Sidney head basketball coach Kent Larsen won his 200th career game Friday night in a victory over Villisca.
The Cowboys beat the Jays, 64-46, and continued their strong play since the turn of the calendar.
Since the beginning of 2012, Sidney had won 10 of their 12 games with only one loss to an Iowa team. That streak also includes a Corner Conference tournament championship.
Coach Larsen's team will have an eight-day break before they return to action at home against Lincoln College View Academy on Saturday, February 11th.
The Riverside boys basketball team earned a share of their first Western Iowa Conference title in 17 years on Friday evening in a 64-51 win over Treynor heard on KMA 960.
Riverside junior post Ricky Williams had a dominating 27-point 19-rebound effort in the win. Williams added five assists and three steals while shooting 13-of-17 from the field.
He had great help all night as well. Deven Moore had 12 points, Brady Ryun had nine points and seven assists while running the point against Treynor's aggressive defense. Also, defensively, Kody Stowell did a great job matched up against Treynor's leading scorer Chris Zimmerman much of the second half.
The game started at a very fast pace with Riverside leading 19-17 after one quarter. The Bulldogs dominated much of the second opening up an 11-point lead at 37-26 only to see Treynor score nine points, all from behind the 3-point line in the final minute to cut the lead to two.
Treynor would get no closer.
The Bulldogs scored the first six points of the third quarter and led by seven at the end of the third period. Treynor would score the first four of the points of the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs would answer and gradually pull away to sew up the win.
KMA Sports talked with Williams and Riverside head coach Jason Shelangouski after the game. You can watch those interviews in the YouTube video seen below.
The Bulldogs are 17-2 overall and 13-1 in the Western Iowa Conference. They host East Mills on Tuesday, in a potential district semifinal preview.
Chris Zimmerman had 17 points to lead the Cardinals. Connor Meis had 12 and Cole Chapin 11 for the Cardinals, who suffer their first loss of the season. They share the WIC title with Riverside, and have road dates with Clarinda and Fremont-Mills on the schedule before district play begins.
The Clarinda Cardinals pulled off a doubleheader sweep of Shenandoah Friday night on KMA-FM 99.1.
In the opener, the Clarinda girls had their biggest offensive output of the season, winning 66-45. Three Cardinals scored in double figures as Kaylee Buch led the way with 16 points while Jenny Bair and Allyson Karr had 13.
Clarinda scored early and often staking themselves to an eight point lead midway through the second quarter. The Fillies, however, answered with a 13-5 run to even things at 28. Just as quickly, Clarinda rallied off seven consecutive points to end the half. From there it was all Cardinals as they outscored their Hawkeye 10 Conference rivals, 31-17, in the second half.
Following the game KMA Sports talked with Clarinda coach Matt Bird and the sophomore guard, Bair. Coach Bird commented on his team's win...
You can view the complete interview with Bair by clicking the YouTube link below...
Clarinda moved to 4-14 overall and 2-9 in he conference while Shenandoah dropped to 7-12 and 3-8. Serena Parker led the Fillies with 12 points while Haley Lembrick chipped in with 10.
In the nightcap, Clarinda used a 22-1 run between the first and second quarters to sprint away from the Shenandoah Mustangs in a 69-31 victory.
With the news that Lewis Central knocked off Atlantic in overtime, Clarinda is now back in a tie for first place atop the Hawkeye 10 Conference.
The Cardinals led 46-18 at half and quickly jumped to a 35-point lead in the third quarter, forcing the mercy rule and continuous clock for the rest of the ballgame.
Clarinda had four players in double figures with Tyler Steeve leading the way with 15.
Brandon Sweet made three three-pointers and scored 12 while Jared Stansbury had 11 and Jeremiah Haug chipped in with 10 off the bench.
KMA Sports talked with Clarinda coach Van Gilmore after the win. You can view that interview in its entirety by clicking the YouTube video below...
Clarinda improved to 16-2 overall and 9-2 in the conference while Shenandoah dropped their 18th straight and fell to 1-18.
The Treynor girls jumped out to a 20-5 lead in the first eight minutes, and never looked back in a 53-28 rout of Riverside heard on KMA 960 Friday evening from Riverside High School.
