High School Basketball
Mt. Pleasant faced off against Mid-Prairie in a doubleheader last night with the Panthers splitting the night. The girls’ team started off in control as the Panthers were up by as many as 12 in the first half; however, the Golden Hawks would outscore the Panthers 42 to 26 in the second half as Mid-Prairie ran away with the game 61-51. Andrea Lopreato led the charge scoring 29 points in the contest followed by Tristian Shull knocking in 9 points.
The boys’ team had a back-and-forth game throughout as one team would hit a three to take the lead the other would answer back with their own three. It all led to the final quarter of play as the Panthers and Golden Hawks were knotted up at 46 apiece. Payton Hagans would then hit three three-pointers to start the fourth quarter off with a bang as the Panthers would hold on to the lead and exit Mid-Prairie with a 66-59 win. Coach Rawson talked about how important this road win is for his team. Payton Hagans finished the night with 28 points as Nate Stroud added 12 points and Owen Vansickel scored 10 points. Mt. Pleasant will face off against conference rival, Keokuk, on Friday, January 27th, with the boys’ at home and the girls on the road. Coach Rawson discussed how his team is still hungry after tonight’s performance.
The Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team had a tough matchup on the road against West Burlington as the 5th ranked Falcons of Class 2A got the better of the Wolves 66-52. Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to face off with Columbus this Friday.
New London will host Mediapolis and Holy Trinity Catholic will travel to play Burlington Notre Dame with the girls’ going at 6 pm followed by the boys. Both games will take place tonight, January 24th.
Danville will travel to play Van Buren County with the girls’ going at 6 pm followed by the boys’ team tonight.
WACO will host Highland tonight with the girls’ going at 6 pm followed by the boys.
The updated basketball rankings were released yesterday by the Iowa High School Athletic Association and none of the teams lost the top spot. West Burlington remains ranked 5th in Class 2A and WACO is still ranked 3rd in Class 1A, as both teams are still undefeated.
High School Wrestling
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will host Burlington Thursday, January 26th.
The Regional Duals for boys’ wrestling has been set with Burlington Notre Dame going against Knoxville in the first round with the winner matching up against Williamsburg for Class 2A.
High School Bowling
Mt. Pleasant will host Burlington this Friday.
Iowa Wesleyan Athletics
The women’s basketball team will be back in action January 27th against Bacone College at the Bacone Classic.
The 25th ranked men’s team is on a 18-game winning streak and getting into conference play at the Bacone Classic Thursday, January 26th.
The men’s wrestling team’s next competition will be a dual against Waldorf University tomorrow, January 25th.
The women’s wrestling team’s next scheduled competition is January 27th at the 2023 Spire Classic.
The Tigers next indoor meet will be the Grinnell Invitational on January 28th.
This Day in Sports History
1947 – NFL adds 5th official (back judge) & allows sudden death in playoffs.
1962 – Jackie Robinson is 1st African American elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame.
1990 – Los Angeles’ Pat Riley becomes the 13th and fastest coach to reach the 500-victory plateau as the Lakers down the Indiana Pacers, 120-111; Riley (500-184) surpasses Don Nelson (500-317) to reach the milestone.