Girls & Boysstate BasketBall tournament previews

Grand view wrestlinGlooks for a repeat

Marlin and Sorensen seek elite 4-time champion status

Going for 4

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Contributors 04 GUNS-N-HOSESLocal firefighters and policemen play hockey for charity. 06 HS BASKETBALL

Both the Boys and the Girls get ready for the State Tournaments.22 GV WRESTLING

The Vikings look to repeat a 2nd NAIA Championship.

24 SIMPSON BASKETBALLCoach Niemuth hits 500 wins.

27 IOWA ENERGYThe Energy are optimistic as playoff season begins.

President’s Note: Happy New Year! We have some amazing high school athletes featured in this issue including two wrestlers, Jake Marlin of Creston/Orient-Macksburg and Brandon Sorenson of Denver-Tripoli, who are both seeking to become four-time state champi-ons! Be sure to browse our Web site or tune into our radio shows as we cover the upcoming winter state tournaments and meet. You won’t want to miss our photo and video galleries for all the highlights. We are also very happy to welcome two new sponsors, Bankers Trust and Kinetico. Bankers Trust sponsors our Coach with Character interviews on our radio program and has become a major sponsor for the magazine. Kinetico’s sponsorship has al-lowed us to add the “Pure Performance of the Month.” This month’s featured athlete is Ally Disterhoft of Iowa City West. Thank you so much to all our fine sponsors that allow us to feature Iowa student-athletes.

rush nigut

Presidentrush@sportsspotlight.com

John streets

Operations Consultantjohn@sportsspotlight.com

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Programming Directortony@sportsspotlight.com

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Art Directorsam@impactimagery.net

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Video Productionsupport@sportsspotlight.com

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Marketing & Promotionssupport@sportsspotlight.com

For radio and TV programming details, go to our website.

Going for 4PG 16

4 Volume 1 Issue 6 SportsSpotlight.com

Our daughter Mackenzy was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a bone cancer in her left femur on July 14, 2011. Calling this a life changing experience would be an understatement. The day we received the news was the hardest day of our lives and with many more to come. Nothing can compare to watching your child deathly sick every day, tired, immobile, and in an extreme amount of pain. We always tried to keep in mind as hard as this was on us, it was harder for Mackenzy. Her journey did come with some light at the end of the tunnel. She found an awe inspiring strength and courage. As a family we were very abruptly reminded what is truly important in life. Thankfully there are people and organizations out there that feel the same way. They dedicate their time and money in an effort to bring light to children in very dark places. Make-A-Wish is one of those organizations. Like a lot of girls, Mackenzy likes to think of herself as a princess. When Make-A-Wish granted her the opportunity to go to Disneyland it was a dream come true. It was a magical experience and it gave Mackenzy something to focus on while every-thing around her seemed quite the opposite. It is the most humbling experience to have complete strangers extend their hands when hope is fleet-ing. Since then Mackenzy has made her recovery and is currently in remission. She is in school and being a normal kid again thanks to all the people who stood beside us. Guns-N-Hoses are another organiza-tion that is special to us. Last year’s recipient of their Firemen vs. Police Officers hockey game benefit was

Children’s Cancer Connec-tion. They connected our fam-ily with Travis Hamil-ton for Mackenzy to be Kid Cap-tain for the Firefighters. Members of the Des Moines Metro Police, Firefighters and EMS come together in a competitive game of hockey at Bucs Arena with the goal of helping combat children’s cancer. At the time Mackenzy was very sick and was not sure if she was able to make it to the game. Firefighters Greg Willis and Kris Ruszkowski came to visit Mackenzy at Blank Children’s Hospital and gave her that extra excitement to get out of the hospital. Mackenzy was released the day before the game and had a great time. It was amazing to see her interact

with the players, promoters, and audi-ence. They made her feel very special that day. March 3rd at 1:30pm is Guns-N-Hoses’ 8th Annual Hockey Benefit game with DSM Metro Firefighters and EMS against DMS Metro Police. This year Make-A-Wish of Iowa will be the re-cipient of all proceeds. We asked a few

questions to Travis Hamilton, who is not only the director of this year’s event, but also has been touched personally by Make-A-Wish

through his son Trae’s journey. How did you decide with Make A Wish as this year’s recipient? After last year’s event, which was by far the biggest year so far, I was asked to coordinate the 8th Annual Guns N Hoses benefit hockey game again.  I knew in my heart that I really wanted to coordinate the event again and agreed to do so as long as Make-A-Wish Iowa was the charity we were donating too.  Much like you, my son Trae is also a “wish kid” and our family has had the opportu-nity to experience the excitement and unbelievable treatment that everyone associated with Make-A-Wish provide to these children and their families.Can you share your personal experience with Make A Wish and what it meant for you and your family? We were notified that Trae had been nominated and selected to receive his “wish” and at this point Trae was still pretty young and didn’t really understand.  We were told that he had been granted his “wish” and that he could take it anytime before turning 18 years old so we waited a year or two until he was old enough to decide what his “wish” was on his own, and so he got to do what he wanted.  Of course, like any other young child he picked to go to Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida. 

How do we purchase tickets and shirts? Each year we design a special t-shirt that is sold and all proceeds go to the selected charity.  This year we also added hooded sweatshirts.  These items will be available anytime and we will have them at the game on March 3rd as well.  The long sleeve t-shirts are $15.00 and the hooded sweatshirts are $30.00How can private donation be made? This annual event starts each year with a budget of $0.00 and works 100% off donations and sponsorships to raise as much money as possible for that year’s selected charity.  We are always accept-ing free will donations and have many sponsorship levels available. What is the hardest part of organizing past, present and future events, and what we can do as a community to contribute? The hardest part is making the contacts necessary to make the event success-ful.  As a police officer, I don’t have any experience in soliciting donations or asking for sponsorships from different businesses and private donors so it was really stepping outside my comfort box, but now that the contacts are made and

we have a strong following of supporters who believe in our event and are willing to provide continued support year in and year out it’s much easier the second time around.  With that being said, I’ve also set my fundraising goal higher than last year so it’s still takes a lot of effort, but it’s something I enjoy doing and I hope after I step aside, that someone from the Police or Fire teams will step forward and continue moving the event forward for many years to come.

GUNS-N-HOSES PlAY FOR CANCERFirefighters and Policemen of Des Moines raise awareness and money for charity through hockeyDeana Taylor | Sports Spotlight Contributor

Press Pass

SpotlightIn the

Youth

West Des Moines Thunder vs. Ankeny Lightning

West Des Moines Thunder vs. Ankeny Lightning

Indianola Indians

Indianola Indians

Indianola Indians vs. DCG Fillies

Indianola Indians vs. DCG Fillies

Creston Black vs. Carroll Tigers

Creston BlackWest Des Moines Thunder vs. Waukee Warriors

Waukee Warriors vs. Ankeny Lightning

Waukee Warriors vs. Ankeny Lightning

All photos were taken at the Crestion fourth grade girls’ basketball tournament and the Lincoln Rails seventh grade boys’ basketball tournament.

Each month we publish youth action photos from around the state. We would love to get yours! Send us your photos at support@sportsspotlight.com

6

Class 4ASubstate 1Sioux City East and Sioux City North look to be getting ready to play for a third time this season. The Black Raiders won the first meeting, 58-56 so nothing looks clear-cut as to who will advance. East is led by Marcel Dunson, one of the top scorers in Class 4A. The North Stars look toward a sophomore in Daniel Tillo and his 20-plus points per game along with many underclassmen that are only getting better.Substate 2West Des Moines Valley will lean heavily on the Class 4A leading scorer, Peter Jok in hopes of advancing to the state tournament. Des Moines Roosevelt and Johnston look to pose the biggest hurdle for the Tigers. The Roughriders are led by Chris Bennett and the Dragons by Jay Knuth.Substate 3Western Dubuque (Epworth) was the state runner-up last season but that was in 3A. The jump in class does not look to make it improbable that the T J Lake led Bobcats can once again make the trip to Des Moines. Cedar Falls will be a factor with Kalehl Brown leading the way for the Tiger as well as Cedar Rapids Kennedy and their balanced squad.Substate 4Dubuque Senior is the favorite here with wins over most in this substate. The rams bring no wow factor but just bring a solid team effort, night in and night out. Linn-Mar (Marion) hopes to keep their state tournament qualifying run going and Cedar Rapids Xavier is another that hope the challenge for the state ticket.Substate 5Bettendorf made a huge statement in their mid-January win over North Scott (Eldridge). Cole Clearmann leads a balanced attack offensively. The Lancers look to be the only team with a shot at beating the Bulldogs but will need to erase the loss from their minds as they move forward.Substate 6

