High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will stay at home to take on Keokuk tonight at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm. 

Columbus will face off against Van Buren County tonight at 7 pm. 

Central Lee will square off against Mid-Prairie on the road tonight at 7:30 pm. 

Mediapolis will compete against Davis County tonight at 7:30 pm on the road. 

WACO will hit the road to take on English Valleys tonight at 7 pm. 

Danville will be tested on the road against #4 Lisbon at 7 pm tonight.  

West Burlington/Notre Dame will host Albia tonight at 7:30 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will host Mormon Trail tonight at 7 pm.

Wapello will travel to Pekin tonight at 7 pm.

Fairfield will take on South Tama tonight at 7 pm at home. 

New London will travel to Moravia tomorrow, October 12th, at 2 pm.

High School Volleyball

New London fell to Burlington Notre Dame in straight sets last night 25-12, 25-22, and 25-13. The Nikes will compete at a tournament hosted by Danville on Thursday, October 17th, starting at 5 pm.

Mediapolis swept Van Buren County last night 25-20, 25-17, and 25-19. Maddy Carter tabbed 13 kills and two blocks in the winning effort. The Bulldogs will square off against Fort Madison on Thursday at 5 pm to start off their quad. 

Central Lee gave #2 Holy Trinity Catholic a scare after tying the match at one set apiece but the Crusaders celebrated their senior night with a 3-1 win (25-18, 21-15, 25-21, and 25-13). The Hawks had Taylor Jones collect 14 kills; the Crusaders were led by Presley Myers’ 15 kills and Anna Bendlage’s 20 assists and four aces. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will participate in a tournament tomorrow at Pella. 

Central Lee, Van Buren County, and New London will compete in a tournament tomorrow at Davis County. 

Winfield-Mt. Union won their senior night against Hillcrest Academy last night 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 25-19, and 25-21). Kellee Milks led the team with 12 kills as Madisen Kellogg dished out 42 assists in the win. The Wolves will take on Lone Tree on the road on Tuesday, October 15th, at 7:30 pm.

Wapello dumped Lone Tree in straight sets (25-13, 25-4, and 25-16) last night. Mila Jordan walloped 17 kills, while Annaka Greiner collected 38 assists and four aces in the win. The Arrows will face off against Louisa-Muscatine on Tuesday at 5:30 pm on the road. 

WACO took down Louisa-Muscatine for a senior night victory last night. The Warriors will travel to Pekin on Tuesday at 7:30 pm. 

Columbus won a five-set nail-biter against Highland last night (25-11, 33-35, 21-25, 25-20, and 16-14) as Daniela Diaz filled the stat sheet with 36 assists, two blocks, and two aces in the win. The Wildcats will face off against Hillcrest Academy in a road matchup on Tuesday at 6:30 pm.

Danville battled against Keokuk last night with the match needing five sets to decide a winner after Danville took the first and third sets 26-24 and 25-22, while the Chiefs won the second and fourth sets 25-18. Despite Camryn Atterberg’s 11 kills and two aces, the Bears would exit with the win in the fifth set 15-9. 

#14 West Burlington will square off against Danville on Tuesday at 7:30 pm in a road matchup. 

Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield will travel to Oskaloosa tomorrow for a tournament. 

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released the postseason brackets yesterday and for a breakdown of our local matchups, follow this link: IGHSAU Postseason Brackets

High School Cross Country

Mediapolis and Columbus co-hosted the Mike Jay Invitational last night and the Keokuk girls’ team won with 55 team points, while the Danville boys’ team took the gold with 58 points.

In the girls’ race, Alaina Gourley’s second place finish with a time of 20 minutes and 14 seconds led Danville to a 2nd place finish overall with 70 points as Abby Arnett was the next Bear to finish in 11th place. 

Central Lee took 4th place with Evelyn Adkins’ 12th place finish anchoring the Hawks with a time of 22 minutes and 8 seconds. Mediapolis finished right behind in 5th place as Mia Steniner grabbed 22nd place. 

Mt. Pleasant’s Quintrie Lee had her best finish of the year, collecting a time of 21 minutes and 2 seconds, which was good enough for fifth place. Overall, the Panthers finished in 6th as a team.

Iris Garza led Columbus with a fourth place time of 20 minutes and 56 seconds as the Wildcats finished in 7th place. 

For individual runners, Kaitlyn Kipp of West Burlington/Notre Dame took home the bronze with a time of 20 minutes and 42 seconds. WACO’s Josie Dykstra finished in sixth place. The duo of Kayley Snowgren and Rylee Phillips took ninth and tenth place, respectively, for Van Buren County. Kenna Small of Wapello finished in 16th place. Lastly, Irelynn Kelly of New London raced to a 52nd place finish. 

Moving over to the boys’ race, Danville’s Jackson Shacklett collected the gold with a time of 16 minutes and 33 seconds. Ty Muniz of Columbus was a mere ten seconds behind as he grabbed second place overall with the team finishing in 4th place. 

