High School Basketball
WACO will face off against Lone Tree at home tonight with game one at 6 pm.
Winfield-Mt. Union will stay at home to take on Highland tonight with the girls tipping off the night at 6 pm.
Wapello will host Hillcrest Academy tonight with the girls’ team playing first at 6 pm.
Van Buren County will compete against Mediapolis tonight at 6 pm at home.
Holy Trinity Catholic will take on West Burlington tonight with the girls starting the night at 6 pm.
Fairfield will travel to Washington tonight for a doubleheader with the boys playing at 7:30 pm.
New London will take on Burlington Notre Dame at home tonight with the girls playing first at 6 pm.
Central Lee will host Danville tonight with game one at 6 pm.
Mt. Pleasant will hit the road to take on Fort Madison tonight with the night starting at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm.
Columbus will face off against Winfield-Mt. Union on Tuesday, December 17th, with the girls’ getting the night going at 6.
High School Wrestling
Fairfield dueled Washington last night and breezed past the Demons 57-21. Cason Miller, Calvin McClain, Brody Lyons, Dre Smithburg, Noah Patel, and Cael McCabe each won by fall as Dain Burkhart snuck past Blaine Rees by a 6-5 decision.
The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team hosted a double dual last night with Burlington Notre Dame in attendance. The Wildcats finished 1-2 with a lone win against Highland 63-12. The Nikes handled business, defeating Highland 78-5 and Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union 49-18, but lost to Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 59-22. Isaac Davis, Kohen Dietzenbach, Colt Boyles, Bridge Anderson, C.J. Davis, and Kaiden Dietzenbach each finished the night undefeated.
The Wildcats and Nikes will participate in the Colfax-Mingo Dual Tournament tomorrow, December 14th.
The New London boys’ team hosted a quad last night and picked up wins against Wapello 41-23 and Lone Tree 48-18, while losing to Montezuma 42-29. Kane Forseen, Gage Burden, Corbin Jacobs-Jewell, Gavin Menke-Bailey, and Killian Kelly finished the night undefeated.
Wapello collected a win over Lone Tree 54-24 but lost to Montezuma 43-30. Carter Ball exited the night without a loss. Wapello will get a chance at a rematch tomorrow at the Montezuma tournament.
The New London boys’ team will travel to North Cedar tomorrow for an invitational.
The Mediapolis boys’ team competed in a triangular last night with Van Buren County and Pekin and the Bulldogs swept the competition, while the Warriors finished the night 1-1. In the dual between Mediapolis and Van Buren County: Leo Jirak, Kaimrin Ellingson, Jackson Meek, Elijah Westercamp, and Kaden Miller each won by fall for the Warriors, while Taylan Miller, Mason Johnson, Lane Rigdon, and Kyler Crow picked up pins for the Bulldogs.
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team dominated Keokuk 75-3 and Illini West 78-6. Tucker French, William Birdsell, Lane Beckler, Jefferson Avalos Ramirez, and Ramzy Davis collected 2-0 records for the night.
The Mediapolis and Mt. Pleasant boys’ teams will compete at Grinnell tomorrow for the Tiger Duals.
The WACO boys’ team defeated Louisa-Muscatine 48-32 last night. Harley Larrimore and Tommy Unternahrer won their matches by fall.
The WACO and Van Buren County boys’ teams will head to Tri-County for their invitational, while the WACO girls’ will travel to Vinton-Shellsburg for a tournament tomorrow.
The Wapello girls’ team will participate in a tournament tomorrow at Marion.
The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, Van Buren County, Mediapolis, and Mt. Pleasant girls’ teams will compete at the Keokuk Invitational tomorrow.
High School Bowling
Mt. Pleasant was swept by Keokuk last night with the girls’ team falling 2,729-2,385, while the boys’ team lost 2,983-2,429. Fairfield will host Mt. Pleasant on Monday, December 16th.
College Signing
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ soccer team has produced six consecutive seasons of at least 0.500 records, including three seasons of double-digit wins. One of those seasons coincided with talented midfielder Charice Auwerda, as the senior officially announced her decision to continue her collegiate career at Iowa Central Community College.
Auwerda is happy to have the decision finalized,
“I mean, it’s been a really long process. My parents and I, we’ve been like, toughing it out. This has been going on for like a year and I think that Iowa Central is honestly the best fit for my family and I, and I’m really excited to play for this team.”
The senior has been a magnet for the goal, leading the Southeast Conference (SEC) in goals and points once and assists every year. Auwerda has scored an impressive 55 career goals to go along with 53 assists, which is the Panther record.
Mt. Pleasant will return a strong senior class for the 2025 season, which includes Auwerda and the team’s leading goal scorer in Tori Wilson. Another stat to look out for is Auwerda only needs 12 more points to set the program record as she averages 54 per season.
“I’m very excited” said Auwerda. “It’s our last time playing together. Some of the people that I play with, we’ve played together at a very young age. It’s definitely sentimental and emotional, but I’m very happy.”
Southeastern Community College
The #10 men’s basketball team will participate in the Highland tournament tonight.
College Football
#18 Iowa State will face off against #16 Miami in the Pop Tarts Bowl on December 28th at 2:30 pm in Orlando.
Iowa will take on #19 Missouri for the Music City Bowl on December 30th in Nashville at 1:30 pm.
College Basketball
The #3 Iowa State men’s team secured their first win in Iowa City in a decade after a 52-point second half downed Iowa 89-80. Curtis Jones had a big game off the bench for the Cyclones, scoring 23 points, while Joshua Jefferson tallied a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Hawkeyes were led by Owen Freeman’s 16 points.
Iowa State will host Omaha on Sunday, December 15th, at noon.
Iowa will take on New Orleans on Sunday with game time scheduled for 1 pm.
The #21 Iowa women’s team will start conference play on Sunday in a road matchup against #17 Michigan State at 11 am.
The #18 Iowa State women’s team will look to regroup against Eastern Illinois on Sunday at home with tip-off at 6 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1983 – 9,655 people see the highest-scoring NBA game: Detroit 186, Denver 184 (3 overtimes).
1997 – 63rd Heisman Trophy Award: Charles Woodson, Michigan (CB). Woodson is the first (and only) primarily defensive player to win the prestigious college football award.
2018 – Dirk Nowitzki takes the court for his record 21st NBA season with only one team–the Dallas Mavericks.