Fall 2018 Preview: Tigers Look For Big Things In 2018

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

TIPTON — The Tigers swimming program has a lot to be excited about this season. Last year the Tigers were celebrating consistent numbers with 17 swimmings. This year, the team is made up of 15 girls. The Tigers have a three-year run of roster average of 16, their best in a while. Those numbers helped the Tigers to a 5-1 dual record last year and a 6th place finishes at their Regional meet.

Having the numbers again this season will again help the Tigers compete for meet titles. The numbers will allow coach Whitney Gehrs to fill the line-up and add depth to events as in recent seasons Gehrs returns for her 8th year guiding the Tiger swimmers

Four of the five individual events best swimming times return. Two returners had a pair of top times in events. Junior Ali Anderson had the best time in two spring events, the 50-yard freestyle (26.61) and the 100-yard freestyle (59.94). Sophomore Zoe Stonebraker, had the best times in the 200-yard freestyle (2:18.42) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:52.62). Junior Britney Ford returns and had the top time in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:14.48) while sophomore Maddie Swick returns after having the best time in the 100-yard butterfly (1:06.89).

In relay events, three of the four members of the top 200-yard freestyle relay return in Anderson, Stonebraker, and Swick. The time of the relay had was 1:52.62. All four members of the Tigers best time in the 400-yard freestyle relay team return. Swimmers on that team were Sara Webb, Artica Dykstra, Zoe Stonebraker, and Maddie Swick. The relay team swam in a time of 4:19.29. In the other Tipton relay, the 200-yard medley relay, three of the four members return. They are Britney Ford, Zoe Stonebraker, and Artica Dykstra. Ashley Mente was also on the relay. The relay team swam to a time of 2:01.25.

There is also added excitement this year around the team as the state has changed how teams can qualify for the state meet. The Tigers have not had a state qualifier in nearly ten years, but this year could be the year they make a run.

Gone from the Tigers 2017 team Katie Binns, Kenadi Krenz, Ashley Mente, Isabelle Valet, Erica Wehde, Bee Simmermaker, McKenzie Himes, Keira Swallom.

The Tigers welcome six new swimmers to the program. They are Corrine Vandergaast, Sabra Rogers, Alicia Beranek, Hannah Tucker, Mayle Brooks, and Rhyan Hoefler.

The Tigers will host three meets this season. They are Monday, August 27 at home against Williamsburg, Thursday, September 27 against Davenport North and Monday, October 15 against Fairfield. Tipton will travel to Saturday Invitationals to Muscatine, Clinton and Cedar Rapids Washington. Those meets are part of a 12-meet regular season schedule.

Gone From 2017: Katie Binns, Kenadi Krenz, Ashley Mente, Isabelle Valet, Erica Wehde, Bee Simmermaker, McKenzie Himes, Keira Swallom.

Back From 2017: Artica Dykstra, Ali Anderson, Britney Ford, Sara Webb, Holly Galligher, Zoe Stonebraker, Liz Bierman, Kayley Clark, Maddie Swick.

New Faces: Corrine Vandergaast, Sabra Rogers, Alicia Beranek, Hannah Tucker, Mayle Brooks, Rhyan Hoefler.

From the Cheap Seats: Beavers dedicate workout for #MilesForMollie

Members of the Wilton cross-country team dedicated their workout on Friday, August 24 to the #MilesforMollie movement sweeping the country. The idea is to honor the Brooklyn, Iowa native who was murdered last month. Tibbetts was a runner and was on a run when tragedy struck. Pictured are, front row: Linsey Ford, Emmy Drake, Cheyenne Rae, Hanna Rogers, Rachel Hunter, Lindsey Randolph, Ansley Boorn, Coach Patches Breed, Meghan Hook, Zoe Barrett, and Coach Amy Hurd. Back Row: Head Coach Nick Dohrmann, Ethan Drake, Noah Willis, Kaiden Maine, Gavin Freeman, Deacon Du e, Casen Reid, Connor Biermann, Gavin Reid, Zach Hein, Josh Hunter, Colby Brown, Isaac Hunter, Mason Baker, Jake Walton, Karl Brisker, Ethan Bailey, Buddy Darting, Jacob Imho , Charlotte Brown, Franc- esca Owens, and Michaela Breed. Not pictured: Abby Brown. Contributed Photo. 

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

  Cross-Country runners are connected. Area teams and the Wilton cross-county team rarely see BGM (Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom) at a meet in any given year. However, they are connected, just like many high school cross-country runners statewide. Last week, the Beavers added to that connection, dedicating a workout for the #MilesforMollie movement sweeping the nation.

  The #MilesforMollie movement was started to honor Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year old Brooklyn, Iowa native and University of Iowa student who was murdered last month while out on a routine run in the Poweshiek town of 1,500 residents. Runners across the country at all levels started the movement to send a collective message of support to not let fears of a similar situation happening, stop them from running. Runners are dedicating their runs to the 20-year old, sharing hopeful messages and encouragement on social media, tagged #MilesforMollie.

  “It was a teachable moment,” said Wilton head cross-country coach Nick Dohrmann.

  “First, she was a runner, and cross-country runners are a family, there is a connection there that it’s not just them. Second, we encourage our kids to do extra running and to be safe,” he said.

  Wilton ran 130 miles as a team last Friday, August 24. A majority of the work was 4-mile repeats where they run a mile, rest and run again, repeating the pattern until the workout is finished.

  Assistant coach Patches Breed had the idea and brought it to Dohrmann who got behind the idea quickly.

  “This is beyond our kids’ time with us at a practice. They are going to run on their own and hopefully, enjoy it to where they want to continue running after their time here at Wilton. Our message is always safe, be aware, be together,” he said.

  Breed, an avid runner who has 30 marathons to her running credit said that the workout last The #MilesforMollie hits home with Breed who while out on a run with a friend, ran into trouble. While on a routine run in a rural area, a car trailed her and her friend and sped off only to return and follow them again. The two runners were able to get to a farmhouse for help, but the incident left a mark on them. It can happen anywhere, and safety is something now that is at the forefront and something that is taken very seriously.

  The Beavers are preparing for their first meets of the season. Wilton was to run at the Louisa-Muscatine Invitational on Tuesday, August 28 before joining a lot of schools at a meet Thursday at in Iowa City. The Beavers are one of the last River Valley Conference teams to begin their season with a meet. Friday was probably their hardest one both mentally and physically.

  “Mentally and physically it (Friday) was our hardest one to date. Still, it was nothing compared to what Mollie’s family is going through, and has gone through,” said Breed.

  Tibbetts was a member of the BGM cross-country team and track team in high school.

  “It’s a movement to represent a young woman who went out for a run and didn’t get to finish. Every one is ‘putting the miles in for her. It’s a message of support for Mollie’s family and telling runners to continue doing what they love,” said Breed.

  Breed said that she and Dohrmann talked about what happened with Tibbetts. They also reinforced running safety.

  “Some of our kids didn’t even know what happened. They were saddened when we did. Kids have so much going on in their lives, that they don’t always know what is going on outside of their world,” said Breed.

  “We really hit the safety piece of this. Stuff like when heading out for a run or bike ride, let someone know how far you are planning to run and the route. Make sure to give them an estimated time when you will be back. This way if you are not back at that time they can come to look for you,” said Breed.

Beavers Score 15 Unanswered Points To Secure Win

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

  DURANT — It’s been a while since Durant had beaten Wilton. A long while. However, this year it looked like Durant would break through against rival Wilton. The Wildcats grabbed momentum early in the game, scoring the game’s first points and overcame a halftime deficit to take a 13-12 lead with 8:36 left in the third quarter. Wilton however, would rally, taking the lead for good with under two minutes left in the third quarter as part of 14 unanswered points to capture a 27-13 week one victory.

  Durant will hit the road Friday, traveling to North Cedar to play the Knights. North Cedar also is 0-1 after losing to rival Tipton 39-18 in their season opener on the road. Wilton will return home for their home opener this week as they host Northeast. The Rebels lost to Camanche on the road in week 1. Overall it was a good week for class A district 6 with four of the six teams winning. Belle Plaine joined the Wildcats as the only D6 teams to lose last week.

  Durant scored first when a long bomb pass from Bryce Lafrenz went for 80-yards to Jake Willkomm down to the 1-yard line. That set up a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Lafrenz into the end zone with 8:24 left in the first quarter. Jerome Mays ran for a 2-yard touchdown late in the first quarter with 54 seconds left to get Wilton on the scoreboard and set the score at 7-6 Durant. It would be the first of three Mays touchdown runs in the game. The turnover bug bit Durant at the end of the first quarter. On the last play of the quarter, a fumbled snap exchange led to a Wilton fumble recovery to end the quarter. The Beavers took advantage, driving 38 yards for a go-ahead score on a Mays 4-yard run. The Beavers took a 12-7 lead with 8:27 left in the half, one they would hold at halftime. PAT’s were an issue in the first half. The Beavers missed a PAT kick and failed to convert on a two-point conversion try.

  The Wildcats put together their best complete drive of the game, an 8-play drive, early in the third quarter to retake the lead. The drive, capped by a Lafrenz 30-yard touchdown pass to Mason Compton gave the momentum back to Durant and got the hometown crowd excited. It was the senior’s first touchdown against Wilton in his career.

  By the end of the quarter, however, Wilton would grab the lead back, scoring with 1:52 left in the quarter on a Mays’ 4-yard run and Brock Hartley PAT kick to take a 19-13 lead. The Beavers would extend their lead to 27-13 early in the fourth quarter. The Beavers worked with a short field, driving 34 yards for their fourth touchdown of the game. Collin McCrabb crossed the goal line from 12 yards out with 9:43 left in the game to give Wilton a 25-13 lead. McCrabb added a two-point conversion run to make it a two-score game and 14-point margin.

  Durant had 234 yards of total offense, 188 of those from the air and 46 on the ground. The Wildcats had only 7 first downs in the football game and had the football for 20:22 of the game. The Wildcats return seniors at quarterback, running back and receiver this season. Bryce Lafrenz passed for 188 yards on 11-of-25 completions. He had a touchdown and an interception. Tristan Hughes led Durant ball carriers with 23 yards on 10 carries. Lafrenz chipped in 12 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Mason Compton was the top Durant receiver, catching four passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.

  Defensively, Hughes led Durant in tackles with 12 including eight solo stops. Zac Badtram added 10 and Marcus Engstler 9. Joe Lilienthal, Engstler and Badtram each recorded a sack in the game.

  Wilton had 342 yards of total offense with 251 of those on the ground and 91 in the air. The Beavers had 20 first downs in the football game and had the football for 27:38 of the game.

  Wilton returns seniors at quarterback, running back and receiver too. Quarterback Jerome Mays nearly rushed and passed for over 100 yards each in the game. He accomplished the feat four times last season and nearly added four other times, narrowly missing out on one aspect or the other during the Beavers 9-2 season last year. Mays passed for 91 yards on 10-of-21 completions. He did not throw a touchdown or an interception in the game. Mays rushed for 76 yards on 25 carries and scored three touchdowns. Wilton was led in rushing by Collin McCrabb who topped 100-yards for the first time in his varsity career. McCrabb totaled 144 yards on 22 carries and scored a touchdown. He had a per carry average of 6.5 yards. Senior receivers Cory Anderson and Chantz Stevens led the passing attack. Anderson finished with a team-high four receptions for 52 yards and Stevens added three receptions for 24 yards.

  Defensively, McCrabb led in tackles with 11 while Brock Hartley had 7, Anderson 6 and Jared Townsend and Patrick Barszczewski each with 5. Clayton Cooling and Townsend each had quarterback sacks in the game.

Team Summary

WIL DUR
First Downs 20 7
Rushes-Ave. 55-4.6 27-0.2
Rush yards 251 46
Pass C-A-I 10-21-0 11-25-1
Pass yards 91 188
Returns-yards 5-89 3-48
Penalties-yds 8-65 9-70
Turnovers 0 2
Time of Poss. 27:38 20:22
Total yards 342 234

Quarter Scores:

1 2 3 4 Final
Wilton 6 6 7 8 27
Durant 7 0 6 0 13

Scoring Summary:
1st Qtr (8:24) - DUR - Bryce Lafrenz 1-yard run (Bryce Lafrenz kick)
1st Qtr (0:54) - WIL - Jerome Mays 2-yard run (Brock Hartley kick no good)
2nd Qtr (8:27) - WIL - Jerome Mays 4-yard run (Jerome Mays run no good)
3rd Qtr (8:36) - DUR - Mason Compton 30-yard pass from Bryce Lafrenz (Bryce Lafrenz pass no good)
3rd Qtr (1:52) - WIL - Jerome Mays 4-yard run (Brock Hartley kick)
4th Qtr (9:43) - WIL - Collin McCrabb 12-yard run (Collin McCrabb run)

Individual Statistics:
Rushing: Wilton - Collin McCrabb 22-144, Jerome Mays 25-76, Trey Sulzberger 7-37, Cory Anderson 1-(-6). Durant - Tristan Hughes 10-23, Bryce Lafrenz 9-12, Zac Badtram 2-6, Mason Compton 1-5.
Passing: Wilton - Jerome Mays 10-for-21 91 yards 0 TD’s, 0 INT’s. Durant - Bryce Lafrenz 11-for-25 188 yards 1 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving: Wilton - Cory Anderson 4-52, Chantz Stevens 3-24, Collin McCrabb 1-8, Ronen Santiago 1-5, Brock Hartley 1-2. Durant - Mason Compton 4-80, Marcus Engstler 3-6, Tristan Hughes 2-12, Jake Willkomm 1-80, Zach Badtram 1-10.

