NDN-SS-11-25-2022 Winter Sports

INSIDE: Previews of winter sports teams at Newton, Baxter, Colfax-Mingo, Lynnville-Sully and PCM

Cardinals seek third straight trip to state tournament

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Newton’s girls bowling team learned last season it was more than just one or two players. This season, after losing anoth er varsity player to graduation, the Cardinals expect to be back in the state tournament for the third straight season.

“Last year, we lost Abby and they didn’t think they were go ing anywhere,” Newton girls head bowling coach Christie Hughes said.

“This year, they know they can do it without her. State is definitely on their minds.”

It should be. The Cardinals were 8-1 in the regular season last year and placed second in the Class 2A state meet after taking second in

the Two Rivers Conference.

Just one varsity player graduat ed from that roster. Newton was seventh in the state tournament two seasons ago.

There likely won’t be too much drama with the roster. Five of the top six bowlers during the pre season practices were on the state team last year.

Junior Libbie Keith and senior Bailey Hansen were individual state qualifiers in 2021-22. They are in the top two spots so far with varsity returners Genessa Slings (junior), Beka Weithers (senior) and Nevaeh Bown (sophomore) holding down spots 3-4-6.

The fifth varsity spot early in the season was held by senior Ol ivia Pickerell.

GIRLS BOWLING | 19

Newton’s only locally owned full service bank for over 80 years.

Good luck to all area fall sports teams.

Shaped

by our Past, focused on Your Future.

Troy Hyde/ Newton News

Newton junior Libbie Keith is a two-time individual state qualifier who will try to help the Cardinal girls’ bowling team clinch a third straight state tournament berth.

Hutchinson headlines Newton’s first official girls wrestling squad

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Jessie Hutchinson became Newton’s second female to win multiple state medals at the state wrestling tourna ment last season.

This year, the Cardinal se nior seeks to be the first to win three.

Hutchinson is one of 13 grapplers who will make up Newton’s first official girls wrestling team. And five wrestlers on the squad won at two matches at last year’s state tournament.

“We have a good mixture of new and experienced girls,” Newton girls wrestling coach Chad Garvis said.

“The girls who have past wrestling experience have helped get our new girls up to speed. I feel like we should have five or six girls who will be competitive out of the gate and a few more who will need

to develop throughout the season.”

Hutchinson, a senior, placed sixth at 195 pounds at the 2021 state tournament and finished eighth in a much deeper 170 pound weight class last winter.

Senior Emma Lopez-Gar cia finished 3-2 at 135 0at last year’s state tournament and sophomore Stella Cupples was 3-2 at 115.

Junior Brianna Aebischer (145) was 2-2 at the state tournament and junior Claire Breuer (130) and sophomores Ella Machin (170) and Abby Chance (170) all won one match.

Lynnville-Sully senior Eliz abeth Elliott joins Newton’s squad this winter and she was 2-2 at 100 pounds in her state debut last season.

“We have a solid group of girls who are ready to go and will be competitive right away,” Garvis said. “Our goal

will be to continue to assist these girls in improving and to work with our new girls to get them ready for their first few matches.

“I’m excited to see how our

season goes.”

The rest of the Cardinals’ roster includes freshmen Brilea Moffitt, Ashlyn Van Manen and Grace Guy, soph omore JJ Casanova and junior

Lil Monjeau.

Garvis’ coaching staff in cludes assistant coach Shelby Sigala and volunteer coach Billy Cupples.

The first sanctioned girls wrestling season will have 14 weight classes — 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 155, 170, 190 and 235.

The state tournament will be held on Feb. 2-3 at Xtream Arena in Coralville. The super regionals are slated for Jan. 27.

One of the new rules with sanctioned girls wrestling is that now the wrestlers are no longer permitted to compete against boys.

“I feel like the girls are ex cited and for the most part ready to go,” Garvis said. “At tendance and attitudes have been pretty good.”

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

Lots of Gliem and some Good in Baxter girls wrestling

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Baxter’s girls wrestling team will feature three grap plers this season. The Bolts were summoned by a neigh boring district to join them and become one team, but girls wrestling head coach Randi Gliem said the Bolts’ decision to remain on their own involves a long-term plan.

“We have fought so hard to get this program up and run ning how it is and we really want to have our own iden tity,” Gliem said. “We may be slim this year, but it will only get better from here. This is

a long-term plan. We didn’t make the decision for just this year.”

The three wrestlers on this year’s Bolts’ girls wrestling roster are junior Hope Good, sophomore Zoey Gliem and freshman Johnelle Gliem.

Coach Gliem said two girls

are currently in the junior high program, but the squad should get bigger each year.

“This year, I expect to see some tremendous growth with our girls,” Coach Gliem said. “I’m expecting them to go out on the mat and show respect, poise and sportsman ship. I want them to show ev eryone what it means to be a Baxter Bolt.”

Good missed most of last season due to health reasons. Zoey Gliem was the lone Bolt to participate in last year’s state tournament. Her young er sister joins the squad and has great potential.

“All three of the girls are making great progress so far

this season,” Coach Gliem said.

A new wrestling room was built last year and both the boys’ and girls’ programs will use it this season. The excite ment around the program is very high, according to Coach Gliem.

“Our school, new athlet ic director and all the boys coaches and wrestlers have all been helping do what we can to make this program strong and grow,” Coach Gliem said. “Their fellow male teammates have been some of the greatest supporters of our girls so far.”

The first sanctioned girls wrestling season features 14 weight classes — 100, 105,

110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 155, 170, 190 and 235.

The state tournament will be held on Feb. 2-3 at Xtream Arena in Coralville. The super regionals are slated for Jan. 27.

One of the new rules with sanctioned girls wrestling is that now the wrestlers are no longer permitted to compete against boys.

Dwight Gliem is the vol unteer assistant coach for the girls’ program and also is an assistant coach for the boys’ team.

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

Z. Gliem Good

Troy Hyde/Newton News Newton senior Jessie Hutchinson, top, placed sixth at 195 pounds at the 2021 state tournament and finished eighth at 170 last winter. She’s back to lead the Cardinals’ first-ever sanctioned squad.

Good Luck Local Sports Teams

Webster set to lead C-M girls wrestling into new era

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Colfax-Mingo can stake a pretty strong claim that it was one of the pro grams most responsible for girls wres tling becoming a sanctioned sport in Iowa.

The Tigerhawks consistently brought double-digit wrestlers to the past few state tournaments, and that likely won’t change this winter either.

The first offi cial sanctioned girls wrestling season will in clude 13 Col fax-Mingo Ti gerhawks.

omore Devan Chadwick are this year’s captains.

“Webster, Cook and Steck look great to start the season,” Hume said. “They’re picking up where they left off, which is huge for them. All three are captains for obvious reasons and their leadership and experience will be needed to continue being a successful program.”

Chadwick is new to wrestling af ter playing basketball last winter. But Hume said she’s picking up the sport quickly and is leading by example.

Go for it!

“We don’t know where the excitement level is outside of the team, but inside the team, we’re very excited,” Colfax-Mingo girls wrestling coach Erin Hume said. “Practice and morning workouts have gone great. Girls are picking things up, maybe quicker than expected, and you can see the ap preciation for the sport building and the growing understanding of why we do certain things the way we do.”

The lone senior on this year’s roster is Joslyn Dawson. That comes after a large number of seniors graduated last spring.

A heavy dose of that senior class is wrestling in college and they are large ly responsible for the growth of girls wrestling at Colfax-Mingo.

Hume welcomes one returning medalist from last year. That is soph omore Lily Webster.

The other top returners are junior Shy Steck and sophomore Emma Cook. Webster, Steck, Cook and soph

“She shows up to every thing and works hard,” Hume said. Webster fin ished eighth last year at 100 pounds de spite weigh ing well under that. She’ll stay at 100 this season and has hopes of climbing higher up the podium.

Cook wrestled in the 220-pound bracket at last year’s state tournament. Steck went 3-2 at state despite being undersized at 140. She will drop to 130 this season.

“Emma really wants a state med al. The coaches are going to push her this year to open up and build con fidence in herself so she can make a big run at the postseason,” Hume said. “Shy is by far our most aggressive wrestler. That aggression served her well as she was undersized at 140 last year.”

Dawson is the lone senior and Steck and Elizabeth Audas are the only ju niors.

Troy Hyde/Newton News

Colfax-Mingo sophomore Lily Webster is back this season for the Tigerhawk girls’ wrestling team after placing eighth in last year’s state tournament.

