2017 Durant Softball Preview

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

The Durant Wildcats won 36 games last summer, the most by a class 2A team, and advanced to the state tournament placing 7th, ending their year in Ft. Dodge again last summer.  The Wildcats claimed the outright 2016 River Valley Conference title along the way to another fine softball season.  Head coach Steve Hopkins was named the coach of the year in the River Valley South Division after leading the Wildcats to a conference record of 17-1.

The Wildcats return seven starters from last year including their top hitter in senior catcher Cathy Ralfs.  Ralfs batted .441 with 60 hits and 51 RBI’s.  She had only one error in 194 chances behind the plate and caught three base stealers.

The three returning infielders for the Wildcats were all, All-RVC South all-conference selections.  The Wildcats right side of the infield in first baseman Kamryn Meyer and second baseman Aubrey Werthmann and third baseman Haleigh Carnes were those players.  Meyer was a utility selection and Werthmann and Carnes were infield selections.

Carnes batted .352 with 45 hits and 36 RBI’s.  Werthmann batted .336 with 41 hits, 2 HR and 36 RBI’s.  Meyer batted .306 with 41 hits, 25 RBI’s.  She pitched to a 3-0 record in three starts in 24 innings and a 2.04 ERA with 26 strikeouts.

On paper, the Wildcat outfield of Hannah Happ, Ruby Kappeler and Kelly Alexander return.  However, they shift around.  Happ will move to centerfield, Kappeler will take over at shortstop and Alexander will remain in right field.  Happ was an All-RVC selection as a freshman.  She batted .431 with 47 hits, 17 RBI’s and had a team high 22 stolen bases.  Kappeler was a honorable mention selection and batted .333 with 39 hits, 18 RBI’s as a freshman.  The versatile Wildcat can also catch if needed.  Alexander is a lefty bat with some pop in the Wildcats line-up.  Alexander batted .282 with 35 hits and 23 RBI’s last season.

In the pitcher's circle will be a trio of sophomores in Meyer, Jenna Lawson and Mallory Warner.  Lawson, a lefty, could be the ace out of spring camp.  Lawson was 3-0 in 17 2/3 innings last year with a 2.02 ERA.  Warner was 2-0 in 14 innings and a 1.00 ERA.

Gone from last year are 2016 seniors Shannon Telsrow and Jasmine Lawson.  Telsrow, the Wildcats offensive leader at shortstop last year, had 57 hits, a team best 5 home runs and 26 RBI’s from the leadoff spot.  She had an on-base percentage of .506 and batted .413.  Lawson made 35 starts last season and pitched 220 innings.  She was 28-6 with a 1.69 ERA and 137 strikeouts to only 29 walks.  She also batted .227 with 2 home runs.

Durant will play an aggressive schedule this summer.  Weekend tournaments in Cedar Rapids on May 27, North Scott on June 8 and 9, Linn-Mar on June 23 and 24 and Mid-Prairie on Saturday, July 1.  The Wildcats will host two home Saturday round robin tournaments.  One on June 3 and another on June 17.  The Wildcats will play Keokuk at home to begin the season and travel to Wapello in late June for non-conference games.  The Wildcats will travel to Wilton on June 12 and host Iowa City Regina on June 26.

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

The 2016 North Cedar baseball team got more wins to their record than the 2015 Knight team and made steady improvement last year.  This year, many of those players return for another go around through the rigors of the River Valley Conference.  Longtime baseball coach Scott Jackson returns to lead the North Cedar squad.  He will have five returning players from the starting lineup last season.

The Knights have five seniors on the roster this year in Byron Boleyn, Jacob Jensen, Carter Johnson Andrew Reif and Aaron Woodward.

Senior Aaron Woodward will be the ace of the pitching staff, getting the ball on opening night.  Woodward has a good arm and is the top returning pitcher and can play multiple positions.  Despite not recording a win in five starts, he did throw 26 innings and get 31 strikeouts.  At the plate, he was second on the Knights last year in hitting with a .273 batting average with 21 hits, 3 home runs and 15 RBI’s.  He was a All-RVC North Division all-conference selection last year.  

Senior Carter Johnson is also back.  Johnson pitched and played first base and was a starter last season.  Johnson appeared in eight games, starting one in 20 2/3 innings.  He also batted .226 with 19 hits and 13 RBI’s.  Johnson was a honorable mention all-conference pick last year.

Two of the three Knight outfielders return in centerfielder Jacob Jensen and right fielder Byron Boleyn.  Jensen batted .235 with 16 hits and Boleyn batted .234 with 15 hits and 11 RBI’s.  Andrew Reif also returns and the speedy senior will move from the outfield to the infield to play second base.  Reift batted .267 in 30 at-bats last year.

The Knights have several utility players.  Rounding out the line-up will be sophomore Alex Woodward along with freshmen Ethan Sahr and Tyler Thurston.  Sahr played a bit last year, with 28 at-bats and a .115 average.

Numbers will be a concern the whole season for the Knights.  North Cedar will have only 17 players in grades 8-12 and will have to stay healthy all season to have a chance to compete.

2017 Tipton Baseball Preview

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

Nearly everything went right for first year Tipton coach Troy Smock last season.  The Tigers tallied 16 wins and challenged to break the school record for wins in a season (17), finishing 16-16, after a 16-15, winning record in the regular season.  Smock brought new energy and excitement to the program and the team responded.  The Tigers played games at the University of Iowa and at the Cedar Rapids Kernels stadium.

