High School Basketball

WACO split the night against Lone Tree as the girls’ team fell 48-33, while the boys’ team smacked the Lions 66-44. Marie Farmer led the girls’ team with nine points and Isaac Rich and Christian Stacy each collected 20 points in the winning effort last night. The Warriors will face off against Hillcrest Academy on Tuesday, December 17th, with game one at 6 pm. 

The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team had #14 Highland on the ropes, but could not keep up as the Huskies exited the contest with a 48-37 win. The boys’ team got back in the win column in convincing fashion, 74-36. Jake Edwards led the way with 25 points with Lane Genkinger adding 18 points. The Wolves will host Holy Trinity Catholic this afternoon with the girls’ teams tipping-off at 2 pm.

The Holy Trinity Catholic girls’ team has improved to 5-0 after another slugfest victory against West Burlington last night 36-33. In a five-star matchup, the boys’ teams traded blows but it was the Falcons who came out on top 69-58. Quincy Collins scored 21 points for the Falcons, while Luke Hellige tallied 37 points for the Crusaders. West Burlington will travel to Danville on Tuesday with the girls playing first at 6 pm.

The Wapello boys’ and girls’ teams struggled against Hillcrest Academy last night with the girls’ team losing 65-41 and the boys falling 68-28. Wapello will compete against Highland on Tuesday in a road matchup with the first game at 6 pm. 

Mediapolis collected a pair of wins against Van Buren County last night with the girls’ team drubbing the Warriors 67-29 as Josie Hutcheson gathered 19 points in the winning effort, while the boys’ team snuck past with a 60-53 win. The Bulldogs will face off against Burlington Notre Dame on Tuesday with the boys following the girls’ game at 7:30 pm. 

The Van Buren County boys’ team will take on West Liberty on Monday, December 16th, at 7:30 pm.

The Fairfield girls’ team lost 44-33 to Washington last night, while the boys’ team fell 55-47.  The Fairfield girls’ team will play Davis County today at 4:30 pm at home.  

New London was not able to keep up with Burlington Notre Dame last night with the girls’ team collapsing 33-14 and the boys’ team losing to the Nikes 77-42. The Tigers will square off against Central Lee on Tuesday with the girls starting off the night at 6 pm. 

The Central Lee girls’ team will take on Centerville on the road tonight at 6 pm. 

Mt. Pleasant was swept by Fort Madison last night in a road matchup as the girls’ team lost 63-34 and the boys fell 47-37. Abi Shelangowski had 13 points for the Panthers in the girls’ game, while the boys were led by Aiden Humble with 16 points. Mt. Pleasant will host Benton for a Monday night doubleheader with game time scheduled for 5:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:15 pm. 

Columbus will face off against Winfield-Mt. Union on Tuesday with the girls’ getting the night going at 6. 

High School Wrestling

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union and Burlington Notre Dame boys’ teams will participate in the Colfax-Mingo Dual Tournament today.

The Wapello boys’ team will compete at the Montezuma tournament today. 

The New London boys’ team will travel to North Cedar today for an invitational. 

The Mediapolis and Mt. Pleasant boys’ teams will compete at Grinnell today for the Tiger Duals. 

The WACO and Van Buren County boys’ teams will head to Tri-County for their invitational, while the WACO girls’ will travel to Vinton-Shellsburg for a tournament today.

The Wapello girls’ team will participate in a tournament today at Marion.

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, Van Buren County, Mediapolis, and Mt. Pleasant girls’ teams will compete at the Keokuk Invitational today.

High School Bowling

Fairfield will host Mt. Pleasant on Monday, December 16th. 

Southeastern Community College

The #10 men’s basketball team started the Highland Tournament with a dominant 73-58 win over Olive-Harvey College last night. The Blackhawks will take on Moberly Area Community College today at 11 am.

College Football

#18 Iowa State will face off against #16 Miami in the Pop Tarts Bowl on December 28th at 2:30 pm in Orlando. 

Iowa will take on #19 Missouri for the Music City Bowl on December 30th in Nashville at 1:30 pm. 

College Basketball

The #3 Iowa State men’s team will host Omaha tomorrow, December 15th, at noon.

The Iowa men’s team will take on New Orleans tomorrow with game time scheduled for 1 pm. 

The #21 Iowa women’s team will start conference play tomorrow in a road matchup against #17 Michigan State at 11 am. 

