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.

High School Track and Field

Mt. Pleasant hosted the state qualifying meet last night and here are the automatic qualifiers for the girls team. To automatically qualify you must be a top two finisher in your event. Andi Scott finished in 2nd place in the 100 meter dash with a time of 13.14 seconds. The 4×200 meter relay team of Kynlee White, Bailey Jalas, Courtney Raub, and Andi Scott won the event with a time of 1 minute and 46.74 seconds. Lastly, Ava English won the shot put with a toss of 37 feet 3 inches.

For the boys team, Will Davidson won the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.48 seconds and the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 54.12 seconds. Avin Truong took the long jump with a leap of 22 feet 8.5 inches. The team of Gabe Feldmann, Jacob Richtman, Isaac Rynders, and Ben Carthey grabbed 2nd place in the 4×800 meter relay. Lastly, the 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle team of Bryce Wilson, Truong, Davidson, and Gavin Kerr won with a time of 1 minute and 0.59 seconds.

For Class 1A, to automatically qualify the competitor must finish in 1st place for the event.

WACO hosted their state qualifying meet last night as Winfield-Mt. Union, Danville, and New London were also in competition. For the girls team of WACO, Zoey Dennler grabbed a 2nd place finish in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1 minute and 11 seconds.

For the WACO boys’ team, Simeon Reichenbach took 2nd place in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.42 seconds. The 4×200 meter relay team of Braden Spain, Isaac Oswald, Mason Miller, and Clayton Miller won with a time of 1 minute and 33 seconds. The 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle team of Oswald, Mason Miller, Louden Huisenga, and Reichenbach grabbed 2nd place with a time of 1 minute and 3 seconds. Lastly, Oleh Shtefanchuk tossed the discus 164 feet 10 inches to win the event.

The automatic qualifier for the girls team of Winfield-Mt. Union was the 4×100 meter shuttle hurdle team of Josie Nelson, Keyreana Sharar, Tessa Huston, and Keetyn Townsley with a time of 1 minute and 9 seconds and a 1st place finish.

Gabriel Hemsworth for the boys team of Winfield-Mt. Union notched one individual automatic bid as he placed 2nd in the 400 meter dash and 1st in the 400 meter hurdles. Kohlby Newson took 2nd place in the 800 meter run with a time of 2 minutes 3 seconds. The Wolves qualified two relay teams. The 4×400 meter relay team of Sheaden Adams, Hemsworth, Ty Scorpil, and Newsom. The 800 sprint medley team of Caleb Giese, Abram Edwards, Cam Buffington, and Hemsworth. The team of Lane Genkinger, Edwards, Scorpil, and Newsom took 2nd in the distance medley. Lastly, Buffington won the long jump with a leap of 21 feet 7.5 inches.

For the Danville girls team, Alaina Gourley won the 400 meter dash and the 800 meter run. The 4×400 meter relay team of Miya Orbiana, Jaeda Molle, Kamryn Sherwood, and Gourley took 2nd place. The same team took 2nd place in the 4×800 meter relay. Molle and Orbiana joined Taylor Jones and Kenna Furnald in the 800 sprint medley to capture 2nd place. Macie Wagner joined Furnald, Orbiana, and Molle to take 2nd in the distance medley. Furnald also took 2nd place in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet 11.25 inches.

AJ Bonnesen won the 1600 meter run and the 3200 meter run for the Danville boys team. The 4×400 meter relay team of Noah Horn, Kessler Whaley, Spencer Nelson, and Ashton McCane finished in 2nd place. Horn and Nelson joined Jackson Shacklett and Bonnesen to win the 4×800 meter relay. Drake Nicholson, Jaden Bauer, Ayden Doyle, and McCane took 2nd in the 800 sprint medley.

For the New London boys team, Rylan Martin won the 800 meter run and took 2nd place in the 1600 meter run. The 4×100 meter relay team of Boden Pickle, London Franklin, Kade Benjamin, and Brigham Porter grabbed 2nd place. Martin replaced Benjamin in the distance medley team that won the event. Lastly, Benjamin won the high jump with a leap of 6 feet 6 inches.

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 lost on the road to Burlington Notre Dame 6-3 last night. Charice Auwerda added on to her conference lead in goals with now 21 on the season. Elly Manning netted the other goal as they both notched assists. The Panthers will travel to take on Ottumwa on May 15th to end the regular season.

The Mt. Pleasant boys team lost to Burlington Notre Dame last night 4-1. Axel Noriega Ruiz scored the goal while Dylan White nabbed the assist. The Panthers will take on Solon for the first round of the Class 2A Substate 5 postseason contest on May 15th.

The WACO boys team fell to Sigourney last night 2-0. The Warriors will compete in the SEISC Tournament today and tomorrow.

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.

For the girls teams, New London will host the Regional today with Winfield-Mt. Union also in competition.

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant boys team will take on Marion in their Substate meet today.

The Mt. Pleasant girls team will compete against Davis County in the Regional meet tomorrow, May 13th.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The North Star Athletic Association conference meet for the outdoor track and field teams will conclude today.

This Day in Sports History

1955 – Chicago Cub Sam “Toothpick” Jones is the first African-American to pitch a no-hitter, winning 4-0 over Pittsburgh Pirates, at Wrigley Field, Chicago.

1970 – Ernie Banks hits his 500th home run.

1979 – Chris Evert’s 125-match winning streak on clay comes to an end.