The defending state champions are ready and primed for a back-to-back tournament run. One question is if they can duplicate what Ames did a few years back with an unbeaten run. The Trojans have five players averaging at or near double-figures and four starters back from last season title team. Cedar Rapids Jefferson is a deep sleeper.Substate 7Ankeny hopes to get back for another shot. The Hawks will count on the inside-outside combo of Ted Fried-man and Bryan Sumner. This may be one of the deeper substates in 4A with Des Moines North, Dowling Catholic and Waukee all very capable on any given night. The Polar Bears are led by Teyontae Jenkins and Terrance Busch, both in the top-ten in many 4A statisti-cal categories. The Warriors are led by sophomore Michael Jacobson and the Maroons just seem to find somebody different to step up when needed with their balanced lineup.Substate 8Urbandale gets the slightest of edges her with Des Moines Hoover very proven and Southeast Polk capable. The J-Hawks are deep and have a number of ways to beat you offensively, with solid outside shooting which leads to easy inside baskets. The Huskies and J-Hawks played a triple overtime game in mid-January that Urbandale won 68-65. Malichi Canada and Chris King lead Des Moines Hoover who always bring a solid defensive game and always seem to find a way to have a chance to win every time they play.Tony’s Class 4A State Tournament Picks: Sioux City North, West Des Moines Val-ley, Western Dubuque (Epworth), Dubuque Senior, Bettendorf, Iowa City West, Ank-eny, UrbandaleClass 3ASubstate 1Bishop Heelan (Sioux

City) is a very familiar name that finds their way to Des Moines and this season looks to be much the same. Kyle Heaton and Shane Graves carry the offensive load with their only losses coming to 4A powers Sioux City East and Sioux City North and South Sioux City (NE). MOC-Floyd Valley, LeMars and Spencer are the sleepers with Spencer the only one not to face the Crusaders this season.Substate 2Waverly-Shell Rock and Iowa Falls-Alden looked to be on course to meet but Humboldt has also joined the party along with Clear Lake. The Go-Hawks will count on UNI recruit, Klinton Carlson while the Cadets bring one of the top scorers in 3A in Casey Schlatter and his 25-plus points per game average. The Wildcats and Lions have shown the ability to compete with this group.Substate 3Vinton-Shellsburg looks to have a state championship feel to them this season. Grant Sagen leads the Vikings who really have not been tested for the most part this season. Crestwood (Cresco) should not be overlooked with their balanced squad and nice win over New Hamp-ton. The two look to be destined for the substate final meeting.Substate 4Davenport Assumption plays the tough schedule to get them post season ready. They also are pretty darn good with Billy Daniel and Matt Vonderhaar leading the way. A number of teams look to upset the apple cart which include Center Point-Urbana, and Central Clinton

(DeWitt) but the one with the most prom-ise is Anamosa led by Spencer Barnes.Substate 5Mount Pleasant is looking to defend their Class 3A title and in a very bal-anced 3A again this season would not completely count the

Panthers out. Ottumwa transfer, Faith Pope has been a huge addition to giving Mount Pleasant a shot. Solon has recent basketball tradition and is one of the challengers along with Fort Madison and Keokuk. Substate 6Grinnell would like another shot in Des Moines but will have to battle past Centerville and Pella to do so with Char-iton and Bondurant-Farrar sleepers. Joe Nowasell and Eli Dunne lead the Tigers attack. The Big Red has four players averaging double figures led by Kolton Gonnerman. Strength of schedule may keep people from believing in them so they will be playing with something to prove. Pella has such great basketball tradition, so it is hard to leave the Little Dutch out of any conversation.Substate 7Dallas Center-Grimes will be the fa-vorite but like almost the entire 3A field, the Mustangs will not jump off the page when you watch them but when the final horn sounds the scoreboard finds the Mustangs usually on the winning side. Austin Rix causes plenty of trouble on defense and on the boards. Norwalk and the Mustangs will meet in late January and that could tell a bit more as the Warriors also are playing good basketball. Tate Handsaker leads a solid Nevada Cubs team that may be flying a bit under the radar. Substate 8Atlantic, Creston, Carroll and Harlan all play in the Hawkeye Ten and know plenty about each other. Nobody through mid-January had shown they were capable of being THE team in this group so it really comes down to surviv-ing and advancing here. The Trojans are led by Dalton Franken while the Tigers toward Cody Netusil for leadership. The Cyclones have Trey Lansman and the Panthers with Luke Neitzel and Colby Taylor.Tony’s Class 3A State Tournament Picks: Bishop Heelan (Sioux City), Waverly-Shell Rock, Vinton-Shellsburg, Davenport Assumption, Mount Pleas-

HigH ScHool

6 Volume 1 Issue 6 SportsSpotlight.com

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS STATE BASKETBALLTony Atzeni | Programming Director

Class 4A defending champions, Iowa City West

ant, Grinnell, Dallas Center-Grimes, AtlanticClass 2ASubstate 1District 1Western Christian (Hull) is once again where you start as the Wolfpack led by Michael DenHerder have only a loss to 4A contender Sioux City North in triple overtime. District 2Sheldon is the team to beat with Dallas Ennema leading the way. Spirit Lake will be the challenger with Alec Hen-rickson the key to the offense. Substate 2District 3This may be one of the more balanced districts in the class with nearly every team posting a winning record. St. Edmond (Fort Dodge) has tradition on their side but Manson-NW Webster may have an edge with victories over East Sac County and South Central Calhoun in the regular season. District 4West Fork is the team to beat with the one-two punch of Payton Plagge and Sam Amsbaugh. Garner-Hayfield/Ven-tura and Forest City look to be the two with the best chance for the upset.Substate 3District 5Led by Kyle Smith and a very balanced group behind him, New Hampton will be the team to beat here. Osage looks to be the sleeper. District 6West Marshall (State Center) and Hud-son look to be the two that meet for the rights to play in the substate final game. Duncan Ferch leads Trojans while the Pirates will counter with Isaiah Rusted. Aplington-Parkersburg could be upset the apple cart.Substate 4District 7MFL, Mar-Mac (Monona) has the edge in a pretty solid district with the likes of Clayton Ridge (Guttenberg), Beckman (Dyersville) and Sumner-Fredericksburg all viable contenders. CJ Mason is the leader for the Bulldogs who to date has suffered just a lone loss to Prairie du Chien (WI). District 8Cascade (Western Dubuque) has pretty much had their way but still a question on the level of their opponents this season. Substate 5District 9Northeast (Goose Lake) and North Ce-dar (Stanwood) look to be the two with the best chance for a substate final game ticket. The Knights have the experience of this road of late with state tourna-ment trips while the Rebels. The two will meet later in the season and could

give an indication of the which team gets the edge.District 10West Branch has one of the top scorers in the state in Rylan Murry and is the favorites in this district but look out for Wilton with Cole Crawford who although losing in their first meeting, showed they are going to be a factor.Substate 6District 11Notre Dame-Burlington has four players scoring in double figures led by Alex Kuster and Kullen Koelker and their only loss this season to Class 1A power Danville. District 12Should be a well-earned substate ticket here with a balanced group led by PCM-Monroe and Pella Christian with their schools post season experience maybe a plus. Both teams are balanced and played a tougher schedule to help in the post season process.Substate 7District 13Des Moines Christian is back is the post season picture and will be the team to beat here led by Jared Jones. North Polk, Roland-Story and Van Meter would like to play the spoiler roll. District 14Nodaway Valley (Greenfield) will be a very tough out with Alex Welsch and Brad Baudler a strong combo leading the way. The substate final could be a great preview to the state tournament. Substate 8District 15Treynor and St. Albert (Council Bluffs) should meet for the substate ticket. The Cardinal is led by Alec Sorensen while the Falcons will count on a tough defense. District 16IKM-Manning has the edge with a win over Kuemper Catholic (Carroll). The Knights record is deceiving because of the tough Hawkeye Ten schedule. Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto could pull off the upset special.Tony’s Class 2A State Tournament Picks: Western Christian (Hull), West Fork, New Hampton, MFL, Mar (Monona), West Branch, PCM-Monroe, Nodaway Valley (Greenfield), IKM-ManningClass 1ASubstate 1District 1Harris-Lake Park is the favorite led by Eli Ihnen but look for West Lyon (Inwood) and Rock Valley to be a threat in the district.District 2Boyden-Hull has such tradition and plays a tough schedule each year you usually need to overlook the record. Last season was an example of just that.

