JASPER COUNTY
2018-19 Winter Sports Preview •Basketball •Bowling •Wrestling •Swimming
•Newton • Prairie City-Monroe • Baxter • Colfax-Mingo • Lynnville-Sully
2 Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Members of the 2018-19 Newton High wrestling team are, left to right, Anthony Bestell, Tyson Elliott, Austin Brady, Noah Cook, Gabe Hoen, Braydon Chance, Austin Romberg, Kaden Holmes and Jason Weithers; middle row, Damien Bayles, Max Kliegl, Coltin Whitten, Colby Jones, Blake Cockerton, Thomas Cox, Reece Caves, Brennan Amos and Nelson Lopez; back row, assistant coach Adam Hale, assistant coach Andy Cazett, Colin Sharp, Destin Schroder, William Muckler, Gabe Abrams, Owen Sanger, Zane Kohlmeyer, Gage Linahon, Canaan Terpstra, Kaleb Wilkins and head coach Andy Swedenhjelm Not Pictured: Jaise Gulling, Wilbur White and Blake Iske.
Cardinal wrestlers ready to hit the mat By Jocelyn Sheets Newton Daily News Top to bottom, Newton High head wrestling coach Andy Swedenhjelmanticipates the 2018-19 Cardinal team will be the strongest lineup he has had in his six years at the helm of the Cardinal wrestling program. “We have fantastic depth. We will have potentially 11 of our 14 weights returning varsity experience,” Swedenhjelm said. “In addition, we have some talented freshman supplementing them.” The Cardinals have 11 returning varsity wrestlers including two state tournament qualifiers. Leading the way is two-time Class 3A state tournament qualifier junior Gage Linahon in the 220-pound class. Linahon was 35-11 on the mat a year ago. Also back is senior Jaise
Gulling, who was 32-12, qualifying for the 3A state meet at 195. They both placed second at the 3A district meet in their weight classes. “Of course, I’m trying to get back to state for a third straight year and medal this year,” Linahon said. “Our team is looking good so far in the wrestling room. We have some good freshmen who will help fill up some of the gaps in the lighter weights.” Linahon said giving up six forfeit points for two or three weights was difficult for the team last year as it tried to win duals. Also if a team is attempting to get to the team regionaland state tournaments. Gulling and Linahon were second in their weight classes at the 2018 Little Hawkeye Conference tournament Juniors Blake Iske (19-24) and Destin Schroder (19-16) and sophomore Anthony Bestell (17-18) also earned LHC
honors placing third at 138, 170 and 106, respectively. The Cardinals have seniors Blake Cockerton at 126 or 132, Thomas Cox at 170 and Reece Caves at 160. Caves returns to the wrestling mat after a year off. Juniors Zane Kohlmeyer and Canaan Terpstra are back at 152 and 145,respectively Terpstra was fourth at the LHC meet and Kohlmeyer was fifth. Sophomore Owen Sanger is back at 182. “The team can be really good this year if we continue to work as hard as we have started,” Cockerton said. “We have to keep putting in the time and effort. I’m looking to make it to state. I’m focused on better nutrition and working to score on the mat more consistently from the top position.” Schroder said his main goal is to win a state title at 182 so that means a
lot hard work. He said he works to improve on every aspect of his wrestling. “I really am looking to score points out the neutral position. As a team we’re expecting to do good things this season,” Schroder said. Caves said he missed being a part of the wrestling team last year. He came back out to be a part of it again and working hard to contribute to the team’s success. Cox is working to reach the 170 weight class after wrestling up at 182 last season. He said he wanted to improve from where he was last year which is about taking steps forward every night in practice. “We have a lot of potential in the wrestling room this season. The guys are willing to grind it out,” Cox said. Kohlmeyer and Terpstra are two wrestlers who realize they have to “grind it out” better than they did a year ago. Both wrestlers admitted in not wrestling hard through tough times on the mat. “I’m working on my mindset in knowing I have the tools to be successful. I just have to have more confidence in them,” Kohlmeyer said. “I’m also working on my pace on the mat and consistency.” For Terpstra, things would go a bit wrong on the mat and “I’d give up but not this season. I realize I have to wrestle hard the whole match,” he said. Swedenhjelm said the biggest concern going into the season is staying CARDINAL WRESTLERS | Page 3
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Junior Gage Linahon works the ankle of a Knoxville opponent during a home match last year. Linahon is going after a third-straight trip the the Iowa Class 3A state tournament this season.
Newton High School 2018-19 Wrestling Schedule Nov. 27 — Boone, 4:30 p.m. Nov. 29 — Indianola, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 — NHS Cardinal Invitational, 10 a.m. Dec. 6 — Fort Dodge, Des Moines North, 6:30 p.m. Dec. 8 — Waverly-Shell Rock Invitational, 9:30 a.m. Dec. 11 — Pella, 6:30 p.m. Dec. 13 — Norwalk, 6:30 p.m. Dec. 18 — PCM, 6 p.m. Jan. 3 — Oskaloosa, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 5 — Ottumwa Invitational, 10 a.m. Jan. 11-12 — Bettendorf Invitational Jan. 17 — Grinnell, 6:30 p.m. Jan. 24 — Dallas Center-Grimes, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26 — Little Hawkeye Conference meet, Grinnell, 10 a.m. Jan. 31 — Waukee, Ames, 5:30 p.m. Home meets in bold
Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019 3
Cardinal wrestlers Continued from Page 2 healthy. He said that seemed to be the thing which has hurt the Cardinals the most the last few years with injuries. Swedenhjelm has Carl Smith, Adam Hale and Andy Cazett back as assistant coaches. “I expect our team to compete at a high level. If we continue to work hard, we will be in position to compete pfor the top of our conference,” Swedenhjelm said “I am excited about our district, and the potential that our kids have in qualifying for the state tournament. If we continue to work hard, and get better everyday, there are some big things in store for a lot of our kids. I am proud of how hard they have worked in the offseason, and am excited to see that bear fruit in this upcoming season.” Newton went 7-10 in dual
meets last year. The Cardinals were 2-4 in Little Hawkeye Conference duals for fifth place. They are looking to be better in conference action this season. “We were able to do a lot of freestyle and Greco training with Grinnell this past spring, and their coaches are doing a great job of developing their kids. Their bottom part of the lineup will be the as tough as any we will see all year. We are fortunate to be part of such a tough conference, and wrestle a tough schedule as that helps our kids to be battle tested by the time we get to the postseason,” Swedenhjelm said. He said Norwalk would probably be the team to beat in the LHC at this point. Swedenhjelm said there have been quite a few graduations in the conference. “But we have a lot of traditionally tough teams that are able to reload every year. Indianola will have a bunch of tough kids, and teams like
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Anthony Bestell, left, has an opponent ripe for a pin in a match last season. Bestell is a sophomore thi season for Newton High’s wrestling team.
Indianola and Dallas Center-Grimes are going to be pretty good year in and year out as they have good coaches, and youth/middle school programs,” he said. Newton opens the season at
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home on Tuesday. The Cardinals host Boonein a wrestling/ boys’ basketball doubleheader with the wrestlers starting at 4:30 p.m. They begin the LHC competition on Nov. 29 at Indi-
anola then host the annual Cardinal Invitational tournament on Dec. 1. Contact Jocelyn Sheets at 641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com
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4 Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019
New coach guides Cardinal girls basketball in 2018-19 By Jocelyn Sheets Newton Daily News Jason Carter spent three seasons as an assistant coach for the Newton High boys’ varsity basketball team. Now, he has the reins of the Newton High girls’ basketball program and he is set to go for the 2018-19 season. “I’m excited Carter to be the girls’ head coach. I’m looking forward to this season. We have six seniors on the team and that is our biggest strength,” Carter said. “I anticipate all of them to be contributors.” Carter was named the NHS Cardinal girls’ head basketball coach in late May. Coaching girls’ basketball is not new for Carter, who said he had more experience in coaching girls than boys. He coached seventh-grade girls’ basketball at Knoxville and has coached girls’ club basketball. Newton’s six seniors are Rachel Rhoads, Abbie Barr, Peyton Maher — all who are returners from last year’s team — Emily Valtman, Mackensie Brown and Rina Amom. Filling out the varsity squad are juniors Mackenzie Baker, Kameron Nehring and Priscila Amador, sophomores Victoria Reynolds and Meg Callaghan and freshmen Brooklyn Cupples and Aurora Nehring. “Things have been going well in preseason practices,” Maher said. “We’re expecting to have a better season than last year. We have good communication with each other.” Maher is a 5-foot-7 inch guard who scored 60 points last year. She was tied for the
lead in assists with 54. Maher also had 23 steals and 98 rebounds. She shot 22 percent, 20-of-91, from the field and she hit eight 3-pointers. She sank 12-of -20 free throw attempts. Rhoads is another 5-foot-7 guard who scored 73 points last year for the Cardinals. She collected 65 rebounds, made 11 steals and had 25 assists. Rhoads shot 23 percent, 28-of-121, from the field and hit four 3-pointers. She shot 41 percent, 13-of-32, from the free-throw line. “It’s taking a little time to learn everything since it is all new under Coach Carter but we’re adjusting,” Rhoads said. “We know our roles really well. We have players with different strengths and we’re utilizing those.” Newton went 4-19 overall last year and 2-12 in the highly competitive Little Hawkeye Conference. The LHC had four ranked teams in it last year led by Grinnell, which was the Class 4A state runner-up. Carter, who graduated from Oskaloosa High School, is no stranger to the LHC. He also coached against the LHC boys’ teams the past three seasons. He said he wasn’t sure how the girls’ side stacks up this year. “I know Indianola and Grinnell were both really solid last season, but this is a new season and you never know,” Carter said. “If we just come every week ready to work and get better, I think we have potential to move up in the conference.” Barr finished with 41 pointslast season and 31 rebounds. Baker and Kameron Nehring played mainly on the junior varsity team. Brown played at Colfax-Mingo as a sophomore and the first semester of last year before moving to Newton High School.
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Members of the 2018-19 Newton High varsity girls’ basketball team are, left to right, front row, Aurora Nehring, Mackenzie Baker, and Kameron Nehring; middle row, Brooklyn Cupples, Victoria Reynolds, Priscila Amador, and Meg Callaghan; back row, Rina Amonn, Rachel Rhoads, Peyton Maher, Mackensie Brown and Abbie Barr. Not pictured: Emily Valtman.
