High School Track and Field

The Danville girls team won the B Division of the Ekstrand Relays with WACO claiming 5th place, Winfield-Mt. Union taking 6th place, and New London finishing in 7th place. For Danville, Alaina Gourley won the 400 meter dash with a time of 1 minute and 1 second. Alexis Dietsch took the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1 minute and 13 seconds. The team of Kamryn Sherwood, Jaeda Molle, Miya Orbiana, and Gourley won the 4×800 meter relay and Macie Wagner replaced Gourley to help win the 4×400 meter relay.

The top finishers for WACO was Elyssa Graber in 3rd place in the 800 meter run and Zoey Dennler in the 400 meter hurdles. The team of McKenzie Vradenburg, Halle Shelman, Dennler, and Graber won the distance medley.

Keetyn Townsley won the 100 meter hurdles for Winfield-Mt. Union and the team of Josie Nelson, Keyreana Sharar, Tessa Huston, and Townsley took the 4×100 meter shuttle hurdle.

WACO won the B Division for the boys side with 164 points, Winfield-Mt. Union grabbed 2nd place, New London took 3rd, and Danville finished in 4th place. Simeon Reichenbach won the 100 meter dash and the 110 meter hurdles for the Warriors. WACO won the 4×100 meter relay, the 4×200 meter relay, and the 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle. Mason Miller took the high jump with a leap of 6 feet 1 inch. Reichenbach leaped 19 feet 1.5 inches to win the long jump. Lastly, Oleh Shtefanchuk threw the discus 143 feet 10 inches to win the discus.

Kohlby Newsom won the 1600 meter run for Winfield-Mt. Union. The Wolves won the 4×800 meter relay and the distance medley. For New London, Rylan Martin took the 800 meter run and the 3200 meter run. Cale Westerbeck won the 400 meter hurdles and the 4×400 meter relay team won the event with a time of 3 minutes and 48 seconds. Ayden Doyle won the 200 meter dash for Danville and the 800 sprint medley team won with a time of 1 minute and 39 seconds.

The Mt. Pleasant girls and boys teams competed at the Tulip Time Relays and the girls team finished in 2nd place with 157 points and the boys team took 3rd place scoring 103 points. The girls team had a slew of 2nd place finishes with Andi Scott in the 100 meter dash, Rellana Van Deuren in the 400 meter hurdles, Elsie Lange in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet 4 inches, Ava English in the shot put with a heave of 36 feet 4 inches, and Savannah Slobodnik in the discus with a toss of 111 feet 2 inches. The team of Courtney Raub, Bailey Jalas, Tristan Shull, and Andi Scott won the 4×100 meter relay with a time of 51.03 seconds.

Avin Truong won the 200 meter dash for the boys team with a time of 23.25 seconds. In the 800 meter run, Gabe Feldmann took it with a time of 2 minutes and 8 seconds. Will Davidson won the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.75 seconds. Truong grabbed two more wins in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet 10 inches and the long jump with a leap of 22 feet 2 inches, 5th in school history and 5th in Class 3A. The 4×800 meter relay team of Jacob Richtman, Feldmann, Isaac Rynders, and Ben Carthey won with a time of 8 minutes and 26 seconds.

At the Drake Relays, AJ Bonnesen of Danville ran the 3200 meter yesterday and finished in 13th place with a time of 9 minutes and 26 seconds. Kade Benjamin grabbed 6th place in the high jump for New London with a leap of 6 feet 7 inches. Isaac Jerrel of Mt. Pleasant took 23rd in the shot put with a heave of 48 feet 0.5 inches.

Thomas Eschman of Central Lee and Cam Buffington of Winfield-Mt. Union will compete in the long jump today. Will Davidson of Mt. Pleasant will compete in the 110 meter hurdles and Boden Pickle of New London will join him in the 100 meter dash today.

High School Soccer

The Mt. Pleasant girls team throttled Keokuk yesterday 10-0. Tori Wilson netted 5 goals, Charice Auwerda tallied two goals, and Hailey Parrott and Elly Manning each scored one goal. The Panthers will take on Burlington at home on May 1st.

The WACO boys team will look to get back in the win column tonight against Columbus at home.

The Central Lee boys team improved to 3-5 on the season after taking down Centerville 6-0 last night. The Hawks will travel to compete against Wapello today.

The Central Lee girls team won in dramatic fashion with the Hawks down 1 to 0 entering the second half, Sarah Martin and Ellie Lake both scored to win 2-1. They will take on Wapello tonight on the road.

High School Golf

The Winfield-Mt. Union boys team competed in a duel against Hillcrest Academy last night and fell 173-164. The Wolves were paced by Carter Loyd who shot two over through the nine holes.