The Tigers graduated starters Griffin Ormsby (of), Adam Hermsen (of), Riley Ford (3b), Mark Becker (ss), Nate Moeller (1b) and Matt Pelzer (UT).

Pezler batted .382 with 39 hits and had a 3-4 pitching record in 43 1/3 innings.  Becker batted .353, Moeller .300, Hermsen .247, Ford .230 and Ormsby .143.

The Tigers roster is made up of seniors Kolton Crock and Daulton Mente; juniors Quinten Mesick, Logan Hoffman and Bryce Deerberg; sophomores Jared Hightower, Luke Becker, Dylan Mente and Jacob Tischuk and freshmen Gavin Belitz, Elliot Cummins, Connor Hermiston, Kael Jauron, Colby Kleppe and Trent Pelzer.

The Tigers will be led by two River Valley Conference all-conference players in senior Daulton Mente and junior Logan Hoffman.  Mente returns to catch after having a fielding percent of 95.3.  He batted .308 with 33 hits, 1 home run and 20 RBI’s.  He also stole 10 bases and was one of two catcher selections to the All-RVC South Division team.  He pitches and had two starts with a 1-1 record in 17 innings and 19 strikeouts.

Hoffman started four games and appeared in four others and had a record of 4-3 in 52 innings.  He had a team best 3.37 ERA and struck out 26 batters.  He batted .371 in 97 at-bats last year with 36 hits and 19 RBI’s.  He was an All-RVC honorable mention selection last year.

Also back from last year are outfielders Bryce Deerberg and Quinten Mesick.  Mesick will patrol center field.  The speedy outfielder batted .313 in 67 at-bats last season, his first as a Tiger.  He stole 15 bases and had 14 RBI’s.  Defensively, he made only three errors all season and had a fielding percentage of 93.3.  Deerberg pitched and played in the field.  Pitching, he had a record of 2-3 in 19 2/3 innings.  He is a lefty hurler and had a ERA of 3.71 in five appearances.  Batting, Deerberg batted .167 and stole three bases.

The Tigers host their home tournament on Saturday, June 3.  The Tigers play at the Pella Christian tournament on June 17 and at the NE Goose Lake Tournament on Saturday, July 1.  Tipton plays non-conference games at Lisbon, Lone Tree, Calamus-Wheatland, Davenport North and a home game with Midland.

2017 Durant Baseball Preview

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

The Durant baseball team had another good year with 16 wins last season.  The win total marked the second straight season Durant has won 15 or more games.  Just three seasons ago, the Wildcats had nine wins and a sub-.500 record.  The Wildcats fell 8-6 to state ranked NE Goose Lake in the postseason to end their season.

Graduation losses mounted heading to this season as only four of the starting nine return from last season.  However, those four are at pitcher, catch and both middle infielders.

Durant will be led by three players that earned all-conference honors last season, all three were RVC South Division selections.  Back are pitcher Reese Bird, infielder Jake Conley and utility player Curtis Lilienthal.

Lilienthal was the leading Wildcat hitter last season with a .360 average in 100 at-bats.  He had 36 hits, 16 RBI’s and an on-base percentage of .413.  He also pitched, starting two games and appearing in 11.  He had an ERA of 3.16 in 24 1/3 innings pitched.  

Bird started 10 games last season and had a 5-4 record in 58 2/3 innings pitched.  He had a team low ERA of 2.15 among the Wildcat starters.  He struck out 49 and opposing batters batted .156 against him.  At the plate he batted .208 with 10 hits and 9 RBI’s.  

Conley has started at shortstop since he because a varsity player for the Wildcats.  Conley batted .372 with 32 hits, 14 RBI’s and 18 stolen bases.

Bird and Conley will play baseball at Blackhawk Community College next year.  Also back is starting catcher Colin Weih.  Weih will begin his third year behind the plate as the starter and batted .275 with 22 hits last season.

Gone are all three outfielders from last season - Joey Tobin (.402 ave., 35 hits 11 RBI’s),  Gavin Meyer (.304 ave., 21 RBI’s, 28 hits) and Adam Wiese (.174 ave) - and corner infielders Brandon Dykes (.341 ave., 28 hits, 13 RBI’s, 2-1 record, 4.50 ERA) and Jake Benischek (.308 ave., 28 hits, 16 RBI’s, 5-7 record, 2.42 ERA).

In early games this season, Durant has filled out the lineup card with sophomore Mason Compton in centerfield, Bryce Lafrenz at third base or first base, Luke Whitlock, Cole Miedema in the outfield.  Marcus Engstler also will see time in the line-up this year.

Durant has a stretch of five straight home games from Monday, June 19-Tuesday, June 27.  Coming to Durant in that stretch are Camanche, Monticello, Mid-Prairie, Iowa City Regina and Keokuk.  The Wildcats also host West Liberty, North Cedar, Louisa-Muscatine and Mediapolis this season.  Durant travels to Wilton on Monday, June 12.

2017 Tipton Softball Preview

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

The Tipton softball team won five more games than the previous year and made strides last summer in turning things around.  Having a team with just one-win in the summer of 2015, the Tigers won six last summer.  The Tigers had 64 more hits, scored 23 more runs, had 15 more extra base hits, drew more walks and drove in more runs than in 2015.

The Tigers will turn the reigns of the program to second year coach Brooklyn Koranda.  Koranda, who played softball at Maquoketa and in college, was the coach-in waiting last year as longtime softball area coach Keith Chapman guided the 2016 Tigers.  Former Tigers Kelly Wendel (Carpenter) and Jaden Compton will serve as assistant coaches.