Defensive Statistics:
Tackles (S-A-T): Wilton - Collin McCrabb 5-6 11, Brock Hartley 2-5 7, Cory Anderson 2-4 6, Patrick Barszczewski 2-3 5, Jared Townsend 1-4 5, Brian Stillman 4-0 4, Garrett Bohnsack 1-2 3, Chantz Stevens 1-2 3, Brayton Wade 0-3 3, Ashton Stoelk 2-0 2, Ronen Santiago 0-2 2, Jerome Mays 1-1 2, Clayton Cooling 0-1 1, Trey Sulzberger 0-1 1.
Durant - Tristan Hughes 8-4 12, Zac Badtram 4-6 10, Marcus Engstler 1-8 9, Bryce Lafrenz 3-4 7, Cameron Ruggiero 1-4 5, Will Lossi 2-3 5, Drew DeLong 3-1 4, Jake Willkomm 2-2 4, Ethan Schlapkohl 1-2 3, Joe Lilienthal 0-3 3, Mason Compton 1-2 3, Logan Callison 0-2 2, Jonah Werth 0-2 2.
Tackles For Loss: Wilton - Jared Townsend 1, Clayton Cooling 1, Brian Stillman 1, Brock Hartley 1, Patrick Barszczewski 1. Durant - Tristan Hughes 4, Joe Lilienthal 1, Marcus Engstler 1, Zac Badtram 1.
Sacks: Wilton - Clayton Cooling 1, Jared Townsend 1. Durant - Joe Lilienthal 1, Marcus Engstler 1, Zac Badtram 1.
Fumble Recoveries: Wilton - Brayton Wade 1. Durant - none.
Interceptions: Wilton - Cory Anderson 1. Durant - none.
Pass Knockdowns: Wilton - Collin McCrabb 2, Jerome Mays 1, Ronen Santiago 1, Clayton Cooling 1, Brock Hartley 1. Durant - N/A.

Kicking Statistics:
Kick-Offs: Wilton - Brock Hartley 5-270 yards, 54.0-yard ave. Durant - N/A.
Kick-Off Returns: Wilton - Garrett Bohnsack 2-44 yards, Cory Anderson 1-26 yards. Durant - Mason Compton 3-44 yards.
Punts: Wilton - Jared Townsend 2-74 yards, 37.0-yard ave.; Cory Anderson 1-34 yards, 34.0-yard ave.; Jerome Mays 1-27 yards, 27.0-yard ave. Durant - Bryce Lafrenz 6-212 yards, 35.3-yard ave.
Punt Returns: Wilton - Cory Anderson 2-19 yards, 9.5-yard ave. Durant - Mason Compton 1-14 yards, 14.0-yard ave.

Wildcats Sweep Riverdale to begin season

  DURANT — The Durant volleyball team won their 2018 season opener with a victory at home last Thursday against Riverdale, a school from Illinois. It is the first time the two schools have played an in-season match. Riverdale is similar in school size to Durant and in the TRAC - Tri-Rivers Athletic Conference. Durant swept Riverdale in three sets to improve to 1-0 on the season.

  The win was the first for new Durant coach Mark Lau.

  “We wanted to control the tempo and emotion of the match, and except for the beginning of the third game, we did just that. Our serving won us the match, averaging just under 3 aces/game, but more importantly was how we able to not allow Riverdale to set their best hitters by being very tactical with our serves,” said Lau.

  “Paige Werthmann scored us 8 points off her serve in two games, and Kamryn Meyer scored 7 in 1 game, with multiple others scoring 4+ per game. It's really hard to beat a team that is firing heat at you all night,” he said.

  The Wildcats won their third straight season opener with the victory. Durant opened the 2017 season with a win over Mid-Prairie and opened the 2016 season with a victory over Wilton. The Wildcats lost to West Liberty to begin the 2015 season.

  “Our goal was to play together. The winning and losing will take care of themselves when we play together. We handled the early in the night shot of adrenaline that can dismantle some teams. I wanted to see how would we respond to the challenge of playing at home, against a new opponent, with a new head coach and everything else that could be running through their minds. These young women made their community proud,” said Lau.

  The two teams would play close sets in the first and third, but Durant would prevail. Durant won the first set 25-20 to take a 1-0 match lead. The Wildcats followed that up with a second set win, 25-14 to take a 2-0 match lead. Riverdale played the Wildcats as close as any set in the third set, scoring 23 points, but Durant came out on top with a 25-23 win to sweep the match 3-0.

  Individually, Durant returns their top kill, assist and dig leaders from last year in Kamryn Meyer, Ruby Kappeler, and Hannah Happ. Aubrin Dittmer led Durant in kills in the match with 20 on 28 attack attempts. Meyer had 8 kills and Mallory Warner had 7. The Wildcats had 34 kills as a team on 90 attack attempts in the match.

  Kappeler had 22 assists in the match, routinely finding the Wildcat hitters and placing the volleyball in good spots for attacks. Happ led Durant in digs with a team-high 16. Kappeler had 9 as did Dittmer.

  Durant will be back on the court Saturday at the Iowa City, City High Tournament. Durant will play their River Valley Conference opener at home on Thursday, September 6 when they host Class 3A state-ranked Tipton. In another schedule change, the Wildcats will not be playing at the Wilton volleyball tournament on Saturday, September 8.

Durant 3, Riverdale (IL) 0
Tuesday, August 21
At Durant

Durant 25 25 25
Riverdale 20 14 23

Durant Statistics:
Attacks (70-for-90 34 kills): Aubrin Dittmer 22-for-28 20 kills, Mallory Warner 12-for-16 7 kills, Kamryn Meyer 10-for-14 8 kills, Annie Taylor 10-for-11 5 kills, Ruby Kappeler 8-for-8 2 kills, Jada Rock 3-for-5 1 kill, Kira Schult 3-for-4, Paige Werthmann 2-for-4 1 kill.
Serving (62-for-73 8 aces): Paige Werthmann 10-for-12 2 aces, Aubrin Dittmer 10-for-11, Meg Koenig 9-for-10, Hannah Happ 7-for-9, Ruby Kappeler 8-for-8 1 ace, Jada Rock 3-for-4 2 aces, Kamryn Meyer 3-for-3 1 ace, Gabrielle Olsen 2-for-2 1 ace, Kira Schult 2-for-2, Mallory Warner 2-for-2.
Assists (28): Ruby Kappeler 22, Meg Koenig 4, Hannah Happ 2.
Blocks (14): Mallory Warner 7, Aubrin Dittmer 3, Kamryn Meyer 2, Annie Taylor 1, Pagie Werthmann 1.
Digs (47): Hannah Happ 16, Ruby Kappeler 9, Aubrin Dittmer 9, Paige Werthmann 3, Kira Schult 2, Jada Rock 2, Annie Taylor 2, Kamryn Meyer 2, Meg Koenig 2.

Five Is Nice! Tigers Beat Clinton For Fifth Straight Opening Dual

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

Freshman Rhyan Hoefler breaks the school record
  CLINTON - The Tipton swimming team claimed their fifth straight opening dual win last Thursday at Clinton. The Tigers took a 92-81 win over the River Queens to start the 2018 season. The River Queens gave the Tigers a nice run at the meet due in part to return much of their team last year. Clinton graduated only two swimmers off their team from last year. Clinton had 20 swimmers on its roster, the most in a while, but only swam 15 in the dual with the Tigers due to various reasons.

  “I was happy with the results of our meet,” said Tipton swimming coach Whitney Gehrs. “We stacked the relays and we have incredible depth this year. We won all the relays and we have the depth this year to be getting points from two relays I think,” she said.

  Behind the Tigers, relay event wins were two runner-up finishes and a third-place finish in the relay events.

  Tipton will have a little time to get back in the pool before their next meet.

  “We will keep working on our starts and finishes. Also, we keep working on relay exchanges and those little things are big things,” she said.

  The Tigers won nine varsity events at the meet, one more event win then they had last year over Clinton. The Tigers won all three relay events and had six individual event wins. On top of the meet win, the Tigers saw a longtime record broken at the meet. Freshman Rhyan Hoefler, a North Cedar student who swims with the Tigers, broke the 500-yard freestyle event record, cruising to a time of 5:34.15. That time smashed the previous record set in 1983 by Jill Maher, a record that lasted 35 years. Hoefler swam a first 50-yards of the race in 29.55 which would be her lowest split in the race. She had a high of 34.93 but did not get over 35.0 on any of the ten split times in the race.

  Hoefler had a big night in her first varsity swimming action for Tipton. She also won the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 2:07.40, a full 22 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Hoefler was also on two of the three winning Tipton relays. Her four event wins marks the second straight year that a Tipton freshman has won four events in their first varsity meet. Last season, then-freshman Zoe Stonebraker won four events, the 200-yard freestyle, and 500-yard freestyle and also was on two winning relays.

  Sophomore Maddie Swick won four events at the meet. Swick won the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1:06.02. Swick won the event last year at Clinton in a time of 1:07.35. Swick was also on three winning relay events for the Tigers.

  Stonebraker, Ali Anderson, and Britney Ford each won three events at the meet. Ford won a pair of individual events and was on a winning relay. Stonebraker won an individual event and was on two winning relays. Stonebraker won the 100-yard freestyle in 1:00.14. Anderson was on the three winning Tipton relays and was the anchor leg in two of the three relays. Anderson also was the runner-up in the 50-yard freestyle in 27.05.

  Sara Webb was the runner-up in the 100-yard backstroke while Kayley Clark was third in the 200-yard freestyle and Liz Bierman was third in the 100-yard breaststroke. Clark placed fourth in the 500-yard freestyle and Artica Dykstra placed fourth in the 100-yard backstroke.

  Tipton won all three relay events at the meet. The Tigers won the 200-yard IM relay in a time of 2:01.89, the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:52.35 and the 400-yard freestyle in 4:02.69.

  Clinton was led by Olivia Schroeder. Schroeder swam a 26.48 to win the 50-yard freestyle and won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:10.47. Clinton's third first place of the night came from diver Allison Hasenmiller, who scored 160.3 points in the event.

  Kaedyn Schutte and Molly Shannon both have a pair of runner-up finishes. Schutte was second in the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 1:03.96 and finished second in the 200-yard IM as well. Shannon was runner-up in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 44.04.

  The Tigers swam against Williamsburg Monday night at home for parents night. There, the Tigers beat the Raiders 105 to 59. The Tigers will be back in the pool Saturday at the Muscatine Invitational.


High School Swimming
Tipton 92, Clinton 81
Thursday, August 23

At Clinton, IA

Individual Event Results:
200-yard medley relay: 1. Tipton (Ali Anderson, Britney Ford, Maddie Swick, Rhyan Hoefler) 2:01.89), 2. Clinton 2:06.94, 3. Tipton (Sara Webb, Liz Bierman, Artica Dykstra, Zoe Stonebraker) 2:11.28, 4. Clinton 2:29.48, 5. Tipton (Sabra Rogers, Corrine Vandergaast, Hannah Tucker, Alicia Beranek) 2:56.91.
200-yard freestyle: 1. Rhyan Hoefler (T) 2:07.40, 2. Anna Hilgendorf (C) 2:29.63, 3. Kayley Clark (T) 2:37.10, 4. Emily Frye (C) 3:00.30, 5. Bailey Klinkhammer (C) 3:04.86.
200-meter IM: 1. Britney Ford (T) 2:39.72, 2. Kaedyn Schutte (C) 2:48.94, 3. Sarah Klinkhammer (C) 3:05.43, 4. Lauren Sicherman (C) 3:13.87.
50-yard freestyle: 1. Olivia Schroeder (C) 26.48, 2. Ali Anderson (T) 27.05, 3. Natalie Lawrence (C) 32.11, 4. Jayden Kissack (C) 32.76, 5. Hannah Tucker (T) 40.27, 6. Sabra Rogers (T) 46.60.
1-meter diving: 1. Allison Hasenmiller (C) 160.30.
100-yard butterfly: 1. Maddie Swick (T) 1:06.02, 2. Sarah Hilgendorf (C) 1:22.80, 3. Sarah Klinkhammer (C) 1:30.76, 4. Hannah Tucker (T) 1:56.66.
100-yard freestyle: 1. Zoe Stonebraker (T) 1:00.14, 2. Kaedyn Schutte (C) 1:03.96, 3. Natalie Lawrence (C) 1:14.01, 4. Allison Hasenmiller (C) 1:17.90, 5. Corrine Vandergaast (T) 1:18.54.
500-yard freestyle: 1. Rhyan Hoefler (T) 5:34.15, 2. Molly Shannon (C) 6:35.86, 3. Anna Hilgendorf (C) 6:44.32, 4. Kayley Clark (T) 6:57.28.
200-yard freestyle relay: 1. Tipton (Zoe Stonebraker, Maddie Swick, Liz Bierman, Ali Anderson) 1:52.35, 2. Tipton (Artica Dykstra, Britney Ford, Kayley Clark, Sara Webb) 1:59.96, 3. Clinton 2:07.97, 4. Clinton 2:23.84, 5. Tipton (Sabra Rogers, Alicia Beranek, Hannah Tucker, Corrine Vandergaast) 2:33.29.
100-yard backstroke: 1. Olivia Schroeder (C) 1:10.47, 2. Sara Webb (T) 1:12.69, 3. Sarah Hilgendorf (C) 1:16.96, 4. Artica Dykstra (T) 1:20.14, 5. Jayden Kissack (C) 1:39.65.
100-yard breaststroke: 1. Britney Ford (T) 1:15.62, 2. Molly Shannon (C) 1:21.11, 3. Liz Bierman (T) 1:24.28, 4. Corrine Vandergaast (T) 1:36.16, 5. Lauren Sicherman (C) 1:42.67, 6. Bailey Klinkhammer (C) 1:42.73.
400-yard freestyle relay: 1. Tipton (Rhyan Hoefler, Zoe Stonebraker, Maddie Swick, Ali Anderson) 4:02.69, 2. Clinton 4:16.54, 3. Tipton (Artica Dykstra, Liz Bierman, Kayley Clark, Sara Webb) 4:45.51, 4. Clinton 5:22.44.