The #18 Iowa State women’s team will look to regroup against Eastern Illinois tomorrow at home with tip-off at 6 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1901 – The first table tennis tournament was held at the London Royal Aquarium. 

1930 – The New York Giants defeat Notre Dame 22-0 in a charity game.

1947 – The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is founded in Daytona Beach, Florida.

High School Basketball

WACO will face off against Lone Tree at home tonight with game one at 6 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will stay at home to take on Highland tonight with the girls tipping off the night at 6 pm. 

Wapello will host Hillcrest Academy tonight with the girls’ team playing first at 6 pm. 

Van Buren County will compete against Mediapolis tonight at 6 pm at home. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will take on West Burlington tonight with the girls starting the night at 6 pm. 

Fairfield will travel to Washington tonight for a doubleheader with the boys playing at 7:30 pm. 

New London will take on Burlington Notre Dame at home tonight with the girls playing first at 6 pm. 

Central Lee will host Danville tonight with game one at 6 pm. 

Mt. Pleasant will hit the road to take on Fort Madison tonight with the night starting at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm. 

Columbus will face off against Winfield-Mt. Union on Tuesday, December 17th, with the girls’ getting the night going at 6. 

High School Wrestling

Fairfield dueled Washington last night and breezed past the Demons 57-21. Cason Miller, Calvin McClain, Brody Lyons, Dre Smithburg, Noah Patel, and Cael McCabe each won by fall as Dain Burkhart snuck past Blaine Rees by a 6-5 decision. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team hosted a double dual last night with Burlington Notre Dame in attendance. The Wildcats finished 1-2 with a lone win against Highland 63-12. The Nikes handled business, defeating Highland 78-5 and Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union 49-18, but lost to Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 59-22. Isaac Davis, Kohen Dietzenbach, Colt Boyles, Bridge Anderson, C.J. Davis, and Kaiden Dietzenbach each finished the night undefeated. 

The Wildcats and Nikes will participate in the Colfax-Mingo Dual Tournament tomorrow, December 14th. 

The New London boys’ team hosted a quad last night and picked up wins against Wapello 41-23 and Lone Tree 48-18, while losing to Montezuma 42-29. Kane Forseen, Gage Burden, Corbin Jacobs-Jewell, Gavin Menke-Bailey, and Killian Kelly finished the night undefeated. 

Wapello collected a win over Lone Tree 54-24 but lost to Montezuma 43-30. Carter Ball exited the night without a loss. Wapello will get a chance at a rematch tomorrow at the Montezuma tournament. 

The New London boys’ team will travel to North Cedar tomorrow for an invitational. 

The Mediapolis boys’ team competed in a triangular last night with Van Buren County and Pekin and the Bulldogs swept the competition, while the Warriors finished the night 1-1. In the dual between Mediapolis and Van Buren County: Leo Jirak, Kaimrin Ellingson, Jackson Meek, Elijah Westercamp, and Kaden Miller each won by fall for the Warriors, while Taylan Miller, Mason Johnson, Lane Rigdon, and Kyler Crow picked up pins for the Bulldogs. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team dominated Keokuk 75-3 and Illini West 78-6. Tucker French, William Birdsell, Lane Beckler, Jefferson Avalos Ramirez, and Ramzy Davis collected 2-0 records for the night. 

The Mediapolis and Mt. Pleasant boys’ teams will compete at Grinnell tomorrow for the Tiger Duals. 

The WACO boys’ team defeated Louisa-Muscatine 48-32 last night. Harley Larrimore and Tommy Unternahrer won their matches by fall. 

The WACO and Van Buren County boys’ teams will head to Tri-County for their invitational, while the WACO girls’ will travel to Vinton-Shellsburg for a tournament tomorrow.

The Wapello girls’ team will participate in a tournament tomorrow at Marion.

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, Van Buren County, Mediapolis, and Mt. Pleasant girls’ teams will compete at the Keokuk Invitational tomorrow. 

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant was swept by Keokuk last night with the girls’ team falling 2,729-2,385, while the boys’ team lost 2,983-2,429. Fairfield will host Mt. Pleasant on Monday, December 16th. 

College Signing

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ soccer team has produced six consecutive seasons of at least 0.500 records, including three seasons of double-digit wins. One of those seasons coincided with talented midfielder Charice Auwerda, as the senior officially announced her decision to continue her collegiate career at Iowa Central Community College.