Expectations couldn’t be higher for Newton boys hoops

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

The last four Class 3A boys state basketball champions play their conference games in the Little Hawkeye Confer ence.

Will a fifth school cut down the nets in March? That re mains to be seen, but past 3A champions Dallas Cen ter-Grimes and Norwalk both now play in 4A along with In dianola and Pella Christian is a 2A school.

That leaves just Newton, Pella, Grinnell and Oskaloosa battling it out for the chance to play for a state title.

It won’t be that easy, but Newton’s boys basketball team brings back plenty of talent from a squad which reached the substate championship game last winter.

“Our expectations are very high. We have a lot of experi ence back from last year and many kids who have started a lot of games or played signif icant minutes,” Newton boys head basketball coach Jason Carter said. “We were incred ibly close to making the state tournament last season, and I think it’s safe to say all of our players and coaches expect to make a serious run at the state tournament again.”

The Cardinals graduated three players from last year’s 13-11 squad. But they wel come back two full-time start ers in seniors Brody Bauer and Jake Ingle and four oth ers who played in at least 22 games each.

Bauer and Ingle started all 24 games for Newton last sea son. Seniors Cole Plowman and Kacey Sommars made 11 and 10 starts, respectively, junior Caleb Mattes started six games and senior Tade Vanderlaan was in the starting lineup for four games. Senior Drew Thompson also played in 16 games. Bauer averaged 9.4 points,

4.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists last winter. He’s the top re turning scorer.

Ingle is the second leading returning scorer after averag ing 9.1 points per game. He also averaged a team-best 3.4 assists per contest and aver aged 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

Plowman scored 7.4 points, grabbed a team-best 4.9 re bounds and averaged a teamhigh 1.8 blocks per game while also averaging 1.0 as sists per tilt.

Plowman and Ingle both earned honorable mention all-conference honors last year as the Cardinals were fifth in the LHC with a record of 6-7.

“We probably have the big gest mix of players competing for playing time as we’ve ever had,” Carter said. “As we sit now, I would say Ingle, Bauer, Carson (Satterfield), Vander laan, Plowman, Mattes and Thompson are all locks to play significant minutes.

“However, Nate Lampe, Kacey Sommars, Ian Reyn olds, Moses Slaughter and Christian Lawson all will be competing for spot minutes or even bigger roles through out the season.”

Vanderlaan averaged 5.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game last year, while Mattes contributed 4.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest.

Sommars averaged 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Satterfield will provide a big jolt to the lineup after missing all of last season with health issues.

“Getting a kid back like Carson is huge on many lev els,” Carter said. “His courage and strength were a big inspi

ration for our whole team last season. We couldn’t be happi er to have him back playing with us.”

Last year’s Newton team hung its hat on the defen sive end of the floor. A squad which finished near .500 aver aged 52.4 points per game and allowed 50 points per contest.

“We expect our defense to continue to be solid as all our players understand that is part of our identity,” Carter said. “Offensively, we hope to improve a lot and feel like we have the weapons to do it.”

Newton’s offense shot 43 percent from the floor but made only 31.7 percent from 3-point range and hit just 66 percent of its free throws. The Cardinals only turned it over 11.5 times per game.

“This summer we scored the ball at a much higher clip than we have been, and I hope we can carry that over into the season,” Carter said. “As far as free throws go, as a team we should be over 70 percent, but more concerning than our percentage was the amount of free throws we were taking per game. We need to get to the foul line more, plain and simple.”

Newton’s varsity roster has 16 players on it and 13 are seniors. That should help the Cardinals in their quest to win a conference title.

Indianola also brings back a lot from last year’s top-three finish in the league. The rest of the conference teams have a lot more holes to fill.

“We have just as good a chance to win this conference as anyone,” Carter said. “In dianola will be one of the top contenders as well.

Troy Hyde/Newton News

Brody Bauer is one of 13 seniors on the Newton boys’ basketball team this winter. The Cardinals have high expectations after reaching a Class 3A substate championship game last season.

L-S boys basketball hopes to ride wave of momentum

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Lynnville-Sully is on a bit of a hot streak.

The football team is coming off its first trip the state semifinals in more than three decades.

The baseball team reached the sub state championship game this past summer.

And the most recent boys track and field team found plenty of success on the blue oval last spring.

Before all of that happened, the L-S boys basketball squad put together its best season since 2017-18 and reached the substate championship game.

The Hawks, with plenty of firepower back from last year’s roster, hope to get over the hump this winter.

“We don’t spend time discussing goals and expectations in our pro gram,” L-S head boys basketball coach Nick Harthoorn said. “We do talk a lot about the values, commitments and characteristics we would like to see our players demonstrate on and off the floor each day.

“There is no doubt you can build off that success. The boys understand what it takes to compete at a high lev el. They understand the preparation that is required day in and day out.”

The Hawks finished 18-7 last year and were third in the South Iowa Ce dar League with a 12-4 mark.

The SICL is again expected to be great at the top with Lynnville-Sully, North Mahaska and Montezuma lead

Troy Hyde/Newton News Lynnville-Sully senior Conner Maston was a first team all-conference selection last season after averaging 13.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

ing the way. North Mahaska defeated L-S in the substate title game last win ter to reach the state tournament.

Lynnville-Sully welcomes back four starters from last year’s highly success ful squad. Headlining this year’s group are seniors Conner Maston and Pres

ton Rodibaugh and juniors Corder Noun Harder and Klayton Van Dyke.

Seniors Kale Ehresman and Jacob Fogel and juniors Lucas Sieck, Blake Van Wyk and Keegan DeWitt also each played in at least 11 games last season.

“Those guys will be a big part of what we do,” Harthoorn said. “We do have a few other guys who are capable of making an impact at the varsity lev el. I’m excited to get practice started to see who steps up.”

Maston averaged 13.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game and shot 42 percent from 3-point range and 78.5 percent from the free-throw line. He was a first team all-conference selection.

Noun Harder chipped in 10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game, while Van Dyke added 10 points, 9.3 boards and 1.7 blocks per game and shot 58 percent from the floor in 15 games.

Rodibaugh was limited to seven games in part because of a season-end ing injury, but he averaged 13.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, two assists and one steal per game. He has been cleared to prac tice and play.

Fogle played in 21 games last win ter and averaged 2.7 points and 2.8 re bounds per game.

Ehresman appeared in 13 games, scored 4.3 points per contest and shot 48.6 percent from long range.

Sieck appeared in 18 games and av eraged two points and 1.3 boards per contest.

The rest of the junior class includes Chance Baumfalk, Mitchell Miller and Val Niet.

The sophomores are Carson Mas ton, Hendrick Lowry, Kellan Hill and Lannon Montgomery.

The freshmen class goes six deep with Jack Bowlin, Connor Deal, Daw son James, Michael Spooner, Will Conover and Ethan Dunsbergen.

The rest of Harthoorn’s coaching staff includes Joel Harthoorn, Kurt Harthoorn, Jacob Van Manen, Kyle Van Dyke and Kevin Van Maanen.

“We try to invest a lot into each practice,” Nick Harthoorn said. “If we can work hard in practice and do it the right way, we believe good things will happen over time.”

Miller is new to the program after playing his first two seasons at Pella High School. His older brother was part of the Dutch’s Class 3A champi onship team two seasons ago.

Last year’s Hawks squad scored 57 points per game, shot 41 percent from the field, buried 33 percent from 3-point range and made 57.2 percent of their free throws. They also com mitted just 10 turnovers per game.

The defense allowed 43.4 points per contest.

“Our defense was solid last season, but I believe we have the chance to be even better if we come with the right mentality,” Harthoorn said.

“We did a good job of taking care of the basketball last season so

C-M basketball seeks improvement with plethora of returners

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Colfax-Mingo’s boys bas ketball team lost its leading scorer from last year’s squad, but the Tigerhawks welcome back 11 players who appeared in at least half of the varsity games last winter.

That gives C-M head boys basketball coach Phil Grant much higher expectations for this season as the Tigerhawks hope to improve on the 4-18 mark it had a year ago.

“We are definitely excited about the number of guys who are coming back with varsity experience,” Grant said.

“Through the first few practices, it’s been easier to get into our rhythm and work on the things we need to work on because so many guys know our team’s expectations and they have the experience to know what it takes to be more successful at the varsity level.”

The headliners for this

year’s squad are juniors Cael Bracewell and Joe Earles, who each started 18 games last season. Senior Carter Gibson started 15 games a year ago.

