Prep Girls’ Soccer- It appeared that the only way teams from southeast Iowa would move on the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s girls’ soccer rankings would be either down a spot or off the list entirely. Nevertheless, both Southeast Conference (SEC) squads were bumped up a spot in the Class 2A rankings after a week of play.

The reason for the upward trajectory was #13 Bondurant-Farrar falling out of the top 15 altogether. The Blue Jays have had a rough end of April and start of May, dropping four games in a row to the likes of Class 2A’s #5 Gilbert, #3 Dallas-Center Grimes, and #8 ADM. The one that hurt the most was falling to Class 3A’s Southeast Polk, who is just 4-10 on the season.

Nevertheless, their misfortune has led to Burlington and Fort Madison climbing one spot apiece to #13 and #14, respectively, this week. The Grayhounds suffered their first loss of the season since April 11^th last Friday against Class 1A’s #2 Davenport Assumption in a 4-0 thumping. Yet, they quickly bounced back to beat Mt. Pleasant and Keokuk by a combined score of 19 to 0 to wrap up the SEC title.

Burlington has been flat out impressive on defense, allowing only 56 shots on goal in their 15 games this season. Teamwork seems to be the focal point of this team, as their top five goal scorers each tout at least 11 goals with Daphne Brown’s 16 leading the team.

Looking at Burlington’s schedule would indicate a cakewalk for the Grayhounds to end out the regular season as Muscatine and Davenport North are a combined 4-18-1 on the season. However, the Muskies just tied Assumption last week and both belong to a brutal Mississippi Athletic conference.

Ever since losing to Burlington on April 16^th, Fort Madison has gone 7-0-1 and outscored their opponents 51 to 4 in those eight contests. That one tie was a 2-2 draw against Burlington in their rematch. It is another situation where the Bloodhounds tout an amazing defense, allowing only 60 shots on goal, including 49 saves from Ellie Hellman.

Although Fort Madison also possesses one of the best players in Class 2A in Hadley Wolfe. The senior leads the class in goals with 34 and points with 82. Moreover, she has dished out 12 assists, which ranks second on the team. Kara Lake helps the cause with 11 goals of her own, while Halle Menke leads the team with 14 assists.

The Bloodhounds should have an easy path towards postseason play with the one downside being that three of their last four games will be on the road.

Fairfield, IA- The Mt. Pleasant Middle School 7^th and 8^th grade girls’ track and field teams competed for the conference crown this past Monday night in Fairfield and the 8^th grade squad managed to secure the banner with 165.5 points, over 40 points more than runner-up Fairfield’s 121 points.

For such an individual sport, the 8^th grade squad found most of their success in the relays. The Panthers grabbed gold in the 4×100 with the quad of Peyton Duplessis, Kya Heaton, Mara Hobbs, and Aria Lane, the 4×200 with the team of Duplessis, Izzy Parker, Taylin Curtis, and Lane, and the 4×400 meter relays with the team of Dani Wagner, Sofia Holl, Hailey Schadt, and Heaton.

Schadt added another pair of gold medals to her collection by winning the long jump and the 100-meter dash. In a litany of runner-up finishes, Wagner took 2^nd place in the 400-meter dash, Millie Wellington snatched 2^nd place in the 100-meter hurdles and the long jump, and Bianca Russo collected the silver medal in the shot put.

The 7^th grade team, consisting of just 14 athletes, collected 5^th place in an event that saw the teams separated by a mere 26 points. Addison Streigel swept the throwing events as the lone champion.

Walking away with silver medals was the 4×800 meter relay team of Livvie Syfert, Lauren Schwartz, Sara Ruiz De Chavez, and Kreea Lee and the distance medley squad of Lucy Baxter, Catherine Clifton, Brinlee Lane, and McKinley Mason.

Coaches Samantha Freeman and Julie Gilmore noted how proud they were of the teams for their hard work and dedication during the spring!

High School Track and Field

Danville, New London, WACO, Wapello, Van Buren County, and Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to Sigourney for the Class 1A Region 10 State Qualifying meet tomorrow, May 14th.

West Burlington/Notre Dame, Mediapolis, Columbus, and Central Lee will contend at Tipton for the Class 2A Region 7 State Qualifying meet tomorrow.

Mt. Pleasant will host the Class 3A Region 5 State Qualifying meet tomorrow with Fairfield and Washington making the trip. 

High School Soccer

Burlington Notre Dame swept Mediapolis last night with the girls’ team pulling out a 4-2 victory in comeback fashion, while the boys’ team pulverized the Bulldogs 10-0. Daisy Hazell scored a pair of goals in the girls’ contest and Jordan Edgington scored four goals in the boys’ game.