The lead went to 16 at half, but the Cardinals extended it in the third period to 41-15, and coasted in the fourth.
The attacking defense of Treynor forced several Riverside turnovers through the night and Treynor head coach Gail Hartigan said that was one of the keys going in.
Kaitlin Killinger led the Cardinals with 11 points, but it was a great performance from sophomore point guard Tracy Purdy with eight points and several steals that led the Cardinals.
The Cardinals will host Tri-Center Saturday, February 11th in the regional opener. The winner of that game meets the Shenandoah/Griswold winner in Round Two, with the winner of that one moving into a regional semifinal, likely against state number one and defending champion, OA-BCIG. Hartigan on the tough draw.
Treynor improves to 14-6 overall and finishes Western Iowa Conference play 10-4. Treynor is scheduled to visit Clarinda to finish the regular season on Saturday.
The 14th win of the season is also the 601st in the career of coach Hartigan. Hartigan's thoughts on reaching 600 on Tuesday.
Riverside's regular season ends at 6-14 overall and 2-12 in the conference. Anna Hildebrand led the Bulldogs with seven points. Riverside travels to Walnut in the regional opener on Thursday.
There were plenty of big games with big stakes on the line Friday night throughout KMAland, and the evening did not disappoint.
In the Corner Conference, the East Mills Wolverines clinched an outright conference championship with a 44-41 victory over Fremont-Mills. The Wolverines improved to 10-1 in conference play on the seaso and avenged their only loss from December 13th. East Mills has one final conference game - a home game with Essex on Monday - but would still win the title outright if they were to lose.
The Western Iowa Conference had two major games with the conference title on the line. First, the Missouri Valley Lady Reds clinched their first WIC title in 30 years with a 52-46 comeback victory over Audubon. Then, Riverside beat Treynor, 64-51, behind a 27-point, 19-rebound performance from junior Ricky Williams. With the win, the Bulldogs shared the conference championship with the Cardinals. It is the first boy's basketball title for Riverside since 1995.
Darrell Burmeister's Nodaway Valley Wolverines clinched the Pride of Iowa conference title with a blowout win over Southeast Warren. Burmeister's team will play one final conference game against Bedford with hopes of finishing the 2011-12 season with a clean conference sweep.
(DES MOINES, Iowa) — Iowa used to have one of the nation’s most stable staffs under head coach Kirk Ferentz. In less than two months, he has lost the only coordinators he has ever had.
Iowa announced Friday that offensive coordinator Ken O’Keefe had resigned after 13 seasons, leaving the program for another coaching position the school did not identify. The surprise departure, first reported by the Des Moines Register, leaves both coordinator jobs open at Iowa.
“Ken’s work contributed greatly to our program’s success during the past 13 years, and more impressively to the growth and development of the young men in our program,” Ferentz said in a statement.
Ferentz is expected to name a replacement for longtime defensive coordinator Norm Parker, who retired, sometime next week. Iowa has also yet to officially replace defensive line coach Rick Kaczenski, who left for a similar job at rival Nebraska.
The 58-year-old O’Keefe was known for running a balanced, pro-style attack at Iowa that some fans considered too conservative. The Hawkeyes finished 58th in the country in scoring offense in 2011, averaging 27.5 points per game, behind first-year starting quarterback James Vandenberg, star wide receiver Marvin McNutt and running back Marcus Coker.
Though the Hawkeyes never really lit up scoreboards during O’Keefe’s tenure, the past 13 years have included some of the best seasons in school history.
Iowa has missed a bowl only once in the past 10 seasons, winning 85 games overall and 50 in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes were undefeated in November 2009 before an injury to quarterback Ricky Stanzi helped knock them out of national title contention, though they recovered in time to beat Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl.
Quarterback Brad Banks finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2002, and running back Shonn Greene was named the Doak Walker Award winner in 2008 under O’Keefe’s watch.
O’Keefe graduated from John Carroll University in 1975. He was the head coach at Allegheny College from 1990-97 and spent 1998 as the head coach at Fordham.
