Beavers Bash Tigers In Season Opening Wins

TIPTON - For the second straight season, the Wilton softball team has swept their season-opening River Valley Conference doubleheader.  Last season it was West Branch, this season, Tipton. The Wilton Beavers started their 2018 season on the road at Tipton with a doubleheader sweep of the Tigers by scores of 13-2 and 17-2.  Both games ended by the mercy rule. The Beavers have a scary team offensively with multiple ways they can score runs and will be a team to watch in the River Valley Conference this season.

Game 1 - Wilton 13, Tipton 2 (5 innings)

Wilton 8th grader Peyton Souhrada was collected her first varsity win after starting the game and going the first three innings.  She gave up two runs on two hits while striking out four and walking four Tipton batters.

Seven Beavers had multi-hit games in the win.  Kortney Drake was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI’s and two runs scored.  Taylor Garvin also was 3-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI’s. Karlie Schult, Chloe Wells, Payton Ganzer, Kali Milder and Lexi Maurer each had two hits.

Wilton scored three runs in the first inning and sent eight batters to the plate.  The Beavers put the game away with a 6-run second inning. Wilton batted around in the inning.  Chloe Wells had a two-run single in the inning while three others, Kortney Drake, Karlie Schult, and Payton Ganzer, had RBI singles in the inning.

The Tigers scored their first runs of the season in the bottom of the third inning.  The Tigers sent a game-high six batters to the plate in the inning, scoring twice. Ashley Mente blasted a one-out double that one-hopped the outfield fence to get the rally going.  Bryanna Simmermaker walked. Both would score with two outs on an error by the Beavers on a ball put in play by Keeli Claussen.

Wilton scored two runs each in the top of the third and fourth innings to get the score to an 11-run lead after five innings.  Wilton led 11-2 after three innings.

Morgan Wendel took the loss after giving up 13 runs on 11 hits.  She struck out one and walked one batter. Five different Tigers had hits.  Mente, Simmermaker, Grace Nichols, Claussen, and Kamryn Chapman accounted for the Tiger hits.  Tipton had six stolen bases in the game. Simmermaker had two while Mente, Nichols, Claussen and Britney Ford had the others.  

Game 2 - Wilton 17, Tipton 2 (4 innings)

Wilton capped off the night with a 17-2 win in four innings to start the season 2-0.  Wilton scored 30 runs in the two games. The second game saw Wilton freshman Chloe Wells have a monster game.  Wells, who was an All-State player last year as an 8th grader, was 3-for-3 with a double and two home runs. She drove in 8 runs in the game.  In the two games against the Tigers, she collected 11 RBI’s. She had 25 RBI’s last year for the whole season.

Wilton scored runs in each of the first four innings.  Wilton led 8-0 after two innings and scored three in the third and six runs in the top of the fourth to capture the 17-2 win.

Tipton scored single runs in the bottom of the third and fourth innings, both off of RBI singles.  Ashley Mente had a 2-out RBI single in the third that scored Laken Hermiston and Hailey Stewart had a 1-out RBI single in the fourth that scored Grace Nichols.

Peyton Souhrada was the winning pitcher, collecting her second varsity win after going two innings and not giving up a run on one hit.  She struck out three and walked two. Mila Johnson pitched two innings in relief and struck out two batters.

Two other Beavers had multi-hit games.  Kortney Drake was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI’s, three runs scored and a double.  Taylor Garvin also was 2-for-3 and had a double and RBI. Karlie Schult, Souhrada, and Emily Coss each had hits.  Coss and Schult each had 2 RBI’s.

Taylor Wendel took the loss after pitching four innings.  She gave up 17 runs on eight hits. She struck out three and walked six batters.

Tipton had six hits in the game.  Laken Hermiston was 2-for-3 with a double to lead Tipton.  Allie Ryan, Ashley Mente, Grace Nichols and Hailey Stewart each had hits.  Mente and Stewart each had RBI’s, and Kaylea Claussen had a stolen base.

Beavers Outlast Chiefs in extra innings, 10-9 To Win Third Straight Game

WILTON — The 2018 home opener for Wilton was not easy, but the Beavers came away with a 10-9, 8-inning win over non-conference foe Keokuk to improve to 3-0.

Keokuk batted around in the top of the first inning, scoring four runs on two hits and knocking Wilton starter Peyton Souhrada out of the game.  Mila Johnson came into the game in relief and pitched 3 1/3 innings before handing the game over the Chloe Wells who would get the win after four innings of relief pitching.

The Beavers trailed 4-0 after the top of the first and started to chip away at the Chief lead.  The reputation of Wilton freshman third baseman Chloe Wells followed her into the game. Wells came into the game with 11 RBI’s and 2 home runs, all coming in the Beavers season-opening sweep at Tipton.  Wells blasted her third home run of the season in the bottom of the first, scoring Karlie Schult who had reached base on a one-out single. Wells would reach base all five times in the game, but the following four were via walks.

Wilton tied the game at four in the second.  A Kortney Drake RBI single and a bases-loaded walk to Wells for an RBI were the runs.  Keokuk scored three runs in the fourth to take a 7-4 lead. Wilton responded with a four-run fourth to grab the lead back at 8-7.  The score was 9-8 Wilton when Keokuk tied the game in the top of the seventh sending the game to extra innings.

Wilton held the Chiefs in the top of the eighth and won the game in the bottom of the eighth.  Kortney Drake doubled to lead off the inning and went to third on a Schult single. Chloe Wells walked to load the bases with no outs.  Taylor Garvin lined out to second base for the first out, as the runners did not advance. Then on a 1-1 count, Payton Ganzer singled to right field, scoring Drake for the walk-off hit and win.

Wilton had 11 hits in the game.  Kortney Drake and Karlie Schult each were 3-for-4 with two runs scored.  Drake had a double and 2 RBI’s. Each had a stolen base. Payton Ganzer was 2-for-5 with a double and a team-high 4 RBI’s.  

Wendel Pitches Perfect Game Against Eagles

  WYOMING — What a way to get a win. The Tipton softball team got their first win of the 2018 season and matched their 2017 win total all in one night. Last Friday, the Tigers got a pitching gem from sophomore Morgan Wendel in a 12-0, three-inning road win at Midland. Wendel, pitched a perfect game in the win. The Tigers improved to 1-2 with the victory.

  Wendel faced the minimum nine batters in the game and struck out five of the nine batters she faced. Midland had three groundouts, two to shortstop, and the other to first base. Midland led off the bottom of the second inning with a fly out.

  The victory was a big boost for the Tigers and for Wendel. The Tigers were outscored 30 to 4 in a doubleheader, season-opening loss to Wilton earlier in the week. Wendel had a rough night against the Beavers but had no problems with the Eagles in getting the win.

  Offensively, Tipton collected nine hits in the game with two players having multi-hit games and six players in all with at least one hit in the game. Ashley Mente was 3-for-3 with a double, two RBI’s and two runs scored. Alley Ryan was 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored. Other Tiger hits came from Laken Hermiston, Hailey Stewart, Grace Nichols, and Kamryn Chapman.

  Nichols and Chapman each drove in two runs while Hermiston, Bryanna Simmermaker and Keelie Claussen each had one RBI.

  Tipton scored four runs in the top of the first and set the tone for the game. Laken Hermiston led off the game with a single, one of three first-inning hits for the Tigers. Four straight Tipton batters reached base with Ryan, Mente, Simmermaker, and Nichols reaching base. Nichols, Claussen, and Chapman had RBI’s in the inning. Chapman had a 2-run double to cap the first inning scoring.

  Tipton followed the first inning outburst with a 5-run second inning. Hailey Stewart started the rally in the second inning with a one-out double. That started a run of five straight Tigers that reached base.

  The Tigers then added three runs in the top of the third to get the score to 12-0.

Tigers Win Season Opener at Midland, 6-2

  WYOMING - Four days after seeing their 2018 season opener at Maquoketa get postponed due to weather, the Tipton baseball team finally got the new season underway last Friday, at Midland. There, the Tigers captured the first season-opening baseball win in over ten years with a 6-2 win

  Tipton trailed 1-0 after four innings. The Tigers had scoring chances early in the game. The Tigers stranded runners at second and third in the second inning and stranded runners at the corners in the third. In the first four innings, Tipton left five runners on base, three in scoring position.

  The Tigers finally broke through in the top of the fifth. Tipton batted around in the order and put up four runs, to take a 4-1 lead. Nile Schuett walked to start the fifth and advanced to second on a Mesick single. Both advanced a base on a sac bunt by Trent Pelzer. Logan Hoffman walked to load the bases. Dylan Mente was hit by a pitch, scoring the first run of the inning and tying the game at 1-1. Ben Emrich then smacked a 2-run single scoring Mesick and Hoffman to give Tipton a 3-1 lead. Mente would later score in the inning to push the Tiger lead to 4-1. Midland scored a run in the fifth to set the score at 4-2 after five innings.

  Tipton added a run in the top of the sixth on a solo home run off the bat of Quinten Mesick to extend the Tigers lead to 5-2. Mesick would finish the game with two hits. The Tigers would extend their lead to 6-2 with a single run in the top of the seventh.

  Luke Becker was the winning pitcher after staring and working five innings. He struck out six, walked two and gave up two hits. Bryce Deerberg pitched the final two innings in relief. Deerberg did not allow a run, gave up one hit and struck out four of the eight batters he faced.

  The Eagles came into the game having already played four games with Tri-Rivers conference doubleheaders against state-ranked North Linn and Alburnett, all losses. Austin Smith drove in both Eagle runs with a 2-RBI double. Fisher Bisinger and Britan Martens had the other hits. The Eagles stole four bases in the game, three by Martens.

  Martens started the game pitching and lasted two innings before being lifted for Austin Smith took the loss after three innings of relief. He gave up four Tipton runs on four hits and walked three batters. Wilson Buckwalter pitched the final two innings.

  Tipton had nine hits in the game. Emrich led Tipton going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI’s. Mesick was 2-for-5 with an RBI while Hoffman, Luke Becker, Deerberg and Schuett each had hits. Mente and Schuett each had RBI’s.



The Tigers travel to Northeast Tuesday and are home Thursday against Bellevue and next Monday against Mid-Prairie in their first RVC South doubleheader of the season.

Beavers Open Season With West Branch Sweep

WEST BRANCH — The 5th ranked team in class 2A, Wilton Beavers began their 2018 season with two road wins to start the season 2-0.  Wilton beat River Valley Conference South foe West Branch 8-3 in game one and took the nightcap 11-7. The Beavers were one of three River Valley Conference baseball teams ranked in the first preseason Iowa Baseball Coaches Association rankings.  Iowa City Regina was second and Cascade 7th.

Game 1 - Wilton 8, West Branch 3

Wilton junior Jared Townsend got his first victory of the season pitching 5 2/3 innings in the season opener.  Townsend was on his game, striking out 12 Bear batters and allowing only four hits. Cory Anderson pitched the final 1 1/3 innings in relief.  He did not allow a run on one hit.

The Beavers had 11 hits in the game with four players getting multi-hit games.  Townsend led at the plate, going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI’s. Anderson, Tyler Hartman, and Brock Hartley each had two hits.  Garrett Bohnsack, Brayton Wade each had hits. Hartley had 2 RBI’s while Wade, Chantz Stevens, and Austin Pleggenkuhle each had RBI’s.

Wilton broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning, scoring three runs.  Wilton sends seven batters to the plate in the inning. Townsend led off the inning with a single while Tyler Hartman followed with a walk.  Both scored later on RBI hits from Brock Hartley and Brayton Wade. The final run came on an RBI groundout by Austin Pleggenkuhle.

Wilton added a single run in the fifth for a 4-0 lead and doubled their score in the sixth, pushing four runs home to take an 8-0 lead.  West Branch scored all three of their runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Game 2 - Wilton 11, West Branch 7

The Beavers scored in double digits for the first time in 2018 with an 11-7 win in game two.  Wilton led from start to finish to improve to 2-0.

Wilton led 1-0 after the first and extended their lead to 4-0 after a three-run second inning.  West Branch got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning to put the score at 5-1 after four innings.