The Tigers return three starters from last season.  Two of which are their starting battery of pitcher Morgan Wendel and catcher Laken Hermiston.  Wendel made 21 starts as an eighth grader and logged 108 innings.  She had 78 strikeouts and had a 3-13 record.  Hermiston had just one fielding error last season and was the Tigers fourth leading batter with 22 hits, 2 HR and a .232 batting average.  Outfielder Hunter Humphrey also returns.  Humphrey batted .200 last year as a freshman.

Also back are seniors Rylee Conrad, Mara Jauron and Kelsi Hein.  All three offer leadership for the younger players and have been through the battles of many summers through the River Valley Conference.  Conrad and Jauron will miss some time early in the year for state golf after the Tigers reached state for the first time.  Conrad pitches and plays in the field.  She batted .246 last season with 17 hits and a home run.  Jauron, an outfielder had 83 at-bats and batted .253 with 21 hits and 6 stolen bases.  Hein batted .250 in 44 at-bats and can play many positions in the field.

Gone from last season are all-conference centerfielder Maggie Bormann (graduation) and third baseman Allie Ryan (injury), and pitcher/shortstop Emilee Hamann (transferred).  Bormann batted .223 with 23 hits and 7 stolen bases.  Ryan was the Tigers leading batter with 27 hits, 11 RBI’s and 2 HR to go with a .284 batting average.  Ryan injured her knee this past basketball season.  Hamann transferred to Lisbon.  She made 12 starts and was the winning pitcher in both of Tipton’s RVC wins last year and got the start in the Tigers Regional opener at Wapello where the Tigers lost 1-0.

The Tigers schedule will take a swing through the class 4A MAC conference with road varsity doubleheaders at Clinton and Davenport North.  The Tigers will also travel to Central City in their non-conference schedule.

Tipton will play in three weekend tournaments highlighted by their own tournament on Saturday, June 3.  Tipton will play at the Bellevue tournament on Saturday, June 17.  The Tigers will play at the Clear Creek-Amana tournament on Friday, June 23 and Saturday June 24.

2017 Wilton Baseball Preview - Beavers In For Another Good Season

By Ryan Stonebraker
Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

WILTON — Last season was another fine baseball season for the Wilton Beavers.  A 29-win season and head coach Jake Souhrada got his 500th victory last year were a couple highlights from the season.  The Beavers 29 wins tied for the most in class 2A last season.  

The Beavers said goodbye to seniors Chaz Hartman (outfield), Zach Randolph (shortstop), Javin Drake (pitcher and infield) and Jon Henessee (catcher) after they graduated.  

Drake led Wilton in batting (.491 ave., 55 hits, 40 RBI’s) and pitching (10-1 record in 72 IP, 122 k’s, 12 bb’s, 0.29 ERA).  Randolph batted .321 with 36 hits and 20 stolen bases and he had a 90-percent fielding percent.  Henessee batted .389 with 35 hits and 19 RBI’s and threw out 12 base stealers last year from behind the plate.  Hartman batted .310 with 27 hits and 21 RBI’s.

This season, the Beavers begin the season ranked number-2 in the preseason class 2A rankings and have five returning players from their starting lineup last year.

Four of the Beavers returners will return with All-RVC All-conference honors.  Seniors Evan Reifert, Jake Lenker and Kaleb Timmsen were on the Elite team and Jared Townsend was on the South Division team at utility.

Reifert was an elite selection at pitcher.  He will attend NIACC next year to play baseball.  Reifert was 9-0 in 49 innings in nine starts.  He had an ERA of 1.29 and 92 strikeouts against 25 walks.  At the plate, he batted .450, second on the team, with 50 hits, 43 RBI’s, 24 stolen bases and 13 doubles.

Timmsen was an Elite team outfielder.  He will move into the field and catch this season.  Timmsen batted .432 in 95 at-bats with 41 hits and 26 RBI’s.  He is an outstanding fielder and had no errors last season on defense.

Lenker batted .365 with 31 hits and 19 RBI’s and Townsend batted .394 with 39 hits and 28 RBI’s.  Townsend pitched and had a record of 5-1 in 37 1/3 innings with a 1.69 ERA.  Senior Brady Barrett returns at first base.  Barrett batted  .295 in 44 at bats with 14 RBI’s.

The biggest class for the Beavers out is their sophomore class.  Nine sophomores dot the  Beavers 2017 roster this season.  When Reifert pitches, sophomores Colin McCrabb and Cory Anderson will play third base and shortstop.  Chantz Stevens, Garrett Bohnsack and Brian Stillman also figure to see time this year in the line-up or in the field.  McCrabb had 15 at-bats last year and batted .333 and had four starts and a 1-2 record in 22 innings.

Others on the varsity roster are senior Matt Paustian, juniors Nolan Leaton and Austin Pleggenkhule and sophomores Brayton Wade, Ashton Stoelk and Brock Hartley.

The Beavers will play many of the schools in the larger MAC conference in non-conference games.  Wilton will host Davenport Central, Davenport Assumption and Muscatine and travel to Davenport West and Davenport North.  The Beavers also will play Mediapolis, Wapello, Easton Valley, Mt. Vernon and Fairfield in non-conference games.

2017 Wilton Softball Preview - New hope for Beavers this year

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

The Beavers withstood some ups and downs last season to post another successful softball season.  Wilton won 17 games and return six of their starters from last year and add new talent to the mix.  The Beavers got highlight wins over Mid-Prairie, a state ranked Louisa-Muscatine team, Washington, Davenport Central and West Burlington among others.