Tigers Wear Down Knights In Second Half

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

  TIPTON — It was the proverbial tale of two halves last Friday in the season-opening football game for the annual Tipton-North Cedar game. The Tigers held a narrow 19-18 halftime lead as North Cedar fought hard in the opening half, but the second half was all Tipton. The Tigers scored 20-unanswered points and ran 41 plays to the Knights 22 in the second half to grab a 39-18 victory. The Tigers 39 points was a high for points scored in a season in at least the last ten seasons. The last time the Tigers scored over 30 points in a season opener was in the 2014 season when they beat West Liberty 32-21. The Tigers also tasted victory in their season opener for the first time in three seasons. The Tigers last season-opening win was a 27-0 win against West Liberty to start the 2015 season. The Tigers have now won the last four games against North Cedar. The Knights last win over Tipton came in the 2014 season.

  Tipton had 474 yards to total offense in the football game with 440 of those from their ground game and 34 from the passing game. The Tigers collected 26 first downs in the football game. The Tigers averaged 8.1 yards per carry on the ground in the game.

  Tipton had nine players carry the football at least once in the game. Two running backs rushed for over 100 yards and a third nearly topped the 100-yard mark. Two ball carries had 15 rush attempts and another had nine carries. Austin Lenz led Tipton in rushing with 134 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns. Jaxson Murphy added 101 yards on six carries. Logan Stolte rushed for 99 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns.

  Tipton used two quarterbacks in the game with each having at least one completion. Payten Elijah had a 27-yard touchdown pass to Frank Bierman. Bierman caught two passes for 34 yards. His other catch was from starting quarterback Blake Wilkins. Wilkins guided the Tiger offense for much of the game. He had six carries and scored a rushing touchdown.

  Defensively, seniors Dylan Mente and Logan Stolte led Tipton with each collecting 8 tackles. Chance Koch had 7 tackles while Nile Schuett and Frank Bierman each had 6. Peyton Elijah had an interception and Nile Schuett had a fumble recovery. Schuett also recorded a tackle for loss.

  “We wore them down, which is what we want to do to teams,” said Tipton football coach Joe Zeutenhorst.

  “We ran the football very well and our line did a great job blocking and opening up the running lanes,” he said.

  Tipton scored first in the opening quarter on a Logan Stolte 13-yard run for a 6-0 lead. A 1-yard Brody Hawtrey touchdown run later in the quarter tied the game at 6-6. Each team scored two touchdowns in the second quarter. Tipton scored their touchdowns on a Blake Wilkins 3-yard run and an Austin Lenz 24-yard run. North Cedar scored their touchdowns on a 52-yard pass from Ethan Sahr to Kael Unruh that tied the game at 12, and later a 15-yard pass from Sahr to Tyler Alexander got the Knights to within 19-18 with under a minute left in the first half.

  The Tigers came out after halftime with renewed vigor. Tipton and North Cedar traded possessions to start the second half. Tipton would put the game away after the Knights were forced to punt on their first second-half possession. Tipton would embark on a 14-play drive on their second drive of the third quarter, chewing up most of the clock in the quarter. The drive ended with a Logan Stolte 12-yard touchdown run. After a Frank Bierman PAT, the Tigers led 26-18. Though it was a one-possession ball game, the Knights found it hard to gain any momentum the rest of the way and could not find the end zone the rest of the game.

  The Tigers added two, fourth quarter scores, a Lenz 15-yard run and a 27-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Elijah to Bierman, to set the final score at 39-18.

  “We were in a ball game and with eight minutes to go were in an 8-point game. We were in it because we played well,” said North Cedar coach Adam Hadenfeldt.

  “The one major goal is to win the ball game. We didn’t, but I thought that for the most part, watching Friday night, we are pleased with things. We did a lot of things well and a lot of things that we can clean up,” he said.

  North Cedar had 12 first downs in the game and 292 yards of total offense. The Knights were 4-for-13 on third down conversions, but better on 4th down conversions, going 4-for-6.

  Brody Hawtrey led North Cedar rushers with 32 yards on 17 carries. Logan Thimmes added 31 yards on seven carries. Ethan Sahr passed for 225 yards on 13-of-25 attempts with two touchdowns. Tyler Alexander caught a team-high five passes for 90 yards. Kael Unruh caught four passes for 86 yards.

  Defensively, Thimmes and Tyler Thurston each led the Knights in tackles with 11 while Caden Wendt and Jon Scheer had 8 and 7 respectively.

  It was not a good week for class 2A district 5 teams. Tipton and Camanche were the only two of the six district teams to get victories. Camanche beat Northeast 34-18. Three of the four teams - West Liberty, Mount Vernon, and West Burlington each lost by more than two touchdowns. Louisa-Muscatine lost a close game to Wapello 34-28. The Tigers will host Vinton-Shellsburg Friday night. The Tigers will travel to Durant in week 3.

  North Cedar will play at home for the first time this season Friday when they host Durant. The Wildcats also lost in week one. Durant fell 27-13 to Wilton at home in similar fashion. The Wildcats led 13-12 with 6 minutes left in the third quarter before the Beavers scored 14 unanswered points. Tipton will host Vinton-Shellsburg. Vinton-Shellsburg lost 49-7 at home to Alburnett last Friday.

  “We will get back at it this week. We have a bigger school coming in Friday, one we haven’t played in a while and it will be a challenge,” said Zeutenhorst.

Team Summary:

TIP NC

Total Plays 71 59
First downs 26 12
Total Yards 474 292
Pass C-A-I 2-3-0 13-25-1
Pass yards 34 225
Rushes-ave. 58-8.1 31-2.1
Rush yards 440 67
3rd Conv. 4-for-10 4-for-13
4th Conv. 3-for-3 4-for-6
Turnovers 1 2
Penalties-yds. 11-120 4-56

Quarter Scores:

1 2 3 4 Final
North Cedar 6 12 0 0 18
Tipton 6 13 7 13 39

Scoring Summary:
1st Qtr (TIP) - Logan Stolte 13-yard run (2-pt. Conversion failed)
1st Qtr (NC) - Brody Hawtrey 1-yard run (Brody Hawtrey PAT no good)
2nd Qtr (TIP) - Blake Wilkins 3-yard run (Frank Bierman PAT no good)
2nd Qtr (NC) - Kael Unruh 52-yard pass from Ethan Sahr (Brody Hawtrey PAT no good)
2nd Qtr (TIP) - Austin Lenz 24-yard run (Frank Bierman kick)
2nd Qtr (NC) - Tyler Alexander 15-yard pass from Ethan Sahr (2-pt. Conversion failed)
3rd Qtr (TIP) - Logan Stolte 12-yard run (Frank Bierman kick)
4th Qtr (TIP) - Austin Lenz 15-yard run (2-pt. Conversion failed)
4th Qtr (TIP) - Frank Bierman 27-yard pass from Peyton Elijah (Frank Bierman kick)

Individual Statistics:
Rushing: North Cedar - Brody Hawtrey 17-32, Logan Thimmes 7-31, Kael Unruh 1-4, Ethan Sahr 6-0. Tipton - Austin Lenz 15-131, Jaxon Murphy 6-101, Logan Stolte 15-99, Conner Hermiston 9-44, John Crowley 3-25, Blake Wilkins 6-9, Lake Anderson 2-8, Davis Butler 1-12, Peyton Elijah 1-9.
Passing: North Cedar - Ethan Sahr 13-for-25 225 yards 2 TD’s, 1 INT. Tipton - Peyton Elijah 1-for-1 27 yards 1 TD, 0 INT’s; Blake Wilkins 1-for-2 7 yards 0 TD’s, 0 INT’s.
Receiving: North Cedar - Tyler Alexander 5-90, Kael Unruh 4-86, Brody Hawtrey 3-33, Logan Thimmes 1-16. Tipton - Frank Bierman 2-34.

Defensive Statistics:
Tackles (S-A-T): North Cedar - Logan Thimmes 9-2 11, Tyler Thuston 7-4 11, Caden Wendt 5-3 8, Jon Scheer 6-1 7, Chase Gallagher 4-2 6, Brady Burcum 2-3 5, Gage Walshire 3-1 4, Brody Hawtrey 2-0 2, Tyler Alexander 2-0 2, Kael Unruh 1-0 1, Evan Patterson 1-0 1, Alex Woodward 1-0 1, Tadan Lange 1-0 1, Tyler Jackson 1-0 1.
Tipton - Dylan Mente 6-2 8, Logan Stolte 5-3 8, Chance Koch 1-6 7, Nile Schuett 3-3 6, Frank Bierman 2-4 6, Austin Lenz 3-1 4, Skylar Harroun 2-2 4, Peyton Elijah 1-2 3, John Crowley 1-2 3, Kyle Priebe 1-1 2, Conner Hermiston 1-1 2, Jack Boldt 1-0 1. TEAM: 4-3 7.
Tackles For Loss: North Cedar - Brady Burcum 1, Tyler Thurston 1. Tipton - Nile Schuett 1.
Sacks: North Cedar - Tyler Thurston 1. Tipton - none.
Interceptions: North Cedar - none. Tipton - Peyton Elijah 1.
Fumble Recoveries - Tipton - Nile Schuett. North Cedar - Jon Scheer 1.

Kicking Statistics:
Kick-Offs: North Cedar - Tyler Thurston 4-177 yards 44.2-yard average. Tipton - Frank Bierman 7-325 yards 46.4-yard average.
Kick-Off Returns: North Cedar - Kael Unruh 4-13 yards, Brody Hawtrey 3-19 yards. Tipton - Logan Stolte 2-7 yards, Austin Lenz 1-12 yards. TEAM - 1-21 yards.
Punts: North Cedar - Brody Hawtrey 3-87 yards, 29.0-average. Tipton - none.
Punt Returns: North Cedar - none. Tipton - TEAM 2-0 yards.

Tigers start Season 4-0 after Sweep Through Lisbon

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

  LISBON — The Tipton volleyball team got their season underway last week at the Lisbon Tournament. The Tigers began the season winning all four matches there to start the 2018 season 4-0. Tipton has played in the Lisbon tournament every year since the 2011 season. Including this year’s 4-0 run of wins, the Tigers have a record of 29 wins, 3 losses in 32 matches played at the tournament.

  “We had little goals we wanted to go for at this tournament and we accomplished them. It was a good tournament,” said Tipton volleyball coach Amy Calonder.

  “We were 4-0 last year, we felt like we could go 4-0 again if we stayed focused on things and we did. This year was different though, we are working on some new things and the matches gave us a chance to work on those things against a team other than ourselves,” said Calonder.

  The Tigers showed on the first night of the season that they picked up where they left off from last year’s 32-win season. The Tigers marched all the way to the 2017 state tournament in Cedar Rapids and grew as a team last year. This year, they are getting early returns from that teamwork.

  The Tigers have not had a match since the Lisbon tournament. The Tigers will play their home opener on Thursday when they welcome Iowa City Regina to town. The Tigers will travel to Mount Vernon Saturday to play in a Saturday tournament.

  “It’s been a long time since we have played,” said Calonder. “We got out of practice early Friday, and on Wednesday to change it up. We have been working on a lot of drill work. None of our teams have played since Lisbon so we have taken advantage of this long break,” she said.

  The Tigers beat Central City by a 2-0 sweep by scores of 25-16 and 25-9. The Tigers had 29 kills from 55 attacks. Blake Ehler led Tipton in kills with 11 and served 7-for-8 with an ace. Sommer Daniel had 14 assists and 5 digs to lead the team and Kamryn Chapman was the top Tipton server in the match, going 14-for-14 with 3 ace serves. No other Tiger had more than 9 serve attempts.

