Girls’ Regional Basketball

For Class 3A Region 5, Washington lost to Tipton last night, 55-35. The Demons touted a 12-11 record for the season. 

In Region 6, #8 Mediapolis will be playing for a regional championship on Saturday, February 21st, after dismantling Davis County last night, 76-42. The Bulldogs will travel to #6 PCM with tip-off at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.

For Class 4A Region 4, Mt. Pleasant was unable to avenge an early season loss to Oskaloosa last night, falling 51-43. Paityn Ensminger cashed in for 10 points and controlled the boards for the Panthers. Mt. Pleasant finished the season with a 4-18 record. 

Burlington was unable to hold off North Scott last night, falling to the Lancers, 73-65. The Grayhounds finished the season with a 12-9 record. 

In Region 6, Fort Madison had swept Keokuk during the regular season for the first time since 2020, but proved it is hard to beat a team three times in one year as the Chiefs escaped with a 46-44 victory last night. Kendra Boatman and Halle Menke dueled for an identical 20 points. The Bloodhounds collected a 13-9 record for the season.

Keokuk will venture to #6 Central DeWitt on Saturday at 7 pm. 

In Class 2A Region 8, Danville will travel to Regina Catholic on Friday, February 20th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.

High School Wrestling

The 2026 Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) opened up the state tournament last night with the opening rounds of the Class 3A tournament, which saw three local athletes from Burlington competing.

In the 132-pound weight class, #22 Roy Brown finished the day 0-2, losing by technical fall and major decision, respectively. Brown finished the season with a 27-20 record. 

In the 175-pound weight class, #17 Adrian Perez-Hall collected 19 points in his opening match for a win by technical fall, advancing to wrestle #1 Jaxon Miller of Carlisle. The Grayhound would struggle from there being pinned in the first round and losing his subsequent match in the consolation bracket by a 12-5 decision. Perez-Hall collected a 36-7 record for the season.

Lastly, #11 Owen Difederico was on the wrong end of two upsets in the 190-pound weight class, falling in two lopsided decisions. He finished with a 28-12 record for the season.

Classes 1A and 2A are scheduled to start today with KILJ keeping tabs on 29 local wrestlers. One of them being Mt. Pleasant’s Levi Evans. The first Panther state qualifier in the past six years and he’s looking to represent the program with dominance,

“I really just want to wrestle as hard as I can, and I want to place at state this year. I want to make the top 10 and show that even though I’m the only one from Mount Pleasant that made it, I still can wrestle.”

To listen to the full interview, follow this link: MP’s Levi Evans

For a full look at everyone’s first round matchup and seeding, click on this link: Local First Round Matchups 

Boys’ District Basketball

In Class 1A Substate 5 District 9, #4 Burlington Notre Dame will host Danville tonight at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.

Holy Trinity Catholic will travel to Pekin tonight for tip-off at 7 pm.

In Class 2A Substate 5 District 9, West Burlington will fly to Central Lee tonight at 7 pm.

In Substate 5 District 10, Mediapolis will search for their first victory over Mid-Prairie since 2011 tonight at 7 pm on the road. 

In Class 3A Substate 4, #5 Mt. Pleasant will venture to #4 Davenport Assumption for their first round matchup on Monday, February 23rd, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. 

Substate 5 houses the rest of our local teams with #8 Fairfield traveling to #1 Pella. #4 Burlington will host #5 Washington, while #3 Keokuk will take on #6 Fort Madison at home for a pair of Southeast Conference clashes. 

High School Bowling

Keokuk’s Chase Hemann will compete in the Class 2A individual state tournament on Wednesday, February 25th.

College Signing

Mt. Pleasant’s Kellen Kohorst signed his letter of intent yesterday to play football at St. Ambrose University and follow the family tradition of getting his degree in education.

Kohorst discussed what went into the decision to become a Bee,

“You know, I just wanted to look at culture and overall, like the university as itself. It had a lot of just values that I really liked, and I appreciated. And you know, I had an older brother that went there, so comfortability, and then Payton [Walker] last year went there. So, it was just a super comfortable place, felt at home, not too far away from home, and it was just really comfortable, and I really enjoyed my time up there.”

Kohorst was named 1st Team All-District offensive line this past season, as the Panthers clinched a berth to the postseason for the first time since 2010. While he enjoyed the ride, he hopes that success becomes contagious,

“I mean, it was awesome. It kind of started with, you know, before the first game even just being named captain was something that I thought was really cool and special. And then, you know, just, you know, you string together, you go 3-0. That’s the first time we’ve been 3-0 in quite a while. And then, you know, just keeping that together and just going 1-0 every week. And you know, you get to the spot where you’re in the playoffs for the first time in 15 or so years. And, you know, it’s something that we liked right now, but we hope that even for future generations, future teams, that they continue to build off that to where we’re state champions.”

Southeastern Community College

The women’s basketball team fell to Marshalltown Community College, 48-45. Ariana Aguilar touted a 13 point/10 rebound double-double in the loss. The Blackhawks will travel to Northeast Community College on Saturday, February 21st, at 1 pm.

The men’s basketball team let Highland Community College slip away last night, losing 67-65. Brady Martin scored 18 points in the effort. The Blackhawks will host Moberly Area Community College on Saturday at 7 pm.

College Basketball

The Iowa State women’s team rejoiced Addy Brown’s return to the lineup with a dominant 90-64 thrashing of Arizona State last night. Audi Crooks bullied her way to a double-double, scoring 28 points and securing 12 rebounds. The Cyclones will look to upset #12 TCU on Sunday, February 22nd, at 3 pm on the road. 

The #13 Iowa women’s team will stay on the road to play Purdue tonight at 6 pm.

The Iowa men’s team will travel to #24 Wisconsin on Sunday for their 3rd straight ranked opponent with tip-off at 3 pm.

The #6 Iowa State men’s team will travel to BYU on Saturday, February 21st, at 9:30 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will have the call.

This Day in Sports History

1946 – New York Giants outfielder Danny Gardella is the first major leaguer to announce that he is jumping to the “outlaw” Mexican Baseball League for a fee of $10,000.

1965 – The NFL adds a 6th official – the line judge.

1996 – Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns) got his 10,000th career rebound. He became only the 10th NBA player to reach 20,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in a career.

Mt. Pleasant, IA- Even 95 minutes away from home, Kellen Kohorst is keeping his family close by after singing his Letter of Intent to play football at St. Ambrose University in Davenport. Kohorst will be following the family footsteps and getting a degree in education.

“Well, really, I want to be a coach. And so, I mean, it’s a very nice lead way into being a coach is being a teacher as well, but probably want to be at the high school level in some sort of social studies or something like that or PE. You know, one of those typical just football coaches’ positions in the teaching world that kind of I want to be in. And it’s been a thought since probably my freshman year when I kind of got into coaching and, you know, listening to people talk about coaching, it’s something that I knew I wanted to do. And teaching was a very nice lead way into becoming a coach.”

Beyond studying the same subject as his family, he will be joining the family lineage of alums and a friend from the Mt. Pleasant football program,

“You know, I just wanted to look at culture and overall, like the university as itself. It had a lot of just values that I really liked, and I appreciated. And you know, I had an older brother that went there, so comfortability, and then Payton [Walker] last year went there. So, it was just a super comfortable place, felt at home, not too far away from home, and it was just really comfortable, and I really enjoyed my time up there.”

Kohorst and Payton Walker were apart of the change for Mt. Pleasant football, as the team snapped a 23-game losing streak and eventually finished the season with a 4-5 record, which included their first home victory since October of 2020.

That momentum led to Kohorst and the senior class going all in on the 2025 fall season, but the journey actually started in the summer,

“You know, it just started in the offseason, and in the weight room, it’s going out and getting guys together, going whether that’s just, like you just want to mess around and play football. You just want to be around the sport. That’s how you’re going to get better, you know, bring guys to workouts, coming to workouts every day, you know, having a high attendance in the weight room, going to practice, going our hardest every day. I mean, it all just adds up. It’s those little things that add up, and it just leads you to be successful that we’ve been able to do the last few years and are going to continue to do.”