The Iowa women's basketball team has lost their leading scorer for the rest of the season.
The University of Iowa confirmed Friday afternoon that Jaime Printy tore her ACL in Thursday night's win over Wisconsin and is out for the rest of the season.
Printy is fifth in the Big Ten with 16.9 points per game, and is also top ten in the conference in steals and assists.
It's the second time she has torn her ACL in her left knee. She will have surgery later this month.
Storrs, CT (Sports Network) - University of Connecticut men's basketball head coach Jim Calhoun is taking an indefinite medical leave of absence, starting with Saturday's game against Seton Hall.
Calhoun is suffering from spinal stenosis, a lower back condition that causes severe pain and hampers mobility.
The Huskies are 14-7 this season, including 4-5 in the Big East, and have lost four straight games.
Calhoun has battled medical issues in the past. He missed seven games during the 2009-10 season for an unspecified problem and is a three-time cancer survivor. He recovered from prostate cancer in 2003 and skin cancer in 2008.
The 69-year-old Calhoun guided UConn to its third national championship last spring. He was elected to the basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.
The Predicament released its final wrestling rankings for Classes 1A and 2A late Thursday. The top ten in all 14 weight classes are ranked, as well as the top ten state tournament teams. Area teams and wrestlers are listed below.
Class 1A
State Tournament Team Rankings
6. Underwood
10. Tri-Center
We are two days away from Super Bowl Sunday, and I have a little bit of fear and even some trepidation. That’s because I just don’t care. There are no warm fuzzies in my stomach. No goosebumps forming on the back of my neck. No rainbows suddenly appearing as I walk and think of the game. I really couldn’t care any less about this game.
Maybe it’s because it’s a rematch from five years ago. Maybe it’s because it’s a battle between the two most obnoxious cities in America. Maybe it’s because I’ve long since tired of the Tom Brady and Eli Manning spectacle. Or, and this is my fear, maybe I’m growing away from major sports. Think about it. I spend all week covering kids who play for the love of the game and get to see all the RIGHT things in sports. Then, I turn on the television to watch college and professional sports and see all the wrong.
You turn on ESPN and see sensationalized stories about a guy that can’t complete 50% of his passes. You see constant hype of one player or one team while another player or team is doing the same things and getting no attention for it. My friend told me the other day ESPN had a lead-in to SportsCenter that said, “Why one of our NFL experts thinks Eli Manning is better than Tom Brady….. Uh huh.
That’s why I haven’t turned on ESPN for anything other than games for about a year. SportsCenter is the most over-produced, biased television show in American history. I have no idea why anybody watches it. It’s nothing more than mindless drivel. Maybe I’m just lucky to have channels like NFL Network, MLB Network, and other specialized channels like it. Those are channels that only care about the action. They won’t and don’t sensationalize stuff to draw ratings. They give you the details, the action, and then move on to more details and action. ESPN just puts a bitter taste in my mouth, and that’s why I’m fearful. If I feel this way at age 28, how am I going to feel when I start turning into a bitter, old(er) man? Scary.
Other random thoughts on today’s Random Thought Friday….
-The last two years I went with the underdog in picking the New Orleans Saints over the Indianapolis Colts and then the Green Bay Packers over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Do I dare do it again and pick the New York Giants to win their second Super Bowl in five years? Nope. Generally I would go with the best defense to win a game like this, but I’m going with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. I don’t know how they will win because I think the Giants have a lot of advantages in this one, but I think that they will. Brady wins number four in a 27-23 thriller.
-Now that that’s out of the way, I would like to move on to some more pressing matters: Judgment Day. That’s right. It’s Judgment Day in high school basketball throughout KMAland. I didn’t realize there were so many BIG games tonight until I started working on the schedule this morning. There are tons out there.
There’s the battle for the Corner Conference boy’s championship with Fremont-Mills visiting Malvern to meet East Mills. East Mills has already clinched a share of the conference championship, but if Fremont-Mills beats the Wolverines tonight the title will end in a tie. However, F-M will have the two wins over East Mills, and as far as I’m concerned that would give them the title.