The Tigers beat East Buchanan by a 2-0 sweep by scores of 25-13 and 25-15. Tipton had 22 kills in 49 attacks with seven different players recording at least one kill. Sommer Daniel had a team-high 6 kills and 11 assists. Amanda Smith had 5 digs, 9 assists and served 5-for-5. Laken Hermiston was the top Tipton server going 12-for-12 with an ace. She was the only Tiger with more than 10 serve attempts.

  The Tigers beat BGM by a 2-0 sweep by scores of 25-9 and 25-7. Tipton had 22 kills led by Sommer Daniel with 7. Amanda Smith led in assists with 9 and Blake Ehler led in digs with 7. Sommer Daniel and Jamie Kofron led Tipton serving in the match. The Tigers served 47-for-51 with 11 aces in the match. Daniel was 14-for-14 with three aces and Kofron was 12-for-13 with an ace.

  The Tigers beat Alburnett by scores of 25-9 and 25-17 to earn a 2-0 sweep. A trio of Tigers had five kills to lead the attacks. They were Sommer Daniel, Blake Ehler, and Amanda Smith. Daniel had 10 assists and Smith 7 while Karlee Kamberling led in digs with 6. Laken Hermiston and Amanda Smith led in serving. Hermiston was 13-for-14 with 2 aces and Smith was 10-for-11 with an ace.

  For the tournament, Tipton put up some impressive team stats in eight sets. For the tournament, Tipton had 94 kills in 199 attacks with a kill efficiency of .322 with 11.7 kills per set. The Tigers missed only 18 serves in 198 attempts going 180-for-198 with 25 aces. The Tigers had 83 assists, 86 digs and 21 blocks.

Monday, August 20
Tipton 2, Central City 0
Tipton 25 25
Central City 16 9

Tipton Statistics:
Attacks (45-for-55 29 kills): Blake Ehler 15-for-17 11 kills, Sommer Daniel 8-for-8 5 kills, Kamryn Chapman 7-for-8 4 kills, Emily Hermsen 6-7 2 kills, Jamie Kofron 5-6 4 kills, Amanda Smith 4-5 3 kills, Bailey Schmidt 0-3, Karlee Kamberling 0-1.
Serving (41-for-48 5 aces): Kamryn Chapman 14-for-14 3 aces, Sommer Daniel 8-for-9 1 ace, Blake Ehler 7-for-8 1 ace, Amanda Smith 5-for-7, Laken Hermiston 4-for-5, Jamie Kofron 2-for-3, Madison O’Leary 1-for-2.
Assists (27): Sommer Daniel 14, Amanda Smith 8, Blake Ehler 2, Laken Hermiston 1, Karlee Kamberling 1, Jamie Kofron 1.
Blocks (0): none.
Digs (20): Sommer Daniel 5, Karlee Kamberling 4, Amanda Smith 4, Laken Hermiston 3, Emily Hermsen 2, Blake Ehler 2.

Tipton 2, BGM 0
Tipton 25 25
BGM 9 7

Tipton Statistics:
Attacks (39-for-42 22 kills): Sommer Daniel 9-for-9 7 kills, Amanda Smith 7-for-8 3 kills, Blake Ehler 6-for-7 2 kills, Kamryn Chapman 6-for-7 2 kills, Emily Hermsen 4-for-4 3 kills, Jamie Kofron 4-for-4 2 kills, Grace Nichols 2-for-2 2 kills, Bailey Schmidt 1-for-1.
Serving (47-for-51 11 aces): Sommer Daniel 14-for-14 3 aces, Jamie Kofron 12-for-13 1 ace, Madison O’Leary 6-for-6 3 aces, Kamryn Chapman 5-for-6 1 ace, Laken Hermiston 4-for-5, Amanda Smith 4-for-5 3 aces, Blake Ehler 2-for-2.
Assists (18): Amanda Smith 9, Sommer Daniel 6, Kamryn Chapman 1, Blake Ehler 1, Jamie Kofron 1.
Blocks (3): Kamryn Chapman 1, Jamie Kofron 1, Amanda Smith 1.
Digs (24): Blake Ehler 7, Amanda Smith 3, Bailey Schmidt 3, Sommer Daniel 3, Kamryn Chapman 2, Laken Hermiston 2, Karlee Kamberling 2, Jamie Kofron 1, Grace Nichols 1.

Tipton 2, East Buchanan 0
Tipton 25 25
E-B 13 15

Tipton Statistics:
Attacks: (42-for-49 22 kills): Sommer Daniel 9-for-12 6 kills, Kamryn Chapman 9-for-9 5 kills, Blake Ehler 6-for-8 2 kills, Jamie Kofron 6-for-6 4 kills, Amanda Smith 5-for-5 2 kills, Emily Hermsen 5-for-5 2 kills, Bailey Schmidt 1-for-2, Grace Nichols 1-for-1 1 kill.
Serving (46-for-50 4 kills): Laken Hermiston 12-for-12 1 ace, Sommer Daniel 9-for-9, Blake Ehler 7-for-9 2 aces, Jamie Kofron 7-for-9 1 ace, Kamryn Chapman 6-for-6, Amanda Smith 5-for-5.
Assists (20): Sommer Daniel 11, Amanda Smith 9.
Blocks (8): Kamryn Chapman 3, Sommer Daniel 1, Blake Ehler 1, Emily Hermsen 1, Jamie Kofron 1, Amanda Smith 1.
Digs (22): Amanda Smith 5, Karlee Kamberling 5, Sommer Daniel 3, Emily Hermsen 3, Laken Hermiston 3, Kamryn Chapman 2, Jamie Kofron 1.

Tipton 2, Alburnett 0
Tipton 25 25
Alburnett 9 17
Attacks (43-for-53 21 kills): Sommer Daniel 8-for-12 5 kills, Blake Ehler 8-for-12 5 kills, Amanda Smith 11-for-12 5 kills, Jamie Kofron 5-for-5 3 kills, Kamryn Chapman 4-for-5 3 kills, Emily Hermsen 4-for-4, Grace Nichols 3-for-3.
Serving (46-for-49 5 aces): Laken Hermiston 13-for-14 2 aces, Amanda Smith 10-for-11 1 ace, Kamryn Chapman 9-for-10 1 ace, Blake Ehler 6-for-6 1 ace, Sommer Daniel 5-for-5, Jamie Kofron 3-for-3.
Assists (18): Sommer Daniel 10, Amanda Smith 7, Blake Ehler 1.
Blocks (10): Kamryn Chapman 4, Amanda Smith 2, Emily Hermsen 2, Blake Ehler 1, Jamie Kofron 1.
Digs (20): Karlee Kamberling 6, Blake Ehler 4, Sommer Daniel 3, Laken Hermiston 3, Emily Hermsen 2, Jamie Kofron 1, Amanda Smith 1.

2018 Fall Preview: Area Teams Ranked In Preseason Polls

TIPTON — The preseason rankings are out for the fall 2018 sports season and two Tipton Tiger teams are among the ranked teams in the preseason cross-country and volleyball rankings. Three area cross-country teams are also ranked.

Preseason IGHSAU Class 3A Rankings
1. Carroll Kuemper; 2. Tipton; 3. Iowa Falls-Alden; 4. Osage; 5. Waterloo Columbus; 6. Center Point-Urbana; 7. Read Oak; 8. Davenport Assumption; 9. Camanche; 10. West Liberty; 11. Sioux Center; 12. Mount Vernon; 13. Spirit Lake; 14. Roland-Story; T15. Union; T15. West Burlington.

Boy’s Preseason IATC Cross-Country Team Rankings Class 2A
1. George-Little Rock/Central Lyon; 2. Sioux Center; 3. Tipton; 4. Bellevue; 5. Garner-Hayfield-Ventura; 6. South Hardin; 7. Okoboji; 8. Unity Christian; 9. Sheldon; 10. Monticello; 11. Des Moines Christian; 12. Roland-Story; 13. Crestwood; 14. Northeast; 15. Waukon. Teams To Watch: Mid-Prairie, Missouri Valley, Pella Christian, Western Christian, Williamsburg.

Girl’s Preseason IATC Cross-Country Team Rankings Class 2A
1. Mid-Prairie; 2. Monticello; 3. Woodbury Central-Kingsley Pierson; 4. Crestwood; 5. Panorama; 6. Cascade; 7. Williamsburg; 8. Okoboji; 9. Waukon; 10. Unity Christian; 11. Emmetsburg; 12. Danville/New London; 13. Eagle Grove; 14. Shenandoah; 15. Aplington-Parkersburg. Teams To Watch: Grundy Center-Gladbrook Reinbeck, North Cedar, PCM, Pocahontas, Underwood.

Boy’s Preseason IATC Cross-Country Team Rankings Class 1A
1. Madrid; 2. Nodaway Valley; 3. South Hamilton; 4. Woodward Academy; 5. South Winneshiek; 6. Starmont; 7. Pekin; 8. ACGC; 9. Hudson; 10. Ogden; 11. Tri-Center; 12. Denver; 13. Calamus-Wheatland; 14. Earlham; 15. East Marshall. Teams To Watch: Durant, Maquoketa Valley, Mason City Newman, Saint Albert, Sibley-Ocheyedan.

Girl’s Preseason IATC Cross-Country Team Rankings Class 2A
1. Hudson; 2. Kee High; 3. Logan-Magnolia; 4. Central Elkader; 5. South Winneshiek; 6. Denver; 7. Pekin; 8. St. Edmond; 9. Iowa City Regina; 10. Alta-Aurelia; 11. ACGC; 12. AHSTW; 13. Mason City Newman; 14. North Linn; 15. Baxter. Teams To Watch: Durant, Bellevue Marquette, Nashua-Plainfield, Ridge View, Tri-Center.

Fall 2018 Preview: Knights Favored In RVC North

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

CLARENCE — The North Cedar Knights claimed their fifth River Valley Conference North title last season and advanced to a Class 2A Regional semifinal before bowing out of the 2017 season. North Cedar finished the season 22-16. The Knights will be favored to win their sixth North crown this fall.

North Cedar graduated three seniors, the last pieces of a run the past four years that saw the Knights win 38 RVC matches against 7 losses. In that same four-year span, North Cedar had 115 wins against 45 losses. Gone from last season are Darby Hawtrey, Darian Gray, and Taylor Tenley. Hawtrey and Gray are playing volleyball in college this fall at Coe College in Cedar Rapids and DMACC respectively.

Hawtrey was a 3rd team class 2A All-State selection and All-District pick. She had 415 kills to lead the team and served 304-for-318 with 43 aces. She had 81 blocks, 298 digs, and 71 assists. Gray was second on the team in kills with 171 and served 374-for-382 with 28 aces. Gray had a team-high 89 blocks, 301 digs, and 31 assists. Tenley had a team-high 376 digs to go with 47 assists and served 227-for-243 with 23 aces.

Sydney Dennis returns after earning all-conference honors as a freshman. Dennis was an RVC North Division selection. Dennis led North Cedar in assists with 598 and was second on the team in digs with 310. She also had 30 blocks and 43 kills. She also led North Cedar in serving, going 440-for-454 with 38 ace serves.

Also returning are Nicole Sander (110 kills, 154-for-162 serving, 170 digs, 43 blocks), Erica Jones (78 kills, 17 digs, 45 blocks), Katie Thompson (77 kills, 262-for-282 serving with 27 aces, 161 digs, 81 blocks), Kelly Proesch (34 kills, 17 digs, 13 blocks). Also back are Andrea Wachendorf, Emma Boelyn, Kayla Sander and Carly Meier.

North Cedar will play in five-weekend tournaments starting with one in DeWitt on August 25. The Knights will also play at Mt. Vernon, Springville, Center Point-Urbana and host their own tournament on September 22. North Cedar will host RVC foes Northeast, Camanche, Mid-Prairie and Cascade.

All-Conference Picks in 2017: Darby Hawtrey - Elite Team; Sydney Dennis - RVC North Division Team; Darian Gray - RVC North Division Team; Taylor Tenley - honorable mention team.

Graduated from 2017: Taylor Tenley, Darian Gray, Darby Hawtrey.

Back From 2017 (10): Andrea Wachendorf, Sydney Dennis, Kassidie Galloway, Kelly Proesch, Katie Thompson, Erica Jones, Nicole Sander, Kayla Sander, Emma Boelyn, Carly Meier.

Fall 2018 Preview: Beavers Look For Another Deep Postseason Run

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor
WILTON — The Wilton Beavers won 34 matches last season and reached a Class 2A Regional Final before ending their season last year. The 34 match wins come a season after winning 32 matches in 2016. With many people back this year, the Beavers look to make another deep postseason run.

The Beavers began last season on a 10-match win streak and after losing their first match in their 11th match, won their next nine games. Wilton lost consecutive matches only once last year and that was three straight. After that streak, Wilton recorded their longest win streak of the season, 13. Wilton beat Durant and Mediapolis in the postseason before falling to Iowa City Regina in West Liberty in a Class 2A Regional Final. Another highlight from last season was when head coach Brenda Grunder won career match 500 early in the 2017 season.

