May 14 Weekends Sports Wrap-up

MAY 14, 2024 EDITION SPORTS EDITOR: BECKY WALZ + BECKY.WALZ@DRIFTLESSJOURNAL.COM

Warriors, Trojan boys advance to district golf

ABOVE LEFT: Scoring a 336 earn Turkey Valley a runner-up finish at the sectional and a district bid. Members of the squad were (lr) Braylen Byrne, Caleb Kurtenbach, Oliver Schmitt, Logan Busta, Brady Blong, Nicholas Bernhard and Coach John Reicks. ABOVE RIGHT: South Winn scored the sectional win Wednesday with a squad of (l-r) Carson Streeter, Matson Winings, Jordan Baumler, Braiden Todd, Jackson Goltz and Cale Kleppe. (submitted photos) Class 1A Sectional team scores 1. South Winn 327; 2. Turkey Valley 336; 3. Wapsie Valley 340; 4. Starmont 344; 5. Clayton Ridge 354; 6. Central Elkader 374; 7. West Central 396

the spots.

The Warriors and Trojans now advance to district play next Tuesday, May 14 at Mason City. South Winn has made the district competition for X seasons in a row, while this marks the second year in a row that the Trojans have qualified as a team for district competition.

Across the board there was a lot of good golf played at Silver Spring Golf Course in Ossian Wednesday, with all seven teams scoring under 400 at the Class 1A Sectional 8 boys’ tournament. It was a beautiful day Warrior win “There were low scores all over overall and the area schools took adthe place. I knew going in that we vantage of finally having the weathwere going to have to play well to ader cooperate with some excellent vance, and I was proven correct. Forscores. tunately, some of the best golf was At the end of the day three teams played by our guys. They knew the qualified for the district meet as host pressure was on, and they responded South Winn won the day with a 327. by shooting their lowest 9-hole (158) Turkey Valley came through with a and 18-hole (227) scores of the year.

336 to finish runner-up, while WapIt’s awesome to see us playing our sie Valley tallied a 340 and qualified best golf at the right time, because due to the host school taking one of

over South Winn’s Carson Streeter.

“There was not a lot of room for error today. The Trojans managed to shoot a season-low nine-hole total of 164 on the front nine and followed that up with a 172 on the back nine,” said TV Coach John Reicks.

Seniors Caleb Kurtenbach (4239=81) bounced back in a big way from the UIC meet on Monday to help carry Turkey Valley to runner-up team finish and another district team qualifying berth.

Oliver Schmitt (38-46=84) made sure to extend his stellar Trojan golf career with some superb scoring.

Schmitt continues his career as the first Trojan in school history to beSolid Trojans In a dramatic one-hole playoff, come a three-time district qualifier freshman Nicholas Bernhard (7880=78) continued his outstanding Districts next Continued on Page 2 season as he claimed the top medalist

we’ll likely need it again at the district meet. But for now, we’ll enjoy the big victory,” said South Winn Coach Mike Wenthold.

After a one-hole playoff, Warrior sophomore Carson Streeter took the runner-up spot with a 78 (37-41).

Teammate Braiden Todd was one stroke back with a 79 (38-41) to finish third overall. Carving out an 84 (40-44) was Jackson Goltz with Cale Kleppe wrapping up the Warrior scorecard with an 86 (43-43). Matson Winings (47-40=87) and Jordan Baumler (43-45=88) also toured the course.

Additional coverage of Decorah, South Winn and Turkey Valley Sports can be found in the Public Opinion Newspaper print & digital editions SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT DECORAHNEWSPAPERS.COM OR CALL 563-382-4221

2 WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP-UP Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Districts next Continued from front

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TV freshman Nicholas Bernhard won a one-hole playoff for medalist honors at the sectional Wednesday.(Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz)

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in golf.

Meanwhile Freshman Brady Blong (46-47=93) came up big and also counted for the Trojans.

Logan Busta (48-48=96) gave TV an insurance counter while Braylen Byrne (52-51=103) carded the low 18-hole of his career to round out the Turkey Valley scorecard.

“I was very proud of all our golfers today. The conditions got tougher as the day progressed. The wind picked up, the course dried out, and the fatigue set in,” added Coach Reicks. “Our guys stayed with the plan of hitting the fairways and avoiding the dreaded three-putt greens. Overall, another very good day for the Trojans.”

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SW’s Carson Streeter studies the Hole 5 green. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz)

WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP-UP Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Netters’ season continues

Aidan Nalean-Carlson takes a turn at serving as his doubles partner Liam Chamberlain is set for a return. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz)

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It was a good start Saturday as the Decorah boys’ tennis team is looking to make a return trip to the team state meet in 2024. The Vikes hosted Oelwein, Osage and Clear Lake for the first two rounds of the Class 1A Substate 3 bracket.

In team competition, four teams square off in the first two rounds with the winners playing each other to move into substate finals, which is the final 16 teams. Now Decorah will host Aplington-Parkersburg for the state bid Wednesday, May 15, at 4 p.m.

Overwhelming Oelwein, Osage Decorah overmatched Oelwein in round one, then dominated played Osage, a young but much improved team. In both matches Decorah prevailed 5-0.