Working with Carter on his coaching staff are Brady Calow and Ashley Kahler. “Having veteran players is always a plus and I think that will help us get this program off to a good start,” Carter said. “Overall, we have a great group of kids that are doing everything we are asking of them.” Carter said there’s a learning curve early as the players adjust to a whole new system. He said the girls are already adapting well to what they are trying to do at both ends of the court. “We can only control what we can control,” Carter said. “That is coming to practice each and every day to work
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and get better. Our goal is to compete at a high level every time we step on the floor, no matter the opponent.” Newton’s main goal is to get to the point where the Cardinal girls are competing to make a run in the postseason to the state tournament, Carter said. Newton opened the 201819 season last Saturday, losing to Clarke. The Cardinals played a non-conference game at Perry on Tuesday. They open Little Hawkeye Conference play on Nov. 30 at Dallas Center-Grimes. Contact Jocelyn Sheets at 641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com
Newton High School 2018-19 Girls’ Varsity Basketball Schedule Nov. 17 — NHS Holiday Tournament Nov. 20 — Perry Nov. 30 — Dallas Center-Grimes, 5:45 p.m. Dec. 6 — Marshalltown, 6:15 p.m. Dec. 7 — Grinnell, 6:15 p.m. Dec. 14 — Oskaloosa, 6:15 p.m. Dec. 18 — Pella, 6:15 p.m. Dec. 21 — Norwalk, 6:15 p.m. Jan. 4 — Pella Christian, 6:15 p.m. Jan. 5 — Knoxville, Wells Fargo Arena, 2 p.m. Jan. 8 — Nevada, 6 p.m. Jan. 11 — Indianola, 6:15 p.m. Jan. 15 — Boone, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 — Dallas Center-Grimes, 6:15 p.m. Jan. 22 — Grinnell, 6:15 p.m. Jan. 24 — Oskaloosa, 6:15 p.m. Jan. 29 — Pella, 6:15 p.m. Feb. 1 — Norwalk, 6:15 p.m. Feb. 5 — Pella Christian, 6:15 p.m. Feb. 8 — Indianola, 6:15 p.m. Home games in bold
Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019 5
Cardinal boys turn corner with new coach By Jocelyn Sheets Newton Daily News Change is always good. Change has come to the Newton High boys’ basketball program under new head coach Kyle Peta. Peta, a Carlisle High graduate, comes to Newton from the Central Decatur school district at Leon. He taught fifth-grade math at North Elementary and served as an assistant varsity boys’ basketball coach at Central Decatur High School the past three years. He brings 14 years of coaching experience after spending 11 years as a teacher and coach in Parker, Ariz., following his graduation from Northern Iowa in 2001. Peta went from high school to Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge with a coaching degree and earning his education degree from UNI. “I’m excited to be here in Newton with an opportunity to be a head coach again. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Newton community,” Peta said. “I’m ready to show what I’ve got as a coach and develop a fun and exciting basketball team to watch.” Peta was the head coach for the Parker High School boys’ varsity basketball team for five years after serving as an assistant for three years in Parker, Ariz. He took a year off from coaching to focus on his teaching — fourth, fifth and sixth grades in the Indian reservation school district — then returned to the coaching ranks as the head girls’ basketball coach at Parker High. Peta has a new coaching staff in place with varsity assistant coach Eric Vander Velden, who coached for the NHS girls’ basketball program. Chris Dydell returns to the boys’ program and Derek Wrage joins the staff. “The coaching staff has meshed really well. We bounce ideas off each other and every coach knows that their opinion is valued. It’s a great group of guys to work with and I feel we can all make Newton High School 2018-19 Boys’ Varsity Basketball Schedule Nov. 27 —Boone, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 — Dallas Center-Grimes, 7:15 p.m. Dec. 6 — Marshalltown, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 — Grinnell, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14 — Oskaloosa, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 — Pella, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 21 — Norwalk, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 4 — Pella Christian, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 5 — Knoxville, Wells Fargo Arena, 3:30 p.m. Jan. 8 — Nevada, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 11 — Indianola, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 — Dallas Center-Grimes, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22 — Grinnell, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24 — Oskaloosa, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28 — Chariton, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29 — Pella, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1 — Norwalk, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 — Pella Christian, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 — Indianola, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 — Winterset, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 — Adel DeSoto Minburn, 7:30 p.m. Home games in bold
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Members of the 2018-19 Newton High varsity boys’ basketball team are, left to right, front row, Logan Schilling, Blake Sevenbergen, Quintrail Coley, Kaleb Dydell and Taylor Danley; middle row, Noah Allen, Adam Mattes, Caleb Lawson, Zay Arguello and Kael Swarts; back row, Frank Cataldo, Cody Satterfield, McKenna Davis, Kyle Long and Taylor Greiner.
each other better coaches. Just like the players, our goal is to get better as coaches every day,” Peta said. The Cardinals have four players back from last year’s 14-8 team. Two starters in 6-foot junior guard Kyle Long and 6-foot-5 junior post player Quintrail Coley. Senior point guard McKenna Davis and junior guard Cody Satterfield saw limited varsity action off the bench a year ago. Newton’s lost its top scorer to graduation. Aaron Bartels, who was one of the team’s best outside shooters, moved out of the school district during football season with his family. “The boys are responding well to the new offensive and defensive philosophies. Every day we get a little better at running the system,” Peta said. “We still have a lot to implement and learn. We are trying to focus on player and ball movement and not be so reliant on the dribble. We expect everyone to buy into team, team, team. We feel that we can easily play 9-10 on any given night.” Long said practices have gone really well and the players are working hard. He said Coach Peta has done a great job having a practice plan for the team each day. “We’re all excited about the new season, and I think we’ll have a great season,” Long said. “It took me a while to make the transition from football to basketball but my shot is back.” Long is Newton’s top 3-point shooter returning after going 44-of-125 for 35 percent last year. He finished with 135 points, 26 rebounds, 13 steals and seven assists.
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Kyle Peta, second from left, is the new head coach for the Newton High boys’ basketball program. His assistant coaches this season are, far left, Derek Wrage, second from right Eric Vander Velden and Chris Dydell, far right.
“I’m working on more than just my 3-point shooting. I know I need to drive to the basket more and hit my midrange shot,” Long said. Coley is the big man in the lane for Newton. He averaged 5.2 points a game last year. He had 86 rebounds and blocked nine shots. Coley dished out 22 assists and made 11 steals. He went 27-of-38 at the free-throw line, and shot 61 percent, 44of-72 from the field. Davis had 10 points, 13 rebounds and five assists last year. He said his role will be much bigger this season. Another big part of the season is defense. Peta believes defense is where games are won. “We’re working a lot of defensive stuff right now,” Davis said. “We have guys who can score so we need to make sure we’re playing tough defensively.” Davis said the team has some freshmen who are going to be helping at the varsity level. He said Coach Peta has
shown the players a lot of new things to help the Cardinals be successful. Peta said seniors Taylor Geiner and Frank Cataldo, who is 6-foot-3, are among those vying for varsity playing time. Kaleb Dydell, Taylor Danley and Blake Sevenbergen are juniors who along with sophomore Logan Schilling are working to secure a spot on the varsity. Five freshmen are working with the varsity at this time. They are Noah Allen, Calen Lawson, Adam Mattes, Kael Swarts and Zay Arguello. “We have a good 3-point shooting team and we have a lot of intangibles which are strengths as a team,” Peta said. “How quickly we learn the new systems on offense and defense will determine how we progress in competition.” Newton went 7-7 in Little Hawkeye Conference play last year, finishing tied for fourth with Dallas Center-Grimes. The Cardinals open LHC play at DCG on Nov. 30. Before that, the Peta era
for Cardinal boys’ basketball opens at home against Boone on Tuesday. It is a part of a wrestling/boys’ basketball night of action facing Boone’s teams. Coming off Christmas break, the Newton boys and girls will play a doubleheaderagainst Knoxville on Jan. 5 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The girls’ game is at 2 p.m. followed by the boys at 3:30 p.m. “Expectations for the team are to get better every day and become better teammates and players. We envision a team that plays together and represents the Newton community in an admirable way,” Peta said. “If we continue to improve every day, we believe the results will show on the floor. It’s a long season ahead and I’m pleased with the focus and competitive desire of every athlete so far. “ Contact Jocelyn Sheets at 641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com
6 Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019
NHS bowling gets new home lanes By Jocelyn Sheets Newton Daily News
Adjusting to something new at their home bowling center are Newton High’s Cardinal bowling teams. Cardinal Lanes replaced the wooden bowling lanes with new synthetic lanes in September. “Personally, I love the new lanes and I’ve bowled on synthetics before. Our guys are adjusting really well to the new surface,” Cutter Benac said. Benac is the senior captain for the Cardinal boys’ team. “It took a little time to get used to the new lanes for me,” senior girls’ team captain Keely Birkenholtz said. “The ball reacts differently but we bowled for scores the other day and I did alright. We’re adjusting to them.” Changing out the wooden surface for the synthetic lanes will help the Cardinal bowlers overall, according to junior Nate Keith. He said a lot of the other bowling centers the teams compete at have the synthetic surfaces already. “We have quite a few home meets this season. The new lanes and bowling at home should make for a good season,” sophomore Abby Price said. Newton opens the season on Monday at home against Marshalltown. The Cardinals host their invitational on Dec. 1 then have five consecutive home dual meets from Dec. 8 to Jan. 8. Their eight home meet is Jan. 26. Newton High’s bowling program is under the coaching of Christie Hughes, who is in her second season as head coach after one year as an assistant coach. She has a new assistant coach in Gina McGinley. “Our bowlers are excited about the new lanes here at Cardinal Lanes. They are working on adjusting to the new surface,” Hughes said. “We have a solid group of returning bowlers to help lead our teams. We’re expecting a strong season for both the girls and boys.” Newton’s girls are fourtime Little Hawkeye Conference champions and went 8-1 in dual bowling meets in 2017-18. The Cardinal boys are looking to get back to the top spot in the LHC tournament. They won three straight before Oskaloosa unseated the Cardinals a year ago. The Cardinals girls have six bowlers returning with varsity experience including three seniors — Birkenholtz, Alicia Miller and Taylor Johnson. Price earned first-team LHC honors with Miller garnering second-team honors and Birkenholtz taking honorable mention status. Price is the top bowler back for the girls with a 306 series average and a 153 game aver-
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Members of the 2018-19 Newton High girls’ bowling team are, left to right, front row, Gabby Pickerell, Jenna Miller, Sam Neer, Tanya Hernandez, Emily Goshorn and Sydni Followill; second row, Abby Price, Danny Lewis, Sara Sopher, Keely Birkenholtz, Abby Hobbs Chloe Butler and Ashley Loehr,; back row, head coach Christie Hughes, Deborah Duran, Alicia Miller, Taylor Johnson, Shya Hartman, Jillian Waits, and assistant coach Gina McGinley.