Gone from last year are three all-conference players from last year. Gone are RVC Elite Team selection Kallie Poor, RVC South Division Team selection Kali Milder and honorable mention pick Lexi Maurer. Poor was a 3rd team class 2A All-State pick and an All-District selection. She led Wilton in assists with 984. Poor added 304 digs, served a team-high 437-for-464 with 63 aces, also a team high. She added 72 kills. Maurer had 95 kills, served 350-for-364 with 23 aces, had 390 digs and 14 aces. Milder had a team-high 445 digs. She also had 26 assists and served 358-for-395 with 46 aces, all second on the team.

Wilton will return a pair of 2017 River Valley Conference Elite Team selections in 2018 seniors Aubrey Putman and Kortney Drake. Putman was a first-team Class 2A All-State pick last season and was an All-District selection. Putman had a team-high 491 kills with a 4.55 per set kill average. She served 276-for-309 with 30 aces. She also had 369 digs, 24 blocks, and 5 assists. Drake was second on the team in kills with 267. She served 341-for-367 with 26 aces, she added 358 digs, 39 blocks, and 17 assists.

Also back are Taylor Garvin, Becca Ball, Eleney Owens, and Emily Lange. Lange had the most returning stats with 130 kills.

The Beavers will play in four tournaments this season including their first two outings of the 2018 season. Wilton starts the season on Saturday, August 25 when they play at Easton Valley’s tournament. The Beavers play at the Wapello tournament three days later on the following Tuesday. Wilton plays at the Clinton tournament and at the Washington tournament as well. Wilton will host their own tournament on Saturday, September 8. The Beavers host West Branch on September 6 for their RVC opener. The Beavers annual match with Durant will be on September 25 at home.


All-Conference Picks in 2017: Aubrey Putman - Elite Team; Kortney Drake - RVC South Division Team; Kali Milder - RVC South Division Team; Kallie Poor - Elite Team; Lexi Maurer - honorable mention team.

Graduated from 2017: Taylor Goldermann, Lexi Maurer, Kali Milder, Kallie Poor.

Back From 2017 (6): Taylor Garvin, Becca Ball, Eleney Owens, Kortney Drake, Emily Lange, Aubrey Putman.

2018 Fall Preview: Wildcats Look To Have Solid Season

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

DURANT — The Durant volleyball team won 14 matches last season one more from the 2016 season. This year, most of those players return led by three all-conference team members to lead the way. The Wildcats started the season 5-5, but finished with a record of 13-21. The Wildcats won their first-round 2A regional match against at Wapello before falling to Wilton in the second round of the postseason.

Durant will welcome a new coach this season. Mark Lau takes over for Renee Meyer. Lau comes to Durant to coach high school for the first time. Lau comes to Durant on the recommendation of Durant resident Guy Dierickx. Lau, a longtime boys volleyball coach in a club setting and also has coached girls volleyball at the club level. Currently, he is the head men’s coach at Augustana College in Moline, Illinois.

Durant had three all-conference selections last year and all return this season. The Wildcats had a pair of River Valley Conference South Divisional selections in Kamryn Meyer and Ruby Kappeler. Aubrin Dittmer also was an honorable mention selection.

Meyer led Durant in kills with 312 with a 3.25 kill per set average. She served 307-for-352 with 37 aces. Meyer had 278 digs, 32 blocks and 15 assists. Kappeler led Durant in assists with 683. She had 263 digs, 13 blocks, 66 kills and served 289-for-330 with a team-high 46 aces. Dittmer was second on the team in kills with 263. She served 298-for-321 with 30 aces to go with 185 digs, 24 blocks and 10 assists.

Also back are Annie Taylor, Mallory Warner, Paige Werthmann, Kira Schult and Hannah Happ. Taylor was third on the Wildcats in kills with 123 and led Durant in blocks with 60. Warner had 94 kills, served 177-for-206 with 18 aces and was second on the team in blocks with 42. Werthmann had 35 kills, 9 blocks and served 17-for-28 with 2 aces. Schult had 19 kills, served 46-for-51 with 2 aces and had 10 blocks. Happ served 266-for-286 with 24 aces. Happ led Durant in digs with 326 and had 57 assists.

Durant lost three seniors back from last year’s team in Sierra Gregoire, Amanda Wiese, and Lauren Ralfs.

Durant will play in five-weekend tournaments with their first one coming on September 1 at Iowa City, City High, a new tournament for the Wildcats. Durant will play at Wilton, Benton Community, NE Goose Lake and host their own tournament this season. Durant’s RVC opener is on Thursday, August 30 against Mid-Prairie. Home matches with Mid-Prairie, Tipton, West Liberty and Northeast wait on the conference schedule. The Wildcats annual match with Wilton will be on September 25 in Wilton.

All-Conference Picks in 2017: Kamryn Meyer - RVC South Divisional Team; Ruby Kappeler - RVC South Divisional Team; Aubrin Dittmer - honorable mention team.

Graduated from 2017: Sierra Gregoire, Emily Seligman, Amanda Wiese, Lauren Ralfs, Kaitlyn Wiese, Jalyn Bullard.

Back From 2017 (10): Aubrin Dittmer, Ruby Kappeler, Hannah Happ, Annie Taylor, Kira Schult, Paige Werthmann, Jada Rock, Meg Koenig, Mallory Warner, Kamryn Meyer.

Tigers Make Move To 3A, Aim For Top Spot In South

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

TIPTON — The Tipton volleyball team had a season like no other last year, reaching the state tournament for the first time in program history. The Tigers won 32 of the 39 matches they played and won their second straight RVC South Division title, this year outright after sharing the crown in 2017. Head coach Amy Calonder was had some postseason honors being named a 3A district coach of the year and was the RVC South coach of the year. Tipton did not lose back-to-back matches all year and have win streaks of 13, 6 and 5 matches. The Tigers were 3-0 in the 3A regional tournament winning at home over Williamsburg and Central Lee before beating Davis County in a Regional Final game at Williamsburg. The Tigers did not drop a set in three Regional matches. The Tigers fell in the 3A quarterfinals to Osage in Cedar Rapids.

With the success from last year and the amount of returning players, Tipton is garnering early preseason recognition. The Tigers are a team to watch in the Cedar Rapids Gazette and appear in their volleyball rankings. The Tigers also are the preseason number-2 ranked team in Class 3A by the IGHSAU in their preseason poll.

Tipton had six all-conference selections last year and all return this season. The Tigers had a pair of River Valley Conference All-Elite Team selections in Sommer Daniel and Amanda Smith.

Daniel earned All-District honors and a second-team All-State selection in class 3A. Daniel led five Tipton players with 100 or more kills with 424. She served 341-for-385 with 58 aces. She was second on the team with 444 assists, 268 digs and she added 26 blocks. Smith was also an All-District selection. She led Tipton in assists with 547 to go with 258 digs, 23 blocks, and 121 kills. She had the most serves for the Tigers, going 412-for-452 with 53 ace serves.

Also earning all-conference honors are junior returners Blake Ehler, Jamie Kofron, and Kamryn Chapman. Ehler, Kofron, and Chapman were RVC South Division selections. Hermsen was an honorable mention pick.

Ehler was second on the team with 233 kills and third, in ace serves with 34. She served at an 86-percent clip (309-for-359). Chapman was third on the team in kills with 172 and served 166-for-181 for a 91-percent clip and 18 ace serves. She had a team-high 64 blocks to go with 40 digs and 6 assists. Kofron had 152 kills and served 404-for-426 with 34 aces. She had 148 digs and was second on the team with 43 blocks.

Hermsen was an honorable mention selection and had 98 kills and served 259-for-301 with 29 aces. She had 165 digs, 29 assists, and 21 blocks.

Also back are Bailey Schmidt (16 kills), Laken Hermiston (249 digs, 29 assists serving 144-for-149), Karlee Kamberling (21 digs, 25 assists), Madison O’Leary (7 assists, 3-for-3 serving) and Grace Nichols (2 attack attempts).

Graduated seniors from last season were Allie Ryan and Hannah Sweeney. Ryan played in nine sets after she came back from a serious knee injury in the 2016-17 basketball season. She served 14-for-16 with 2 aces. She had one assist and seven digs. Sweeney played in four sets. She had one block and had four kill attempts.

The Tigers will have four home RVC matches this season. The first is Thursday, August 30 when Iowa City Regina comes to town to open RVC match play. Tipton will host Mid-Prairie on September 11, Wilton on September 18 and Camanche on October 4. The Tigers will play in four tournaments starting with the Lisbon Tournament on August 20. Other tournaments are Mt. Vernon, Williamsburg and Western Dubuque.

All-Conference Picks in 2017: Sommer Daniel - RVC Elite Team; Amanda Smith - RVC Elite Team; Blake Ehler - RVC South Division Team; Jamie Kofron - RVC South Divisional Team; Kamryn Chapman - RVC South Divisional Team; Emily Hermsen - honorable mention team.

Graduated from 201: Allie Ryan, Hannah Sweeney.

Back From 2017 (11): Karlee Kamberling, Sommer Daniel, Bailey Schmidt, Amanda Smith, Madison O’Leary, Jamie Kofron, Emily Hermsen, Grace Nichols, Laken Hermiston, Blake Ehler, Kamryn Chapman.

Tigers Look To Make Postseason Run
TIPTON — The Tipton girl’s cross-country team has high hopes this year that this may be the season that the Tigers make a run at state. The Tigers nearly had two runners qualify for state last season. Then, freshman, Rachel Bierman qualified for the state meet, while teammate Kallie Wallick nearly qualified for state. The pair return along with two others this year and a handful of new runners.

Returning from last season are Rachel Bierman, Ashlynn Curry, Halle McCollough, and Kallie Wallick. All four ran at the River Valley Conference meet and the state qualifying meet a year ago.

Bierman finished 22nd at the conference meet in 22:14 and 14th at the state qualifying meet in 22:24. At state, Bierman placed 86th in a time of 22:00. Curry placed 61st at the RVC meet in 24:43 and 44th at the state qualifying meet in 25:07. Wallick placed 25th at the RVC meet in 22:20 and 16th at the state qualifying meet in 22:27. McCollough placed 67th at the RVC meet in 25:11 and 50th at the state qualifying meet in 25:57.

Rezac placed 47th at the RVC meet and 43rd at the state qualifying meet. Elijah placed 36th at the RVC meet and 42nd at the state qualifying meet. Conrad placed 52nd at the RVC meet and 45th at the state qualifying meet. Schott placed 35th at the RVC meet and 36th at the state qualifying meet. Curry placed 54th at the RVC meet and 55th at the state qualifying meet. Comstock placed 127th at the RVC meet.

New faces on the Tigers roster this season are Haylee Heister, Addie Bierman, Becca Stroup, Alyssa Mente, and Ali Nash.

The Tigers will run at nine regular-season meets and get their season underway on August 30 at Iowa City Regina. Tipton will host a large invitational on September 4 before running at meets at Monticello, English Valleys, Solon, Anamosa and Williamsburg in September. Tipton runs at West Delaware and North Linn in October before competing at the River Valley Conference meet on October 11 in Iowa City.

Gone From 2017: Zoe Rezac, Madison Conrad, Alyssa Elijah, Zoe Comstock, Tiffany Schott, Jaydon Bierman.

Returning From 2017: Rachel Bierman, Ashlynn Curry, Halle McCollough, Kallie Wallick.

New Faces: Haylee Heister, Addie Bierman, Becca Stroup, Alyssa Mente, Ali Nash.

Berry Returns For Wildcats
DURANT — The Durant girl’s cross-country team returns four runners from last season. that ran at the River Valley Conference and at the Class 1A state qualifying meet in Cedar Rapids last year. Tracy Tappendorf returns to coach the Wildcats and enters her second season at the helm. Last season, she took over for Nolan Hovland who took another teaching job out of the district.

The Wildcats placed 9th in the River Valley Conference meet last season. The Wildcats finished less than ten points out of eighth place. Gone from last year’s team are Aubrey Doerscher and Morgan Mital-Russell.

Back this season for Durant is Ellie Berry, Tori Novinski, Heidi Wolf, Kyrnan Liske-Rocholz, and Kerrigan Johnson.

Durant finishers at the RVC meet were 37th Ellie Berry 23:22, 47th Tori Novinski 24:07, 60th Heidi Wolf 24:38, 69. Kerrigan Johnson 25:23, 75. Krynan-Liske-Rocholz 26:12, 89. Morgan Mital-Russell 26:55, and 101st Aubrey Doerscher 27:38.

Finishers at the state qualifying meet were 14th Ellie Berry 21:45, 31st Tori Novinski 22:59, 38th Heidi Wolf 23:49, 49th Kerrigan Johnson 24:31, 55th Krynan Liske-Rocholz 25:07, 76th Morgan Mital 26:45, and 88th Aubrey Doerscher 28:46. Berry Berry placed 84th at the state meet in a time of 21:53.

Durant opens the 2018 season at Clinton on August 28. The Wildcats run at an invitational on October 6 before going to the RVC meet on October 11 in Iowa City.