Then there’s the Western Iowa Conference championship on the line in Oakland with Treynor coming to town. Treynor has zero losses in the WIC while Riverside has the one loss to the Cardinals earlier this year. If Treynor wins tonight (on KMA 960 at around 7:45 PM), they will win the title outright. If Riverside wins, then we have ourselves a true share. The girl’s WIC title is also up for grabs in Audubon this evening. Thanks to Tri-Center, Audubon still has a shot to get a share of the title. Missouri Valley lost their first game of the year on Tuesday to Tri-Center, and if they lose tonight they would finish 12-2 in the WIC, just like Audubon.
Elsewhere, the Bedford girls can clinch a share of the Pride of Iowa Conference championship and the Nodaway Valley boys can clinch the title outright. Additionally, the Atlantic boys will look to avenge their one and only Hawkeye 10 Conference loss tonight when they host Lewis Central. Clarinda fans will be watching that one closely as a Trojan loss puts them back in the race for the title.
Again, it’s Judgment Day in KMAland.
-We haven’t had much snow all season long, but it looks like we may be staring at a decent amount of snowfall this weekend. That’s OK, as long as it stays away from the postseason basketball tournaments. We haven’t had a single postponement in basketball season yet to this point, and we would rather keep it that way. There are so many games in such a short amount of time that it could really screw up our schedule if any get knocked out. So, snow all you want between now and then. But stay away from the basketball postseason. Thank you.
-I would say the same about wrestling, but they have plenty of time to get everything situated. If tomorrow’s sectional meets are postponed it sounds like they would be moved to Monday, and then they would still keep the regional duals for Tuesday. So, again…the open dates make it easy to reschedule for wrestling. Basketball would be a quick mess.
-The NBA announced their All-Star starters yesterday. Did anybody notice? Didn’t think so.
-That’s it, that’s all. Have a good and safe weekend!
If you have any thoughts please send them to dmartin@kmaland.com. If you don't, then just keep livin'.
The Tri-Center girls basketball team is coming off their biggest win of the season as they continue a very difficult stretch to conclude the regular campaign.
The Trojans are 12-6 after handing Missouri Valley its first loss of the season 47-36 at home on Tuesday night.
KMA Sports talked with Tri-Center head coach Julius Michalik Wednesday morning and he talks about defeating the Lady Reds.
Before the Trojans start regional play, they have a tough schedule including a game with Class 3A #5 Glenwood on Thursday night and with Class 2A #3 IKM-Manning.
The Trojans are part of Class 2A Region 8 and visit Treynor on Saturday, February 11th in the regional opener. The Trojans and Cardinals are currently tied for third in the Western Iowa Conference.
(EVANSTON, Illinois)—John Shurna scored 28 points and Drew Crawford added 21 to lead Northwestern to an 84-74 win over Nebraska on Thursday night.
Northwestern (13-8, 3-6 Big Ten) dominated the game behind the arc, making 14 3-pointers to end a three-game losing streak.
After Brandon Richardson’s steal and layup cut Northwestern’s lead to 54-53 with 10:36 left, Northwestern responded with nine unanswered points on three straight 3-pointers by Crawford, Shurna and Reggie Hearn.
It appeared Northwestern had control of the game with under three minutes to play and a 75-66 lead, but Dylan Talley hit a 3-pointer and Spencer made another to get the Cornhuskers within 75-72 with 1:34 left. Shurna answered with a driving layup and Dave Sobolewski made three free throws in the final minute to secure the win.
Bo Spencer led Nebraska (11-10, 3-7) with 24 points and Toney McCray finished with 16.
OTHER MEN'S REGIONAL SCORES Independent
Nebraska Omaha 83 Avila 81
HUSKER WOMEN BEAT PURDUE, JUMP TO TOP OF THE CONFERENCE
(WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana)—Nebraska is already making its mark in the Cornhuskers’ inaugural Big Ten season.
They pulled out a thrilling triple overtime victory over Purdue on Thursday night, leaving them in a tie for first place in the conference.
Lindsey Moore scored eight of her 26 points in the third overtime session, including two 3-pointers, and No. 16 Nebraska beat 15th-ranked Purdue 93-89.