On the courts against Oelwein were No. 1 Caden Branum, No. 2 Liam Chamberlain, Mo. 3 Aidan Nalean-Carlson, No. 4 Keaton Nalean-Carlson, No. 5 Tristan Hunter and No. 6 Seth Bolson.

Branum started his day with a pair of 6-0 set victories over Oelwein’s Cooper Reisner

before taking on Jarin Camlin of Osage who the Viking senior defeated 6-1 and 6-0.

Oelwein’s Houston Acuff fell to Chamberlain in the morning 6-0 and 6-0 while the Viking defeated Ian Schwarting of Osage 6-2 and 6-1.

Playing Tony Koch of Oelwein, A. NaleanCarlson won a couple of 6-1 sets. The senior then bested Osage’s Brady Nicholson 6-2 and 6-1. Continuing the pattern, K. NaleanCarlson won 6-0 and 6-0 over Chace Schoof of Oelwein and Carter Muller of Osage, 6-2 and 6-1.

Hunter, a freshman, pulled off the 6-0 and 6-3 win over Ricky McKeeman of Oelwein and topped Connor Thome of Osage 6-1, 6-0.

It was a couple of 6-0, 6-0 matches for Bolson as he defeated Tanner Sperfslage of Oelwein and Payton Scott of Osage.

“All of the players, came and took care of business today, and moving forward things will get much tougher. We worked on some specific things this last week in practice this last week and it really showed as the kids played to many of these skills and found success doing so,” said Coach Matt Anderson.

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ABOVE LEFT: Keaton Nalean-Carlson returns a serve. ABOVE RIGHT: Tristan Hunter stands ready as doubles partner Seth Bolson chases down a ball. (Driftless Multimedia photos by Becky Walz)

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Additional coverage of Decorah, South Winn and Turkey Valley Sports can be found in the Public Opinion Newspaper print & digital editions SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT DECORAHNEWSPAPERS.COM OR CALL 563-382-4221

4 WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP-UP Tuesday, May 14, 2024

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Viking trio off to state tennis tourney

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Caden Branum warms up before his first singles match Wednesday. (Driftless Multimedia photo

by Becky Walz) In Wednesday’s Class 1A boys’ singles and doubles districts competition hosted by Decorah, the Vikes managed to send an individual and a doubles team to state.

The competition is aligned where eight teams enter two singles players and two doubles teams with the champion and runner-up from each getting an invite to the State Championships. The Class 1A state individual and doubles state tournament will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, May 21-22, at Byrnes Park in Waterloo.

Defending state champion and Viking, Caden Branum, earned his right to defend that championship by winning the singles.

“We talk about one day, one match at a time, and Caden did a great job of staying focused on a day when he a bye, then a late start to second round, which makes for a long day,” said Coach Matt Anderson.

In doubles, the team of Liam Chamberlian and Aidan Nalean-Carlson, who have finished third the prior two years, played the best of their season against a talented team from Waverly-Shell Rock in the semifinals to earn their chance to compete at the state meet.

“After being so close the prior two years, this is one of those days when a coach gets really invested in seeing the hard work pay off and the disappointment of prior years’ wash away, this one I will remember,” noted Coach Anderson.

Additional coverage of Decorah, South Winn and Turkey Valley Sports can be found in the Public Opinion Newspaper print & digital editions SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT DECORAHNEWSPAPERS.COM OR CALL 563-382-4221

WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP-UP Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Viking girls advance to regional finals On the court for the second time in less than a week Friday, the Decorah girls’ tennis team hosted the first two rounds of the Class 1A Region 4 team matches at Luther College.

In regional play, all matches stop once a team has earned five points.

The Vikings advance to the regional final against Dike-New Hartford and will host the Wolverines Tuesday, May 14, at 9 a.m. for the chance to compete at the state tournament.

ABOVE: Kaitlyn Bjork prepares to slam the ball for a point during Friday’s team competition against Wahlert.

BELOW: No. 1 player Evon Leitz backhands the ball for a return. After dropping the set, the Viking rebounded to win the second and the tiebreaker. (Driftless Multimedia photos by Becky Walz)

Opening round In the first round the Vikes opened with an incredibly tough opponent in Wahlert Catholic. In an epic four-and-a-half-hour match, including three third-set match tie-breakers, Decorah emerged victorious.

First to get off the court and secure Decorah’s first match point was Leah Holland at No. 6 singles, who dominated her opponent in straight sets, winning 6-0, 6-2 over Lexi Zeal.

While No. 3 Camryn Holland fell to Amanda Pregler 1-6, 4-6, her second set comeback was motivating for her teammates who were battling for every point in a match now tied 1-1.

At No. 2 singles, Olivia Huinker secured the team’s second point, winning in a match tie-break 6-0, 3-6, (10-3) over Grace Zhang, and shortly thereafter, Jaidyn Duvel, at No. 5 singles, earned Decorah their third point, winning in another match tie-break 6-2, 2-6, (106) against Bria Bauer.

Kaitlyn Bjork, playing in the No. 4 slot, battled an extremely consistent player but ultimately lost to Claire King 4-6, 2-6, making the match score 3-2.

