory, but did saddle three wrestlers into the SEC 1^ST Team selections. Leading the way was Co-SEC Wrestler of the Year in the 132-pound weight class, senior Aaron Boone.

Boone was not going to let anyone stand in his way as he started off championship Saturday with a pin of #4 Steele Diercks of Assumption in the consolation semifinals. Boone only had #5 Kaiden Parker of Oskaloosa left to beat for third place.

In a difficult match, Boone was able to stave off Parker to pick up a 4-1 decision win and the bronze medal, collecting a 50-4 record for the season.

Jude Carter was preparing himself all year, wrestling up in the 144-pound weight class despite weighing in at 138 pounds. The senior was not deterred, reeling off 26 wins on the season and claiming 3^rd place at the state qualifying tournament in Williamsburg.

Lastly, sophomore Blain Rees earned a spot at the 165-pound weight class. Racking up 30-plus wins as he oscillated between the 165-pound weight class and the 175-pound weight class. Rees ended up just short of making the state tournament, taking third place at the state qualifying meet.

Earning a spot on the 2^nd Team was Greyson Hartman (215).

Keokuk

The Chiefs did not collect a win in conference play, but they did have one wrestler earn his way to the state tournament in Ryan Rose as the freshman took home All-SEC 2^nd Team honors for the 106-pound weight class.

Rose collected a 44-11 record for the year.

Wrestling Academic All-Conference

Wrestler Team

Caden Huff Burlington

Brayden Lyles Burlington

Adrian Perez-Hall Burlington

Micah Zaugg (mgr) Burlington

Cason Miller Fairfield

Dre Smithburg Fairfield

Dain Burkhart Fairfield

Jacob Crew Fairfield

Angel Quimby Fairfield

Aiden Westercamp Fairfield

Emmelia Miller (Mgr) Fairfield

Jake Haessig Fort Madison

Gavin Callahan Fort Madison

Nicholas Carle Fort Madison

Calvin Johnson Fort Madison

Hadley Johnson Fort Madison

Tateum Schelich Fort Madison

Noah Swigart Fort Madison

Aaron Warne Fort Madison

Jaxsen Stuecker Mount Pleasant

Payton Walker Mount Pleasant

Juan Lopez Mount Pleasant

Kolbein Ostby Mount Pleasant

Ramzy Davis Mount Pleasant

Brandon Cortes Hernandez Washington

Caden Greiner Washington

Aaron Boone Washington

Jude Carter Washington

Nathaniel Edmonds Washington

High School Boys’ Postseason Basketball

In the Class 1A Substate 4 championship game, #10 Burlington Notre Dame rallied and led for most of the night, but #8 North Linn snuck out with the victory after a late surge at the free throw line sunk the Nikes, 56-52. Shay Stephens knocked down 15 points followed by 13 points for Jack Drew. Nike head coach Dan Kies talked about his two seniors, Colby Booton and Drew, after the game,

“Both are great kids, great teammates, great kids to coach. I mean never an issue come up; they both work hard, you know, Colby, he’s just a hard-working athlete and ready to battle whenever he’s in whatever he’s doing, and Jack is just a basketball junkie that loves the game. You know, we’ll miss them as people really.”

Notre Dame finished the year with a 19-5 record. Joining North Linn in the Class 1A state tournament set to start on March 10th will be Boyden-Hull, St. Edmond, Marquette Catholic, Gladbrook-Reinbeck, Madrid, Woodbine, and Remsen St. Mary’s.

For the Class 2A Substate 5 championship game, #10 West Burlington battled back from being down 20 to 4 at the end of the first quarter but simply ran out of steam as #5 Grand View Christian exited with the win 74-57. Mason Watkins ended his incredible career with one more 30-point performance as the Falcons ended the season with a 21-3 record.  

Also punching their ticket to the Class 2A state tournament were Unity Christian, West Lyon, Jesup, Grundy Center, Union Community, Treynor, and Western Christian.

In Class 3A Substate 6, Keokuk will travel to #3 Knoxville tonight at 7 pm for the Substate Championship.

High School Girls’ Postseason Basketball

Class 5A will tip-off the state tournament today with #1 Johnston facing off against #8 Iowa City Liberty at 10 am. Other Class 5A matchups include: #4 Ankeny Centennial will take on #5 Pleasant Valley, #2 Dowling Catholic will compete against #7 Davenport North, and #3 Waukee Northwest will tangle with #6 Prairie.

