Sports, March 16th

High School Track and Field

The Mt. Pleasant, Danville, New London and Van Buren County boys’ teams competed at Central College yesterday and here’s a recap of the top performances from yesterday’s meet.

In the long jump, Mt. Pleasant’s Avin Truong grabbed first place with a leap of 21 feet and 9.5 inches. London Franklin of New London took 9th place with a jump of 19 feet and 2.75 inches.

In the high jump, Tyler Stoltz of Van Buren County earned 5th place after leaping 5 feet and 11.5 inches, while Mt. Pleasant’s Harmon Ensminger, 42 feet 9 inches, and Franklin Tousignant, 42 feet 5.25 inches, gathered 8th and 9h place, respectively, in the shot put yesterday. 

Switching to the running events, Lincoln Bainbridge took home the gold in the 3200 for Van Buren County with a time of 10 minutes and 26 seconds. Kayden Simmons of Van Buren County finished in 8th place and Avin Truong of Mt. Pleasant took 9th place in the 60 meter hurdles.

In the 60 meter sprint, West Burlington’s Landry Haberichter raced to a 2nd place finish with a time of 7.06 seconds. Ayden Doyle of Danville grabbed 8th place with a time of 7.33 seconds.

Doyle would strike again in the 200 meter dash as his 23.71 second time nabbed him 2nd place in the event. New London’s Brigham Porter took 7th place with a time of 24.51 seconds. 

Van Buren County had two finishers in the top ten for the 800 meter run with Bainbridge earning 5th place and Korbin Camp taking 7th place; but it was Mt. Pleasant’s Jude Dykstra who grabbed the bronze with a time of 2 minutes and 9.45 seconds. 

The Warriors would get the last laugh with a first place finish in the 4×400 meter relay and a third place finish in the 4×200 meter relay. 

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will compete at Central College today, while the boys’ team will travel to Washington on March 21st to compete in a meet. 

The WACO boys’ team will travel to Washington to participate in a meet on Thursday, March 21st. The girls’ team will run on March 26th at West Burlington.

The Winfield-Mt. Union and New London boys’ teams will travel to Danville on Monday, March 18th to get the season rolling. 

The New London, Central Lee, and Van Buren County girls’ teams and Central Lee boys’ team will travel to Columbus for their first outdoor 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 Basketball

The Iowa State and #2 Iowa women’s teams will wait for Selection Sunday tomorrow, March 17th,  to find out their seeding for the women’s National Championship.

The #7 Iowa State men’s team’s strong second half offensive performance propelled the Cyclones to the Big 12 championship game after defeating #14 Baylor 76-62. Keshon Gilbert led the way with 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. The Cyclones will attempt to win the conference championship tonight against #1 Houston at 5 pm.

The Iowa men’s team will find out their postseason plans in the National Invitation Tournament tomorrow.

March Madness

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. Tomorrow, 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 Wednesday, March 20th.

For a full list of rules and prizes follow this link: KILJ Bracket Challenge 

This Day in Sports History

1876 – Nelly Saunders and Rose Harland fight the first female boxing match (NY).

1955 – NHL President Clarence Campbell suspends Montreal Canadiens superstar Maurice “Rocket” Richard for the remainder of the season after he viciously attacked an opponent; riots ensued in Montreal.

1994 – American figure skater Tonya Harding pleads guilty to felony attack on former Olympic teammate Nancy Kerrigan.