Bracewell, who was an hon orable mention all-conference section last winter, averaged 10 points, 4.5 rebounds, a team-high 3.4 assists and 1.5

steals per game.

Earles had per-game aver ages or 8.5 points, a team-best 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. Gibson averaged 2.5 points and 3.8 boards per contest.

The rest of the varsity fea tures seniors Mason Edwards

PCM boys hoops reset roster after large graduation hits

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Last year’s PCM boys basketball team finished third in the Heart of Iowa Conference and won two post season games.

But only four of the top 12 varsi ty players from that squad are back. And 80 percent of the scoring went out the door with the six seniors lost to graduation.

That means long-time head coach Fred Lorensen and his coach ing staff will spend most of the pre season practices trying to figure out who this year’s varsity players will be.

“I feel we have a chance to be a good basketball team,” Lorensen said. “Our biggest hurdle is the fact we just don’t have many returning varsity-level players. We have had only three practices, and with a lot

of new players and doing a few dif ferent things, it will take us a little time to get where we’d like to be.”

The lone returning starter from last year’s 14-11 squad is junior Ja cob Wendt.

His seven rebounds per game last year ranked second on the team and he added 5.8 points, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Wendt was an honorable mention all-conference selection last season.

Sophomores Gavin Van Gorp (24) and Kaleb DeVries (20) and se nior Grant Van Veen (21) all played in at least 20 games last winter.

Van Gorp averaged 2.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game, while Van Veen chipped in 2.1 points and 2.0 boards per con test. DeVries scored 1.2 points and delivered 1.2 assists per tilt.

C-M Boys

Continued from Page 6

and Kale Wilwerding, ju niors Brandon Kite, Conner Wood, Elias Hostetter, Jared Lewis, Kaden and Konner Dalton, Logan Exley and Trey Hockemeier and soph omores Harrison Rhone and Shane Hostetter.

“Overall, I thought the offseason went well,” Grant said. “We had a group of guys who made basketball a priority over the summer, and I’m excited to see that hard work pay off.

Kite averaged 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, Hockemeier added 3.1 re bounds and 1.2 assists per contest and Rhone scored 2.5 points per tilt this winter.

Wood scored 1.6 points and grabbed 1.3 rebounds per game, while Lewis scored 1.3 points per contest.

“We have a few guys who are going to have to take on a bigger role compared to last year, but through our early practices, they seem ready for the challenge,” Grant said.

range and 52.7 percent from the free-throw line. They also turned the ball over 21 times per contest.

PCM’s lone returning starter from last year’s 14-11 squad is junior Jacob Wendt. Wendt (21) was an honorable mention all-conference selection after averaging 7.0 rebounds per game last year. He also averaged 5.8 points, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Troy Hyde/Newton News

Colfax-Mingo junior Cael Bracewell averaged 10 points, 4.5 rebounds, a team-high 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game last season. He was honor able mention all-conference.

“I like the depth we have and the experience we’re re turning, and we’re putting a focus on using our ath leticism to compete with teams. If we can manage our turnovers and value the ball a little better, I think we have the pieces to be a solid team.”

Perhaps the biggest rea son Colfax-Mingo struggled to find the win column was due to an offense that scored just 43 points per game and allowed 60.

The Tigerhawks, who fin ished 3-13 in South Iowa Cedar League play, shot only 33.4 percent from the floor, 27.4 percent from 3-point

“We’ve made some adjust ments to our offense with the intent being to put our top scorers in better posi tion to be successful,” Grant said. “The offseason work that was put in by some of the guys who wanted to become better scorers will help, and I think just the confidence of knowing what it means to play varsity basketball for so many guys will help us as well.”

The Tigerhawks’ depth could be beneficial.

Grant expects Kite and Rhone to take big steps for ward this year.

Shane Hostetter also has looked good in practice and Wilwerding is a transfer who is expected to play big min utes, according to Grant.

The biggest change this offseason involves the ad dition of a 35-second shot clock. Grant is excited about the change and hopes de fenses get rewarded when they play well.

“It’s going to be easier to re-motivate a team to keep fighting and working hard if the shot clock is close to ex piration in those situations,” Grant said. “We’ve talked about those benefits, and as we continue through prac tice, we’ll work on some situ ational stuff and a few go-to quick hitters for low shotclock situations.”

Back as Grant’s assistant coach for the third year is Dave Bracewell. Mack Van Zante also will be a volunteer coach.

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

PCM BOYS | 8

Troy Hyde/ Newton News

PCM Boys

Continued from Page 7

Senior Brayden Nessa played in 16 games last season, but will likely miss the sea son due to an injury sustained during the football season.

“I really feel bad for Brayden,” Lorensen said. “He had such a good summer, and he was an outstanding lead er. He’s a huge loss for our team.”

While the Mustangs likely lose Nessa for the season, they gain senior August Stock, who is back this winter after miss ing all of last year with an inju ry. He did appear in 20 varsity games in 2020-21.

“Augie is a big, strong, phys ical player and he has been do ing a really good job thus far,” Lorensen said.

PCM’s roster includes just

two seniors in Stock and Van Veen and five juniors in Wendt, Mark Bussan, Jacob El rod, Jack Jungling and Easton Webb. There are 13 sopho mores and 13 freshmen.

Last year’s Mustangs aver aged 60.3 points per game but most of that production was lost to graduation.

Lorensen hopes to improve on the 57.4 percent the team shot from the free-throw line. PCM also shot 47 percent from the floor and 31.3 per cent from 3-point range.

“Our offense is going to be a work in progress,” Lorensen said. “Again, with so many new players and doing a few differ ent things, it will probably take the offense a while to catch up.

“We lost two big scorers so we have to find a way to re place that production. Having said that, we do have kids who can do some positive things on

the offensive end.”

With so much turnover, PCM could lean on its defense early to keep points down. Last year’s squad allowed 54 points per game.

“We certainly need to be a good defensive and rebound ing team,” Lorensen said. “We have some size and some good athletes so there’s no reason we can’t be good on the defensive end.

PCM got to the foul line quite a bit last year but didn’t convert enough of them. And the 15.4 turnovers per game is a concern for Lorensen. It’s also been an issue during the preseason practices.

“Free-throw shooting and eliminating turnovers is su per important,” Lorensen said. “Last year, we did a great job of getting to the foul line, but certainly didn’t convert enough of them. In our early

practices, we have been turn ing the ball over way too much so that is an area of concern.”

The biggest offseason change to the sport is the ad dition of the 35-second shot clock.

Lorensen likes the change but is not yet sure if it will have a big impact on game day.

“It will make things inter esting for a while,” Lorensen said. “We haven’t yet done a lot with it in practice (we were having a few technical prob lems with it), but as the season draws closer, we will need to pay more attention to it.”

Lorensen’s coaching staff in cludes assistant varsity coach Joel Grier and junior varsi ty coaches Darrin Telfer and Tony Ford.

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

L-S Boys

Continued from Page 6

hopefully we can main tain that while becom ing a little more efficient getting the ball in the basket. We would like to see that free-throw per centage get to 65 percent or higher.”

The newest rule this season involves a 35-sec ond shot clock.

“There will be some growing pains to start, but I think we (players, coaches, officials and clock operators) will get there in the end and it will be good for the game,” Harthoorn said.

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

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Baxter boys seek another league title, deeper postseason run

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Baxter’s boys basketball team spent four seasons fin ishing in second place in the Iowa Star Conference South Division before breaking through with an undefeated

run to the championship last winter.

Now, the Bolts are hoping to stay on top of the league and make an even deeper run in the postseason. And Bax ter brings back three starters from last year’s 18-5 squad.

“We hit the ground run

Baxter

Carson Scroggins, left, is back for the Bolts this winter after earning player of the year in the Iowa Star Conference South Division last season. He averaged 16 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.3 blocks per game to lead the Bolts.

ning with some top-end talent who are really solid,” Baxter head boys basketball coach Zach Hasselbrink said.

“But we also have eight freshmen and a bunch of sophomores so we have to slow things down for them at times. I feel good about where

we are at though.”

The Bolts went 12-0 through the conference and won a postseason game before being eliminated by Lynn ville-Sully in round two.

“If we do what we did last year, can we go further?” Has selbrink said. “The answer is no. We were right there last year with them and it could be another good game again.”

The Bolts hope to secure their spot on top of the league and they’ll have six seniors to lead the way. The roster fea tures eight players who saw action in at least 14 games last winter.

“Hopefully that’s where we stay,” Hasselbrink said about winning the conference.

“We feel like we are in the conversation. They should be putting that on their goal sheet.”