That hard work led to the Panthers outscoring their first three opponents 93 to 42 and moving to 3-0 for the first time since the 2008 season. Helping lead that charge was Kohorst, who started at right guard and defensive end. Week-in and week-out the Panthers dominated the line of scrimmage, leading to a special season and hopefully a special future,

“I mean, it was awesome. It kind of started with, you know, before the first game even just being named captain was something that I thought was really cool and special. And then, you know, just, you know, you string together, you go 3-0. That’s the first time we’ve been 3-0 in quite a while. And then, you know, just keeping that together and just going 1-0 every week. And you know, you get to the spot where you’re in the playoffs for the first time in 15 or so years. And, you know, it’s something that we liked right now, but we hope that even for future generations, future teams, that they continue to build off that to where we’re state champions.”

The First Team All-District offensive lineman got to participate in some of the biggest moments in over a decade for the Panther program. The Panthers rushed for over 1,600 yards and 24 rushing touchdowns and registered 32 sacks as a team, 1.5 coming from Kohorst. This domination led to Mt. Pleasant going 7-3 and clinching the postseason for the first time since 2010.

Yet, it was their first district win of the season that proved to be the most unforgettable moment of the year,

“Probably beating Washington. That’s something that I’d never experienced in my lifetime. You know, I saw my two older brothers, you know, have some really tough losses against them. And, you know, going into this year, it was just, it’s the game that you circle every single year on your schedule, no matter what. And you know, going in there and beating them and beating them convincingly, you know, is super special. Celebrating with the team in the locker room and on the field, even, it was just a very surreal moment that I know I’ll look at for the rest of my life.”

Their 44-20 victory over the Demons was their first since 2008, snapping a 14-game losing streak against Washington. Kohorst finished his career with First and Second Team All-District honors, 65.5 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and an interception.

Now, he gets to realize a dream that not many get to realize,

“I mean, it’s something that, you know, you dream about when, you know, you’re younger. I mean, probably at D1 level, but still just going to college football anywhere is just a dream that a million people want to do, and I’m just happy I can be one of those people that can do it.”

The St. Ambrose Bees finished last season 4-7 and 3-3 in the conference, as Kohorst looks to make an impact on the defensive line. He is the second Panther to commit to playing collegiate football, as Max Sloat is taking his talents to Mount Mercy University.

Des Moines, IA- The first day of the 2026 Iowa High School Athletic Association’s (IHSAA) State Wrestling Tournament is in the books and Class 3A completed the first two rounds and the second round of the consolation bracket. Here’s how our local athletes fared.

132-Pound Weight Class

Burlington’s #22 Roy Brown struggled against #11 Isaac McCleish of Mason City as McCleish tabbed six takedowns for the match before claiming the victory by technical fall. His day would end in the consolation bracket at the hands of #12 Brody Harrington of Clinton by major decision. He finished the season with a 27-20 record.

175-Pound Weight Class

#17 Adrian Perez-Hall of Burlington started off his day in dominant fashion as he accumulated 19 points in the first period over #16 Temi Otaniyi for a win by technical fall. The victory gave him the dubious distinction of wrestling #1 Jaxon Miller of Carlisle.

Miller would show why he is the top ranked wrestler by pinning Perez-Hall by fall. The Grayhound would be sent to #15 Grant Touney of Dowling Catholic in the consolation bracket, where he fell by a 12-5 decision to finish his tournament run. Perez-Hall finished the year with a 36-7 record.

190-Pound Weight Class

Lastly, #11 Owen Difederico of Burlington was upset by #22 Kougar Sargisson of Le Mars by a 14-6 decision. Unfortunately, Difederico was unable to bounce back against #12 Scott Smith of Southeast Polk, losing by a 12-4 decision. He finished the season with a 28-12 record.

More Information

Stay tuned to KILJ for more updates from the 2026 IHSAA State Wrestling Tournament. KILJ would like to thank all of our tournament sponsors for allowing us to cover the State Tournament.