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Members of the 2018-19 Newton High boys’ bowling team are, left to right, front row, Alex Allspach, Evan Benac, Nate Keith, Devon Hobbs and Eli Ingle; second row, Ben Zeien, Colin McAnally, Blake Romberg, Alex Wolfe; back row, head coach Christie Hughes, Alex Frymoyer, Thomas Hodnet, Devon Young, Levin Jenkins, Cutter Benac, Carter VanderSchel and assistant coach Gina McGinley.
age in a 22-game season. Miller finished at 279 series average and a 139 game average while Birkenholtz had a 272 series average and a 136 game average. “I’m just looking to go out and try my hardest to have good games each time as we stick with things as a team this season,” Price said. “We really are focused on being a team and working together to have a shot at going to the state tournament.” Johnson bowled in 18 games a year ago with a 308 series average and 154 game average. Sophomore Tanya Hernandez threw 14 varsity games with a 270 series aver-
age and a 135 game average. “I’ve seen a lot of positivity from the team. If someone throws a bad ball, they aren’t getting frustrated but just refresh their mind and throw a good ball. We help each other a lot,” Birkenholtz said. At the 2018 LHC tournament, junior Ashley Loehr led the Cardinals to victory. She had four varsity games with a 318 series average and a 159pin game average. Other returning bowlers for the girls’ team are senior Chloe Butler, juniors Jillian Waits and Gabby Pickerell, and sophomores Jenna Miller, Danny Lewis, Abby Hobbs and Sydni Followill. Joining
the team this year are junior Emily Goshorn, sophomores Sara Sopher, Deborah Durant and Shya Hartman and freshman Sam Neer. Cutter Benac earned LHC conference second-team honors last year. He finished with a 370 series average and a 253pin game average. He and Frymoyer, Keith and junior Carter VanderSchel are back as varsity bowler from a year ago. “We haven’t established our varsity and junior varsity teams yet,” Hughes said. The boys were 7-2 in dual meets a year ago. Frymoyer had a 351 series average and 176 game average in 2017-18. VanderSchel
finished with averages of 301 and 151 with 2,111 total pins. BOWLING | Page 8 Newton High School Girls’, Boys’ Bowling 2018-19 Schedule Nov. 26 — Marshalltown, 3:45 p.m. Dec. 1 — NHS Cardinal Invitational, 9 a.m. Dec. 8 — Pella, 9 a.m. Dec. 10 — Des Moines North, 3:45 p.m. Dec. 15 — Urbandale, 9 a.m. Jan. 5 — Pella Christian, 9 a.m. Jan. 8 — Clarke, 4 p.m. Jan. 11 — Oskaloosa, 3 p.m. Jan. 19 — Knoxville, 10:30 a.m. Jan. 26 — Bondurant-Farrar, 9 a.m. Feb. 2 — Norwalk, 1 p.m. Feb. 9 — Little Hawkeye Conference meet, Oskaloosa, noon Home meets in bold
Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019 7
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Members of the 2018-19 NCMP Cardinal boys’ swim team are, left to right, front row, Jaden Dydell, Landon Heisdorffer, Grant Freese, Gabe Sander, Deklan Lewis, Clay Meyer and Luke Zaabel; middle row, Jonah Weithers, Jacob Nedder, Carter Briggs, Devon Lamb, Zach Ort, Adam Hunter and Henry Jensen; back row, Izaak Miller, Parker Sherwood, Dallas Shaeffer, Mason Lee, James Westbrook, Evan Grimm and Mitch Faidley. Not pictured: Elijah Sander, team managers, Alex Inskeep, Jordon Pritchard, Erika Van Sickle and Kenna Brooks.
NCMP swimmers going strong for 2018-19 season By Jocelyn Sheets Newton Daily News Qualifying for their first state swim meet last year whetted the passion of four returning NCMP Cardinal swimmers — seniors Mason Lee, Carter Briggs and Adam Hunter and junior Jacob Nedder — for the 2018-19 season. Briggs qualified in the 100yard breaststroke. He and Lee were on the 200 medley relay which went to state and Lee and Nedder were on the 200 freestyle relay while Hunter went to the state meet as an alternate swimmer for the two relays. “Those four are leading this year’s team with their work ethic. They experienced the state meet and saw what it was like. They want to go back to state,” NCMP boys’
head coach Sarah Patterson. “We also have Jaden Dydell, a sophomore, who was close to qualifying last year and has a lot of potential.” Patterson, who has coached the NCMP girls’ swim team for 26 years, is in her third season as boys’ head coach. She is joined by Jenny Jensen as a new assistant coach. Jensen is a former NCMP girls’ swimmer and has been Patterson’s assistant coach for three years with the girls. Patterson said it was great to see 23 out for the team this season. She said the swimmers were working pretty hard to be ready for the first meet of the season, which is Tuesday at Indianola. “We have 23 guys excited about being here and about swimming. Our No. 1 goal is to be a close knit team work-
ing together to push each other and encourage each other to be successful,” Patterson said. “We want to be fit and in shape so we’re fine tuning things. With a lot of new people, we’re getting them as much exposure to the sport and training before that meet.” NCMP is the defending Little Hawkeye Conference champion. The Cardinals won the inaugural LHC meet a year ago, winning six of 11 events. NCMP was second in the North Central Iowa Swim Conference meet. Hunter is the defending NCIC 500 freestyle champion. Lee and Nedder were on the NCIC championship 200 freestyle relay as Dydell, Hunter and Briggs were on the fifthplace relay. Lee took fifth in the 50 freestyle event. “I expect this team to do
really well this season. We’ve been training hard and will be very competitive for our meets,” Briggs said. “I want to get back to state in the 100 breaststroke and go under 1:01 this season.” Briggs finished 24th at the state meet in the breaststroke. He went 1 minute, 02.65 in the event at the district meet. He is the reigning LHC champion in the 100 breaststroke with Dydell in second place. Briggs also won the LHC 200 individual medley title. Lee and Briggs swam on the LHC championship 200 medley relay. Lee took second in the 50 freestyle. He also was on the championship 200 freestyle relay with Nedder. “What a great experience state was and you want to go back,” Lee said. “My goal, which I will achieve, is to
qualify for state in the 50 freestyle and medal. It would be great to take a couple relays to state again too.” Lee said the NCMP team is so close and the number of swimmers are increasing. He said the returning swimmers are helping the younger or NCMP | Page 8 NCMP Boys Swimming 2018-19 Schedule Nov. 27 — Indianola, 5:30 p.m. Dec. 1 — NCMP Invitational, 10 a.m. Dec. 4 — Des Moines East, 5:30 p.m. Dec. 6 — Boone, 5:30 p.m. Dec. 8 — Marshalltown Invitational, noon Dec. 11 — Des Moines Lincoln, 5:30 p.m. Dec. 13 — Ames, Grinnell, 5:30 p.m. Dec. 18 — Des Moines Roosevelt, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 5 — Waterloo West Invitational, noon Jan. 12 — Fort Dodge Invitational, 12:30 p.m. Jan 17 — LHC meet, Indinaola, 5:15 p.m. Jan. 26 — NCIC meet, Decorah, 10 a.m. Home meets in bold
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Swimming Continued from Page 7 less experienced swimmers learn techniques to improve their success in the pool. Other seniors on the team are Deklan Lewis, Dallas Schaeffer, Elijah Sander, Mitch Faidley, Grant Freese and James Westbrook. Isaak Miller, Clay Meyer, Parker Sherwood, Luke Zaabel, Dakota Borger and Zach Ort are juniors on the team. “I believe we all will go out there and give it our all,” Lewis said. “We’re not backing down from any team. We have team of good veteran swimmers and new guys.” Lewis took second in the LHC 100 backstroke last year. He said the backstroke is his best event. Nedder and
Lewis are the team’s top returns in the backstroke. Sophomores on the squad are Landon Heisdorffer, Henry Jensen, Devin Lamb and Gabriel Sander. Jonah Weithers is a freshman swimmer. “We have some good younger swimmers who will be pushing to find a spot in the varsity events. We’ve seen improvement every day in practices,” Patterson said. “It’s about putting all the pieces together, learning each role for the guys and make it a good experience for everybody.” All of NCMP’s home meets are before Christmas this season. Senior Night is Dec. 13 against Ames and Grinnell. Contact Jocelyn Sheets at 641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Senior Cutter Benac is back on the lanes for the Newton High boys’ bowling team. He is the top bowler in terms of score coming back for the 2018-19 season.
Bowling Continued from Page 6
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Senior Carter Briggs sets his sights on qualifying for state again in the 100-yard breaststroke for NCMP.
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Keith, who helped lead the junior varsity a year ago had a 309 series average and a 154 game average. “As a team, we’ve improved a lot this year,” Frymoyer said. “As Cutter said, we’ve grown closer as a team and we’re expecting to win a lot of meets this season. Me? I want to improve my scoring and consistency.”
Other returning bowlers for the boys’ team are seniors Devon Young, Devon Hobbs, Jacob Warren and Colin McAnally, juniors Alex Wolfe and Eli Ingle and sophomores Thomas Hodnett and Ben Zeien. New to the team are junior Levin Jenkins and freshmen Alex Allspach, Evan Benac, Dallas King and Blake Romberg. Contact Jocelyn Sheets at 641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com
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Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019 9
Hawk boys retooling for strong court run By Jocelyn Sheets Newton Daily News No one disputes the fact Lynnville-Sully’s boys graduated a senior class which was very productive on the basketball court. The Hawks always have the “next man up” attitude under head coach Nick Harthoorn, who is in his 12th season at the helm of the Lynnville-Sully boys’ basketball program. Lynnville-Sully has seven returning lettermen back from it’s Class 1A state tournament team for 2017-18. They are ready to step in and take on their roles to help the 2018-19 team go after a fourth straight South Iowa Cedar League championship. “We’ve seen a lot of good hustle in practices. We lost a lot of starting seniors but our upcoming juniors are stepping up so far to earn a starting spot,” Hawk senior Rylan James said. James is a 6-foot-3 inch forward who earned SICL second-team honors. He scored 229 points and grabbed 176 rebounds a year ago. James blocked 20 shots, dished out 24 assists and had 13 steals. “Of course, we have a lot of things to improve on before our first game, but so far things have gone well,” James said. “We don’t have the overall height we had last year. I believe we have a good balance of outside shooters and inside players.” James was a 53-percent shooter from the field, going 93-of-175. He sank 43-of-70 free throw attempts for 61 percent. Another starter back is 5-foot-10 senior guard Tyson Vander Linden. He earned SICL honorable mention honors. Vander Linden is a 3-point shooting threat, hitting 31-of-84 attempts for 37 percent a year ago. Overall, he was 68-of-168 from the field for 186 points. “We’ve been working hard and our goal is to be conference champions again,” Vander Linden said. “We have Rylan and Gage (Vander Leest) on the inside. Rylan rebounds well and Gage plays physical inside.” Also returning for the Hawks are 5-foot-11 senior Gage Vander Leest, 6-foot senior Grant Wehrle and 5-foot-10 senior Cale Foster, who are all forwards. Juniors Bray Noun Harder and Blaize Kuhlmann are a pair of 5-foot-11 guards. Vander Leest scored 31 points and had 39 rebounds last year. Wehrle tossed in 37 points and had 22 reLynnville-Sully High School Girls’, Boys’ Basketball 2018-19 Varsity Schedule Nov. 16 — Iowa Mennonite (girls) Nov. 20 — Baxter (girls) Nov. 27 — Montezuma, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 — North Mahaska, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 — East Marshall, girls 4 p.m., boys 6 p.m. Dec. 4 — Colfax-Mingo, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 — HLV, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 — BGM, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14 — Keota, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15 — Van Buren, girls 5:30 p.m., boys 7 p.m. Dec. 18 — Sigourney, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Dec. 21 — Tri-County, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 4 — English Valley, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8 — Iowa Valley, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 — Montezuma, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 — North Mahaska, girls, 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 19 — Albia, girls 5 p.m., boys 6:30 p.m. Jan. 22 — Colfax-Mingo, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25 — HLV, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29 — BGM, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1 — EBF, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 — Belle Plaine, girls 4 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 — Baxter (boys), 7:30 p.m. Home games in bold
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Members of the 2018-19 Lynnville-Sully boys’ varsity basketball team are, left to right, front row, Slater Young, Kinnick McFarland, Logan Ingersoll, Blaize Kuhlmann; back row, Tyson Vander Linden, Zane Fraker, Rylan James, Gage Vander Leest, Cale Foster. Not pictured: Grant Wehrle and Bray Noun Harder.
bounds. Foster finished with 17 points. Kuhlmann fired in 51 points and is a long-range shooting threat. He went 12-of-30 from 3-point range for 40 percent last year. He had 36 rebounds, 16 assists and 16 steals. Noun Harder scored 34 points, dished out 27 assists and had 17 steals a year ago. He also had 33 rebounds. Noun Harder has the range to shoot the ball from beyond the arc. “We graduated a senior class that filled out the stat sheets in a lot of different ways,” Harthoorn said. “With that said, we have some seniors that have quite a bit of experience at the varsity level. We also have a group of juniors that have paid their dues at the JV level. Between those two groups, I believe we can develop some depth that will serve us well as the season progresses.” Others expected to battle for varsity spots are senior Joe Anderson and juniors Slater Young, Zane Fraker, Kinnick McFarland and Logan Ingersoll. “We aren’t big on setting a bunch of goals for the season,” Harthoorn said. “We want to focus on working really hard, being great teammates, bringing a positive attitude and being people of character. If we can do those things and respond to adversity in a positive way, I believe good things will happen for this team.” Lynnville-Sully’s junior varsity team includes junior Ethan Wyma and sophomores Aiden LeCompte, Kodie Waggoner, Mason Jansen and Luke Kramer. There are seven freshmen out for the team — Josh Hardenbrook, Mason Rodibaugh, Ryan Annee, Braden Alberts, Owen Norrish, Gage Elscott and Noah Johnson. On Harthoorn’s coaching staff are Kurt Harthoorn, Joel Harthoorn and Jacob Van Manen. Lynnville-Sully went 22-4 a year ago, winning the SICL with a 16-0
mark. The Hawks won a regional title and qualified for the Class 1A state tournament. They lost to St. Mary’s Remsen 73-57 in the first round. The Hawks will battle for the SICL championship. “The SICL Conference looks to be a strong league again this year. In order to compete for the conference title, you have to come ready to compete and improve each night. We look forward to competition that our conference provides,” Harthoorn said.
