Sports, Thursday, May 14th

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

No Answers for Prep Baseball and Softball… Yet:

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has officially begun to loosen restrictions on the rest of the 22 counties after her press conference yesterday, however Reynolds gave no answers to whether or not prep baseball and softball could happen yet this summer.

Reynolds told reporters she has yet to meet with representatives from either the boys’ association or girls’ union.

“We will continue to monitor and look for opportunity to continuing re-opening in a very careful, reasonable and responsible way.” Reynolds said.

Reynolds says the state will continue to monitor data before making an official decision on a summer sports season.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union were told by Reynolds that a decision on a season would be decided at the latest by June 1st.

Spring sports were effectively canceled during Reynolds’ April 24th press conference.

Virtual Cyclone Tailgate Tour Set for May 20th

Iowa State’s Cyclone Tailgate Tour, powered by MidAmerican Energy, is now coming to the homes of all Cyclone fans!

In order to continue this popular event during these uncertain times, the Iowa State Athletics Department announced today it will host a 2020 Virtual Cyclone Tailgate Tour on May 20th, bringing the Iowa State coaches into your living rooms for an entertaining, interactive fan experience beginning at 5 p.m. CT.

The Voice of the Cyclones John Walters will emcee the event with live interviews with Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard, Matt Campbell (football), Steve Prohm (men’s basketball), Bill Fennelly (women’s basketball), Christy Johnson-Lynch (volleyball) and Kevin Dresser (wrestling) and other special guests.

The 14th annual Cyclone Tailgate Tour was originally a six-day, 12-stop tour across the state of Iowa this May. However, due to the recent events surrounding COVID-19, the traveling tour was canceled for the health and safety of Cyclone staff, coaches and fans.

Cyclone Wrestling Keep Adding, Picks up NJ Prep:

The Iowa State wrestling team has picked up another big time recruit, adding New Jersey prep standout Jacob Perez-Eli.

Perez-Eli tabbed the Cyclones as his future home over Indiana, North Dakota State and Oklahoma.

A two-time state medalist, Perez-Eli is projected to wrestle at 141-149-pounds.

He was a fifth place finisher in New Jersey this year and ended his high school career with a record of 136-30.

Mount Pleasant Rec Center to Reopen:

The Mount Pleasant Rec Center took to social media yesterday to announce that they’ll be back open, albeit in a limited fashion, starting next Monday.

How they will change their protocol is unknown, however they did announce that more details would be released prior to opening their doors to public once again.

In their release, the Rec Center said they are “taking this very seriously and reopening in a safe and responsible manner is [their] top priority.”