The Comets are a balanced group this season led by J C Koerselman and Riley Francis. Gehlen Catholic (LeMars) looks to be a very strong contender with Hinton and Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn also in the mix. Substate 2District 3Three teams look to battle for the one substate spot here with North Iowa (Buf-falo Center) looking to make a repeat trip to Des Moines. Belmond-Klemme and Bishop Garrigan (Algona) will be a major factor with Newman Catholic (Mason City) a sleeper with a win earlier in the season against Belmond-Klemme.District 4Wide open district with no real stand-out. Wapsie Valley (Fairbank) could be the team to beat but you can make a case for a number of teams after that.Substate 3District 5Dunkerton and North Linn (Troy Mills) look to be headed into a district final meeting. The Lynx look to have played the tougher schedule during the regular season and are led by Hunter Pflughaupt while the Raiders will counter with Kory Kuenstling.District 6Lone Tree is loaded and pretty much controlled their opponents during the regular season led by Bryan Forbes. A number of teams are hoping to have the opportunity including Highland (Riv-erside), Marquette Catholic (Bellevue), Midland (Wyoming) and Preston.Substate 4District 7Iowa Mennonite (Kalona) has made many trips to Des Moines and may have the slight edge here with three players averaging 15-plu per game led by Dallas Nye. Lynnville-Sully, Montezuma and even B-G-M (Brooklyn) will be the challengers.District 8Four teams have my attention in this highly contested district. North Tama (Traer) has four players that average at or near double figures while AGWSR (Ackley) will count on Josh Bagley. Colo-Nesco has Brandon Niemeyer and Gladbrook-Reinbeck is led by Zach Pierce.Substate 5District 9Danville looks to get back to Des Moines for a third straight season but have some unfinished business if they make the trip and that is simply winning a state title. Led by the twin brother combo of Steven and Michael Soukup the Bears will be a tough out. Keota may have the best chance at the upset.District 10Moulton-Udell, Sigourney and Pleas-antville look to be in a battle for the

substate ticket. Sigourney is led by Vaclac Bujnoch with his 20-plus per game average. The Trojans like to get up and down the court led by Dylan Lauer while the Eagles bring a balanced group led by Kalen Martsching.Substate 6District 11This looks to be a wide-open district with four teams fighting for the substate spot. Guthrie Center has Adam and Caleb Courtney leading the way while Ankeny Christian has their one-two scoring punch in JJ Waddle and Ben Taylor. Grandview Park Baptist (Des Moines) is led by Jon LukeTalton but did lose to the Eagles during the regular season. Adair-Casey will count on Spence Rochhloz and will need to turn losses into wins against the Eagles and Defenders.District 12Lamoni and Murray look to be set for a district final meeting. The Demons have their own double-double machine in Jeremy Deemer while the Mustangs counter with Austin Halls, one of the top scorers in the state. Murray won the first meeting during the regular season by two points but the Devils won the conference tournament meeting..Substate 7District 13Villisca, East Mills, Fremont-Mills (Tabor) and Sidney should battle in a balanced district. The Cowboys have had success against Fremont-Mills and Villisca. District 14Ricky Williams and Riverside (Oak-land) look ready to make the trip to Des Moines. The road block would come in the substate final if there is one.Substate 8District 15Lawton-Bronson looks solid with a big win over IKM-Manning during the regular season. West Monona (Onawa) is the sleeper but did lose to the Eagles earlier this season. Woodbury Central (Moville) also lost the Lawton-Bronson early in the season and is a danger along with Ar-We-Va (Westside).District 16St. Marys (Storm Lake) looks to make a third straight trip to Des Moines and will be the favorite in this substate led by Luke Lenhart and Kennedy Drey who both average over 20 points per game. Newell-Fonda would like to think they have a shot to end the run. The teams met twice this year with the Panthers sweeping the series.Tony’s Class 1A State Tournament Picks: Boyden-Hull, North Iowa (Buf-falo Center), Lone Tree, Iowa Mennonite (Kalona), Danville, Murray, Riverside (Oakland), St. Mary’s (Storm Lake)

HigH ScHool

7Volume 1 Issue 6SportsSpotlight.com

Athleteof

theMONTH

Student

Katie SommerDubuque Senior High School - Class of 2014 / GPA 3.88

AchievementsSPortSsoftball, basketball & cross country

ACADemiC ACHievementS/HonorSHigh Honor Roll and Gold Renaissance

AtHletiC ACHievementS/HonorSSoftball: 1st Team All-State, 2012; 3rd Team All-State, 2010 and 2011; 1st Team All-Confer-

ence and All-District, 2010, 2011, 2012Basketball: 2nd Team All-Conference, 2011

Cross Country: member of State Team, 2011 and 2012

Katie’S Q & AWHAt’S YoUr FAvorite SPort to PlAY WHY?It’s a tie between softball and basketball. Softball because of the versitility in base-running, fielding and hitting options. Basketball because of the fast-paced, aggressive play.

WHAt’S YoUr FAvorite SPortS memorY?2012 Conference and City Champs in softball, also beat-ing Linmar to advance to third round districts in softball.

Do YoU HAve AnY FUn Pre-GAme “ritUAlS” tHAt PrePAre YoU For An event?I listen to “Beauty and the Beat” before every game. I say a quick prayer during the National Anthem before every game. I do a special handshake with my twin.

WHAt’S YoUr FAvorite SUBJeCt in SCHool? WHY?Science, I like experiments and solving equations.

WHo inSPireS YoU? Why?My twin sister, Kristie. We play basketball and softball to-gether and we push each other to get better and we are always giving tips on how to improve. She makes me a better player and we feed off each other’s positive vibes.

WHAt WAS tHe BeSt movie YoU SAW in tHe lASt YeAr?“The Hunger Games” I love action-packed movies.

ColleGe or PoSt-HiGH SCHool PlAnS:Attend college and hope to play softball and/or basket-ball, with a major in Education

WHAt iS YoUr DreAm JoB?Owning my own athletic store.

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HigH ScHool

Keith Hennessey, CLU, LUTCF

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) has released their 2013 Iowa high school basketball re-gional parings.  As always, I like to take a look once they are out and make my choices as to who will battle for the trip to Des Moines and the state basketball championship tournament.  This season is the first in the new five class format in basketball and although some teams look to have solid hopes of at least reaching the state tournament, this may be one of the most wide-open tournament runs we have seen over the many years of five player girls basketball. As I begin, let’s do so it Class 5A and Region 1, the team to beat will be Ankeny.  Even with the losses of last season’s 4A state runner-up team, head coach Scott DeJong has them right back in the middle of the battle. It would be a surprise if they are not in Des Moines.  In Region 2, Mason City will be the tough out.  If they are healthy, some-thing they have not been all season, the Mohawks should win.  Jadda Buckley is scheduled to be ready for the tourna-ment run. Dubuque Senior could spoil things otherwise. In Region 3, battle looks to be between Des Moines East and Waterloo West.  Both are talented and deep with my edge going to the Scarlets because of their constant defensive pressure.  Shareece Burrell and Roichelle Marble lead the Scarlets while the West will counter with Haley Puk Blaire Thomas. In Region 4, the defending champions will have to be at their best for a return trip.  Iowa City West led by one of the state’s top players in Ally Disterhoft hopes of going back will be by more than likely beating cross-town rival, Iowa City High and their talented group led by Ha-ley Lorenzen and Mickey Hansche.. In Region 5, Muscatine is probably the favorite with Pleasant Valley capable.  The Muskies are balanced led by Leti Lerma. In Region 6, Cedar Rapids Washington and Waukee look to be headed for a meeting to get the ticket to state.  The Washington has Danielle

Franklin and Abby Herb who average in double figures while Waukee is led by Britney Boland. In Region 7, South-east Polk and West Des Moines Valley received the byes but Ames could also have something to say.  The Rams look to have the edge with Caitlin Ingle back to lead the way. In Region 8, Dowling Catholic has the bye and the target on their back with Council Bluffs Abe Lin-coln the Cinderella team this year in the field looking to gain some respect with an upset. The Maroons have numbers and a balanced group while Abe Lincoln has to answer the question of strength of schedule. Tony’s Class 5A State Tourna-ment Picks:  Ankeny, Mason City, Des Moines East, Iowa City High, Mus-catine, Waukee, Southeast Polk and Dowling Catholic In Class 4A, the wide-open field be-gins with Region 1 where Bishop Heelan (Sioux City) gets the edge with Spence hoping to challenge.  The Crusaders can score in many different ways and tare deep. In Region 2, Waverly-Shell Rock will have the favorite status with one of their losses to 5A Dubuque Senior .  In Region 3, the battle looks to be between Western Dubuque (Epworth) and North Scott (Eldridge).  The Lancers record is deceiving with most of their games against 5A teams.  In Region 4, Cedar Rapids Xavier is used to the grind of the regular season that readies them for the post season.  Washington and Marion look to provide the competition.

In Region 5, Benton made it without Madison Weekly at state last year.   Now they hope to make the trip again, this time with her on the court.  Oskaloosa and Mount Pleasant will be factors.  In Region 6, two teams that are already familiar with each other look to maybe a rubber match to decide the state bid as Winterset and Dallas Center-Grimes get the favorites check mark.  The tough conference schedule has prepared both of them. The Huskies will need to get back to full strength, especially with Mariah Criswell. In Region 7, Indianola played a tough 5A schedule and look ready but Lewis Central has been out west and fly-ing under the radar and will be a factor.  The Indians top central Iowa schedule should help in the post season run. In

Region 8, Perry looks ready after playing a tough conference schedule. 