Headlining this year’s ros ter are seniors Carson Scrog gins and Cody Damman and junior Treyton Travis. All three were starters last year and seniors Cael Shepley and Trice Clapper also played in almost every game.

Scroggins averaged 16 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 as sists, 1.1 steals and 2.3 blocks per game to lead the Bolts.

He’s the reigning confer ence player of the year.

“His game has improved, but I have been more im pressed with his leadership,” Hasselbrink said. “He’s lead ing this team the right way.”

Travis chipped in 11.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 as sists and 2.4 steals per game

and Damman added 9.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, five as sists and 2.5 steals per contest.

Damman was a first-team all-conference selection last year, and Travis was a sec ond-team choice.

Damman also is 377 points away from 1,000 career points.

Shepley started in four of his 22 games played and aver aged 4.3 points, two rebounds, one assist and 1.5 steals per game.

Clapper averaged 4.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, junior Ben Richardson chipped in 1.4 points per con test and sophomore Perrin Sulzle contributed 1.3 points and 1.4 boards per game.

Richardson begins the sea son on the shelf with a broken collarbone, but Hasselbrink expects to get him back some time before the winter break.

The other two seniors are Jake Travis and Kolton Hill, the remaining sophomores battling for varsity minutes include Cainan Travis, Cade Robinson, Grant Andregg and Carter Smith and the fresh men varsity contenders are Eli Dee and Stadan Vansice.

“This senior class is a spe cial group,” said Hasselbrink, who was the Iowa Star Con ference South Division Coach of the Year last season. “They are a bunch of blue collar, hard workers who get after each other and want to get better.”

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

Troy Hyde/ Newton News

senior

Newton girls seek first winning season since 2015-16

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Newton’s girls basketball team hasn’t had a winning season since 2015-16. And the Cardinals have had only three 10-plus win seasons since 2006-07.

Fourth-year head coach Eric Vander Velden wants players in his program to dream big, and if the Cardi nals are to get beyond .500 this season, they will do so with a lot of new faces.

The Cardinals were 3-19 last season and 1-13 in the Little Hawkeye Conference.

“I asked the team what they want their legacy to be at the end of the season,” Vander Velden said. “Why can’t we dream big? We have to play for the name on the front of our jersey. We have to play for each other.”

Newton lost six players to graduation in the offseason. The Cardinals bring back three players who saw signif icant minutes a season ago. Two of them — junior Sophia Reynolds and senior Audrey Rausch — are expected to be starters, while senior Marissa Cunningham will get plenty of minutes off the bench.

That leaves three other starting positions open.

Senior Cadie Horn and sophomores Alex Garvis and Riley Plowman joined Rausch and Reynolds in the starting lineup at the Lynnville-Sully Jamboree on Nov. 14.

The top bench players are expected to be Cunningham, senior Emily Wermager and sophomores Evie Main, Alex Riney and Hailey Dickerson. Sophomore Bella Winther and junior Haylie Ryan will battle for reserve minutes, too.

“Everyone is in play to get

minutes as of right now. Each one of them has strengths and weaknesses,” Vander Velden said. “We just want to see who gels well together.”

Reynolds started all 22 games last season for the Cardinals. She averaged 5.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 as sists and 1.7 steals per game.

“Sophia put in a lot of time to improve her shooting and driving/finishing around the basket,” Vander Velden said. “She looks really good in practice with her shot. Now it needs to reflect into games.

“If her and Audrey can drive and shoot really well it will help others get open looks.”

Rausch, an honorable men tion all-conference player last season, led the team in scoring at 7.7 points per game and she also averaged 3.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and a team-best 2.3 steals per contest while start ing 20 of the 22 games she played in.

Cunningham, who started three games last winter, aver aged 1.8 points, 1.1 blocks and 2.2 boards per game.

Wermager (22), Horn (15), Riney (11) and Garvis (10) all appeared in at least 10 games last year.

Vander Velden said Horn and Cunningham might see time on the floor together, but he’ll have four ball handlers on the court if one of those two is off the floor.

He also said Garvis and Plowman will defend the oth er team’s best guards.

“We want five players on the floor working together and the bench getting loud,” Vander Velden said. “We want to be the most enthusiastic and energetic team on the floor. If we can do that and win games, then our fans will

get involved more. We want to create a loud atmosphere each game.”

Newton averaged 30 points per game last winter. The Car dinals shot 27 percent from the floor, 19 percent from 3-point range and 53 percent from the free-throw line.

Newton also committed 25 turnovers per game and was outscored by 24.7 points per contest.

“Of course, we have to shoot a lot better from out side,” Vander Velden said. “I think we’ll get some good looks if we can get the ball inside and our shooters can move to get open.

“We have talked a lot about taking care of the ball by be ing strong and seeing where we are passing the ball. We

work on everyday drills ev ery practice to hopefully help with limiting the turnovers. It would be nice to only average 16 turnovers or less per game.”

The Cardinals’ defense wasn’t all that bad last year, allowing 54 points per game.

Communicating on de fense is one thing Vander Velden identified as needing the most work.

“Defense is a big must for us. We have to do the lit tle things,” Vander Velden said. “Keeping the ball in front by pressuring the ball handler, getting into deny position and communicating.

“If we don’t play good de fense then it will be hard to win games.”

The biggest change this off season was the addition of a

5.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5

1.7

35-second shot clock.

Vander Velden said they haven’t done much with it yet, but he expects the change to be an adjustment for every one.

“It might be until after Christmas break before ev eryone gets used to it,” Vander Velden said. “I don’t think the shot clock will be a factor in girls basketball. I’m excited because if you play good de fense for 30-32 seconds, you’ll force a bad shot.”

The rest of Newton’s coach ing staff includes assistant coaches Randy Mills, LaNita Keeton, Bailey Johannes and Taylor Fricke.

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Troy Hyde/ Newton News

Newton junior Sophia Reynolds, right, started all 22 games last season for the Cardinals. She averaged

assists and

steals per game.

PCM girls seek climb in Heart of Iowa Conference

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

PCM’s girls basketball team finished in the lower half of the Heart of Iowa Conference last season.

But with so many returners back from last year’s squad, second-year head coach Sami Allison-Rodriguez is hopeful the squad can take significant leaps this winter.

“Expectations for the year are exactly what they were last year … play hard and get better every day,” Allison-Ro driguez said. “We return a handful of players who got good minutes last year. Our girls worked very hard this summer and fall in the weight room and on the court. We are seeing that work payoff in the first few practices.”

The varsity roster that Al lison-Rodriguez and her as sistant coaches — Jason Stock and Brian Steenhoek — took to the Lynnville-Sully jambo ree on Nov. 14 included six se niors, one junior, three sopho mores and three freshmen.

The top returning play er is sophomore Addison Steenhoek, who was a first team all-conference selection last winter. She averaged 10 points, 2.5 assists and three steals per game, which all led the team. She also averaged 2.6 rebounds per contest.

Her older sister, senior Paige Steenhoek, was second last year in scoring, rebound ing and steals per game at 7.0, 4.8 and 1.1, respectively. Paige was an honorable mention all-conference pick.

The Mustangs were 6-17 last year in Allison-Rodri guez’s first season as head coach. PCM finished 5-9 in the HOIC with four of those

wins coming in sweeps of Saydel and Greene County. The Mustangs split with Perry.

The other varsity returners are seniors Madie Reed, So phia Steenhoek, Sidney Shav er and Evelyn Burkett and ju nior Elle Davis.

The Mustangs started all three Steenhoeks, Reed and freshman Tori Lindsay at the team’s jamboree.

Davis did not attend as she was gone with an illness. The

sixth senior is Eleigh Davis, who is back on the roster this season after not playing a year ago. The rest of the roster in cludes sophomores Rebecca DeVries and Zoey Dyches and freshmen Jorja Teeter and Claire VanWyk.

Lindsay could be one of the keys to help flip the record this winter. She’s expected to handle some of the point guard duties.

“She will take a lot of pres

sure off Addi and they play off one another really well,” Allison-Rodriguez said of Lindsay. “She is a pass-first player, which her teammates love. And she has the ability to take over a game, which we all love.”

Reed, Sophia Steenhoek and Davis all played in more than 20 games last season. Shaver (12) and Burkett (13) were limited because of inju ries.

“We return seven play ers who played in a majority of the games last year,” Alli son-Rodriguez said. “We are hoping for a healthier run this season, and so far so good.

“Elle Davis got limited playing time last year, but we have hopes of that increasing drastically this season.”

