Boys’ District Basketball

In Class 1A Substate 5 District 9, defense was the name of the game in the semifinal matchups.

#4 Burlington Notre Dame kept the pressure on and ran the court against Danville last night in a dominant 69-35 showing. The Nike defense tabbed double digit steals, which included seven from Shay Stephens. Head coach Dan Kies has made sure his team knows that highlights start on defense,

“Yeah, I mean, we talk about it all the time all year long. The guys know that their defense, if they play good defense and they ramp it up defensively, that creates offense. So, we’re much better getting up and down the floor and not being packed into a half-court game. So yeah, it’s kind of what we want to do.”

Stephens led the way with 21 points, while Kellan Porter aided the effort with 17 points. 

Holy Trinity Catholic limited Pekin to just 16 second half points in their 46-38 victory last night. Jack Ragar had another big game, tabbing 17 points in the effort. 

In a rematch of last year’s district championship, Burlington Notre Dame will host Holy Trinity Catholic on Tuesday, February 24th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.

In District 10, Hillcrest Academy will travel to Calamus-Wheatland on Tuesday at 7 pm.

In Class 2A Substate 5 District 9, Central Lee was held scoreless for the entire second quarter against West Burlington, yet was still able to escape the slugfest with a narrow 44-39 victory. Owen and Kaden Swan each scored 11 points for the Hawks, while Ayden Figuereo put up 12 points for the Falcons.

West Burlington completed the season with a 13-9 record.

Central Lee will compete for the District Championship on Tuesday at 7 pm against Regina Catholic on the road.

In Substate 5 District 10, Mediapolis threw everything they had at Mid-Prairie and ended up short of the mark, losing 63-56. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 15-7 record. 

Mid-Prairie will head to Northeast for the District Championship at 7 pm on Tuesday. 

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 Wrestling

The 2026 Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) held their second day of the state tournament yesterday and eleven of our local wrestlers were able to advance to the quarterfinals. Here’s some of the highlights. 

In Class 1A for the 106-pound weight class, Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union’s #8 Justin Knipfer was able to pin his opponent in the second period in his only match of the day. He will square off against #1 Ty Martin of Don Bosco.

In the 113-pound weight class, WACO’s #2 Ian Maize took down #15 Jaxon Shew of North Butler-Clarksville in less than a minute to advance to the quarterfinals. He will wrestle #7 Leyton Elmquist of Audubon.

In the 157-pound weight class, #6 Cohen Wolford of Wapello defeated #11 Ty Christensen of Don Bosco by major decision to advance. He will take on #3 Caleb Swedin of GTRA.

Battling in the consolation bracket is Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union’s Dakota Aney (113-pound weight class) and Trevor Phillips (175-pound weight class), along with WACO’s Rydge Sterna (120-pound weight class).

In Class 2A, Burlington Notre Dame had six of their seven wrestlers punch their ticket to the quarterfinals in Kohen Dietzenbach (113-pound weight class), Rowan Berndt (120-pound weight class), Ryan Rose (126-pound weight class), Colt Boyles (132-pound weight class), Jared Glendening (138-pound weight class), and Kael Cook (150-pound weight class). 

Joining the chase for the championship is Fairfield’s Dain Burkhart, who escaped with a narrow 8-5 decision victory, and Kyler Crow of Mediapolis, who pinned his opponent in 35 seconds, to advance to the 175-pound weight class quarterfinals.

Lastly, Mt. Pleasant’s #14 Levi Evans started his day with a victory by fall over #19 Noah Garcia, but was sent to the consolation bracket. He bounced back to defeat #20 Teagan Alesch of Algona by technical fall. He will wrestle #11 Jaron Jacobs of Greene County today.

For a full recap of day two, click on this link: Classes 1A and 2A Results

Girls’ Regional Basketball

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

For Class 3A Region 6, #8 Mediapolis will travel to #6 PCM with tip-off tomorrow, February 21st, 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 6, Keokuk will venture to #6 Central DeWitt tomorrow at 7 pm. 