Three all-conference players will lead the way for Wilton.  Seniors Falloyn Grunder and Amanda Fowler and sophomore Kortney Drake all earned conference honors.

Grunder, a pitcher, was a All-RVC South Division pick after making 31 starts last summer.  She was 15-17 with a 4.09 ERA and 74 strikeouts.  She also batted .292 with 26 hits, 3 home runs and 11 RBI’s.  Fowler, will start in the outfield for the third straight season and was also a All-RVC South Division pick.  She was second on the team in batting last year with a .371 batting average and 46 hits.  She hit four home runs and had 27 RBI’s.  Drake returns to start at second base.  The lefty batter had a batting average of .352 and 44 hits, third on the team in both categories last year.  She had 14 RBI’s and drove in 10 runs too.

Catcher Alexis Mauer is back after batting .297 with 35 hits and 16 RBI’s, but will move to the outfield as 2015 starting catcher Emily Lange returns.  Both will see time behind the plate.  Also back are 2016 starters shortstop Allison Bosten (.218, 19 hits, 3 HR, 21 RBI’s) and first baseman Reagan Scarboro (.266, 21 hits).

New to the line-up this summer are freshman designated hitter Karlie Schult and 8th graders Chloe Wells, Alexis Walker and Rori Allen.   In early games, Schult is batting .471, Wells is the team’s leading hitter, batting .545 with 2 home runs and Walker is batting .385.  Wells will start at third base and also pitch this season.  In early 2017 games, Wells is 3-1 in four starts with 16 strikeouts to 2 walks.

Gone from last year are senior third baseman Megan Kublik and outfielder Aubrey Putman.  Kublik now plays for Kirkwood Community College and led Wilton in batting last year with a .431 average with 10 home runs and 35 RBI’s to go with 53 hits and a .764 slugging percent.  Putman batted .333 with 23 hits, 3 home runs and 17 RBI’s as a freshman.

Wilton will play at weekend tournaments at Louisa-Muscatine on May 27, at Solon on June 3, at Fairfield on June 9 and 10, at Muscatine on June 23 and 24.  The Beavers play at Columbus Junction in the non-conference and have home non-conference home games with Wapello, Fort Madison and Keokuk.  The Beavers will host rival Durant on June 12 for a conference doubleheader.

2017 North Cedar softball preview

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

The North Cedar Knights will look to keep building this season under second year coach Kari Martin.  Martin is back to offer stability to the Knights program that saw two coaches in two years in the 2014 and 2015 season.  Last year, Martin set the base for the young program, one that reached a Regional Final in 2014, by infusing excitement into the program and a back to the basics approach. The Knights have really made strides in their offense this summer to start the 2017 season.  In four of their first six games this summer, they have scored two or more runs in those games including an 8-4 win at Bellevue.  That win was the first RVC victory since June of 2015.

The Knights return six of their nine starters from the start of the 2016 season and two all-conference players from last year.  Sophomore Alyssa Barnhart was an All-RVC pick last summer.  Barnhard made 17 pitching starts and logged 114 1/3 innings.  She led North Cedar in hitting with a .382 batting average in 89 at-bats with 34 hits, 10 RBI’s and 21 stolen bases.

Catcher Katie Thompson is back.  Thompson is a good defensive catcher and showed that as a freshman.  She batted .265 in 83 at-bats last summer and had 11 RBI’s.  Senior first baseman Morgan Sander returns and will be a two-year starter there.  Sander moved up from the JV team last summer and batted .239 with 16 hits.  Infielder Kaci Gottschalk is back after playing a lot of second base last summer.  Gottschalk makes contact with the ball and works hard to get better.

Two of the three starting outfielders return led by junior Anna Petersen.  Petersen was an honorable mention all-conference selection last summer.  Petersen was second on the Knight’s team in batting with a .313 average in 80 at-bats with 25 hits and a team high 19 RBI’s.  Junior Taylor Tenley also returns.  Tenley didn’t play softball in 2015, but returned last season and batted .132 and gave the Knights another solid outfielder.

North Cedar lost Kaylee Entwisle to graduation and shortstop/pitcher Emily Hay to injury.  Entwisle batted just under .100 in 77 at-bats, but was a good defensive outfielder for the Knights.  Hay, injured her knee in basketball season and will miss the season.  Hay pitched last year, making 11 starts and batted .250 in 76 at-bats last season.

The Knights will play in weekend tournaments at Jesup on Saturday, May 27, West Branch on June 3 and at Springville on June 10.  North Cedar will play Marion in late June in a non-conference game.

Summer 2017 team photo page

Reifert Places third in Long Jump

Wilton senior Evan Reifert qualified for the state meet in three events.  He joined fellow senior Kaylee Ford in Des Moines.  Ford qualified in two distance events.  Reifert qualified in the long jump, the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter dash events.  All three of those events were on Thursday’s afternoon session.

Reifert placed third in the long jump last Thursday.  Reifert’s best preliminary jump distance came on his first jump at a distance of 20-feet, 8.25-inches.  He is fortunate to get that jump in as he would foul on each of his next two jumps, avoiding elimination.  In the finals, he recorded his best jump of 21-feet, 1-inch that would give him third place.  he fouled on his second jump and had a last finals jump of 20-08.  Half of the eight finalists in the event, jumped their best jump in the finals with two of those, including the long jump champ - Miles Rupiper (Carroll Kemper) - came in their last jump in the finals.