Will Schmidgall of Mediapolis was the final runner to finish with a sub-17 minute time as he took the bronze along with his squad with 78 points. Van Buren County finished above the Bulldogs with 76 points as Lincoln Bainbridge raced to a fourth place time of 17 minutes and 4.2 seconds.

Mt. Pleasant had Locken Henderson finish in 11th place with a time of 17 minutes and 39 seconds as the Panthers took 6th as a team. Central Lee was led by Leo Thomas’ 29th place finish with the team grabbing 7th place. West Burlington/Notre Dame’s Liam Haeger finished in 28th place, but the team finished behind the Hawks in 8th place. 

Kohlby Newsom tallied a fifth place time of 17 minutes and 4.3 seconds as the Winfield-Mt. Union finished in 9th place. Lastly, Tanner Williams of Holy Trinity Catholic grabbed 59th place with the Crusaders taking 11th place as a team. 

Wapello’s Will Parsons raced to a 51st place finish, while New London’s Nathan Bergman finished in 60th place. 

Danville, Central Lee, Columbus, Holy Trinity Catholic, WACO, Van Buren County, Mediapolis, Winfield-Mt. Union, Wapello, and West Burlington/Notre Dame will compete on Tuesday, October 15th, at Cedar Crest Country Club for their conference meet. 

Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield will compete in their conference meet on Thursday, October 17th, at Keokuk. 

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team will host a triangular today with Wilbur Wright College and Illinois Central College making the trip. 

College Football

#11 Iowa State will travel to West Virginia tomorrow, October 12th, at 7 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will have the call.

Iowa will host Washington tomorrow at 11 am. KILJ 105.5 FM will have the broadcast.

This Day in Sports History

1925 – The New York Giants lose their first NFL game, 14-0, to the Providence Steam Rollers at the Cycledrome.

1927 – New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig is named American League MVP; despite hitting an MLB record 60 home runs, Babe Ruth as a former winner is not eligible–a rule that was changed in 1931.

2020 – NBA Finals: the LA Lakers beat the Miami Heat 106-93 in Game 6 to win a record equaling 17th title; the MVP goes to LeBron James; first to win the award with three different teams.

Prep Volleyball- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released the regional brackets for all five classes today as postseason volleyball sits less than two weeks away. Here’s a look at our local matchups.

Class 1A

Region 2 is the place to look as eight of the 17 Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) teams reside throughout the bracket. #2 Holy Trinity Catholic earned a bye into the second round, earning the top seed. The Crusaders won’t play until October 23^rd at home.

The Crusaders will face off against the winner between Winfield-Mt. Union and Lone Tree as the Wolves are set to be the hosts. Winfield-Mt. Union has not dropped a set against the Lions since 2016 as they won 2-1 earlier this season.

Staying in the op half of the bracket, Burlington Notre Dame will be the home team when they take on WACO, which will their first pair-up since 2021. The winner will take on either Wapello or New London as the Arrows will host that matchup. Wapello’s won their past two matchups against the Tigers, but New London is 10-2 since 2008.

The final SEISC team in the region is Highland as they will face off against North Cedar at home. The big hitters in the bottom half of the bracket will be Springville and Calamus-Wheatland.

The first round will start on Monday, October 21^st, at 7 pm.

Class 2A

Van Buren County will be the lone local team in Region 2 as the Warriors will host Cardinal on Wednesday, October 23rd, at 7 pm. The Warriors are on a 25-game winning streak against the Comets, including a 2-0 sweep earlier this season.

In Region 3, Columbus will tango with Danville in the first round at Columbus. The Beas won the last matchup in 2022 and hold the series advantage of 4-2 since 2012. The winner will then travel to compete against #14 West Burlington.

#3 Beckman Catholic is the top seed of the region.

The first-round matchups are scheduled for Monday, October 21^st, at 7 pm.

Class 3A

In region 5, Washington will take on Mediapolis at home for their first-round contest. The Demons swept the Bulldogs in early September.

Region 8 is also a place to watch out for as Fairfield will travel to Wilton and Central Lee will tumble with West Liberty on the road. This will be the Trojans first time competing against Wilton, while the Hawks have yet to beat West Liberty in their last four attempts.

The first round will commence on Tuesday, October 22^nd, at 7 pm.

Class 4A

The Southeast Conference (SEC) will get a first-round matchup in Region 4 with Mt. Pleasant set to host Fort Madison. The Panther’s lone conference win of the season occurred against the Bloodhounds at home in a 3-0 sweep. KILJ 105.5 FM will be on the call.

The winner will move on to face off against #4 Clear Creek-Amana in a road matchup on Thursday, October 24^th.

Lastly, Region 6 will also feature an SEC matchup as Burlington will take on Keokuk to open play at home. The Grayhounds have not dropped a set to the Chiefs in their two matchups this season and have only lost five matchups against Keokuk since 2007.

The winner will tango with #6 Pella on Thursday, October 24^th.

The first round is scheduled for Tuesday, October 22^nd, at 7 pm.

