High School Basketball
The Mt. Pleasant boys basketball team will travel to face off with Keokuk tonight with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 pm. KILJ will be on the call with pregame at 7:15 pm.
Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to Wapello tonight with the girls starting at 6 pm and the boys to follow.
WACO will host Columbus tonight with the girls scheduled to start at 6 pm and the boys at 7:30 pm.
The Mt. Pleasant girls basketball team will be at home again tonight for a conference matchup against Keokuk at 7:30 pm.
Central Lee will be back on the road to face off with Van Buren County tonight with the girls going at 6 pm and the boys to follow.
New London’s next game will be at home against Holy Trinity Catholic while Danville will travel to play Burlington Notre Dame tonight at 7:30 pm.
The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released their third rankings of the season with the big highlight for Southeast Iowa being Burlington Notre Dame and Winfield-Mt. Union being ranked 13th and 14th, respectively, for Class 1A.
High School Wrestling
The Mt. Pleasant boys wrestling team fell to Keokuk last night 48-30. Mt. Pleasant got out to a 12-0 lead after Justin Stenier won by forfeit and Franklin Tousignant won by fall. However, the Chiefs outscored the Panthers 48-18 the rest of the way including 30 straight points. Bowen Davis and Gavin Kerr each tallied a win by fall with William Birdsell winning by forfeit. For the girls team, Ella McNamee continued her strong start to the season winning by fall in her match, giving McNamee a 12-1 record on the season, and Zenlynn Lee followed suit by defeating Emily Kay by fall. The boys team competes tomorrow at the Ginnell Tournament, while the girls team will have to wait until December 17th to wrestle at the Wilton Tournament.
IAwrestle released their boys high school rankings with Burlington Notre Dame currently ranked second in Class 2A as the Nikes are led by Carter West, who is number one at 106 pounds, and CJ Walrath, the Northern Iowa commit looking to repeat his 57-0 record that resulted in a state title from last year. For Class 1A, WACO and New London each have two wrestlers ranked with the Warriors touting Gage Samo at 106 pounds ranked tenth and Louden Huisenga ranked seventh at 160 pounds. The Tigers have Gage Burden ranked ninth at 126 pounds and Trent Wilkerson ranked sixth in the 220-pound weight class.
High School Bowling
The Mt. Pleasant Panthers girls and boys teams fell to Keokuk last night in close matches. The boys team fell 2,755 pins to 2,453 with the top bowler for the Panthers being Alec Payne with a two game total of 410. Chase Hemann paced the Chiefs with a total of 463.
The girls fell 2,694 to 2,270 with Addison McGehearty leading the way for the Panthers with 369 total pins. Rachel Moore was far and away in first for the Chiefs with 437 total pins. The Panthers will be going against Fairfield next Monday, December 12th, at Flamingo Lanes.
Iowa Wesleyan Athletics
The men’s basketball team will be back in action December 13th on the road against Saint Ambrose University at 7:30 pm.
The women’s basketball team’s next game is December 13th on the road against Grace College at 2 pm.
The Tigers continue to field impressive wrestling programs as the women’s team that has not wrestled since November 19th only fell three places in the rankings from 9th to tied for 12th with Missouri Baptist. Adaugo Nwachukwu is the headliner for the Tiger’s program as she is number one in the 136-pound weight class. Mia Palumbo is also having an impressive season ranked 2nd in the 109-pound weight class. Joanna Vanderwood moved up in the rankings from 11th to 6th in the 130-pound weight class. Alaina Sunlin in the 101-pound weight class and Destiny Campbell at 130 pounds are both ranked 9th. Faith Cole is newly ranked at 15th for the 116-pound weight class.
The men’s team is still trying to claw their way into the rankings as the team is receiving votes. Helping the cause for the team is the addition of another ranked wrestler. Austin Abitua remains ranked at 25th in the 149-pound weight class. Lane Scorpil is the newly ranked Tiger, as he is placed in 22nd at 125 pounds.
The women’s team is in action December 16th at the Eagle Duals at Avila University, while the men’s team will have to wait until next year to wrestle at Central Methodist University on January 10th.
Iowa Wesleyan’s next Indoor Track and Field competition will be this morning at the Grinnell Opener at 9 am.
This Day in Sports History
1934 – National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: New York Giants defeat Chicago Bears, 30-13. This game became famous when Ray Flaherty made the suggestion to Coach Steve Owens to wear sneakers on the frozen field to gain traction.
1935 – 1st Heisman Trophy Award: Jay Berwanger, Chicago (HB).
1984 – LA Ram, Eric Dickerson, rushes for 215 yards for the NFL single-season record 2,105 yards.