Claire Marburger leads the Bluejays

charge in both scoring and rebounding. Harlan, Ballard (Huxley) and Denison-Schleswig look to be contenders. Tony’s Class 4A State Tourna-ment Picks: Bishop Heelan (Sioux City), Waverly-Shell Rock,  North Scott (Eldridge) , Cedar Rapids Xavier, Benton Community (Van Horne), Dallas Center-Grimes, Indianola and Perry

In Class 3A, Region 1 MOC-Floyd Valley should prevail for a return trip with the return of multi-sport star Alexis Conaway while in Re-gion 2, Spirit Lake looks to have the

edge but Unity Christian (Orange City) is a sleeper.  In Region 3, Estherville-Lincoln Central has played great and a tough schedule as well and is led by Allie and Casey Sievert and Emily Kirchner while in Region 4, Cascade has the edge but the Crestwood (Cresco) – Waukon winner could spoil. Waukon has the Class 3A leading scorer leading the way in Daneshia Snitker.

In Region 5, Davenport Assump-tion is the favorite not only here but for another state title as they look for their 3rd straight.  The ex-perience of Danielle Moore and Kate Fen-nelly really help the Lady Knights hopes. In Region 6, Mid-Prairie (Wellman) will be challenged by Williamsburg or Mediapolis.  All three teams

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS STATE BASKETBALLTony Atzeni | Programming Director

Class 3A defending champions, Davenport Assumption

Class 4A defending champions, Iowa City West

Britney Boland for Waukee

11Volume 1 Issue 6SportsSpotlight.com

count on all the pieces and defense which makes this one of the tougher regionals in the class. In Region 7, Bondurant-Farrar has been challenged all season in conference play and could get another from Central Lee (Donnell-son) for the state ticket.  Ashley Burrows leads B-F while Central Lee leans on Traci Keller. In Region 8, North Polk may be ready for the short drive to Des Moines after a great regular season. Mi-randa and Megan Murphy make a strong one-two punch. Tony’s Class 3A State Tournament Picks: MOC-Floyd Valley, Spirit Lake, Estherville-Lincoln Central, Cascade (Western Dubuque), Davenport As-sumption, Williamsburg, Bondurant-Farrar and North Polk In Class 2A and beginning in Region 1, Western Christian (Hull) controls their destiny with Brooke Wolterstorff, one of the top female athletes in the state while Region 2 it will Panorama (Panora) that gets the edge but should be challenged here with Manson-NW Webster, St. Edmond (Fort Dodge) and Kuemper Catholic (Carroll) all very capable.  In Region 3, Aplington-Parkersburg and Hudson look to meet for the state trip. Hudson squeezed out a win the first meeting with one more on the schedule. In Region 4, North Butler (Greene) will once again be tough but watch for Maquoketa Valley (Dehli) and

Bellevue as solid contenders. In Region 5, North Linn (Troy Mills) is playing the best with Nicole Miller leading the way while in Region 6, North Mahaska (New Sharon) searches for another trip but should faces challenges from Pella Christian in their bracket and Woodward-Granger or Des Moines Christian in the regional finals.  The Warhawks are led by all-stater Mallory Boyle. In Region 7, IKM-Manning is the strong favorite with Treynor a dark horse.  Kaylee Blake leads the Wolves. In Region 8, Lawton-Bronson is strong with a trio of double-figures scorers led by Josie Kopal, Ashley Williams and

Taylor Williams. Hinton the sleeper. Tony’s Class 2A State Tournament Picks: Western Christian (Hull), Pano-rama (Panora), Hudson, North Butler (Greene), North Linn (Troy Mills), Woodward-Granger, IKM-Manning and Lawton-Bronson. In Class 1A, Region 1, Central Lyon (Rock Rapids) will be the team to beat with Lexi Ackerman leading their cause with West Sioux (Hawarden) in line if they slip.  In Region 2, Newell-Fonda has tradition on their side and led by Ranee Maneman.  North Iowa (Buffalo Center) hopes to write their own history.  In Region 3, Grundy Center looks to

be in the driver’s seat with Samantha Meyers and Heather Hook while in Region 4, Burlington-Notre Dame with four players averaging double figures is the favorite with Preston hoping for the surprise. In Region 5, two teams with eye-opening season as Meskwaki Settlement (Tama) and Colo-Nesco could meet for a third time to decide the state trip.  Dia Keahna leads one of the surprise teams this season in the Warriors. In Region 6, Adair-Casey has the edge with Moravia and Twin Cedars (Bussey) hoping for a shot.  In Region 7, Bedford looks set for another state title shot with Murray the sleeper.  The Bulldogs have the state tournament experi-ence led by Savanna Thornton and Kayla Lindenmeyer. In Region 8, Ar-We-Va (Westside) is tough with Paige Danner and Gehlen Catholic (LeMars) should not be over looked. Tony’s Class 1A State Tour-nament Picks: Central Lyon (Rock Rapids), Newell-Fonda, Grundy Center, Burlington-Notre Dame, Meskwaki Set-tlement (Tama), Adair-Casey, Bedford and Ar-We-Va (Westside).

HigH ScHool

Class 2A defending champions, Western Hull

Kendyl Gruttenmeyer for Bedford

ChampionsaCross iowa

ChampionsaCross iowa

GeneralMills

100% IOWA CHAMPIONS

Lorenzen is averaging a double-

double this season in scoring

average and rebounding for

the Little Hawks and is in the

top-ten in both categories in

Class 5A. Haley is also among

the Class 5A leaders in blocked

shots.

School: Iowa City High

Class: 5ALake led the Bobcats to the

runner-up finish Class 3A last

season and now has helped lead

them into the top-ten in Class

4A this season. Lake is among

the 4A leaders in scoring

average at nearly 20 points per

game.

School: Western Debuque (Epworth)Class: 4A Fiepke has been instrumental

in leading the Maroons to the

top of the boys swimming

power rankings this season.

Jonathan has posted the top

times in the 50 and 100 meter

freestyle and is part of the

Maroons highly ranked relay

teams.

School: Dowling CatholicClass: N/A

Pope is averaging over 20

points and 10 rebounds per

game this season and is in

the top ten in each of those

categories in Class 1A. Pope

also is one of the state leaders

in blocked shots.

School: Belle PlaineClass: 1A

THE BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

LorenzenHaley L a k eT.J. Po p eKameo

B a s k e t b a l l B a s k e t b a l l S w i m m i n g B a s k e t b a l l

Get your breakfast of

Champions at your local

FiepkeJonathon

13Volume 1 Issue 6SportsSpotlight.com

HigH ScHool

Presented by Kinetico Water Systems

The Oak Leafs and JeTs BaTTLe fOr TOp spOT The battle for the top team in the Midwest High School Hockey League is on as the Des Moines Oak Leafs (17-2-0) and Kansas City (17-3-0) stayed even heading into this week’s action. Both the Oak Leafs and Jets have key meet-ings this week, Des Moines at Lincoln and the Jets at Omaha for a two-game weekend series on the road. The Western Division continues to show its overall, top-to-bottom strength as every team in the division sports a winning record. Nothing changed at the divison level as the Oak Leafs lead the central, Waterloo leads the east and Kansas City leads the west. Individually, Mark Wishman (Ames) lead the varsity league in goals scored with 25 and is fifth in overall scoring. Logan Lopicka (Kansas City) is second in goals scored (23) and leads the league in assists (27) and lead the league in overall scoring with 50 points. In goal at the varsity level, Thomas Doheny (Des Moines Oak Leafs) lead the league in victories (16), goals against average (1.44), tied for first with four shutouts and second in save percentage (.925). Blair Sanders (Kansas City) leads the league in save percentage (.931), stopping 325 of 349 shots he has faced. Sanders also has four shutouts. At the junior varsity level, Keegan

Lyon (Sioux City) leads the league in scoring with his 18 goals and 12 assists for 30 total points. Jon Mcmanus (Kansas City) leads in goals scored (19) while his teammate, Nick Cardin has dished out the most assists (17). In goal, Nicholas Goeke (Des Moines Oak Leafs) leads in victories (10) and shutouts (6) and is second in goals against average (0.91) and third in save percentage (.932). Erik Schuette (Kansas City) leads the league in save percentage (.973) and goals against average (0.54), stopping 182 of the 187 shots he has faced this season. Each week, look for updated stand-ings, schedules and season statistical leaders in both the varsity and junior varsity leagues which will be posted every Monday at www.sportsspotlight.com.