Beavers Running For Top Half Finish, Have New Coach
WILTON — The Wilton girl’s cross-country team returns many of their runners from last season, one where the Beavers placed 8th at the River Valley Conference meet in 2017. Back this season are Emmy Drake, Linsey Ford, Abby Brown, Michaela Breed, Lindsey Randolph, Zoe Barrett, and Meggan Hook. The Beavers have not placed higher than sixth at any RVC meet. They hope that this year is the one where they place in the top-5.

Wilton will have a new coach for the second time in three seasons. Longtime wrestling and boy’s golf coach Nick Doehrman will lead the program, taking over for Cory Garvin who resigned after his second stint as the head coach.

The Beavers times and finishes from the RVC Meet last year were 31st Linsey Ford 22:48, 33rd Emmy Drake 22:50, 68. Abby Brown 25:19, 74. Lindsey Randolph 26:11, 80. Kirsten Jurgersen 26:28, 85th Zoe Barrett 26:40 and 91st Michaela Breed 27:02.

Wilton had two runners place in the top-30 at the Solon state qualifying meet last year. They were 24th Emmy Drake 22:42, 30th Linsey Ford 22:57. New faces on the Beavers team this year are Franchesca Owens and Ansley Boorn.

The Beavers run at nine regular-season meets with two in August, five in September and two in October. The Beavers begin the 2018 season on August 28 at Louisa-Muscatine. Wilton will run at Iowa City Regina in their other August meet. Wilton will run at Tipton, Monticello, English Valleys, Mount Pleasant and North Cedar in September and at DeWitt and Columbus Junction in October. The Beavers will be at the RVC meet on October 11.

Montz Returns For Knights, North Cedar Has New Coach
CLARENCE — Change is the word for the North Cedar girl’s cross-country team this season. The Knights welcome a new coach and some new runners to the team. The Knights will be coached by Brittany Potts. The Knights coach for the past few years, Kirk Ketelsen retired this summer leaving an opening. Potts steps to lead the program and is beginning her second year at the school.

Returning from the 2017 season are Carly Montz, Kiley Chapman, Karly Cerda, Juliet Spahr, and Sarah Redhage. New faces for the team this season are Megan Driscoll, and Hunter Jones.

North Cedar placed 5th at the 13-team River Valley Conference meet last season. It was their second straight season placing 5th at the conference meet. The Knights had two runners last season earn all-conference honors. Carly Montz and Tessa Fields were those runners. Montz placed 15th overall in 22:03 and Fields was 19th in 22:13. Other North Cedar times at the meet were 34th Kiley Chapman 22:58, 42nd Cassie Cox 23:33, 44th Grace Proesch 23:54, 79th Haley Fall 26:27, 86th Karly Cerda 26:46.

Carly Montz qualified for the 2018 state cross-country meet after placing 11th in 22:10 at a state qualifying meet in Iowa City last year. The Knights had three top-30 runners behind Montz. Senior Tessa Fields placed 17th in 22:29, Kiley Chapman placed 21st in 23:07 and Cassie Cox placed 25th in 23:26. Other North Cedar finishers were Grace Proesch 36th, Haley Fall 65th, and Karly Cerda 68th.

A week later, Montz placed 84th at state in a time of 21:58.

Gone from last season are Cassie Cox, Fiona Raney, Tessa Fields, Grace Proesch, and Haley Fall. Proesch graduated and now at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.

The Knights run at eight regular season meets with three in August, four in September and one in October. The Knights begin the 2018 season on August 21 at Mt. Vernon and have August meets at Cedar Rapids Prairie and Iowa City Regina. North Cedar will have three meets in before the Tipton Invitational on September 4. North Cedar also travels to Midland, Bellevue and host a home meet on September 24. The Knights travel to West Delaware on October 2 before competing at the River Valley Conference meet on October 11 at the Iowa City Kickers Soccer Complex.

2018 Fall Sports Preview: Fresh Off of State Baseball Run, Beavers Want A State Football Run

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

WILTON — The Wilton football team reached new heights last season winning nine of the eleven football games they played and advanced to the Class 1A quarterfinal round for the first time in school history. The only two losses were to eventual class 1A runner-up Iowa City Regina. The Beavers enter this season having won 16 games in the past two seasons with a record of 16-4. Wilton started the season 5-0 before losing to Iowa City Regina. The Beavers won their next four, qualifying for the playoffs last year as the district runner-up. The Beavers season would end with a hard-fought loss at Iowa City Regina in the 2A quarterfinals.

The Beavers have 16 seniors out this season, the most in head coach Ryan Hetzler’s time at Wilton. Hetzler begins his fifth season at the helm of the Beavers program. 14 Beaver players were on the state semifinalist baseball team this past summer.

Offensively, Wilton was near the top in passing yards in district play, third in rushing yards with a 5.0-yard per carry average and fourth in receiving yards.

The Beavers return their top passer, top-3 rushers and top two receivers from an offense that averaged 32.5 points a game last season on the offensive side of the football. Wilton scored points in 10 of their 11 football games and scored in double digits in 9 of the 11 games.

Back this year to lead of offense is senior quarterback Jerome Mays. Mays was one of the few Iowa High School football players last season to throw and rush for over 1,000 yards. Mays passed for 1,474 yards on 123 completions with 13 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He rushed for 1,140 yards and 19 touchdowns with a 5.8-yard average.

Wilton had some injuries last season at the running back position with Trey Brisker (117 yards on 25 carries, 1 TD) and Colin McCrabb (58 yards on 4 carries) hurt most of the season. In stepped Chantz Stevens and Trey Sulsberger. Stevens was the second leading rusher with 286 yards, 4 touchdowns and a 4.3-yard average. Sulzberger rushed for 249 yards and a touchdown with a 4.2-yard average. Brian Stillman (11 carries, 48 yards, 2 TD’s) also will be in the mix.

The top-2 Wilton receivers return in seniors Cory Anderson and Brock Hartley. Anderson caught 55 passes for 671 yards and 4 touchdowns. He averaged 12.2 yards a catch. Hartley caught 29 passes for 448 yards and 5 touchdowns. He averaged 15.4 yards a catch.

Also back are three others that caught touchdown passes last season and four that have a varsity reception. Back is Stevens (8 rec. 60 yards 1 TD), Ronen Santiago (4 rec. 42 yards), Brian Stillman (2 rec. 36 yards, 1 TD), and Colin McCrabb (4 rec. 30 yards, 1 TD).

Defensively, Wilton was second in district play last season in tackles with 562.5 as a team. They had a district high 37 tackles for loss to go with 10 sacks. The Beavers secondary was one of the best in the state last year and led their district with 19 interceptions as a team, or 1.7 per game last year. Of those 19 interceptions, five were returned for touchdowns.

Wilton graduated seniors Tyler Hartman and Trey Brisker from their defensive unit, but return 9 of their top 11 tackle leaders from last season. Back are Jared Townsend (84 tackles, 2 sacks, 6 tackles for loss), Cory Anderson (53 tackles), and Brock Hartley (62 tackles). The trio were the second through fourth leading tackle leaders last season. Hartman led Wilton in tackles with 119 with 10 tackles for loss and a sack. Brisker had 57 tackles a year ago.

Seven different Beavers had at least one interception last year and six return this season. Anderson led with 8 interceptions with 36 return yards and a touchdown. Stevens had four interceptions for 125 return yards and 3 touchdowns. Mays and Hartley each had two interceptions and Jared Townsend had one. Mays returned one interception 37 yards for a touchdown.

The Beavers return a lot of special teams too. Kicker Jared Townsend returns after handling kickoffs and placekicking duty. He was also 2-for-3 in field goal kicking. Townsend was 20-for-32 in point after touchdown attempts and averaged 46.9 yards per kick off and he had 12 touchbacks. Townsend punted too averaging 37 yards on 26 attempts with a long of 67 yards.

In the return game, Cory Anderson led in kick-off and punt return yardage. Anderson had 23 kick-off returns for 431 yards and a touchdown and averaged 18.7 yards a return. He also had 90 yards on 14 punt returns for a 6.4-yard average.

Wilton will play Durant, Benton Community, Northeast, and Mid-Prairie. The Beavers will host Northeast in week 2 and Benton in week 4. Wilton opens the 2018 season on the road at Durant on August 24 and will travel to Wellman to take on the Golden Hawks for week three on September 7.

Wilton will have three home district games with Sigourney-Keota coming to town on September 21. After road games at Wapello and Mediapolis, Wilton ends the regular season with home games against Columbus Junction and Van Buren.

2017 All-District Selections: District MVP’s - quarterback Jerome Mays, wide receiver Cory Anderson, placekicker Jared Townsend; 1st Team - Tyler Hartman sr. LB, Brock Hartley jr. TE, Brian Stillman jr. DL, Chantz Stevens jr. DB; 2nd Team - Brayton Wade jr. OL, Clayton Cooling jr. DL, Austin Pleggenkuhle OL; Honorable Mention - Jacob Shepherd sr., Ronen Santiago jr., Trey Brisker sr.

Graduated Seniors From 2017: Drake Hayes, Trey Brisker, Tyler Hartman, Austin Pleggenkuhle, Dylan Leinen and Jacob Sheperd.

Back From 2017 (22): Jerome Mays, Chantz Stevens, Ronen Santiago, Brock Hartley, Cory Anderson, Brian Stillman, Patrick Barszczewski, Corey Anderson, Garrett Bohnsack, Collin McCrabb, Jacob Creamer, Clayton Cooling, Brayton Wade, Trey Sulzberger, Dalton Snider, Charles Martin, Calib Lilly, Jared Townsend, Brayton Wade, Colby Sawvell, Ashton Stoelk, Brady Shook.

2018 Fall Sports Preview: Durant goes 4-5 in Diedrichs First Year As Head Coach

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

DURANT — After back-to-back 1-8 seasons, Durant changed coaches for the 2017 season. There, the Wildcats were 4-5 in nine games under first-year coach Joel Diedrichs. The Wildcats won their first game of the season, 41-6 at Columbus Junction, but fell in their next three games to start the season 1-3. The Wildcats rebounded, winning three of their final five games to finish the season with more wins than losses over their final five games at 3-2, and 4-5 overall.

Durant returns their quarterback, top rusher and receiver as well as a lot of experience on the offensive and defensive line. With a year under their belt under Diedrichs, the Wildcats look to make noise this year.

Offensively, Durant scored points in all nine football games. The Wildcats scored over 20 points in almost half of their games and scored 40 or more points three times. Senior Bryce Lafrenz returns and made it three straight seasons a Durant passer has topped the 1,000-yard mark. Will Bentley accomplished it in 2015 and Leo Callison in 2016 and Lafrenz passed for 1,361 yards on 89 completions. He passed for 14 touchdowns and had 9 interceptions. Lafrenz also rushed for 151 yards and 5 touchdowns. He had a completion percentage of 56.7%.

Durant returns their top rusher from last season in Tristan Hughes. Hughes led Durant in rushing in his first season as the feature back with 636 yards, 8 touchdowns and a 4.3-yard per carry average. He also caught eight passes for 92 yards and a touchdown. Zac Badtram returns after rushing for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns. Marcus Engstler, Drew DeLong and Cameron Ruggiero also are back.

Lafrenz will have two familiar targets to throw two this season. Senior Mason Compton returns after catching 33 passes for 514 yards, 6 touchdowns, and a 15.6-yard average. Also back is Marcus Engstler who caught nine passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.

The Wildcats will have many players back across their offensive line, led by Joe Lilienthal. Lilienthal is a force on the line at 6-feet, 7-inches. The Wildcats strength will be in their line play. The Wildcats will average 240 pounds on their line. Leading the way will be Mason Bird, Joe Lilienthal, Cale Frett, and Dawson Frett.

Durant will have to find replacements for twin brothers Dawson and Cale Frett. Both are playing football at Waldorf Community College this season. Dawson was the second-leading tackler last season with 87 with 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. Cale Frett was third on the team in tackles last year with 88 including three tackles for loss and a sack. He rushed for 162 yards and a touchdown.

Zac Badtram returns after leading the Wildcats in solo tackles last year with 42. He had 85 total. He had a sack and a tackle for loss. Hughes is also back after being the fourth leading tackler last season with 45. He had 6 tackles for loss and 3 sacks.

The Wildcats had a new placekicker last season as Hector Gonzales was 7-for-13 on point after touchdown attempts and averaged 52.8 yards per kick-off in 24 attempts. He had three touchbacks. Lafrenz returns as the Wildcats punter. He punted 23 times and averaged 35.0 yards per punt with a long punt of 61 yards.

In the return game, Mason Compton returns after leading the Wildcats in kick-off and punt return yards. He had 17 returns for a combined 211 yards and a double-digit return average.

The Wildcats drop down a class from 1A to Class A this season. With that, comes new opponents, some of which the Wildcats have never faced. Team’s in Durant’s district is Belle Plaine, Cardinal of Eldon, Highland, BGM, and Pekin. Belle Plaine is ranked in the preseason and Pekin and BGM is always contenders to reach the UNI-Dome. Durant will open the season at home against rival Wilton. The Beavers are ranked to begin the preseason. Back-to-back games against Cedar County foes North Cedar and Tipton are for weeks two and three before a road game at Wapello in week four. The Wildcats game with the Knights is in Stanwood.

