High School Basketball
Mt. Pleasant split their matchup against Washington last night with the girls’ team falling 58-26 and the boys’ team spoiling the Demons senior night behind a barrage of three points, 62-53. Abby Carthey put up nine points for the girls’ game, while Ryan Helling cashed in for a career high 26 points in the win. Boys’ head coach Eric Rawson knew it was a matter of time before his squad broke through in the win department,
“Yes, it feels great. You know, a rivalry game on the road with Washington is a big night for them and for us to persevere and to get through it, we kept our composure. Ryan Helling was huge down the stretch. A lot of guys were huge down the stretch. It’s a great win for us. It’s been a challenging year to say the least and hats off to our group and our coaching staff, just keeping the vibe up and good. The mood’s good in the locker room. You know, a lot of teams could have thrown in the towel a long time ago and to get a win like this tonight on the road with where we’ve been and how we’re battling through things it says a lot.”
Mt. Pleasant will keep the road trip going today against Mediapolis with the girls’ teams tipping off at noon.
The Mediapolis girls’ team continued their reign of terror last night in a 67-48 win over Holy Trinity Catholic. Amelia Grier was unstoppable with 31 points in the winning effort. The Mediapolis boys’ team followed along, tagging the Crusaders 72-64 despite Luke Hellige notching a 29 point/10 rebound double-double performance.
The Holy Trinity Catholic girls’ team will await their opponent for the Southeast Iowa Super Conference shootout on Thursday, February 6th.
The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team has now claimed back-to-back wins after defeating Wapello last night 53-36. Madisen Kellogg led the way in the scoring with 19 points in the effort. The boys’ team also rallied to a one-sided win with the Wolves coming out on top 65-34.
Wapello will await their opponent for the Southeast Iowa Super Conference shootout on Thursday.
Danville celebrated their senior night with a sweep of New London last night with the girls’ team crunching the Tigers 74-17 and the boys’ team handling business 68-46.
Danville will await their opponent for the Southeast Iowa Super Conference shootout on Thursday.
The New London girls’ team will celebrate senior night on Monday, February 3rd, against Cardinal at 7:30 pm, while the boys’ team will face off against Twin Cedars on Tuesday, February 4th, at 7:30 pm at home for senior night.
Burlington Notre Dame was swept by West Burlington last night, 52-49 in the girls’ game and 77-63 in the boys’ game.
West Burlington will compete on Tuesday against Burlington with game time at 6 pm.
Burlington Notre Dame will travel to Fort Madison today with game one at 10 am.
The Van Buren County girls’ team fell to Central Lee last night 44-32. Marlee Mertens netted 10 points for the Warriors.
The Van Buren County boys’ team will square off against Clark County tonight at 6 pm on the road.
Central Lee will take on Keokuk today at home with the girls’ playing first at 12:30 pm.
For the first time in their program’s history, the Columbus girls’ team will get at least a share of the SEISC-North crown after outlasting WACO last night 44-33. The WACO boys’ team hurdled the Wildcats last night in a dominant 72-55 showing.
Columbus will face off against Pekin on Tuesday with the night starting at 6 pm.
WACO will host Winfield-Mt. Union on Tuesday with game one at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm.
The Fairfield boys’ team will face off against Holy Trinity Catholic on Tuesday at home with tip-off at 7:30 pm.
High School Wrestling
The girls’ regional tournament commenced yesterday and the winner and runner-up from each weight class advanced to the state tournament. Here’s the top results from the Williamsburg Regional.
Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union had one wrestler punch their ticket to state as Jada Moats defeated Joey Tedrow of Cardinal by fall to finish the night 2-1 and claim the runner-up slot in the 190-pound weight class.
Fairfield had two wrestlers advance to the state tournament as Samantha Lyons finished as the runner-up in the 170-pound weight class and Kendra Allsion pinned Mt. Pleasant’s Olivia Gordy to win the 235-pound weight class.
