High School Wrestling

The 2026 Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s state tournament is in the books and southeast Iowa was able to claim one new individual champion. Here’s some of the highlights from the event.

Wapellos’ #1 Clara Ball dominated her two rounds of wrestling yesterday, not surrendering a point in either match and claiming the 115-pound weight class’s state championship. It is Wapello’s first ever girls’ state champion. 

Staying with the Arrows, #2 Kenadee Helscher took home her second consecutive silver medal last night after falling in her rematch against #1 Ainsley Hemann of Osage. The senior finished the season with a 45-1 record.

Van Buren County’s Brystol Wiley snatched 8th place, while Fairfield’s Samantha Lyons and Fort Madison’s Mara Smith each placed in 6th. Lastly, Burlington’s Amaziah Twillie and Macy Peterson each yielded 7th place finishes for their respective weight classes. 

For a full breakdown of yesterday’s action, follow this link: Championship Recap

The boys’ district wrestling meets are scheduled for February 14th.

High School Basketball

Mt. Pleasant was swept by Keokuk last night with the girls’ team losing 62-44 and the boys’ team falling 58-48. Kynlee White scored 11 points in the girls’ game, while Ryan Helling led the boys’ team with 14 points. The Panthers will look to bounce back against Ottumwa on Monday, February 9th, with the girls’ playing at home and the boys’ tipping-off on the road with both start times at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call for the boys’ game with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.

The Fairfield boys’ team lost to Burlington 72-39 last night. The Trojans will host Mid-Prairie on Monday at 7:30 pm.

The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team have now won two straight after pulverizing Cedar Valley Christian last night, 60-15. The Wolves end the regular season with a 3-18 record. 

Southeast Iowa Super Conference Shootout

The boys’ #3 through #8 seeds competed in their SEISC shootout competitions last night and here’s how everything played out. 

#8 New London sprinted past Lone Tree last night 71-54 to finish the regular season with a 5-16 record. 

In the #7-seed contest, Van Buren County snuck past Highland last night 76-69. The Warriors will compete against Twin Cedars on Monday at 7:30 pm. 

The Danville boys’ team hung on to defeat Wapello last night, 66-62, to snatch the #6-seed game. The Bears will host Davis County on Tuesday, February 10th, at 7:30 pm.

In the #5-seed showdown, Holy Trinity Catholic clobbered Columbus last night 72-41. The Crusaders will face off against Clark County on Monday at 7:30 pm at home.

Columbus will tangle with Cardinal on the road at 7 pm on Monday. 

In a defense slugfest, West Burlington defeated WACO, 49-31, in the #4-seed game. The Warriors will look to bounce back against Wapello at home on Tuesday at 7:30 pm. 

West Burlington will travel to Mt. Pleasant on Tuesday for a doubleheader starting at 6:15 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6 pm.

Lastly, Central Lee completed the South Division sweep with a 56-44 victory over Pekin last night in the #3-seed contest. The Hawks will travel to Davis County on Thursday, February 12th, at 7:30 pm.

On the girls’ side, Highland and Mediapolis will face off for the conference title today at 2:30 pm at Highland, while Danville will compete with Lone Tree to lead off the day at 1 pm.

Burlington Notre Dame will hold the #1 and #2 seed games tonight for the boys’ teams, with Mediapolis clashing with Winfield-Mt. Union at 6 pm and the conference title going to either the Nikes or Hillcrest Academy at 7:30 pm.

High School Bowling

The girls’ state meet is scheduled for Tuesday, February 10th, through Thursday, February 12th, in Waterloo. Keokuk will be competing as a team, while Mt. Pleasant’s Shyann Smith will bowl as an individual along with Keokuk’s Allison Sapp, Jaelynn Ketterer, and Josie Sapp.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) released the state qualifying meet assignments for the boys’ teams and Central Lee will host West Burlington, while Fairfield will travel to Monticello in Class 1A.

 In Class 2A, Clinton will play host to Burlington, Keokuk, and Mt. Pleasant.

Both meets are scheduled for Monday, February 16th, at 10 am.

Southeastern Community College

The women’s basketball team will host Kirkwood Community College today with tip-off at 1 pm.

The men’s basketball team will continue the home stand today at 3 pm against Triton College. 

The men’s and women’s wrestling teams will travel to North Iowa Area Community College for the District Championships on February 15th. 

College Basketball

The Iowa State women’s team will travel to Utah tonight at 6 pm.

The #10 Iowa women’s team made a late run but ultimately fell to Minnesota last night, 91-85. Ava Heiden scored 24 points in the losing effort. The Hawkeyes will host Washington on Wednesday, February 11th, at 6:30 pm.