Wilton scored three runs in the top of the fifth and sixth innings to extend their lead to 11-1.  West Branch scored six runs combined, in the bottom of the last two innings to make the score closer.

Colin McCrabb was the winning pitcher.  McCrabb pitched five innings and struck out six Bears.  He gave up one run on four hits. Anderson pitched the final two innings in relief, giving up six runs on five hits.

Wilton had nine hits in the game.  Four Beavers had multi-hit games. McCrabb, Anderson, Tyler Hartman, and Ashton Stoelk each had two hits.  McCrabb and Jared Townsend each had 2 RBI’s while Anderson and Stoelk each had 1 RBI. Wilton had three doubles in the game with McCrabb collecting two and Brayton Wade the other.  The Beavers drew 13 walks from West Branch pitching in the game.

Kofron Wins State Title!

  DES MOINES — It’s been quite a month for Tipton’s Jamie Kofron. Last month, the Tiger junior captured two events at the Drake Relays in winning the shot put and discus. She would qualify for both events at the 2018 state track meet. There, Kofron won the discus and placed second in the shot put. The Tigers sent seven events to the state meet and had 14 different kids participate. Of those, eleven return next season.

  Kofron won the discus Friday afternoon. The win was the first even win at state for the Tigers since 2008 when the Tipton shuttle hurdle relay team of Brittany Foulks, Alicia Goetz, Maggie Wehde and Missy Miller won the event during the Tigers 3rd place finish in class 2A that year. The last individual state champion was Ashley Miller at the end of her outstanding high school career, in 2007 when she won the 1,500-meter run.

  Kofron was in the second flight of the discus. Her preliminary throws were for 129-04, 134-07 and 133-06. Her throw of 134-07 was good enough to win the event then and there as Regan Plendl from Kingsley Pierson-Woodbury Central was the eventual runner-up in the event with a throw of 130-feet, 10 inches.

  In the finals, Kofron threw 133-06 on her first throw, 139-06 on her second and unleashed her best throw of 140-feet, 5 inches on her last finals throw.

  Kofron also competed in the shot put event. There, she would finish second to Brylie Zeisneiss of South Hardin. Kofron was in the second flight of 12 throwers. Zeisneiss was the champion of the event and got her best throw in her first prelim attempt. That was a throw of 45-feet, 1-inch. Kofron had prelim throws of 41-6 and 43-07.5. She fouled on her first prelim throw. Kofron had final throws of 41-11.75, 43-01.5 and 44-01.25.

  Also in the event, was THS senior Allie Ryan. Ryan, who came back from a tough knee injury, reached the state meet as having one of the ‘next 8 best’ throws statewide at the state qualifying meet. Ryan was in the second flight of 12 throwers. There, she had the best throw of 32-feet, 2 inches. Ryan fouled on her first and last throws. She would finish 23rd in the event.

  In individual events, Tipton junior Amanda Smith qualified for state in the open 1,500-meter run. Smith and the 1,500-meter field had an unexpected wait before their event was to start. Saturday afternoon at the state meet, strong storms with lightning rolled in, forcing a weather delay due to lightning. The two-hour, 13-minute delay pushed the start times back.

  In the race, Smith was among a talented field of runners. The River Valley Conference alone had 1/3 of the field. In the field from the RVC were Anna and Marie Hostetler from Mid-Prairie, Madeline Rhomberg, and Madison Kelchen from Cascade, Paige Holub, and Jordyn Patterson from Monticello, Bellevue senior Cam Reeg and then Smith.

  The Hostetler sisters would run to a 1-2 finish in the event in helping the Golden Hawks claim the Class 2A state title. Anna Hostetler won the event in 4:42.17 while sister Marie was second in 4:42.88. Anna, a senior, will run for the University of Iowa while Marie is just a sophomore. Rhomberg placed fifth in 5:47.46 to give the RVC three, top-5 finishes. Smith would knock a lot of time off her best time, setting a new PR in the event at 5:16.23. She placed 21st.

  The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks won the Class 2A state title with 60 points. Sumner-Fredericksburg was second with 44 points and Panorama third with 40 points. The River Valley Conference had North Cedar place 8th, followed by Cascade 12th, Monticello 14th and Tipton 15th with 18 points. West Branch, Bellevue and Iowa City Regina all had team points scored at the meet.

  Tipton had four relay events qualify for the state meet. They were the 4X200, 4X400, 4X800 and the shuttle hurdle relay.

  The best Tipton relay finish came from their shuttle hurdle relay team of Blake Ehler, Ashlyn Curry, Liz Bierman, and Tiffany Schott. That team placed 17th overall in 1:12.12 after placing second in their heat. PCM won the heat in a time of 1:08.33. Two shuttle hurdle relay teams in the heat were disqualified. They were South Hamilton and Central Lee.

  The Tigers 4X200-meter relay team of Emily Hermsen, Rachel Bierman, Karlee Kamberling and Sommer Daniel placed 19th. The Tigers placed 4th in their heat in a time of 1:52.14. Unity Christian won the heat in 1:47.96 followed by Greene County in and Mount Ayr. Sumner-Fredericksburg won the event in 1:44.15 followed by PCM second in 1:45.23 and Pella Christian third in 1:47.02.

  The Tigers 4X400-meter relay team of Alyssa Elijah, Emily Hermsen, Karlee Kamberling and Sommer Daniel placed 22nd in a time of 4:18.28. The Tigers were in the second heat of the prelims and placed 7th in that heat. Underwood won the event in Saturday’s finals in a time of 4:02.97 with Treynor as the runner-up in 4:03.98 and PCM third in 4:04.83.

  The Tigers 4X800-meter relay team of Amanda Smith, Zoe Stonebraker, Kallie Wallick, and Tiffany Schott placed 23rd in a time of 10:36.80. It was the second time that the group has ran the relay together this season. The first was at the state qualifying meet in Tipton earlier this month. The Tigers ran in section one and placed 12th in it. Monticello won the event in a time of 9:35.18 while also winning the second section. Kingsley Pierson-Woodbury Central was second in 9:36.29 and Western Christian was third in 9:40.18. Cascade gave the RVC two top-5 teams in the event by placing fifth in 9:55.69.

  Like the Tiger boys track team, expectations will no doubt rise for the Tigers next year after sending the number of events and athletes to this year's state meet. The Tigers that competed at the state meet were Jamie Kofron, Allie Ryan, Amanda Smith, Zoe Stonebraker, Kallie Wallick, Tiffany Schott, Emily Hermsen, Sommer Daniel, Blake Ehler, Alyssa Elijah, Ashlyn Curry, Liz Bierman, Rachel Bierman, and Karlee Kamberling. Ryan, Elijah and Schott graduate from the state group.

2018 State Track and Field Meet
At Drake Stadium
Des Moines, IA
Class 2A Girls Team Scores
Girl’s Top-10 and RVC Teams:
1. Mid-Prairie 60, 2. Sumner-Fredericksburg 44, 3. Panorama 40, 4. Dyersville-Beckman 31, 4. MVAOCOU 31, 6. Unity Christian 27, 6. Underwood 27, 8. North Cedar 25.5, 9. PCM 25, 9. Aplington-Parkersburg 25, 12. Cascade 21, 14. Monticello 20, 15. Tipton 18, 32. West Branch 8, 47. Bellevue 2, 50. Iowa City Regina 1.

Tipton Results Only:
Class 2A State Track and Field Results
Thursday, May 17
Drake Stadium
Des Moines, IA

Girls Shot Put: Shot Put:
2nd FLIGHT —Allie Ryan (T) 2nd Flight, 2nd Thrower, Jamie Kofron (T) 2nd Flight, 12th Thrower.

Flight Results: 1. Brylie Zeinsneiss (South Hardin) 45-01, 2. Jamie Kofron (Tipton) - Foul, 41-6, 43-07.5, 3. Marin Ehler (North Fayette Valley) 43-04, 4. Logan Hughes (Shenandoah) 39-08, 5. Renae Schaper (West Marshall) 38-0. 12. Allie Ryan (Tipton) - Foul, 32-02, Foul.

Finals - Jamie Kofron (Tipton) - 41-11.75, 43-01.50, 44-01.25.

Final Places: 1. Brylie Zeisneiss (South Hardin) 45-01, 2. Jamie Kofron (Tipton) 44-01.25, 3. Marin Ehler (North Fayette Valley) 43-04, 4. Logan Hughes (Shenandoah) 39--08, 5. Renae Schaper (West Marshall) 38-0, 6. Allison Van Gorp (Pella Christian) 37-05.25, 7. Emily Kraft (KP-WC) 37-04, 8. Sara Winemiller (Mount Ayr) 37-02, 23. Allie Ryan (Tipton) 32-02.

Girls 4X800-meter Relay:
SECTION 1 - 1. Logan-Magnolia 9:59.86, 2. Okoboji 10:05.13, 3. Shenandoah 10:12.65, 4. Underwood 10:16.52, 5. Alta/Aurelia 10:22.77. 6. Northeast Goose Lake (Amber Fredricksen, Alicia Turnquist, Miya Messerich, Carly Hasken) 10:26.61, 7. Mid-Prairie (Kate Cavanaugh, Kessa Jones, Moriah Brase, Ana Flemming) 10:34.08, 12. Tipton (Amanda Smith, Zoe Stonebraker, Kallie Wallick, Tiffany Schott) 10:36.80.

SECTION 2 - 1. Monticello (Taylor McDonald, Gabrielle Steiner, Jordyn Patterson, Paige Holub) 9:35.18, 5. Cascade (Marie Knepper, Abby Welter, Madison Kelchen, Madeline Rhomberg) 9:55.69.

FINALS - 1. Monticello 9:35.18, 2. KP-WC 9:36.29, 3. Western Christian 9:40.18, 4. Williamsburg 9:51.99, 5. Cascade 9:55.69, 23. Tipton 10:36.80.

Girls Shuttle Hurdle Relay:
Prelims — HEAT 4 1. PCM (Lexi Kuecker, Morgan Uhlenhopp, Margo Chipps, Megan Cowman) 1:08.33, 2. - Lane 7 - Tipton (Blake Ehler, Ashlyn Curry, Liz Bierman, Tiffany Schott) 1:12.12, DQ - South Hamilton and Central Lee.

FINALS - 1. Dyersville Beckman 1:07.10, 2. Panorama 1:07.53, 3. Logan-Magnolia 1:08.57, 17. Tipton 1:12.12.

Friday, May 18
Drake Stadium
Des Moines, IA

Girls Discus - FLIGHT 2 - 11th Thrower - Jamie Kofron (T)

Flight Results: 1. Jamie Kofron (Tipton) 129-04, 134-07, 133-06, 2. Regan Plendl (KP-WC) 130-10, 2. Brylie Zeisneiss (South Hardin) 130-02, 3. Lydia Knapp (Panorama) 130-02, 5. Megan Niewoehner (Sumner-Fredericksburg) 127-08, 6. Cassidy Pagel (Sumner-Fredericksburg) 122-09, 7. Lauren Shapcott (Underwood) 119-06, 8. Shayla Oster (Bellevue) 112-05, 9. Molly Schany (Emmetsburg) 112-02, 10. Brooke Mueller (Central Springs) 109-03, 11. Logan Hughes (Shenandoah) 107-0, 12. Kaitlin Diggins (Logan-Magnolia) 100-07.

FINALS - Jamie Kofron 133-06, 139-06, 140-05.

FINAL PLACINGS - 1. Jamie Kofron (Tipton) 140-05, 2. Regan Plendl (KP-WC) 130-10, 3. Brylie Zeisneiss (South Hardin) 130-02, 4. Lydia Knapp (Panorama) 130-02, 5. Megan Niewoehner (Sumner-Fredericksburg) 127-08, 6. Cassidy Pagel (Sumner-Fredericksburg) 122-09, 7. Madison McDermott (ACGC) 121-09, 8. Lauren Shapcott (Underwood) 119-06.

