High School Track and Field

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will compete in 8 events at the state track meet and the girls’ team will be in 5 events.

The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team will be competing in 2 events with the boys’ team participating in 9 events.

The WACO and New London boys’ teams will be competing in 7 events.

The Danville boys’ team will be in 7 events with two runners in the 3200 meter run. The girls’ team will be participating in 5 events.

The Van Buren County boys team will compete in 5 events.

Thomas Eschman will run the 100 meter dash and compete in the long jump for Central Lee.

For a look at the boys’ heat and lane assignments follow this link: Boys’ State Heat and Lane Assignments

For a look at the full list of the local teams girls’ qualifiers follow this link: Girls’ State Qualifiers

The state track meet will begin competition on Thursday, May 18th, and run through the 20th. KILJ will be bringing live results throughout those days for our local teams.

High School Soccer

The Mt. Pleasant girls team will travel to take on Ottumwa tonight to end the regular season.

The Mt. Pleasant boys team will take on Solon for the first round of the Class 2A Substate 5 postseason contest today.

The WACO boys team will face off against Danville in the first round of the Class 1A Substate game tonight.

The Central Lee boys team will face off against Hillcrest Academy today for the first round of the Class 1A substate.

The Central Lee girls team will compete in the Class 1A Region 3 contest against Mid-Prairie on May 17th.

High School Golf

The Mt. Pleasant girls team will compete in their Regional meet on May 17th at Xavier.

The boys teams of New London and Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to Brown Deer course in Iowa City tomorrow, May 16th, for their District meet.

The girls teams of New London and Winfield-Mt. Union will participate in the Regional final hosted by Wapello on May 17th.

Olivia Hines of Mediapolis will compete at Williamsburg for the Region 4 final on May 17th.

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant girls team fell to Davis County 5-0 last weekend to end their season.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The Tigers men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams competed at the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) conference meet last weekend and walked away with seven All-Conference performances.

For the women’s team, Bri Hunter earned two All-Conference nods after her incredible performance in the shot put and discus. It was her 5th and 6th career All-Conference honors as a Tiger.

Lilly Garnsey finished in 3rd place and grabbed the All-Conference title with a time of 12 minutes and 49 seconds in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Garnsey also took 3rd place and an All-Conference award for her performance in the 10,000 meter run with a time of 42 minutes and 18 seconds.

For the men’s team, Jabez Rivers surprised the field by entering the event ranked outside of the top three but raced to a 3rd place finish in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 55.66 seconds and an All-Conference honor. Rivers also finished in 3rd place in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.67 seconds.

Lastly, KeRon Blackwell tallied his 2nd career All-Conference honor after leaping 6 feet 2.75 inches in the high jump. It was his first outdoor All-Conference honor.

The NAIA National Championship meet will take place on May 24th.

This Day in Sports History

1941 – Joe DiMaggio starts 56-game hitting streak; Yanks lose 13-1.

1959 – 100th anniversary of first college baseball game between Amherst & Williams. Teams reenact the original contest.

2010 – Jessica Watson at age 16 becomes the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop, and unassisted around the world.

State Track and Field- The Iowa High School Athletic Association released the heat and lane assignments for the boys’ state track meet. This is a look at KILJ’s local state qualifiers and their position entering the meet.

For the Mt. Pleasant boys’ team, Will Davidson will run the 100 meter dash, the 110 meter hurdles, and the 400 meter hurdles. Will Davidson will be in the first heat and in the 2^nd lane for the 100 meter dash, which will run Thursday, May 18^th. In the 110 meter hurdles, Davidson will be in the second heat and the 4^th lane. Lastly, Davidson will be in the 5^th lane third heat for the 400 meter hurdles. Both hurdle events will be run on Friday, May 19^th.

Avin Truong will compete in the long jump, and he will be the last jumper in the 2^nd flight. Additionally, Isaac Jerrel will throw the shot put in the 2^nd flight as the fourth thrower. Both events will take place on Friday.

The Panthers will also have three relays in competition. The 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle with the team of Bryce Wilson, Truong, Gavin Kerr, and Davidson will be in the 3^rd lane for the third heat. The 4×800 meter relay team will be Gabe Feldmann, Jacob Richtman, Isaac Rynders, and Ben Carthey will be in the 2^nd section. The 4×400 meter relay team of Richtman, Feldmann, Carthey, and Mason Sloat will be in the first heat in the 1^st lane. The 4×800 and the 4×110 meter hurdles will run on Thursday and the 4×400 will go on Friday.

The boys’ team for the Wolves will have Cam Buffington in the 100 meter dash and the long jump. Buffington will be in the second heat in the 3^rd lane for the 100 meter dash and the last jumper in the long jump with both events taking place on Thursday.

Kohlby Newsom will be in the second section of the 800 meter run on Saturday. Gabriel Hemsworth will compete in the 400 meter hurdles on Friday. Hemsworth will be in the third heat and the 6^th lane. Kai Malone will be the 5^th thrower of the first flight of the discus.

The Wolves will have a team in the 800 sprint medley consisting of Caleb Giese, Abram Edwards, Buffington, Hemsworth will be in the second section and 2^nd lane on Saturday. The 4×100 meter relay team of Giese, Buffington, Eli Miller, Edwards will run in the 2^nd lane of the first heat on Friday. The 4×400 meter relay of Sheaden Adams, Hemsworth, Ty Scorpil, and Newsom will run on Friday in the second heat 7^th lane. Lastly, the distance medley of Lane Genkinger, Edwards, Scorpil, and Newsom will be in the third section on Friday.

The Danville boys’ team will have Ayden Doyle in the third heat and 6^th lane for the 200 meter dash on Thursday.

AJ Bonnesen in the 1600 meter run on Saturday and the 3200 meter run along with Jackson Shacklett on Thursday. Spencer Nelson will compete in the 400 meter hurdles on Friday. Nelson will be in the first heat and 5^th lane.

The Bears will have three relay teams competing. The 800 sprint medley will consist of Drake Nicholson, Jaden Bauer, Doyle, and Ashton McCane. They will run on Saturday in the first section. The distance medley of Nicholson, Doyle, McCane, and Bonnesen will run on Friday in the second section. The 4×800 meter relay team of Noah Horn, Nelson, Shacklett, and Bonnesen will run on Thursday in the second section.

For the WACO boys team, Simeon Reichenbach will compete in the 110 meter hurdles and the long jump. Reichenbach will be in the 4^th lane and the first heat of the 110 meter hurdles on Friday. He will be in the second flight as the 7^th competitor in the long jump.

Oleh Shtefanchuk will be in the second flight of the discus as the second to last thrower on Friday.

The Warriors will have a 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle team of Isaac Oswald, Mason Miller, Louden Huisenga, and Reichenbach. They will be in the third heat and 5^th lane for Thursday. The 4×100 meter relay team of Braden Spain, Oswald, Mason Miller, Simeon Reichenbach for the third heat 2^nd lane on Friday. The 4×200 meter relay team of Spain, Oswald, Mason Miller, and Clayton Miller will run on Friday for the second section 5^th lane.

Lastly, Louden Huisenga will be the 13^th jumper for the high jump on Friday.

The New London boys team will have Boden Pickle run in the 100 meter dash on Thursday. Pickle will be in the third heat 1^st lane.

Rylan Martin will compete in two events. He will be in the second section for the 800 meter run. He will be in the only section on Saturday for the 1600 meter run.

Kade Benjamin will be the last jumper in the high jump. The 800 sprint medley and the distance medley will have the same team of Pickle, London Franklin, Brigham Porter, and Martin. The 800 sprint medley will run on Saturday and the distance medley will run in the third section 6^th lane on Friday. The 4×100 meter relay team of Pickle, Franklin, Benjamin, and Porter will run in the third heat on Friday in the 6^th lane.

Thomas Eschman will compete in the 1^st lane first heat of the 100 meter dash for Central Lee on Thursday.

For Van Buren County, Anthony Duncan will run in the 400 meter dash for the third heat in the 4^th lane on Thursday, and the 400 meter hurdles on Friday for the third heat and 4^th lane.