Lynnville-Sully finished the season tied for the No. 4 ranking in 1A. It won 10 straight games until the state tournament loss. The Hawk boys get a test right out of the gate on Tuesday. They play at Montezuma, which was second in SICL at 14-2 and 19-4 overall. Contact Jocelyn Sheets at 641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Rylan James (33) goes hard to the basket during the Class 1A state basketball tournament for Lynnville-Sully.
10 Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Members of the 2018-19 Lynnville-Sully girls’ varsity basketball team are, left to right, front row, Krystal, Van Dyke, Korinne Jansen, Kaylee Maasdam, Carson Fisk and Shiloh Cunningham; back row, Caitlin Alberts, Meleisha Vos, Cally Gibbs, Janelle Rozendaal, Mallory Loftus, Brittney Hansen, Megan Van Zante and Caylor Noun Harder.
Hawks boast strong inside-outside game By Jocelyn Sheets Newton Daily News
Confidence is at a high level for Lynnville-Sully’s girls heading into the 2018-19 basketball season. They have two starters among their six returning letter winners and five of those back have varsity experience. “This team will have a lot of confidence because we have a strong group back,” senior Carson Fisk said. “We also have a lot of taller players which will be good.” Fisk was a Class 1A third-team all-state selection as a junior along with earning Class 1A all-district and all-regional honors. Fisk is joined by seniors Shiloh Cunningham and Kaylee Maasdam back on the hardwoods for the Hawks. Juniors Mallory Loftus and Janelle Rozendaal and sophomore Krystal Van Dyke round out the returners. The Hawks went 18-7 a year ago and finished fourth in the South Iowa Cedar League Conference with a 10-6 mark. “It was good to get out on the floor and shake off some rust, we have some Lynnville-Sully High School Girls’, Boys’ Basketball 2018-19 Varsity Schedule Nov. 16 — Iowa Mennonite (girls) Nov. 20 — Baxter (girls) Nov. 27 — Montezuma, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 — North Mahaska, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 — East Marshall, girls 4 p.m., boys 6 p.m. Dec. 4 — Colfax-Mingo, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 — HLV, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 — BGM, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14 — Keota, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15 — Van Buren, girls 5:30 p.m., boys 7 p.m. Dec. 18 — Sigourney, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Dec. 21 — Tri-County, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 4 — English Valley, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8 — Iowa Valley, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 — Montezuma, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 — North Mahaska, girls, 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 19 — Albia, girls 5 p.m., boys 6:30 p.m. Jan. 22 — Colfax-Mingo, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25 — HLV, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29 — BGM, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1 — EBF, girls 6 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 — Belle Plaine, girls 4 p.m., boys 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 — Baxter (boys), 7:30 p.m. Home games in bold
things we need to work on,” Hawk head coach Jerry Hulsing said following a jamboree game on Nov. 12. “Our defensive keys need to be sharper. Other things to work on are ball pressure and our rotation to where the ball is located and boxing out along with offensive execution.” Hulsing in his 27th year coaching the Lynnville-Sully girls’ basketball program. He has longtime assistant coach Jeff Corbett helping him. Fisk leads the way after pacing the Hawks a year ago as the top scorer with 333 points. She shot 48 percent, 139-of-290, from the field overall. Fisk, who was a SICL second-team selection, is a 3-point scoring threat. She hit 19-of-63 from outside the arc a year ago. She went 36-of-64 from the free-throw line. Fisk controlled 181 rebounds and dished out 35 assists. She had 39 steals and blocked seven shots. Cunningham finished with 182 points, 123 rebounds, 59 steals and 26 assists. She too can hit from 3-point range, 16-of-44 for 36 percent a year ago. “We have good team chemistry and are all working well together,” Cunningham said. “I believe we have a good balance on offense and we play hard defensively.” Cunningham shot 34 percent overall from the field last year. She went 52-of-96 from the free-throw line. Maasdam said her role is wherever Coach Hulsing needs her to play. She came off the bench last year in a limited capacity. She had 16 rebounds and three steals. “Our practices have been good. We know we have to work on things to improve,” Maasdam said. “I believe we have a strong season ahead for us as long as we keep up the work effort in practices and in games.” Fisk said with Cunningham and herself shooting from the outside and making drives to the basket, the Hawks have a good complement to a strong inside game. She pointed to Loftus and Van Dyke leading the in-
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Lynnville-Sully’s Carson Fisk puts up a 3-pointer during a postseason game a year ago. Fisk led the Hawk girls in scoring and is one of two starters back for the 2018-19 season.
side game. “We move the ball around quickly which allows us to get everyone involved in the offense,” Fisk said. Loftus pounded things inside with 168 points a year ago. She had 84 rebounds, 19 steals and 17 assists. Loftus was the team’s top free throw shooter, going 49-of-69 for 71 percent. She shot 41 percent, 56-of-136, from the field. Loftus can also step out and hit an occasional three. She had seven 3-pointers last year. Van Dyke led the Hawks with 17 blocked shots. She finished with 97 points and 135 rebounds. Van Dyke went 42-of-98, 43 percent, from the floor and sank 13-of-36 free throw attempts. She had 31 steals and 16 assists. Rozendaal had 23 points and 36 rebounds coming off the Hawk bench. Also look for Brittney Hansen, a junior, to vie for playing time. “Our kids buy into our tradition here at Lynnville-Sully,” Hulsing said. “Tradition is always a strength for our team. We also have experienced play-
ers back and a lot of athleticism this season.” Hulsing said the concern experienced depth. He said the Hawks will have to develop depth as the season goes along. As for the SICL championship chase, Hulsing gives the preseason favorite nod to Montezuma and North Mahaska. North Mahaska is the defending conference champion and Montezuma was third a year ago. Lynnville-Sully opened with a non-conference road win at Iowa Mennonite. The Hawks played a home non-conference game last Tuesday against Baxter. The Hawks will see how strong their coaches’ preseason prediction for the SICL favorites are as they come off Thanksgiving break. They open SICL play on the road Tuesday at Montezuma. Lynnville-Sully hosts North Mahaska on Nov. 30. Contact Jocelyn Sheets at 641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com
Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019 11
Lynnville-Sully wrestling determined to be successful By Jocelyn Sheets Newton Daily News Lynnville-Sully Hawk wrestlers are putting in the work in the wrestling room to be successful on the competition mat in 2018-19. The Hawks have two varsity wrestlers returning from last year’s squad of six. They also have two seniors back out after not wrestling a year ago. “I’m seeing a lot of moves from the guys during practices,” senior Ben Van Wyk said. “We’ve learned a lot so far in practices.” Van Wyk and sophomore Lane Mathis are the top returners for Lynnville-Sully. Van Wyk wrestled at 113 a year ago going 19-16 and finishing fourth at the Class 1A sectional. Mathis was at 160 with an 11-17 mark. Third-year head coach Jason Walston has Van Wyk at 120 this season and Mathis at 170. “We’re really not sure where everyone will end up as far as weight classes,” Walston said. “We working hard and making progress.” Seniors Ty Breeden,
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Members of the 2018-19 Lynnville-Sully wrestling team are, left to right, front row, Ben Van Wyk, Ty Breeden and Caleb Barnett; back row, Brodey Johnson, Gage Schilling, Brady Sassman, Miles Mintle and Lane Mathis.
138 pounds, and Caleb Barnett, 195 pounds, return to the mat after a year away. As sophomores, Breeden went
22-27, taking fourth at the 1A district at 126 pounds and Barnett was 8-8 at 285 pounds. “I’m getting back into
Jocelyn Sheets/Daily News Lynnville-Sully’s Ben Van Wyk working a pin hold during a match last year. Van Wyk is back for his senior season with the Hawk wrestling team.
the mode of wrestling,” Breeden said. “I’d like to make it to state since it is my last year. “As far as the team, we have potential this year with the guys who have returned. We also have a great junior high program going which will help the future of Lynnville-Sully high school wrestling.” Barnett said the team was working to be a tighter team and push each other to be successful. He said he has set his sights on getting to district and possibly to state. “I’m really encouraged with what I’ve seen
from our guys. I want to help the new guys to really enjoy wrestling and to stick with the sport,” Barnett said. Junior Gage Schillingis looking to fill the 170-pound slot. Sopho-
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at 641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com
Lynnville-Sully High School 2018-19 Wrestling Schedule Nov. 29 — Colfax-Mingo quad, 6 p.m. Dec. 1 — Montezuma Tournament, 10 a.m. Dec. 8 — Saydel Tournament, 9 a.m. Dec. 11 — Iowa Valley quad, 6 p.m. Dec. 15 — North Polk Invitational, 10 a.m. Jan. 3 — North Tama, 6 p.m. Jan. 5 — PCM Invitational, 9 a.m. Jan. 10 — BGM triangular, 6 p.m. Jan. 17 — Baxter, Centerville, English Valleys, Montezuma, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 10 — Colfax-Mingo Invitational, 10 a.m. Jan. 22 — Chariton, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 24 — North Polk, Panorama, Pleasantville, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 26 — SICL tournament, Tri-County, 10 a.m. Home meets in bold
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more Isaac Johnson is at 132 as is freshman Brodey Johnson. Battling for the 182-pound starting spot are freshmen Miles Mintle and Brady Sassman. “Going into the season our strengths are our numbers in the upper weights,” Walston said. “The three seniors will be another strength as leaders and competitors. They should get a lot of wins for us this year.” Walston said their looking to find a spot in the lineup for all eight wrestlers out. He said the freshmen on the team need to step up and be successful on the varsity mat. “Our conference looks tough again this year,” Walston said of the South Iowa Cedar League. “We’re looking to finish toward the top at the conference tournament. The Hawks open the season on Nov. 29 in a quadrangular meet hosted by Colfax-Mingo in Colfax. Then they have the Montezuma tournament on Dec. 1. Lynnville-Sully has two home meets in January.