Sophia Steenhoek averaged 4.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Reed averaged 2.5 points and 3.7 boards per contest and Burkett chipped in 3.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game in limited action.

Shaver and Davis aver aged 2.0 and 1.5 rebounds per game, respectively.

The only player lost from last year’s squad was Emily Foster, who led the team in rebounding and was the third leading scorer.

The Mustangs’ defense lim ited opponents to less than 50 points per game last season.

“Our defense is the reason we had any wins last year,” Allison-Rodriguez said. “It’s no secret we struggled put ting the ball in the basket. We knew we had to hang our hat on defense, and our girls bought in. The great thing is they are still bought in, and we are already better offen sively than we were last year.

“A year of experience, con fidence from shooting a lot in the offseason and trust in one another makes a huge differ ence.”

The main issue for PCM came at the offensive end of the floor.

The Mustangs scored 34 points on average per night and the squad shot 26 per cent from the floor, 22 percent from 3-point range and 48 percent from the free-throw line.

The Mustangs commit ted 22.7 turnovers per game while being outscored by 14.3 points per contest.

“We talk a lot of about controlling what we can con trol, and that’s playing hardnosed defense every posses sion, working on the offensive end for a quality look and if the ball goes in more this year, that will be great,” Al lison-Rodriguez said. “Of course, we are not having to teach a whole new system so that is helpful, too.”

The biggest change this off season was the addition of a 35-second shot clock.

“I love the shot clock addi tion,” Allison-Rodriguez said. “I think it makes the full game experience so much more fun as each possession has to be played out.

“We think our defensive pressure might cause oth er teams a hard time getting into an offense on time, We have talked about, offensive ly, pushing hard in transition and moving right into calls if there is nothing immediate. The shot clock adds a sense of urgency in every possession.”

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Troy Hyde/Newton News

PCM sophomore Addison Steenhoek, who was a first team all-con ference selection last winter, averaged 10 points, 2.5 assists and three steals per game, which all led the team. She also averaged 2.6 rebounds per contest.

Emie Tuhn averaged 11 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.7 steals per game as a freshman starter for the Bolts last season. She was a second team all-conference player.

Baxter girls regroup after undefeated regular season

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Last year’s 24-1 season for the Baxter girls basketball team was his toric. And the very best in the short history of the Bolts’ program.

But three starters from that roster are gone, and the program is under new leadership.

Kyle Krampe takes over for longtime head coach Eric Padget as the new Bolts leader, and he will have a large senior class and plenty of un derclassmen to work with as Baxter prepares for an encore season.

“I truly believe this team has an opportunity to have a great sea son,” Krampe said. “Our goal is to improve daily and the rest will take

care of itself.”

The Bolts graduated first team all-conference and all-region players Elie Tuhn and Lilie Vansice, but five seniors and a standout sophomore are back.

Headlining the roster is sopho more Emie Tuhn and senior Mandee Selover, who both were second team all-conference players last season. They each started all 25 games last winter.

Emie Tuhn averaged 11 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.7 steals per game as a freshman starter for last year’s Bolts.

Selover added 6.4 points, 2.1 as sists and 3.1 steals and led the Bolts in rebounding at 7.3 per game.

“Emie is one of the best players

in our conference and does so many great things for our team. Looking for a breakout year for her,” Krampe said. “Mandee has had a great pre season, and we are looking for great things from her this year.”

Senior Bree Buswell is back after playing in 25 games a year ago. She averaged 5.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.2 steals per contest.

Seniors Kendyl Stevenson and Emma Ziesman and sophomore Ab bie Meyer all played in at least 19 games last year, too.

Meyer averaged 4.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, while Ziesman grabbed two boards per contest.

Troy Hyde/ Newton News

Experienced roster hopes to push L-S girls back to top of SICL

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Lynnville-Sully’s girls’ basketball team lost two valuable seniors from last year’s 12-11 squad. But the Hawks welcome back a plethora of experi enced players who worked hard in the offseason to improve.

L-S brings back three players who started at least 19 games and four oth ers who appeared in at least 12.

“I think we had a good offseason. The girls put in some work to make themselves better,” long-time Lynn ville-Sully head girls basketball coach Jerry Hulsing said. “I believe we’ll see this team improve from a year ago as they have experience of a varsity sea son ... now knowing what it takes to be successful. I’m hoping improved team chemistry can help us on the floor.”

Hulsing begins his 31st season at Lynnville-Sully. He is 14 wins away from 600 career victories.

Hulsing guided the Hawks to an 8-8 record in the South Iowa Cedar League last season. Back as his longtime assistant coach is Jeff Corbett.

This year’s roster is headlined by senior Greenlee Smock, who was an honorable mention all-conference se lection last winter.

She averaged 10.3 points and 2.6 assists per game, which both ranked second on the team. Her 3.4 steals per game was first on the squad and she also averaged 4.2 rebounds per tilt.

Smock is the lone senior this winter. The rest of the returning core includes

Troy Hyde/Newton News

Lynnville-Sully senior Greenlee Smock was an honorable mention all-conference selection last winter after averaging 10.3 points, 3.4 steals, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

juniors

The

Jones, Conover and Vos at the team’s annual jamboree on Nov. 14. The first few players off the bench were Arthur and sophomores Alaina Roberts and Olivia Norrish.

Smock and Alberts each started 22 games last season. Vos was a starter for 19 of her 20 games, while Conover (23), Arthur (20) and Jones (19) all played in at least 19 games. Norrish appeared in 12 games.

Vos led the team with 6.3 rebounds per game and averaged 6.2 points per contest.

Alberts averaged 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game and Arthur scored 2.9 points and grabbed 4.5 boards per contest.

Arthur made five starts in her var sity debut season last winter. Conover, who made two starts, averaged 2.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

“Those kids will be where we start building this team,” Hulsing said. “We will see our sophomores — Norrish and Roberts — in the mix to help. We might even see a freshman or two later this season.”

The four freshmen on the varsity roster include Kate Harthoorn, Tatum Huyser, Jaelynn Smith and Morgan Hay.

The Hawks averaged nearly 46 points per game last year and surren dered 44 per contest.

Hulsing hopes to have a more effi cient offense but wants to allow even fewer points this winter and rebound ing the ball better will help.

“A big thing we need to do is im

prove our team defense to lower the points we allow each game,” Hulsing said. “I think we can rebound better to limit the second-chance opportunities our opponents get.

“If we want to improve as a team we have to be able to defend better. We are working on defending for 30 sec onds and forcing our opponents into a tough shot and finishing it off with the defensive rebound.”

L-S shot 35.5 percent from the floor last year and made 24.3 percent from 3-point range. The Hawks made 45 percent of their free throws and com mitted 21 turnovers a game.

The low free-throw percentage hurt the Hawks’ chances of closing out games. They had a lead in the fourth quarter in seven of their 11 losses.

“We need to improve our freethrow shooting so we can pull out some of the close games we lost a year ago,” Hulsing said. “I’m hoping our ex perience will help close out games.”

The 2022-23 season marks the first for the shot-clock era in the state of Iowa. The shot clock will be 35 sec onds in length.

“It really hasn’t changed what we do as we normally play fast enough where the clock will not come into play,” Hulsing said. “With that said, there will be times when it’s an issue and we have some rules in place for what we need to do in late-clock situations.”

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

‘Focused’ Hawk grapplers hope to climb up SICL ladder

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Despite losing two starters to grad uation and two others to transfer, Lyn nville-Sully’s wrestling team has began the season extremely focused.

“They are very determined in prac tice so far,” Lynnville-Sully wrestling

coach Jason Walston said. “It’s been awesome. I haven’t seen our guys this focused in a few years.”

The Hawks welcome back three wrestlers who won at least 25 matches last season.

The roster also features six fresh men who are looking to make an im mediate impact in a lineup that has

some spots to fill.

Seniors Reese Dunsbergen and Gentry Walston and sophomore Ter ran Gosselink headline a roster that goes 11 deep.

Coach Walston hopes to get a few more guys out before the Hawks hit the competition mat.

Gosselink is the lone returning

district qualifier. He was third at the South Iowa Cedar League meet, sec ond at sectionals and fourth at dis tricts at 132 pounds last winter.

Gosselink finished 32-16 as a fresh men and is expected to jump up to 145 or 152 this winter.

Elise Alberts, Morgan Jones, Brooke Conover, Aubree Arthur and Majesta Vos.

Hawks started Smock, Alberts,

Cardinal wrestlers chase big jump in LHC

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Newton’s wrestling team graduated two state qualifiers and welcomes back just one grappler who finished in the top four at last year’s district tournament.