All eyes were then on the No. 1 singles match which entered yet another third-set match tiebreaker after Evon Leitz, who had lost a close first set 4-6, took the second 6-4.

Ultimately, Leitz secured the fourth point for the Vikings, winning in a closely contested tiebreak 12-10 over Riley Heiar.

All doubles teams hit the courts shortly thereafter. Leitz and Huinker, at No. 1 doubles, were able to secure the final match point for the Vikings, taking their first set 6-4 before dominating the second, winning 6-0 over Zhang and Pregler.

While the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches did not finish, the No. 2 doubles team of Bjork and Klaara Short was making a second set comeback and was up 4-1 after losing the first set 2-6, and Duvel and L. Holland, the No. 3 doubles team, was surely on their way to victory, finishing with a score of 6-3, 3-1.

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“The match against Wahlert Catholic was nerve wracking and exciting,” said Coach Amanda Huinker. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the focus and determination shown by the girls - they were ready for a tough match, and winning three match tie-breakers is no small feat and is a testament of their mental and physical stamina.”

Round two Round two was held later in the day, with Decorah facing Western Dubuque who had defeated Charles City earlier in the day.

Singles started off solidly with a quick 6-1, 6-1 win by Huinker at No. 2 singles over Grace Coyle. Shortly thereafter, L. Holland at No. 6 singles secured the second point for the Vikings, defeating Gen Orr 6-1, 6-2. C. Holland fell at No. 3 singles to Baylee Neyen, making the match score 2-1.

However, at No. 4 singles Bjork soon changed this to a 3-1 lead with her 6-3, 6-3 victory over Claire McGrane. At No. 5 singles, Duvel battled through a tough second set, winning 6-3, 7-5 over Jacinda McDermott, but Evon Leitz fell to Robyn Deiters at No. 1 singles, 4-6, 3-6, making the match score 4-2 after singles was complete.

In doubles, the No. 1 duo of Leitz and Huinker jumped to a quick lead and ultimately scored the final match point for the Vikings when they defeated Deiters and Coyle 6-0, 6-2. At No. 2 doubles, Bjork and Short had almost closed out a victory being up 6-2, 4-2 over Neyen and McGrane when matches were stopped, and at No. 3 doubles, Duvel and Holland who had lost the first set 2-6, were leading 4-2 in the second set against McDermott and Orr. “It was an exciting day for us,” said Coach Huinker. The girls received many compliments from the coaches of both Wahlert Catholic and Western Dubuque. These matches built their confidence in themselves and our strength as a team, and facing such great competition surely helped us prepare for our third-round match against a tough Dike New-Hartford team.”

Jaidyn Duvel earned a point for Decorah with win over Bria Bauer of Wahlert Friday.

(Driftless Multimedia photos by Becky Walz)

Additional coverage of Decorah, South Winn and Turkey Valley Sports can be found in the Public Opinion Newspaper print & digital editions SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT DECORAHNEWSPAPERS.COM OR CALL 563-382-4221

6 WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP-UP Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Moving on; SW and TV girls will golf in second round

ABOVE LEFT: Competing and advancing to the second regional for South Winn were (l-r) Katrina Hageman, Avery Luzum, Brooke Steffans, Julia Carnesi, Annie Ondrashek and Paige Jaster. ABOVE RIGHT: Trojans finishing third and advancing to the next round were (l-r) Coach John Reicks, Sophia Rivera, Morgan Vsetecka, Brooklyn Kuennen, Annika Bodensteiner, Delaney Busta and Karstyn Lukes. (submitted photos) 392, with tourney host South Winn last year, and are among the largas the runner-up with a 433. Tur- est schools in Class 1A this season. key Valley finished in third with a Beckman was a Class 2A state tour451 to advance to the second round nament entrant a year ago.

Maddie Schmitz of Beckman was Once again it came down to the of regional competition. The three wire waiting for the final group of schools will compete at the Nashua the meet medalist with a 95. girls to turn in their scorecards at the Town and Country Club WednesClass 1A first regional (3C) Friday day, May 15 for the chance to play Warriors take second South Winn relied on the experiat Silver Springs Golf Course in Os- at state.

Both the Warriors and the Beck- ence of the squad to take the runsian.

Beckman took the top spot with a man Blazers competed in Class 2A ner-up spot with Brooke Steffans (54-53) and Julia Carnesi (55-52) leading the way with 107s. Katrina Hageman was one stroke back with a 108 (56-52), while Avery Luzum fired a 111 (53-58) to conclude the Warrior scoring. Also on the course were Annie Ondrashek with a 125 Warrior Brooke Steffans drives (62-63) and Paige Jaster with a 127 the ball from the fareway to the fifth hole at Silver Springs Golf (57-70).