Mediapolis will face off against Keokuk tomorrow, May 14th, with the girls playing at home and the boys hitting the road with both games starting at 5 pm.

Mt. Pleasant will travel to Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow with the girls’ teams leading off the night at 5 pm.

The WACO boys’ team fell to Columbus last night, 8-1, as Niles Reichenbach scored the lone goal. The Warriors will take on Sigourney-Keota tomorrow at 5 pm at home.

The Wapello girls’ team knocked off Cedar Valley Christian last night, 3-1. Kambrie Miller claimed two of the goals, while Reese Connolly saved 14 shots on goal. 

The Wapello boys’ team will compete against Monticello tomorrow at 5 pm, while the girls’ team will travel to Davenport West on Friday, May 15th, at 5 pm.

Central Lee had their wings clipped last night with the girls’ team falling 7-0 to Canton and the boys’ team losing 4-2 to Hillcrest Academy. Mason Sanders scored both goals for the Hawks. Central Lee will take on Williamsburg tomorrow with the boys’ team playing first at 5 pm.

The Washington girls’ team will hit the road to play Mid-Prairie at 5 pm tomorrow with the boys’ team making the trip to Clear Creek Amana on Friday at 5 pm.

Fairfield will contend with Centerville tomorrow with the girls’ team playing first at 5 pm at home.

The Columbus girls’ team will host Ottumwa on Friday at 5 pm.

High School Boys’ Postseason Soccer

The Iowa High School Athletic Association released the postseason brackets for all four classes yesterday with the first round slated to start on Monday, May 18th, for Classes 1A and 2A and Tuesday, May 19th, for Classes 3A and 4A. Here’s a look at the local matchups.

For Class 1A Substate 5, Mediapolis earned a home game against WACO to kickoff postseason play with the winner advancing to play Pella Christian. WACO senior Niles Reichenbach is hoping to accomplish history,

“… as a team, we’ve never won a playoff game at WACO in our soccer season. I think that’d be really fun to do. That’s one of our main goals, just to win a playoff game and make it to the second round.”

Burlington Notre Dame was given a bye as the #2-seed and will take on the winner between #3 Danville and #6 Wapello.

Over in Substate 6, Columbus will get to host Highland for first round action with the winner heading to Tipton.

For Class 2A Substate 4, #4 Washington will face off against #5 Central DeWitt at home for their first-round showdown, while #3 Fairfield will take on #6 Mid-Priaire at home. The respective winners will compete against #1 Mt. Vernon and #2 Solon.

Alone in Substate 5 is #5 Central Lee, who will travel to Knoxville to start their postseason journey.

Lastly in Class 3A, Mt. Pleasant will get a home game as the #2-seed against Pella in the second round for Substate 4. 

In Substate 5, #4 Burlington will square off against #5 Keokuk to kickoff Substate 5 action.

High School Golf

The girls’ Southeast Conference tournament is slated for today in Washington.

The Mt. Pleasant and Washington boys’ teams will gear up for their Class 3A Sectional Qualifier in Fairfield today.

The Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will host the Class 1A Sectional qualifier for Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, New London, WACO, and Wapello today.

The Mediapolis, Central Lee, and Columbus boys’ teams will meet in Tipton for the Class 2A Sectional Qualifier today.

The Columbus, Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, Van Buren County, WACO, Wapello, and Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ teams will head to New London for the Class 1A Region 5C meet on Friday, May 15th. 

The Medaipolis girls’ team will host the Class 2A Region 5B meet on Friday with Central Lee making the trip.

High School Boys’ Tennis

Fairfield will host the Class 1A District 4 Singles and Doubles competition on Saturday, May 16th, with Mt. Pleasant making the trip.

College Baseball

The Iowa baseball team will finish the regular season with a three-game series against Purdue starting tomorrow, May 14th, at 6:35 pm from Principal Park in Des Moines.

This Day in Sports History

1905 – World heavyweight boxing champion James J. Jeffries retires undefeated after 7 title defenses; returns in 1910 to be beaten by Jack Johnson.

1983 – Reggie Jackson is the first major league baseball player to strike out 2,000 times.

1985 – Carlton Fisk became the 5th catcher in major league history to steal 100 bases.

Fort Madison, IA- It has officially become a dynasty for the Highland girls’ golf team as the Huskies snatched their third consecutive Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) title Monday afternoon, besting Wapello by 17 strokes in the process.

