High School Basketball
Central Lee hosted a shootout over the weekend as Winfield-Mt. Union and West Burlington both made the trip and here’s how our local teams fared. The Hawks’ boys’ team played Mendon close but suffered a 53-51 loss. Owen Swan led the effort with 23 points. Columbus will hit the road to take on Central Lee tonight with the girls’ tipping off the night at 6 pm.
The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team, missing three of their five starters, struggled against Mendon over the weekend, losing 52-21. Kynlee Buffington put together a double-double performance with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while denying seven shots. The boys’ team followed suit against Centerville, falling 58-42, despite a 24 point effort by Jake Edwards. The Wolves will start a three-game homestand tomorrow, December 10th, against Hillcrest Academy with game one at 6 pm.
The West Burlington boys’ team’s offense continued to fire on all cylinders, shooting over 50% from the field in a 76-59 win over Canton. The offensive production was headlined by Mason Watkins with 37 points. The girls’ team completed the sweep with a 41-25 victory over West Prairie. Van Buren County will travel to West Burlington tomorrow with game one at 6 pm.
The Danville boys’ team picked up their first win of the season over the weekend in a dominating 67-35 performance against Wapello. The Bears will compete against Louisa-Muscatine tonight on the road at 7:30 pm.
The Danville girls’ team will travel to Fort Madison tonight at 7 pm.
The Wapello boys’ team will take on Lone Tree tomorrow at home, while the girls’ team will face off against Prince of Peace tonight at 6:30 pm on the road.
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will host Burlington Notre Dame tonight at 7:30 pm. Head coach Eric Rawson knows this will be a tough matchup against the Nikes,
“Yeah, they got two really good guards about 6’4. Can shoot. They can score at all three levels. They pressure in the full court. They’re a good team, well coached. It’ll be a fun one.”
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will head south to compete against Holy Trinity Catholic tonight with game time at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.
Mediapolis will host Wilton tonight with the girls starting off the night at 6 pm.
Fairfield will face off against Ottumwa tomorrow on the road with the girls’ tipping off at 6:15 pm.
WACO will stay at home to play Louisa-Muscatine tomorrow with the boys’ following the girls game at 7:30.
The Holy Trinity Catholic boys’ team will take on West Burlington on Friday, December 13th, at 7:30 pm on the road.
New London will take on Burlington Notre Dame at home on Friday with the girls playing first at 6 pm.
High School Wrestling
The Fairfield boys’ team competed in the Bob Murphy Invitational over the weekend and Cael McCabe was the lone champion for the Trojans, winning the 113-pound weight class in a 1-0 decision over Cale Johnson of Central DeWitt. Dain Burkhart lost by major decision in the 175-pound championship match to finish as the runner-up. The Trojans will face off against Washington on Thursday, December 12th, at home.
The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team traveled up to Williamsburg to compete in the Raidel duals, defeating Pella 44-32, but falling to the hosts 55-18 and Center Point-Urbana 39-38. Dakota Aney and Alex Venzor went undefeated for the weekend. The Wildcats will compete in a double dual on Thursday at home with Burlington Notre Dame in attendance.
The Mediapolis boys’ team finished 2-2 at the Dick Mellinger Invitational over the weekend, defeating Keokuk 50-24 and Burlington 45-29. Lane Rigdon, Peyton Johnson, and Kyler Crow each finished 4-0 for the Bulldogs. Mediapolis will compete at the Tiger Duals on Saturday, December 14th, at Grinnell.
The Wapello boys’ team hosted the 60th annual Willard Howell Invitational over the weekend with Mt. Pleasant and WACO both making the trip. For the Panthers, Levi Evans and Ramzy Davis each grabbed 2nd place for their respective weight classes to lead the team. Wapello’s Cohen Wolford grabbed the silver in the 144-pound weight class. Lastly, Ian Maize, Gage Samo, and Louden Huisenga each finished with the gold for WACO.
Mt. Pleasant will travel to Keokuk on Thursday.
WACO will head to Tri-County for their invitational on Saturday.
The New London boys’ team saw their first action of the season in their Jeremy Fulk Classic over the weekend and had five wrestlers grab first place in their weight class. Kane Forseen won the 126-pound weight class by technical fall, while Gage Burden and Gavin Menke-Bailey each won their championship match by fall. Corbin Jacobs-Jewell won the 144-pound weight class in a thrilling 16-15 decision and Killian Kelly won by major decision in the 157-pound weight class. Liam Garvey grabbed 2nd place in the 190-pound weight class. The Tigers will host a quad with Wapello attending on Thursday.
The Wapello girls’ team hosted their 3rd Willard Howell Invite and had Kenadee Helscher grab the gold in the 100-pound weight class and Clara Ball finish as the runner-up in the 110-pound weight class.
Mt. Pleasant’s Zenlynn Lee continued her dominant start to the season with a 3-0 performance and a win by fall in the 145-pound championship match. Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union had Jada Moats take 3rd place. Lastly, Elyssa Graber of WACO grabbed 3rd place in the 105-pound weight class.
The Panthers, Warriors, and Arrows will compete in the Raider Girls Invitational tonight at Williamsburg.
The Wildcats will travel to Pekin for the Bill Rex Invite tonight with Fairfield also making the trip.
High School Bowling
Fairfield will hit the road to duel Davis County today.
Mt. Pleasant will take on Keokuk on Thursday, December 12th, at home.
Southeastern Community College
The #11 men’s basketball team crushed Kennedy-King College over the weekend 83-62. The Blackhawks will participate in the Highland tournament on Friday, December 13th.
College Football
Turnovers spelled the end of #18 Iowa State’s playoff hopes as Arizona State ran away with the Big 12 championship in a 45-19 final. Rocco Becht tossed for two touchdowns in the loss. The Cyclones 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. The Hawkeyes defeated Kentucky 21-0 in the 2022 Music City Bowl.
College Basketball
The #6 Iowa State men’s team hammered Jackson State yesterday 100-58. Curtis Jones led the scoring with 19 points, while Joshua Jefferson grabbed 13 boards to go along with 10 points for a double-double.
The Iowa men’s team got a taste of their own medicine, finishing on the wrong side of a last second shot in an 85-83 loss to Michigan on Saturday. Payton Sandfort cashed in for 19 points in the losing effort. The Hawkeyes will host the Cy-Hawk Series on Thursday, December 12th, at 6:30 pm.
The #20 Iowa State women’s team never had to sweat Central Michigan over the weekend in an 82-56 win. Audi Crooks tallied a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The #17 Iowa women’s team was handed their first loss of the season against Tennessee over the weekend in a 78-68 final. Lucy Olsen collected 23 points in the game. The Hawkeyes will take on Iowa State at home for the Cy-Hawk Series on Wednesday, December 11th, at 8 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1935 – The first Heisman Trophy Award: Jay Berwanger, University of Chicago (HB).
1984 – Los Angeles Ram Eric Dickerson rushes for 215 yards for the season record 2,105 yards.
2021 – Chicago Blackhawks Marc-Andre Fleury becomes the third NHL goaltender to reach 500 career wins in 2-0 shut-out over the Canadiens at Montreal.