Reifert ran in the 200-meter dash prelims.  There, he placed 9th and narrowly missed qualifying for Saturday’s finals.  Reifert had a 9th place finish in a time of 22.85 which was .17 behind Noah Anderson of PCM who placed 8th, the last finals spot.  Two other RVC runners also competed there with David Gonzalez of Comanche finishing 5th and North Cedar’s Bryce Bemer also in the prelims.  Gage Clay from AHSTW and Madrid’s Michael Santi went 1-2 in the prelims and the finals as Clay won the state title in 21.98 and Santi was second in 22.02.

Reifert competed in the 400-meter prelims.  There, he placed 13th in 51.65.  Kyle Sinnott from Albia won the event in a time of 49.32  Brett Daley from Treynor was second in 49.91 and Nathan Ward from South Winn was third in 50.12.

Ford ran in the 3,000-meter run last Thursday.  Ford was the runner-up in the 3,000 at the Tipton state qualifying meet.  At state, Ford placed 15th in a time of 11:17.56.  The River Valley Conference was represented well in the event with seven of the 24 runners in the event from the conference.  Mid-Prairie sisters Anna Hosteler won the event and set a new state record in a time of 9:47.52.  Sister Marie Hosteler was second in a time of 9:52.50.  They were the only two runners to have a sub-10:00 time.  Jordan Winke from Albia was third in a time of 10:13.52.  Of the 24 runners only seven were seniors.  

Ford ran in the 1,500-meter run on Saturday afternoon.  There, she finished 20th in a time of 5:10.05.  The Hosteler sisters went 1-2 in the event with Anna winning in 4:33.41 and setting another state record for class 2A in the event.  Marie Hosteler was second in 4:36.81.  The third place runner was over four seconds behind the leaders with Sophia Jungling from Aplington-Parkersburg placing third in 4:40.61.  Like the 3,000-meter run, the RVC had a lot of runners in the event.  One-third of the field of 24 were from the River Valley Conference.  Other RVC runners were Paige Holub (Monticello), Madeline Rhomberg (Cascade), Cam Reeg (Bellevue), Corinne Gradient (Monticello), Ford, and Kenzie Mente (Tipton).  

Both Reifert and Ford will continue their athletic careers at the next level.  Ford will run at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa and Reifert will play baseball at NIACC Community College.

Buddy Darting also ran in a pair of distance events.  Darting placed 22nd in the 3,000-meter run and 23rd in the 1,600-meter run.  

Wilton sophomore Kortney Drake also ran in a pair of events, placing 23rd in the 200-meter dash and 15th in the 400-meter dash.

Wolf, Myers compete in long jump at State

Two Durant girl’s track athletes competed at the state meet last week.  Both were long jumpers.  There, senior Autumn Wolf and teammate Amorae Myers were in the field of 24 in the event.  Durant was one of three teams that had two long jump entries.  The others were Grundy Center out of the North Iowa Cedar League and Iowa Valley out of the South Iowa Cedar League.

Wolf placed 15th overall with a best jump of 15-feet, 1.25-inches.  That distance came on her last preliminary attempt of three.  Wolf jumped 14-05 in her first attempt and fouled on her second attempt.

Myers placed 18th overall and had a best jump of 14-feet, 10.5-inches.  Myers had three preliminary jumps, but did not advance to the 8-person finals field.  Myers first jump was 14-8.25.  Her best jump was her second attempt and her third attempt was 13-7.5.

Rylee Menster of Springville won the event with a best jump of 16-feet, 11-inches.  That jump came on her third prelim jump which earned her a trip to the finals of the event.  In all Menster, a junior, had six attempts.  Charisse Ward from Iowa Valley, a junior, was the runner-up with a best jump of 16-03 and Grundy Center freshman Kyah Luhring was third with a best jump of 16-2.75.  

Five Tiger Events Compete At State

The Tipton boy’s track team sent five events to the 2017 state track and field meet last week.  There, the Tigers had three relays and two individual events compete.  The Tiger relays that qualified were their 4X800, 4X400 and shuttle hurdle relay team.  Two individuals, Quinten Mesick and Wes Zell also qualified.

Thursday was the big day for Tipton with three of the five events competing.  Mesick was in the first flight of the event.  He placed 21st overall with a best jump of 18-feet, 6.25-inches.  That jump was his last jump in the prelims.  He jumped 18-06 in his first attempt and fouled in the second attempt.

The Tigers highest state finish came from its shuttle hurdle relay team.  The team of freshman Frank Bierman, senior Parker Jensen, senior Brandon Claussen and senior Wesley Zell just missed out on a spot in the finals of the event Saturday.  Tipton’s team ran to a finish in 1:01.61.  Cherokee won the prelims in 59.85.  The other finals qualifiers were Cascade, Central Decatur, Pleasantville, West Lyon, South Central-Calhoun, Van Meter and Oelwein.

The Tigers also had a seconded relay team compete last Thursday.  The 4X800-meter relay team of Bryce Deerberg, Sam Bierman, Trent Pelzer and Noah Jedlicka placed 22nd in a time of 8:54.24.  Dike-New Hartford won the event in a time of 8:01.33.  Mid-Prairie was the top RVC finisher with a third place finish in 8:07.97.  Cascade and West Branch also competed in the event.

On Friday, Wes Zell ran in the 110-meter high hurdle prelims.  There, Zell placed 14th out of 24.  Zell finished in a time of 15.49.  Michael Santi from Madrid won the prelims in 14.57.  Riley Barrett from Aplington-Parkersburg was second in 15.04 and Will McAllister from Cascade was third in 15.14.  Cooper Kabela from West Branch was 18th in 15.73 and one of five RVC competitors in the event.  In the finals, Santi won in 14.76 and McAllister was second in 14.94.