MHSHL Varsity Standings(Win/Loss/Overtime Loss/Shootout Loss) Points:Central DivisionDes Moines Oak Leafs (19-2-0) - 38Des Moines Capitals (10-9-0-1) - 21Ames (9-11-1-1) - 20Mason City (9-10-1) - 19East DivisionWaterloo (12-7-0-1) - 25Quad City (8-11-1) - 17Dubuque (7-15-0) - 14Cedar Rapids (1-16-1-1) – 4West DivisionKansas City (19-3-0) - 38Sioux City (10-8-0-1) - 21Lincoln (9-9-0-3) – 21Omaha (9-9-0) – 18MHSHL Varsity Statistical Leaders Top 10 Varsity Scoring Leaders(Goals/Assists-Points)1-Logan Lopicka, Kansas City (25 Goals/30 Assists) - 552-Cody Maulsby, Mason City (25 Goals/25 Assists) – 483-Joe Burgmeier, Mason City (22 Goals/23 Assists) – 454-Connor Cox, Des Moines Oak Leafs (20 Goals/22 Assists) - 425-Michael Doheny, Des Moines Oak Leafs (22 Goals/19 Assists) – 416-Mark Wishman, Ames (27 Goals/13 Assists) - 40

7-A.j. Caskey, Des Moines Capitals (18 Goals/18 Assists) – 368-Tomas Lence, Ames (11 Goals/23 Assists) - 349-Austin Greenough, Des Moines Oak Leafs (11 Goals/19 Assists) - 3010-Clayton Huss, Des Moines Oak Leafs (16 Goals/13 Assists) – 29Varsity Goalie Leaders (Minimum 10 Games in Goal)(Wins/Losses/Ties/Shutouts) - Goals Against Average (GAA)1-Thomas Doheny, Des Moines Oak Leafs (18-2-0-4) - 1.45 GAA2-Anthony Galliart, Kansas City (7-0-0/2) – 1.80 GAA3-Blair Sanders, Kansas City (12-3-0/4) - 1.81 GAA4-Jarin Aden, Lincoln (9-8-0/0) – 2.40 GAA5-Josh Stoos, Sioux City (10-4-0/2) – 2.66 GAA6-Anthony Piscopo, Mason City (8-3-0/1) - 2.79 GAA7-Connor Randleman, Omaha (7-8-0/1) – 2.82 GAA8-Connor Weber, Waterloo (12-7-0/0) - 2.92 GAA9-Lucas Vandyke, Des Moines Capitals (7-5-0/2) – 3.27 GAA10-Orion Boylston, Ames (9-12-0/2) – 3.32 GAA

Des Moines and Kansas City fight to be the best in the Midwest Hockey LeagueTony Atzeni | Programming Director

Logan Lopicka for Kansas City

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Spotlighting some of the State’s best athletes and programs.

Performance

SpotlightBob and Sharon Hanson: Reached a coaching milestone when they posted their 700th career victory early in January. The husband and wife team coached at Des Moines East and Waukee and are currently at Dowling Catholic.Mark McGlaughlin (Fr., Iowa City West): McGlaughlin has made a huge impression in boys swimming as a freshman with second best times in the 50 and 100 freestyle and the top time in the 200 freestyle this season.Tayontae Jenkins (Jr., Des Moines North): Jenkins is among the Class 4A leaders in scoring average, and steals.The Polar Bear junior leads 4A with over six assists per game.Logan Losh (Sr., Boone): Losh is in the top-ten in Class 3A in scoring average and rebounding for the Toreadors. Austin Halls (Sr., Murray): Halls became the 31st player in Iowa boys basketball history to score 2,000 points in his career. Danishia Snitker (Sr. Waukon): Snitker has the top per game scoring average in girls’ basketball this season with her 25 plus per game average. Katelynn Tracy (Sr. Moravia): Tracy finds her name in the top-ten in Class 1A in scoring average and rebounding this season.

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SpotlightIn the

High School

Each month we publish high school action photos from around the state. We would love to get yours! Send us your photos at support@sportsspotlight.com

Alexis Conaway for MOC-Floyd Valley takes on Jamie Tracy for West Lyon

Emily Riedemann (South O’Brien) goes up for a shot

Anna Kiel of Unity Christian fights for the ball with Jade Lynn Vlotho of West Sioux

Trevor Kauk of Unity Christian dunks the ball

Danielle Groepper (Kingsley-Pierson) lines up for a shot

Justin Winnett for Johnston

Alex Hernandez (Bettendorf) vs. Austin Boyd (Burlington) at 145

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The list of four-time champions in Iowa high school wrestling history is a short one, with twenty-one names on that list. This season, for the fourth time in history of the sport we could add two more to the elite list as Jake Marlin of Creston/Orient-Macks-burg and Brandon Sorensen of Denver-Tripoli both seek that status. Marlin won the 130 pound title in 2010, won at 135 in 2011 and 138 last season where he is top-ranked again this season in Class 2A. Sorensen won the 119 pound title in 2010, won at 130

State Champs?

4 time

in 2011 and 132 last season in Class 2A. Sorensen is top-ranked at 145 this season. Prior to the 2000 season, eleven athletes made up the four-time champion list with none of them coming in the same season. This season could mark the fourth time that two join the list in the same season. Last season John Meeks with Des Moines Roosevelt and Cory Clark with Southeast Polk joined the list. Overall there are fourteen returning champions but only one in Class 3A. Matt Wempen with Linn-Mar (Marion) won the 106 pound title last season but finds himself ranked second behind Kaz Onoo with Mason City at 113 pounds. In Class 2A, eight wrestlers are hoping to repeat and stand at the top of the podium on championship Saturday. The list includes Doug Minor (Spirit Lake Park, 106) who is top-ranked at 120 this season and Max Thomsen (Union, LaPorte City, 113) who is also top-ranked at 126. Colton McCrystal with Sergeant bluff-Luton heads the list at 132 pounds after claiming the 126 pound championship in 2012. For Nick Georgean with Davenport Assumption looks to repeat at 152 while top-ranked Erik Lux with South Tama moves up to 170 pounds after winning the 160 title last year. Adam Reth with West Delaware (Manchester) was crowned champ at 195 last and will have the top-ranked target on his back this year at 220 pounds In Class 1A, five won individual titles last season, but one has moved into the 2A field this season. Charlie Jones with Columbus Catholic (Waterloo) won the 1A, 120 pound title last season but

finds himself ranked second in 2A this season behind Doug Minor of Spirit Lake Park. Loren Williams with Tri-Center (Neola) won the title at 152 last year and continues to hold the top spot this season as he looks to put on a repeat performance. Brendan Schott with North Linn (Troy Mills) hopes to do the same at 170 pounds. For Cade Jones with West Branch the story is slightly differ-ent. Jones won the 195 pound title last year but is ranked second behind Adam Hawkins (B-G-M, Brooklyn) at the same weight

class this season. The traditional team races in each class this season will be determined by the draw. Last season, Bettendorf won both the traditional and dual title in Class 3A and will once again be a very strong contender. Southeast Polk was one of the favorites last sea-son and feel like they fell short of their goal. That dangling carrot makes them the team to beat once again this season. Denver-Tripoli won the 2A and Don Bosco (Gilbertville) the 1A traditional titles last year while the dual state team title went to Davenport Assumption in Class 2A and Nashua-Plainfield in 1A. Alburnett looks to be destined for the 1A traditional team title with four of their six ranked wrestler either top-ranked of second ranked individually. The Class 2A battle finds West Delaware (Manchester) and Davenport Assumption in the best position. The Knights finished second last season and have no wrestler ranked in the top-ten and only two in the top-two spots individually with Georgean and Eric Clarke at 138. The Hawks counter with seven individuals ranked in the top-three individually including top-ranked Patrick Woods at 106, Jacyn Goebel at 182, Reth at 220 and Dean Broghammer at 285. The state dual championship and traditional meet will once again be contested at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The dual championship is scheduled for Wednesday, February 13th fol-lowed by the state wrestling tournament from Thursday, February 14th through Saturday, February 16th.

Marlin and Sorensen Look to Join 4-Time Champions Elite List

SorensenBrandon

MarlinJake

Tony Atzeni | Programming Director

Marlin and Sorensen Look to Join 4-Time Champions Elite List

High School

WrestlingPhotos from the Ankeny Invitational and in-clude the teams of: Ankeny, Mason City, Des Moines Lincoln, Des Moines Roosevelt, Sioux City East, Algona, South Tama County, and Nor-walk.

18 Volume 1 Issue 6 SportsSpotlight.com

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Not long ago the Muscatine Muskies boys swimming teams was looking to break a long drought when it came to state titles. Now they are vying for their third straight championship but even with that resume the past few years they are not the favorites to do so, although they are part of the big picture. They will be tested as central Iowa has a few teams that feel they are ready to grab the hardwood this season.

Dowling Catholic and Johnston are two of those teams from central Iowa. The Maroons are among the leaders in the relays, with top times posted in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays so far this season. Add the return of Jonathan

Fiepke, who is one of the leaders in the relay teams success and one of the best in the state in both the 50 and 100 freestyle where he won both of those individual titles last season. Ben Severino adds depth in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke and is among the favorites in those events. Dowling Catholic last won a state boy’s swimming title in 2003, part of a four year run from 2000-2003.