The Mt. Pleasant boys team participated in the Moravia Invite yesterday and finished in 12th place with a team score of 352. Knoxville won the Invite with a team score of 307. Nick Matheny led the way for the Panthers with a score of 76 followed by Nate Dismang with an 82. The Panthers will be competing at the Fairfield Invite on May 1st.

The Mt. Pleasant girls team will host their Invitational tonight.

The New London boys and girls teams will face off against Winfield-Mt. Union today.

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant girls team lost to Fairfield yesterday 7-2. Bethany Drury kept up her impressive season winning her singles match 8-2 and then teaming up with Audrey Richmond to win their doubles match 8-5. The Panthers next meet will be on the road against Burlington on May 1st.

The Mt. Pleasant boys team keeps their undefeated season going after defeating Fairfield 7-2 last night. Owen Vansickle, Elliot Cook, Phoenix Watson, Tim Cam, and Gavin Ross all picked up wins in the singles. Cook and Watson won their doubles match 10 to 1 and Cam and Lou Schimmelpfennig combined to win their doubles match. The Panthers will travel to compete against Maharishi tonight.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The Tiger softball team extended their win streak to four games after taking down Hannibal-LaGrange University in both games of their final home doubleheader. In game one, the Tigers won 8-1 with Alexis Davis smacking a solo home run. In game two, Kara Krieger hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the 6th inning to win 6-4. Haiden Molter and Ariana Wolford picked up the wins. The Tigers will face off against Harris-Stowe State University today in a doubleheader.

The Tiger baseball team earned the 4th seed in the Continental Athletic Conference (CAC) tournament and they will be facing off against Georgia Gwinnett College on May 6th.

The men and women golf teams’ next competition will be at the CAC tournament on May 1st.

KeRon Blackwell and the men’s 1600 sprint medley team of Jakim Brock, Jabez Rivers, Judah Rivers, and Daron Jackson will compete at the Drake Relays today.

The Wesleys ceremony commenced last night and some of the highlights was the basketball teams sweeping Team of the Year and Coach of the Year. Adaugo Nwachukwu won Female Athlete of the Year and Henry Shannon won Male Athlete of the Year. The biggest surprise was Mike Hampton’s induction into the Iowa Wesleyan Hall of Fame after coaching softball for 30 years and so much more for the Tigers. An emotional Hampton talked about the honor after the ceremony,

“I’m humbled, I’m shocked, I didn’t anticipate this whatsoever. I just wanted to say thank you to the University for everything they’ve done for me to bring me along as a young pup and now to the old guy.”

This Day in Sports History

1965 – Lindsey Nelson broadcasts a baseball game at Houston Astrodome from a hanging gondola.

1972 – Courts award 1968 Kentucky Derby prize money to 2nd place winner due to the winner being given drugs before the race.

1985 -Los Angeles Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela made baseball history by setting a then-MLB record with 41 consecutive scoreless innings.

Iowa Wesleyan- The 4^th annual student-athlete awards ceremony The Wesleys commenced yesterday at the Chapel. Students, athletes, coaches, faculty, and community members all showed their support as Derek Zander, Vice President for Advancement and Athletics, and Ashley, Baldassarre, Assistant Athletic Director and head coach for the Tiger volleyball team, led the announcement of awards and Brevin Wilson emceed the event.

The first award of the night was Female and Male Honor Athlete of the Year. Brielle Baker of the women’s basketball team won the award as she averaged 7 points per game and was named a Scholar-Athlete by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Trace White of men’s golf took home the award as White grabbed CAC Golfer of the Week and made the All-Tournament team in the Simpson Meet for their fall schedule.

The Women’s Newcomer of the Year was given to Isabell West of the women’s basketball team as she helped the Tigers to a 23-7 record, West led the team with 18.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. West was also named to the Continental Athletic Conference (CAC) All-Tournament team, 1^st Team All-Conference, CAC Player of the Year, CAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, CAC Newcomer of the Year, and honorable mention All-American. The front court for the men’s basketball team was anchored by Gacoby Jones as he was proficient from beyond the arc and a kleptomaniac defensively. These attributes earned Jones the award. Jones averaged 11.7 points per game and shot 40.8% from three-point land. He was named an honorable mention All-Conference for the season he had.

The Lori Williams Wright award was created in 2012 and is given annually to a senior women’s basketball player that exhibits athletic ability, leadership skills, and academic excellence. This year the award went to Brianna Wendland. She earned 2nd Team All-Conference honors this season. Wendland averaged 11.4 points per game for the Tigers on the season. She shot 42.7% from the field on the season. Wendland also averaged 5.4 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game, and 1.2 steals per game and was a Scholar-Athlete.

The Women’s Academic Team award went to the Volleyball team with six Scholar-Athletes. The Men’s Academic Team award went to the Men’s Golf team.