The Tigers also ran in the 4X400-meter relay prelims.  The Tigers 4X4 relay team of Dalton Clark, Isak Skeie, Dillon McCollough and Quinten Mesick placed 15th in 3:32.36.  Albia won the prelim round in a time of 3:22.80.  Other finals qualifiers were Dike-New Hartford, Des Moines Christian, Anamosa, Dyersville-Beckman, Kingsley-Pierson-Woodbury Central, Forest City and Pleasantville.  In the finals, Albia won the event with the team of Tony Leshen, Kyle Sinnott, Drew Winke and Jacob Clouse in 3:20.46.

Knights Run In Five Events At State Meet

The North Cedar boy’s track team sent five events to the state meet last week in Des Moines.  There, the Knights ran in three relay events and two individual events.  The Knights 4X200, 4X100 and spring medley relay teams were joined by Seamus Raney in the 800 and Bryce Bemer in the 200-meter dash.

On Thursday, Bryce Bemer ran in the 200-meter dash prelims.  Bemer did not finish the event.  Gage Clay won the event.  The AHSTW runner qualified for the finals with a time of 21.69.  Other finals qualifiers were Jacob Clouse of Albia, Michael Sandi of Madrid, Marcus Mumm from Tri-Center, David Gonzalez from Camanche, Connor Blough from Dike-New Hartford, Ethan Wyant from Jesup and Noah Anderson from PCM.  Clay won the event in the finals in 21.98.

North Cedar had two relay events compete at state last Friday.  The Knights 4X200 and 4X100-meter relay teams were in action.  The team of Jacob Jensen, Bryce Bemer, Miles McCullough and Greg Hansen had the fourth fastest time in the prelims to advance to the finals of the event the next day.  The relay team finished in a time of 44.40.  Other state qualifiers were Albia, Dyersville-Beckman, Camanche, North Fayette Valley, Boydon Hull/Rock Valley, Woodward Academy and Carroll Kuemper.  On Saturday, the team looked to medal at state, but they would have to withdraw from their head of the finals after a bad exchange on one of the handoffs.  Albia won the event in the Saturday finals with a winning time of 42.67.

The other relay event in action for North Cedar was their 4X200-meter relay team.  The team of Jacob Jensen, Bryce Bemer, Miles McCullough and Greg Hansen placed 8th in a time of 1:33.42.  Albia won the event in 1:28.14 and Dyersville-Beckman was second in 1:31.50.

On Saturday, the Knights had two events they were in.  North Cedar ran in the sprint medley relay early in the day.  The North Cedar team of Jacob Jensen, Miles McCullough, Greg Hansen and Seamus Raney were 17th in a time of 1:38.32.  South Winn won the meet in a time of 1:35.44 setting a new record while North Fayette Valley was third in 1:35.62 and Treynor was third in 1:36.04.

Seamus Raney also ran in the 800-meter run. There, he placed 24th in 2:12.89.  Alec Still from Kingsley Pierson-Woodbury Central won the event in 1:56.53 while Keagon John from New Hampton was second in 1:57.45 and Wyatt Schmidt from NE Goose Lake was third in 1:57.64.

From the Cheap Seats: Meyer's enjoying the 2017 spring golf season

Wilton head girl's golf coach Jamie Meyer, left, and Tipton senior golfer Kailee Meyer have had a unique spring season.  Contributed photo.

By Ryan Stonebraker

As a dad, you steal memories where you can of your kids and cherish them forever.  For Wilton girl’s golf coach and Tipton resident Jamie Meyer one of those times happened last golf season at the Wilton Invitational.  There, daughter Kailee, then a junior, won the medalist honors at the 18-hole meet in the spring of 2016.  As expected, the coach of the home meet awards the top players with medals and gives out the team scores.  This time, when he got to the medalist, Meyer got to announce his daughter as the winner.

“Golf is the least spectated sport in high school.  I have gotten the rare opportunity to watch my daughter play a sport that I love.  I’ve gotten to share my knowledge with my kids in Wilton, but, I also get to be a dad and watch Kailee because Tipton has been in many of our meets,” said Jamie.  

“I can watch her from afar.  Last year at our tournament here in Wilton.  It was cool, Kailee was the meet medalist and I got to shake her hand and announce her as having the low score for the day.  I got some grief from my kids ‘Coach, it’s Rigged”, but it was all in fun, and they know Kailee well enough to tease her.  If I am just Jamie dad, I wouldn’t have had that opportunity and I probably would not have been at the meet because invitationals are during the day and for most people, it’s hard to get away during the day, “ he said.

For both Jamie and Kailee Meyer and their family in Tipton, this golf season has been special.  Kailee, now a senior and will graduate next week, leads Tipton’s golf team and is one of three seniors in the Tigers lineup.  Jamie, works for the Wilton community school district as the curriculum and professional development leader and girl’s golf coach.

Kaillee Meyer, statistically is the best golfer in the River Valley Conference South.  She leads the RVC South in scoring average per 9 holes with a 47.14 average and is tops in the combined 9 & 18 course rating average with a score of 49.25.  Both averages rank in the top-20 for class 2A among all 2A golfers.

Meyer put in a lot of time this summer getting ready for her senior season, having a goal to play 36 holes of golf a week and spend 3-4 days at the golf course.  She said that getting to the state meet was something the Tigers realized early they had a shot at.

“I guess it was always there.  We look at our averages and other teams averages after the duals.  We were like, yeah we are pretty good, but then we finished 2nd and 3rd at two invites and won our home invite,” she said.