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 Ella Ensminger continued the legacy of Panther throwers by signing her letter of intent yesterday to continue her track and field career at Wartburg College, where she will be studying business.

Ensminger discussed how special Mt. Pleasant has been for her development,

“I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else or at any other school. Hit the jackpot with both these coaches. I had some great role models along the way, Jadan Brumbaugh being one of those. Learning from her in my middle school years, I wish I would have gotten to throw with her. And then just some of my other teammates that we’ve all went hand in hand with having some really good runs. And yeah, looking forward to this season for sure.”

Ensminger is a two-time state qualifier, who claimed 8th place at last year’s state competition. 

Southeastern Community College

The women’s basketball team will travel to Northeast Community College tomorrow, February 21st, at 1 pm.

The men’s basketball team will host Moberly Area Community College tomorrow at 7 pm.

College Basketball

The Iowa State women’s team will look to upset #12 TCU on Sunday, February 22nd, at 3 pm on the road. 

The #13 Iowa women’s team rolled past Purdue last night, 83-74. Ava Heiden collected 21 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double. The Hawkeyes will host #6 Michigan on Sunday at 11 am.

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 tomorrow, February 21st, at 9:30 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will have the call.

This Day in Sports History

1930 – Clint Benedict (Montreal Maroons) became the first goalie to wear a mask in the NHL. Benedict wore the mask temporarily during an injury.

1952 – Emmett L. Ashford became the first Black umpire in organized baseball. He was authorized to be a substitute in the Southwestern International League.

2011 – 53rd Daytona 500: 20-year-old Trevor Bayne, driving for Wood Brothers Racing, wins to become the youngest Daytona 500 winner.

Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Mt. Pleasant Girls’ Track and Field program has enjoyed a rich history of throwers with a trio of recent Panthers signing on to compete at the collegiate level. It is now a quartet, as Ella Ensminger signed her letter of intent to throw at Wartburg College.

The senior talked about what she plans to major in,

“So, I’ll have my associate’s degree this year, and then I plan to jump in as a junior and study business. I should be on track to jump right in there.”

Ensminger discussed how she chose to become a Knight in Waverly, Iowa:

“So, it originally started two years ago at, I believe, the state meet when Coach Roberson, my throws coach, was there. And Striegel was like, you need to talk to this guy more, because he is a really good coach, and I think you’d really like him. And then I kinda went through my junior year and my senior year, and looked at some other options, and went up there a couple, for about three or four times, and really decided this is the place for me.”

Coach Seth Roberson, who was named 2018 USTFCCCA Regional Assistant Coach of the Year, helped lead Emma True to the 2025 National Championship for hammer throw. Ensminger knows she has been given a solid foundation from throwing at Mt. Pleasant,

“I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else or at any other school. Hit the jackpot with both these coaches. I had some great role models along the way, Jadan Brumbaugh being one of those. Learning from her in my middle school years, I wish I would have gotten to throw with her. And then just some of my other teammates that we’ve all went hand in hand with having some really good runs. And yeah, looking forward to this season for sure.”

Ensminger has continued to improve throughout the years as a two-time state qualifier for the Class 3A shot put. She finished in 13^th place as a sophomore and in 8^th place last year. Yet, she credits the improvement of her mental game for her success in the circle. An aspect she will need to lean on returning from injury,

“Just make even more progress than any years in the past. Had knee surgery in May, battled a torn meniscus the past year. So being healthy and ready to compete every time and just having that opportunity to compete week in, week out is gonna be huge. And obviously get to state meet and do some good stuff.”

She will enter the season with a career best throw of 39 feet and 11.5 inches, as she hopes to help the Panthers repeat as conference champions.

Des Moines, IA- Day two of the 2026 Iowa High School Athletic Association’s (IHSAA) State Wrestling Tournament is in the books with Classes 1A and 2A narrowing the field with the quarterfinals and the third round of the consolation bracket set to start tomorrow, February 20^th.

Here’s how our local athletes fared.

Class 1A

106-Pound Weight Class

Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union’s #8 Justin Knipfer put his extra round of rest to good use, as he pinned #9 Wyatt Hieber of MVACOU in the second period to advance to the quarterfinals. The Wildcat will take on #1 Ty Martin of Don Bosco.

