Iowa City, IA- What more does Caitlin Clark have left to prove? It’s a question that we often ask an athlete after winning an award and at the twilight of their career; we attempt to rationalize their answer, but rationale never plays a part in their decision, it lies in their competitive nature.

If you have seen Caitlin Clark play, then you know she’s in constant motion on offense and defense. One minute she will weave her way through the defense to deliver a lay-up off the glass, the next she will take a step past the half court line and sink a three like it was a free throw.

Clark’s competitive fire has helped lead the Iowa women’s basketball team to now back-to-back Final Four appearances. It has also nabbed her ten awards for her performance this season.

After grabbing Naismith Player of the Year earlier this week, Clark has now been awarded Associated Press Player of the Year, Wade Trophy Recipient, and Honda Sport Awards Recipient. All these awards come in back-to-back seasons as well.

Clark received 34 of the 35 AP votes before the tournament began and is only the second Hawkeye and Big Ten student-athlete to receive the honor—Megan Gustafson in 2019. She is the only in conference history to do so in back-to-back seasons.

Clark took home the Wade Trophy, the most prestigious national player of the year honor in women’s basketball, for the second year in a row. She is one of six players to win the award twice—Maya Moore won it three times for UConn. She is the first Hawkeye and second Big 10 player to receive the award.

Lastly, the Honda Award goes to the “best of the best in collegiate athletics.” Clark is the reigning Honda Cup winner and is attempting to sweep all the National Player of the Year awards again.

As a senior Clark has somehow brought her game up to another level. She is averaging 32 points and nine assists per game, which leads the NCAA. She became the first player to finish first in both categories in back-to-back seasons. She also became the first Division-I player to score over 1,000 points in back-to-back season, while also holding every career scoring record in collegiate basketball history.

So, in terms of awards she has nothing left to prove. However, if I were to ask her that question, then I believe the answer I would receive is a National Championship. She’s a competitor and a competitor is not done until they win.

She will have to take on UConn tonight at 8:30 pm to earn an opportunity at that championship.

Prep Golf- The spring golf season has gotten off to a slow start due to that typical late March or early April Midwest weather. Nevertheless, the girls of the Southeast Conference managed to get their first conference meet yesterday in Fairfield.

Mt. Pleasant ended up grabbing the win with a team score of 220, while Fort Madison and Washington trailed close behind with scores of 224 and 226, respectively. Keokuk grabbed a team score of 232 and Fairfield rounded out the list with a score of 260.

The Panthers’ Kylie Walderbach led the field with a 9-hole score of 47 with her teammate Elaina Holtkamp finishing with a top-five score of 55. Mt. Pleasant also had Sophia Walderbach and Ashlynn Beauchamp each finish with a score of 59.

Washington was led by three top ten performers as Maci Williams had the second-best score with a 49 after nine holes. Natalie Prochaska took fourth with a score of 54, followed by a seventh-place finish by Reagan Stouder with a score of 57.

Keokuk was led by Allison Ames and Heidi Rose as they shot 51 and 56, respectively. Irelynn Seay finished with a 59 for the Chiefs.

The SEC is back in action on Monday, April 8^th, in Fort Madison at Sheaffer Memorial Golf Park.

High School Track and Field

The Mt. Pleasant and WACO boys’ and girls’ teams participated in the Demon Relays yesterday and here are the highlights. 

On the boys’ side, Mt. Pleasant grabbed a second place finish in the 4×100 meter relay with a time of 45.33 seconds. The Panthers took another silver in the 4×400 meter relay with a time of 3 minutes and 48 seconds. Nate Stroud took fifth in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet and 10 inches. Harmon Ensminger finished in sixth place in the shot put with a toss of 43 feet and 6 inches. The Panthers finished in 8th place as a team with 24 points. 

For WACO, Louden Huisenga was one of the top finishers with a fourth place run in the 110 meter hurdles, collecting a time of 17.48 seconds. Gage Samo also grabbed fourth place in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1 minute and 2 seconds. Clayton Miller leapt to a fifth place finish in the long jump with a distance of 18 feet and 4 inches. The Warriors finished in 9th place as a team with 22 points. Prairie was the top team with 196 points. 