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12 Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019
Loaded Mustangs see state trophy in their future By Troy Hyde Newton Daily News With five returning state qualifiers and another wrestler who finished 39-5, Prairie City-Monroe’s wrestling team has high expectations once again. The two-time defending Heart of Iowa Conference dual and invitational champions, the Mustangs are thinking bigger in 2018. “We are excited. We think we can be even better,” said PCM coach Jeff Nicholson, who begins year two as the head guy. “We want to wrestle in the dual state meet, finish higher than we did last year at the traditional state meet and have multiple state champions. I think all of those goals are realistic.” The Mustangs will have one more season with the trio of seniors Lucas Roland, Wes Cummings and Jarron Trausch. All three are doing their best to change the culture inside the program and re-write the record books. “Those three guys will have a lot of the school records by the end of the year,” Nicholson said. “They have instrumental in our culture change. It started right when they walked in the door. The practices started getting harder, and eventually the rest of the guys bought in, too.” Nicholson said the first year with the trio was tough because not everyone was willing to buy in. It got better in year two, and then the team was completely bought in last year when the Mustangs claimed their highest finish in school at the traditional state meet. Roland, Cummings and sophomore Colby Tool brought home individual medals and the Mustangs were fifth in Class 2A last season. This year, Nicholson feels like his team can bring home a state title. Six wrestlers won at least 36 matches last season. Roland claimed the school’s first individual state championship last season. He was 49-1 and set the school record PCM 2018-19 Varsity Wrestling Schedule Nov. 27 — Greene County (Ogden, Van Meter), 5;15 p.m. Dec. 1 — DCG tourney, 10 a.m. Dec. 4 — Sigourney (Bondurant-Farrar/Pleasantville), 6 p.m. Dec. 6 — Nevada (North Polk/Carlisle), 6 p.m. Dec. 8 — Ankeny Centennial Dual Tournament, 10 a.m. Dec. 13 — Gilbert/Roland-Story, 6 p.m. Dec. 15 — SE Polk Tournament, 10 a.m. Dec. 18 — Newton, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 5 — PCM Tournament, 9:15 a.m. Jan. 10 — Greene County/ South Hamilton, 6 p.m. Jan. 12 — Centerville Tournament, TBD Jan. 17 — Saydel, 6 p.m. Jan. 18 — Saydel (HOIC), 5 p.m. Jan. 19 — Urbandale Tournament, TBD Feb. 2 — Carlisle (Sectionals), Noon Feb. 10 — Knoxville (Districts), Noon Home meets in bold
Troy Hyde/Daily News Prairie City-Monroe senior Lucas Roland, top, is one of five state qualifiers who return to the Mustang wrestling team this season. Roland won the Class 2A state title at 170 pounds and finished 49-1 last season.
Cummings
Trausch
for takedowns in a season. He also sets school records last year for best win percentage (97.95) and most team points (339.5). He finished seventh at 138 as a freshman, was fifth at 160 as a sophomore and won it all at 170 last year. He plans to go up to 182 this season and should begin the year at No. 1 despite tearing his ACL during a workout at a college visit in April. He has been cleared to practice but Nicholson is unsure when he’ll begin to compete on the mat. Cummings set a school-record with 50 wins and only lost four matches. He set a school-record last year for pins in a season with 37 and placed fourth at 160 pounds. Two of his four losses came at state as he was 4-2 at the Well. Cummings should begin the season ranked No. 1 at 160. “He’s a competitor.” Nicholson said. “He has individual goals. He’s playing football right now so we haven’t talked about those goals yet, but I am sure he wants to win a state title. He’s not the kind of kid who settles for second or third.” Roland’s move to 182 should help Trausch, who can fall back to his natural weight of 170. Trausch has wrestled
in three state tournaments despite not being at his natural weight in any year. Trausch now gets the chance to go against guys who are closer to him in weight. “It will be awesome for him,” Nicholson said. “Not having to fight through heavier hips will benefit him. I think he’s going to have another big year.” Trausch was 44-6 at 182 last year. He was 1-2 at the state meet. He’ll start the season likely ranked in the top 10. Roland begins the season 128-5 in his career. Cummings is 119-11, and Trausch is 125-20. All three wrestlers likely will pass the career wins record at PCM, which is currently 156 held by Xavier Miller. Tool, junior Payton Drake and sophomore Landon Fenton could all be preseason ranked, too. Tool was 36-10 last year as a freshman at 138. He was 4-2 at the state meet and placed fourth. Nicholson expects an even better year from Tool this season. He could start the season ranked No. 1 at 145 as the three guys ahead of him at 138 all graduated. “That will depend on who stays or moves to 145,” Nicholson said as far as the rankings go. “I will never rule Colby out. He’s super competitive and has the nose for the finals no matter what tournament he’s in. He’s wrestled in AAU championship matches and knows his way around Wells Fargo Arena.” Drake went 39-5 last year and is 78-13 in his career. He has yet to make a state meet after battling in two very tough district meets the past
few seasons. His 120-pound bracket featured four ranked wrestlers last season and only two can advance to state. He lost both of his matches by one point. Drake will start the season at 126. “He’s so close to medaling at state without even being there,” Nicholson said. “The guy who beat him at districts by a point went on to medal at state. Payton looks good so far. He’s bigger and stronger.” Fenton is back after going 39-10 at 106 last year. He’ll start the season on the shelf after breaking his tibia and fibia during football season. Nicholson said Fenton got some good news recently and could start practicing in December. Nicholson said he is targeting the first of the year for Fenton to compete in matches. Fenton could start the season at 113. He’ll be in the mix at that weight along with freshmen Trey Thomas and Grant Vitermarkt. Thomas could be the team’s starter at 106. Sophomore Brian Nicholson is back and should plug back into the lineup at 120 after missing half of his freshman season with a broken leg. He’s back at full strength and was able to compete with the team in some summer camps. Senior Clay VanWyk returns at 132, junior Connor Fagen or sophomore Mason Shirk likely will be the starter at 138 and senior Cody Wallace is expected to hold down the starting spot at 152. Wallace was 29-19 last season. VanWyk finished 22-20. The bigger weights should also be filled this season. Coach Nicholson said he
is still waiting to see if any football players decide to join the team after the season, but sophomores Cooper and Kinser Sloan could battle for the starting spot at 195. Sophomore Chris Marshall is expected to be back at 220. Junior Jace Smith returns at heavyweight after winning the HOIC title last season. He was 19-21 on the year, and he’ll get some competition this season as junior Seth Greiner has joined the team after spending his first two high school years on the basketball court. “Competition is a good thing,” Nicholson said. “I don’t know who will win the wrestle-off at 285 but they’ll make each other better. I am expecting big things out of both guys.” The Mustangs were 21-4 in duals last season. They claimed the HOIC dual and invitational titles for the second straight season, finished second at sectionals and won the district title. PCM was a regional duals qualifier, and it lost in the championship round to Williamsburg. They set team school records in dual wins (21), matches won (441), takedowns (669), two-point near falls (119), escapes (271), falls (264) and team points (2,679) in 2017-18. They are the favorites to win the HOIC titles again this season. “If we can’t win the conference title, then we won’t reach our other goals,” Nicholson said. PCM opens the season in a triangular against Greene County and Van Meter at 6 p.m. on Nov. 27 in Jefferson. PCM WRESTLING | 14
Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019 13
PCM boys looking for depth beyond talented group of returners By Troy Hyde Newton Daily News Fred Lorensen likes to start a season with some experienced guys. That’s what he’ll get when this year’s boys’ basketball season begins. Prairie City-Monroe’s Mustangs return five players who got significant minutes last Worth season. The challenge for Lorensen and his staff now is finding depth behind the returners. “We need to find some depth,” Lorensen said. “We have five kids who were in our rotation last year back, but we have to find the guys behind PCM 2018-19 Varsity Boys Basketball Schedule Nov. 30 — Saydel, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3 — Pella Christian, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 — North Polk, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 — Gilbert, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 — Greene County, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14 — Nevada, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15 — Knoxville, 6 p.m. Dec. 18 — Roland-Story, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 4 — South Hamilton, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8 — Fairfield, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 11 — North Polk, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12 — Pella, 2:30 p.m. Jan. 15 — Roland-Story, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 19 — Gilbert Tournament, Noon Jan. 22 — Saydel, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25 — Greene County, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28 — Collins-Maxwell, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29 — Nevada, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1 — South Hamilton, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 — Gilbert, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 — South Hardin, 7:30 p.m. Home games in bold
them that we could go to if we need to.” Seniors Andrew Van Ryswyk and Reed Worth are back are returning starters, and senior Isaac Telfer and juniors Derek Brown and Jason Stafford return as bench players who played significant roles. Van Ryswyk and Worth were the team’s leading scorers last year. Van Ryswyk also led the Mustangs in rebounds, and Worth was second in assists and led the team in steals. Van Ryswyk is an inside-outside post player who averaged 12.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game last season. He also dished out two assists and finished with one steal and one block per game while shooting 56 percent from the floor and 34 percent from 3-point range. Van Ryswyk begins the season with 568 career points. Worth is the team’s point guard who averaged 10.9 points, three rebounds and three assists per game as a junior. He made 35 3-pointers at a 31 percent clip. Brown gives the Mustangs another really good option offensively, and Stafford could be the team’s best shooter. Telfer is a glue guy who will do the dirty work and play solid defense. Brown averaged 5.5 points and two rebounds per game last year. Stafford scored 4.3 points and grabbed two rebounds per game while shooting 43 PCM BOYS | 14
Troy Hyde/Daily News Prairie City-Monroe senior Andrew Van Ryswyk, right, is back for the boys’ basketball team after leading the team in points and rebounds per game last season.
Key returners should help PCM girls climb HOIC ladder By Troy Hyde Newton Daily News
Troy Hyde/Daily News Prairie City-Monroe junior Regan Freland is a two-time all-state selection for Class 3A. She is back for the Mustangs after leading the conference in scoring a year ago.
