By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
Mount Pleasant Native Cotton Named Official of the Year:
Mount Pleasant native Marshall Cotton has been named the NFHS Official of the Year in boys’ basketball, the Iowa High School Athletic Association has announced.
Cotton is one of just 15 referees or officials being honored this year by the Association.
Here’s the full list:
Curt Anderson, Paullina – Girls’ Track & Field
Michael Burke, Bettendorf – Wrestling
Marshall Cotton, Mount Pleasant – Boys’ Basketball
Kelly Dunbar, Marshalltown – Girls’ Soccer
David Foltz, Rock Rapids – Football
Jay Grassley, Cedar Falls – Volleyball
Kris Groff, Mapleton – Softball
Roger Johnson, North Liberty – Baseball
Michelle Koller, Kalona – Girls’ Swimming
Chuck Northrup, Dubuque – Boys’ Swimming
Al Robson, Scranton – Girls Cross Country
Jason Slaughter, Sioux City – Girls’ Basketball
Kevin Stapleford, Des Moines – Boys’ Soccer
Tim Thomas, Ames – Boys’ Cross Country
Joe Toot, Nevada – Boys’ Track & Field
College Baseball: Iowa Wesleyan Wins Game One, Rain Soils Game Two:
Former Mediapolis standout Cauy (Coy) Massner twirled a complete game one hit shutout, as the Iowa Wesleyan baseball team earned a hard fought 1-0 over Eureka yesterday at Mapleleaf Athletic Complex last night.
Massner allowed just the one hit, while walking just one and striking out eight.
Shortstop Dom Gerace had two hits and a run scored while Jake Leonard drove in the lone run.
With the win, Wesleyan improved to 5-12.
Game two was postponed due to rain.
College Softball: Wesleyan Splits with Fontbonne:
Iowa Wesleyan earned a 5-0 win in game one, but suffered a 2-0 defeat in game two as Fontbonne University secured their first SLIAC regular season title since 2016.
Wesleyan, now 5-9, will now await their fate in the SLIAC Conference Tournament.
They’ll most likely play that game on the road on Tuesday afternoon.
College Football: Wesleyan Back on the Gridiron:
For the first time in three weeks, the Iowa Wesleyan football will be back in action today when they travel to take on Westminster in their final game of their COVID shortened spring schedule.
Wesleyan was originally scheduled to take on Greenville University two weeks ago at home but Greenville breached health and safety protocols which put Wesleyan on hold.
Westminster played Wesleyan to a 20-13 brawl back on April 10th in a rain-soaked affair at Bracewell Stadium.
This afternoon’s game will kick at 1:00 p.m. in Fulton, Missouri.
College Football: UNI’s Farley Earns Five Year Extension:
UNI Director of Athletics David Harris announced a five-year contract extension for veteran head football coach Mark Farley which will keep Farley at the helm of Panther football through the 2026 season.
The winningest coach in UNI and Missouri Valley Conference history, Farley is the current FCS leader in playoff wins.
He has coached the Panthers to seven MVFC titles and 12 FCS playoff appearances.
The 2005 team advanced to the FCS title game.
He has also led two teams to the FCS semifinals and five teams to the FCS Quarterfinals.
He was named the 2007 Eddie Robinson Award Winner and this spring he became the only coach in MVFC history to win 100 Valley games.
UNI finished their COVID shortened spring season with a record of 3-4.