On the girls’ side, Mt. Pleasant’s Alex Scott and Kynlee White finished with the gold and silver, respectively, in the 200 meter dash with a top time of 26.9 seconds. The Panthers finished in first in the 4×200 meter relay with a time of 1 minute and 48 seconds. Josie Gilmore grabbed third place in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 18.52 seconds. Ella Ensminger took second place in the shot put with a heave of 38 feet, while Kylee Hill of Burlington won the event with a toss of 39 feet and 10.25 inches. Hill also won the discus with a toss of 114 feet and 8 inches with Savannah Slobodnik of Mt. Pleasant taking second place with a throw of 112 feet. 

Zoey Dennler was the top finisher for WACO with a sixth place finish in the 100 meter hurdles, earning a time of 18.84 seconds. The Panthers finished in third place as a team with 82 points. Tipton was the top team with 104 points.

The Mt. Pleasant, Mediapolis, Central Lee, Winfield-Mt. Union, and Danville girls’ teams will travel to Fort Madison for a meet on Tuesday, April 9th. The boys’ team will host a meet on Thursday, April 11th.

The WACO relays will run on Monday, April 8th, with the Van Buren County and New London boys’ and girls’ teams in attendance. 

The Van Buren County girls’ team competed in the Burdell Hensley Invitational last night. Lexie Wiley took second in the discus with a throw of 88 feet and 2 inches. The 1600 medley relay team also grabbed second place with a time of 4 minutes and 52 seconds. 

The Mediapolis, Danville, and Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ teams will travel to Wapello for a meet on April 9th.

The Central Lee boys’ team will travel to Fairfield for a meet on April 9th. 

High School Soccer

The WACO boys’ team fell to Hillcrest Academy last night 4-0. Rowan Miller scored two goals for the Ravens. The Warriors will face off against Danville on Monday, April 8th, at 5 pm on the road. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team fell 4 to 2 in penalty kicks to Mid-Prairie last night, falling 2-1. The boys’ team suffered a similar fate, losing 3-1. The boys’ team will take on Highland on Monday at home with the girls’ playing on Thursday, April 11th, against Mediapolis on the road. 

The Mt. Pleasant boy’s team took on Fairfield last night to get conference play underway and it resulted in a thriller at East Lake that the Panthers won in penalty kicks, 5-3. The Trojans tied the game at one with a minute left in regulation and after two scoreless overtime periods Kolbein Ostby, Dylan White, Jonah Zimmer, and Caleb Carrillo Reyes each netted a penalty kick. Axel Noriega Ruiz had the lone goal during regulation as Zach LeBlanc saved three penalty kicks throughout the game. The Panthers will take on Washington on Monday on the road. The girls’ team will travel to face off against Fairfield tonight at 5 pm. 

The Mediapolis girls’ team will take on West Liberty tonight at 5 pm in a road matchup. 

The Central Lee girls’ team will compete against Washington tonight on the road. 

The Mediapolis boys’ team will face off against Wapello on Monday at 7 pm. 

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ picked up their second win of the year with a 9-0 finish against Fort Madison last night. Jana Isanta, Mary Kate Peterson, Bethany Drury, and the team of Drury and Audrey Richmond each shut out their opponent. 

The boys’ team also had success against the Bloodhounds, winning 7-2. Phoenix Watson, Gavin Ross, Sawyer Fulton, Dane Cook, and Elijah Rynders each picked up a win in singles, while the teams of Fulton and Cook and Zach Johnson and Rynders picked up wins in doubles. 

The Panthers will face off against Keokuk on Monday, April 8th, with the girls’ on the road and the boys’ at home.

Southeastern Community College

For baseball, SCC swept Marshalltown Community College yesterday, winning 3-1 in game one and 9-2 in game two. The Blackhawks will travel to take on Iowa Lakes Community College today in a doubleheader. 

The SCC softball team will take on Marshalltown Community College on Monday, April 8th, in a road matchup.

College Basketball

The #1-seed Iowa women’s team will travel to Cleveland to compete against UConn in the Final Four tonight at 8:30 pm. 

 March Madness

The KILJ bracket challenge, sponsored by The Press Box and Wiley’s Interior Furnishings and Design, is down to the final four and 21 of the 34 brackets still have a champion in the dance. The Final Four starts tomorrow, April 6th, at 5:09 pm.

The standings have been updated and you can follow this link to see the top ten: KILJ Bracket Challenge Standings

This Day in Sports History

1972 – The regular MLB season fails to open due to a player strike for the first time in history; 86 games are lost before the labor dispute is settled.

1984 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time career scoring record of 31,419 points.

1989 – Los Angeles Dodger Orel Hershiser’s consecutive scoreless streak of 59 innings ends.