The Iowa men’s team will head back home to play Northwestern tomorrow, February 8th, at 2 pm.

The #7 Iowa State men’s team will take on Baylor at home at 1 pm today. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will have the call.

This Day in Sports History

1969 – Diane Crump becomes the first woman jockey to compete at a major US racetrack.

2005 – Britain’s Ellen MacArthur becomes the fastest person to sail solo around the world, taking 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes, and 33 seconds. 

2021 – Sarah Thomas becomes the first woman to referee a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Coralville, IA- The 2026 Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s State Tournament is now in the books and championship Friday yielded one local state champion and eight other wrestlers finding a spot within the top eight. Here’s how everything went down.

Class 1A

100-Pound Weight Class

Van Buren County’s #6 Brystol Wiley started the day with a matchup against #2 Molly Konechne of Central Lyon-George Little Rock in the third round of the consolation bracket and after rallying back in the second period to tie the match, a penalty point to Konechne gave her all the momentum she needed to walk away with the 5-3 decision victory.

That loss sent Wiley to the 7^th place to compete against #8 Brynnlie Havig of Osage. The Warrior held a narrow lead in the third period, but an onslaught of points was enough for Havig to earn 7^th place on a 14-9 decision.

Wiley finished the season with a 31-8 record and a silver medal.

105-Pound Weight Class

Wapello’s #2 Kenadee Helscher had her eyes set on a perfect season and displayed that against #3 Kate Martin of Mt. Vernon by dominating in the third period for a major decision victory, advancing to the championship match.

In a rematch of last year’s championship bout, Helscher was looking for revenge against #1 Ainsley Hemann of Osage and got out to a fast start by scoring a takedown in the first period. Unfortunately, Hemann scored the next six points to earn her second state championship.

Helscher finished the season with a 45-1 record and her second career silver medal.

115-Pound Weight Class

#1 Clara Ball of Wapello had a tough collection of matches yesterday and that trained her well for her Friday showdowns. In the semifinals, Ball shut out #4 Hailey Harvey of Riverside, eventually pinning her in the third period to advance to the championship clash with #3 Kaelynn Roster of Vinton-Shellsburg.

Roster did not stand a choice, as Ball rattled of two takedowns and a pin for major decision victory and the state title. She finished the season with the gold medal and a 51-3 record as a sophomore.

120-Pound Weight Class

Highland’s #2 Adley Sweeting took on #6 Makenna Kurth of Waukon in the third round of the consolation bracket yesterday. Early in the third period, Sweeting was pinned by Kurth. She took on #5 Remington Wadsworth of South Winneshiek for 7^th place. Unfortunately, Sweeting, while leading 11-8 against Wadsworth, lost by fall to finish in 8^th place. She claimed a record of 37-4.

145-Pound Weight Class

Pekin’s #4 Hailey Pedrick lost her semifinal matchup to #1 Talia Stiefel of East Buchanan then lost to #6 Sophie Miller of Mid-Prairie and #5 Kenzie Maeder of Southwest Valley in to finish in 6^th place. The senior collected a 37-6 record.

170-Pound Weight Class

#2 Samantha Lyons of Fairfield battled #3 Gracie Pickney of Mt. Vernon in the semifinals but Pickney escaped with the 3-1 decision victory after securing a third-period reversal.

Lyons faced off against #6 Kayma Burleson of Clear Lake with the winner advancing to the 3^rd place bout. Despite dominating for most of the match against Burleson, Lyons was pinned, sending her to the 5^th place match where she lost by fall to #11 Izzy Taylor of Anamosa to finish with 6^th place and a 30-4 record.

Class 2A

140-Pound Weight Class

Fort Madison’s #3 Mara Smith unfortunately had to deal with heartbreak as she fell to #2 Makana Miller of Waverly-Shell Rock in the semifinals by a 6-4 decision before dropping out of her last two matches due to a medical forfeiture.

Smith finished the season with a 37-5 record and in 6^th place for her senior campaign.

155-Pound Weight Class

Burlington’s #7 Amaziah Twillie’s day started with a narrow 5-4 decision loss to #5 Peyten Van Dyke of Iowa City Liberty. Yet, Twillie powered past #9 Trista Pike of Mason City with a first-period pin to snatch 7^th place. The Sophomore finished the year with a 31-12 record.

170-Pound Weight Class

Lastly, #9 Macy Peterson of Burlington followed a similar path to her teammate, dropping her first match of the day to #5 Addison Bowman of Prairie by a 4-1 decision before surging back in the 7^th place bout to defeat Aurora Lloyd of Linn-Mar by a 6-1 decision. The junior claimed a 31-12 record.

More Information

KILJ for more updates throughout the day, as we would like to thank our sponsors for allowing us to cover all state tournament competition.