Lincoln Bainbridge will run the 2 mile on Thursday. Tyler Stoltz will be the 11^th jumper in the high jump on Friday. Lastly, Wyatt Mertens will participate in the long jump in the second flight as he will be the last one to go on Thursday.

For a full list of the heat and lane assignments for all classes follow this link: State Heat and Lane Assignments

KILJ will be bringing live results throughout the three days of the state track meet.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics- The Tigers men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams competed at the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) conference meet last weekend and walked away with seven All-Conference performances.

For the women’s team, Bri Hunter earned two All-Conference nods after her incredible performance in the throwing department. While known for her shot put ability, her first All-Conference performance happened in the discus. Entering the event ranked 9^th, Hunter ripped a third place throw of 125 feet 11 inches in rainy conditions.

Hunter followed her performance in the discus with another terrific performance in the shot put. Her throw of 44 feet 2.75 inches was good enough for 2^nd place. Hunter has collected six All-Conference awards throughout her Tiger career.

The 3,000 meter steeplechase is a tremendous strength for the Tigers and they showed that by placing 3^rd, 4^th and 6^th at the conference meet. Lilly Garnsey finished in 3^rd place and grabbed the All-Conference title with a time of 12 minutes and 49 seconds. Faith Younce took 5^th place and Allison Morris grabbed 6^th place.

Garnsey also took 3^rd place and an All-Conference award for her performance in the 10,000 meter run with a time of 42 minutes and 18 seconds.

For the men’s team, Jabez Rivers surprised the field by entering the event ranked outside of the top three but raced to a 3^rd place finish in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 55.66 seconds and an All-Conference honor. Rivers also finished in 3^rd place in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.67 seconds.

Lastly, KeRon Blackwell tallied his 2^nd career All-Conference honor after leaping 6 feet 2.75 inches in the high jump. It was his first outdoor All-Conference honor.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics(NAIA)  Outdoor Track and Field National Championship will take place on May 24^th and run through the 26^th.

High School Track and Field

For the Mt. Pleasant boys team, Will Davidson will run the 100 meter dash, the 110 meter hurdles, and the 400 meter hurdles. Avin Truong will compete in the long jump and Isaac Jerrel will throw the shot put. The Panthers will also have three relays in competition: the 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle (Bryce Wilson, Truong, Gavin Kerr, and Davidson), the 4×800 meter relay (Gabe Feldmann, Jacob Richtman, Isaac Rynders, and Ben Carthey), and the 4×400 meter relay (Richtman, Feldmann, Carthey, and Mason Sloat).  

The girls team for Mt. Pleasant will be in five different events for Class 3A. Andi Scott will be running in the 100 meter dash. Rellana Van Deuren will run the 400 meter hurdles. Scott will join Courtney Raub, Bailey Jalas, and Tristian Shull for the 4×100 meter relay. Kynlee White joins Jalas, Raub, and Scott to run the 4×200 meter relay. Lastly, Ava English will be throwing the shot put after throwing a personal best 37 feet 3 inches at the qualifier.

In Class 1A, the Winfield-Mt. Union girls team will have two events as Keetyn Townsley will be running the 100 meter hurdles. Her best time for the season is 16.97 seconds. Townsley will join Tessa Huston, Keyreana Sharar, and Josie Nelson for the 4×100 meter shuttle hurdle.

The boys team for the Wolves will have Cam Buffington in the 100 meter dash and the long jump. Kohlby Newsom will run the 800 meter run. Gabriel Hemsworth will compete in the 400 meter hurdles. Kai Malone will throw in the discus. The Wolves will have teams in the 800 sprint medley, the 4×100 meter relay, the 4×400 meter relay, and the distance medley. 

Alaina Gourley, a freshman, will be busy at the state track meet for Danville as she will be racing in the 400 meter dash and the 800 meter run individually. The team of Kamryn Sherwood, Jaeda Molle, Miya Orbiana, and Gourley will be competing in the 4×400 meter relay and the 4×800 meter relay. Lastly, Kenna Furnald ranks 17th in the long jump after her leap of 15 feet 11.25 inches.