Up Next

Keep on staying tuned to KILJ as we will be calling postseason volleyball. Broadcast information will be released closer to postseason play.

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will stay at home to take on Keokuk tomorrow, October 11th, at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm. 

Columbus will face off against Van Buren County tomorrow at 7 pm. 

Central Lee will square off against Mid-Prairie on the road tomorrow at 7:30 pm. 

Mediapolis will compete against Davis County tomorrow at 7:30 pm on the road. 

WACO will hit the road to take on English Valleys tomorrow at 7 pm. 

Danville will be tested on the road against #4 Lisbon at 7 pm tomorrow.  

West Burlington/Notre Dame will host Albia tomorrow at 7:30 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will host Mormon Trail tomorrow at 7 pm.

Wapello will travel to Pekin tomorrow at 7 pm.

Fairfield will take on South Tama tomorrow at 7 pm at home. 

New London’s road game against Moravia has been rescheduled to Saturday, October 12th, at 2 pm.

High School Volleyball

New London will look for a win on their senior night tonight against Burlington Notre Dame at 7:15 pm. 

Mediapolis will compete against Van Buren County tonight at 7:30 pm at home. 

Danville will host Keokuk tonight at 7:30 pm.

Central Lee will travel to Holy Trinity Catholic tonight at 7:30 pm for the Crusaders’ senior night.

Winfield-Mt. Union will take on Hillcrest Academy tonight at 7:30 pm at home for their senior night.

Wapello will face off against Lone Tree tonight at 7:30 pm at home.  

WACO will face off against Louisa-Muscatine tonight at home at 7:30 pm.

Columbus will take on Highland tonight at 7:30 pm at home.

Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield will travel to Oskaloosa on Saturday, October 12th, for a tournament. 

West Burlington will square off against Danville on Tuesday, October 15th, at 7:30 pm in a road matchup. 

High School Volleyball Rankings

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released their seventh edition of the 2024 volleyball rankings and Holy Trinity Catholic continues to climb up the ranks.

Starting in Class 2A, West Burlington, despite winning the New London tournament and not dropping a set in their last five games, fell two spots in the rankings to #14. Taryn Snodgrass is 3rd in the state in assists with 884, while Carli Cline leads the state in digs by nearly 200 with 630 for the season. Add in Brenna Beggs, Jayonna Hiley, and Madelyn Hamelton, who have all tallied at least 230 kills for the season, and this team is a tough one to beat.

Holy Trinity Catholic cannot stop winning since their own classic, causing their move up to #2 in Class 1A. The Crusaders have won their past 12 contests, including the conference championship, while losing only one set. Presley Myers is a fearsome presence at the net with a team leading 185 kills and 57 blocks. With the Crusaders catching fire at the right time and plenty of tournament experience, they will look to make another deep run in the postseason.

High School Cross Country

Mediapolis and Columbus will be co-hosting the Mike Jay Invitational with Danville, Van Buren County, WACO, Central Lee, Winfield-Mt. Union, New London, Holy Trinity Catholic, Mt. Pleasant, West Burlington/Notre Dame, and Wapello all competing tonight.

Southeast Iowa Playbook

Winfield-Mt. Union was the school of focus for last night’s episode of the Southeast Iowa Playbook with special guests seniors Pacey Schlee and Lane Genkinger. For Pacey, her leadership style looks to set the foundation for the younger members of her team to build upon when they become leaders,

“I definitely try to lead by example every day at practice. You know, working hard, not giving up in the game and I always try to give the younger ones advice to, you know, let them know what they can do better and just try to show them, like, how they should be as leaders when they get to their senior year too. Yeah. Just try to remind them that it’s supposed to be fun, and, in the end, the wins and losses don’t matter as long as you had a good time with your team.”

Lane is looking to shock the state as the playoffs rapidly approach and his motivation is built out of selflessness, 

“My family. Because we never really had much and going to state for any athletic activity, whether it’s basketball or track, anything, going to state is pretty big here. So, my dad’s one of my biggest supporters and he just tries to make it to everything and sometimes he couldn’t cause of work. So, I just always try to push to Let him know that I’m doing it for you, Dad, and he can go out and talk to other people and say, yeah, that’s my kid.”

If you missed last night’s episode, then you can follow this link: Winfield-Mt. Union Episode

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team fell to Western Iowa Tech Community College last night 3-2. The Blackhawks will host a triangular tomorrow, October 11th, with Wilbur Wright College and Illinois Central College making the trip. 

College Football

#11 Iowa State will travel to West Virginia on Saturday, October 12th, at 7 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will have the call.

Iowa will host Washington on Saturday at 11 am. KILJ 105.5 FM will have the broadcast.

This Day in Sports History

1916 – In Game 3, Charlie Ebbets becomes the first owner to raise the price of World Series grandstand seats to $5-up from $3.

1960 – Ron Stewart of Ottawa rushes for a Canadian Football League-record 287 yards.

1979 – Nordiques’ Real Cloutier becomes the third player to score a hat trick in their first game.