The Tigers sport an outstanding 40-3 record going into the district meet and have a team nine-hole average of 197.62 which is third in class 2A for 9-hole, top-4 players total average.  They are sixth in 18-hole average for their top-4 players total.

Jamie Meyer has led the Beavers to back-to-back district appearances this week and the 2017 River Valley Conference golf title.  The Beavers are led by seniors Alyssa Anderson and Eleney Owens and Tess Kerkhof.  Anderson and Kerkhof were on the RVC Elite team at the conference meet and Owens was on the honorable mention team.  

Meyer coached golf at Tipton for nine years and is in his third season with the Beavers.  He had led eight teams to the district round of the postseason and led the Tipton boy’s golf team to state three times.

“A lot of people think it’s weird, but I am used to dad coaching Wilton.  It is kind of nice to have him around, but I told him that he can’t follow me around on the course.   It doesn’t really bother me though that he coaches at another school,” said Kailee.

Though he is not her high school coach, Meyer does get a few questions from time to time from his daughter.

“It was interesting.  When the opportunity for me to coach at Wilton came up, I remember asking her (going into freshman season), if she would be ok with me coaching.  She didn’t give me a yes-no answer, more of a “Whatever”.  I told her that it would give me a chance to see her play more golf because there are several times that Tipton and Wilton dual or are in Invites.  

Now, she’ll still ask for my opinions over the weekends or ask me to watch her swing.  She has a good ear and receptive to my suggestions or information I will share with her,” said Jamie.

As good as the Tigers have been, the Beavers are right behind.  Wilton is sixth in class 2A for 9-hole, top-4 players total average.  The Beavers are 10th in 2A in 18-hole average for their top-4 players total and join the Tigers at the district meet in Jesup.

“It is nice to play with people you know.  We (Tipton) don’t know the other two teams (Jesup and Sumner-Fredericksburg).  It’s been nice that we both had had success. It’s nice that we both will be there, I am friends with a lot of them.   I have been going back and forth with their #1 (Alyssa Anderson) and it is nice that she is there too, because it pushes me to play well,” said Kailee.

Meyer has been the medalist or tied for the medalist honors in four Tipton meets this season.  She was runner-up medalist at three meets including the River Valley Conference meet.  The Tigers have had four different players earn medalist honors this year.

Meyer really shines in invitationals where she drops strokes consistently from the first nine to the second nine.  She dropped nine strokes at the Tigerette, 10 from the sectional meet this year and four at the Mid-Prairie Invitational.  Both Meyer’s credit maturing as a player for that.

“I always go play by play and hole by hole now.  If I have a bad shot I shake it off more and move to the next shot.  In past years I didn’t do that well, this year, I think I have improved a lot with that.  It’s like, ‘I hit a bad shot, but there is a next one’.  

Her dad agrees.  He has noticed her improvement in keeping her poise on the course.

“I think that goes back to her maturing as a player from her freshman year to letting things bother her to now as a senior where she lets things go,” said Jamie.  

“One of the things I tell her is, and something that I share with my girls at Wilton, is the whole idea of you don’t want to get locked into a score.  For example if you get a 10 on the first hole then you, you start pushing and it gets into your head.  Instead, if you have a bad shot, you have to move onto the next shot and make the best shot you can from there.  You have to keep going from there.  It’s a mental approach,” he said.

Kailee will attend Central College in Pella next fall and study secondary math.  She is still weighing possibly competing in volleyball or golf for the Dutch.

The state golf tournament is Tuesday, May 30 to Wednesday, May 31 at Jester Park Golf Course in Granger, Iowa.

Year Of The Tiger! Tigers dream season continues for another Week with State Trip

Off To State!  The Tigers magical season continues as they THS girl's golf team qualified for the 2017 girl's state meet after winning the Jesup district meet last week.  Pictured here are, l-r: Mara Jauron, Kailee Meyer, Addy Duwe, Rylee Conrad and Brittany Huinker.  Back row: head coach Heath Hesse and assistant coach Chad Rezac.

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor, Tipton Conservative

JESUP — The 2017 Iowa Girls state golf tournament will include the hometown Tipton Tigers among the teams qualifying for the state meet this year.  Tipton shot a team best 404 for the 18-hole Regional Monday afternoon to punch their ticket to the state meet next week.  It will be the first time since 2009 that a Tipton girl’s team has reached a state tournament.  That year, the Tigers girl’s basketball team qualified for the class 2A state tournament.

Tipton girl’s golf coach Heath Hesse thought that the scores would be  close all day, but after the first nine, he had to hold his breath the last nine holes.

“It is definitely exciting to be going to state.  Our total score of 404 is close to our goal of being under 400 for today.  After the front nine where we were at 198, I didn’t think we were playing that well.  I was holding my breath the whole 18 holes,” said Tipton golf coach Heath Hesse.

Tipton senior Mara Jauron watches a tee shot fly during the Tigers state qualifying meet at Jesup last week.  The Tigers qualified for the state meet for the first time in school history.  Photo by Ryan Stonebraker.

Tipton led by five strokes over second place Sumner-Fredericksburg after the first nine holes, 198 to 203.  Jesup was also in the mix at 205 and Wilton was fourth after the first nine with a score of 216.  Jesup hosted the meet and had two golfers score under 50 in the first nine including Isabell Distler with a meet best 42 on the first nine.  Three others, including Tipton’s Meyer shot 47’s on the first nine.

“We have had teams and individuals get this far, but not get through to state.  To be this year, with this team is pretty great,” said Hesse.