Outside of the seniors who qualified for state, the rest of the Cardinal roster was young and inexperienced.

First year head wrestling coach RJ Brown hopes his top guys take a big step after gaining valuable varsity expe rience last winter.

“We’ve got guys who are ready to be in the state tour nament. Especially now that they’ve added on a few more spots,” Brown said. “We had some guys who got into the flow late last year but were just a bit inexperienced.

“The sky is the limit for a lot of our guys. I don’t think they’ve tapped anywhere near their potential yet.”

None of the returners had a winning record last year. But sophomore Kaiden Rogers (120/126) won a match and placed fourth at the district tournament at 106 pounds.

Junior Nathan Milburn (182) lost his first match at districts 6-5 but ended the tournament with back-toback wins at 170.

Junior Wyatt Weter’s nine wins at 182 is the most of any of the returners. He’s expected to move up to 195 this season.

“Wyatt looks really good, and his shots on his feet look like state place winner good,” Brown said. “Nathan Milburn is starting to get into a good flow.

“Kaiden Rogers is fast, ex plosive and has been working his tail off. I think he can make

a run at the state tournament.”

The roster has just two seniors in Avery White (138/145) and Matthew Oghissa (145/152). The rest of the roster features 14 juniors, 10 sophomores and 16 fresh men.

Many of the Cardinals who found the starting line up last year are back this win ter. Joining Weter, Milburn, White and Rogers are juniors Dayton Petithory (126/132), Seth Adams (126/132), Bryen Hernandez (132/138) and Conner McPartlin (145/152) and sophomore Kayden Noga (220/285).

Sophomore Tavian Wil liams (113/120) also pinned a state qualifier from Grinnell at 113 in his only varsity dual last year.

“We do lose two really

good kids from last year. But as a whole, I think we’re ready to get after it, replace those guys and even exceed expec tations,” Brown said. “It’s go ing really well. We have over 40 kids showing up every day. They have put in a lot of hard work already. It’s a fun group to have.

“The guys don’t complain about anything and they just get after it. That’s good to see so far.”

The Cardinals entered 11 wrestlers in the Little Hawk eye Conference tournament and the 3A district tourna ment last season.

Newton was fifth at the conference tournament and placed seventh at districts. The top returners from the conference meet were White (fifth at 138) and Weter (fifth

at 182) and Milburn was sixth at 170.

“Weter should be in the fi nals of the conference tourna ment,” Brown said. “Milburn has a shot, too. They are just starting to get it. I don’t know yet how good they can be, but I know they have a lot of po tential in them.

“We have a lot of new to wrestling guys, too.”

The biggest change to wres tling this offseason is that the number of state qualifiers at each weight increased to 24.

Newton will compete in the district tournament at Nor walk and the top three finish ers at each weight advance to the state meet.

Brown hopes his varsity guys carry a successful foot ball season into wrestling.

“They’ve gotten a taste

of high-level state success. I think they’re hungry and want to continue that success in wrestling,” Brown said. “They have been guys who have helped change the culture in our male sports. We are not bad at sports anymore and they feel like they can com pete at a high level regardless of what anyone else says about us.

“They don’t care about that. They just give their best effort every single time.”

Brown’s coaching staff in cludes assistant coaches Bill Peters and Joey Wright and volunteer assistants Ed Ergen bright, Jeff Richardson and Cole Peters.

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

Troy Hyde/Newton News

Newton sophomore Kaiden Rogers, top, won a match and placed fourth at the district tournament at 106 pounds last season. He will climb a few weight classes this season and is expected to be one of the Cardinals’ starters at 120 or 126.

McGill headlines new-look Tigerhawk grapplers

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Half of the lineup for Col fax-Mingo’s wrestling team last season was made up of girls who have moved on to the collegiate level or shifted to the Tigerhawk girls’ pro gram.

This year’s C-M boys’ wres tling team won’t have any issues filling a lineup as 21 grapplers begin the season.

The Tigerhawks will, how ever, be full of youth and in experience.

“We have a strong ninth and 10th group,” first-year Colfax-Mingo wrestling coach Stacey Rice said. “Over all, we are a very young and raw team. But the wrestlers are willing to work hard and have shown an eagerness to learn.”

One of the wrestlers in the Tigerhawk room is not young. And he’s not inexperienced. The leader of the group is junior John McGill, who fin ished 39-5 last season.

McGill was a state qualifi er as a freshman but fell short last year. He won the South Iowa Cedar League title at 145 pounds and finished second at

C-M Girls

sectionals to advance to dis tricts. He ended up one spot short of a second state berth though.

McGill has 77 career wins and is expected to bump up to 152 this season.

“John has put in a lot of time this offseason, and I’m excited to see his hard work pay off,” Rice said. “I don’t like to say expectations, but his goal (and mine) is that he

qualifies for state and gets on the award stand.”

Five other Tigerhawks were in the team’s lineup for sec tionals. That group included senior Seth Brant (145/152), juniors Austin Lane (170/182) and JT Berner and sopho mores Tate Carlson (145/152) and Isaiah Baucom (160/170).

Unfortunately, Berner had shoulder surgery and will not be available this season.

The other two seniors are Mason Edwards (120/126) and Cavan Magnuson (138/145).

The four juniors are Mc Gill, Lane, Jermaine Cross (220/285) and Donavan Bau com (182/195).

The roster features eight freshmen and six sophomores.

Sophomore Xavier Woods was in the starting lineup at the beginning of last season

but was hindered by injuries.

“We haven’t had very many practices yet, but I will say these guys are willing to work hard and are eager to learn,” Rice said.

“These qualities will help them make some great strides throughout the year.”

A few of Rice’s goals for his team are to finish in the top two of the conference tourna ment and send multiple wres tlers to the state tournament.

The biggest change to high school wrestling this offsea son was the elimination of sectional tournaments.

There will now be 12 Class 1A district tournaments with 10 teams at each site. The top two finishers from each weight at each district advance to the state tournament.

“The willingness to listen and learn allows for big jumps throughout the season so I’m excited to see how far this team can grow their talent level,” Rice said.

Rice’s two assistant coaches are Adam Bucklin and Dakota Drenth.

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

The sophomore class in cludes Lily Arndt, Webster, Chadwick and Cook.

There are six freshmen — Kaydence Andersen, Lily Brenner, Emmalyn Buchman, Lillie Jones, Cadence Linn and Olivia Rausch.

“With 13 girls, I know ev eryone will contribute in their own way and we’ll be talking about everyone by the end of the season,” Hume said. “Our expectations are al

ways high but grounded in reality. We have 13 girls and only a few have experi ence. The positive is that the sport is new for the majori ty and our girls will learn to compete. Their effort is there, they’re picking up the tech nique and more importantly, they’re having fun.”

Hume’s coaching staff in cludes Jim Neer, Nikki Pender and Miranda McGill. Pender and McGill are former Tiger hawk wrestlers.

The first sanctioned girls wrestling season features 14 weight classes — 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 155, 170, 190 and 235.

The state tournament will be held on Feb. 2-3 at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

The super regionals are slated for Jan. 27.

One of the new rules with sanctioned girls wrestling is that now the wrestlers are no longer permitted to compete

against boys.

“We’ve had to change a few things up from the past few years, but the philosophy and principles that have led our girls to be successful are still the same,” Hume said. “A positive attitude, a great work ethic and the willingness to get better each day will lead these girls to be greater later.”

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

Cook Chadwick

Troy Hyde/Newton News Colfax-Mingo junior John McGill is 77-14 in his first two seasons for the Tigerhawks. He was a state qual ifier at 126 pounds as a freshman but likely will wrestle at 152 this winter.

Numbers, expectations climb for PCM wrestling

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

PCM head wrestling coach Jeff Nicholson knew last season would be up and down. The Mustangs had no seniors and plenty of freshmen and sophomores in the varsity lineup.

Nicholson had high hopes for this season heading into last winter, and he remains hopeful as the youth and inex perienced wrestlers are one year older.

“I think we’ll compete for the conference title,” Nicholson said. “The returners are older and better and we have a sol id freshmen class.”

Numbers in the room are up this winter. Nich olson said the Mustangs are sitting at around 25 wrestlers and the num ber continues to grow by the day. There are four seniors listed on PCM’s track wrestling roster.

The top senior is Donovan Nickelson. He was the Heart of Iowa Conference champion at 195, finished second at sectionals and just missed a state berth after taking third at districts. He’s slimmed down and will wrestle at 182 this winter.

