Sports, November 4th

Postseason Volleyball

The 2024 state tournament officially gets underway today with Class 5A leading off the day with Pleasant Valley facing off against Waukee at noon. Ankeny Centennial will take on Cedar Falls, Dowling Catholic will compete against Indianola, and Ankeny will tango with Waukee Northwest.

Class 4A’s top seed Xavier will face off against Sergeant Bluff-Luton today at 4 pm. Clear Creek Amana will take on Pella. Bishop Heelan will compete against Carlisle and North Scott will look to advance over Glenwood.

Class 3A will start the day tomorrow, November 5th, with Mt. Vernon going against Mid-Prairie at 10 am. Wahlert Catholic versus Kuemper Catholic at noon. Western Christian will take on Sioux Center and West Delaware will face off against Assumption.

The state tournament matchups for Class 2A will be Denver versus Boyden-Hull, Dike-New Hartford will take on Aplington-Parkersburg, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont will compete against Regina Catholic, and Beckman Catholic will face off against South Hardin. The tournament will begin at 2 pm tomorrow for Class 2A. 

#3 Holy Trinity Catholic will take on #6 BCLUW in the first round of the state tournament tomorrow night at 8:25. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 8:05 pm. 

The other Class 1A matchups include: Ankeny Christian versus Don Bosco, Riverside will compete against North Tama, and Saint Ansgar will take on Janesville. 

Postseason Football

In Class 2A, Mid-Prairie will take on PCM on Friday, November 8th, at 7 on the road. 

In Class 3A, #5 Mt. Vernon will travel to take on Algona on Friday at 7 pm. 

High School Cross Country

The Class 1A and Class 2A state meets were completed over the weekend and here’s how our local teams performed.

For the girls’ Class 1A state meet, Earlham took the team crown as Danville finished in 16th place with Alaina Gourley claiming 51st place with a time of 20 minutes and 42 seconds to lead the Bears. Delany Newberry finished in 97th place.

For the individual qualifiers, Iris Garza of Columbus took 72nd place with a time of 21 minutes and 16 seconds and the duo of Kayley Snowgren and Rylee Philips of Van Buren County grabbed 75th and 87th place, respectively.

For the boys’ Class 1A race, Danville led the southeast Iowa teams as the Bears claimed 7th as a team with the senior Jackson Shacklett finishing with a time of 16 minutes and 32 seconds, which was good enough for 13th place.

Columbus had Ty Muniz grab 25th place as the Wildcats finished in 11th as a team, while Van Buren County’s Lincoln Bainbridge raced to a 27th place time of 17 minutes and 1 second as the Warriors took 12th as a team. 

For individual qualifiers, Winfield-Mt. Union’s Kohlby Newsom turned in his best performance of the season, capturing 9th place with a time of 16 minutes and 29 seconds. Jude Dykstra of WACO claimed 19th with a time of 16 minutes and 46 seconds. 

The Class 2A girls’ state meet saw Mid-Prairie conquer the field for a team championship. For our individual qualifiers, Notre Dame/West Burlington had two runners participate with Kaitlyn Kipp finishing with a time of 20 minutes and 44 seconds, the 47th best time, while Hannah Fruehling claimed 61st place. 

On the boys’ side for Class 2A, Mediapolis had a trio of runners compete as Simon Wendell led the charge with a 32nd place time of 17 minutes and 8 seconds. Will Schmidgall’s time of 17 minutes and 59 seconds gave him 85th place and Mason Lindeen finished in 130th to round out the Bulldogs. Oelwein took home the team championship followed by Mid-Prairie.

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team will face off against Des Moines Area Community College on Wednesday, November 6th, in the Region 11 Quarterfinals at 7 pm.

College Football

Iowa kept the Heartland Trophy in their possession after thrashing Wisconsin 42-10. Kaleb Johnson continued his phenomenal season with a 135 yard rushing performance as he plowed into the endzone three times in the victory. The Hawkeyes will travel to UCLA on Friday, November 8th, at 8:05 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM will have the broadcast.

#17 Iowa State was eyeing their best start in program history but Texas Tech dashed those hopes with a 12 play, 71 yard drive that ended with a walk off rushing touchdown for the Red Raiders to win 23-22. Rocco Becht threw for 299 yards and two scores as Jayden Higgins went off for 10 receptions, 140 yards, and one receiving touchdown. The Cyclones will look to get back in the win column against Kansas on the road on Saturday, November 9th, at 2:30 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.

This Day in Sports History

1934 – After posting seven straight shutouts to start the NFL season, the Detroit Lions are scored upon for the first time, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates, 40-7. It remains the longest consecutive shutout streak of games won in a season.

1980 – MLB Philadelphia Phillie Steve Carlton wins 3rd NL Cy Young Award as he helped the Phillies win their first World Series title.

2001 – MLB World Series: the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees, 3-2 in Game 7. Diamondbacks claim their first title; co-MVP: Arizona pitchers Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling.