AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State softball team is headed to the NCAA DI Softball Tournament for the first time since 1988. The program’s rise under fourth-year head coach Jamie Pinkerton culminated in the Cyclones hearing their name called during the NCAA DI Softball Championship Selection Show on Sunday night. It is the program’s second-ever NCAA Regional berth.

The Cyclones will head to Columbia, Missouri to face UNI on Friday, May 21 at 1 p.m. CT at Mizzou Softball Stadium on ESPN3. Missouri is hosting the region, and is the No. 8 national seed. The Tigers will face UIC in their first tournament game on Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT.

“First and foremost, I’m really happy for the women ” Pinkerton said. “I’m really ecstatic for seniors Logan Schaben and Sami Williams. For them to be able to stay the course and buy in to three different coaches and to be able to provide the leadership that they have over the year, I’m really happy for them. It hits you in the feels for them.”

The Cyclones are 32-21 on the year, and closed the season with a flurry, winning six of their final seven regular season games. The NCAA Tournament bid is just the latest in a long list of unprecedented milestones the 2021 Cyclones have reached. Iowa State got off to a program-best 8-0 start, and earned its first-ever top-25 ranking in the NFCA Coaches’ Poll on Feb. 23.

“It’s a culmination things,” Pinkerton said. “The discipline and integrity and intention that they have to get better. I’m just ecstatic to see where we are and the excitement that has built around this program. It’s heartwarming to see that come to fruition. What this group of seniors has done and this team has done over our four years here. To know that we’ve had back-to-back winnings seasons for the first time since 1989 is really a mark of the culture that has been built and the hard work that the women have put in on the field, in the locker room and in the classroom.”

Pinkerton is 103-92 as Iowa State’s head coach – the fastest to coach the Cyclones to 100 wins in the modern era. This will be his fourth trip to a NCAA Regional with his third different team. Pinkerton led Arkansas to the regionals in both 2008 and 2009, followed by a trip to the tournament in 2017 with Montana after starting the program from scratch.

Following the announcement, Pinkerton credited his staff of assistant coaches Kate Sinnott and Courtney Herron-Martinez, director of operations Peter Suarez and volunteer assistant Ed Duegan.

“The work that the staff has put in has been amazing,” Pinkerton said. “This wouldn’t happen without them. When these things happen, they don’t always get a lot of the credit. It’s been a team effort and I really appreciate Courtney, Kate, Pete and Ed. Without them we wouldn’t be where we are today.

Five Big 12 Conference teams were selected to participate in the NCAA Tournament.

First round regional girls golf will be contested on Monday around the state for Class 1A and 2A schools. The top two team and top six individuals from each site will advance to second round regional competition.

Class 3A and 4A schools will contest their lone round of regional play on the 24th.

Here’s a look at the area sites and teams for Monday’s play.

CLASS 1A

Region 2A at Dunlap: AHSTW, Audubon, Boyer Valley, Coon Rapids-Bayard, Exira-EHK, Kingsley-Pierson, Logan-Magnolia, Woodbine.

Region 2B at Anita: CAM, Earlham, East Union, Lamoni, Lenox, Mount Ayr, Nodaway Valley, Southwest Valley, Westwood.

Region 2C at Neola: Bedford, East Mills, Essex/Stanton, Fremont-Mills, Griswold, Riverside, Sidney, St. Albert, Tri-Center

Class 2A

Region 2A at Panora: ACGC, DM Christian, Kuemper Catholic, OABCIG, Panorama, PCM, Van Meter, Woodward-Granger.

Region 2B at Shenandoah: Clarinda, Interstate-35, Missouri Valley, Red Oak, Shenandoah, Treynor, Underwood, West Central Valley.

Here’s a look at area high school sports action from Saturday outside of tennis competition which is listed in other stories on our sports page.

GIRLS SOCCER

Lewis Central 2, Pella 1

Waverly Tournament
Decorah 1, St. Albert 0
St. Albert 3, Dike New Hartford 2 (PK’s)

Abraham Lincoln Classic

Ankeny Centennial 3, Sioux City East 0
Ankeny Centennial 1, CB Abraham Lincoln 0
WDM Valley 1, CB Abraham Lincoln 0
WDM Valley 7, CB Sioux City East 0

GIRLS GOLF

IKM-Manning Invite

Team Scores

1. Denison-Schleswig 199
2. IKM-Manning 209
3. Audubon 222

Individual Top 5

1. Kylie Powers, IKM-Manning, 44
2. Lizzy Ayala, Denison-Schleswig, 47
3. Tessa Petersen, Denison-Schleswig, 48
4. Bre Muhlbauer, IKM-Manning, 49
5. Camryn Schultz, Denison-Schleswig, 50