Moore hit a 3-pointer to open the third overtime session to give the Cornhuskers an 83-80 lead and later hit a 3-pointer to make it 88-84 with 48 seconds left. She then hit two free throws after KK Houser missed a 3-pointer. The Cornhuskers (19-3, 8-2 Big Ten) made five of six free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Jordan Hooper had 27 points and seven rebounds to lead the Cornhuskers and Alex Guyton had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Boilermakers (18-5, 8-2), who have dropped two straight.
Both teams hit 3-pointers to force extra sessions.
Trailing by three in the first overtime, Hooper hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 70.
The Boilermakers scored five straight points to start the second overtime period and held the Cornhuskers scoreless for nearly the first four minutes. The Cornhuskers never led, but Emily Cady hit a 3 at the buzzer to tie the game at 80 and force a third overtime.
It was the first triple overtime game in Purdue’s history.
The Cornhuskers built a 12-point lead in the first half and the Boilermakers got back within a point late in the second half when Houser hit a 3-pointer to cut the Cornhusker lead to 53-52.
The Boilermakers took the lead at the 3:14 mark in the second half on a shot by Guyton to make it 54-53.
Cady, who scored 11 points, was fouled on a shot and converted the three-point play and the Cornhuskers took a 56-54 advantage.
Houser scored another 3-pointer to make it 57-56, and then Moore went to the line and hit both free throws to take a 58-57 Nebraska lead. Howard scored under the basket to give Purdue the lead and Cady was fouled on a long jumper with 4.2 seconds left in regulation. She went to the line and made the first free throw before missing the second sending the game to overtime.
LOGIC'S RETURN TO WISCONSIN IS A GOOD ONE
(MADISON, Wisconsin) -- University of Iowa freshman and Wisconsin native Samantha Logic returned home Thursday night in phenomenal fashion, leading the Hawkeyes past the host Badgers, 85-79, in overtime at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Logic posted her best performance of the season, scoring 20 points while grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out eight assists; all while committing only one turnover. And she did all of that in front of about 100 friends and family from her hometown, Racine, Wis.
The Hawkeyes needed much more than just a great outing from Logic to knock off the Badgers; it was a total team effort.
Freshman guard Melissa Dixon returned to action for the first time since being injured in the Jan. 2 contest at Ohio State. Dixon jumpstarted the Iowa offense when she returned to the court.
Trailing 25-16 with over nine minutes left in the first half, Dixon and the Hawkeyes went on an 11-0 spurt, which included two 3-pointers from the freshman and was capped by a Kamillie Wahlin long ball that gave Iowa a 27-25 lead with 6:55 until halftime.
However, the Hawkeye defense failed to identify the Wisconsin shooters, and after an 8-0 Badger run, Iowa found itself trailing, 39-31, with 3:06 remaining in the first half.
The Badgers ended the first half shooting 8-of-11 from 3-point distance. For the game, Wisconsin finished 11-of-31 from long range. Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes went 33-of-75 (44 percent) from the field, including 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) from 3-point range.
The win marks back-to-back victories for the Hawkeyes and improves their record to 13-10 overall and an even 5-5 in Big Ten play. Wisconsin falls to 8-14 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
The win was bittersweet for the Hawkeyes, as leading scorer Jaime Printy went down with an apparent knee injury late in the overtime period.
Next up for the Hawkeyes is a trip to Bloomington, Ind., on Sunday to face off with the Hoosiers. Game time is at 1 p.m. (CT).
OTHER WOMEN'S REGIONAL SCORES Big Ten Conference
Michigan 79 Northwestern 68
(19) Penn State 76 Indiana 44
Illinois 72 Minnesota 67 Missouri Valley Conference
Bradley 82 Evansville 64
Northern Iowa 73 Southern Illinois 51
Missouri State 69 Drake 66
Creighton 61 Wichita State 59 Independent
Nebraska Omaha 69 Sioux Falls 68
The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released its 10th girls basketball rankings of the season on Thursday afternoon. The top 15 in all four classes are listed below with current record and last week's ranking also listed. Area teams are highlighted.