Course Friday at the regional competition. (Driftless MultimeFor the Trojans Veterans Annika Bodensteiner dia photo by Becky Walz) (50-56=106), Sofia Rivera (5355=108) and Morgan Vsetecka “This was a nerve-racking day to (55-57=112) all played well with Bodensteiner took sixth overall. say the least. As usual it came down Rivera took 10th, while Vsetecka to our No. 4 golfer and Delaney earned 14th. Trojan newcomer Del- proved to be the difference,” said aney Busta scored just low enough TV Coach John Reicks. “This was to hold off Wapsie Valley for third the first time in school that the Troplace in the team race as the fourth c jans’ boys and girls golf team both Delaney (66-59=125) shaved off advanced to the second round of seven strokes from her front nine postseason tournament play in the score and was the fourth counter same season. The girls did a great for the Trojans. Brooklyn Kuennen job of keeping their composure un(68-68=136) and Karstyn Lukes der pressure while exhibiting excelTV’s Brooklyn Kuennen lines up at the Hole 2 teebox during the (67-70=137) also appeared on the lent course management and drainregional meet Friday. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz) ing some clutch putts. ” Trojan scorecard.

Class 1A Regional 3C team scores 1. Beckman 392; 2. South Winn 433; 3.

Turkey Valley 451; 4. Wapsie Valley 454; 5. West Central 491; 6. Dunkerton NS

Additional coverage of Decorah, South Winn and Turkey Valley Sports can be found in the Public Opinion Newspaper print & digital editions SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT DECORAHNEWSPAPERS.COM OR CALL 563-382-4221

WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP-UP Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Two Trojan relays to compete on Blue Oval

Class 1A SQ 8 boys’ team scores 1. West Hancock 144; 2. Saint Ansgar 98; 3. North Butler 82.5; 4. North Iowa 73; 5. Lake Mills 71; 6. South Winn 64.5; 7. Belmond-Klemme 44; 7. West Fork 44; 9. Nashua-Plainfield 43; 10. Riceville 23; 11. Northwood-Kensett 19; 12. Turkey Valley 12; 13. Rockford 11; 14. Newman Catholic 9

7

Class 1A SQ 8 girls’ team scores 1. Saint Ansgar 128; 2. Lake Mills 93; 3. Northwood-Kensett 90; 4. South Winn 75; 5. Nashua-Plainfield 65; 6. West Fork 58; 7. West Hancock 57; 8. North Iowa 54; 9. North Butler 42; 10. Riceville 37; 11. Belmond-Klemme 14; 12. Turkey Valley 12; 13. Newman Catholic 8; 14.

Rockford 2

ABOVE LEFT: Jayden Rausch and Russell Nieman exchange the baton in the distance medley relay. ABOVE RIGHT: Ellaney Bodensteiner launches the shot put. (Photos courtesy of Leah Kruse) Boys results Competing in the Class 1A Shot put – 17. Hunter Kruse 30’3.75”; state-qualifying meet in Saint An24. Wyatt Maklenburg, 23’5.25” sgar, the Turkey Valley track and Discus – 23. Traejin Keel 60’11”; 24. field teams each finished with 12 H. Kruse 47’9” 100m – 24. H. Kruse 15.60 points in 12th place.

ABOVE: Kaden Schmidt carries the baton during one of three relays he competed in Thursday.

BELOW: JD Kruse races to the finish as the anchor of the 4x200 relay. (Photos courtesy of Leah Kruse)

Qualifying process In Class 1A, the champion entry for each event from every state qualifying site automatically advance to the state meet, then next best 14 times/distances also advance, making it 24 entries per event.

After waiting overnight for results across the state to be review, each of the Trojan squads received at-large bids to the state meet. The state meet is Thursday through Saturday, May 16-18, at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

Time to shine For the boys, Hugo Busta, Burke Busta, Russell Nieman and JD Kruse will represent the Trojans in the 4x800 relay. In spite of finishing fifth, the quartet’s time of 8:42.96 is the 22nd best in Class 1A for Thursday’s race.

The girls distance medley relay finished fourth in 4:32.12 and also qualified on time. Ryann Schmitt, Kinsey Reicks, Hazel Nieman and Bella Stika are seeded 18th in the Class 1A race scheduled for Friday afternoon.

200m – 18. Logan Busta 26.93 400m – 24. Tucker Tlusty 1:09.92 1600m – 9. Russell Nieman 5:05.52; 16. Jayden Rausch 5:23.15 3200m – 7. Rausch 11:20.57 4x100 – 14. Tlusty, Keel, H. Kruse, Maklenburg, 1:02.38 4x200 – 9. Kaden Schmidt, Burke Busta, Hugo Busta, JD Kruse, 1:42.08 4x400 – 5. Schmidt, B. Busta, H. Busta, JD Kruse, 3:46.91 4x800 – 5. H. Busta, B. Busta, Nieman, JD Kruse, 8:42.96 Sprint medley – 7. Isaiah Wheeler, JD Kruse, L. Busta, Schmidt, 1:45.63 Distance medley – 12. Wheeler, L. Busta, Rausch, Nieman, 4:26.39

ABOVE: Bella Stika anchored the distance medley relay to a fourth-place and state-qualifying bid. BELOW: Ava Kuennen sprints down the track in the 100-meter dash. (Photos courtesy of Leah Kruse)

Girls results Shot put – 11. Ellaney Bodensteiner 28’9”; 16. Raelen Manderfield 27’1” Discus – 16. Bodensteiner 76’11” 100m – 13. Halle Weber 14.83; 24.

Ava Kuennen 16.58 200m – 13. Jenna Throndson 30.81; 24. Emersyn Hoffert 34.00 400m – 12. Hazel Nieman 1:12.36; 22.