Full Results: 5-15-21-ikm-manning-wolves-invite

Class 1A

North Polk, Alleman at Ballard – postponed to Monday, May 17 at 3:00 p.m.
Centerville at Keokuk – postponed to Monday, May 17 at 10:00 a.m.
Grinnell 5, Oskaloosa 0
Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 5, St. Albert, Council Bluffs 1
Atlantic 5, Southwest Valley 4
LeMars 5, Storm Lake 2
Assumption, Davenport 5, Marion 2
Decorah 5, Columbus Catholic, Waterloo 3

Class 2A

Ames 5, Dowling Catholic W.D.M. 4
Urbandale 5, Ankeny 2
Dubuque, Hempstead 5, Epworth, Western Dubuque 0
Ottumwa 5, Burlington 1
Johnston 5, Indianola 0
Dubuque, Senior 5, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy 2
Cedar Falls 5, Cedar Rapids, Washington 1
Des Moines, Roosevelt 5, Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 2

Winning teams advance to substate team play on Saturday, May 22nd. Previous district team champions were automatic substate qualifiers.

MANHATTAN, Kansas – A historic weekend of Iowa State track and field finished with another strong day on Sunday at a rainy Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Wesley Kiptoo’s historic weekend concluded with another record-breaking win in the 5,000-meter run, which helped him secure the Big 12 Championships Men’s High Point Award, while Cailie Logue made some history of her own en route to winning a 10th-career Big 12 title.

In the team race, the No. 7 Iowa State men tied their highest-ever team finish with a second-place effort with 144 team points, which is the second-most points scored by a runner-up team in Big 12 men’s history. The Iowa State women were eighth place in the team race with 57 points.

For the first time all week, Kiptoo had someone hang with him early, as Oklahoma State’s Isai Rodriguez went with Kiptoo for the first mile before Kiptoo continued to push and run away with it. He crossed the line well ahead of the field again, lapping all but the top-nine to take the win in 13:29.92.

Kiptoo is the first male in Big 12 history to ever win three individual events at a single outdoor championships, and third student-athlete ever, as Marshevet Hooker of Texas was the women’s 100, 200 and long jump champion in 2005 and 2006. He is also the third male in Big 12 history to even score in the 3,000 steeplechase, 5,000m and 10,000m run at the same championships, with his teammate David Too being one of the others in 2019.

Thomas Pollard took third in the men’s 5K, cruising to a nearly 10-second personal best in 13:46.02, while Ezekiel Rop took fifth in 13:51.90.

The women’s 5,000m played out similarly to the 10,000 on Friday night, with Logue getting locked into a three-way battle against a foe from that race, Texas’ Madeline Vondra, and Oklahoma State’s Gabby Hentemann. Logue and Hentemann were able to drop Vondra with three laps to go, and then the Cyclone star turned on the jets heading into turn three and into the bell lap to leave Hentemann behind and pull away for the win.

Logue defended her 5,000m title to do the 5K/10K double for a second-straight time, making her the third Big 12 woman to do multiple 5K/10K double title wins outdoors, joining ISU legend Lisa Koll (2009 & 2010) and Kansas’ Sharon Lokedi (2017 & 2018). Logue also collected her 10th career Big 12 title across track and cross country, her fourth outdoors.

Abby Caldwell got on the podium again, taking fifth in 16:40.62, while Winrose Chesang also scored for the second time this weekend with her eighth-place 16:51.50.

The men’s team battle was surmised in the men’s 1,500-meter run, with a tactical battle between the ISU and Texas contingents. Festus Lagat and Nehemia Too were 1-2 at the halfway point, but UT’s Cruz Gomez went past both at the bell to pick up the urgency. Lagat ran him down and looked to have things under control, but a late surge from the Longhorns’ Bizimana on the outside meant it was silver for Lagat, with Bizimana winning in 3:44.87 to Lagat’s 3:44.97. Too was fifth in 3:47.28.

The men’s 800-meter run saw a 19-point haul for Iowa State, but was marred in disappointment with Festus Lagat’s DQ after impeding Bizimana at the line. Alex Lomong continued his breakthrough weekend with a season-best 1:47.69, pushing him into ISU’s all-time top-10 and the silver medal, while Daniel Nixon had another strong effort in third for bronze at 1:48.01.

Mason Weh owned three Big 12 bronze medals across his ISU career, and was able to add a silver to his collection during an adversity-filled 110-meter hurdles. Due to a malfunction in the timing equipment, the race had to be recalled, but Weh, Baylor’s Elijah Morris and Texas Tech’s Maliek Kendall did not hear the recall, completing the entirety of the race. After a delay to make fixes and get functioning, Weh was able to rally and fight off a big group of competitors for second in 14.04.

Sunday’s conditions were not the best for a discus competition, but Kevin Sakson got in a big throw of 180-5 (55.01m) early on his first attempt, and that was enough to hang onto the silver medal and eight more ISU team points.

Up Next

Iowa State entries for the 2021 NCAA Track & Field Championships West Preliminaries will be announced next week, with the meet taking place May 26-29 at Texas A&M.