Sophomore Kaden Clark advanced to state last year at 285. He was the runner-up at both sectionals and districts and finished 0-2 at state.

The other key return ers are juniors Reming ton Fry (126), Hewitt Brinegar (145) and Wy

att Wheeler (170).

Fry was second in the conference, second at sectionals and fourth at districts at 120 last sea son. Brinegar, Wheeler and sophomore Kaiden Valcore all placed third at their weights.

Sophomores Charlie Sitzmann (113), Sawyer Bouwkamp (132), Jef frey McDanel (152) and Finn Wilson (160/170) and junior Nate Rich ards (195) all are back, too.

The other three se niors are William Van derpool (160/170), Joel Greiner (220) and Gage Messerli (145/152).

“We’ve had a pretty good start to the sea son,” Nicholson said. “We had good turnouts for our offseason camps and lots of kids did

open mat. Our numbers should allow us to have a full lineup after the first few meets.”

Nickelson finished 16-6 last season, while Fry (25-19), Brinegar (24-18), Wheeler (2420) and Clark (23-19) also had winning re cords. Wheeler begins this season with an in jury.

Nicholson expects several wrestle offs to determine starting spots from 145 to 170. That part of the lineup has a lot of depth. Greiner and Valcore also will wrestle off at 220.

“We haven’t had that much depth in the mid dle of our lineup in a while,” Nicholson said.

Four freshmen could find their way into the varsity lineup. Kaliber

Fry likely will start at 106, Zach Richards could be the 120-pound starter and Tucker Wheeler is expected to do big things at 138.

Tucker Wheeler won an AAU state title last year, and freshman Brock Barnett (195) could factor into the lineup, too.

The biggest change to the sport this offseason was the elimination of sectional tournaments.

There will be 12 Class 2A district tournaments with eight teams at each site. The top two finish ers in each weight class at each district site ad vance to state.

“My gut says I like it,”

Nicholson said. “I guess we’ll see how the first year goes and how it shakes out. It’s probably a good thing. More kids will advance to state and there will probably be more parity.”

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

Troy Hyde/ Newton News

PCM sophomore Kaden Clark is back for the Mustangs this season after competing in the state tournament last year.

Key returners could help Baxter wrestling reach new heights

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

The only wrestling team in the county to bring back three state qualifiers is located in Baxter.

The Bolts begin the new season with high expecta tions as three state qualifiers are joined by another near 30 match winner at the top of the roster.

“Expectations are high and the first few practices have been great,” Baxter wres tling coach Joe Amadeo said. “We’ve seen good effort and high energy early, and I ex pect that to continue.”

Senior Cole Smith and ju nior Callyn Bishop both com peted in the state tournament last season.

Junior Aiden McFadden was a state qualifier as a fresh men but an injury derailed his second chance last season.

“We’re really excited to bring back three state qual ifiers,” Amadeo said. “These guys have put in a lot of work in the offseason and are look ing to take a step forward. They have been leaders since

the start, and I expect that to continue this season.”

The Bolts’ roster goes 13 deep. Smith and Ty Bauman are the lone seniors, while the junior class features Bishop, McFadden, Jacob Hiemstra and Michael Wilhelm.

Headlining the sophomore

Baxter Girls

Continued from Page 12

Selover, Buswell and Ste venson are the three team captains.

“Those six players will play a major factor in the success of our program this year,” Krampe said. “I have been ex tremely happy with the prog ress of this year’s team. They have done an excellent job of adapting to new coaches and a new system.

“The best thing about this group is we don’t have to

coach effort. They are a very coachable team.”

Last year’s Baxter squad averaged 60 points per game and allowed just 26.5. The Bolts shot 42 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 14.4 times per game.

If there’s one thing that needs improvement from last year it’s shooting. The Bolts buried just 28 percent from 3-point range and made only 54 percent from the foul line.

“I think our 3-point shoot ing has been OK to start the preseason. It might not be our No. 1 strength,” Krampe said.

class are transfers Skyler Stoll and Koltin Hurd. The other sophomores are Alex Dille, Jack Anderson and Jackson Bottorf.

There are two freshmen — Ruger Kincaid and Mad dox Peters.

Smith was 23-9 last year at

“Emie is an excellent 3-point shooter for us. We have some other girls who can knock them down also. We just need to keep working on it in prac tice.”

Krampe expects the Bolts to once again be a strong de fensive team.

“I would say our strength is our pressure-style defense,” Krampe said. “We try to turn our defense into easy basket opportunities for ourselves.”

Outside of Emie Tuhn, Sel over, Buswell, Meyer, Steven son and Ziesman, Krampe said sophomore Karlee Koe

120 pounds. He was 0-2 at the state tournament and is ex pected to move up to 126 this winter.

Bishop finished 29-16 at 170 and also was 0-2 at state. He will remain at 170 this sea son.

McFadden was only on the mat for a small portion of last season due to injury.

He finished 8-7 and quali fied for districts but an injury in the championship match forced his season to end early.

McFadden will be the team’s starter at heavyweight.

Aside from the three for mer state qualifiers, the ros ter is headlined by Anderson, Wilhelm, Stoll and Hurd.

Anderson was 15-11 at 132 last season and will move up 138 this winter.

Wilhelm is the projected starter at 182.

Stoll transfers in from Lyn nville-Sully. He was 29-13 at 126 last season for the Hawks and was third at sectionals.

Stoll and Hurd, a transfer from Ankeny, are expected to be somewhere in the middle of the Bolts’ lineup.

“We’re excited about both

hler has a strong shot at varsi ty minutes.

“Karlee had a great offsea son/summer,” Krampe said. “She has been sidelined with some injuries to start the sea son but has some opportuni ties to contribute to the varsi ty team once she gets healthy.”

The five seniors are Selover, Buswell, Ziesman, Stevenson and Abby McReynolds. The lone junior is Lydia Pierce.

The five sophomores are Emie Tuhn, Meyer, Koehler, Adison Bonney and Hannah Huffaker. The four freshmen are Caydence Sulzle, Klaire

Skyler Stoll and Koltin Hurd,” Amadeo said. “They bring good experience and compe tition for the other guys on our team.

“We’re excited about a lot of guys. A few other names that come to mind are Jack Anderson and Micheal Wil helm. Both have been work ing hard and have set big goals for themselves.”

The Bolts may have some open weights. The rest of the projected lineup includes Dille at 106, Kincaid at 113, either Bauman or Peters at 120, Hiemstra at 145 and Bot torf at 220.

Back as Amadeo’s assistant coaches are Dwight Gliem and Jeremy Smith.

The biggest offseason change to the sport involves getting rid of sectionals.

Districts in Class 1A will now feature 10 teams at 12 different sites and the top two wrestlers in each weight class at each site will advance to state.

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

Shanks, Alyvia Burdess and Callie Cross.

Krampe’s coaching staff in cludes assistant coach Cory Beals.

The biggest offseason change involves a 35-second shot clock.

“We have been working with the shot clock in prac tice with different situations,” Krampe said. “I don’t see it being a big problem for us. We try to play a fast-paced game.”

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

Troy Hyde/Newton News

Baxter senior Cole Smith was 23-9 and competed in the state tour nament last year at 120 pounds. He’s expected to move up to 126 this winter.

Newton boys hope to join girls at state bowling tournament

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

Newton’s boys bowling team has enjoyed the success of the Cardinal girls the past few seasons.

But, they are ready to join the Car dinals in the state tournament this season.

Numbers in the program are up, av erages for each bowler have risen and Newton head bowling coach Christie Hughes feels like they have the roster to contend for a state berth.

“I have waited so long for the boys to be this strong and I think this is the team,” Hughes said. “I’m pleased with what I’m seeing so far.”

The Cardinals’ roster includes three players who bowled in the state tour nament last season.

The returners are senior Logan Bown and sophomore Austin Ken nedy and senior Jordan Killmer joins

the squad after finishing fourth in the Class 3A state tournament for South east Polk last year.

Killmer had a 197 game average and 394 series average last year for the Rams. His high game was 268 and his high series was 479.

He’s an important addition to a Newton squad which finished 4-5 in the regular season, placed eighth in the Two Rivers Conference meet and sixth in its state qualifying meet.

The early-season practices have indicated it will take around a 175 to earn a varsity spot. That’s 25 pins high er than last year.

“So many of them did a lot of off season work. The varsity averages are higher than last year,” Hughes said. “We had open gym in the bowling center for about two months on Mon day nights.”