Kuennen 1:24.97 800m – 7. Bella Stika 2:42.33 4x100 – 9. Schmitt, Reicks, Nieman, Throndson 55.39 4x200 – 8. Schmitt, Reicks, Weber, Throndson 2:00.50 Sprint medley – 5. Ryann Schmitt, Kinsey Reicks, Nieman, Stika 2:00.11 Distance medley – 4. Schmitt, Reicks, Nieman, Stika 4:32.12

Additional coverage of Decorah, South Winn and Turkey Valley Sports can be found in the Public Opinion Newspaper print & digital editions SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT DECORAHNEWSPAPERS.COM OR CALL 563-382-4221

8 WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP-UP Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Decorah will be well represented on Blue Oval this week

ABOVE: Trevor Kuennen goes airborne in the long jump. BELOW: Cade Averhoff blazes down the track in the 100-meter dash. (Driftless Multimedia photos by Becky Walz)

Class 3A SQ 2 boys’ team scores 1. Decorah 179; 2. Algona 127; 3.

Clear Lake 116; 4. Hampton-DumontCAL 72; 5. Humboldt 68; 6. Webster City 64; 7. Charles City 59; 8. Boone 51 Class 3A SQ 2 girls’ team scores 1. Decorah 163; 2. Clear Lake 140; 3.

Charles City 97; 4. Algona 80; 5. Boone 76; 6. Hampton-Dumont-CAL 67; 7.

Humboldt 61; 8. Webster City 46

There will be no shortage of Viking Blue and Red at the 2024 state track and field championships later this week after a combined 29

events qualified Thursday at the Class 3A state-qualifying meet in Clear Lake. In addition to the large contingent of athletes heading to Drake Stadium, the Vikings swept both divisions for the team titles.

The boys topped the field with 179 points, while the girls claimed the title with 163.

“Our guys really were fearless and locked into the task at hand on Thursday night. What a night!

The coaching staff is unbelievably proud of the efforts during both the NEIC championship and the district championship. It has really been special to celebrate with the girls team as well,” said Viking boys’ coach Joel Rollinger.

State bound for boys There’s a long list of qualifiers for the Viking boys who qualified for 16 of the 19 events. That list begins with a trio of field events which finished runner-up.

Kaiden Quandahl qualified in the long jump for the second time in his high school career with a leap of 21 feet, 3.5 inches which has him seeded seventh.

In the shot put, William Hahn will make his debut after launching the weight 50 feet, 5.75 inches last week. His throw has him seeded 19th.

Competing in the high jump as the seventh seed will be sophomore Peyton Webb. His mark of 6 feet, 4 inches at the qualifier gave Webb his second trip to the Blue Oval.

Kelley Gates was a two-time individual state qualifier as he swept the titles in the sprints Thursday night. His 100-meter time of 10.78 seconds hands the senior a fifth seed, while he enters the 200-meter dash as a fourth seed with a time of 21.85 seconds.

Another two-time individual qualifier Dakota Johnson will be on the track in hurdle events. The senior won the 110-meter event in 15.17 seconds and is seeded ninth entering the state meet. Johnson also took gold in the 400-meter hurdles in 55.76 seconds and is seeded eighth.

Johnson will be joined by Josh Adam, Tommy Sexton and Gavin Groux for the shuttle hurdle relay event Thursday after the quartet blazed up and down the track in 1:00.97 to qualify as the winner.

Their time has them seeded seventh in the prelims.

It will be Thomas Hammel circling the track Saturday in the 800-meter run as the 19th seed.

At the qualifying meet, the junior posted a runner-up time of 2:02.96.

Bill Fullhart earned an at-large state bid with his fourth-place time of 2:04.12 and enters the state meet as the 24th seed.

Grant Zilka put up the second-best time of 4:41.59 in the 1600-meter run to earn silver and a 21st seed at state for Saturday’s race.

In the 3200-meter run, Davis Coppola stopped the clock at 10:16.31, good for silver Thursday and punch a ticket to the state meet where he is seeded 20th.

A time of 42.92 seconds in the 4x100 relay gave the Viking quartet of Johnson, Gates, Gavin Groux and Quandahl a silver medal and has them seeded fifth for the prelims scheduled for early Friday afternoon.

Qualifying on time was the 4x200 relay of Josh Adam, Brayden Hartl, Webb and Quandahl. Their time of 1:32.50, had them fourth at the qualifying meet and earned them a 19th seed at state.

Hartl, Mitchell Stemper, Mason Avila and Trevor Kuennen posted a time of 3:27.65 in the 4x400 to fin-

ish runner-up and earn an automatic bid. The quartet is seeded ninth heading into Friday’s prelims.

Thursday the 4x800 relay of Zilka, Hammel, Garrett See and Stemper will compete as the 15th seed. The Viking relay won silver in 8:18.76 at last week’s qualifying event.

The final relay on the track at Drake this weekend will be the sprint medley. Adam, Groux, Gates and Hartl finished third at the qualifier in 1:34.93 which is the 13thbest time of the field.

