High School Track and Field
The Mt. Pleasant and Van Buren County boys’ teams will compete at Central College on Friday, March 15th, while the Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will run on Saturday, March 16th.
The WACO and Central Lee boys’ teams and the WACO girls’ team will travel to Central College tomorrow, March 14th, to start their season.
The Winfield-Mt. Union and New London boys’ teams will travel to Danville on March 18th to get the season rolling.
The New London, Central Lee, and Van Buren County girls’ teams will travel to Columbus for their first meet of the year on March 18th.
The Mediapolis boys’ team will travel to Washington on March 21st for a meet. The girls’ team will compete in a relay on March 26th at West Burlington.
High School Soccer
The WACO boys’ team will open the season on March 28th against Fairfield on the road at 5 pm.
The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ and girls’ teams will take on West Liberty on March 25th at home with the girls’ game scheduled first at 5 pm.
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ will host Mediapolis on March 26th to start their season at 4:30 pm, while the boys’ will travel to Danville to play at 5 pm on the same day.
The Danville girls’ team will face off against Assumption on March 25th on the road at 5 pm.
The Mediapolis boys’ team will take on Burlington on March 26th on the road at 5 pm.
College Signing
WACO’s Chase Waterhouse will be trading in the blue and white for purple and gold this upcoming fall after signing his letter of intent to play football at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). Waterhouse will be a preferred walk-on for the Panthers.
In Waterhouse’s four years of playing football, he collected 86.5 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 25 tackles for a loss, two fumble recoveries, and two interceptions. The Warriors finished 33-9 over his four years, which included a trip to the quarterfinals in 2021 and a state runner-up finish in 2022.
Chase Waterhouse will study business/law at UNI next fall.
College Basketball
The #2 Iowa women’s team will wait for Selection Sunday on March 17th to find out their seeding for the women’s National Championship.
The Iowa State women’s team was unable to overcome #5 Texas last night in the Big 12 championship, losing 70-53. A 19-point first half deficit spelled disaster for the Cyclones as only one player scored double figures in the loss with Audi Crooks scoring 25 points and grabbing nine rebounds. The Cyclones will wait for Selection Sunday to see where they end up for the women’s National Championship bracket.
The #7 Iowa State men’s team will compete against either Texas or Kansas State tomorrow, March 14th, at 6 pm in the Big 12 tournament. The Cyclones will be led by All-Big 12 First Team and All-Defensive Team honoree Tamin Lipsey and All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Newcomer Team honoree Keshon Gilbert.
The Iowa men’s team grabbed the 7th seed in the Big Ten tournament and will take on the #10-seed Ohio State tomorrow at 5:30 pm.
Big Ten Awards
Owen Freeman earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors after his stellar season. Freeman averaged 10.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game and racked up nine Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors–second most all-time in conference history.
Tony Perkins nabbed second-team All-Big Ten laurels, while Payton Sandfort was a third-team selection. Josh Dix, Ben Krikke, and Freeman were tabbed all-conference honorable mentions. Krikke was honored with Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship award.
March Madness
The NCAA men’s basketball season is winding down as teams are battling for position and the opportunity to be crowned National Champion in this year’s March Madness bracket.
KILJ, with the help of The Press Box and Wiley’s Interior Furnishings and Design, will be hosting another bracket challenge, but things will be done a little differently this year. March 17th marks Selection Sunday with the brackets being released after 5 pm central time.
A printable bracket will be posted to KILJ’s Facebook page after Selection Sunday for you to fill out. You can either bring your bracket out to our station or email it to sports@kilj.com. The four play-in games will not count towards your final score. Brackets are due by the end of the day March 20th.
For a full list of rules and prizes follow this link: KILJ Bracket Challenge
This Day in Sports History
1915 – Brooklyn Robins manager Wilbert Robinson tried to catch a baseball dropped from an airplane, but the pilot, Ruth Law, substituted a grapefruit, which exploded on impact and left Robinson temporarily believing that he was seriously wounded.
1954 – Braves’ Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle, he is replaced by Hank Aaron.
2022 – After a 40-day retirement, Tom Brady announces he will play at least one more season in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.