Girls 4X200-meter relay:
SECTION 1 - 1. Unity Christian 1:47.96, 2. Greene County 1:49.70, 3. Mount Ayr 1:50.94, 4. Lane 8 - Tipton (Emily Hermsen, Rachel Bierman, Karlee Kamberling, Sommer Daniel) 1:52.14, 5. Albia 1:52.16, 6. ACGC 1:54.47, DQ - Denver and Cherokee.

SECTION 2 - Sioux Center 1:47.18; SECTION 3 - 1. Sumner-Fredericksburg 1:44.15.

FINAL PLACINGS - 1. Sumner-Fredericksburg 1:44.15, 2. PCM 1:45.23, 3. Pella Christian 1:47.02, 19. Tipton 1:51.14.

Girls 4X400-meter relay:
HEAT 2 - 1. Treynor 4:04.99*, 2. Cascade (Rachel Trumm, Marie Knepper, Taylor Menster, Abby Welter) 4:06.38*, 3. PCM (Ashley Miller, Sierra Foster, Kate McCarthy, Paytan Schut) 4:07.39*, 4. Western Christian 4:089.74, 5. Woodward-Granger 4:13.43, 6. West Branch (Sasha Koenig, Jaylen Votroubek, Kaiya Luneckas, Tatum Koenig) 4:13.87, 7. LANE 2 - Tipton (Alyssa Elijah, Emily Hermsen, Karlee Kamberling, Sommer Daniel) 4:18.28.

FINALS - 1. Underwood 4:02.97, 2. Treynor 4:03.98, 3. PCM 4:04.83, 4. Cascade 4:06.44, 5. North Cedar 4:06.57, 6. Panorama 4:08.76, 7. Mediapolis 4:09.46, 8. Pella Christian 4:13.38, 22. Tipton 4:18.28.

Saturday, May 19
Drake Stadium
Des Moines, IA

Girls 1,500-meter run:
1. Anna Hostetler (Mid-Prairie) 4:42.17, 2. Marie Hostetler (Mid-Prairie) 4:42.88, 3. Sophia Jungling (Aplington-Parkersburg) 4:49.19, 4. Kate Crawford (ACGC) 4:49.79, 5. Madeline Rhomberg (Cascade) 4:57.46, 6. Jill Vonnahme (Pocahontas) 4:58.25, 7. Paige Holub (Monticello) 4:59.98, 8. Ella Waddle (Panorama) 5:02.04, 9. Taylor Sporrer (Logan-Magnolia) 5:03.41, 10. Whitney Minderhoud (Western Christian) 5:05.16, 12. Madison Kelchen (Cascade) 5:06.20, 15. Cam Reeg (Bellevue) 5:12.54, 21. Amanda Smith (Tipton) 5:16.23, 23. Jordyn Patterson (Monticello) 5:24.64.

Beavers Are RVC Champions

  MUSCATINE — The Wilton boys golf team won the 2018 River Valley Conference title last week in the annual showdown of the conference’s 13-member teams. This year the contest was held at the Muscatine Municipal golf course. There, the Beavers shot a team-best 331 points to capture the title. The title was the fourth in five years for an RVC South school. West Branch, Wilton, and Durant have won titles. The Bears have won two (2015 and 2017) while Durant won the first RVC title in 2014. Monticello is the only River Valley Conference North school to win a boy’s golf title and that came in the 2016 season.

  Jared Townsend, Nolan Leaton, and Tyler Hartman each earned high all-conference honors. Townsend tied for third overall in the medalist race with Lucas Callison from Durant with a score of 77 and Leaton scored a 79. All three earned Elite All-Conference honors. Ted Bridges from West Branch was the medalist at the meet, placing first with a score of 75. Hartman tied for thirteenth with a score of 86.

  Other Wilton scores were Brayton Wade 89, Brock Hartley 90, and Cory Anderson 104. Wade shaved five strokes from his first nine scores of 47 to a second nine-hole score of 42. Anderson shaved off ten strokes going from a first nine-hole score of 57 to a second nine-hole score of 47.

Tigers 4th
  MUSCATINE — The Tipton boys golf team placed fourth in the team race behind three all-conference selections. The Tigers scored 345 team points, two strokes from placing third. Tipton was led by Keith Penningroth, Jacob Tischuk and Jake McDonald who were the all-conference selections.

  Penningroth placed tenth with a score of 84 with a score of 44 on the first nine and a score of 42 on the second nine holes. Jacob Tischuk tied for eleventh with a score of 85 and Jake McDonald tied for thirteenth with a score of 86 with twin 43 scores.

  Other Tipton scores were Luke Becker 45-45 90, Landon Hill 51-39 90, Caleb Jedlicka 55-47 102. Becker had twin scores of 45 while Hill and Jedlicka shaved off a lot of strokes from their first nine holes. Hill went from a first nine-hole score of 51 to shoot a 39 on the second nine holes. Jedlicka shot a 55 on the first nine and dropped eight strokes to finish the second nine holes with a score of 47.


Durant Led By Callison’s 77
  MUSCATINE — Durant placed eighth as a team at the meet with a team score of 368. The Wildcats were seven strokes out of seventh place.

  Durant was led by Elite All-Conference pick Lucas Callison who tied for third in the medalist race with a score of 77.

  Other Durant scores were Logan Callison 42-38 80, Drew DeLong 46-46 92, Michael Christopher 63-56 119, Ethan Schlapkohl 61-59 120. Logan Callison shot scores of 42 and 38 while DeLong had twin scores of 46. Christopher dropped seven strokes from his first nine scores of 63 to a 56 on the second nine. Schlapkohl improved by two strokes on his second nine-hole score.

Knights 10th At RVC Meet
  MUSCATINE — The North Cedar Knight boy’s golf team placed 10th as a team at the annual River Valley Conference meet last week in Muscatine. Wilton won the conference meet with West Branch and Mid-Prairie finishing second and third in the team race. North Cedar placed tenth with 378 team points.

  Costner Pruess and Cory Cox led North Cedar with each scoring a team-best 91 for their 18-hole score. Cameron King scored a 95, giving the Knights three sub-100 scores. Other North Cedar scores were Austyn Sander 101, Chase Miller 102 and Chase Gallagher 127.

River Valley Conference Meet
At Muscatine Municipal Golf Course
Muscatine, IA
Wednesday, May 9
Team Scores: 1. Wilton 331, 2. West Branch 332, 3. Mid-Prairie 344, 4. Tipton 345, 5. Iowa City Regina 351, 6. Monticello 360, 7. Cascade 361, 8. Durant 368, 9. Bellevue 375, 10. North Cedar 378, 11. West Liberty 384, 12. Camanche 412, 13. Northeast 418.

Elite All-Conference Team
1. Ted Bridges (West Branch) 75, 2. Conner Michels (Bellevue) 76, 3. Lucas Callison (Durant) 77, Jared Townsend (Wilton) 77, 5. Noah Schlabaugh (Mid-Prairie) 79, Race Cuckler (Cascade) 79, Nolan Leaton (Wilton) 79.

All-Conference:
8. Logan Callison (Durant) 80, 9. Trevor Thein (West Branch) 83, 10. Keith Penningroth (Tipton) 84, 11. Kaleb Sexton (West Branch) 85, Jacob Tischuk (Tipton) 85, 13. Nic Hein (Iowa City Regina) 86, Gannon O’Brien (Cascade) 86, Jake McDonald (Tipton) 86, Tyler Hartman (Wilton) 86.

Honorable Mention All-Conference:
17. Mark Schomer (Iowa City Regina) 87, Collin Gingerich (Mid-Prairie) 87, Kegan Arduser (Monticello) 87, Nash Sutterman (Monticello) 87, 21. Austin Beaver (West Liberty) 88, Ryan Slaubaugh (Mid-Prairie) 88, Mason Kagemann (Camanche) 88.

Individual Team Scores:
WILTON (331): Jared Townsend 36-41 77, Nolan Leaton 41-38 79, Tyler Hartman 41-45 86, Brayton Wade 47-42 89, Brock Hartley 42-48 90, Cory Anderson 57-47 104.

TIPTON (339): Keith Penningroth 44-42 84, Jacob Tischuk 41-44 85, Jake McDonald 43-43 86, Luke Becker 45-45 90, Landon Hill 51-39 90, Caleb Jedlicka 55-47 102.

DURANT (368): Lucas Callison 35-42 77, Logan Callison 42-38 80, Drew DeLong 46-46 92, Michael Christopher 63-56 119, Ethan Schlapkohl 61-59 120.

NORTH CEDAR (378): Costner Pruess 44-47 91, Cory Cox 42-49 91, Cameron King 49-46 95, Austyn Sander 56-45 101, Chase Miller 51-51 102, Chase Gallagher 62-65 127.

Mesick Medals In the Long Jump

  TIPTON — Tipton senior Quinten Mesick collected the highest finish for Tipton at the 2018 state track and field meet last week in Des Moines, at Drake Stadium. There, Mesick flew through the air to the best jump of 20-feet, 7.25 inches to claim fifth place in the event. The Tigers sent eight events to the state meet last week. The Tiger track team will return 10 of the 13 athletes competing at the state meet next season.

  The long jump event was one of the first events last Thursday at the state meet. Mesick won his flight with the best jump of 20-7.25, which was his best jump overall. The best distance came on his last of three preliminary jumps. His first prelim jump was 20-feet, 1.75 inches followed by his second jump of 20-feet, 4.75 inches. Mesick qualified for the finals along with Koby Aplers from Union out of the first flight. The remaining six finalists came from the second flight. Mesick jumped 19-feet, 8.75 inches on his first finals jump. He came up short on the next two finals jumps, fouling on each. Miles Rupiper from Carroll Kuemper jumped 22-feet, 1-inch on his last finals jump to win the event. Seven of the top-8 finishers in the event were seniors, including Mesick. Eleven seniors in all made up the field of 24 jumpers.

  Mesick also competed at the 400-meter dash last Thursday. There, Mesick placed 16th after winning the first flight. Mesick cruised to a finishing time of 51.45 wins win the heat. In a very competitive meet, the event saw three runners from the Southeast Iowa Super Conference take the top-3 finishes. Pekin’s Isaiah Wittrock helped lead the Panthers to the 2A state title in the three-day meet. In the 400, Wittrock won in a speedy time of 48.92 followed by Jagger Gourley from Mediapolis in 49.84 and Wapello’s Trent Massner in 49.88. Fourteen of the 24 runners in the event are seniors. No freshmen and only one sophomore were among the 24.

  Freshman Caleb Shumaker challenged for a medal in the open 1,600-meter run last Saturday, May 19. There, Shumaker ran in the top-8 for most of the race, settling in at 7th for the first three laps. However, he was passed in the last lap and finished 9th in good time of 4:37.30. Logan Peters from South Hamilton won the event in a time of 4:23.15 and Mid-Prairie’s Floyd Evans was second in 4:23.68. Only five seniors were in the field of 24, but Shumaker and two others, Brady Millikin (Pekin) and Beau Webb (PCM) were freshmen. Millikin placed 18th and Webb 20th.

  In the high jump, Tipton junior Andrew Stewart tied for 15th place after getting the best jump of 5-feet, 11 inches. Miles Rupiper from Carroll Kuemper won the event with a best jump of 6-feet, 7 inches. Northeast Goose Lake’s Braeden Hoyer placed 7th with a best jump of 6-feet, 1-inch and Mid-Prairie’s Kyle Miller placed 11th with the same best jump of 6-1. Two of the top-4 jumpers including the 2A champion are seniors. In all, there were nine seniors and two freshmen, Noah James from Treynor who was 23rd and Dane Fuller from Dike-New Hartford who placed 8th

  Ben Ellis ran in the open 3,200-meter run last Thursday. There, Ellis placed 20th in 10:43.21. Mid-Prairie’s Floyd Evans won the event in 9:42.34 with Reece Smith from Garner Hayfield-Ventura in second in a time of 9:50.11. Only four seniors made up the field of 24 and one freshman. The rests were juniors and sophomores.