Boys results High jump – 2. Peyton Webb 6’4” Long jump – 2. Kaiden Quandahl 21’3.5”; 6. Trevor Kuennen 19’11” Shot put – 2. William Hahn 50’5.75”; 11.

Luke Franzen 41’10” Discus – 4. Tommy Sexton 142’9”; 11.

Hahn 112’5” 100m – 1. Kelley Gates 10.78; 9. Cade Averhoff 11.63 200m – 1. Gates 21.85; 5. Webb 23.49 400m – 5. Montana Jump-Gerleman 54.51; 6. Kyle Pattison 55.18 800m – 2. Thomas Hammel 2:02.96; 4.

Bill Fullhart 2:04.12 1600m – 2. Grant Zilka 4:41.59; 3.

Garrett See 4:48.44 3200m – 2. Davis Coppola 10:16.31; 3.

D’mitry Lesser 10:29.56 110m hurdles – 1. Dakota Johnson 15.17; 9. Kaiden Youngblood 19.06 400m hurdles – 1. Johnson 55.76; 4.

Ashton Saltou 59.33 Shuttle hurdle – 1. Josh Adam, Sexton, Gavin Groux, Johnson, 1:00.97 4x100 – 2. Johnson, Gates, Groux, K. Quandahl 42.92 4x200 – 4. Adam, Brayden Hartl, Webb, K. Quandahl, 1:32.50 4x400 – 2. Hartl, Mitchell Stemper, Mason Avila, Kuennen, 3:27.65 4x800 – 1. Zilka, Hammel, See, Stemper, 8:18.76 Sprint medley – 3. Adam, Groux, Gates, Hartl, 1:34.93 Distance medley – 6. Jace Buddenberg, Kuennen, Max Grimstad, Coppola, 3:56.89

Peyton Webb reaches back for the baton from Brayden Hartl in the 4x200 relay. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz)

Additional coverage of Decorah, South Winn and Turkey Valley Sports can be found in the Public Opinion Newspaper print & digital editions SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT DECORAHNEWSPAPERS.COM OR CALL 563-382-4221

WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP-UP Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Ella Stille (right) stretches to put the baton in Claire Storhoff’s hand in Decorah’s winning distance medley relay. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz) Girls to Des Moines In the field events, Lauren Luzum was the first to punch a ticket to state with a runner-up finish in the shot put with a distance of 39 feet, 7 inches. The sophomore is seed second heading into the big meet behind Charlee Morton of Hampton-Dumont-CAL who won the Clear Lake meet.

Stella Pole will be on the track in the 100-meter dash after finishing runner-up Thursday. The sophomore posted a time of 12.84 seconds, which seeds her 22nd in the Thursday prelims.

Seeded 14th in the 200-meter dash for the state meet prelims, freshman Audrey Essa posted the second-best time of 26.13 seconds at the qualifying meet.

McKenzie Riley qualified for the second time in her career for the 400-meter dash. Her time of 1:00.44 has the junior seeded 12th entering the state competition.

Crossing the finish line in 5:05:04 Amelia Roe was the runner-up and is seeded 15th for Saturday’s 1500-meter run.

Drake Relays qualifier Renae Wilson will debut in the 100-meter hurdles as she won Thursday’s event in 15.70 seconds. Teammate Sydney Kipp finished third in 15.97 seconds and earned an at-large bid to the state meet. The Viking duo will compete in the prelims Friday morning with Wilson seeded eighth

and Kipp 16th.

All seven relays earned state bids with the sprint medley leading off the qualifying meet with a runner-up finish in 1:51.91. Kelby Kerndt, Ava Holthaus, Essa and Riley are seeded 11th for Saturday’s event.

The 4x800 quartet of Roe, Lillian Olson, Lauren Holthaus and Lily Sandhorst posted a second-place time of 9:52.65 to advance to state.

Their time has them seeded 11th.

A qualifying time of 1:06.97, has the Viking shuttle hurdle relay seeded third for Thursday’s state meet prelims. Members of the team include Kipp, Kerndt, Kennady Riehle and Wilson.

Claiming the title in the distance medley relay were Olson, Ella Stille, Claire Storhoff and Roe. The quartet’s time of 4:24.39 has them seeded 14th.

It was a gold medal performance for the 4x200 relay in 1:46.32.

Posting the winning time were Pole, A. Holthaus, Hayley Stowe and Essa to receive an 11th seed.

Taking the 4x100 qualifying title in 50.73 was Kerndt, Essa, A. Holthaus and Hayley Stowe to earn a 17th seed for the state meet.

Wilson, Riley, Olson and Pole were the first to cross the finish line in the 4x400 relay in 4:11.80 and enters the state meet as the 18th seed.

Girls results High jump – 7. Brylee Hanson 4’6”; 8. Claire Storhoff 4’6” Long jump – 9. Jerikah Dodd 13’1.75” Shot put – 2. Lauren Luzum 39’7”; 16. Annaleissa Arnold 29’10.5” Discus – 7. Annika Schmelzer 106’1”; 12. Arnold 89’2” 100m – 2. Stella Pole 12.84; 6. Ava Holthaus 13.37 200m – 2. Audrey Essa 26.13; 3.

Pole 27.01 400m – 2. McKenzie Riley 1:00.44; 8.

