High School Track
The Steve Roth Relays ran at Washington last night with nine of our local teams making the trip. Here’s some of the highlights starting in Class A. Mt. Pleasant was led by Avin Truong’s 4th place time of 15.71 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles and that success carried into the 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle as the Panthers also grabbed 4th place with a time of 1 minute and 6 seconds. Kaden Schadt turned in a 6th place performance in the high jump, leaping 5 feet and 8 inches.
Fairfield took the team championship for Class B with 119 points as the Trojans won seven events. Fairfield took the gold in the 4×200, 4×400, and the 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle relays. Individually, Gabe Tejada ran away with 800-meter run with a time of 1 minute and 59 seconds. Dylan Adam and Spencer McCready finished one and two in the 400-meter hurdles, respectively. Ryan Giberson and Eli Zillman followed the same recipe in the high jump as Giberson leapt 6 feet and 7.25 inches for the win as Zillman finished as the runner-up. Zillman did finish on top in the long jump, edging out Henry Luttenegger of Mediapolis by less than two inches with a leap of 20 feet and 4.5 inches.
Mediapolis had a fine meet, collecting first-place finishes in two events. Simon Wendel showed off his endurance with a gold-medal time of 4 minutes and 38 seconds in the 1600-meter run and the 800-medley relay scored a first-place time of 1 minute and 40 seconds. Nathan Schmidgall took 2nd place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.58 seconds. The Bulldogs also finished in 2nd place in the 4×100, 4×200, and 4×800-meter relays.
For West Burlington/Notre Dame, Landry Haberichter was just a tick behind Julian Dear in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.1 seconds for the silver. That speed gave way to a gold medal time of 45.16 seconds in the 4×100 meter relay.
Columbus finished in first place as a team with 172 points in Class C followed by Danville. Helping the Wildcats get there was Alexander Rees in the 200-meter dash with a 1st-place time of 23.24 seconds, Lando Garza took the 400-meter dash with a time of 57.48 seconds, Lamar Ceant and Rees led the pack in the 110-meter hurdles with Ceant winning with a time of 14.94 seconds. Cade Storm won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1 minute and 1 second. Ty Muniz grabbed the gold in the 3200-meter run. In the field events, Riley Kaalberg leapt to a 1st place finish in the long jump with a distance of 19 feet and 7 inches. The Wildcats also took the 4×100 and 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle relays.
Danville won the 4×200, 4×400, and 4×800 meter relays. Noah Horn and Nick Powell were a one-two punch in the 800-meter run with Horn turning in a time of 2 minutes and 6 seconds.
WACO’s Jude Dykstra outpaced Danville’s Jackson Shacklett in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4 minutes and 39 seconds. The Warriors also picked up victories in the 800 and 1600-medley relays.
Winfield-Mt. Union’s Cooper Buffington won the shot put with a heave of 48 feet and 3.25 inches, while Kolton Small of Wapello finished in 2nd place with a throw of 44 feet and 2.5 inches along with a 1st place toss of 132 feet-even in the discus.
The Mt. Pleasant, Mediapolis, Central Lee, New London, Danville, and Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ teams will travel to West Burlington on Monday, March 31st, for the Falcon Relays.
The Van Buren County boys’ team will participate in the Ruritan Relays on Monday at Pekin.
The Wapello Coed relays are scheduled for Tuesday, April 1st, with Columbus in attendance.
The Danville, Fairfield, Mediapolis, New London, WACO, Winfield-Mt. Union, West Burlington/Notre Dame, and Mt. Pleasant girls’ teams will meet up in Burlington for the Falcon Relays on Tuesday.
High School Basketball
The 2025 Pizza Ranch All-Star Game is scheduled for tomorrow, March 29th, at Dallas Center-Grimes High School with three of our local players and a coach making the trip to compete.
On the girls’ Southeast team, WACO’s Ella Huisenga, who ranked 2nd on the team in points and 1st in rebounds, earned a spot and accompanying her will be her coach Lisa Graber. The Southeast squad will face off against the Northwest team for the first round at 10:45 am.
On the boys’ Southeast team, a pair from the Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division will join forces in West Burlington’s Mason Watkins and Luke Hellige of Holy Trinity Catholic. Watkins and Hellige both finished within the top 10 in the state in points per game and as their respective program’s all-time leading scorer. The Southeast and Northwest will square off for their first round matchup at noon.
City of Mt. Pleasant Soccer
The Parks & Recreation department is in need of a couple of coaches for their soccer program for the upcoming spring. The department needs one coach for 4th-6th grade coed soccer and the coach can pick the night they practice and time frame with games on Saturday.
Two coaches for Kindergarten soccer and that will run on Mondays April 7th-28th from 5:30-6:15 pm. One coach for preschool soccer for session one from 5-5:45 pm and two coaches for session two from 6-6:45 pm on Thursdays, starting on April 10th and running through May 1st.
If you can help volunteer, then contact Ashley by phone at 319-385-1475 or email mpparkandrec@gmail.com.
Southeastern Community College
The softball team continued their dominating ways, sweeping John Wood Community College yesterday 14-0 and 23-0. The Blackhawks allowed only one hit between the two contests. The softball team will remain at home to face off against Indian Hills Community College on Wednesday, April 2nd, for a doubleheader.
The baseball team will travel to Northeast Community College today for a doubleheader.
March Madness
The KILJ bracket challenge, sponsored by The Press Box and Wiley’s Interior Furnishings and Design, is officially underway with nearly 50 brackets submitted with the top three set to receive prizes.
The standings have been updated through the first two rounds. For a look at the top 10 breakdown, follow this link: KILJ Bracket Challenge Standings
The standings will be updated after the Elite Eight, Final Four, and championship matchup.
This Day in Sports History
1891 – First world weightlifting championship won by Edward Lawrence in London, England.
1933 – First SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament: Kentucky beats Mississippi State, 46-27.
1975 – NHL Washington Capitals win their first game on road after 37 straight road losses.