The Danville boys team will have Ayden Doyle in the 200 meter dash. AJ Bonnesen in the 1600 meter run and the 3200 meter run. Jackson Shacklett will join in the 3200 meter run. Spencer Nelson will compete in the 400 meter hurdles. The Bears will have a relay team in the 800 sprint medley, the distance medley, and the 4×800 meter. 

For the WACO boys team, Simeon Reichenbach will compete in the 110 meter hurdles and the long jump. Oleh Shtefanchuk will throw the discus. The Warriors will have a 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle team, a 4×100 meter relay team, and a 4×200 meter relay team. Lastly, Louden Huisenga will participate in the high jump. 

The New London boys team will have Boden Pickle run in the 100 meter dash. Rylan Martin will compete in the 800 meter run and the 1600 meter run. Kade Benjamin will compete in the high jump. The Tigers will have relay teams in the 800 sprint medley, the 4×100 meter, and the distance medley. 

Thomas Eschman will run the 100 meter dash and compete in the long jump for Central Lee. 

For Van Buren County, Anthony Duncan will run in the 400 meter dash and the 400 meter hurdles. Lincoln Bainbridge will run in the 2 mile. Tyler Stoltz will compete in the high jump. Lastly, Wyatt Mertens will participate in the long jump.

The state track meet will begin competition on May 18th and run through the 20th. KILJ will be bringing live results throughout those days for our local teams.

High School Soccer

The Mt. Pleasant girls team will travel to take on Ottumwa on May 15th to end the regular season.

The Mt. Pleasant boys team will take on Solon for the first round of the Class 2A Substate 5 postseason contest on May 15th.  

The WACO boys team will face off against Danville in the first round of the Class 1A Substate game on May 15th.

The Central Lee boys team will face off against Hillcrest Academy on May 15th for the first round of the Class 1A substate.

The Central Lee girls team will compete in the Class 1A Region 3 contest against Mid-Prairie on May 17th.

High School Golf

The Mt. Pleasant girls team will compete in their Regional meet on May 17th at Xavier.

The boys teams of New London and Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to Brown Deer course in Iowa City on May 16th for their District meet. 

The girls teams of New London and Winfield-Mt. Union moved on to the Regional Final after the Tigers finished in 1st place as a team and the Wolves took 3rd place. The Tigers shot a 354 and were paced by Taylor Phillips and Emma Nye who each scored an 83, along with Sophie Malott with a 90 and Emma Busby with a 98. The leader for the Wolves was Isabel Kann with a score of 101. Wapello will host the Regional final on May 17th. 

Olivia Hines of Mediapolis advanced individually in Class 2A after pacing the field in her regional with a score of 82. 

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant boys team fell to Marion yesterday in the first round of the Substate 5-2. Owen Vansickle won his singles match against Donny Long 7-6 and 6-2. Phoenix Watson won his singles match 6-3 in both sets. The Panthers end the season with 11 wins. 

The Mt. Pleasant girls team will compete against Davis County in the Regional meet today.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The North Star Athletic Association conference meet is in the books and the men’s champion is Dakota State with the women’s champion being Dickinson State. For the Tigers women’s team, Lilly Garnsey finished in 3rd place in the 10000 meter run and the 3000 meter steeplechase. Faith Younce grabbed 4th in the 3000 meter steeplechase. Bri Hunter tossed the shot put 13.48 meters to take 2nd place and threw the discus 38.37 meters to grab 3rd place. The Tigers finished in 7th place.

For the men’s team, Jabez Rivers finished in 3rd place in the 110 meter hurdles and the 400 meter hurdles. Logan Lucas grabbed 4th in the 3000 meter steeplechase. The 4×100 meter relay team of Quintynn Alexander, Jabez Rivers, Judah Rivers, and Brady Musgrove took 4th place. The team of Brady Musgrove, Judah and Jabez Rivers, and Kenny Tucker grabbed 4th place in the 4×400 meter relay. KeRon Blackwell finished in 3rd place in the high jump with a leap of 1.90 meters. The Tigers finished in 6th place. 