Lily Sandhorst 1:06.77 800m – 3. Olivia Volkmann 2:31.88; 5. Brinlee Courtney 2:45.66 1500m – 2. Amelia Roe 5:05.04; 3.

Sandhorst 5:1.49 3000m – 4. Courtney 11:56.82; 5.

Grace Blikre 12:16.49 100m hurdles – 1. Renae Wilson 15.70; 3. Sydney Kipp 15.97 400m hurdles – 6. Lillian Olson 1:12.12 Shuttle hurdle – 2. Kipp, Kelby Kerndt, Kennady Riehle, Wilson, 1:06.97 4x100 – 1. Kerndt, Essa, A. Holthaus, Hayley Stowe, 50.73 4x200 – 1. Pole, A. Holthaus, Stowe, Essa, 1:46.32 4x400 – 1. Wilson, Riley, Olson, Pole, 4:11.80 4x800 – 2. Roe, Olson, Lauren Holthaus, Sandhorst, 9:52.65

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Sprint medley members Audrey Essa (left) and Ava Holthaus make the exchange. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz) Sprint medley – 2. Kerndt, A. Holthaus, Essa, Riley, 1:51.91 Distance medley – 1. Olson, Ella Stille, Storhoff, Roe, 4:24.39

Grace Blikre (left) and Brinlee Courtney start the 3000-meter run side-by-side. (Driftless Multimedia photo by Becky Walz)

Additional coverage of Decorah, South Winn and Turkey Valley Sports can be found in the Public Opinion Newspaper print & digital editions SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT DECORAHNEWSPAPERS.COM OR CALL 563-382-4221

10 WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP-UP Tuesday, May 7, 2024

11 Warrior events to compete at Drake

Class 1A SQ 8 girls’ team scores 1. Saint Ansgar 128; 2. Lake Mills 93; 3. Northwood-Kensett 90; 4. South Winn 75; 5. Nashua-Plainfield 65; 6.

West Fork 58; 7. West Hancock 57; 8. North Iowa 54; 9. North Butler 42; 10. Riceville 37; 11. Belmond-Klemme 14; 12. Turkey Valley 12; 13. Newman Catholic 8; 14. Rockford 2

Class 1A SQ 8 boys’ team scores 1. West Hancock 144; 2. Saint Ansgar 98; 3. North Butler 82.5; 4. North Iowa 73; 5. Lake Mills 71; 6. South Winn 64.5; 7. Belmond-Klemme 44; 7. West Fork 44; 9. Nashua-Plainfield 43; 10.

Riceville 23; 11. Northwood-Kensett 19; 12. Turkey Valley 12; 13. Rockford 11; 14. Newman Catholic 9

There will be 11 events on the track at Drake Stadium this week for the South Winn girls’ and boys’ track teams.

The boys qualified four events at the state qualifying meet Thursday at St. Ansgar. Overall, South Winn was sixth in team standings with 64.5 points.

The girls will have seven entries to state. They were fourth, scoring

75 points.

Qualifying process In Class 1A, the champion entry for each event from every state qualifying site automatically advance to the state meet, then next best 14 times/distances also advance, making it 24 entries per event.

After waiting overnight for results across the state to be review, each of the Trojan squads received at-large bids to the state meet. The state meet is Thursday through Saturday, May 16-18, at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

Girls to the big time The girls will have four individuals and three relays competing at state.

Junior Abby Wagner will see action two individual field events.

It will be her second appearance

Katie Shimek explodes out of the blocks at the start of the 4x200 relay. (Photo courtesy of Leah Kruse)

Tristan Bodensteiner gets ready to send the discus flying during Thursday’s state-qualifying meet. (Photo courtesy of Leah Kruse) in the long jump after winning the qualifying meet with a leap of 16 feet, 2.75 inches. She is seeded 11th. For the third time in her career, Wagner will compete in the high jump as the runner-up at St. Ansgar at 4 feet, 10 inches. Her mark has her seeded 21st.

Saturday, Josie Tieskoetter and Ava Franzen will compete.

Tieskoetter will run in the morning as the 14th seed in the 800-meter run after taking fourth at the qualifier in 2:27.27. Just a freshman, Franzen earned a berth in the 1500-meter run in 5:19.84 after taking fifth Thursday. She enters as the 21st seed.

Three relays moved on to state on time.

The 4x800 relay will compete Thursday as the eighth seed.

Tieskoetter, Franzen, Annie Hageman and Tessa Phillips finished third at the qualifier in 10:13.13.

Katie Shimek, Maddy Jansen, Allison Hageman and Cloey Zweibohmer qualified based on time in the 4x200 after finishing

third in 1:52.16. They are 17th in the state heading into the big meet.

Shimek, Al. Hageman, Addy Conway and Tieskoetter posted a time of 4:33.37 in the distance medley relay. That put them fifth Thursday and are 21st headed to state.

The boys’ time to shine For the Warrior boys there will be three individuals and one relay competing at Drake.

Making his debut at state in the high jump is Kaden BartonFranzen who won Thursday’s event in St. Ansgar at 6 feet even.

The junior is seeded 11th heading into the big meet.

A fourth-place finish and throw of 46 feet, 0.25 inch landed senior Parker Timp at state in the shot put.