Prairie City-Monroe’s girls’ basketball team won’t be tall, and the Mustangs won’t have a large roster, but head coach Jeff Lindsay likes what he sees from this year’s team. PCM returns two-time all-state guard Regan Freland and a host of players from last year’s squad, and Lindsay hopes the Mustangs can bounce back from their first losing season in at least 11 seasons. “I had an anticipation that there might be a smaller number this season, but I didn’t think it would be under 15,” Lindsay said at the team’s first practice of the season. ”The girls that are here though are the ones who want to be here. We’ll play with who we have and what we have.” What Lindsay has is an athletic bunch of girls who possess a lot of speed. He is optimistic based on what he saw from the girls this summer. “I like what I see. And I like what we have,” said Lindsay, who begins his third season at the helm. “They are athletic, they have speed and they have a different look in their eye than last year.” The Mustangs had 14 players when the season started but the number has
since grown to 17. Freland once again headlines the roster. She averaged 19 points, four rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.2 steals per game last season. She was one of the top scorers in the Heart of Iowa ConferWignall ence last season, and her 51 made 3-pointers helped her earn third-team Class 3A all-state honors for the second straight season. Freland begins her junior season with 755 career points. Her 20.4 points per game in conference contests last season ranks first among returning players. “She’s capable of being our top rebounder, too,’ Lindsay said. Lindsay wants Freland to play relaxed, and hopes improvements from her teammates can help take some pressure off her. “Her teammates want to be able to step up and help her,” Lindsay said. “She doesn’t always have to feel the heat. She’ll want the ball in the tough situations, but this team will be better if I have multiple girls who feel they PCM GIRLS | 14
14 Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019
PCM Boys Continued from Page 13 percent from 3-point line. Telfer scored two points and grabbed 2.2 rebounds per contest. “I like our experience,” Lorensen said. “And they always say you are as good as your guards, and I think we have two really good guards in Reed and Jason. It’s good to have some size. I think Isaac is going to have a really good year. “The question mark is just the depth behind those five guys who are back, but I think
there’s potential there.” Some of the other guys competing for playing time include juniors Colten Johnson and Cooper VanStafford deLune and sophomores Sage Burns, Gatlin Boell and Grant Landgrebe. “We saw a lot of them last summer and they played pretty well,” Lorensen said. “There might be surprises, but I would guess right now the depth will have to come from
PCM Girls
Continued from Page 13 can take some pressure off her. I think we have that.” The supporting cast includes seniors Camryn Wignall, Mackenzie Bussan and Morgan DeHaai, juniors Sierra Foster, Lexi Kuecker and Kate McCarthy and sophomores Emma George, Celeste Wagaman, Lilli Baird and Riley Hjortshoj. Freshmen Chelsea Bird and Emily Foster will not start the season on the varsity roster, but could work their way to that level as the season progresses. “They held their own this summer against varsity competition,” Lindsay in regard to Bird and Emily Foster. “There are obviously going to be spots for them now because of the numbers.” Baird was the second-leading scorer last season but a
Baird
torn ACL limited her to 16 games. Baird has been cleared to play, but Lindsay said they may take it slow with her during the preseason practices. Baird averaged 7.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game last season. Wignall, who is now two years removed from her torn ACL, put in 6.8 points and grabbed 2,8 boards per game last year. Wignall made 31 3-pointers, while Baird buried 26 shots from long range. The only other returner
PCM Wrestling Continued from Page 13
The HOIC tournament is now going to take place on a Friday night. This year’s meet is at Saydel High School on Jan. 18. That will allow the team to
What Can
S. Foster
that group.” The Mustangs, who were 16-6 overall and 11-3 in the Heart of Iowa Conference last year, always expect to be in the mix for the conference title. Defending HOIC champion South Hamilton brings back three of its top four scorers from its 24-1 team. The Hawks, who played in the state tournament the past two seasons, could be preseason ranked. Lorensen also thinks Gilbert, Greene County, North Polk and Roland-Story could be very competitive. Gilbert brings back its top who averaged more than two points per game last season was George. She scored three points per game for PCM. “I think we are going to have a fun season,” Lindsay said. “ There is a lot of opportunity for a lot of girls to play. We are not going to be big. We need to get up and down the floor. That will be key. We’ll play a lot of girls because that plays into the style of play.” Lindsay’s plan this season is to start either four guards and one post or five guards. Freland, George, Baird, Sierra Foster and McCarthy started for the Mustangs in the jamboree against Montezuma. “We have a group who will understand what there roles are, will play to the role and grow from it,” Lindsay said. PCM is coming off a 7-15 season. The Mustangs were 5-9 in the HOIC, trailing Nevada (12-2), North Polk (12-2), Roland-Story (12-2),
compete in the Ed Winger Invitational at Urbandale High School on Jan. 19. “That tournament will be beneficial for our guys,” Nicholson said. “It’s one of the best tournaments in the state every year. There will be some great competition. Guys win state titles who don’t win the Ed Winger title.”
three scorers, Greene County welcomes back its leading scorer and North Polk will gets its top four scorers and rebounders back in uniform. Roland-Story’s top two scorers also return. “We always want to be in the conversation for the conference title,” Lorensen said. “It looks like there will be about three or four teams in the mix for the top spot. We played South Hamilton to overtime last year and we had some chances to beat them up there, too. It’s just a matter of playing well.” Several players on this year’s roster were part of PCM 2018-19 Varsity Girls Basketball Schedule Nov. 17 — Chariton, 12:45 p.m. Nov. 20 — Knoxville, 7 p.m. Nov. 30 — Saydel, 6 p.m. Dec. 3 — Pella Christian, 6 p.m. Dec. 4 — North Polk, 6 p.m. Dec. 7 — Gilbert, 6 p.m. Dec. 11 — Greene County, 6 p.m. Dec. 14 — Nevada, 6 p.m. Dec. 18 — Roland-Story, 6 p.m. Jan. 4 — South Hamilton, 6 p.m. Jan. 7 — Grand View Christian, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8 — Fairfield, 6 p.m. Jan. 11 — North Polk, 6 p.m. Jan. 12 — Pella, 1 p.m. Jan. 15 — Roland-Story, 6 p.m. Jan. 22 — Saydel, 6 p.m. Jan. 25 — Greene County, 6 p.m. Jan. 28 — Collins-Maxwell, 6 p.m. Jan. 29 — Nevada, 6 p.m. Feb. 1 — South Hamilton, 6 p.m. Feb. 5 — Gilbert, 6 p.m. Home games in bold
Gilbert (7-7) and South Hamilton (6-8). Nevada lost its best player in Lexy Koudelka, who led the conference in scoring and rebounding. Lindsay expects North
PCM could start the season slower than normal because of how deep the football team advanced. Nicholson said he is giving all the football players a week off after their season so they may not start wrestling practice until Nov. 26. “They’ll get started late, but we are
Polk, Roland-Story and Gilbert to be the favorites when the season begins. His hope is that PCM can get to double-digit wins. “I want to see us get double digit wins. We are guaranteed 22 games, and I would like to see us get 12 or more,” Lindsay said. “That’s a realistic goal. “If we can rebound and play a little better defense, we can push teams who we were close to pushing last year and maybe get a split instead of getting swept and maybe sweeping some who swept us last year.” PCM opened the regular season against Chariton at Newton on Nov. 17. The Mustangs hosted Knoxville on Nov. 20 in Monroe. They begin conference play with a home game against Saydel at 6 p.m. on Nov. 30. Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 6536 or thyde@newtondailynews.com
Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 6536 or thyde@newtondailynews.com
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happy for them and the success they had in football,” Coach Nicholson said. “We’ll deal with it, and we’ll catch up. We’ll be dialed in and ready to go when it matters.”
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PCM’s football state championship team. Lorensen hopes the success can carry over on to the hardwood. “You would like to think the kids will come in feeling really good about themselves,” Lorensen said. “They had a lot of success. There is usually direct carry over into that. They should be feeling good about everything.” PCM opens the season at home against Saydel at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 30 in Monroe.
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Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019 15
C-M grapplers ready for another record-setting season By Troy Hyde Newton Daily News Colfax-Mingo’s wrestling program has made significant improvements in each of head coach Erin Hume’s first three seasons. In year four, the Tigerhawks expect to be even better. And with one returning state qualifier, three returning district qualifiers and with seven wrestlers who won at least 23 matches, it’s easy to see why the Tigerhawks are so excited. “There’s a lot of energy and lots of excitement,” Hume said. “Our returning wrestlers are eager to get on the mat. The put more mat time in this offseason than in any other year in their careers and are ready to show that. They are all one year older and are realizing they don’t have a lot of years left.” Headlining this year’s roster is senior Cauy Fitch. He enters his final prep season with 109 victories and is only 27 wins away from passing Colton Lourens on the alltime career wins list at the school. Fitch went 48-8 last year and advanced to state at 120 pounds. He was 1-2 at his first state meet. He was 26-3 at 106 as a freshman and 34-3 at 113 as a sophomore. C-M WRESTLING | 16
Troy Hyde/Daily News Colfax-Mingo senior Cauy Fitch, left, returns to the Tigerhawks’ lineup after advancing to his first state tournament last season. Fitch is 27 wins away from the school’s all-time record.
New coach Clemens looks to change culture around C-M girls program By Troy Hyde Newton Daily News Colfax-Mingo’s girls basketball program hasn’t had a winning record since the 2007-08 season, and the Tigerhawks have a won a combined 31 games in the past 10 years. New head coach Jeff Clemens is hoping to change the culture with a little bit of accountability. “I laid a thick book down at the start of the season and during my parent meeting, and I live by that book,” Clemens said. “The starters would have probably looked a little different in the jamboree, but a few kids missed practice. “I am not starting kids if they miss practice. It’s going to be a stricter culture. They used to get away with that stuff.” Clemens hopes being a little stricter and not allowing kids to miss practice will help get the Tigerhawks back to winning basketball games. After seven straight seasons of winning three or fewer games, former coach Larry Roberts won 12 games in his two seasons the past two years. Clemens has some good talent to work with. He just wants and needs them to be more accountable.
Colfax-Mingo 2018-19 Varsity Girls Basketball Schedule Nov. 20 — East Marshall, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 27 — HLV, 6 p.m. Nov. 30 — Montezuma, 6 p.m. Dec. 4 — Lynnville-Sully, 6 p.m. Dec. 7 — BGM, 6 p.m. Dec. 11 — North Mahaska, 6 p.m. Dec. 13 — Saydel, 6 p.m. Dec. 18 — Iowa Valley, 6 p.m. Dec. 20 — Sigourney, 6 p.m. Jan. 3 — Collins-Maxwell, 6:30 p.m. Jan. 4 — Keota, 6 p.m. Jan. 8 — Belle Plaine, 6 p.m. Jan. 11 — Tri-County, 6 p.m. Jan. 15 — HLV, 6 p.m. Jan. 17 — English Valleys, 6 p.m. Jan. 18 — Montezuma, 6 p.m. Jan. 22 — Lynnville-Sully, 6 p.m. Jan. 25 — BGM, 6 p.m. Jan. 28 — Iowa Valley, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29 — North Mahaska, 6 p.m. Jan. 31 — Melcher-Dallas, 6 p.m. Feb. 4 — Baxter, 6 p.m. Home games in bold
“There was a lot of factors to the losing records,” Clemens said. “If you want to play, you come to practice. If you have four unexcused absences, you’re out, you’re done. And that’s not counting other school functions or academic stuff. I won’t put basketball in front of their academics. “The first step is to build a culture though. We have to start that early. And let them know the expectations from the start.” Things got off to a pretty sol-
id at this year’s jamboree. The Tigerhawks faced Class 3A Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont and won the half 14-11. “The stuff we worked on defensively a few days before the jamboree translated to competition,” Clemens said. “We got burnt a couple times early because they were getting used to how the other team ran their offense. They eventually started shutting them down. “Offensively, we were out of sync.” The offense was led, like it was so much last season, by senior Payton Rhone. She finished with seven points, and her sister Brennan Rhone, a sophomore, had four points. Clemens thinks this year’s team can go 10 deep and doesn’t want to rely solely on Payton Rhone. “We have to get other kids scoring some points,” Clemens said. “Brennan has gotten a lot better even since the open gyms this summer.” Payton Rhone was eighth in the South Iowa Cedar League in scoring last year at 12.5 points per game. She ranked second in made 3-pointers with 67 and hit them at 37 percent clip. C-M GIRLS | 17
Troy Hyde/Daily News Colfax-Mingo senior Payton Rhone (5) averaged 12 points per game to lead the Tigerhawks last season. She is playing for her third coach in four years after Jeff Clemens took over the program in the offseason.