2017 All-District Selections: District Elite Team - Punter - Bryce Lafrenz (Jr.); 1st Team - Bryce Lafrenz jr., Mason Compton jr., Dawson Frett sr.; 2nd Team - Cale Frett sr., Tristan Hughes jr.; Honorable Mention - Curtis Lilienthal sr., Zac Badtram jr., Cole Miedema sr.

Graduated Seniors From 2017: Cole Miedema, Curtis Lilienthal, Jordan Craig, Carter Voelkers, Cale Frett, Cole Stineman, Dawson Frett, Dakota Teegtmeier, Mason Bird, Clayton Miller, and Jarad Custer.

Back From 2017 (22): Cole Miedema, Mason Compton, Marcus Engstler, Bryce Lafrenz, Drew DeLong, Cody Koberg, Tristan Hughes, Curtis Lilienthal, Isiah Werthmann, Lucas Callison, Zac Badtram, Cale Frett, Logan Callison, Ethan Schlapkohl, Dawson Frett, Joe Lilienthal, Jonah Werth, Mason Bird, Clayton Miller, Jarad Custer, Tony Dillabough, Jake Willkomm.

2018 Fall Sports Preview: Knights Hope To Get Early Win, Build From There

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

CLARENCE — The North Cedar football team enters the 2018 season coming off of back-to-back 1-8 seasons. Head coach Adam Hadenfeldt and the Knights think that this year can be a year for more victories than the past two seasons. Back are three all-district players from a year ago and 15 returning letter winners who will make up the core of the Knights team this fall.

North Cedar coach Adam Hadenfeldt enters his third year as the Knights coach and will look to a stout offensive and defensive line to lead the way.

The Knights return their most experience on both sides of the football up front across the offensive and defensive lines. The Knights have many linemen returning and they have put the time in this summer and have bulked up. Caden Went and Alex Woodward are returning three-year starters. Tyler Thurston Chase Gallagher and Brennen Kreel also return with starting experience along the offensive line. The returners also return across the defensive line. Thurston slid back and forth between a linebacker and end spot where he had 69 tackles. That total is the second highest returning total. He had 14 tackles for loss. Wenndt had 43 tackles and four tackles for loss while Woodward had 27 tackles, Gallagher had 19 tackles and 7 tackles for loss.

As a team, North Cedar rushed for 3.3 yards a carry and scored eight rushing touchdowns last season. The Knights had a little over 1,600 yards of total offense (rushing and passing) last season with 1,608 yards with a 4.1-yard per play average.

North Cedar scored points in all but two football games and scored 7 or more points in six of those games. The Knights had a season-high 26 points scored in their week 9 game against Tipton.

Back to guide the offense is junior Ethan Sahr. Sahr, a year older and wiser, passed for 683 yards on 48 completions with four passing touchdowns. He had back-to-back games with 139 and 129 yards thrown in losses to Clayton Ridge (22-19) and Durant (48-21). He passed for a season-high 147 yards in the season finale against Tipton.

North Cedar rushed for 896 yards last season. Most of those were accounted for by 2017 senior Shane Weber who led the Knights ground game with 573 yards with a 4.4-yard average and 5 scores. Back for the Knights will be their second and third leading rushers in Brody Hawtrey and Logan Thimmes. Hawtrey rushed for 186 yards and a touchdown and averaged 5.0 yards a carry and Thimmes rushed for 180 yards and averaged 4.5 yards a carry. John Scheer also has been working out with the running backs.

Graduation also took the Knights leading receiver last year in Mason Minor. Minar caught 21 passes for 324 yards and 3 scores. Back is second-leading receiver Tyler Alexander who caught 13 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown. Logan Thimmes, Hawtrey, and Keon McCullough also return and each saw varsity time.

Defensively, North Cedar returns their leading tackler, Logan Thimmes. Thimmes had a team-high 87 stops and a sack. As a team, North Cedar had 433 tackles, 30 tackles for loss and five sacks.

Special teams will have some returners for the Knights. Tyler Thurston handled kick-off duty, averaging 38.6 yards a kick. He had 23 kickoffs for 887 yards. Brody Hawtrey returns to handle place-kicking duty. Last year, he was 8-for-12 in point after touchdown attempts. North Cedar will have to find a punter. Mason Minar graduated after averaging 30.6 yards a punt on 47 attempts with a long of 46 yards.

In the return game, North Cedar will also have some openings. Minar and Shane Weber handled most of the return duty, each leading punt and kick-off returns respectively. Two players return with kick-off return experience with Keon McCullough who had 217 yards and a 24.1-yard average and Brody Hawtrey who had 145 yards and an 11.2-yard average. Ethan Sahr is the only Knight on the roster that returns with a punt return to his credit.

North Cedar will play five home games this season. Home non-district games are Durant and Columbus Junction while home district games are against Cascade, Bellevue, and Dyersville-Beckman. North Cedar has road games at Tipton, Camanche, West Branch, and Northeast. The Knights open the 2017 season on the road at Tipton on August 24.

2017 All-District Selections: 1st Team - Shane Weber sr.; 2nd Team - Mason Minar sr.; Honorable Mention - Logan Thimmes jr., Caden Wendt soph., Alex Woodward jr.

Graduated Seniors From 2017: Miles McCullough, Mason Minar, Shane Weber, Austyn Sander, Greg Hansen, Brady Lehrman, Seb Curley, Dylan Welsch, and Danuel Moore.

Back From 2017 (16): Braden Wink, Ethan Sahr, Tyler Alexander, James Garner, Keon McCullough, Brody Hawtrey, Brady Burcum, Alex Woodward, Evan Patterson, Tyler Thurston, Chase Gallagher, Jon Scheer, Jacob Sander, Kael Unruh, Gage Walshire, Caden Wendt.

2018 Fall Sports Preview: Tigers Enter Year Two Of Wing-T, Return to class 2A

By Ryan Stonebraker

Sports Editor

TIPTON — After two seasons of playing in class 1A, the Tipton Tigers movClassclass 2A this season. With that, comes new opponents on the schedule. The Tigers will face Camanche, Mt. Vernon, West Burlington, Louisa-Muscatine and West Liberty in district play as well as Cedar County foes Durant, West Branch and North Cedar in non-district as well as Vinton-Shellsburg in week 2. The Tigers also enter year two of the wing-T offense they installed last season. Last year, the Tigers struggled at times, but at others, looked dominant. This year, second year head coach Joe Zeutenhorst hopes for more consistent play out of his team. The Tigers went 4-5 in Zeutenhorst’s first season with wins over Louisa-Muscatine, Jesup, Durant and North Cedar. The Tigers lost to 2017 playoff teams West Branch and Wilton by ten points each and lost a third game by seven points. Turning those close games into wins would go a long way into where the Tigers want to finish this season.

On offense, the Tigers stymied many of their foes last season with their new brand of football. The Tigers put up nearly 2,500 yards of total offense, with nearly 1,800 yards rushing. Six rushers rushed for over 100 yards for the season and three of those rushed for over 200 yards.

The Tigers graduated their quarterback and top rusher, but return most of their receivers and many of those six running backs with over 100 yards on the ground last year.

The Tigers are not settled at quarterback yet. The position unsettled reports Zeutenhorst with each day a battle between a group of guys. Ben Emrich graduated after guiding the offense while passing for 720 yards and 6 touchdowns and rushing for 90 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Quinten Mesick graduated as the top THS rusher last year and is playing football at St. Ambrose this year. Mesick rushed for 618 yards with 6 touchdowns and a 6.0-yard per carry average. He also caught two passes for 45 yards and 2 more touchdowns. Also graduated is fullback Keith Penningroth (302 yards, 1 TD, 4.4-yard average). Logan Stolte returns as the top rusher after gaining 229 yards, a touchdown and a 5.1-yard average. Jared Hightower, John Crowley and Connor Hermiston return after each rushing for over 100 yards last year.

The receiving unit will be the most experienced returning with leading receiver Frank Bierman and second-leading receiver John Crowley back. Bierman caught 13 passes cor 266 yards and two scores and Crowley caught eight passes for 208 yards. Nile Schuett, Austin Lenz, Hightower, Hermiston, Chance Koch all are back after having at least one-catch last season.

The Tigers will have to find replacements for their top-two tacklers from last season (Emrich - 88 and Penningroth - 64). Tipton top two tacklers are linemen. Skyler Harroun returns as the top THS tackler from last season. Harroun had 62 stops with five tackles for loss and two sacks. Dylan Mente returns after 49 tackles, 8 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. Both also will help anchor the Tigers offensive line alone with Jesse Lieser, Jack Boldt and Kyle Priebe. Bierman also will return as the Tigers tight end. Bierman had 45 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks. Connor Hermiston (38 tackles), Logan Stolte (34 tackles, 2 interceptions) and Austin Lenz (29 tackles) also return.

The Tigers intercepted 9 passes last year among five players. They return with who combined for five of those with Logan Stotle and Connor Hermiston each having two last season and Jard Hightower having one interception.

The Tigers have some spots to fill on special teams. Keith Penningroth graduated after handling place kicking duty and making an 8-of-11 point after touchdown attempts. Blaise Thumma also graduated after being the Tigers main punter after 20 punts. Quinten Mesick and Ben Emrich each led Tipton in return yards for both kickoffs and punts. Hightower, Stoltle, Jaxon Murphy and Lenz will get the first crack at return team duty.

The Tigers will host their first two opponents this year with their 2018 season opener at home against North Cedar on August 24 and against Vinton-Shellsburg in week 2, on August 31. Tipton will host Camanche and Louisa-Muscatine. Two road games, Durant and West Branch, are in the county while two other road games, Mt. Vernon and West Liberty, are close to Cedar County.





2017 All-District Selections: 1st Team - Ben Emrich sr., Keith Penningroth sr., Will Avey sr.; 2nd Team - Quinten Mesick sr., Dylan Mente jr.; Honorable Mention - Andrew Roling sr., Frank Bierman soph., Nile Schuett fr.





Graduated Seniors From 2017: Blaise Thumma, Ryan Yaukovitz, Ben Emrich, Quinten Mesick, Hunter Tenley, Keith Penningroth, Anderw Roling and Will Avey.





Back From 2017 (18): Blaise Thumma, Logan Stolte, Ryan Yaukovitz, Ben Emrich, Chance Koch, Quinten Mesick, Frank Bierman, John Crowley, Jason Storjohann, Connor Hermiston, Hunter Tenley, Keith Penningroth, Dylan Mente, Trenton Hilbert, Skyler Harroun, Jake McDonald, Andrew Roling, Will Avey.

Three Named To Elite Team, Seven To Divisional Teams

By Ryan Stonebraker
Sports Editor

  MONTICELLO — The River Valley Conference has released their 2018 All-Conference honors list for the recently completed softball season. The conference names four teams. They are an Elite team, RVC South Division team, RVC North Division team and a honorable mention team. The conference also named coaches of the year for the North and South division. On the four teams are 14 players from the Conservative sports coverage area.

  Three players were named to the RVC Elite team. They were Durant pitcher Kamryn Meyer and shortstop Hannah Happ and Wilton pitcher and infielder Chloe Wells.

  Meyer was one of the best pitchers in class 2A this season and the RVC. She had a record of 22-2 in 144 2/3 innings with a 0.82 ERA. She struck out 235 batters and walked 29. Opposing batters, batted .133 against her. She also led Durant in batting with a .504 average with 59 hits, 44 RBI’s and 12 doubles. She had an on-base percentage of .523.

  Happ batted .424 with 50 hits, 25 RBI’s and 18 stolen bases. She had a fielding percentage of .909. Happ had an on-base percentage of .496.

  Wells batted .504 this season with 65 hits, 9 home runs 61 RBI’s and an on-base percentage of .582. She had 22 doubles. She had a fielding percentage of .936.

  Six players were named to the RVC South Division team. They were Jenna Lawson and Ruby Kappeler from Durant, Kortney Drake, Karlie Schult and Kali Milder from Wilton and Laken Hermiston from Tipton.

  Lawson had a 10-1 pitching record in 86 1/3 innings pitched. She struck out 86, walked 24 and had an ERA of 0.73. Opposing batters, batted .142 against her. Kappeler batted .305 with 36 hits, 10 doubles, 27 RBI’s and 10 stolen bases. She had an on-base percentage of .368.

  Drake led Wilton in hits with 68 and batted .459 with 27 RBI’s and 17 doubles. She had a fielding percentage of .969. Schult batted .346 with 45 hits, 21 RBI’s and 15 stolen bases. Milder batted .316 with 36 hits and 20 RBI’s.

  Hermiston led Tipton in batting this season with a .325 batting average. She had a team hith 26 hits and tied for the lead in RBI’s with 10.

  One player was named to the RVC North Division team. That was North Cedar’s Alyssa Barnhart.

  Barnhart was the leading hitter for the Knights this season with a batting average of .455. She also had team highs in slugging percentage with a .610 average and on-base percentage with a .475 average. She had a team best 35 hits, 6 doubles and 3 triples to go with 10 RBI’s and six stolen bases.