The Wesley Award given to the student who best represents Iowa Wesleyan in the community was the emcee himself, Brevin Wilson. A Mount Pleasant native, Wilson was very emotional in what was the only speech given by a student at the ceremony. In a simple statement, Wilson stated that will forever wear purple and white.

The Best Dressed award was a secret one as judges brought forth a final list of four to be voted on by Twitter live at the event. The final four were Wilson, Nicole Shirrell, Morgan Pulido, and, in a big surprise Kurt Moon. Pulido and Moon shared the award after the 60-second voting timeframe.

Every team had their own MVP as voted upon by the coaching staff and here’s how it shook out. Men’s basketball was Henry Shannon. Women’s basketball was Isabell West. Logan Lucas was the pick for men’s cross country and Lilly Garnsey was the choice for women’s cross country. Major Niccum was football’s MVP. Alexis Hafenstine was picked for volleyball. For men’s soccer it was Alvaro Morera. Women’s soccer was Marta Cuenca Carcel. Trace White took it for men’s golf. Kurt Moon’s choice for women’s golf was Aubrey Duncan. Julian Figueroa’s team lead in batting average, home runs, and doubles earned him the MVP nod. Lexy Davis won the award for softball. Daron Jackson was the MVP for men’s track and field. Faith Younce, who also helped organize and gave out the awards on stage, was the MVP for women’s track and field. For men’s wrestling it was Lane Scorpil, who finished in 2^nd place at the conference tournament to earn a trip to the national tournament. Lastly, Adaugo Nwachukwu was named team MVP for women’s wrestling.

The Men’s and Women’s Team of the Year and Coach of the Year was swept by basketball.

Jordan Ashton entered as a rookie head coach for Iowa Wesleyan and led his squad to a 27-3 overall record, which included an 11-0 record at Ruble Arena and a 20-game win streak, which are both school records. The Tigers took down two ranked opponents and were ranked as high as #23 in the NAIA rankings. They brought home the CAC championship and qualified for the national tournament. Ashton was also named CAC Coach of the Year and had three players earn conference honors with Henry Shannon being named an honorable mention for the All-NAIA team.

Steve Williamson won his second straight CAC Coach of the Year award and had four players earn conference awards. Williamson led the Tigers to a 23-7 overall record and their second straight CAC regular season championship and the #1 seed in the conference tournament. Williamson also became the winningest coach of all-time in Iowa Wesleyan women’s basketball history earlier this season (288 wins). Lastly, Williamson led the Tigers to a 20-win season for the first time in seven years. He also led the Tigers to a national tournament berth for the second year in a row. Both coaches stated that it was the players that truly deserved the award.

All that leaves is the Athlete of the Year for the men and women. Taking it home for the women was Nwachukwu. Adaugo finished her sophomore season with a 31-0 record where 29 of her matches ended by pin or tech fall. She won the Heart of America Conference title, named NAIA Outstanding Wrestler of the Year, and is now a two-time NAIA Champion after winning the crown this year in the 136-pound weight class. Nwachukwu is the first in program history to win multiple National Championships. She was also a finalist for USA Wrestling Women’s College Wrestler of the Year.

Henry Shannon showed his metal in his freshman season as he averaged a team leading 13.1 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game. A highlight from the season comes from their first-round contest against Haskell Indian Nations in the CAC Tournament. In a back-and-forth affair the game was tied with two seconds to play; Joey Brown IV threw a perfect pass to Shannon who rolled the ball in for the winning bucket at the buzzer. Shannon was also named 1^st Team All-Conference and NAIA honorable mention.

Zander kept one surprise until the end when he announced one final member joining the Iowa Wesleyan Hall of Fame. Mike Hampton will be the last Tiger to join the Hall of Fame. Hampton entered his 30th season as head softball coach at Iowa Wesleyan University. With two games left, Hampton has accumulated a 666-678-1 mark at IW and owns a 1,319-1,258-1 career record in 57 seasons coaching softball at the college and high school levels. In August of 2006, he was inducted into the Iowa Girls Coaches Association Hall of Fame in honor of his high school softball coaching career. Hampton was a registered girl’s and boy’s high school basketball official for 40 years and worked a number of postseason tournament games up until he retired in 2019. He was selected into the Iowa Girls High School Coaches Association Basketball Officials Hall of Fame in 2005. In April 2007, he was also a member of the first induction class into the Southeast Iowa Officials Hall of Fame. An emotional Hampton had this to say after the ceremony,

“I’m humbled, I’m shocked, I didn’t anticipate this whatsoever. I just wanted to say thank you to the University for everything they’ve done for me to bring me along as a young pup and now to the old guy.”

It was a proper, if not emotional, good-bye to Iowa Wesleyan after a fun year of athletics for the Purple and White.