Highland turned out to be a tough team to surmount as the team placed three golfers within the top 13. Doing the heavy lifting was the Prottsmans, as Joslyn, a sophomore, and Adisyn, a senior, shot an 81 and 85 to finish in 2^nd and 3^rd place, respectively. Emersyn Schultz turned in a 98 for 13^th place.

Unexpectantly, Wapello and Burlington Notre Dame, who placed in 2^nd and 3^rd place respectively, were the only other teams to have multiple golfers find a spot in the top 10. Emmalin Marshall finished right outside the top three with a 4^th place score of 86, while Macey Kuntz rounded out the top 10 with a 95.

The individual SEISC champion turned out to be a freshman from Notre Dame, as Allee Booten carded a 79 or just 9-over par for the course. Emersyn Hopkins helped out with a round of 88, which was good enough for 6^th place.

The Arrows held the advantage in the rest of the rankings as their next three golfers finished between 19^th and 22^nd place. The next Nike to finish was Brylei Wisemen in 41^st place.

Sophia Jirak, who took home the bronze medal a year ago, claimed 5^th place for Van Buren County with a round of 87 as the Warriors took 7^th place. Winfield-Mt. Union’s Ashlyn Bender was next in the individual order with a 7^th place score of 91. In 8^th and 9^th place were Claire Withrow of Hillcrest Academy and Mediapolis’ Bri Spears, who each shot a 94.

In the next batch of ten, Elizabeth Griffin of Holy Trinity Catholic collected a 96 for 11^th place, while Jocelyn Hernandez of Columbus took 12^th place with a card of 97, as he teammate Hailey Wellington snatched 17^th place. Morgan Meyer claimed a score of 99 for 14^th place.

Winfield-Mt. Union placed two other golfers within the top 20 as Ella Kann slotted in at 15^th with a score of 100, while Kellee Milks took home a 102 for 18^th place. Lastly, Kate Wischmeier claimed 16^th place with a round of 101.

New London was led by Sydney Kracht’s card of 105 for 24^th place, while Danville’s Aubrey Nahorny grabbed 35^th place with a mark of 112. Central Lee had Summer Hunold turn in a 116 to lead the Hawks.

Columbus, Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, Van Buren County, WACO, Wapello, and Winfield-Mt. Union—or half of the conference—will be traveling to New London for the Class 1A Region 5C meet to start their postseason play.

Team Rankings

Highland: 370

Wapello: 387

Burlington Notre Dame: 403

Hillcrest Academy: 410

Mediapolis: 415

Winfield-Mt. Union: 421

Van Buren County: 425

New London: 445

Holy Trinity Catholic: 451

Louisa-Muscatine: 453

Columbus: 467

Danville: 491

No Scores: Lone Tree, WACO, and Central Lee

Player Scores for Our Local Teams

Wapello

3^rd Place Emmalin Marshall: 86

10^th Place Macey Kuntz: 95

19^th Place Kyndall Stigge: 102

21^st Place Annaka Greiner: 104

Burlington Notre Dame

1^st Place Allee Booten: 79

6^th Place Emersyn Hopkins: 88

41^st Place Brylei Wisemen: 115

52^nd Place Paige Kramer: 121

Mediapolis

9^th Place Bri Spears: 94

16^th Place Kate Wischmeier: 101

32^nd Place Cardin Miller: 108

34^th Place Paytan Gerling: 112

Winfield-Mt. Union

7^th Place Ashlyn Bender: 91

15^th Place Ella Kann: 100

18^th Place Kellee Milks: 102

59^th Place Isabella Martinez: 128

Van Buren County

5^th Place Sophia Jirak: 87

26^th Place Maddie Cochrell: 106

42^nd Place Lilly McEntee: 116

46^th Place Teagan Sickels: 116

New London

24^th Place Sydney Kracht: 105

31^st Place Katelyn Allen: 107

39^th Place Isabella Busby: 115

48^th Place Khloe Upton: 118

Holy Trinity Catholic

11^th Place Elizabeth Griffin: 96

25^th Place Emma Mohrfeld: 105

50^th Place Eva Denning: 119

63^rd Place Megan Holtcamp: 131

Columbus

12^th Place Jocelyn Hernandez: 97

17^th Place Hailey Wellington: 101

36^th Place Kinlee Brown: 112

68^th Place Ellie Valencia: 157

Danville

35^th Place Aubrey Nahorny: 112

56^th Place Liz Jensen: 123

57^th Place Ava Walker: 125

64^th Place Makayla Phillips: 131

WACO

14^th Place Morgan Meyer: 99

54^th Place Gracie Cardenas: 122

Central Lee

45^th Place Summer Hunold: 116

49^th Place Lily Smith: 119

69^th Place Leah Azinger: 163