Class 1A
School Record LW
1 North Mahaska 19-0 1 2 Bedford 19-0 2
3 North Butler 16-1 3
4 Lynnville-Sully 18-2 5
5 West Sioux 18-1 4
6 LeMars Gehlen Catholic 16-2 7 7 Ar-We-Va 14-3 6
8 Newell-Fonda 14-5 9
9 Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn 17-3 12
10 Boyden-Hull 13-5 13
11 Central Lyon 16-3 8
12 North Tama 17-3 10
13 Adair-Casey 17-2 14
14 Burlington Notre Dame 14-5 11
15 Coon Rapids-Bayard 15-4 NR
Dropped Out: Villisca (15)
Class 2A
School Record LW 1 OA-BCIG 20-0 1
2 Estherville-Lincoln Central 19-1 2 3 IKM-Manning 18-1 3
4 West Hancock 18-0 4
5 Mediapolis 18-0 6 6 Kuemper Catholic 16-4 7
7 Western Christian 16-3 8
8 Lawton-Bronson 15-4 9
9 Fort Dodge St. Edmond 16-1 5
10 Pella Christian 15-2 10
11 Panorama 17-1 11
12 Maquoketa Valley 20-0 12
13 Van Buren 18-1 13
14 Sumner-Fredericksburg 18-0 14
15 Gilbert 18-2 15
Dropped Out: None
Class 3A
School Record LW
1 Benton Community 17-0 1
2 Davenport Assumption 17-1 2
3 MOC-Floyd Valley 19-0 3
4 Sioux City Bishop Heelan 16-1 4 5 Glenwood 16-1 5
6 South Tama 17-1 6
7 Dubuque Wahlert 13-4 7
8 Williamsburg 16-3 9
9 Union 15-2 11
10 Waverly-Shell Rock 13-4 13
11 Bondurant-Farrar 16-2 10 12 Denison-Schleswig 12-6 14
13 Sergeant Bluff-Luton 12-5 8
14 Ballard 13-5 NR
15 Washington 13-4 NR
Dropped Out: Spirit Lake (12), Marion (15)
Class 4A
School Record LW
1 Southeast Polk 18-1 2
2 Iowa City West 16-1 1
3 Ankeny 16-2 4
4 Mason City 15-2 3
5 Cedar Rapids Xavier 13-5 5
6 Waukee 14-5 9
7 Cedar Rapids Kennedy 10-6 14
8 Dowling Catholic 12-6 12
9 Iowa City High 13-5 6
10 Cedar Rapids Washington 11-6 7
11 Muscatine 15-3 13
12 Cedar Rapids Prairie 11-5 10
13 West Des Moines Valley 12-6 NR 14 Lewis Central 15-2 11
15 Cedar Falls 11-6 NR
Dropped Out: Ames (8), Des Moines East (15)
The Northwest Missouri State baseball and softball teams have both been picked for middle of the pack finishes in the MIAA this spring.
The MIAA released its preseason baseball and softball coaches' polls on Thursday afternoon.
Central Missouri is the pick to win the baseball title. The Mules received nine of eleven first-place votes to take the preseason crown. Central Missouri is ranked third in the nation in both major polls. Emporia State is second in the conference with the other two first-place votes. Northwest Missouri State was picked to finish 7th.
The Northwest Missouri State baseball team opens the season on Friday, February 17th at future MIAA rival Central Oklahoma. The home opener is Friday, March 16th against Central Missouri.
Missouri Western is the pick to win the softball title. The Griffons picked up eight of eleven first-place votes while the team they shared the conference crown with last year, Emporia State, is picked second and got the other three first-place votes. Northwest Missouri State was picked to finish 5th. 2012 MIAA Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Missouri Western (8) – 98 pts.
2. Emporia State (3) – 93 pts.
3. Missouri Southern – 73 pts.
4. Central Missouri – 67 pts.
5. Northwest Missouri – 66 pts.
6. Fort Hays State – 65 pts.
7. Truman – 39 pts.
T8. Pittsburg State – 33 pts.
T8. Washburn – 33 pts.
