High School Wrestling
Championship Saturday has a way of bringing out the best in the competition and southeast Iowa provided their absolute best for the 2025 Iowa Boys’ State Wrestling Tournament with 13 wrestlers finishing 3rd through 8th place, one wrestler claiming runner-up, and three champions being crowned. Here are some of the highlights.
The Southeast Conference had two wrestlers finish with the bronze medal as Fairfield’s Cael McCabe finished with a 7-1 decision victory over Kolbe Hanson in the 113-pound weight class and Aaron Boone of Washington grabbed a victory over Kaiden Parker of Oskaloosa with a 4-1 decision win.
The Nikes had four wrestlers claim points in the early session with Blake Wilson claiming 4th place in the 165-pound weight class.
The championship matches proved to be the most entertaining, starting with Class 1A’s 106-pound weight class’ WACO’s Ian Maize facing off against the #1-seed Kaiden Belinsky of Don Bosco as the freshman forced overtime against the Don. Unfortunately, Belinsky would claim the sudden victory as Maize finished the season with the silver and a 37-4 record.
In the 190-pound weight class, Louden Huisenga of WACO watched Gatlin Rogers of Wilton rattle off five consecutive points to take a 5 to 3 lead into the third period. Exhausted, the Warrior scored an escape and a late takedown to survive with a 7-6 decision victory. He finished his senior campaign with a 42-0 record and as a state champion.
In Class 2A, Burlington Notre Dame had two wrestlers competing for both an individual and a team championship. CJ Davis in the 126-pound weight class and Kaiden Dietzenbach of the 138-pound weight class each collected last second takedowns to win their respective state titles. The point totals allowed the Nikes to hoist their second team title in program history.
If you would like to see a full breakdown of all championship Saturday action, the follow the links below:
Morning and Afternoon Session: 3rd through 8th Place
Evening Session: Finals
High School Boys’ Postseason Basketball
For Class 3A Substate 6, #8 Mt. Pleasant will hit the road to take on the #1-seed #3 Knoxville and #7 Fairfield will travel to #2 Mt. Vernon for their first round of postseason action tonight at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call for the Panthers game with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
For Class 1A Substate 4 District 8, Holy Trinity Catholic will face off against #10 Burlington Notre Dame for the district championship tomorrow, February 25th, at 7 pm at Central Lee. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. Crusader head coach John Hellige discussed the upcoming matchup with the Nikes,
“We’re excited to play Notre Dame. It’s always a battle every year. This year we get to battle them three times, so you know, we’ll have the kids ready. Have them jacked up and see what happens down at Central Lee.”
For Class 2A Substate 5: District 9, #10 West Burlington will compete against Mid-Prairie for the district championship tomorrow at 7 pm at Mt. Pleasant High School.
High School Girls’ Postseason Basketball
In Class 2A Region 2, Danville will compete against #2 Regina Catholic on Wednesday, February 26th, at 7 pm at Muscatine High School for the regional championship. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
In Class 4A Region 4, Keokuk had Kendra Boatman put up 25 points as the team grabbed 12 steals but it was not enough to beat Clear Creek Amana, losing 65-60. The Chiefs finished the season with an 18-5 record.
In the top half of the bracket, Burlington was outpaced by Central DeWitt 63-45. The Grayhounds ended the season with a 16-6 record.
High School Bowling
The state bowling tournament will begin today in Waterloo. On the girls’ side, Keokuk will be competing as a team today, while Mt. Pleasant’s Madalyn Millard and Bethany Drury will bowl individually tomorrow, February 25th.
Southeastern Community College
The men’s basketball team will travel to Sauk Valley Community College on Wednesday, February 26th, at 7 pm.
College Basketball
The #8 Iowa State men’s team were unable to knock off #5 Houston over the weekend, losing 68-59. Milan Momcilovic scored 16 points in the losing effort. The Cyclones will play Oklahoma State tomorrow, February 25th, at 7 pm on the road.
The Iowa men’s team pulled away in the second half over the weekend to down Washington 85-79. Payton Sandfort put up 27 points as he drained 12 free throws to secure the win. The Hawkeyes will travel to Illinois tomorrow at 8 pm.
Two top ten opponents and two gut wrenching losses, as the Iowa women’s team fell to #3 UCLA yesterday 67-65. Lucy Olsen led the scoring effort with 17 points. The Hawkeyes will square off against Michigan on Wednesday, February 26th, at 6 pm on the road.
The Iowa State women’s team lost to #19 Baylor 67-52. Audi Crooks was the only Cyclone to finish the night in double figures with 14 points. Iowa State will take on UCF on the road tomorrow at 6 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1978 – Kevin Porter, NJ, sets a then-NBA record with 29 assists in a game.
1987 – LA Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scores his 36,000th NBA point in a 97-93 win over the Suns in Phoenix.
2013 – 55th Daytona 500: Jimmie Johnson wins his second Great American Race; Danica Patrick is the first female driver to start from pole position; also best-ever finish by a woman at Daytona (8th).