The Lenox Tigers outlasted the Griswold Tigers in what was a unbelievable game and environment. From the first points of set number one you could tell it was going to be a back-and-forth game all night long and that’s exactly how it played out. The Griswold Tigers would prevail in set number one and take it 25-19 led by Gabbie Greiman who completely owned the net defensively as her and the Griswold Tigers combined for seven key blocks to take the set.  In set number two the momentum flipped early as junior Sadie Cox and senior Gabby Robles took the match over on the outsides. The duo of Cox and Robles would help Lenox have 10+ kills in all four of the sets. Head Coach Jesse Cox said both girls know when they need to make big plays.

Lenox would take set two 25-18 and would out dual Griswold in the third and most pivotal set 27-25. In a set of runs by each team Lenox battled back from a four-point deficit Coach Jesse Cox took a timeout with the score at 22 a piece and gave his girls one message to win the set.

Coach Cox was very quick to tip his hat off to the Griswold Tigers who gave Lenox everything they could handle. Coach Cox said the serving and defense played by Griswold gave his team fits.

Lenox took the match three sets to one and advance to the semi-final on Monday evening where they will travel to St Albert to take on the Falcons who defeated Bedford in three sets. Winner of that on Monday night will advance to the Class 1A Region 3 Championship match.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Gold team used a three-run fifth to rally and knock off the Black team, 5-4, in Wednesday’s seven-inning exhibition at Duane Banks Field. The win clinched the Black & Gold World Series for the Gold team.

Both left-handed starters dazzled on the mound with sophomore Cade Obermueller striking out seven batters in two and 2/3 innings for the Black team. The southpaw issued three walks and two hits, but only gave up one run. Freshman Elliot Cadieux-Lanoue worked three and 2/3 innings for the Gold team, allowing three runs on four hits.

Junior Connor Hennings began the scoring with an RBI single in the first to give the Black team a 1-0 lead. After a bases loaded walk to sophomore Gable Mitchell tied the game in the second, Hennings delivered again – this time with a two-run home run off the batter’s eye in center field.

The Gold team drew two walks and a hit-by-pitch in the fifth to load the bases. Senior Andy Nelson drove home pinch-runner Ryan Brosius on a sacrifice fly to center before sophomore Blake Guerin gave the Gold team the lead with a two-out, two-RBI single. Sophomore Ben Swails added insurance in the sixth with a solo blast to left field to put the Gold team on top, 5-3.

The Black team threatened in the seventh, putting runners on the corners with one out. Senior Will Mulflur brought home a run on a sacrifice fly to bring the Black team within one, before senior Ben DeTaeye worked out of the jam.

Bullpen arms redshirt junior Reece Beuter (2.1 IP, 3 K) and DeTaeye (1.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H) sealed the victory for the Gold team.

Junior Sam Hart (2.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 K) and sophomore Ganon Archer (1.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 K) saw action out of the bullpen for the Black team.

Each team registered five hits and committed one error.

UP NEXT: The Hawkeyes have concluded their fall slate. Iowa opens its spring season at the Swig & Swine College Classic on Feb. 16 against Seton Hall in Charleston, South Carolina.

Two cross country runners from Atlantic, Claire Pellett and Bennett Whetstone both qualified to head to state from their impressive efforts at the Winterset State Qualifying Meet on Wednesday evening.

It was a tough course to run on for Pellett as she had to continually push herself against top runners in the State like Grace Berglund from Glenwood who took the individual title and Avelyn Lace from Ballard in second.

Pellett credits the examples and teammates she’s had around her throughout her team in high school. All of which helped her qualify for state three separate times.

The rest of the Atlantic girls’ team ran well with Katrina Williams in 21st, Belle Berg in 27th, Makenna Schroeder in 39th, Megan Birge in 40th, Elynor Brummer in 41st, and Hailey Huffman in 42nd.