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Troy Hyde/Newton News Newton senior Logan Bown is back this season after qualifying for the individual boys state bowling tournament last winter. He’s one of the team’s captains, too.

L-S Wrestling

Continued from Page 13

Dunsbergen was third in the SICL tournament and fourth at sectionals at 160. He finished 32-11, was a state qualifier as a freshman and is expected to be at either 160 or 170 this season.

Gentry Walston is the de fending SICL champion at 120.

He finished fourth at sec tionals and was 25-6 overall.

Coach Walston said Gentry will stay at 120 this winter.

“Gentry and Reese have worked as hard as they ever have this offseason,” Coach Walston said.

The rest of the varsity line up is expected to be senior Kyle Squires, junior Trevor Van Wyk and freshmen Ben Squires, Kendric Johnson, Blake Maston, Gavin Lea, Hunter Van Wyk and Braydon Bassett.

Kyle Squires is back on the

roster after not wrestling last year. He had a winning record as a sophomore and will settle in a varsity spot at 170 or 182.

“Kyle works hard and he’ll fill a spot in the lineup we

Newton Boys

Continued from Page 5

“Pella, Dallas Cen ter-Grimes, Norwalk and Pella Christian all will still be very good and athletic. But winning the conference is definitely a goal of ours and

has never been done by any Newton team. We hope to be the first,” Carter added.

The biggest change in the offseason to high school bas ketball is the addition of a 35-second shot clock.

Carter said his guys got the chance to play with a shot clock during their summer

Girls Bowling

Continued from Page 2

Hughes said the next four bowlers battling for a spot on the varsity are freshman Gab bie Humphrey, senior Sky ler Gooden and sophomores Marissa Burns and Heather Palmer.

Keith is a two-time individ ual state qualifier. She placed 29th last year and 44th as a

haven’t had in years,” Coach Walston said.

Trevor Van Wyk was 12-11 last year at 126. He’ll move up to 132 or 138 this season.

Ben Squires will be the

tournaments and fall league. He doesn’t remember it com ing into play very often.

“I don’t think the shot clock will affect us all that much,” Carter said. “Thirty-five sec onds is a long time to get a shot off. I do think it’s a great thing for basketball in Iowa and it should have been im

team’s starter at heavyweight and Johnson is expected to be at 126.

“I expect big things from both of these guys,” Coach Walston said. “I think Ben

and Kendric are going to put up some wins.”

Coach Walston expects Maston to wrestle at 106, Lea to hit the mat at 113, Hunt er Van Wyk at both of those spots and Bassett to hit the lineup at either 120 or 126.

“The freshmen class just loves to work,” Coach Walston said. “They just keep work ing.”

The biggest offseason change to the sport involves getting rid of sectionals.

Districts in Class 1A will now feature 10 teams at 12 different sites and the top two wrestlers in each weight at each site will advance to the state tournament.

“I like the format. It will give us time to polish things,” Coach Walston said.

“It will help grow the sport and make things better all around.

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

plemented a long time ago.

“It adds a layer to the game and doesn’t allow teams to just stall out if they get a dou ble-digit lead in the second half.”

Half of Newton’s high school coaching staff is new this season.

Returning to Carter’s staff

freshmen. Her game average last season was 157.35 and her series average was 314.7. She had a 382 high series.

Hansen placed 18th in her first individual state tourna ment last winter. She led the team with a 164 game average and a 328 series average a sea son ago. Her best series was 372.

Weithers (153.65/307.3) and Slings (153.25/306.5)

were virtually even in game average and series average. Weithers’ 387 series was a team-best and Slings had a se ries best of 354.

Bown averaged 152.5 and 305 in her varsity debut sea son. Her best series was 363.

“I think they feel like they are a state team,” Hughes said. “That’s what they want to do. They have that confidence now.”

is varsity assistant and junior varsity head coach Brady Ca low.

The new coaches are Blake Warrick and junior varsity 2 head coach Ryan Maki.

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

Humphrey will share with girls basketball and Gooden is two-handed bowler who is out for the first time.

The two captains voted on by their coaches are Hansen and Slings.

Seth Banwell is back as Hughes’ assistant coach.

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

Hansen Weithers

Troy Hyde/Newton News Lynnville-Sully senior Reese Dunsbergen was third in the conference tournament and fourth at sectionals at 160 pounds last year. He finished 32-11, was a state qualifier as a freshman and is expected to be at either 160 or 170 this winter.

NCMP boys hope improved numbers increase results

By Troy Hyde Sports Editor

The Newton-Colfax-Min go-Pella boys swim team had seven swimmers at the Little Hawkeye Conference meet last winter. The Cardinals sent only nine to the NCC meet, too.

NCMP head boys swim ming coach Sarah Patterson is back as the leader of the pro gram, and she hopes a bigger roster leads to more success in the pool.

“I love that we have eight seniors who are excited about leadership and building this team up,” Patterson said. “We have to work on our men tal toughness to get where we want to go. They are buying in to being on time and working together. And we have a great attitude toward the season so far.”

Patterson spent the first of ficial week of boys’ swim prac tice splitting time with them and the female swimmers who made the state meet.

Her assistant coach is a fa miliar face. Former NCMP swimmer Lucas Warner be gins his first season coaching on the deck.

He’s a teacher at Woodrow Wilson and played football at Dordt College after his prep

career at Pella High School.

Last year’s roster featured just one senior.

This year’s eight seniors are Clay Lamb, Eli Eekhoff, Jonah Brown, Brady Comer, Kenny Skinner-Havens, Mae Smith (Jackson), Aiden VanDonso laar and Collin Buchli.

NCMP begins the season with 18 swimmers.

There are three juniors, three sophomores and four freshmen.

Patterson was impressed

with her senior class during a captains’ meeting one week before practices began.

“We had our captains’ meeting at Pizza Ranch a week before the season start ed,” Patterson said. “Coach Warner and I were impressed with their goals for the season and how excited they were to start.”

The top returners are Lamb, Eekhoff, Comer and Brown and sophomores Drew Fuller and Mack Copeland.

Lamb is the top returner in the 200 freestyle and 100 fly.

He was third in the 200 freestyle at the NCC meet and placed second and fourth, re spectively, in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly at the Little Hawkeye Conference meet.

Eekhoff is back with the top returning times in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and the 200 individual medley.

Comer is the leading re turner in the 100 breaststroke, Fuller and Copeland had the

Boys Bowling

Continued from Page 18

Junior Sebastian King was the No. 1 bowler early in the season.

The other varsity spots were taken by juniors Tamian Adams, David Holmes and Toni Aldama as well as Kill mer and Bown.

Killmer and Bown were voted co-captains by their

coaches and teammates.

Bown plans to bowl for Up per Iowa University next sea son.

Bown led the varsity last year with a 166.6 game aver age and a 333 series average. His high game was 224 and his high series was 394.

Holmes (163/326), King (162.61/325), Kennedy (155.5/311), junior An drew Wiles (150.75/301.5)

and junior Owen Guldberg (140.67/281) made up last year’s varsity roster.

Kennedy finished 19th and Bown was 21st at last year’s individual state tournament.

“Its going to be real close for the top 10 this season,” Hughes said. “There could be a lot of shuffling.”

The rest of the top 10 during the preseason includ ed Kennedy, Wiles, junior

top times last year in the 500 freestyle and Fuller is the top returner in the 100 back stroke. Brown was second last year behind Eekhoff in the 200 IM.

Comer finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke at the NCC meet, while Fuller placed fourth in the 500 free style in the LHC meet.

Eekhoff, Copeland and Lamb made up three of the four swimmers on NCMP’s top returning 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams.

Lamb, Eekhoff and Comer were three of the four swim mers on NCMP’s top 200 medley relay team.

Last week’s busy schedule was a blur for Patterson, but she expects her squad to be better than fourth in the LHC and sixth in the NCC.

That’s where the team fin ished last year.

“I have to see how things are looking but, of course, I would love to improve on those,” Patterson said. “They would be cool things to use to motivate the guys. And, it’s al ways a goal to get to the state meet. That will be a huge goal this season.”

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

Alex Kearse and sophomore Nathan Hauber. Hauber is av eraging 145 so far after only averaging 98 last year.

“Even guys currently not on varsity are bowling well right now,” Hughes said.

Seth Banwell is back as Hughes’ assistant coach.

Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 536 or thyde@shawmedia.com

Troy Hyde/Newton News

NCMP senior Clay Lamb is the top returner in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly this winter. He also was part of the fastest times for all three relays and he’ll be one of eight seniors on this year’s roster.

King Kennedy