The NAIA National Championship meet will take place on May 24th. 

This Day in Sports History

1905 – World heavyweight boxing champion James J. Jeffries retires undefeated after 7 title defenses; returns in 1910 to be beaten by Jack Johnson.

1967 – Octagonal boxing ring is tested to avoid corner injuries.

1983 – Reggie Jackson is first major leaguer to strike out 2,000 times.

State Track and Field- With the state qualifying meets now in the books, this is the initial list of state qualifiers for our local girls’ teams.

In Class 1A, Winfield-Mt. Union will have two events as Keetyn Townsley will be running the 100 meter hurdles as she snuck in at the 24^th spot with a time of 17.11 seconds. Her best time for the season is 16.97 seconds. Townsley will join Tessa Huston, Keyreana Sharar, and Josie Nelson for the 4×100 meter shuttle hurdle thanks to their 1^st place finish yesterday. They slot in the 6^th position with a time of 1 minute and 9.9 seconds.

Alaina Gourley, a freshman, will be busy at the state track meet for Danville as she will be racing in the 400 meter dash and the 800 meter run individually. She ranks 8^th in the 400 meter dash with her time of 1 minute 0.56 seconds and 13^th in the 800 meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 28.57 seconds. The team of Kamryn Sherwood, Jaeda Molle, Miya Orbiana, and Gourley will be competing in the 4×400 meter relay and the 4×800 meter relay. Lastly, Kenna Furnald ranks 17^th in the long jump after her leap of 15 feet 11.25 inches.

In Class 2A, Mediapolis will have the 4×200 meter relay team of Bailey Jackson, Kira Messer, Josie Hutcheson, and Haley Steffener competing after running a time of 1 minute and 50.75 seconds. Steffner will also be competing in the high jump, qualifying with a leap of 4 feet 10 inches.

Mt. Pleasant will be in five different events for Class 3A. Andi Scott will be running in the 100 meter dash as she qualified with a time of 13.14 seconds. Rellana Van Deuren enters the 400 meter hurdles with the 15^th best time from the qualifying meet with a time of 1 minute and 9.13 seconds. Scott will join Courtney Raub, Bailey Jalas, and Tristian Shull for the 4×100 meter relay. Kynlee White joins Jalas, Raub, and Scott to run the 4×200 meter relay. Lastly, Ava English will be throwing the shot put after throwing a personal best 37 feet 3 inches at the qualifier.

Washington will have Keely Collins in the high jump, Iris Dahl in the 800 meter run and 1500 meter run, and Leighton Messinger in the 100 meter hurdles. The Demons will also have two relays. The 4×400 meter relay team of Voss, Messinger, Eden Levetzow, and Dahl. Additionally, the 4×800 meter relay team of Voss, Lauren Horak, Kendall Hinrichsen, and Dahl.

Maya Lane, Lily Bergren, Hayley Reinier, and Isabel McCready will run the 4×100 meter shuttle hurdles for Fairfield.

For Fort Madison, Avery Rump will run the 1500 meter run and the 3,000 meter run, where she ranks 4^th among other qualifying times. Hailey Kemper will participate in the 400 meter hurdles.

In Class 4A, Burlington will be participating in four events. Mylee Stiefel will compete in the 100 meter dash as she ranks 6^th coming out of the qualifier. Christella Boyer will be joining her in the 100 meter dash coming into the meet with a time of 12.97 seconds. Kierah Wiseman will be sprinting in the 200 meter dash. Wiseman, Boyer, Stiefel, and Sophie Brown ranks 3^rd in the 4×100 meter relay and 4^th in the 4×200 meter relay.

Madelyn Houk will compete in the long jump for Ottumwa. Delilah Subsin will throw the discus as she enters with a throw of 113 feet 2 inches. Jordan Pauls will also be tossing the discus. Subsin is eyeing the shot put title as she enters the event ranked 5^th.

The State Track and Field meet will begin on May 18^th at Drake Stadium and run through the 20^th.