Winfield-Mt. Union Fall Season Preview
The Winfield-Mt. Union football program is hoping to put together their fifth straight winning season and their fourth consecutive playoff berth after making it to the state semifinals in 2023 after finishing the season with an 11-1 record. The Wolves will have to find a couple of key replacements as they graduated Jake Edwards and Lane Genkinger, as the pair combined for 88% of the team’s total yards and 90% of the team’s offensive touchdowns, and Cooper Buffington, as he will take his talents to the University of Montana. The offense is hoping the connection between Cody Milks and Max Edwards will develop further as Milks threw for four touchdowns last year, while Edwards caught 31 passes for 552 yards and seven touchdowns. The season will start on the road against Easton Valley on Thursday, August 28th, at 7 pm.
The volleyball squad is excited to get the season rolling after collecting 13 wins last year, including a four-set postseason victory over Lone Tree. This squad graduated only two seniors from last year’s team. The return of Madisen Kellogg, who tabbed 428 assists, and their two main attackers in Kellee Milks and Kynlee Buffington, who combined for 341 kills last year and both had efficiencies above 0.200, will help the transition of first-year head coach Ashlei Venghaus.
The youth movement will be strong amongst the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams for the Wolves. The boys’ cross country team graduated seniors William Cupps, Jacob Nelson, and Kohlby Newsom, who was ranked at various times throughout the season and outpaced southeast Iowa at the state meet with a 9th place time of 16 minutes and 29 seconds. The girls’ team last year had only one runner in Ashlyn Bender, a freshman, whose best time of the year was 27 minutes and 39 seconds. It will be interesting who will lead the pack when the season gets underway on September 2nd at Hillcrest Academy.
Local Athletic Camps
At Danville High School, the Soukup Basketball camp for all boys and girls entering 3rd through 8th grades will start tomorrow, August 8th, and run through the 10th. The cost will be $60 per camper and you can sign up at www.soukupbasketballcamp.com.
Mt. Pleasant’s high school cross country camp at the Oakland Mills Cabins will get underway on Monday, August 11th.
College Football
Iowa had two Hawkeyes placed on the Sporting News Preseason All-American second team yesterday in Gennings Dunker and Kaden Wetjen. Dunker, an offensive tackle, was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award last year and was named second-team All-Big Ten as the team rushed for over 200 yards in seven of their contests.
Wetjen is fresh off winning the 2024 Jet Award and the Rodgers-Dwight Return Big Ten Specialist of the Year. He finished with 1,055 combined kick return yards to lead the country and returned two special teams touchdowns last season: a 100-yard kick return and an 85-yard punt return.
Iowa will host UAlbany on August 30th at 5 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM will have the coverage throughout the season.
Prospect League
The Cape Catfish will host Game two of the Prospect League championship tonight against the Lafayette Aviators at 6:35 pm with a 1-0 lead in the three-game series.
This Day in Sports History
1936 – Twenty-two nations line-up as the first basketball competition in the Olympic Games starts in Berlin; Estonia beats France 34-29 in the first game.
1948 – American Alice Coachman becomes the first Black woman from any country to win an Olympic gold medal when she takes out the high jump at the London Games.
1999 – Wade Boggs becomes the first MLB player to hit a home run for his 3,000th hit in a Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ 15-10 loss to Cleveland.