Auwerda is happy to have the decision finalized,

“I mean, it’s been a really long process. My parents and I, we’ve been like, toughing it out. This has been going on for like a year and I think that Iowa Central is honestly the best fit for my family and I, and I’m really excited to play for this team.”

The senior has been a magnet for the goal, leading the Southeast Conference (SEC) in goals and points once and assists every year. Auwerda has scored an impressive 55 career goals to go along with 53 assists, which is the Panther record.

Mt. Pleasant will return a strong senior class for the 2025 season, which includes Auwerda and the team’s leading goal scorer in Tori Wilson. Another stat to look out for is Auwerda only needs 12 more points to set the program record as she averages 54 per season.

“I’m very excited” said Auwerda. “It’s our last time playing together. Some of the people that I play with, we’ve played together at a very young age. It’s definitely sentimental and emotional, but I’m very happy.”

Southeastern Community College

The #10 men’s basketball team will participate in the Highland tournament tonight.

College Football

#18 Iowa State will face off against #16 Miami in the Pop Tarts Bowl on December 28th at 2:30 pm in Orlando. 

Iowa will take on #19 Missouri for the Music City Bowl on December 30th in Nashville at 1:30 pm. 

College Basketball

The #3 Iowa State men’s team secured their first win in Iowa City in a decade after a 52-point second half downed Iowa 89-80. Curtis Jones had a big game off the bench for the Cyclones, scoring 23 points, while Joshua Jefferson tallied a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Hawkeyes were led by Owen Freeman’s 16 points.

Iowa State will host Omaha on Sunday, December 15th, at noon.

Iowa will take on New Orleans on Sunday with game time scheduled for 1 pm. 

The #21 Iowa women’s team will start conference play on Sunday in a road matchup against #17 Michigan State at 11 am. 

The #18 Iowa State women’s team will look to regroup against Eastern Illinois on Sunday at home with tip-off at 6 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1983 – 9,655 people see the highest-scoring NBA game: Detroit 186, Denver 184 (3 overtimes).

1997 – 63rd Heisman Trophy Award: Charles Woodson, Michigan (CB). Woodson is the first (and only) primarily defensive player to win the prestigious college football award.

2018 – Dirk Nowitzki takes the court for his record 21st NBA season with only one team–the Dallas Mavericks.

Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Mt. Pleasant girls’ soccer team has produced six consecutive seasons of at least 0.500 records, including three seasons of double-digit wins. One of those seasons coincided with talented midfielder Charice Auwerda, as the senior officially announced her decision to continue her collegiate career at Iowa Central Community College.

Auwerda is happy to have to decision finalized,

“I mean, it’s been a really long process. My parents and I, we’ve been like, toughing it out. This has been going on for like a year and I think that Iowa Central is honestly the best fit for my family and I, and I’m really excited to play for this team.”

The senior has been a magnet for the goal, leading the Southeast Conference (SEC) in goals and points once and assists every year. Auwerda has scored an impressive 55 career goals to go along with 53 assists, which is the Panther record.

Her sophomore season was her most impressive, tied for the conference lead in goals with fellow Panther Elly Manning with 24 goals and assisted on 18 more goals. It was also a successful season from a team perspective, collecting 11 wins and falling a game short of the Regional Championship.

The success has just been a by-product of competing in a sport she’s loved for a decade,

“[Fell in love with the sport] About 8 years old. My parents put me in the rec program, and I started playing for the Rec team and then I made a lot of friends. We were just connecting, playing soccer and everything, and then we started playing for Pink Panthers with one of my friend’s dad’s little club. And then ever since then I just started playing a lot and I really like playing it.”

The Panthers will return a strong senior class for the 2025 season, which includes Auwerda and the team’s leading goal scorer in Tori Wilson. This will be an experienced team coming off a 7-7 campaign last year. Another stat to look out for is Auwerda only needs 12 more points to set the program record as she averages 54 per season.

“I’m very excited” said Auwerda. “It’s our last time playing together. Some of the people that I play with, we’ve played together at a very young age. It’s definitely sentimental and emotional, but I’m very happy.”

The Triton women’s soccer team finished the 2024-25 season with a 9-5-3 record and dominated conference play with an 8-0-1 record. Auwerda will look to add some fire power next season while majoring in business.