16 Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019
C-M Wrestling Continued from Page 15 Hume says Fitch plans to stay at 120 this season, which should make him even better than he was a year ago. “He’s ready. Him and his brother Cyden were side-by-side this summer going all over the place,” Hume said. “The did freestyle, folkstyle, went to a some camps, wrestled at the Disney Duals, and wen to the AAU Junior Olympics. They took advantage of any mat they could get.” Juniors Cyden Fitch and Trystin Ross are the other returning district qualifiers. Cyden Fitch was 40-14 last year at 126. He was 25-10 as a freshman and is 65-24 in his career. He is expected to the starter at 126 again this season. Ross also won 40 matches last year at 160 as he improved from being 19-16 as a freshman. He’s bigger and stronger, too, and will start the season at 170. “He was third at a very tough district,” Hume said. “He had to beat a guy who beat him earlier in this season. He won matches at the end of the season that I don’t think he wins if its at the beginning of the year. He made
Colfax-Mingo 2018-19 Varsity Wrestling Schedule Nov. 29 — Lynnville-Sully/ North Mahaska/Belle Plaine, 6 p.m. Dec. 1 — Woodward-Granger Tournament, 9 a.m. Dec. 4 — Interstate 35, 5:30 p.m. Dec. 6 — Roland-Story (South Hamilton/Saydel), 6 p.m. Dec. 11 — English Valleys (Fairfield/Sigourney-Keota), 6 p.m. Dec. 13 — PCM (Gilbert/Roland-Story), 6 p.m. Dec. 15 — North Polk Tournament, 9:30 a.m. Jan. 3 — Montezuma (BGM), 6 p.m. Jan. 5 — PCM Tournament, 9 a.m. Jan. 8 — Collins-Maxwell (Baxter), 6 p.m. Jan. 10 — Bondurant-Farrar/HLV, 6 p.m. Jan. 17 — Iowa Valley, 6 p.m. Jan. 19 — Colfax-Mingo Tournament, 9 a.m. Jan. 22 — Moravia, 6 p.m. Jan. 26 — Tri-County (SICL tourney), 10 a.m. Feb. 2 — Pleasantville (Sectionals), Noon Feb. 9 — Montezuma (Districts), Noon Home meets in bold
some huge strides as the year went on and is ready to pick up where he left off last season.” Other key returners this season include seniors Damir Gumerov and Skyler Aikin, junior Zack Barnes and sophomore Noah Strohmeyer. Gumerov was 28-11 at 182 last season and will make the jump to 195 this year. Aikin was 24-17 at 220 last year and will stay at that weight for his final season. Strohmeyer was 23-16 at 106
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as a freshman. The plan is to keep him at 106 for another year. Barnes, who was a district qualifier as a freshman, plans to wrestle at 113 this season. The rest of the starting lineup could include junior Hunter Green at 132, either freshman Gabriel Gwinn or junior Tim Carroll at 138, Carroll or junior Andrew Meinhart at 145, Meinhart or junior Josh Smith at 152, senior Holister Koenig at 160, senior Xavier Anderson or junior Isaac Clouse at 182 and a host of competition at 285 including, juniors Jakob Chapman and Andres Villegas, sophomore Jared Gorman or freshman Kenny Schlosser. The roster of 30 also features five girls, including senior Ilia Hostetter, junior Chloe Forck and freshmen Mariah Webster, Kylie Doty and Destiny McBride-Dannels. “I am excited for the season, and they are excited for the season,” Hume said. “They wish our first meet was tomorrow.” The Tigerhawks set a school-record in dual wins last year when they finished 33-4. They won the South Iowa Cedar League meet by 74 points. Cary Fitch is a two-time SICL champion, while Cyden Fitch and
Barnes are two-time finalists. Barnes won his first title last year, and Cyden Fitch and Gumerov were both runner-ups. “It’ll be a tougher year,” Hume said. “We had great kids and great numbers last Gumerov year. It will be closer this year. It will be a battle, and we are excited to battle for it again. I think we’ll be underdogs though.” The Tigerhawks were third at sectionals last season despite finishing higher than a ranked team. This season, Hume thinks his team could be the favorites at its Class 1A site at Pleasantville. “We got a good draw, and that hasn’t always been the case,” Hume said. “Our slogan this year is ‘greater later.’ We want to do things now to be greater later in the season.” The Tigerhawks open the season at home in a quadrangular against Lynnville-Sully, Belle Plaine and North Mahaska at 6 p.m. on Nov. 29. Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 6536 or thyde@newtondailynews.com
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Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019 17
Tigerhawk boys start over with new coach Rague By Troy Hyde Newton Daily News Junior Brady Berkey is back, and senior Zarek Hill returns to the roster after a one-year hiatus, but the rest of the Colfax-Mingo boys’ basketball program is starting over after graduating four of its top five scorers and its top three rebounders. Mark Rague takes over the Tigerhawk Rague program after Nick Noring resigned following two years on the post. Hill will be Rague’s only senior and Berkey is the only player who had significant minutes last season. Rague got a pretty good look at his team in competition Hill when the Tigerhawks scrimmaged Colo-NESCO on Nov. 17. “We did things well in spurts,” Rague said. “But there’s room to grow. The mistakes are fixable. And I can live with mistakes as long as we can learn from them.” Berkey averaged 9.8 points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals per game last season. “He’s going to lead by example, and he has to be willing to take some chances, which I think he will,” Coach Rague said of Berkey. Berkey was a big part of Colfax-Mingo finishing 15-6, which Colfax-Mingo 2018-19 Varsity Boys Basketball Schedule Nov. 27 — HLV, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 — Montezuma, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 — Lynnville-Sully, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 — BGM, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 — North Mahaska, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 — Saydel, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 — Iowa Valley, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20 — Sigourney, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3 — Collins-Maxwell, 8 p.m. Jan. 4 — Keota, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8 — Belle Plaine, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 11 — Tri-County, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 — HLV, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 — English Valleys, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 — Montezuma, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22 — Lynnville-Sully, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25 — BGM, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29 — North Mahaska, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 — Melcher-Dallas, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 — Baxter, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 — Southeast Warren, 7:30 p.m. Home games in bold
C-M Girls Continued from Page 15 Rhone was first in made 3-pointers inside SICL play with 51. She starts her final season with 533 career points. “We are trying to get Payton to penetrate or stop and pop if her 3-pointers aren’t on early,” Clemens said. “That will help her as she transitions to the college level.” The Tigerhawks were 7-15 last year but lost their second leading scorer (McKeely Tjaden) and top two rebounders (Ries Wilson and Tjaden) from that team.
was the best overall record in least the past 10 seasons. But Rague will have to replace one of the best players in school history in Jarod Nichols as well as Jonathan Jacobs, Reegan Van Dyke, Misha Seebeck and Alex Lewis, who accounted for a little more than 80 percent of the team’s points a season ago. Rague is expecting a balanced attack offensively after Berkey. “I also expect all of my players to play multiple positions,” Rague said. The rest of the varsity lineup after Berkey and Hill includes juniors Wyatt Gull and Anthony Haney and sophomores Jake Nichols, Zach Steenhoek, A.J. Gibson, Jordan Lundin and David Rague. Hill averaged 2.8 points and 1.1 rebound per game in 13 games as a sophomore. “He’s going to be one our leaders, and we’ll lean on that,” Coach Rague said of Hill. “I appreciate him coming back out and helping us this season.” Jake Nichols played in seven games last year and averaged .6 points and 1.1 rebounds per contest. Steenhoek also saw action in nine games last year. Coach Rague plans to transition the defense from a zone to more man-to-man. “The most mistakes we make may be with defense because it’s new,” Rague said. “There’s a learning curve.” Colfax-Mingo was 11-5 in the South Iowa Cedar League last season, trailing only Lynnville-Sully (15-0) and Montezuma (14-2) in the West Division. The Braves bring back their top four scorers, while L-S graduated its top three scorers and four of its top five rebounders. HLV, BGM and North Mahaska were all under .500 overall and in conference play. Keota was the top team in the East Division but all but leading scorer J.D. Stout was lost to graduation. The Tigerhawks have won 38 games the past three seasons. They didn’t win more than nine games in a season the seven years prior to that. “I would love to be a team which is dangerous come postseason time,” Coach Rague said. “We are interested in growth. We need to grow every day.” Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 6536 or thyde@newtondailynews.com
But a large senior class including Payton Rhone, Jordan Atwood, Colbee Cunningham, Delaney Un d e r w o o d and Camilla Schlosser Clemens should help fill the voids. And adding freshman Avery Rague to the mix certainly doesn’t hurt. Atwood is the second leading returning scorer from a year ago. She averaged six points and 5.2 rebound per game. Schlosser was next at
Troy Hyde/Daily News Colfax-Mingo junior Brady Berkey (2) is one of the only returners from last year’s 15-6 season. Berkey averaged nearly 10 points per game last year.
4.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Underwood averaged 3.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game and Cunningham put in 2.2 points and grabbed 3.6 boards per contest. Atwood, Underwood and Cunningham also led the team in assists and Underwood and Cunningham were the top two in steals a year ago. The sophomore class includes Brennan Rhone, Riley Carroll and Crystal Lincoln. The freshmen who dressed varsity for the jamboree were Rague, Melany Vry and Kyra Lester.
“The basketball IQ is not as high as I would have hoped at this point, but I saw a lot of good things in the jamboree,” Clemens said. “I think for the kids going up against a 3A school and hanging with them for a half is a good sign.” Clemens plans to go deeper on his bench because he wants to pressure opposing teams with more man-to-man defense. “I don’t want them to play like they are afraid to lose. I want them to go hard all the time,” Clemens said. “I think we have enough talent to play man-to-man, put pressure on people and
make it tough. “I think we will surprise some people. Right now, we are just trying to have some fun.” Three teams from SICL begin the season ranked in 1A. Montezuma starts second, North Mahaska is fourth and Lynnville-Sully sits 10th. The Tigerhawks opened the season at home against East Marshall on Nov. 20. They start conference play against HLV at 6 p.m. on Nov. 27 in Victor. Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 6536 or thyde@newtondailynews.com
18 Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019
Baxter girls expect to makes strides in new season By Troy Hyde Newton Daily News Eric Padget’s second stint as high school girls’ basketball coach in the Baxter community resulted in only five wins last season. And despite losing four players from that squad to graduation, Padget still expects things to be better in 2018-19. The Bolts return more than 50 percent of their scoring and a large chunk of their rebounds from last year’s squad, and Padget hopes a successful Baxter 2018-19 Varsity Girls Basketball Schedule Nov. 16 — BCLUW, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 — Lynnville-Sully, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 27 — GMG, 6:30 p.m. Dec. 4 — Meskwaki Settlement School, 6 p.m. Dec. 6 — Madrid, 6 p.m. Dec. 7 — Collins-Maxwell, 6 p.m. Dec. 11 — North Tama, 6:30 p.m. Dec. 17 — Morman Trail, 6 p.m. Dec. 18 — Colo-NESCO, 6 p.m. Dec. 20 — Don Bosco, 6 p.m. Jan. 3 — Grand View Christian, 6 p.m. Jan. 4 — Clarksville, 6 p.m. Jan. 7 — Saydel, 6 p.m. Jan. 8 — GMG, 6 p.m. Jan. 15 — Meskwaki Settlement School, 6:30 p.m. Jan. 17 — Gilbert, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 — Collins-Maxwell, 6:30 p.m. Jan. 21 — North Tama, 6:30 p.m. Jan. 29 — Colo-NESCO, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 1 — Waterloo Christian, 6 p.m. Feb. 4 — Colfax-Mingo, 6 p.m. Home games in bold
summer league translates to similar success this winter. “We are expecting better things. I am optimistic,” Padget said. “It will be difficult to replace the four seniors from last year, but we need to continue to make strides.” Padget started a basketball league on Sunday nights this summer. The league included Colfax-Mingo, Pleasantville and Perry, and the four teams played each over the course of four weeks. The Bolts had a lot of success in those four weeks. “We learned a lot,” Padget said. “We will have interchangeable parts this year. I think we have about 10-12 of the same player.” The top two scorers — Jordynn Wesselink and Sailor Hinegardner — are gone but seniors Sydney Schmidt and Kaylin Van Ryswyk are back along with juniors Holly Jessen, Caitlyn Bruntz and Sadie Meyer and sophomores Sophie Meyer and McKenzie Eslinger. Jessen averaged seven points and four rebounds per game last season. She is expected to be in a much bigger offensive role this season. Padget also will rely more on Van Ryswyk inside. She averaged 4.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season. Bruntz perhaps is the most improved Bolt heading into the season.