10. Lincoln – 28 pts.
11. Southwest Baptist – 10 pts.
The Northwest Missouri State softball team opens the season on Saturday, February 11th at Drury. The home opener is Friday, March 9th against Lincoln.
The wrestling postseason begins Saturday afternoon for most of the state.
The journey to state begins with the sectional round on Saturday for Classes 1A and 2A. The top two individuals in each weight class will advance to the district tournament on Saturday, February 11th. The top two teams at each tournament will advance to regional duals on Tuesday, February 7th.
KMA Sports will have play-by-play from a Class 2A sectional in Creston on Saturday afternoon on KMA-FM 99.1.
One of the six teams looking to have success in Creston on Saturday is Bedford/Lenox.
Bedford/Lenox looks to be wrestling as well as they have all season after a quadrangular win on Tuesday at home over Southwest Iowa, Shenandoah, and Corning.
KMA Sports talked with Bedford/Lenox head coach Gail Christensen on Thursday afternoon and he looks back at Tuesday's dual meet in Bedford.
Looking ahead at sectionals Christensen feels he has several student-athletes that have a good chance to advance to districts and eventually to state. He starts at the lower weights.
In the team race Creston-OM looks to be the favorite to win the sectional tournament and advance to regional duals on Tuesday at Central Decatur High School in Leon. There are two spots in regional duals up for grabs on Saturday in Creston, and Christensen says his team has been focused all season on making sure they are one of those teams.
The Creighton baseball team is a little more than two weeks away from getting the season started and is the preseason pick to finish 2nd in the Missouri Valley Conference in the preseason coaches poll released on Wednesday.
The Bluejays received three first-place votes and trail just Missouri State in the preseason poll.
Four Bluejays were named to the preseason all-conference team, including relief pitcher, and Tri-Center grad, Kurt Spomer, who will be featured in this month's "Where Are They Now" feature, which runs Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
The full poll is listed below with first-place votes and total points.
1. Missouri State (5) 60 2. Creighton (3) 53
3. Wichita State 47
4. Indiana State 37
5. Illinois State 34
6. Southern Illinois 31
7. Bradley 15
8. Evansville 11
The preseason first-team is listed below.
Chris Serritella, 1B, JR, Southern Illinois
Kevin Medrano, 2B, SR, Missouri State
Koby Kraemer, 3B, JR, Indiana State
Eric Stamets, SS, JR, Evansville
Jeremy Lucas, C, JR, Indiana State
Mike Hollenbeck, DH, SO, Illinois State Anthony Bemboom, UT, SR, Creighton
Mike Gerber, OF, SO, Creighton
Robby Ort, OF, JR, Indiana State
Jordan Sivertsen, OF, SR, Southern Illinois
Mike Tauchman, OF, JR, Bradley Ty Blach, SP, JR, Creighton
Nick Petree, SP, SO, Missouri State
Kenny Long, RP, SR, Illinois State Kurt Spomer, RP, SR, Creighton
The Bluejays open the season on Friday, February 17th at Central Arkansas. The home opener is Tuesday, March 13th at TD Ameritrade Park against BYU.
Coach Bo Pelini and the Nebraska Cornhuskers announced 17 new faces to the football program Wednesday on National Signing Day.
The Huskers received three surprise LOIs Wednesday from Texas defensive tackle Aaron Curry, Louisiana athlete Alonzo Moore, and Illinois defensive tackle Vincent Valentine, but lost out on one of the nation's top offensive tackles in Andrus Peat from Arizona.
KMA Sports talked with HuskerOnline publisher John Talman on Thursday, and he says it was a small but strong class for Coach Pelini and staff...
Talman says junior college recruits, Zaire Anderson and Mohammed Seisay, will likely see early playing time at linebacker and cornerback, respectively. He also says there could be a few true freshman that could play early on...
Many of the recruits are out-of-state pickups, and the Huskers, as usual, have had several walk-ons commit to the school and team.
According to Rivals.com, Nebraska signed six four-stars and 11 three-stars in the 2012 class. The class is rated as the 25th-best class in the nation and is the third best class in the Big Ten Conference behind Ohio State and Michigan.