Johnston is strong in the 200 medley relay and look toward Tyler Cracraft for leadership. Cracraft is among the leaders in the 50 and 100 freestyle and teammate Justin Winnett is at or near the top in the 200 individual medley for the Dragons. West Des Moines Val-ley also poses a problem and this season with the like of Jaden VanDike, Sam Gorham and Alex Bodin should be a factor,

especially in the relay events. Josh Hughes will be a factor in the 200 and 500 freestyle and part of the relays teams for Cedar Rapids Washington that always bring a competitive group each season. The Warriors look to be the

eastern Iowa threat besides Muscatine. The Warriors are the most decorated swim programs in state history and last won a title in 2008. The Warriors have won a state-best 27 championships Muscatine has been where they seem to have been the past few years, under the radar despite their past two titles. Don’t worry, the target is on them, especial-ly with the return of Haden Calegan and Travis Green-wald. Greenwald is the defending champion in the 100 breaststroke and the Muskies are among the best in all of the relay events. A few under-classmen look to make a difference this season. Mark McGlaughlin , a freshman with Iowa City West is strong in all the freestyle events which includes the top time in the 200 freestyle. His teammate, Adian Keen is second best in the same event and also a freshman. Another freshman with a chance to

score big is Jack Scafuri of Waukee. Back in hopes of defending their individual titles last season include Max Ward (Des Moines Roosevelt) in the 100 freestyle. The Roughriders program has won 12 state titles, second best in state

history but none since 1963. The Iowa high school boy’s state swimming championships will once again be held at the Marshalltown YMCA on Saturday, February 9th.

Muscatine Looks to Make a spLashThe Muscatine boys aim for their 3rd straight State swimming titleTony Atzeni | Programming Director

Haden Calagen of Muscatine

HigH ScHool

Travis Greenwald (Muscatine) hopes to defend his 100 breaststroke title last season.

WINTER IOWA GAMES TO CELEBRATE 21ST ANNUAL EVENTThe 21st annual Winter Iowa Games powered by the Iowa Food & Family Project will take place Jan. 25-27 in Dubuque and Feb. 9-10 in Cedar Rapids. As Iowa’s premier winter sports festival, the Games will be held in 11 Iowa communities over the four-week period. The Games offers events for individuals of all ages and abilities.

Dubuque will host youth basketball, cross country skiing, a fitness walk, youth ice hockey, indoor soccer, martial arts, 5K road race, swimming, table tennis, volleyball, wrestling and Zumba®. Adult men’s basketball, dodgeball, figure skating, a fitness walk, adult ice hockey, pickleball and wheelchair basketball will be held in Cedar Rapids. Other sports being held include: skiing/snowboarding (Feb. 1-2), archery NASP (Feb. 9), Des Moines fitness walk (Feb. 9), horseshoes (Feb. 2), snowshoeing (Jan. 25-26), trapshooting (Feb. 2) and 6 on 6 baskeball (Feb. 23). The 2012 Games set a new participation record of 4,202 athletes from across the state in 85 of Iowa’s 99 counties. For a complete list of sports offered visit www.IOWAGAMES.org.

“We are excited to continue the great tradition of the Winter Iowa Games in our state,” commented Ryan Vogt, Assistant Sports Director at the Iowa Sports Foundation. “From archery to Zumba®, we are offering opportunities for many Iowans to get out and be active this winter.”

For more information and registration for the 2013 Winter Iowa Games powered by the Iowa Food & Family Project, visit www.IOWAGAMES.org.

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Ally DisterhoftSenior at Iowa City West

Unmatched Performance:The January Kinetico Athlete of the Month goes to Ally Disterhoft, a senior guard from Iowa City West. Disterhoft leads Class 5A in scoring average (24.5) in the top-10 in rebounding average (8.0) and has added 29 blocked shots and 22 steals. Disterhoft scored a season high 34 points against Dubuque Senior, which is tied for the seventh best individual total this season.

Dependability:Ally led the Women of Troy to the 4A state title last season and will play her college basketball at the University of Iowa next fall. Iowa City West finished the month of December 6-3 with the losses coming to C.R. Washington, Waterloo West and Iowa City High, all in the top-ten in 5A.

Ally DisterhoftIowa City West

Each month, Sports Spotlight will recognize a Kinetico Pure Performance High School Athlete of the Month from a list based on their performances. The winter sports season in-cludes girls and boys basketball, wrestling, boys swimming, hockey and girls and boys bowling. Some of the other top performers to make the final list this month include:Boys Basketball: Austin Halls (Murray); Tayontae Jenkins (Des Moines North); Peter Jok (West Des Moines Valley); Casey Schlatter (Iowa Falls-Alden); Ricky Williams (Riverside, Oakland)Girls Basketball: Jadda Buckley (Mason City); Riley Eakins (Davis County, Bloomfield); Hannah Haynes (Van Buren, Keosauqua); Haley Lorenzen (Iowa City High)Boys Swimming: Travis Greenwald (Muscatine); RJ Hem-mingsen (Lewis Central, Council Bluffs)Midwest High School Hockey: Thomas Doheny (Des Moines Oak Leafs); Mark Wishman (Ames)

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Pick up a copy of the Sports Spotlight magazine each and every month at over 490 Casey’s General Stores across the state. Casey’s and Sports Spotlight are teaming up to support positive participation in athletics and

activities by acknowledging active Iowans who are passionate and living their lives to the fullest.

Grand View University looks to repeat as the NAIA National Wrestling Champions when the tourney is again held at the Jacobson Exhibition Center on the Iowa State Fairgrounds March 1-2.

Head Coach Nick Mitchell has catapulted the Vikings to the top of the heap in the 5th season of wrestling at Grand View. This year’s squad boasts 12 ranked individuals, led by Derek Nightser, the #1 ranked wrestler in the 197 pound weight class. Nightser is a two sport athlete at Grand View. He also played football for Head Coach Mike Woodley. Last year the Vikings caught fire to claim Grand View University’s first ever national championship after winning the National Duals in Springfield,

Illinois. The team again won this year’s event. Wins over #16 Indiana Tech 33-3, #9 Dickinson State (ND) 39-8 and #5 Campbellsville (KY) 32-4 got them to the championship against #2

Southern Oregon. Grand View trailed 18-14 heading to the final match. HWT Eric Thompson’s pin sent the Vikings to their 2nd consecutive win over Southern Oregon 20-18. (Last year Grand View beat Southern Oregon 19-18 for the title). Mitchell said of the ending: “That was impressive, I’m still in shock. I can’t believe we won the tournament. Hasn’t sunk in yet, we got a pin. Can’t believe we still won the tourna-

ment. It’s crazy. There’s not many times in the season where I can sit back and

say I’m happy, but I’m real happy right now.” Thompson said afterwards: “It was awesome, to turn around and see these guys (his teammates) going crazy. I got excited too.” The Vikings have not lost a dual meet since January 19, 2011. That is a span of 27 straight wins. They’ve won by a combined score of 953-233; which is an average meet score of 35-9 (Courtesy via twitter @itsChadKriz). They have been ranked #1 in 4 consecutive polls and 9 of the last 10 polls by the NAIA Coaches Top 20. The Vikings return 5 of 9 All-Americans

from last years team: Eric Thompson at HWT (National Champion in 2012) Derek Nightser at 197 (2nd in 2012), Chad Lowman at 157 (3rd in 2012), Jimmie Schuessler at 165 (7th at 157 in 2012) and Gustavo Martinez at 141 (5th in 2012).

The following individuals are ranked: Alex Peitz  (10th-125), Gustavo Martinez (2nd-141), Isaiah Tatum (2nd-149), Quinten Haynes (5th-157), Chad Lowman (6th-157), Jimmie Schuessler

(2nd-165), Dallas Houchins (4th-165), Thomas Moman (4th-174), Cody Swim (9th-174), Christian Mays (11th-184), Derek Nightser (1st-197), and Eric Thompson (3rd-HWT). The Vikings will host Waldorf College on February 7th before attending the Central Qualifying Tournament in Baldwin City, Kansas on February 16th.