Troy Hyde/Daily News Baxter junior Holly Jessen, right, fights for a loose ball last season. She’s back this season and is expected to be in the starting lineup for the first time in her career.
The program started a shooting club back in April, and Bruntz put up 18,000 shots this summer. “She fell in love with the game last summer,” Padget said. “She’s always asking questions on how to improve
her game. No one has worked harder on her game. They had to replace the net at her house because she wore it out.” BAXTER GIRLS | 20
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Baxter boys seek first conference basketball championship By Troy Hyde Newton Daily News Getting so close to a conference championship last season gives the Baxter boys’ basketball team something to strive for in 2018-19. And with its two leading scorers returning this season, the Bolts have as good a chance as anyone to claim their first Iowa Star Conference South Division title. “The kids are wanting a conference championship,” Baxter head coach Zach Hasselbrink said. “It’s a similar situation as last year. We lost some kids to graduation, but bring back two huge pieces. Our goal is to win it. We were close last year.” The Bolts were close. They were 8-2 in division games. Colo-NESCO won the title at 9-1, and its win in Baxter late in the season sealed the deal. The two teams split their two games last season, but the Bolts opened conference play with a home loss to GMG. The good news for the Bolts is that Colo-NESCO graduated its top six scorers and rebounders. The bad news is most of the rest of the league should all be better than they Baxter 2018-19 Varsity Boys Basketball Schedule Nov. 27 — GMG, 8 p.m. Dec. 4 — Meskwaki Settlement School, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 — Madrid, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 — Collins-Maxwell, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 — North Tama, 8 p.m. Dec. 15 — Montezuma, 5:30 p.m. Dec. 17 — Morman Trail, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 — Colo-NESCO, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20 — Don Bosco, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3 — Grand View Christian, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 4 — Clarksville, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 7 — Saydel, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8 — GMG, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 — Meskwaki Settlement School, 8 p.m. Jan. 18 — Collins-Maxwell, 8 p.m. Jan. 21 — North Tama, 8 p.m. Jan. 26 — EBF, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 29 — Colo-NESCO, 8 p.m. Feb. 1 — Waterloo Christian, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 — Colfax-Mingo, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 — Lynnville-Sully, 7:30 p.m. Home games in bold
Damman
Thomson
were a year ago, too. “We have only had two practices, but we know who we are,” Hasselbrink said. “There’s no secret how we want to attack other teams.” The Bolts will rely heavily on senior post Will Clapper and junior guard Cole Damman again this season. Clapper was one of the best players in Class 1A last season. He averaged 17.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest. Hasselbrink, who starts his third season as coach of the boys’ program at CMB and Baxter, thinks his best big man will take his offense outside the paint more this season. “We have a lot of big guys, so we’ll need one of them to step outside and hit some elbow jumpers,” Hasselbrink said. “That is something Will can do. We’ll also ask him to keep being who is he with his back to the basket, too. He’ll get a lot of touches.” Clapper begins the season with 945 career points. Damman was the team’s second leading scorer at 12.4 points per game last season. He also ranked second in assists per game at 3.8, led the team in steals at 2.2 per game and grabbed 2.7 rebounds per game. Damman missed most of the football season with a shoulder injury, but has since been released and is practicing at 100 percent, according to Hasselbrink. “He’s good to go, and he’ll have an even bigger role this
season,” Hasselbrink said. “We lost some pretty good players so Will and Cole will have to take more shots to compensate. We’ll run a lot of things through both guys, and they’ll take about the same number of shots.” Having their top two players back is big for the Bolts, but if they want to win the conference title, they’ll have to get some help from an inexperienced supporting cast. The top supporter will be senior Ian Thomson, who has started at guard each of the last two seasons. He averaged two points per game last year. “He’s a big part of what we do,” Hasselbrink said. “He needs to be consistent on his 3-pointers. That’s his role. That’s been his role.” Some of those players who will have bigger roles this season include seniors Brendyn Padget and Tyler Titus, junior Carter Nelsen and sophomore Kael Johnston. Nelsen averaged 1.4 points and 1.7 rebounds per game last year, but made a bigger impact on the team late in the season. Padget will get an expanded role, too, after averaging 1.5 points last season. Johnston gives the Bolts another option at guard after scoring 1.5 points per game a year ago. Titus is back out for basketball after not playing the last two seasons, but Hasselbrink expects an immediate impact. Padget’s role has not been defined yet. Hasselbrink is unsure whether or not he’ll start or be the first guy off the bench. “We need to see where he fits into the puzzle, but he will play a lot,” Hasselbrink said. “He wants to start, but he may give us some needed energy off the bench.” Johnston did not play football in the fall to focus on his basketball skills. His lack of varsity experience could slow him down early, but he’s good
Troy Hyde/Daily News Baxter senior Will Clapper (42) is back for one final season in a Bolts’ uniform after averaging 17.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game last year.
enough to play a big role at some point. Senior Derrick Klemme is another player who could move into a varsity role. Hasselbrink said Klemme “has taken huge strides this season and is doing things in practice that will make it hard to keep him off the floor.” Senior Dalton Heer and freshman Rory Heer are two others who have enough athletic ability and speed to help out this season. Their roles are unknown at this time, but Hasselbrink, and new assistant coach Rob Luther, hoped to get more refined answers at the team’s jamboree at Martensdale-St. Marys on Nov. 20. The Bolts were 12-11 a sea-
son ago but a chunk of those losses came against two-time defending champion Grand View Christian (25-1), state qualifiers Don Bosco (24-4) and Lynnville-Sully (22-4) as well as Montezuma (19-4), Colfax-Mingo (15-6) and Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (20-4). This year, they play all of those teams again, and add Morman Trail (15-3) and Madrid (15-8). The Bolts open the regular season on the road against GMG at 8 p.m. on Nov. 27 in Garwin. Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 6536 or thyde@newtondailynews.com
Baxter wrestling continues to grow in numbers By Troy Hyde Newton Daily News Baxter’s wrestling team raked leaves at various houses around town this fall. The Bolts wanted to make sure the community knew there was a wrestling team to root for. There’s a different feeling in the Bolts’ wrestling room this season. And second-year coach Richard Beeler has enough bodies to compete for a few dual wins this season. The roster wasn’t large enough to compete on the team last season. This year’s squad has grown to nine. “The kids are more willing to learn and have good work ethic,”
Beeler said. “The kids are buying in. We are treading water as much this year.” Senior Austin Good returns after winning three matches last year. The senior class also features newcomers Ben and Zander Huff and Andrew Esqueda, who wrestled for CMB as an underclassmen. There are no juniors on the roster. The sophomores are Micah Kearns and Brad Matthews, who both won three matches last season. The freshmen class includes Nick Nelsen, Austin Roush and Cole Maige. BAXTER WRESTLING | 20
Troy Hyde/Daily News Baxter senior Austin Good, top, is one two seniors on this year’s wrestling roster, but the team has grown to nine wrestlers this season.
20 Winter Sports Preview 2018-2019
Baxter Wrestling Continued from Page 19
The sport is growing at the school. There are more than 10 kids on the junior high team. “The school went all in on wrestling so we are excited to be able to continue to grow the sport,” Beeler said. “We even got a new mat this year.” Good will start the season at 145 but could drop to 138 at some point. EsqueBaxter 2018-19 Varsity Wrestling Schedule Nov. 29 — Sigourney-Keota (Quadrangular), 6 p.m. Dec. 6 — North Tama (Triangular), 6:15 p.m. Dec. 8 — South Tama County Tournament, 9:30 a.m. Dec. 13 — Lynnville-Sully, 6 p.m. Jan. 3 — English Valleys (Belle Plaine/Collins-Maxwell), 6 p.m. Jan. 5 — North Mahaska Tournament, TBD Jan. 8 — Collins-Maxwell (Colfax-Mingo), 6 p.m. Jan. 10 — North Mahaska (Triangular), 6 p.m. Jan. 15 — Woodward-Granger, 6 p.m. Jan. 17 — Lynnville-Sully, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 19 — North Tama Tournament, 10 a.m. Jan. 22 — North Tama/Don Bosco, 6 p.m. Jan. 26 — ACGC Tournament, 6 p.m. Feb. 2 — Pleasantville (Sectionals), Noon Feb. 9 — Montezuma (Districts), Noon Home meets in bold
da plans to wrestle at 152 and Ben and Zander Huff will start at 195 and 160, respectively. Kearns will be the team’s 220-pounder and Matthews plans to wrestle at 145 after weighing in the 170s last season. Nelsen is a middleweight guy anywhere Kearns from 132 to 145, Roush is 126 and Maige is 120. “There’s potential in the room,” Beeler said. “The mentality feels different already. We have more an all in attitude.” The Bolts open the season in a quadrangular at 6 p.m. on Nov. 29 in Sigourney. “I’d like to see us win Matthews a couple of duals this season,” Beeler said. “We are not there yet, but when someone walks by, it looks like we’re having a productive practice.” Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 6536 or thyde@newtondailynews.com
Baxter Girls Continued from Page 18
The three captains in 2018-19 will be Jessen, Schmidt and Sadie Meyer. Schmidt averaged two points and 4.3 rebounds last year and Sadie Meyer scored two points and grabbed three boards per contest. Eslinger gives Padget a second option with Van Ryswyk in the post. Eslinger scored 4.3 points and grabbed 4.1 rebounds per game in her first high school season last year. Other players who could see varsity court time includes senior Brenna Thomson, sophomore Merrin Ziesman and freshman Lilie Vansice. The Bolts were strong in rebounding and defense last year, but if they want to climb the ladder in the Iowa Star Conference, they’ll need to score more than the 38.7 points per game they averaged last season. “Everything in year two is easier than it was in year one,” Padget said. “We should know the offense better. I want them to know it well enough
that they can improvise it and still keep it fluid. Rebounding will also be an emphasis.” Defending Iowa Star Conference South Division champion Colo-NESCO brings back Schmidt eight of its top 10 players from last year. Collins-Maxwell brings almost everyone back from its 18-5 team last year and Meskwaki Settlement School’s top five scorers also return. Padget hopes a Sadie Meyer deeper bench this season will allow for more pressure defensively. “In our conference, applying pressure defensively is what will work better,” Padget said. Contact Troy Hyde at 641-792-3121 ext. 6536 or thyde@newtondailynews.com
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