You can view Nebraska's official Signing Day page by clicking here. You can hear the full interview with Talman on Friday's sports feature at 5:50 and 9:15 AM and 2:45 and 6:20 PM.
It was a special day in Tabor at Fremont-Mills High School Wednesday morning when four Knights signed Letters of Intent to play football at the next level. Dallas Franks and Nick Williams signed with Grand View and Morningside, respectively. AJ Scarborough will play at Augustana. And, of course, Nate Meier signed on to play for the University of Iowa.
If you were in Tabor yesterday you could have mistaken it for an every year occurrence. Well, that is until half the town piled into the lobby in front of the Lied Gymnasium. Either way, this doesn’t happen every year. It’s very rare when a Corner Conference athlete signs to play at the highest level of college athletics. Fremont-Mills has had two in the last year, but let’s not take that for granted. Mindy Lorimor and Meier are special athletes, and their Division I scholarships show exactly how special.
To put things into perspective, Meier was the first male athlete at Fremont-Mills to receive a scholarship from a Division I school since Barry Anderson went to Missouri on a baseball scholarship in 1969. That’s not to say there haven’t been some great athletes along the way, but it’s hard to get recognized in small town athletics. But, in the end, if you can play, they are going to find you. And kudos to Kirk Ferentz and staff for doing so.
Speaking of special days, Nebraska’s turned out to be pretty dang good yesterday. Past history is why I entered Signing Day a little more pessimistic than I probably should have been. The good news started right off the bat when Aaron Curry picked Nebraska over Iowa at about 7:45 AM, then continued with four-star athlete Alonzo Moore choosing the Huskers at about 9:00 AM. Additionally, Vincent Valentine leaked information that he was going to choose Nebraska early yesterday morning as well, but didn’t officially sign until 1:00 PM. Of course, just to put me back in my place and remind that Nebraska doesn’t win these show-me announcements; Andrus Peat picked Stanford over the Huskers.
You know, I really do get it. Stanford is the flavor of the month. They have always had the strong academics, and now they have a pretty salty football program. A lot of Husker fans have said there is no way they would allow their son to turn down a chance to get a degree from Stanford. To that I say, BULLHONKEY!
This isn’t about academics, folks. Peat isn’t thinking about how much he can learn at Stanford. He’s thinking about his fastest track to the NFL, and I suppose at this point it might appear like Stanford is the easiest way to get there. I don’t know if that’s true, though. They just had the best quarterback in college football since Peyton Manning, and do you know how many conference championships they won? Zero. Now, he’s gone, USC is back in the fold, and Oregon will just get better. How many conference championships do you think they will play for between now and the end of Peat’s career? I’m willing to bet none.
A lot of people want to paint Stanford’s little run here as some sort of mini-dynasty, but exactly what have they done? In the grand scheme of things, nothing. Heck, how many conference titles have they PLAYED for during this “masterful” run? Two less than Nebraska has played for. National media loves to overhype anything and everything. Because Stanford had Andrew Luck, they want to make Stanford out to be something that they aren’t. They aren’t a power. They aren’t going to win a national championship anytime soon. Heck, they aren’t going to win a conference championship anytime soon. They can’t beat Oregon, and they won’t beat USC anymore. I hope you had fun winning absolutely nothing worth any significance with Andrew Luck because, now that he’s gone, you’ll win even less - if that’s even possible.
Sure, Stanford may still beat up on the powers known as Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado, but I contend Washington AND UCLA will have passed Stanford up by the time Andrus Peat graduates. Am I going out on a limb? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe punch yourself. (Credit: The Departed…kind of.) I also will make this bet with anyone that is willing to take it: Nebraska will win the same amount or more conference championships than Stanford will in the next five years. Now, I don’t feel all that great about Nebraska’s future so it just goes to show you how little I think of Stanford’s.
When the dust settles, Stanford will go back to being what they have always been: Nothing more than the best water polo school in the country.
But seriously, congrats to the Fremont-Mills Four and the rest of the area athletes that signed with their respective schools yesterday. After all the blood, sweat, and tears, you truly do deserve it.
If you have thoughts on today's blog or any other blog please send them to dmartin@kmaland.com.
