High School Girls Basketball- It might be a New Year, but we are keeping the same traditions, such as the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union releasing their rankings. For much of the season the top teams have remained comfortably at the top, but for Class 5A there is a new top team. First, we start with Class 1A.
The reason that we start with Class 1A is there was no movement by any team. Staying at the top is last year’s State Champion, Algona Bishop Garrigan, followed by Newell-Fonda and North Linn. Burlington Notre Dame, despite the recent stretch of losses, remains at #10 and Winfield-Mt. Union, who is still touting an undefeated record of 11-0, is slotted in 11th.
Class 2A followed suit with no movement in the Top 15 with Dike-New Hartford claiming the top spot at 9-0. West Burlington and Mediapolis are still ranked at 12th and 13th, respectively.
Class 3A saw three new teams enter the Top 15 in Grinnell at 13th, Sioux Center in 14th, and Atlantic in 15th. That knocks out Roland-Story, Monticello, and Harlan. Estherville Lincoln Central is still undefeated and ranked 1st followed by Benton Community.
Cedar Rapids Xavier and Dallas Center-Grimes still hold the top two spots for Class 4A, respectively. North Polk and Ballard flipped positions with North Polk now in 3rd and Ballard in 5th after the Comets beat the Bombers 53-46 January 3rd. Gilbert was the only team to be knocked out of the Top 15 with Pella being ranked 15th with a 7-2 record.
Class 5A had the most movement with the biggest move being a new top team as Johnston now claims the crown followed by Pleasant Valley. Waterloo West fell from 1st to 3rd after their matchup with then 15th ranked Linn-Mar went to double overtime as the Lions came out on top 72-68 thanks to Zoe Kennedy’s 28 points; Linn-Mar is now ranked 10th. Other movements, Ankeny Centennial and Southeast Polk flipped positions with Ankeny Centennial now ranked 5th and Southeast Polk in 6th and Waukee Northwest fell from 7th to 9th. No teams were dropped from the Top 15 but Iowa City Liberty dropped three spots to be ranked 15th.
High School Basketball
Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to take on Lone Tree tomorrow, January 6th, with the girls’ team starting at 6 pm and the boys to follow.
The WACO Warriors will travel to play Pekin tomorrow with the girls’ scheduled to start at 6 pm.
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will play Fort Madison at home tomorrow. The boys’ team will be on the road to play the Bloodhounds with KILJ on the call with pregame at 7:15 pm. Coach Rawson knows this will be a tough conference matchup.
The New London Tigers will be hosting Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow with the girls starting at 6 pm and the boys to follow.
Danville will host West Burlington tomorrow with the girls starting at 6 pm and the boys to follow. The girls’ team comes into the game 5-5 on the season while the boys’ team touts a 7-2 record.
The Holy Trinity Catholic Crusaders will face off with Central Lee tomorrow with the girls going at 6:30 pm. For the Crusaders, the girls’ team is 4-4 and the boys’ team is 3-6 heading into the matchup. The Hawks girls’ team is also 4-4 with the boys’ team 2-7 after their last win over Columbus 68-46.
High School Wrestling
The Mt. Pleasant boys team will be back in action tonight when they travel to face off with Sigourney-Keota. The girls team will compete at the Highland Tournament tomorrow.
High School Bowling
The Mt. Pleasant Panthers girls and boys teams next competition will be tonight against Washington at the Iris Bowling Center.
Iowa Wesleyan Athletics
The men’s basketball team, now 14-1 and rocking a 13-game winning streak, will compete against Crowley’s Ridge College for a CAC Classic tomorrow. Coach Ashton knows that this team still has not hit their peak.
The women’s basketball team will look to get Coach Williamson his 275th career victory at Iowa Wesleyan tomorrow at the Northern New Mexico Classic against Crowley’s Ridge College.
The women’s wrestling team will be back in action tomorrow and Saturday for the NWCA Multi-Division National Duals Championship.
The men’s wrestling team will wrestle at Central Methodist University on January 10th.
The Tiger’s next indoor meet will be the Dutch Athletics Classic on January 14th.
This Day in Sports History
1971 – Globetrotters lose 100-99 to NJ Reds, ending 2,495-game winning streak.
1996 – Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula announces his retirement. He ended his career with 347 wins and coached the only team to have a perfect season in NFL history.
2019 – Golden State and Sacramento combine for 41 3-pointers in Warriors’ 127-123 win; set new NBA record for threes in a game; Stephen Curry hits 10 triples while Buddy Hield leads Kings with 8, Justin Jackson adds 5.