Girls Team Results:

1. Glenwood (47)
2. Ballard (52)
3. Lewis Central (72)
4. Winterset (115)
5. Atlantic (121)

On the boys’ side Atlantic runner Bennett Whetstone qualified for state at 14th place nearing the cutoff point. It was a difficult run for Whetstone and he had to dig within to make it.

Looking ahead to state, Whetstone doesn’t have high expectations for himself. He is just going to enjoy the atmosphere of such a competitive event.

The top boy runner at the qualifier was Ethan Eichhorn from Lewis Central, then Andrew Smith at second and Bryant Keller at third both runners from Glenwood.

The rest of the Atlantic boys’ team had Alex Sonntag at 24th, Luke Irlmeier at 41st, Tyrell Williams at 45th, Rickie Fields at 46th, Christian Thompson 47th, and Devon Fields at 73rd.

Boys Team Results: 

1. Lewis Central (39)
2. Glenwood (57)
3. Winterset (62)
4. North Polk (108)
5. Kuemper Catholic (117)

Coach Vargason had pride from the grit his boys team showed at the qualifier.

On the topic of Claire Pellett coach Vargason explained how continually impressed he is by her and the impact that she has had on his coaching.

The 3A State cross country meet begins Saturday October 28th at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge.

Iowa may be winning ugly but junior corner Cooper DeJean says the Hawkeyes don’t mind. Iowa is 6-1 despite having the worst offense in the country an only managed 37 passing yards in a 15-6 win at Wisconsin. They host Minnesota this week.

Iowa is winning with defense and special teams and DeJean says their is a growing confidence.

An improving run game is helping Iowa’s struggling offense. The Hawkeyes averaged just over 190 yards on the ground in wins over Purdue and Wisconsin and running back Leshon Williams credits an improved offensive line.

Williams is not surprised the offensive line has made progress.

Junior center Logan Jones says the confidence level is growing for the offensive line.

The injuries are mounting on offense but Jones says its an unfortunate part of football.

Drake takes a share of the Pioneer Football League lead on the road this week to the University of San Diego. The Bulldogs are coming off a stunning 52-21 win over PFL favorite St. Thomas of Minnesota and sit at 3-0 in the league race after starting the season 0-3

That’s Drake coach Todd Stepsis. The Toreros are 1-5 overall. A stunning start for a program that has won seven PFL itles in the last nine years.

The Bulldogs look to break through in a series that has been dominated by San Diego.

Former Iowa State quarterback Re-Al Mitchell is a big play threat for San Diego and Stepsis says the Drake defense will need to find him.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa Athletics Department announced Wednesday a new student ticket model for select winter sports. UI students can purchase $5 single-game tickets to men’s basketball, women’s basketball and men’s wrestling for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

Student tickets will be available for purchase beginning Thursday, Oct. 19 at 9 a.m. (CT). UI students will be limited to one ticket per game/meet. Students must be currently enrolled and can purchase tickets through their student ticketing account at HawkeyeSports.com/StudentTickets.

Games/meets include all conference and nonconference events through the end of December. Spring semester games/meets will be released on Thursday, Dec. 7.

Students can claim free tickets to basketball exhibitions on Oct. 22 (women) and Oct. 30 (men), while each squad’s regular season opener can be purchased for just $2. The Hawkeye women open its regular season on Nov. 6 against Fairleigh Dickinson, while the men will host North Dakota on Nov. 7. Students will be asked to present a current UI Student ID when entering with a student ticket. Student guest tickets may be released at a later date dependent on availability.

The new model is meant to allow for more flexibility, promote attendance, and allows for more students to have opportunities to attend games inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Students can purchase tickets by logging into their personal account. They can then select the desired sport, followed by the game/meet. Students can also claim a free ticket to regular season home gymnastics and women’s wrestling meets by following the same steps. Single-game tickets will be available until sold out.

Students can purchase tickets at HawkeyeSports.com/StudentTickets. Students can contact the UI Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-IA-HAWKS for assistance. The ticket office is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill says the way the Hawkeyes responded to a loss at Penn State has been a key to their 6-1 record. The Hawkeyes have won three straight since getting demolished by the Nittany Lions 31-0 and Hill will make his third start for the injured Cade McNamara on Saturday at home against Minnesota.

