Boys’ State Basketball
Championship Friday is in the books for the 2023-2024 season and two upsets occurred in Des Moines.
Starting in Class 1A, #1 North Linn and #2 Marquette Catholic went point-for-point with the Defenders grabbing a one-point fourth quarter lead, but the Lynx were too tough and won 57-56.
Mason Bechen continued his impressive postseason run with 24 points in the championship game. Spencer Roeder had a great game for Marquette Catholic with 17 points and 14 rebounds. The Lynx have now won three state championships.
Winfield-Mt. Union’s Cam Buffington was named to the All-Tournament team with 33 points and 16 rebounds in his two games.
In Class 2A, the first half started off close between #1 Western Christian and #2 Hudson with the Wolfpack holding on to a slim 40 to 33 lead at halftime. Then the sails got ripped off in the third quarter as the Pirates were outscored 22 to 5, eventually losing 78-51.
Karsten Moret and Caleb Douma each cashed in for 23 points in the win as Douma nailed seven threes. Hudson’s Camden Davis was the main source of offense with 19 points in the effort.
For Class 3A, #4 Assumption and #2 Waverly-Shell Rock took a page out of the Class 1A championship game and battled for four quarters as the Knights outscored the Go-Hawks 20 to 10 in the second quarter and Navon Shabazz nailed a last second free throw to win 46-45 for another upset win for Assumption.
Shabazz was the leading scorer with 16 points as Kayvion Hodges collected a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Knights. Cole Marsh finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds for Waverly-Shell Rock.
#2 Valley successfully fended off #1 Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s fourth quarter comeback attempt to win the Class 4A championship 63-59. The Tigers were led by Trevin Jirak’s 19 points as Curtis Stinson added 18 points to the winning effort.
Trey McKowen was the leading scorer for Kennedy with 17 points as three other players also finished in double figures.
High School Track and Field
The IATC Indoor Championships at Iowa State had schools from all across Iowa competing as the boys’ teams of Mediapolis, Danville, Mt. Pleasant, and Winfield-Mt. Union competed along with the girls’ teams of Mt. Pleasant and Danville.
Here’s a look at the top finishers on the boys’ side of the meet. For Winfield-Mt. Union, Kohlby Newsom grabbed fourth place in the 800 meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 5 seconds. Additionally, the team of Sheaden Adams, Thomson, Scorpil, and Newsom grabbed 11th place in the 4×800 meter relay.
Mt. Pleasant’s Avin Truong took home the gold for the Class 3A long jump with a leap of 21 feet and 1.75 inches.
The Mediapolis boys’ team finished top 30 in every event the Bulldogs participated in. Noah Schmidgall captured 8th in the 200 meter dash with a time of 23.67 seconds; moreover, Schmidgall took 15th in the Class 2A long jump with a leap of 18 feet and 5.75 inches.
Nathan Schmidgall finished with the better jump for the Bulldogs with a leap of 19 feet and 10 inches as he grabbed 6th place.
Solomon Zaugg was a beast in the long distance events as he finished 1st in the 1600 with a time of 4 minutes and 34 seconds and 3rd in the 3200 with a time of 10 minutes and 13 seconds.
Logan Rosas also finished with the gold in the 800 meter run with a time of 1 minute and 58 seconds. Owen Schmidgall finished close behind in fourth place.
For the relay teams, the Shuttle hurdle took 6th place, the 4×400 meter relay team grabbed 3rd place, and the 4×800 meter relay team took home 1st place with a time of 8 minutes and 10 seconds.
Danville’s Ayden Doyle had a fine meet for the Bears with a 7th place finish in the 60 meter dash and a 6th place finish in the 200 meter dash. Jackson Shacklett took 3rd in the 800 meter run and Noah Horn grabbed 6th.
For the relay teams, the 4×800 team took the gold, the distance medley finished in 4th place, and the 4×400 meter relay team took 6th place.
On the girls’ side, Alaina Gourley dominated with two 1st place finishes with a win in the 400 meter dash and the 800 meter run. Abby Arnett did well with a 6th place finish in the 3000 meter with a time of 11 minutes and 38 seconds.
Lastly, Mt. Pleasant’s Kynlee White sprinted to two top 10 finishes with a 6th place finish in the 60 meter sprint and a 9th place finish in the 200 meter.
Ella Ensminger’s toss of 35 feet and 11.25 inches in the shot put resulted in a 5th place finish. The 4×100 meter relay team of Sanders, Jalas, Raub, and White grabbed 2nd place with a time of 52.87 seconds.
Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will compete at Central College on March 15th, while the girls’ team will run on the 16th.
The WACO boys’ and girls’ teams will travel to Central College on March 14th to start their season.
The Winfield-Mt. Union and New London boys’ teams will travel to Danville on March 18th to get the season rolling.
College Basketball
The #3 Iowa women’s team walloped the #7-seed Penn State last night 95-62. Despite going just 2 of 14 from beyond the arc, Caitlin Clark surpassed Stephen Curry’s single season three-point record as she finished with 24 points in the win. The Hawkeyes will take on Michigan in the Big Ten semifinals today at 3:30 pm.
The Iowa State women’s team earned the 4-seed in the Big 12 Tournament and will face off against #17 Baylor today at 11 am in their quarterfinal matchup.
The #6 Iowa State men’s team will travel to take on Kansas State today at 1 pm.
The Iowa men’s team will celebrate senior night tomorrow, March 10th, against Illinois at 6 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1904 – Brandon’s Lester Patrick becomes 1st hockey defenseman to score a goal.
1979 – MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn orders baseball to give equal access to female reporters.
1993 – Pittsburgh Penguins begin an NHL record 17 game winning streak.