  Tipton sophomore Frank Bierman also placed 20th in the 110-meter high hurdles. Bierman ran in a time of 16.14 and placed 7th in his heat. Grant Fjelstad from Lake Mills won the event in 14.71. Of the three heats of the event, over half of the finalists in the event - 5 - were from heat 1. Fjelstad won heat two and was the only finalist from that heat.

  The Tigers competed in two relay events at the state meet. Tipton was in the 4X800-meter relay Thursday as well as the shuttle hurdle relay on Thursday.

  The Tigers 4X800-meter relay team of Shumaker, Bryce Deerberg, Trent Pelzer and Corey Wallick placed 9th in the second section of the event in a time of 8:25.22. The Tigers would place 11th overall in the event. Pekin won the event in 7:59.95 with Mid-Prairie taking second in a time of 8:06.30.

  The Tigers shuttle hurdle relay team of Paden Zell, Davis Butler, Payten Elijah, and Frank Bierman placed third in their heat in a time of 1:01.08. That time did not qualify them for the finals. Albia won the heat the Tigers ran in and would go on to win the event in Saturday’s finals.

  Pekin won the class 2A title going away with 72 points. Runner-up Mid-Prairie scored 44 points but gave the River Valley Conference a high team finish. Dyersville-Beckman was third with 38 points. West Liberty placed 13th, Northeast Goose Lake 24th, and Bellevue 39th. Tipton tied for 41st in the team standings with North Cedar and Iowa City Regina. Monticello also was at the meet and placed 50th.

  Expectations will no doubt rise for the Tigers next year after sending the number of events and athletes to this year's state meet. The Tigers that competed at the state meet were Quinten Mesick, Frank Bierman, Paden Zell, Davis Butler, Payten Elijah, Ben Ellis, Caleb Shumaker, Bryce Deerberg, Corey Wallick, Trent Pelzer, and Andrew Stewart. Deerberg, Wallick, and Mesick graduate from the state group.

2018 State Track and Field Meet
At Drake Stadium
Des Moines, IA
Class 2A Boys Team Scores
Boy’s Top-10 and RVC Teams:
1. Pekin 72, 2. Mid-Prairie 44, 3. Dyersville-Beckman 38, 4. Carroll Kuemper 36, 5. PCM 35, 6. Van Meter 29, 7. Sheldon 24, 8. Mediapolis 22, 8. South Hamilton 22, 10. Wapello 20, 10. South Central, Calhoun 20, 10. Kingsley-Pierson-Woodbury Central) 20, 13. West Liberty 19, 24. Northeast Goose Lake 12, 39. Bellevue 5, 41. North Cedar 4, 41. Tipton 4, 41. Iowa City Regina 4, 50. Monticello 2.

Tipton Results Only:
Class 2A State Track and Field Results
Thursday, May 17
Drake Stadium
Des Moines, IA
Boy’s Long Jump:
Flight 1: Quinten Mesick (T) 20-01.75, 20-04.75, 20-07.25, 2. Koby Alpers (Union) 20-05.75, 3. Kade Vander Molen (Pella Christian) 20-02.
FINALS: Quinten Mesick 19-08.75, Foul, Foul.
Final Places: 1. Miles Rupiper (Carroll Kuemper) 22-01, 2. Jake Lynott (West Sioux) 22-0.75, 3. Beau Coberley (West Marshall) 21-11.25, 4. Parker Kiewiet (Dike-New Hartford) 21-08, 5. Quinten Mesick (Tipton) 20-07.25.

Boy’s Shuttle Hurdle Relay:
Prelims: Heat 2 - 1. Albia 59.10*, 2. Colfax-Mingo 1:00.66, 3. Tipton (Paden Zell, Davis Butler, Payten Elijah, Frank Bierman) 1:01.08.
Finals Qualifiers: 1. Albia 59.10, 2. Oelwein 59.13, 3. West Liberty 59.33, 4. Carroll Kuemper 59.91, 5. West Lyon 1:00.01, 6. Lake Mills 1:00.33, 7. Jesup 1:00.51, 8. Davis County 1:00.53.
Class 2A Finals: Section 1 - 1. Lake Mills 59.39, 2. Jesup 59.87, 3. West Lyon 1:00.02, 4. Davis County 1:00.59. Section 2 - 1. Albia 57.97, 2. Oelwein 58.75, 3. Carroll Kuemper 59.73, 4. West Liberty 1:01.88.
Final Placings: 1. Albia, 2. Oelwein, 3. Lake Mills, 4. Kuemper, 5. Jesup, 6. West Lyon 1:00.02, 7. Davis County 1:00.59, 8. West Liberty 1:01.88.

Boy’s 3,200-meter run (Top-10 and RVC):
1. Floyd Evans (Mid-Prairie) 9:42.34, 2. Reece Smith (Garner Hayfield/Ventura) 9:50.11, 3. Jerry Jorgenson (Treynor) 9:53.30, 4. Noah Nelsen (ACGC) 9:57.37, 5. Jack Trudo (Van Meter) 9:59.27, 6. Logan Peters (South Hamilton) 10:07.74, 7. Lake LeBahn (Union) 10:09.07, 8. Spencer Moon (South Central Calhoun) 10:10.94, 9. Carson Rygh (Lake Mills) 10:16.04, 10. Nathan Meyer (Iowa City Regina) 10:17.02, 12. Cole Cruise (Monticello) 10:21.15, 14. Brady Griebel (Bellevue) 10:27.13, 19. Jack Sieverding (Bellevue) 10:42.16, 20. Ben Ellis (Tipton) 10:43.43, 21. Zach Hein (Wilton) 10:43.91, 23. Buddy Darting (Wilton) 10:48.58.

Boy’s 4X800-meter relay:
Section 2 - 1. Pekin 7:59.95, 2. Mid-Prairie 8:06.30, 3. Sheldon 8:08.89, 4. Bellevue 8:14.90, 5. South Hamilton 8:20.46, 6. Sioux Center 8:21.98, 7. East Marshall 8:22.25, 8. Dike-New Hartford 8:23.82, 9. Tipton (Caleb Shumaker, Bryce Deerberg, Trent Pelzer, Corey Wallick) 8:25.22.
Finals (Top-5): 1. Pekin, 2. Mid-Prairie, 3. Sheldon, 4. Bellevue, 5. Underwood, 11. Tipton 8:25.22.

Boy’s 400-meter dash:
Section 1 - 1. Quinten Mesick (Tipton) 51.45, 2. Cole Arnburg (West Central Valley) 51.50, 3. Dukey Kyle (Missouri Valley) 52.02, 4. Grant Brouwer (Sibley-Ocheyedan) 52.41, 5. Zach Walsh (Manson-NW Webster) 52.52, 6. Quinn Schmidt (Mid-Prairie) 52.74, 7. Blake Gregory (Ogden) 53.36.
Finals: 1. Isaiah Wittrock (Pekin) 48.93, 2. Jagger Gourley (MEPO) 49.84, 3. Trent Massner (Wapello) 49.88, 4. Parker Badding (Carroll Kuemper) 49.93, 5. Seamus Raney (North Cedar) 49.95, 6. Brennen Swafford (MEPO) 50.08, 7. Tate Hookman (Union) 50.11, 8. Jake Lynott (West Sioux) 50.17, 16. Quinten Mesick (Tipton) 51.45.

Friday, May 18
Drake Stadium
Des Moines, IA
Boy’s High Jump: 1. Miles Rupiper (Carroll Kuemper) 6-7, 2. Tyler Lode (Sheldon) 6-5, 3. Grant Brouwer (Sibley-Ocheyedan) J6-5, 4. Trent Massner (Wapello) J6-5, 5. Jack Tiarks (Treynor) 6-3. Other: Tied - 15. Andrew Stewart (Tipton) 5-11.

Boy’s 110-meter high hurdles:
Prelims: Heat 3 - 1. Sam Thompson (Van Meter) 15.26*, 2. Sam Joerger (Denver) 15.68*, 3. Jace Burrow (North Fayette Valley) 15.70, 4. Riley Flint (Hampton-Dumont) 15.97, 5. Nick Gaes (Alta/Aurelia) 15.99, 6. Mitchell Rentschler (West Lyon) 16.04, 7. Frank Bierman (Tipton) 16.14, 8. Izak Baumhover (Carroll Kuemper) 16.30.
Finals: 1. Grant Fjelstad (Lake Mills) 14.71, 2. Sam Thompson (Van Meter) 15.29, 3. Justin Groen (DM Christian) 15.35, 4. Sayer Woodson (Oelwein) 15.37, 5. Zane Johnson (East Marshall) 15.74, 6. Sam Joerger (Denver) 16.08, 7. Avery Martensen (Monticello) 23.79, 8. Zach Mead (Jesup) 28.58, 20. Frank Bierman (Tipton) 16.14.

Saturday, May 19
Drake Stadium
Des Moines, IA
Boy’s 1,600-meter run (Top-10 and RVC):
1. Logan Peters (South Hamilton) 4:23.15, 2. Floyd Evans (Mid-Prairie) 4:23.68, 3. Reece Smith (Garner Hayfield/Ventura) 4:29.37, 4. Spencer Moon (South Central Calhoun) 4:30.21, 5. Jerry Jorgenson (Treynor) 4:31.68, 6. Lake LeBahn (Union) 4:32.68, 7. Tyler Ketcham (DM Christian) 4:35.48, 8. Zach Pettit (Mid-Prairie) 4:36.10, 9. Caleb Shumaker (Tipton) 4:37.30, 10. Jack Trudo (Van Meter) 4:37.30, 19. Alex Reed (Bellevue) 4:43..56, 23. Aaron Loes (Monticello) 4:48.78.

4 Automatic Qualifiers+4 at-large Equals 8 THS Events at State

  TIPTON — The Tipton boy’s track team will be sending eight events to the state track and field meet this week in Des Moines. The Tigers had four automatic qualifiers and four events qualify for the state meet after having one of the next best 8-times statewide. Each state qualifying meet event has the top-two finishers qualify for the state meet and the rest of the state field is made up of the next best 8-times or throws statewide in the particular class.

  Of the automatic qualifiers, Tipton Caleb Shumaker captured the only event win. Shumaker ran to a winning time of 4:40.86. The second place time was 4:48.44. Three THS events were runners-up and thus automatic qualifiers as well. Quinten Mesick was the runner-up in the long jump with a best jump of 20-10.50 to qualify for state. Frank Bierman also qualified for state and was the runner-up in the 110-meter high hurdles in 15.77 and the Tigers 4X800-meter relay team placed second. The team of Shumaker, Bryce Deerberg, Trent Pelzer and Corey Wallick qualified for state by running to a second-place time of 8:21.74.

  Mesick will jump at 2 on Thursday while Shumaker will run on Saturday at 2:22. The Tigers 4X800-meter relay team will run on Thursday at 5:50.

  Tipton had four other events qualify for the state meet as next best 8-times statewide. Andrew Stewart placed 3rd in the high jump with a best jump of 6-feet, 0-inches. Mesick qualified in the open 400 after placing 3rd in the event in a time of 52.46. Ben Ellis also qualified as an individual with a 5th place finish in the 3,200-meter run in 10:27.72.

  Tipton’s shuttle hurdle relay team of Paden Zell, Davis Butler, Payten Elijah, and Frank Bierman advanced to state after narrowly missing out on the runner-up spot. The relay team placed third in a time of 1:00.95.

  Tipton had a handful of other top-10 finishers. John Stroup had a pair of top-10 finishes with a 9th place finish in the 100-meter dash and a 10th place finish in the 200-meter dash. Trent Pelzer was 5th in the 800-meter run and Frank Bierman was 7th in the 400-meter hurdles. Andrew Olseen placed 6th in the 3,200-meter run.

  Five other Tipton relay events placed in the top-10. The Tigers sprint medley team placed 6th and their 4X400-meter relay team placed 7th. Tipton had 8th place finishes in the 4x100-meter relay and the 4X200-meter relay. Tipton also had a top-10 finish from their distance medley relay team that placed 9th.

  West Liberty won the meet with a team-best 111 team points. The Comets had to hold off Northeast who placed second. The Rebels scored 110 team points. Bellevue placed third with 93 team points. The Tigers scored 81 team points at the meet and placed fourth in the team scores.