Hill passed for only 37 yards in a 15-6 win at Wisconsin and while he expects the passing game to improve it is important for him to limit mistakes.

Hill says the Gophers play a sound style of defense.

With a pair of All Big Ten caliber tight ends lost for the season Steven Stillianos (still-ee-ah-nos) has an expanded role for Iowa. The Lafayette transfer has five receptions this season and played most of the game at Wisconsin after Erick All suffered a season ending knee injury in the first quarter.

Stillianos says the Hawkeyes were forced to move on after Luke Lachey suffered a broken ankle against Western Michigan and they will need to do the same without All.

Stillianos saya an oppurunity like this is why he transferred to Iowa.

The 24th ranked Hawkeyes host Minnesota on Saturday.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody announced the 2023-24 indoor schedule on Wednesday. The Hawkeyes’ schedule features five home meets at the Hawkeye Indoor Track Facility.

“This schedule is set up so that our athletes can compete against great competition right away at home before we travel to some bigger invitational meets in February,” Woody said. “We are always looking to compete against the best in the country and this schedule allows our athletes to do that and to hit NCAA qualifying marks throughout the season. This schedule prepares us well for the Big Ten and NCAA Championships.”

2023-24 Schedule Notes
— The Hawkeyes begin the season at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Open in Boston, Massachusetts, on Dec. 2.

— Iowa will host four consecutive meets following the season-opener – the Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational (Dec. 9), the Hawkeye Invitational (Jan. 13), the seventh-annual Larry Wieczorek Invitational & Multi (Jan. 19-20), and the Iowa Open (Jan. 27). The Hawkeyes will also host the Iowa Last Chance Qualifier on Feb. 16.

— The Hawkeyes spend most of February away from Iowa City, with feature meets at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic (Feb. 2-3) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Tyson Invitational (Feb. 9-10) in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the Texas Tech Invitational (Feb. 9-10) in Lubbock, Texas, and several last chance qualifiers (Feb. 16-17).

— The Big Ten Indoor Championships will be held at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, on Feb. 23-24 before wrapping up the season at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, on Mar. 6-9.

— Iowa returns two All-Americans – Heptathlete Austin West and hurdler Grant Conway – to the 2023-24 roster. Led by Woody, the Hawkeyes are in search of their third men’s Indoor Big Ten Title in the last four years, returning 12 point scorers from last year’s third place team. The women’s team returns 13 point scorers from the 2022-23 indoor team that placed third at last season’s Indoor Big Ten Championships.

Full Schedule
Dec. 2 – Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener (Boston, Mass.)
Dec. 9 – Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational (Iowa City, Iowa)
Jan. 13 – Hawkeye Invitational (Iowa City, Iowa)
Jan. 19-20 – Larry Wieczorek Invitational & Multi (Iowa City, Iowa)
Jan. 27 – Iowa Open (Iowa City, Iowa)
Feb. 2-3 – New Mexico Collegiate Classic (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Feb. 2-3 – Meyo Invitational (South Bend, Ind.)
Feb. 2-3 – Iowa State Classic (Ames, Iowa)
Feb. 9-10 – Tyson Invitational (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Feb. 9-10 – Texas Tech Invitational (Lubbock, Texas)
Feb. 9-10 – BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational (Boston, Mass.)
Feb. 9-10 – Wisconsin Windy City Invite (Chicago, Ill.)
Feb. 16 – Iowa Last Chance Qualifier (Iowa City, Iowa)
Feb. 16 – Matador Qualifier (Lubbock, Texas)
Feb. 16 – Arkansas Qualifier (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Feb. 17 – Alex Wilson Invitational (South Bend, Ind.)
Feb. 23-24 – Big Ten Indoor Championships (Geneva, Ohio)
Mar. 6-9 – NCAA Indoor Championships (Boston, Mass.)