113-Pound Weight Class

It was a day full of upsets for #19 Dakota Aney of Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union. He started the tournament with a victory by major decision over #14 Eli Rieb of Alta/Aurelia. Nevertheless, the Wildcat ran into #3 Brady Burton of Westwood, who sent him to the consolation bracket.

Aney handled business against #20 Kase Kraft of South Central Calhoun with a win by technical fall in the third period. Aney will face off against #11 Nathan Benedix of Woodbury Central, as he needs only three wins to secure 3^rd place.

WACO’s #2 Ian Maize’s goal of a state championship is still attainable after the Warrior pinned #15 Jaxon Shew of North Butler-Clarksville in 54 seconds. Maize will compete against #7 Leyton Elmquist of Audubon in the quarterfinals.

120-Pound Weight Class

WACO’s #12 Rydge Sterna took down #21 Quinton Helstand of Woodbine by fall to start his day but fell to #5 Crosby Yoder of Logan-Magnolia by major decision in the second round. In the consolation bracket, Sterna pinned #11 Braeden Thomas of Central Decatur in the first period.

He will compete against #20 Mason Fogt of Hudson tomorrow with a chance at 3^rd place.

132-Pound Weight Class

Unfortunately, #16 Bowen Thomson of Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union and WACO’s #21 Teage Pepper both went 0-2 in their paths at the state tournament. Thomson finished the season with 28-19 and Pepper collected a 33-7 record.

150-Pound Weight Class

#23 Harley Larrimore of WACO accrued a 24-14 record for the season after going 0-2 for the tournament.

157-Pound Weight Class

Wapello’s #6 Cohen Wolford wasted no time in his only match of the day, as he picked up a major decision victory over #11 Ty Christensen of Don Bosco to advance to the quarterfinals. Wolford will face off against #3 Caleb Swedin of GTRA.

175-Pound Weight Class

#22 Trevor Phillips of Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union began his day with a loss by major decision against #11 Landen Schuelle of South Winneshiek, transporting him to the consolation bracket. Phillips bounced back to defeated #12 Max Reed of North Mahaska by a 10-5 decision.

Phillips will square off against #14 William Lawson of Pocahontas Area in the second round of the consolation bracket.

Class 2A

113-Pound Weight Class

Before the tournament, Fairfield’s Cael McCabe was forced to forfeit his spot due to an injury.

#2 Kohen Dietzenbach of Burlington Notre Dame handled #18 John Amos of Clear Lake by major decision to move on to the quarterfinals. The Nike will continue his march to the championship against #7 Riker DeWitt of Williamsburg tomorrow.

120-Pound Weight Class

Burlington Notre Dame’s #5 Rowan Berdnt defeated #12 Brody Black of Glenwood by a 10-5 decision in the second round to advance to the quarterfinals against #4 Atlee Dewitt of Alburnett.

In Mt. Pleasant’s first trip to the state tournament since 2020, #14 Levi Evans started the day with a victory by fall over #19 Noah Garcia of West Liberty. Evans was unable to knock off #3 Simon Bettis of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, losing by major decision.

In the consolation bracket, Evan took down #20 Teagan Alesch of Algona by technical fall to keep his journey alive at the state tournament. The Panther will wrestle #11 Jaron Jacobs of Greene County tomorrow.

Lastly, #15 James Fuller of Fort Madison went 0-2 for the day to finish the season with a 33-9 record.

126-Pound Weight Class

Burlington Notre Dame’s #5 Ryan Rose needed the whole match but managed to defeat #12 Wyatt Wilson of Monticello by a 6-1 decision. Rose will take on #4 Adrian Phetxoumphone of Clarion-Goldfield-Dows in the quarterfinals tomorrow.

132-Pound Weight Class

#5 Colt Boyles of Burlington Notre Dame snuffed out #12 Brody Strother of Hampton-Dumont-CAL with a major decision victory. The Nike will face off against #4 Linden Phetxoumphone of Clarion-Goldfield-Dows in the quarterfinals tomorrow.