GRAND VIEW TO REPEAT WRESTLING TITLEThe Vikings hope for their second consecutive NAIA wrestling championshipGeoff Conn | Sports Spotlight Contributor

Eric Thompson for Grand View

College

22 Volume 1 Issue 6 SportsSpotlight.com

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23Volume 1 Issue 6SportsSpotlight.com

College

KIRKWOOD COACHES SHINE The Kirkwood Men’s basket-ball team won it’s 10th game of the season over the weekend and in the process earned their head coach his 400th win at the school. The Eagles (10-7) beat Clinton Community College 75-52 on January 19th. While pleased with the milestone, Head Coach Doug Wagemester remains focused on the season.His record of 400-102 is noth-ing to take lightly. During his 15 seasons as Kirkwood Men’s Basketball Coach, he piled up some impressive stats. He guid-ed the team to nine national tournament appearances, three of which were national run-ners-up. Wagemester has won nine Region XI championships, 12 ICCAC championships and coached 10 All-Americans. The Kirkwood men’s bas-ketball team looked to build off of last year’s conference title when it opened the season in Ottumwa against William Penn University at the Indian Hills Classic on Nov. 2. Guard Kasey Semler returns to lead the team in hopes of repeating as conference champions. Semler shot 38

percent from three-point range last year and looks to be a team leader in that area again. Eyeing to make their mark on this year’s squad are incoming freshmen Tay-lor Olson and J.C. Fuller. Olson comes to Kirkwood from Cedar Rapids Jefferson

after making First Team All-Mississippi Valley Conference averaging 18.4 points a game. Fuller led Sioux City East in scoring last year with 17.5 points-per-game shooting 49 percent from three-point range. He earned second-team All-State honors in addition to being named to the First Team All-Western Iowa squad. Both players took their teams to the state tournament last year. This mix of seasoned veterans and young talent makes for an unknown, yet exciting group of players looking to build on last year’s accomplishments.Success has followed him wherever he has gone. Before coming to Kirkwood, Wagemester coached at Grand View College in Des Moines. He set a school record for wins in a season after compil-ing a record of 25-9. He then brought his talents to Kirkwood. The Eagles women’s coach is also only two wins away from a milestone. Head Coach Kim Muhl enters his 24th season with the Eagles. He is only two wins away from the 700 mark. He is the reigning NJCAA Region XI Coach of the Year and has six national championships under his belt. Coach Muhl has his team reaching for a seventh. Despite losing two of their top three scorers from a year ago, anticipation runs high for the Kirkwood Community College women’s basketball team for the

2012-13 season. The Eagles were (32-4) a year ago and won their 16th straight conference title before winning the Re-gion XI championship and qualifying for the Division II national tournament. Leading the charge this season is last year’s top scorer, sophomore Kiana Jacobs. She averaged 10.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Sophomore sharpshooting guard Bianca Dufelmeier averaged 9.3 points-per-game, while knocking down a team high 76 three-pointers. Dufelmeier also led the team in assists with 115. Aisle Quinlan, who has been slowed by injuries this preseason, averaged 7.8 points and knocked down 73 three-pointers during her fresh-man season last year. Other returning sophomores include post-players Friday Choul, Whitney Henderson, and Krissi Tow, and guard Tara Gray. New additions to this season’s team include sophomores Alexis Fitzpatrick and Whitney Rohrbach. Fitzpatrick transferred from Cincinnati State Junior College in Cincinnati, Ohio and looks to be the team’s point guard. Rohrbach played for the Eagles two seasons ago before sitting out last season. Freshmen newcomers include, Mikayla Fallon of East Moline, IL, Lexi Hobbs from Peoria, IL, Jerica Hawkins of Decatur, IL and Haley Faber of Clive, Iowa.

Both the men’s and women’s basketball coaches reach for recordsKirkwood Athletic Communications Release

Coach Doug Wagemester has 400 wins.

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In the year 1987, Head Women’s Basketball Coach began his journey to where he is now – at the 500 win plateau and one of Division III’s top programs. Niemuth is in his 26th season at the helm, and going into Jan. 23, the Storm has one loss on the season. That one loss was to national power-house Amherst College over Holiday Break in Florida where the Storm lost by one in the final seconds. “That was a fun game,” Niemuth said. “I was looking forward to that game. I think what happened was because of their tradition. They expected to win that game, and their best player stepped up and made the shot. That’s what good teams do. They feed off their past suc-cesses and I hope we can do that.” Every member of this team have been intergral in their success, from the upperclassmen to the freshmen. “We play extremely well together,” said Niemuth. “There’s great team chem-istry, we do have a couple players who might be considered as All-Americans. The freshmen just play the game. They don’t worry about their age at all, they just go out and perform.” Five of the eight freshmen players get significant playing time for the Storm, including four of those players who played high school ball at CIML schools. Whitney Van Wyk (Southeast Polk), Maddie Bosworth, Morgan Mauro (both from Dowling) and Maddie Muhlen-

bruck (Ankeny) all have had big moments for the Storm. “It’s a good group,” said Nie-muth. “They just play well together. I’m glad I have that many and are play-ing well.”These girls know each other, and Niemuth started seeing that connec-tion even in the preseason. While the eight freshmen are im-portant to the Storm’s success, there’s no question that senior Kate Nielsen has been the motor for the well-tuned machine. Nielsen has been named Iowa Con-ference Player of the Week four of eight times this season. “She gives us a lot of things on the floor,” said Niemuth. “While she’s great at what she does, I wouldn’t give up our other seniors who do great things as well.” Niemuth has had many seniors in his 26 years at Simpson and he credits every player to the success he has had in Indianola. “It says a lot of number of talented ladies I’ve coached and priviledged to be around,” Niemuth said. “I hope to

continue to bring the same kind of talent I’ve been able to bring in to Simpson. Out of those wins, however, I don’t have a single point or rebound to my name.”Former Simpson Men’s Basketball Coach Bruce Wilson, enjoys watching Niemuth coach. “I love the way he does things,” Wil-son, now with the Iowa Energy, said. “I’m really happy for him. Those 500 wins, those are a lot, though.” John Sirianni, former Athletic Direc-tor and current Special Assistant to the President, knows how much Niemuth means to Simpson College. “His presence and his history and involvement in the athletic department is a real stablilizing factor,” said Sirianni. “He’s also a real close friend. We’ve been working together for a real long time.” Before Niemuth started coaching basketball, he was an assistant to the baseball team under Sirianni. “His leadership and his abilities to coach speak for themselves,” said Siri-anni. “We have the opportunity to talk to seniors and one year, one young lady told me, ‘We know Coach Niemuth loves us and we love him.’ When you sum-marize that, it isn’t just basketball. He has developed life-long friendships with those kids. He is a shining star of what a Division III coach should be.” President John Byrd agrees that Nie-muth is one of Simpson’s best treasures.

“We’re thrilled that he chose Simpson College to be successful,” Byrd said. “He’s been doing so well and for so long, and we’re so proud of him.” The longevity of Niemuth’s tenure doesn’t shock Sirianni. “That’s a testament to the school and the philosophy and the quality of the school,” he said. When it comes to this season, Sirian-ni is beyond impressed with the current one-loss record for the Storm. “We thought this was going to be a rebuilding year after losing a bunch of seniors,” Sirianni said. “I knew there was something going on when these girls made it to 7-0. I knew there might be something special here.” Winning games isn’t the only thing that Niemuth has on his plate at Simp-son. Sirianni recently announced a role change as he stepped away from Athletic Director, and he will retire in the Fall of 2014. Niemuth will fill the role as Interim Athletic Director for the rest of the school year. “It’s something I’ve always been interested in,” Niemuth said. “When my coaching days are done, whenever that is, I still would like to be involved with collegiate athletics, and an administra-tive role has always peaked my interest.” However, there’s one task right now that matters to Niemuth: “Finish the season strong.”

COACH NIEMUTH HITS 500 WINSZach James | Sports Spotlight Contributor

Coach Niemuth for Simpson

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24 Volume 1 Issue 6 SportsSpotlight.com

25Volume 1 Issue 6SportsSpotlight.com

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An unexpected turn for the worse always comes with negatives. Many negatives indeed. However, it just takes a few positive reinforcements to make those rough and tough times a little bit easier. In the words learned by sophomore Simpson College men’s basketball player Charles Swain from his family: God has a plan for everyone. Over the holiday break, Swain and the Storm were playing in Washington for its Christmas break trip. That morning of the team’s match-up against Whitman College, Swain received a frantic phone-call from his mother, Filishia, with unexpected news. “My mom was informing me that there was a fire and that we had lost everything inside,” Swain said. When he first learned of the news, Charles paused. “I thought it was a joke or a dream since the call interrupted my sleep and it was very confusing to hear,” he said. “It was hard to fathom. The news didn’t hit me until I saw some pictures and went down there myself a few days after hear-ing about it since it was over break.” Most of the possessions that were lost in the fire were material goods that could be replaced, but Swain says that his mother was the most upset. “She lost a countless number of pic-

tures of her children as well as her par-ents, grandparents and so on,” Swain said. The Swains were forced to take up residency at a nearby motel after watching their Austin, Texas home burn to the ground. Despite having saved very little to any possessions, Swain says that his family had received a tremendous amount of support from friends and other family members by contributing, providing and donating whatever they could during their time of need. Filishia considers her family to be blessed for the constant outpour of help. “The Swains are very strong,” she said. “Always had to be, and although this experience has been quite challenging overall, we’ve been blessed by many who have reached out to us in support.” Charles says that his family is still currently living in the motel, at least for the time being. “We are looking for other places to move,” Charles said. “We have received several offers of temporary residency from family members and friends.”