It’s the senior’s first trip to state in the event and is seeded 21st.

Lukas Weiss will be on the track as the 19th seed in the 100-meter hurdles. At the qualifier, the junior was the runner-up in 15.96 seconds.

The trio of Weiss, Timp, BartonFranzen will also combine with

Additional coverage of Decorah, South Winn and Turkey Valley Sports can be found in the Public Opinion Newspaper print & digital editions SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT DECORAHNEWSPAPERS.COM OR CALL 563-382-4221

Brady Ohrt in the shuttle hurdle relay. Ohrt replaces Keegan Streeter who was on last year’s state qualifying team. The Warrior quartet was second last week in 1:05.05 and are seeded 15th for Thursday’s prelims.

Girls’ results High jump – 2. Abby Wagner, 4’10”; 5. Alyssa Holthaus, 4’10” Long jump – 1. Wagner 16’2.75”; 3.

Holthaus 14’8.5” Shot put – 7. Grace Baker 30’4.75”; 8. Emily Hovden 29’11’25” Discus – 6. Kelsey Timp 87’11”; 15.

Jayden Tim, 78’8” 100m – 3. Cloey Zweibohmer 13.53; 20. Dhalia Trujilo 15.46 200m – 14. Britney Hageman 30.91 400m – 14. Alyssa Timp 1:13.50 800m – 4. Josie Tieskoetter 2:27.27; 10. Karissa Wenthold 2:44.68 1500m – 5. Ava Franzen 5:19.84; 6.

Annie Hageman 5:26.71 3000m – 9. Lauren Ondrashek 12:52.27 100m hurdles – 9. Aubrey Willey 18.79 400m hurdles – 8. Izzy Kuboushek 1:18.10; 12. Willey 1:23.63 4x200 – 3. Katie Shimek, Maddy Jansen, Allison Hageman, Zweibohmer, 1:52.16 4x400 – 3. Addy Conway, Tieskoetter, Shimek, Tessa Phillips, 4:28.48 4x800 – 3. Tieskoetter, Franzen, An. Hageman, Phillips, 10:13.13 Sprint medley – 8. Willey, Josie

WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP-UP Tuesday, May 7, 2024

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Tollefsrud, B. Hageman, Kuboushek, 2:07.09 Distance medley – 5. Shimek, Al. Hageman, Conway, Tieskoetter, 4:33.37 Boys’ results High jump – 1. Kaden BartonFranzen 6’0”; 8. Irving Flores 6’4” Long jump – 9. Gavin Feickert 17’9” Shot put – 4. Parker Timp 46’0.25”; 10. Chandler Riehle 37’2” Discus – 10. Landen Schnuelle 113’7”; 18. Tristen Bodensteiner 88’0” 100m – 4. Eric Greve 11.90; 7. Flores 12.21 200m – 9. Greve, 25.32 26. Yahir Macario, 29.59 400m – 7. Brody Tieskoetter, 57.75; 15. Szymon Kailnowski, 1:02.42 800m – 14. Brad Dahl, 2:23.48 1600m – 4. Abe Conway 4:51.94; 15.

Dahl 5:20.15 3200m – 4. Conway, 10:29.47 110m hurdles – 2. Lukas Weiss 15.96; 10. Brady Ohrt 18.48 400m hurdles – 18. Landon Livingood 1:09.63 Shuttle hurdle – 2. Weiss, Timp, Barton-Franzen, Ohrt, 1:05.05 4x100 – 3. Ohrt, Timp, Weiss, Riehle, 46.31 4x200 – 6. Riehle, Schnuelle, BartonFranzen, Greve, 1:39.91 4x400 – 6. Brennan Franzen, Tieskoetter, Barton-Franzen, Ohrt, 3:49.58 Sprint medley – 8. Kailnowski, Livingood, Tieskoetter, Franzen, 1:46.01 Distance medley – 8. Riehle, Livingood, Franzen, Dahl, 4:07.38

On May 1, Decorah High School senior Cade Averhoff signed his American Rivers Conference letter of intent to participate in bowling at Luther College. During the last three years, Averhoff has been a standout and leader for the Decorah Boys Bowling program. As a three-year letterwinner he has helped the Vikings to 26 wins while helping the program to a Class 2A State Tournament Runner-Up finish in 2023 and a third-place finish in 2024. Individual recognition for Averhoff has included being named as a two-time first team all North Central Bowling Conference selection and a two-time State Tournament Individual Qualifier in 2023 and 2024. With Averhoff’s help the Decorah boys bowling team won NCBC Titles in 2023 and 2024. Cade is the son of Forry and Amy Averhoff and also participates in football, track and FFA. (submitted photo)

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www.veteranflagpoles.org ABOVE LEFT: Brennan Franzen leads off the 4x400 relay at the state-qualifying meet. ABOVE RIGHT: Emily Hovden sent the shot put 29 feet, 11.25 inches to finish eighth. (Photos courtesy of Leah Kruse)

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Additional coverage of Decorah, South Winn and Turkey Valley Sports can be found in the Public Opinion Newspaper print & digital editions SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT DECORAHNEWSPAPERS.COM OR CALL 563-382-4221