Class 2A State Qualifying Meet
At Tipton
Thursday, May 10
Team Scores: 1. West Liberty 111, 2. Northeast 110, 3. Bellevue 93, 4. Tipton 81, 5. Wapello 74, 6. North Cedar 71, 7. Cascade 50, 8. Durant 40, 9. Louisa-Muscatine 34, 10. Camanche 31, 11. Wilton 24, 12. West Branch 21.

Tipton Results Only:
Field Event Results:
Discus: 14. Nile Schuett 115-01.
High Jump: 3. Andrew Stewart 6-0.
Long Jump: 2. Quinten Mesick 20-10.50.
Shot Put: 16. Nile Schuett 37-05.25.

Individual Event Results:
100-meter dash: 9. John Stroup 12.07, 14. Blaise Thumma 12.35.
200-meter dash: 10. John Stroup 25.04, 14. Payten Elijah 25.17.
400-meter dash: 3. Quinten Mesick 52.46, 5. Corey Wallick 53.46.
800-meter run: 5. Trent Pelzer 2:08.45, 8. Brandon Valet 2:15.68.
110-meter high hurdles: 2. Frank Bierman 15.77, 5. Paden Zell 15.92.
1600-meter run: 1. Caleb Shumaker 4:40.86, 12. Ben Ellis 5:02.93.
3200-meter run: 5. Ben Ellis 10:27.72, 6. Andrew Olseen 11:04.44.
400-meter hurdles: 7. Frank Bierman 59.66, 12. Paden Zell 1:01.82.

Relay Event Results:
4X100-meter relay: 8. Tipton (Blaise Thumma, Andrew Stewart, Austin Lenz, Davis Butler) 48.11.
4X200-meter relay: 8. Tipton (Blaise Thumma, Bryce Deerberg, Andrew Stewart, Davis Butler) 1:40.82.
4X400-meter relay: 7. Tipton (Bryce Deerberg, Corey Wallick, Noah Jedlicka, Quinten Mesick) 3:36.11.
4X800-meter relay: 2. Tipton (Caleb Shumaker, Bryce Deerberg, Trent Pelzer, Corey Wallick) 8:21.74.
Shuttle Hurdle relay: 3. Tipton (Paden Zell, Davis Butler, Payten Elijah, Frank Bierman) 1:00.95.
Sprint Medley relay: 6. Tipton (John Stroup, Austin Lenz, Brandon Hines, Noah Jedlicka) 1:43.78.
Distance Medley relay: 9. Tipton (Austin Lenz, Payten Elijah, Brandon Hines, Brandon Valet) 4:04.44.

Wilton Places Second at River Valley Conference Meet

  RIVERSIDE — The Wilton girl’s golf team finished as the runner-up at the 2018 River Valley Conference meet last Tuesday in Riverside. The Beavers won the 2017 RVC title. Wilton scored 416 team points at the meet and was led by two Elite All-Conference picks. Taylor Garvin was fourth overall in the medalist race with a score of 99 while teammate Annabel Grings was sixth with a score of 100 to also claim the high honors.

  The Beavers were six strokes away from tying for the RVC title with 2018 champion Mid-Prairie. The Golden Hawks followed the Beavers as RVC South schools winning in successive years. The first three seasons of the RVC (2014-16) saw the girls golf title stay in the RVC North with Cascade winning the first RVC title in 2014 with Monticello winning back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016. Conservative area schools finishing were Tipton eighth, Durant ninth with a score of 456 and North Cedar eleventh.

  Other Wilton scores were Eleney Owens 106, Tatum Oveson 111, Zoe Barrett 119, Riley Hammann 119. Owens shot twin scores of 53 while Oveson and Barrett dropped strokes from their first nine scores in the second nine scores.

  Other players on the RVC Elite all-conference team were Lauren Ries (Monticello) 94, Paige Slabaugh (Monticello) 94, Ellie Vanlandschoot (ICR) 95, Aleah Roche (West Branch) 99, and Georgia Nisly (Mid-Prairie) 100.

Tigers 8th
  RIVERSIDE — The Tipton Tiger girl’s golf team placed eighth at the River Valley Conference meet, a year removed from placing seventh and two years removed from finishing as the 2016 runner-up. The Tigers scored a team score of 449.

  Addy Duwe led Tipton scores with a 107. Britney Ford was next with a 113 including a 58 on the first nine holes and a score of 55 on the second nine holes. Freshmen Alli Nash and Alex Hoffman were next with scores of 114 and 115. Nash shaved off ten strokes from her first nine hole score of 62 with a score of 52 on the second nine. Hoffman dropped three strokes off her first nine-hole score of 59 with a score of 56 on the second nine holes. Other Tipton scores were Ali Anderson 117 and Madeline Waltz 121.

North Cedar 11th At RVC Meet
  RIVERSIDE — The River Valley Conference held their annual golf meet last Tuesday in Riverside Iowa at the Blue Top Ridge Golf Course. There, North Cedar placed 11th out of 13 teams. The Knights scored 458 team points. Mid-Prairie won the conference title with a low team score of 410. Wilton, who won the RVC title last season, was the runner-up with a team score of 416 and West Branch placed third with 422 points.
  North Cedar scores were Parker Stout 107, Maddie Cornelius 110, Lydia Esbaum 115, Rachel Hart 126, Taylor Tenley 131 and Carly Meier 150.

River Valley Conference
Tuesday, May 8
At Riverside
Girls Team Scores: 1. Mid-Prairie 410, 2. Wilton 416, 3. West Branch 422, 4. Camanche 424, 5. Monticello 426, 6. West Liberty 427, 7. Iowa City Regina 436, 8. Tipton 449, 9. Durant 456, 10. Northeast 456, 11. North Cedar 458, 12. Bellevue 484, 13. Cascade 572.

Individual Results:
Elite All-Conference — 1. Lauren Ries (Monticello) 94, 2. Paige Slabaugh (Monticello) 94, 3. Ellie Vanlandschoot (ICR) 95, 4. Taylor Garvin (WIL) 99, 5. Aleah Roche (West Branch) 99, 6. Annabel Grings (WIL) 100, 7. Georgia Nisly (Mid-Prairie) 100.

All-Conference — 1. Lexi Clemens (West Branch) 102, 2. Aly Jones (West Liberty) 102, 3. Jacey House (Northeast) 103, 4. Skylar Jess (Camanche) 103, 5. Hanna Nissen (Camanche) 104, 6. Hayley Francois (Camanche) 104.

Honorable Mention All-Conference
1. Sierra Gregoire (D) 105, 2. Ellie Olsen (D) 105, 3. Christian Jacobsen (N) 105, 4. Kendra Schaefer (Mid-Prairie) 106, 5. Lilly Lambert (Monticello) 106, 6. Macy Akers (WL) 106, Morgan Petersen (WL) 106, Eleney Owens (WIL) 106.

Individual Team Results:
WILTON (416): Taylor Garvin 50-49 99, Annabel Grings 50-50 100, Eleney Owens 53-53 106, Tatum Oveson 56-55 111, Zoe Barrett 64-55 119, Riley Hammann 54-65 119.

TIPTON (449): Addy Duwe 49-58 107, Britney Ford 58-55 113, Alli Nash 62-52 114, Alex Hoffman 59-56 115, Ali Anderson 58-59 117, Madeline Waltz 57-64 121.

NORTH CEDAR (458): Parker Stout 107, Maddie Cornelius 110, Lydia Esbaum 115, Rachel Hart 126, Taylor Tenley 131, Carly Meier 150.

Crazy 8’s. Tigers send eight events to state, most since 2008

  TIPTON — Eight is enough for the Tipton girl’s track team after last week’s state qualifying meet on their home track. There, the Tigers had three automatic state qualifying events and five other events to send eight events to the state meet this week in Des Moines. It is the most events since the 2008 season when THS also sent eight events and placed third in the team race. Though the 2008 team had higher ranked events, for this year’s group to send eight events is remarkable.

  “We are very happy with what we have going to state,” said Tipton girls track coach Jill Engels. “We had some events last year, and this year we are sending even more. We are building things back up and this is a good step in that process,” she said.

  Tipton had three events qualify automatically for the state meet after finishing in the top-2 of their respective events. Tipton junior Jamie Kofron won both the shot put and the discus events at the meet to qualify for state. Kofron won both events at last months Drake Relays meet and captured the two event titles at the River Valley Conference meet on May 4. Kofron will throw the shot put Thursday at 2 in the second flight and the discus on Friday at 2 in the second flight.

  Tipton’s other automatic qualifier came from their 4X200-meter relay team. The team of Emily Hermsen, Rachel Bierman, Karlee Kamberling and Sommer Daniel were the runner-up in the event in a time of 1:51.72. The Tigers ran to a season-best time in the event. North Cedar did not run their ‘A’ team in the event, opting to use Cassie Cox, Darby Hawtrey, Lexi Crist and Grace Proesch in other events. That opened the Tigers to have the second best time at the meet behind Cascade. The Cougars won the event in 1:50.15. The Tigers edged out West Branch for a second. The Bears finished in 1:51.94 or .22 behind the Tigers. The Bears did not qualify in the event at state.

  Tipton got a boost last Friday when they learned that five other events qualified for the state meet after having one of the next best 8-times or throws statewide in class 2A. Also qualifying for the state meet for Tipton were three relays - Shuttle Hurdle, 4X4 and 4X8, and individuals Amanda Smith in the 1,500-meter run and Allie Ryan in the shot put.

  Ryan threw a season-best 36-10.25 and placed fourth in the event. Her throw was good enough to reach the state meet. The shot put event would send seven qualifiers to state including five of the eight best throws statewide in one of the strongest events at the Tipton state qualifying meet. Smith placed fourth in the 1,500-meter run in 5:26.47 and had one of the best 8-times statewide after the automatic qualifiers.

  In relay events, Tipton’s 4X800-meter relay team of Amanda Smith, Zoe Stonebraker, Kallie Wallick, and Tiffany Schott ran to a third-place finish in 10:30.74. That time was 20 seconds better than the previous high for a Tipton 4X800-meter relay team this season. It was the first time this season that the quartet ran the event in a meet. The time was one of the next best 8-times in the state. The 4X8 team was joined by the Tigers 4X400-meter relay and Shuttle Hurdle Relay teams who also were in the next best 8-times of their respective events. The Tipton shuttle hurdle relay team of Blake Ehler, Ashlyn Curry, Liz Bierman and Tiffany Schott placed fourth in 1:10.81, a season-best time. The Tipton 4X400-meter relay team of Emily Hermsen, Rachel Bierman, Karlee Kamberling and Sommer Daniel placed third in 4:17.04. Hermsen led off the relay after senior Alyssa Elijah fell ill and had to withdraw.

  The Tigers also had some top-5 finishes that missed state. Kelly Lieser was fifth in the 400-meter dash in 1:06.71 and Amanda Smith was fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:38.13. Tipton’s sprint medley relay team also placed 5th.

  North Cedar won the meet with a team-best 133 team points. The Knights won the state qualifying meet for the second year in a row. Cascade was second with 126 points and Northeast was third with 94 points. The Tigers scored 70 team points at the meet and placed fourth in the team scores.

Class 2A State Qualifying Meet
At Tipton
Thursday, May 10
Team Scores: 1. North Cedar 133, 2. Cascade 126, 3. Northeast 94, 4. Tipton 70, 5. Bellevue 53, 6. West Branch 47, 7. Louisa-Muscatine 43, 7. Camanche 43, 9. Wilton 39, 10. Wapello 33, 11. West Liberty 28, 11. Durant 28.

Tipton Results Only:
Field Event Results:
Discus: 1. Jamie Kofron 136-06, 11. Liz Bierman 94-06.
Long Jump: 11. Sara Webb 13-04.25.
Shot Put: 1. Jamie Kofron 43-04.75, 4. Allie Ryan 36-10.25.