  Barnhart also pitched and had a record of 5 wins and 13 losses. She had a ERA of 5.56 with 70 strikeouts. Opposing batters batted .268 against her in 105 2/3 innings. She also had a fielding percentage of .880.

  Four players were named to the RVC honorable mention team. Those players were Kassidie Galloway from North Cedar, Mila Johnson from Wilton, Mallory Warner from Durant and Allie Ryan from Tipton.

  Galloway was the Knights second leading batter with a .303 batting average, a .312 on-base percentage and a .447 slugging percentage. She had 23 hits, 4 doubles, 2 triples, a home run, and a team high 11 RBI’s. She also had two stolen bases and had a fielding percentage of .843.

  Warner batted .296 with 32 hits, 2 home runs and 19 RBI’s. Ryan was second in batting for the Tipton. Ryan batted .333 with 25 hits and 9 RBI’s. Johnson led Wilton pitchers with 12 wins against 6 losses in 134 innings. She struck out 79, walked 47 and had a 3.60 ERA. Opposing batters, batted .298 against her this summer.

  The Elite team had seven players from the RVC North on it. They were Abby Stock, Tarah Wehde, Madi Parson and Marly Bussa from Camanche; Casidy DonDiego from Northeast; Rebecca Schroeder from Bellevue; and Taylor McDonald from Monticello. Other selections from the RVC South were Katie Bracken, Jess Hunter and Paisley Gardner from Regina, Haylee Lehman, Macy Akers and Austyn Crees from West Liberty and Nicki Henson from West Branch.

  Camanche head coach Kevin Roling was selected as the River Valley Conference North Coach of the year. Roling helped lead the Indians to a state ranking in class 3A and a RVC North crown. Durant head coach Steve Hopkins was named the RVC South coach of the year after leading the Wildcats to a perfect conference season and No. 1 ranking in class 2A all year. The Wildcats won the RVC South crown outright.


2018 River Valley Conference Softball All-Conference Teams

Elite Team
Pitchers - Kamryn Meyer (Durant) Jr., Abby Stock (Camanche) Jr., Katie Bracken (Iowa City Regina) Jr.
Infielders - Hannah Happ (Durant) Jr., Tarah Wehde (Camanche) Soph., Casidy DonDiego (Northeast) Sr., Haylee Lehman (West Liberty) Soph.
Outfielders - Jess Hunter (Iowa City Regina) Jr., Macy Akers (West Liberty) Jr., Rebecca Schroeder (Bellevue) Sr., Nicki Henson (West Branch) Fr.
Catchers - Madi Parson (Camanche) Jr., Austyn Crees (West Liberty) Soph.
Utility - Marly Bussa (Camanche) Sr., Paisley Gardner (Iowa City Regina) Sr., Taylor McDonald (Monticello) Sr., Chloe Wells (Wilton) Fr.

South Division Team
Pitchers - Jenna Lawson (Durant) Jr., Emma Martin (West Liberty) Sr., Kaiya Luneckas (West Branch) Soph.
Infielders - Lauren Marth (Iowa City Regina) Jr., Kortney Drake (Wilton) Jr., Breana Thurness (West Liberty) Sr., Georgia Nisly (Mid-Prairie) Soph.
Outfielders - Ruby Kappeler (Durant) Jr., Kali Milder (Wilton) Sr., Rylee Vercande (Mid-Prairie) 8th, Mackenzie Heise (West Branch) Soph.
Catcher - Laken Hermiston (Tipton) Jr.
Utility - Taylor O’Conner (Iowa City Regina) Sr., Carrigan O’Conner (Iowa City Regina), Jr., Karlie Schult (Wilton) Soph., Abbi Patterson (Mid-Prairie) Soph., Sailor Hall (West Liberty) 8th.

River Valley Conference South Coach Of The Year - Steve Hopkins (Durant).

North Division Team
Pitchers - Grace Tath (Bellevue) Fr., Hailey Hannon (Cascade) Jr., Caitlin Cruise (Monticello) Sr.
Infielders - Lauren Ries (Monticello) Sr., Morgan Kremer (Cascade) Jr., Claire Abbott (Northeast) Soph., Lauren Snyder (Camanche) 8th.
Outfielders - Tonya Menke (Cascade) Jr., Neveah Hildebrandt (Northeast) Fr., Lindsey Banowetz (Bellevue) Soph., Aspen Gilmore (Monticello) Jr.
Catchers - Bree Mangelsen (Northeast) Soph., Tori McDonald (Monticello) Fr.
Utility - Jaylynn Kraus (Monticello) Sr., Alyssa Barnhardt (North Cedar) Jr., Eliza Scheckel (Bellevue) Sr., Alexis Ehlers (Northeast) Fr.

River Valley Conference North Coach Of The Year - Kevin Roling (Camanche).

Honorable Mention:
Brianna Laughlin (Bellevue) Soph., Camaryn Carstensen (Camanche) Jr., Lidia Boffeli (Cascade) Jr., Mallory Warner (Durant) Jr., Anna Vilovchik (Mid-Prairie) Sr., Sydney Hansen (Monticello) Jr., Kassidie Galloway (North Cedar) Soph., Valerie Spooner (Northeast) Fr., Emma Nibaur (Iowa City Regina) 8th, Allie Ryan (Tipton) Sr., Taylor Thein (West Branch) Soph., Janey Gingerich (West Liberty) Fr., Mila Johnson (Wilton) Fr.

Area baseball players named all-conference

By Ryan Stonebraker
Sports Editor
 MONTICELLO — The River Valley Conference has released their 2018 All-Conference honors list for the recently completed baseball season. The conference names four teams. They are an Elite team, RVC South Division team, RVC North Division team and a honorable mention team. The conference also named coaches of the year for the North and South division. On the four teams are 15 players from the Conservative sports coverage area.

  Three players were named to the RVC Elite team. They were Wilton pitcher Jared Townsend and infielder Colin McCrabb and Durant outfielder Mason Compton.

  Townsend was one of the best pitchers in class 2A this season and the RVC. He had a record of 8-3 in 65 innings with a 1.29 ERA. She struck out 128 batters and walked 26. Opposing batters, batted .118 against her. He also led Wilton in batting with a .417 average with 40 hits. He had 28 RBI’s and 19 doubles. He had an on-base percentage of .500.

  McCrabb batted .382 with 34 hits, 34 RBI’s and 7 stolen bases. She had a fielding percentage of .989. McCrabb had an on-base percentage of .509. McCrabb had a 7-1 record in 50 innings. He had an ERA of 0.84 with 71 strikeouts and just 7 walks. Opposing batters batted .149 against him.

  Compton batted .395 this season with 30 hits, 11 RBI’s and an on-base percentage of .477. He scored 18 runs and had a fielding percentage of .929.

  Seven players were named to the RVC South Division team. They were Wilton’s Brock Hartley, Cory Anderson and Tyler Hartman; Tipton’s Trent Pelzer, Quinten Mesick and Logan Hoffman; and Curtis Lilienthal of Durant.

  Cory Anderson pitched and had a record of 6-1 in 48 1/3 innings pitched. He had four saves, an ERA of 1.30 and 57 strikeouts and 19 walks. Opposing batters batted .149. Anderson also batted .337 with 33 hits, 18 RBI’s, a team high 15 stolen bases and 37 runs scored. Anderson had an on-base percentage of .455 and fielding percentage of .940.

  Hartman batted .318 with 27 hits, 11 runs, one home run and 24 RBI’s. He had an on-base percentage of .437 and a fielding percentage of .951.

  Hartley batted .271 with 23 hits, 9 RBI’s and an on-base percentage of .404. He had a fielding percentage of .990 with only three errors in 308 chances.

  Pelzer led Tipton in batting with a .354 batting average and 28 hits. He had 8 RBI’s, seven stolen bases and a .427 on-base percentage. Mesick batted .351 with 27 hits, 15 RBI’s and 17 stolen bases.

  Hoffman batted .352 with 25 hits, one home run, 19 RBI’s and an on-base percentage of .455. Logan Hoffman was the ace of the Tigers pitching staff with a record of 4-2 in seven starts. He pitched in 36 innings and had an ERA of 2.92 with 39 strikeouts and 12 walks. Opposing batters batted .258 against him.

  Lilienthal led Durant in batting with 33 hits, 20 RBI’s, nine doubles, and one home run. He had a .394 on-base percentage and a batting average of .344. Lilienthal was 2-4 in six pitching starts in 34 1/3 innings. He had an ERA of 2.65 with 55 strikeouts and 14 walks.

  One player was named to the RVC North Division team. That was North Cedar’s Ethan Sahr.

  Sahr was the leading hitter for the Knights this season with a batting average of .350. He also had a slugging percentage with a .517 and an on-base percentage of .418 average. She had a team best 21 hits, 7 doubles to go with 10 RBI’s and five stolen bases.

  Sahr also pitched and had a record of 0-8. He had a ERA of 8.24 with 29 strikeouts. Opposing batters batted .371 against him in 34 innings.

  Four players were named to the RVC honorable mention team. Those players were Devon Willis from North Cedar, Garrett Bohnsack from Wilton, Cole Miedema from Durant and Luke Becker from Tipton.

  Miedema batted .231 and had a .311 on-base percentage. He had 21 hits, 4 doubles and 7 RBI’s. He had seven starts and a 1-5 pitching record in 37 innings pitched. He had and ERA of 4.73 with 40 strikeouts and 22 walks. Opposing batters, batted .242 against him.

  Garrett Bohnsack batted .228 in 79 at-bats with 18 hits, one double, one triple and 9 RBI’s. He had 11 stolen bases, second on the team. He had a fielding percentage of .964.
 
  Becker had eight starts pitching and had a 3-5 record in 42 innings. He had an ERA of 4.00 and 27 strikeouts. He batted .284 with 21 hits and 9 RBI’s.

  Willis batted .365 with 19 hits, 5 RBI’s and had an on-base percentage of .431. He also pitched. Willis had a 0-6 record in 16 innings pitched.

  The River Valley South Coach of the year was Iowa City Regina’s Jeff Pacha. Pacha helped lead the Regals to a River Valley Conference South Division title and state ranking all season. The Regals also advanced to the state tournament where they were runners-up to 2A state champion Centerville.

  The River Valley North Coach of the year was Monticello’s Josh Soper. Soper helped lead the Panthers to River Valley Conference North Division title and state ranking most season. The Panthers swept class 2A top ranked Cascade to secure the RVC North Division title.


2018 River Valley Conference Baseball All-Conference Teams
Elite Team
Monticello - Jacob Manternach (Catcher), Ryan Manternach (Pitcher), Andrew Mescher (Infield), Kyle Sperfslage (Utility).
Iowa City Regina - Trent Hoogenwerf (Catcher), Mitchell Gahan (Pitcher), Ryan Schott (Infield), Blake Berns (Outfield), Ryne Schooley (Utility).
Cascade - Harris Hoffman (Pitcher), Gannon O’Brien (Infield), Logen Otting (Outfield), Brock Simon (Outfield), Reid Rausch (Utility).
Wilton - Jared Townsend (Pitcher), Colin McCrabb (Infield).
Durant - Mason Compton (Outfield).

South Division Team
Pitchers - Cory Anderson (Wilton), Logan Hoffman (Tipton), Justis Dengler (West Liberty).
Infielders - Nick Brandt (IC Regina), Tanner Lukavsky (West Branch), Trent Pelzer (Tipton), Curtis Lilienthal (Durant).
Outfielders - Evan Suchomel (IC Regina), Jayden Kies (IC Regina), Brad Tornow (Mid-Prairie)_, Quinten Mesick (Tipton)
Catcher - Brady Lukavsky (West Branch), Brock Hartley (Wilton).
Utility - Tyler Hartman (Wilton), Ted Bridges (West Branch), Caleb Wulf (West Liberty).

River Valley Conference South Coach Of The Year - Jeff Pacha, Iowa City Regina.

North Division Team
Pitchers - Matt French (Northeast), Jake Drury (Camanche), Riley Konrardy (Bellevue), Cale Everson (Camanche).
Infielders - Avery Martensen (Monticello), Evan Hall (Camanche), Blake Simon (Cascade), Cade Daugherty (Bellevue).
Outfielders - Alex Nealson (Monticello), Gavin Cooper (Monticello), Derek Koppes (Cascade), Riley Reed (Cascade).
Catchers - Mason Byrns (Camanche), Brandon Kafer (Bellevue).
Utility - Jon Mootz (Monticello), Ethan Sahr (North Cedar), Caleb Delzell (Camanche).
River Valley Conference North Coach Of The Year - Josh Soper (Monticello).

Honorable Mention
River Valley South - Masen Miller (IC Regina), Cole Miedema (Durant), Bryce Esmoil (West Liberty), Rex Peck (Mid-Prairie), Pete Espensen (West Branch), Luke Becker (Tipton), Garrett Bohnsack (Wilton).River Valley North - Kegan Arduser (Monticello), Tristan Daniels (Northeast), Devon Willis (North Cedar), Trey Daugherty (Bellevue), Evan Knipper (Cascade).