“We are such a close team.  We are truely a team.  We haven’t had to rely on one girl to lead us.  We have had several different medalists or kids tie for medalist honros tis year, it’s been incredible,” said Hesse.

Tipton senior Kailee Meyer led Tiger scores with a 96 18-hole score.  She shot a 47 on the first nine and shot a rare higher score on the second nine of 49.

“I feel like the nerves kicked in when we got here.  We knew that we were one of the top team with score averages coming in and we wanted to stay with Sumner-Fredericksburg.  I’m happy that we played ok,” said Meyer.

Meyer will cap her senior year off with one more memory.  After helping the Tiger volleyball team to a state ranking and the basketball team to a good year, she will end her athletic career at the state golf meet.

“It’s cool that my last event at Tipton will be  going to state for golf.  It caps everything for my season year.  I am really excited to get to be with these guys another week.  To go to state with our team is going to be nice,” she said.

Mara Jauron dropped four strokes from her first nine score of 52 to shoot a 48 on the second nine. That 48 score as well as Meyer’s 49 on the second nine were two of the three lowest individual scores on the second nine holes.  

“Looking at the scores today, and when they announced them it was crazy.  I think we all knew we were in good shape, but once they they said fourth, Wilton and third, Jesup, it got really exciting,” said Jauron.

Sumner-Fredericksburg qualified as the second team out of the Jesup Regional after shooting a team low 205 on the second nine holes.  Tipton shot a 206 on the second nine holes.

Other Tipton scores were Rylee Conrad 103, Brittany Huinker 105 and Addy Duwe 119.

Conrad had a smile from ear to ear afterwards and said that she is very excited for her team to get a chance on the state stage.

“It is awesome.  Considering that we all were struggling today, none of us had our best day out there.  But, we are moving on and it feels amazing,” said Conrad.

 

Two seniors led Wilton on the day with Tess Kerkhof scoring a 101 and Alyssa Anderson a 103.  Other Wilton scores were Annabel Grings 109, Eleney Owens 117, Riley Hammann 119 and Taylor Garvin 123.

Wilton golf coach Jamie Meyer said it is hard to end the season and memories made this year, but his team reached their goals this year.

“We had three team goals this year.  First, more wins than losses.  Second, 4th or higher at the RVC meet.  Third, advance out of the first round of regionals.  You can check all three boxes on our team goals,” said Meyer.

“Sadly, we picked a poor times to shoot our worst 18 hole score of the season.  When you move past the first round of regionals, you have to play great golf to have a shot to qualifying for state.  I truly believe the MId-Prairie tournament was a turning point for us as a team.  Our 2nd place finish kind of came out of nowhere, but seemed to instill in the girls we had a chance to be really good this year.  We lost only one dual meet after this point and placed 2nd and 1st in our next two tournaments,” he said.

Durant’s Paige McKee will also be going to state as an individual.  McKee placed 5th overall with a score of 99 to get the last individual qualifier spot.  McKee shot a score of 51 on the first nine, and dropped three strokes on the second nine to shoot a 48.  McKee had a consistent day with hole scores of 5 or 6 on 14 of the 18 holes played.  She shot a 4 on the fourth hole on the first nine and a 3 on the fourth hole on the second nine.

Wilton will lose four seniors from this year’s team including two in the top-7 in Alyssa Anderson and Tess Kerkhof.

“Alyssa and Tess have been mainstays on the varsity during my three years with the program.  They have earned several medalist honors and both earned Elite All-Conference this year,” said Meyer.

“They will be sorely missed next year.  The cupboard is not bare, but we have our work cut out for us to duplicate this past season.  We will need Eleney, Annabel, Riley, Tatum, and Taylor all to make strides this summer in their golf game and turn into the type of people that can be the next group of girls we "always count on" for their score,” he said.

Meyer noted that his golf parents support did not go unnoticed by him or his team.  The loyal followers of the team made several away meets this season and their support was great.

The 2017 girl’s state golf tournament will be held at Jester Park Golf Course near Granger, Iowa in central Iowa.  The meet will be Tuesday, May 30 and Wednesday, May 31 with each team playing 18 holes each day.

Class 2A Jesup District Meet

Monday, May 22

At Jesup

Team Score: 1. Tipton 404, 2. Sumner-Fredericksburg 409, 3. Jesup 422, 4. Wilton 430.

Individual Qualifiers:

1. Courtney Olson (Clayton Ridge) 93, 2. Alyssa Swehla (Sumner-Fredericksburg) 93, 3. Isabelle Distler (Jesup), 4. Kailee Meyer (Tipton) 96, 5. Paige McKee (Durant) 99.

Individual Team Results:

TIPTON (404): Kailee Meyer 47-49 96, Mara Jauron 52-48 100, Rylee Conrad 49-54 103, Brittany Huinker 50-55 105, Addy Duwe 58-61 119.

SUMNER-FREDERICKSBURG (409): Alyssa Swehla 47-46 93, Mariah Nuss 52-51 103, Sydney Rhea 50-56 106, Kiley Kime 55-52 107, Callie Yearous 54-56 110, Jaiden Jacobson 54-58 112.

JESUP (429): Isabelle Distler 42-54 96, Jenna Tolle 49-53 102, Sydney Andrews 54-52 106, Emily Burke 63-55 118, Karson Schaufenbuel 66-74 118, Kelsi Brown 66-74 140.

WILTON (430): Tess Kerkhof 51-50 101, Alyssa Anderson 50-53 103, Annabel Grings 54-55 109, Eleney Owens 61-56 117, Riley Hammann 61-58 119, Taylor Garvin 61-62 123.