People were also kind enough to lend sweaters and socks as the dreary, winter weather was fast approaching. Fortunately for Charles, many of his possessions were with him in his dorm room, but even with the things he did lose, none of it mattered. “The most important thing was that my family was safe and without any physical harm,” Charles said. On the contrary, however, how does one get himself mentally prepared for a game after being informed of such a tragedy? There was only one thing Charles thought he could do, and that was to joke around. “Life goes on and nothing could be done to bring our home and all of our belongings back,” he said. “Before the game started, I joked with a teammate that I would be ‘on fire’ tonight.” With that mentality, the sparks trig-gered, and Charles’ own flames began to ignite on the hardwood floor in Walla Walla, Washington. Even though the Storm lost the contest 91-86 to then-ranked No. 11 Whitman College, The 6’2” guard dropped a career-high 31 points against the Missionaries. His 31 points scored were the most by a Simpson player since Tim Dunlavy scored 37 against Buena Vista during the 2009-10 season.

His efforts on the court led him in garnering Iowa Conference Athlete of the Week honors. Once he knew about receiving the honor, Charles Swain called the people who needed good news the most: his family. “It felt great telling my parents that I performed well on the court, especially after what happened” Swain said. “They have always been proud and supportive. My mom reassured me that God has a plan for everyone, and saw this fire as an opportunity to move on to a bigger and better place for us to live.” Filishia was simply filled with an overloading amount of pride for her son’s accomplishments. “My first and only thought was how blessed I am to be his mom,” Filishia said. “It confirms what I tell Charles and his siblings that no one or no thing, not even a fire, is bigger than God. What’s meant for Charles is what he receives, and fortunately it was Conference Player of the Week.” Taking his mother’s words to the floor, Charles strongly believes the team is the most talented team in the conference, even if their record does not show it. “If we continue to stick together and refuse to give up even if we are down as much as 20, then I think we will surprise a lot of teams in our conference and steal some wins,” he said.

THE FIRE FROM WITHINCharles Swain and the Simpson basketball team deal with tragedy head-onAaron Young | Sports Spotlight Contributor

Charles Swain for Simpson

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27Volume 1 Issue 6SportsSpotlight.com

The best a man can get.

IOwa energy STePS UP THeIr gaMe Hop onto the carousel that is the NBA Developmental League. It goes ‘round, and round, but where it stops, not even the Iowa Energy know. Iowa’s season this year is like another amusement ride — a roller coaster. However, it seems that there are more downs than ups for the Energy this season. Head Coach Kevin Young and General Manager Chris Makris are trying to find the winning formula that brought the Energy a champi-onship a couple seasons back. The equation is uneven at the moment, but the Energy brought back a familiar face to rise their chances at a championship run. “It’s a little more of a carosuel when you’re struggling,” said Makris. “My goal is to never change a team too much. The best teams are the ones who figure it out on their own.” Othyeus Jeffers was on the squad that won the D-League title in 2010-11. Earlier on Jan. 13, Jeffers returned to the Energy after being away chasing his dream toward the NBA. “It feels good to be reunited with fam-ily,” said Jeffers. “Des Moines has been really good to me, and to be back with the team.”

While Jeffers may have a spot on the team, the roller coaster-combined-carousel may be spinning to find those right pieces. “No guy’s spot is safe,” said Young, who is in his second season as Energy head coach. “We had to make Nick Murphy inactive to make room for Jeffers, so that should be

a heads-up to the guys that job security is huge.” Recently, the Energy picked up an-other big man to fill gaps in the interior. Iowa acquired Josh Boone, former NBA 1st round pick, where he played four years with the New Jersey Nets. “He brings in a veteran presence,” said Makris. “We’re trying to get a little bit older. Really expecting big things out of him. He knows how to play the game of

basketball, but he’s not a big scorer.” “We have no interior presence,” said Young after the Jan. 13 loss to Canton. “We need to find big guys who can contribute.” Young points out that bigger guys are becoming a trend in the NBA’s minor league. “I’ve seen the league get bigger the last couple years,” said Young. “Now, we face a potent big man almost every night. I haven’t seen anything like this.” Makris thinks the talent level has grown year after year. “The league is deep with talent,” said Makris. “I think players aren’t realizing how talented the league is right now.” Another aspect of the game that the team is lacking in are the little things. Effort, tenacity, and play execution are all things Makris is expecting to improve. “You watch our games and see we’re down 15, and then we decide to flip theswitch,” said Makris. “We’re as good as we want to be. Guys like Jeffers and Boone can help lead this team, and I think you’ll see a different team from

here on out.” The time is now for the Energy to make that difference. “We’re up against it, and we know that,” said Makris. “We’re not panick-ing yet. That being said, sitting at 6-13, there’s little room for error.” That stat isn’t as scary as it may seem. The top two teams in the league as of Jan. 18 have eight losses so far. All it takes is one big winning streak for the Energy to get back in the mix. “It’s not panic time yet,” said Makris. “I believe we’re going to come together as a group and try to make a strong push toward the playoffs. It can be done.” One thing that the Energy have going for them are two separate home stands, each bookending the Iowa High School

State Basketball Tourna-ments at Wells Fargo Arena. Iowa opens up Febru-ary with five straight home games and return after the boys’ tourna-ment with seven of their last 10 being in Des Moines. “We certainly have to take advantage of those home games,” said Makris.

Players Jeffers and Boone to boost the Energy’s statsZach James | Sports Spotlight Contributor

Pros

The Energy put up a strong showing against Tulsa on Jan. 22

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The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is the most commonly injured ligament in the knee. MCL injuries are common sports injuries, of-ten occurring with a direct blow to the lateral, or outside of the knee. This forces the knee into a “valgus” or knock-kneed position, and can tear the MCL. Examples of common causes include: getting hit from the outside of the knee in football or twisting while skiing. The MCL lies on the inner, or medial side of the knee. It runs from the inside of the femur, across the knee joint, becoming wider as it attaches to the tibia or shin bone. There are multiple layers to the MCL and it is closely related to several other structures on the medial side of the knee, including the medial meniscus, and the hamstring tendons. It can be injured at any point along its course, including the mid-portion of the ligament, but the most common location is a disruption of the ligament at its attachment to the femur, or thigh bone. The MCL may be injured alone, or as part of a larger injury, involving the other ligaments of the knee, such as the ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament). Evaluation and diagnosis of an MCL injury begins with a description of the nature of the injury, as mentioned above, often a direct blow to the outside of the knee, causing it to buckle inwards. Clinical examination by your doctor

will also play an impor-tant part. Since the MCL prevents the knee from buckling inward, when it is injured, the knee will feel loose in this position. MCL injuries are divided into 3 grades, with grade 1 being the most minor sprain, and grade 3 being a complete disruption. The different grades will allow the joint to open up differ-ing distances, and this is important information for your doctor to determine. Another portion of the exam is to determine where along the course of the ligament the injury has occurred. It is usually possible to tell, based on the location of the most tenderness. X-rays will likely be done to rule out any associated fractures, and to ensure normal over-all alignment to the joint. MRI scans can be done as well, and will show the MCL injury, in-cluding the location of the injury, but are often not necessary. Often MRI scans will be ordered if there is suspicion of other associated injuries, or if the injury seems quite severe, when the chance of other injuries is much higher.

Treatment of MCL injuries can vary, but typically will not require surgery. Isolated MCL injuries, even the higher grade, more severe injuries, will respond well to non-operative treatment. Treat-ment will usually consist of a period of protection with a hinged brace that allows the knee to flex and extend, but

protects from stress on the ligament in a side to side fashion. This is usually coupled with some early work with a physical therapist or trainer, to keep the knee from becoming stiff, and to prevent loss of strength. The period of bracing will vary with the severity of injury, but most commonly will be for a period of a few weeks, and then there will be gradual return to full activity. Return to sports in all but the most severe cases can be accomplished in several weeks. Operative treatment of MCL injuries is typically carried out when this injury is combined with other injuries such as an ACL rupture. However, in some cases non-operative treatment will still be recommended. Later reconstruction is occasionally necessary in cases where chronic MCL injury leads to problems with instability of the knee. In these cases, the ligament has not healed in the correct position, and simple bracing will not be able to overcome this. In cases of reconstruction for chronic laxity, the rehabilitation and recovery is typically much longer than for acute injuries.

Matthew DeWall, M.D. specializes in all aspects of knee surgery, including sports injuries, knee replacements and arthroscopic surgery at Des Moines Or-thopaedic Surgeons in West Des Moines. To reach Dr. DeWall or to schedule an appointment please call 515-224-5223.

Medial collateral ligaMent (Mcl) injuriesMatthew DeWall, MD Des Moines Orthopaedic Surgeons

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