138-Pound Weight Class

Washington’s #7 Caleb Greiner fell to #10 Calden Latch of Roland-Story, sending the Demon to the consolation bracket. He was able to bounce back with a victory by fall over #24 Kyler Tendal Sergeant Bluff-Luton. Greiner will square off against #17 Kyson Jalas of Spirit Lake Park.

As one of the few wrestlers to win the district championship but not get a first-round bye, #11 Jared Glendening of Burlington Notre Dame did not let that deter him as he defeated #22 Townes Wilson of Perry by technical fall in the opening round.

In a thrilling match against #6 Lane Travis of Creston, which saw Travis awarded two points for stalling in the third period to send the match into overtime, Glendening was able to nab the sudden victory with seven seconds remaining in the period to advance to the quarterfinals. He will wrestle #3 Liam Adflinger of Wilton today.

150-Pound Weight Class

#4 Kael Cook of Burlington Notre Dame moved on the quarterfinals after a 6-1 decision victory over #20 Gage Miller of AP-GC. Cook will attempt to advance to the semifinals with his match against #5 Kameron Kremer of Independence tomorrow.

157-Pound Weight Class

Washington’s #22 Jace Kinzenbaw finished the season with a 15-7 record after going 0-2 for the day.

165-Pound Weight Class

#17 Jared Glendening of Burlington Notre Dame had #16 Ryland Morgan of Clarion-Goldfield-Dows on the ropes in the opening round but slipped up late in the second period, losing by fall. In the consolation bracket, Glendening defeated #18 Kael Hutchinson of Albia. The Nike will look to upset #10 Cooper Gates of West Branch.

175-Pound Weight Class

Fairfield’s #6 Dain Burkhart was pushed to the limit by #11 Easton Beyer of Clarion-Goldfield-Dows and still managed to escape with an 8-5 decision victory. Burkhart will wrestle #3 Ayden Antonelli of Anamosa in the quarterfinals tomorrow.

In his fourth year at the state tournament, #2 Kyler Crow of Mediapolis pinned #15 Marcus Bear of South Tama County in only 35 seconds. Crow will look to continue the domination tomorrow in the quarterfinals against #7 Blake Mather of West Delaware.

190-Pound Weight Class

#20 Jarod Anderson of Keokuk pulled off the upset against #13 Logan Gardner of Eddyville-Blaksburg-Fremont by a 10-6 decision. However, that momentum would not carry the Chief the rest of the day as he dropped his next two matches to end the season with a 25-13 record.

Washington’s #10 Blaine Rees took down #23 Gabriel Nebergall of West Liberty by fall in the first period. He would lose to #7 Brian Snyder of Centerville by technical fall in the second round. Rees would answer back with a victory by fall over #24 Holden Craft of Union. The Demon will take on #15 Lohen Tank of NH/TV tomorrow.

215-Pound Weight Class

#19 Ren Watson of Fort Madison upset #14 Maddon Evans of Hampton-Dumont-CAL with a victory by fall in the opening round. Watson was unable to replicate the magic against #3 Gavin Muller of Osage, transporting him to the consolation bracket. In a matchup against #20 Kazmir Senneff of Central DeWitt, Watson roared to five points in the first period and held on to advance to the next round of the consolation bracket.

Watson will square off against #11 Carter Eddy of Independence tomorrow.

Washington’s #22 Brayden Vermillion was eliminated from the tournament and finished the season with a 14-10 record.

285-Pound Weight Class

#21 Rudy Wolfe of Washington collected a record of 22-17 for the season after going 0-2 at the tournament.

#19 Baylor Ferreira of Fort Madison fell to #14 Gunner Martwick of Creston in the opening round but managed to bounce back against #13 Reagan Roberts of Knoxville with a pin in the third period. The Bloodhound will take on #12 Gable Eddy of Independence tomorrow.

More Information

KILJ will be providing updates throughout the day! KILJ would like to thank all of our tournament sponsors for allowing us to cover the 2026 Boys’ Wrestling State Tournament.