Individual Event Results:
100-meter dash: 14. Sara Webb 15.00.
200-meter dash: 15. Jaydon Bierman 30.04.
400-meter dash: 5. Kelly Lieser 1:06.71, 12. Alyssa Elijah 1:11.42.
800-meter run: 5. Amanda Smith 2:38.13, 13. Tiffany Schott 2:58.98.
100-meter hurdles: 8. Ashlyn Curry 17.35, 10. Blake Ehler 17.79.
1500-meter run: 4. Amanda Smith 5:26.47, 7. Kallie Wallick 5:33.16.

Relay Event Results:
4X100-meter relay: 11. Tipton (Hailey Stewart, Zoe Rezac, Kelly Lieser, Jaydon Bierman) 57.35.
4X200-meter relay: 2. Tipton (Emily Hermsen, Rachel Bierman, Karlee Kamberling, Sommer Daniel) 1:51.72.
4X400-meter relay: 3. Tipton (Emily Hermsen, Rachel Bierman, Karlee Kamberling, Sommer Daniel) 4:17.04.
4X800-meter relay: 3. Tipton (Amanda Smith, Zoe Stonebraker, Kallie Wallick, Tiffany Schott) 10:30.74.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay: 4. Tipton (Blake Ehler, Ashlyn Curry, Liz Bierman, Tiffany Schott) 1:10.81.
Sprint Medley Relay: 5. Tipton (Emily Hermsen, Karlee Kamberling, Rachel Bierman, Sommer Daniel) 1:57.25.

Ben Emrich signs with Southwest Minnesota State to wrestle

  TIPTON — Tipton senior Ben Emrich became the latest Tipton athlete to choose where he will continue his athletic career. Emrich chose the Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota. He signed a national letter of intent to wrestle for the Mustangs.

  “There are not a whole lot of D2 programs in Iowa. I consider myself lucky to be able to be looked at by that level. It’s exciting,” said Emrich.

  “I have been a three-sport athlete here at Tipton. It will be different being just a wrestler, but I think that just being a wrestler will be really good. Having experience playing in other sports I think will be good to have to go in,” he said.

  Emrich finished this past season with 29 wins and was injured ending his senior season early. He qualified for state in both his sophomore and junior seasons and won over 100 matches in his career as a Tiger. Emich said that SMSU became an option at the end of his junior season. A visit to the campus led him to the belief that he would be a fit there.

  Southwest Minnesota State is in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, an NCAA Division 2 league. Schools in the conference are Augustana University, Bemidji State University, Concordia University-St. Paul, University of Mary, Minnesota State University-Mankato, Moorhead, Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota-Crookston, Minot State, Northern State, St. Cloud State, The University of Sioux Falls, Upper Iowa University, Wayne State College and Winona State.

  SMSU’s head coach is Jesse Nelson. Nelson completed his 11th season as the head coach of the Mustangs this past season and is the fourth coach in program history. He was the NSIC coach of the year in the 2013-14 season and has helped 19 wrestlers become national qualifiers. The Mustangs were 7-8 in duals this year and 2-6 in NSIC dual meets.

  Emrich played football for the Tigers and guided THS this past fall from his quarterback position. Emrich was an all-district selection last fall when he passed for 720 yards and 6 TD’s and led the Tigers defense with 88 tackles and two sacks. Emrich also plays baseball for the Tigers.

  Emrich said that he is leaning towards pursuing a degree in business, but noted that could change. Emrich is the son of Stephen Emrich and Stacy Emrich.

Knights Are RVC Champs!

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

  WEST LIBERTY — The North Cedar Knight girl’s track team captured the 2018 River Valley Conference team title last week at the annual conference meet. This year, the meet was in West Liberty. The Knights win gives the conference five champions, all from the RVC North. North Cedar broke the streak by Cascade who had won the first four conference titles, with the win. The Knights did it with the lowest team point total to capture the league crown. Along those lines, only two teams topped the 100-point mark, but two teams had over 90 points. Cascade was second with 109 points, Monticello was third with 95 and Mid-Prairie was fourth with 92 points. The conference championship is the first for the school in its history. Behind four event wins, North Cedar collected 125.50 points. Cascade was second with 109 points and joined the Knights as the only two member schools in the 13 that topped the 100-point mark.

  North Cedar senior Grace Proesch was involved in all four of North Cedar’s wins. Proesch won the three sprint events, the 100, 200 and 400-meter dash events. Proesch won the 100-meter dash in 12.89, the 200-meter dash in 26.36 and the 400-meter dash in 59.25. Proesch was the anchor leg on the Knights 4X400-meter relay team that won the event in a time of 4:06.60. The team of Sydney Dennis, Cassie Cox, Tessa Fields, and Proesch were the only relay event win for the Knights.

  North Cedar had a pair of runner-up finishes with Cassie Cox placing second in the 400-meter dash in 1:00.14 and Tessa Fields placed second in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:09.47.

  North Cedar placed in the top-3 in five of the seven relay events at the meet. The Knights 4X100-meter relay team of Brittyn Wilhau, Lexi Crist, Darby Hawtrey, Kelly Proesch placed second in 52.50. The Knights shuttle hurdle relay team of Kelly Proesch, Darby Hawtrey, Tessa Fields and Andrea Wachendorf were runners-up in a time of 1:09.62. North Cedar’s sprint medley and distance medley relay teams each placed third.

  The Knights claimed four conference champions for the second straight season and now have 12 conference champion events in the short, 5-year history of the league.

Tigers Place 5th, Set New High Mark For Points Scored
  WEST LIBERTY — The Tipton Tiger girls track and field team took fifth place at the conference meet last week. The Tigers placed fifth last season as well and in the five years of the River Valley Conference, the finishes mark the highest finishes for the Tigers. Tipton scored 59.50 points, setting a new high mark for points scored at an RVC conference meet. The point total eclipse last year’s high point total of 56. Before this back-to-back run of fifth-place finishes, Tipton’s best RVC meet finish was sixth.

  Jamie Kofron won a pair of River Valley Conference titles, winning the shot put and the discus events. Kofron won both events last year and with the win in the shot put, became a three-time champion in the event.

  Tipton had two other top-5 field event finishes. Hunter Humphrey placed 4th in the long jump with a best jump of 15-feet, 2.25-inches. Also, Allie Ryan placed 5th in the shot put with a top throw of 35-feet, 10-inches.

  In individual events, Tipton had a handful of top-10 finishes. The Tigers got a pair of top-10 finishes in the 800-meter run. Amanda Smith placed 5th in 2:38.27 and Zoe Stonebraker placed 10th in 2:48.0. Kallie Wallick placed 8th in the 3,000-meter run in 12:13.89 and Smith added a second top-10 finish, with a 9th place finish in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 5:25.39.

  In relay events, Tipton had four relays place in the top-5 of their respective events at the meet. The Tigers placed third in the 4X200 and 4X400. The Tigers placed fifth in the shuttle hurdle relay and the distance medley relay event.

  The Tigers 4X200-meter relay team of Emily Hermsen, Rachel Bierman, Karlee Kamberling and Tiffany Schott placed third in a time of 1:54.22. The Tigers 4X400-meter relay team of Alyssa Elijah, Rachel Bierman, Karlee Kamberling and Sommer Daniel placed third in a time of 4:15.22.

  The Tigers shuttle hurdle relay team placed 5th. The team of Blake Ehler, Ashlyn Curry, Liz Bierman, and Tiffany Schott finished the race in a time of 1:12.30. The Tigers distance medley relay team of Hermsen, Rachel Bierman, Daniel and Smith placed fifth in a time of 4:36.30.

Wilton led by four scorers and 32 points
  WEST LIBERTY — The Wilton Beavers scored 32 team points and placed 11th at the River Valley Conference meet. Four Beavers scored to make up those points. They were Kortney Drake, LInsey Ford, Chloe Wells, and Lexi Maurer. The 32 points were just ten points less than last year’s total of 42 at the 2017 outdoor RVC meet. The Beavers placed 8th in 2017.

  Linsey Ford led Wilton at the meet, winning the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 16.27. It was the second time in as many years and third time in four years that Wilton has had an individual champion at the RVC meet. Also in individual events, Kortney Drake had a trio of top-5 finishes. Drake placed 4th in the long jump with a best jump of 15-feet, 2.25-inches. She also placed 5th in the 400-meter dash in a time of 1:02.05 and 5th in the 200-meter dash in 28.08. Chloe Wells also placed fourth in the shot put with a top throw of 36-feet, 3-inches.

  The Beavers best relay finish came from their sprint medley relay team of Lexi Maurer, Chloe Wells, Ford, and Drake. The quartet placed fourth in a time of 1:58.62.

Myers, Moeller Lead Wildcats At RVC Meet
  WEST LIBERTY — The Durant Wildcats placed 12th at the River Valley Conference meet last Friday in West Liberty. There, Durant scored 17 team points and was led by Amorae Myers and Breanna Moeller who combined for 11.75 of those points. It was the second straight season that Durant has finished 12th in the final standings. In the five years of the RVC, Durant has struggled to break into the single digits in the final team standings, having their best finish as 11th, three times.

  Myers gave the Wildcats their best finish of the meet with a third-place finish in the long jump. Myers had the best jump of 15-feet, 4-inches. Breanna Moller placed fifth in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:13.89, earning four team points. The best relay finish for Durant was a sixth-place finish from their shuttle hurdle relay team of Moeller, Lilli Nielsen, Addsyn Skinner and Kayley Latham in a time of 1:18.25. Durant also had seventh-place finishes in the distance medley relay and the 4X800-meter relay.

  All four Conservative area teams will run Thursday at the state qualifying meet in Tipton. Winners and runners-up of events, as well as the next best eight finishes statewide, will advance to the state track meet in Des Moines, Thursday, May 17-Saturday, May 19.

River Valley Conference
Friday, 4
At West Liberty
2018 Team Scores: 1. North Cedar 125.50, 2. Cascade 109, 3. Monticello 95, 4. Mid-Prairie 92, 5. Tipton 59.50, 6. Northeast 57, 7. Camanche 42, 8. West Branch 38.50, 9. Iowa City Regina 37, 10. Bellevue 33, 11. Wilton 32.50, 12. Durant 17, 13. West Liberty 3.

2018 RVC Champions
Field Event Results:
Discus: 1. Jamie Kofron (T) 139-07.
High Jump: 1. Gabby Guilford (Monticello) 5-4.
Long Jump: 1. Emy Seeser (CAM) 15-06.75.
Shot Put: 1. Jamie Kofron (T) 43-02.75.

Individual Event Results:
100-meter dash: 1. Grace Proesch (NC) 12.89.
200-meter dash: 1. Grace Proesch (NC) 26.36.
400-meter dash: 1. Grace Proesch (NC) 59.25.
800-meter dash: 1. Anna Hostetler (MP) 2:20.12.
100-meter hurdles: 1. Linsey Ford (WIL) 16.27.
1,500-meter run: 1. Anna Hostetler (MP) 4:50.43.
3,000-meter run: 1. Marie Hostetler (MP) 10:59.30.
400-meter hurdles: 1. Jaylen Votroubek (WB) 1:08.79.

Relay Event Results:
4X100-meter relay: 1. Monticello (Gabby Guilford, Maddie Lambert, Kaylee Stephen, Anna Loes) 51.80.
4X200-meter relay: 1. Cascade (Taylor Menster, Molly McElmeel, Abby Welter, Mae Felton) 1:51.31.
4X400-meter relay: 1. North Cedar (Sydney Dennis, Cassie Cox, Tessa Fields, Grace Proesch) 4:06.60.
4X800-meter relay: 1. Monticello (Taylor McDonald, Gabrielle Steiner, Jordyn Patterson, Paige Holub) 10:08.52.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay: 1. Monticello (Kaylee Stephen, Maria Recker, Macy McDonough, Gabby Guilford) 1:09.50.
Sprint Medley Relay: 1. Cascade (Taylor Menster, Mae Felton, Molly McElmeel, Rachel Trumm) 1:53.01.
Distance Medley Relay: 1. Mid-Prairie (Maddie Edgington, Amber Swart, Abbagail Evans, Marie Hostetler) 4:22.47.