Mt. Pleasant’s Zenlynn Lee handled business, claiming a 3-0 record on the night and winning the 145-pound weight class. Olivia Gordy finished just short, falling in the 2nd place match by fall to claim third place.
Van Buren County’s highest finisher was Rylee Caviness as the Warrior produced a third place performance, racking up a 3-2 record for the evening. WACO’s Elyssa Graber took third place with a similar 3-2 record. Lastly, Wapello had two wrestlers claim a spot for the state tournament as Kenadee Helsher kept her undefeated season rolling in the 100-pound weight class and Clara Ball won by sudden victory in the 110-pound weight class as both Arrows claimed the gold.
The girls’ state tournament is scheduled to begin on Thursday, February 6th, in Coralville. KILJ will be giving live updates following our local wrestlers throughout the tournament.
The Southeast Iowa Super Conference tournament will take place today at Pekin with Burlington Notre Dame, Mediapolis, Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, New London, Van Buren County, WACO, and Wapello all in attendance.
The Fairfield boys’ team will host the conference invite today with Mt. Pleasant making the trip.
The matchups for the boys’ regional dual has been set and scheduled for February 4th at 6 pm with the top eight teams moving on to the State Dual Tournament on Saturday, February 8th, in Coralville.
In Class 2A at Davenport Assumption, #12 Burlington Notre Dame will face off against #11 Mount Vernon in the semifinals with the winner moving on to face #6 Assumption to see who will advance to state.
Dan Gable Ms. and Mr. Wrestler of the Year
IAwrestle and Iowa Corn in coordination with the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA) has released the top 15 wrestlers for the Dan Gable Ms. and Mr. Wrestler of the Year Awards and southeast Iowa has three competitors in the running.
In Class 1A, WACO’s Louden Huisenga is a strong contender for the award at the 190-pound weight class. He has compiled a 25-0 record against fellow 190-pound contenders.
Over in Class 2A, Kaiden Dietzenbach of Burlington Notre Dame is back in the top 15 after being placed on the list last year. The Nike is continuing his reign of terror on the area in the 138-pound weight class with a perfect 27-0 record, so far through his senior campaign.
Fairfield’s Cael McCabe is also up for the award in Class 2A as the junior boasts a 22-2 record in the 113-pound weight class. McCabe has won the Bob Murphy and Bill Van Horn Invitationals this season.
Fans can vote once per list at Facebook.com/IAwrestle for their favorite wrestler in each category until February 9th, when the list will be narrowed down to the top 7. The next round of voting, from February 10th to February 23rd, will determine the top 3 finalists, with the winner announced at the banquet on February 27th at the Fareway Conference Center in Boone, Iowa, on February 27th at 11:30AM.
High School Bowling
Mt. Pleasant will travel to Keokuk on Tuesday, February 4th.
Fairfield will host a triangular at home on Monday, February 3rd.
The girls’ state qualifying meets are scheduled for Monday, February 17th, and Fairfield and West Burlington will compete at Davis County, while Mt. Pleasant will travel to Keokuk.
Southeastern Community College
The men’s basketball team will take on Triton College today at 3 pm on the road.
College Basketball
The #3 Iowa State men’s team will face off against Kansas State this afternoon at 1 pm at home.
The Iowa men’s team will compete against Purdue on Tuesday, February 4th, at home at 6 pm.
The Iowa women’s team will host USC tomorrow, February 2nd, at 12:30 pm as the Hawkeyes will retire Caitlin Clark’s Jersey.
The Iowa State women’s team will take on #9 TCU tomorrow at home at 3 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1962 – The National League released its first 162-game schedule, including a record 421 scheduled night games, up from 318 in 1961.
1967 – The 10-team American Basketball Association (ABA) with George Mikan as Commissioner was formed and lasted 9 years; its three-point shot revolutionized the game.
2014 – Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning becomes the all-time record-holder for MVP trophies, winning his 5th at the NFL Honors in New York; also named the 2013 Offensive Player of the Year.