Also starting their tournament run today will be Class 3A with #1 Mt. Vernon going against #8 West Marshall. #4 Cherokee Washington will look to defeat #5 Estherville Lincoln Central, #7 Spirit Lake will look to knock off #2 Wahlert Catholic, and #3 Williamsburg will face off against #6 Des Moines Christian.

Class 2A will start tomorrow, March 4th, along with Class 4A, while Class 1A will compete on Wednesday, March 5th. The Class 2A matchups include #1 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, looking to cap out a perfect season, facing off against #8 Treynor. #4 North Mahaska will verse #5 Central Lyon. #2 Regina Catholic returns to the state tournament to compete against #7 Maquoketa Valley, while #3 Hinton will take on #6 Rock Valley.

For Class 4A, #1 Bishop Heelan will face off against #8 Xavier with the winner competing against either #4 Norwalk or #5 Central DeWitt. On the bottom half of the bracket, #2 North Polk will tangle with #7 Sioux Center and #3 Maquoketa will take on #6 Dallas Center-Grimes.

Lastly, in Class 1A, #1 Saint Albert will lead off the day against #8 Dunkerton, followed by #4 Bishop Garrigan versus #5 Montezuma, #2 North Linn taking on #7 Gladbrook-Reinbeck, and #3 Newell-Fonda attempting to avoid the upset against #6 Springville.

Southeast Iowa Playbook

Tune in to KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, on Wednesday night at 6 pm for a new episode of the Southeast Iowa Playbook featuring the trio of state wrestlers from WACO in Ian Maize, Gage Samo, and Louden Huisnega as they discuss what led up to the tournament and the emotions that came with competing in Des Moines.

IHSAA Football Classifications

The Iowa High School Athletic Association released the preliminary breakdown of the two-year classification cycle based on the Basic Educational Data Survey along with a formula for free and reduced lunch percentages and here’s how our local teams were affected.

Mt. Pleasant will be the largest team in Class 3A as they were joined by Keokuk, Fort Madison, Fairfield, and Washington. West Burlington/Notre Dame is the largest school in Class 2A, sneaking in by only six points. Mediapolis also stayed in Class 2A.

Class A kept Danville, Wapello, Van Buren County, and Columbus but they also added New London to the mix as one of the smallest schools of the class. WACO and Winfield-Mt. Union kept their status in 8-Player.

For a full look at the numbers, follow this link: IHSAA Classifications

Southeastern Community College                                                     

The men’s basketball team slipped past Moberly Area Community College over the weekend, winning 57-55. The Blackhawks will host Marshalltown Community College on Wednesday, March 5th, at 7 pm.

College Basketball

The #9 Iowa State men’s team got back in the win column with a one-sided victory over #22 Arizona this past weekend 84-67. Milan Momcilovic led the scoring effort with 17 points. The Cyclones will compete against BYU at home tomorrow, March 4th, at 8 pm.

The Iowa men’s team sits in 15th place in the Big Ten with two conference games left on the schedule as they look to upset #8 Michigan State on Thursday, March 6th, at 7 pm at home for their senior night.

The Iowa women’s team outpaced Wisconsin yesterday 81-66 to finish out the regular season with a win. Hannah Stuelke was a force in the contest, collecting 21 points and gathering 15 rebounds for a double-double. The Hawkeyes will get a rematch with Wisconsin on Wednesday, March 5th, at 7:30 pm for their opening matchup of the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

The Iowa State women’s team capped off their regular season with a dominating upset of #14 Kansas State 85-63. Audi Crook was unstoppable, picking up a 36 point/10 rebound double-double in the winning effort. The Cyclones will be gearing up for the Big 12 tournament as they received a bye into the second round, scheduled for Thursday.  

This Day in Sports History

1920 – The Montreal Canadiens scored an NHL record 16 goals, beating the Quebec Bulldogs 16-3.

1983 – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw is admitted to the hospital for surgery to repair his throwing arm under the alias ‘Tom Brady.’

2024 – Iowa’s Caitlin Clark became the NCAA Division I all-time career scoring leader, surpassing Pete Maravich’s career total of 3,667 points as she went on to finish the night with 35 points in a win over Ohio State.