2018 — Tipton, Wilton, Durant North Cedar Results:
Field Event Results:
Discus: 1. Jamie Kofron (T) 139-07, 3. Nicole Sander (NC) 113-0, 8. Liz Bierman (T) 98-02.50, 12. Callie Meyer (NC) 87-07, 17. Kayla Hildreth (WIL) 77-06, 18. Brittany Kahl (D) 76-10, 19. Taylor Goldermann (WIL) 76-06.5, 21. Emily Seligman (D) 73-10.50.
High Jump: 2. Darby Hawtrey (NC) 5-4, 5. Lexi Crist (NC) 5-0.
Long Jump: 3. Amorae Myers (D) 15-04.0, 4. Kortney Drake (WIL) 15-02.25, 4. Hunter Humphrey (T) 15-2.25, 11. Kassadie Galloway (NC) 13-10.50, 13. Kerrigan Johnson (D) 13-03.75, 15. Sara Webb (T) 12-10.50.
Shot Put: 1. Jamie Kofron (T) 43-02.75, 3. Nicole Sander (NC) 37-02.25, 4. Chloe Wells (WIL) 36-03, 5. Allie Ryan (T) 35-10.0, 15. Emily Seligman (D) 30-03, 21. Taylor Goldermann (WIL) 24-09.0, 22. Brittany Kahl (D) 24-08.5.

Individual Event Results:
100-meter dash: 1. Grace Proesch (NC) 12.89, 7. Lexi Crist (NC) 13.77, 18. Elizabeth Wurzer (D) 15.16, 22. Kaitlyn Wiese (D) 17.15, 23. Kenadi Krenz (T) 17.82.
200-meter dash: 1. Grace Proesch (NC) 26.36, 4. Cassie Cox (NC) 27.46, 5. Kortney Drake (WIL) 28.08, 16. Jaydon Bierman (T) 30.55, 18. Megan Hook (WIL) 30.71, 20. Courtney Petersen (T) 31.15, 22. Elizabeth Wurzer (D) 31.79, 23. Kayley Latham (D) 32.21.
400-meter dash: 1. Grace Proesch (NC) 59.25, 2. Cassie Cox (NC) 1:00.14, 5. Kortney Drake (WIL) 1:02.05, 6. Alyssa Elijah (T) 1:03.64, 13. Hailey Stewart (T) 1:10.14, 17. Heidi Wolf (D) 1:12.54, 20. Kerrigan Johnson (D) 1:19.12, 22. Brooke Doehrmann (WIL) 1:25.21.
800-meter dash: 5. Amanda Smith (T) 2:38.37, 10. Zoe Stonebraker (T) 2:48.0, 14. Tori Novinski (D) 2:54.82, 15. Sadie Brown (NC) 2:56.90, 19. Hannah Hicks (NC) 3:06.08, 20. Emi Coss (WIL) 3:11.53, 21. Kirsten Jurgersen (WIL) 3:15.17, 22. Aubrey Doerscher (D) 3:46.81.
100-meter hurdles: 1. Linsey Ford (WIL) 16.27, 4. Darby Hawtrey (NC) 16.63, 6. Kelly Proesch (NC) 17.04, 11. Tiffany Schott (T) 17.69, 12. Breanna Moeller (D) 17.85, 13. Ashlyn Curry (T) 17.91, 15. Addisyn Skinner (D) 19.53.
1,500-meter run: 9. Amanda Smith (T) 5:25.39, 11. Kallie Wallick (T) 5:36.81, 12. Ellie Berry (D0 5:43.71, 16. Carly Montz (NC) 5:54.73, 17. Kiley Chapman (NC) 5:57.76, 18. Franchesca Owens (WIL) 6:16.97, 19. Abby Brown (WIL) 6:17.70, 20. Morgan Russell (D) 6:18.45.
3,000-meter run: 8. Kallie Wallick (T) 12:13.89, 9. Kiley Chapman (NC) 12:39.17, 10. Carly Montz (NC) 12:56.72, 11. Lindsey Randolph (WIL) 15:04.42.
400-meter hurdles: 2. Tessa Fields (NC) 1:09.47, 5. Breanna Moeller (D) 1:13.89, 12. Lilli Nielsen (D) 1:21.97, 13. Kayla Hildreth (WIL) 1:25.23.

Relay Event Results:
4X100-meter relay: 2. North Cedar (Brittyn Wilhau, Lexi Crist, Darby Hawtrey, Kelly Proesch) 52.50, 9. Durant (Abby Ryan, Addisyn Skinner, Lilli Nielsen, Amorae Myers) 55.69, 10. Wilton (Lexi Maurer, Linsey Ford, Meggan Hook, Chloe Wells) 56.90, 12. Tipton (Hunter Humphrey, Hailey Stewart, Kelly Lieser, Jaydon Bierman) 1:05.78.
4X200-meter relay: 3. Tipton (Emily Hermsen, Rachel Bierman, Karlee Kamberling, Tiffany Schott) 1:54.22, 10. Durant (Chelsea Alderman, Savanna Strom, Rayne Mangels, Allie Peel) 2:07.44, 7. North Cedar (Kiara Musser, Sam Koth, Kayla Syring, Andrea Wachendorf) 2:00.38.
4X400-meter relay: 1. North Cedar (Sydney Dennis, Cassie Cox, Tessa Fields, Grace Proesch) 4:06.60, 3. Tipton (Alyssa Elijah, Rachel Bierman, Karlee Kamberling, Sommer Daniel) 4:15.22, 9. Durant (Heidi Wolf, Kyrnan LIske-Rochholz, Kerrigan Johnson, Allie Peel) 5:12.72.
4X800-meter relay: 7. Durant (Ellie Berry, Heidi Wolf, Kerrigan Johnson, Morgan Russell) 12:04.07, 8. North Cedar (Sadie Brown, Hannah Hicks, Kayla Syring, Karly Cerda) 12:20.86, 9. Tipton (Zoe Stonebraker, Zoe Rezac, Kayley Clark, Mariah Petersen) 12:29.45, 10. Wilton (Abby Brown, Franchesca Owens, Emi Coss, Kirsten Jurgersen) 12:39.91.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay: 2. North Cedar (Kelly Proesch, Darby Hawtrey, Tessa Fields, Andrea Wachendorf) 1:09.62, 5. Tipton (Blake Ehler, Ashlyn Curry, Liz Bierman, Tiffany Schott) 1:12.30, 6. Durant (Breanna Moeller, Lilli Nielsen, Addisyn Skinner, Kayley Latham) 1:18.25.
Sprint Medley Relay: 3. North Cedar (Kiara Musser, Brittyn Wilhau, Sydney Dennis, Cassie Cox) 1:55.55, 4. Wilton (Lexi Maurer, Chloe Wells, Linsey Ford, Kortney Drake) 1:58.62, 7. Tipton (Hunter Humphrey, Karlee Kamberling, Emily Hermsen, Kelly Lieser) 2:02.64, 11. Durant (Chelsea Alderman, Savanna Strom, Rayne Mangels, Kyrnan Liske-Rochholz) 2:19.67.
Distance Medley Relay: 3. North Cedar (Brittyn Wilhau, Lexi Crist, Sydney Dennis, Tessa Fields) 4:30.83, 5. Tipton (Emily Hermsen, Rachel Bierman, Sommer Daniel, Amanda Smith) 4:36.30, 7. Durant (Amorae Myers, Breanna Moeller, Abby Ryan, Tori Novinski) 4:44.56, 11. Wilton (Lexi Maurer, Karlie Schult, Meggan Hook, Becca Ball) 5:32.31.

Tigers Break Through With Top-5 Finish At RVC Meet

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

  TIPTON — For the first time in the five-year history of the River Valley Conference, the Tipton boy’s track team has placed in the top-5 of the team standings at the conference meet. Last Friday, the Tigers claimed 5th place out of 13 scoring member schools. The Tigers scored 64 team points. Both were new high marks by a Tipton boys team at an RVC meet. The Tigers came to the meet with three ninth-place finishes in four seasons. The other finish was an 11th place finish in 2016. The Tigers also claimed their first River Valley Conference champion in three years. Senior Quinten Mesick won the long jump. The last THS RVC champ came in the 2015 season was two, Eric Lenz in the 1,600-meter run and the Tigers sprint medley relay.

  Mid-Prairie ended the four-year reign of RVC North Schools claiming the boys track and field title. The Golden Hawks scored 123 team points to capture the title. The Golden Hawks were runners-up last season and fourth in 2016. Monticello owns two RVC titles with Bellevue and Monticello having the others before this year.

  Quinten Mesick scored 19 points for the Tigers. Ten of them came by winning the long jump. Mesick had the best jump of 20-feet, 4-inches. Mesick added eight points with a runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash. Mesick was second to Mid-Prairie’s Cary Schaefer with a time of 51.59 to Schaefer’s time of 50.89. It was a repeat of their epic 400-meter indoor chase at the RVC indoor meet in which Mesick edged Schaefer for the win at the University of Dubuque earlier this spring.

  In individual distance events, Caleb Schumaker had a runner-up finish in the 1,600-meter run. Shumaker ran to a time of 4:44.66. Ben Ellis placed 6th in the 3,200-meter run in 10:35.94. In hurdles, Frank Bierman and Paden Zell were 4th and 5th respectively in the 110-meter high hurdles in 16.29 and 16.34.

  In relay events, Tipton had three, top-5 finishes. The Tigers shuttle hurdle relay team of Paden Zell, Davis Butler, Payten Elijah, and Frank Bierman were runners-up with a time of 1:01.71. The Tigers 4X800-meter relay team of Bryce Deerberg, Shumaker, Trent Pelzer, and Corey Wallick placed 3rd in 8:31.91. That time was a new season best for the team. The Tigers 4X400-meter relay team of Deerberg, Noah Jedlicka, Wallick and Mesick placed 5th in a time of 3:34.92. That time was a new season best.

  In field events, Tipton’s best finish came from Mesick in winning the long jump. Andrew Stewart placed 6th in the high jump with a best jump of 5-10.

Knights Score 63 Points At Conference Meet
  WEST LIBERTY — Last week saw the start of the postseason run for area track and field teams with the annual River Valley Conference meet. This year the meet was held at West Liberty where all 13 River Valley Conference teams participated. There, the North Cedar Knights placed 6th with 63 points. Two RVC South schools took the top-2 spots in the team race. Mid-Prairie won the conference title with a team score of 123 while West Liberty was second with 103. Northeast tied for second with the Comets. Bellevue was fourth with 78 points. Seven of the 13 schools scored over 50 team points.

  The Knights did not win an event at the conference meet but had two runner-up finishes. Caden Wendt was second in the shot put with a best throw of 49-07 and Greg Hansen was second in the 100-meter dash in a time of 11.55.

  North Cedar had a trio of third-place finishes at the meet. Owen Meyer was third in the discus with a best throw of 139-10. Hansen was third in the 200-meter dash in 23.38 and Seamus Raney was third in the 400-meter dash in 51.76.

  North Cedar’s best relay finish came from their 4X400-meter relay team of Treat Spahr, Greg Hansen, Miles McCullough, and Seamus Raney. The quartet finished fourth in the event in a time of 3:33.82.

  North Cedar will run Thursday at the state qualifying meet in Tipton. Winners and runners-up of events, as well as the next best eight finishes statewide, will advance to the state track meet in Des Moines, Thursday, May 17-Saturday, May 19.

Wildcats Place 11th
  WEST LIBERTY — The Durant Wildcats placed 11th at the River Valley Conference meet. The Wildcats scored 19 team points. Durant was led by three 5th place finishes, one relay, and two individual events.

  The Wildcats distance medley relay team of Cole Miedema, Jake Willkomm, Jeremy Carnes and Jack Voss placed fifth in 3:56.73. Individually, Jake Willkomm placed fifth in the 200-meter dash in a time of 24.34 and Cale Frett placed fifth in the discus with a best throw of 138-feet, 1-inch.