The Mount Pleasant Board of Education SITE AND POLICY COMMITTEES will meet at 4:00 PM on Thursday, January 5, 2022 at the Central Office on East Washington Street to review/discuss:
SITE COMMITTEE
POLICY COMMITTEE
The meeting is open to the public and patrons are welcome.
Mt. Pleasant- The Panther football team had four members named to the Football Academic All-State team. To make the team the student-athlete must be a senior starter, have a cumulative GPA of 3.7 or better at the end of their junior year, and the Head Coach must recommend them. From left to right in the picture, Zerek Venghaus, Bowen Davis, Bryce Wilson, and Zach Frazier all earned the honor.
Zerek Venghaus was the leading rusher for the Panthers last season finishing with 340 yards, averaging 4.1 yard per carry. Venghaus also rushed for 5 touchdowns and caught 12 passes for 118 yards. Additionally, he was very active defensively as he finished the season with 33 total tackles.
Bowen Davis rushed for 104 yards last season and caught 9 passes for 158 yards and 2 touchdowns. Nevertheless, most of his work was done on the defensive side, as he led the Panthers in tackles with 52including 3.5 for a loss and he had a fumble recovery.
Bryce Wilson started the season at linebacker and finished the year tied for fifth on the team in total tackles with 28.5 including 4.5 for a loss. Wilson also added a fumble recovery to his stat sheet.
While there are no specific stats kept for offensive linemen, Zac Frazier was the starting center for the Panthers and helped make holes for the running backs to total 703 yards on the season with 10 rushing touchdowns and gave Jacob Ricthman time to throw for 14 touchdowns and 1,749 yards. Defensively, Frazier also had a fumble recovery.
James Carlsen Brock, 59, of Houghton, Iowa, passed away at 10:34 a.m. Friday, December 30, 2022.
He was born on February 7, 1963, in Fairfield, Illinois, the son of Carlsen and Marjorie (Wilson) Brock. On December 7, 2002, he married Cheryl Vernice Fulton at Saint Augustine Catholic Church in Des Moines, Iowa.
He is survived by his wife: Cheryl; daughter: Claire Brock; brother: Jerry Brock; brothers-in-law: Mark (Karen) Fulton, Scott Fulton, Brett (Martha) Fulton and Todd Fulton.
He was preceded in death by his parents; father and mother-in-law: Alva and Shirley Fulton.
Jim was a 1981 graduated of Fairfield High School. He attended McKendree University and graduated with a bachelors degree in psychology and theology. Jim was a member of Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Houghton, Iowa and the Houghton Knights of Columbus Council #3905. Jim lived in Fairfield, Illinois, until moving to Iowa in 2006. He spent several years providing counseling in mental health. When moving to Iowa he worked at MHI in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, until shortly before it closed. He worked at the American Ordnance Ammunition Plant for the past ten years. Jim enjoyed traveling with his family, watching Star Wars with his daughter, spending time with the family dog “Eddie”, tending to his garden and canning the produce he grew (mainly jams, salsa and limed pickles).
Visitation will begin at 1:00 p.m. Friday, January 6, 2023, at Saint John’s Catholic Church in Houghton, where the family will receive friend from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. A Knights of Columbus rosary will be recited at 4:00 p.m. and a Christian Wake service will be held at 6:00 p.m.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, January 7, 2023, at Saint John’s Catholic Church in Houghton, with Father Joseph Phung as celebrant.
Burial will be at Saint John’s Cemetery in Houghton.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to his daughter Claire’s college fund.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com. Schmitz Funeral Home of West Point is assisting the family with arrangements.
On December 27th, 2022, at approximately 12:50 p.m., the Henry County Sheriff’s Office responded to a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Old Highway 34. An investigation at the scene, determined a 2006 Grey Ford F-150 driven by Bodie Rodgers, 48 of Mount Pleasant, was traveling south bound on Franklin Avenue and collided with a 2020 Kia Nitro, driven by Sara LeBlanc, 60 of Mount Pleasant.
The investigation determined the Kia was traveling west on Old Highway 34 and came to a stop then proceeded into the intersection. The F-150 was south bound on Franklin Avenue at the same time the Kia entered the intersection. The impact sent both vehicles into the southwest ditch with the F-150 coming to rest on its side.
Both drivers of the vehicle were transported from the scene via ambulance. Mr. Rodgers was cited for failure to wear safety belt, failure to prove security against liability (no insurance) and operating a non-registered vehicle. Mrs. LeBlanc was cited for failure to obey a stop sign and yield the right of way.
The Henry County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Mount Pleasant Police Department, Mount Pleasant Fire Department, Henry County EMS, and Henry County Secondary Roads Department.