  Other scoring finishes were Ty Chenault sixth in the long jump; Cameron Ruggiero, seventh in the 100-meter dash; Easton Botkins eighth in the 1,600-meter run and the Wildcats 4X100-meter relay team of Willkomm, Ruggiero, Marcus Engstler and Miedema placed eighth.

Beavers Top Finishes Come From Relays
  WEST LIBERTY — The Wilton Beavers placed 13th at last week’s River Valley Conference meet. The Beavers scored only three points at the meet. The Beavers best finishes came in relay events. Wilton’s best finish came from its shuttle hurdle relay team of Colby Sawvell, Chase Miller, Scott Martin, and Brian Stillman. That team placed seventh in a time of 1:08.79 and was second in the first of three heats of the event.

  Wilton placed eighth in the 4X800-meter relay to score another team point. The team of Dalton Snider, Ethan Bailey, Colby Brown and Isaac Hunter finished in a time of 9:51.66.

  The Beavers top field event finish came from Drake Hayes in the long jump with a ninth-place finish. Hayes had the best jump of 17-feet, 5.25 inches. Colby Sawvell captured the best individual finish for the Beavers with an 11th place finish in the 110-meter high hurdles in 18.17.

River Valley Conference
Friday, 4
At West Liberty
2018 Team Scores: 1. Mid-Prairie 123, 2. West Liberty 103, 2. Northeast 103, 4. Bellevue 78, 5. Tipton 64, 6. North Cedar 63, 7. Monticello 60, 8. Iowa City Regina 47, 9. Cascade 29, 10. Camanche 28, 11. Durant 19, 12. West Branch 18, 13. Wilton 3.

2018 RVC Champions
Field Event Results:
Discus: 1. Bryce Esmoil (WL) 151-09.
Long Jump: 1. Quinten Mesick (T) 20-04.0.
High Jump: 1. Braeden Hoyer (NE) 6-4.
Shot Put: 1. Luke Stein (ICR) 53-08.0.

Individual Event Results:
100-meter dash: 1. Tanner Iske (WL) 10.97.
200-meter dash: 1. Tanner Iske (WL) 22.60.
400-meter dash: 1. Cary Schaefer (MP) 50.89.
800-meter dash: 1. Wyatt Schmidt (NE) 2:00.35.
110-meter high hurdles: 1. Avery Martensen (Monticello) 15.17.
1,600-meter run: 1. Floyd Evans (MP) 4:33.71.
3,200-meter run: 1. Floyd Evans (MP) 10:00.55.
400-meter hurdles: 1. Michael Hartman (WL) 55.54.

Relay Event Results:
4X100-meter relay: 1. West Liberty (Michael Hartman, Seth Feldman, Joe Kelly, Tanner Iske) 43.70.
4X200-meter relay: 1. West Liberty (Michael Hartman, Seth Feldman, Joe Kelly, Tanner Iske) 1:31.79.
4X400-meter relay: 1. Northeast (Chad Williams, Brandon House, Braeden Hoyer, Wyatt Schmidt) 3:28.82.
4X800-meter relay: 1. Bellevue (Andrew Penniston, Kyle Guenther, Alex Reed, Caleb Kress) 8:14.14.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay: 1. West Liberty (Michael Hartman, Will Esmoil, Seth Feldman, Austin McMichael) 59.26..
Sprint Medley Relay: 1. Northeast (Chad Williams, Dawson Stoll, Braeden Hoyer, Wyatt Schmidt) 1:36.61.
Distance Medley Relay: 1. Mid-Prairie (Elmir Ganlbegovic, Adain Rath, Grant Boyse, Floyd Evans) 3:40.75..

2018 — Tipton, Wilton, Durant North Cedar Results:
Field Event Results:
Discus: 3. Owen Meyer 139-10, 5. Cale Frett (D) 138-01, 16. Jacob Sander 112-0, 18. Dawson Frett (D) 106-08, 19. Nile Schuett (T) 103-03.
High Jump: 6. Andrew Stewart (T) 5-10.
Long Jump: 1. Quinten Mesick (T) 20-04, 6. Ty Chenault (D) 18-01.5, 8. Keon McCullough 18-01.0, 9. Drake Hayes (WIL) 17-05.25, 11. Cole Miedema (D) 17-04, 13. Colby Sawvell (WIL) 16-11.5.
Shot Put: 2. Caden Wendt 49-07.0, 9. Dawson Frett (D) 46-0.0, 18. Brady Lehrman 37-10.0, 19. Nile Schuett (T) 37-0, 20. Cale Frett (D) 36-08, 23. Jacob Creamer (WIL) 31-04.5.

Individual Event Results:
100-meter dash: 2. Greg Hansen 11.55, 5. Miles McCullough 11.80, 7. Cameron Ruggiero (D) 12.17, 10. Tristan Hughes (D) 12.43, 22. Charles Martin (WIL) 13.80, 23. Silas Harris (WIL) 14.24.
200-meter dash: 3. Greg Hansen 23.38, 5. Jake Willkomm (D) 24.34, 13. Payten Elijah (T) 25.46, 16. John Stroup (T) 25.55, 17. Jake Nietfeldt (D) 25.93, , 20. Peyton Hagens (WIL) 26.47, 24. Skyler Darts 27.98, 25. Corey Anderson (WIL) 28.48..
400-meter dash: 2. Quinten Mesick (T) 51.59, 3. Seamus Raney 51.76, 9. Corey Wallick (T) 54.72, 12. Dalton Snider (WIL) 56.39, 14. Chase Miller (WIL) 56.98, 18. Easton Botkins (D) 59.86, 20. Drew Henderson (D) 1:01.38, 21. Dragon Cinkovich 1:02.63.
800-meter dash: 8. Seamus Raney 2:07.31, 9. Jeremy Carnes (D) 2:07.63, 10. Trent Pelzer (T) 2:10.41, 12. Jack Voss (D) 2:12.89, 14. Brandon Valet (T) 2:14.16, 20. Colby Brown (WIL) 2:29.81, 21. Ethan Bailey (WIL) 2:30.28.
110-meter high hurdles: 2. Treat Spahr 15.68, 4. Frank Bierman (T) 16.29, 5. Paden Zell (T) 16.34, 9. Ethan Sahr 17.67, 11. Colby Sawvell (WIL) 18.17.
1,600-meter run: 2. Caleb Shumaker (T) 4:44.66, 8. Easton Botkins (D) 4:55.46, 10. Ben Ellis (T) 4:57.85, 15. Isaac Hunter (WIL) 5:16.74, 17. Anthony Mundt (D) 5:19.76, 20. Shawn Kintz 6:09.75, 21. Joe Condon 6:15.97.
3,000-meter run: 6. Ben Ellis (T) 10:35.94, 8. Andrew Olseen (T) 11:12.73, 17. Nathaniel Fagner (WIL) 13:10.84.
400-meter hurdles: 3. Treat Spahr 57.07, 8. Frank Bierman (T) 59.81, 10. Paden Zell (T) 1:01.59, 12. Ethan Sahr 1:02.45, 13. Brian Stillman (WIL) 1:02.63, 17. Scott Martin (WIL) 1:06.47, 18. Cameron Hoon (D) 1:07.78.

Relay Event Results:
4X100-meter relay: 8. Durant (Jake Willkomm, Cameron Ruggiero, Marcus Engstler, Cole Miedema) 47.82, 9. Tipton (Blaise Thumma, Andrew Stewart, Payten Elijah, Davis Butler) 47.83, 10. Wilton (Brian Stillman, Drake Hayes, Peyton Hagens, Chase Miller) 48.56, 11. North Cedar (Dragon Cinkovich, Chance Cinkovich, Evan Patterson, Ryan Baker) 48.87.
4X200-meter relay: 8. Tipton (Blaise Thumma, Bryce Deerberg, Andrew Stewart, Davis Butler) 1:39.73, 9. Durant (Zac Badtram, Marcus Engstler, Jake Nietfeldt, Cameron Ruggiero) 1:41.71, 10. North Cedar (Keon McCullough, Chance Cinkovich, Evan Patterson, Ryan Baker) 1:41.86, 11. Wilton (Brian Stillman, Drake Hayes, Jacob Reifert, Peyton Hagens) 1:42.60.
4X400-meter relay: 4. North Cedar (Treat Spahr, Greg Hansen, Miles McCullough, Seamus Raney) 3:33.82, 5. Tipton (Bryce Deerberg, Noah Jedlicka, Corey Wallick, Quinten Mesick) 3:34.92, 9. Wilton (Dalton Snider, Drake Hayes, Chase Miller, Jacob Reifert) 3:53.64, 12. Durant (Drew Henderson, Cameron Hoon, Anthony Mundt, Koby Paulsen) 4:11.25.
4X800-meter relay: 3. Tipton (Bryce Deerberg, Caleb Shumaker, Trent Pelzer, Corey Wallick) 8:31.91, 8. Wilton (Dalton Snider, Ethan Bailey, Colby Brown, Isaac Hunter) 9:51.66, 9. North Cedar (Ryan Baker, Chance Cinkovich, Evan Patterson, Shawn Kintz) 9:57.58.
Shuttle Hurdle Relay: 2. Tipton (Paden Zell, Davis Butler, Payten Elijah, Frank Bierman) 1:01.71, 5. North Cedar (Ethan Sahr, Miles McCullough, Dragon Cinkovich, Treat Spahr) 1:04.13, 7. Wilton (Colby Sawvell, Chase Miller, Scott Martin, Brian Stillman) 1:08.79.
Sprint Medley Relay: 9. Tipton (John Stroup, Blaise Thumma, Brandon Hines, Noah Jedlicka) 1:42.65, 10. North Cedar (Miles McCullough, Ethan Sahr, Greg Hansen, Seamus Raney) 1:47.02, 12. Durant (Cole Stineman, Caleb Burmeister, Zac Badtram, Cameron Hoon) 1:51.43.
Distance Medley Relay: 5. Durant (Cole Miedema, Jake Willkomm, Jeremy Carnes, Jack Voss) 3:56.73, 7. Tipton (John Stroup, Payten Elijah, Brandon Hines, Brandon Valet) 4:04.93, 9. North Cedar (Keon McCullough, Chance Cinkovich, Evan Patterson, Ryan Baker) 4:11.51.

From the Cheap Seats: Alicia Goetz Craig takes relay team to Drake Relays

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

  Former Tipton Tiger Alicia Craig was at the 2018 Drake Relays last week. Craig brought her middle school distance medley relay team to the blue oval to compete in the first year of middle school events at the Relays.

  “The Drake Relays offered their first middle school qualifying this year,” said Craig. “We had to sign up ahead of time and they took the top eight qualifying times in each middle school event. We had to send in our times by a certain date, then they got back to the eight qualifying teams and we got to run here. It’s pretty cool,” she said.

  Craig was on the Tigers 2007 state championship track team and was on the 2008 team that placed third. She was on the state winning 2008 shuttle hurdle relay team with teammates Maggie Wehde, Brittany Foulks, and Missy Miller. She also was an individual state qualifier in the 400-meter hurdles and went to the state swim meet her senior season.

  Craig was a first-team Des Moines Register All-State point guard her senior season and graduated in 2009. She signed a National Letter of Intent to swim at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Later, she transferred to Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa and played basketball a while. She graduated from Simpson and is in her fourth year teaching at Carlisle.

  She is in her third year coaching track and cross-country at the middle school level. She has coached swimming and basketball as well at Indianola and Carlisle.

  “I have one assistant and they hired a throwing coach this year. We have 60 girls out, we have to have me and an assistant, and our throwing coach. I take hurdles, I coach both boys and girls,” she said.

  Craig said that she enjoyed being on the coaching side of things this year at Drake and was proud of her girls.

  “I’m so incredibly proud of these girls. Although they came in 2nd, their time is not an average 2nd place time. 4:23.73 for two 7th graders and two 8th graders. This time puts them 3rd in 3A HS times currently, and 8th in all classes,” she said.

  After the team ran on Friday night, Craig and her track kids stuck around to take in the action on the track.

  Craig is married to Tyler, and the couple lives in Central Iowa. Craig is the daughter of Mike and Denise Goetz of Tipton.