IndyCar driver Kyle Kirkwood says racing at the Iowa Speedway offers a physical challenge. Kirkwood is currently 11th in points in the NTT IndyCar series which has a racing twinbill at the Newton track this weekend.

Kirkwood says the lack of power steering is taxing on a short track as is the elevated track temperature.

Kirkwood says two races in two days adds to the challenge.

Kirkwood says the Iowa Speedway features three racing lines and how the car is set up will determine which one to use.

Kirkwood was a rookie in the IndyCar series last year and an early season win at the Long Beach Grand Prix back in April was a career changer.

The Hy-Vee Homefront 250 is Saturday afternoon, and the Hy-Vee One Step 250 is Sunday afternoon.

Iowa junior Payton Sandfort wants to known as more than just a shooter. The Waukee native is coming off a season in which he averaged nearly 10 and-a-half points per game and made 59 three pointers. More than half of his baskets last season were from behind the arc.

He has been working this summer to diversify his game.

Top ranked Williamsburg and second ranked Davenport Assumption will collide in Friday afternoon’s Class 3A championship game at the state softball tournament in Fort Dodge. Assumption advanced to the title game for the seventh time in eight years with Wednesday’s 7-5 win over Dubuque Wahlert. Williamsburg got by Estherville Lincoln Central 8-0.

That’s Williamsburg coach Adam Berte. These are familiar opponents. The Knights beat Williamsburg the last two years in the state tournament while the Raiders claimed a 4-3 win in a regular season game back in early June.

If recent history is any indication the game will be close.

A victory would give Wlliamsburg a first ever state title.

That is senior catcher Jenna Thurm who says these teams have played so often it has almost become a rivalry.

AMES, Iowa – Dedric Willoughby, an Iowa State Hall-of-Famer and one of the greatest shooters in Cyclone men’s basketball history, died yesterday at the age of 49.

A native of New Orleans, Willoughby was the linchpin on two of Iowa State’s most successful teams in 1995-96 and 1996-97, earning first team all-league honors and leading the team in scoring (20.5 ppg; 18.9 ppg) both seasons.

Willoughby played just two seasons at Iowa State. He began his career at New Orleans for future Cyclone head coach Tim Floyd, but when Floyd took the Iowa State job in 1994, Willoughby transferred to Iowa State prior to the 1995-96 season.

Iowa State was picked to finish last in the final season of the Big Eight Conference, but with Willoughby, and outstanding teammates Kelvin Cato, Kenny Pratt, Shawn Bankhead and Jacy Holloway, the Cyclones shocked the nation by finishing second in the Big Eight (9-5).

Willoughby was the Big Eight Newcomer of the Year and the catalyst in the school’s first-ever Big Eight Conference postseason tournament title in 1996.

In the final Big Eight Tournament championship game, Willoughby calmly sank two clutch free-throws in the final seconds to propel the Cyclones to victory over No. 5 Kansas, 56-55. He was named MVP of the tournament.

In Willoughby’s senior season (1996-97), the Cyclones rose as high as No. 4 in the AP poll and again placed near the top of the league standings, tying for third in the inaugural season of the Big 12 at 10-6.

Willoughby is remembered for his smooth jumpshot. He had a quick release and was extremely accurate, drilling 190 3-pointers at a near-40-percent clip during his career. Willoughby’s nine 3-pointers vs. No. 1 Kansas in Hilton Coliseum in 1997 stood as the school standard for many years.

He made 102 3-pointers in his senior season, a total which still ranks No. 1 on ISU’s single-season record chart.

Iowa State advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament in Willoughby’s final season. In his last game as a Cyclone, Willoughby made eight 3-pointers and scored 34 points against UCLA, as the Cyclones lost on a last-second shot (74-73) to miss out on the opportunity to advance to the Elite Eight.

His 34 points vs. UCLA equals the most by a Cyclone in a NCAA Tournament game.

Willoughby was named a Second Team All-American by Basketball Times in 1997 and ended his career as the first player in Cyclone history to score over 1,000 points (1,186) in just two seasons.

Willoughby played professionally for a number of years, making his NBA debut in 1999-2000 with the Chicago Bulls, reuniting with Floyd, who left Iowa State after the 1997-98 season to coach the Bulls. He averaged 7.6 points in his lone season in the NBA.

Willoughby was named to Iowa State’s All-Century men’s basketball team in 2008 and was inducted into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa’s 2023 home football contests against Western Michigan (Sept. 16, 2:30 p.m.), Michigan State (Sept. 30, TBA), Purdue (Oct. 7, TBA) and Minnesota (Oct 21, TBA), scheduled at Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium, are officially sold out. The announcement was made Thursday by the UI Athletics Department.

There are a limited number of all-inclusive hospitality ticket packages available for each game; ticket information is available at hawkeyesports.com/tickets. 

Tickets remain for games against Rutgers (Nov. 11, TBA) and Illinois (Nov. 18, TBA), while a limited number of tickets remain for the season opener against Utah State (Sept. 2, 11 a.m.).

All tickets for University of Iowa athletic events are distributed electronically and should be downloaded to a smartphone device. If you do not have access to a smartphone, please contact the ticket office to make arrangements.

The Big 12 announced the Conference scheduling matrix for the 2023-24 women’s basketball season. Teams will play five Big 12 opponents twice, then play the other eight conference opponents one time, for a total of 18 conference games.

Iowa State is set to play newcomer BYU as well as Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and West Virginia twice. Cyclone fans can also look forward to home contests against Baylor, Cincinnati, Oklahoma and TCU. The Cyclones’ five away-only games will be UCF, Houston, Texas and Texas Tech.

Opponents were selected based on a combination of geography, historical results and a poll of the coaches to best balance the schedule in terms of travel and competitiveness. A full Big 12 schedule with dates and times will be released at a later date.

The full Big 12 Schedule Matrix can be found below.

Baylor

Home-and-away: Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas, West Virginia
Home-only: UCF, Kansas State, TCU, Texas Tech
Away-only: BYU, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Oklahoma

BYU

Home-and-away: Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, TCU
Home-only: Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Away-only: UCF, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas

UCF

Home-and-away: Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia
Home-only: BYU, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas
Away-only: Baylor, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas Tech

Cincinnati

Home-and-away: BYU, UCF, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Home-only: Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU
Away-only: Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas

Houston

Home-and-away: Baylor, BYU, UCF, TCU, Texas Tech
Home-only: Cincinnati, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas
Away-only: Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia

Iowa State

Home-and-away: BYU, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia
Home-only: Baylor, Cincinnati, Oklahoma, TCU
Away-only: UCF, Houston, Texas, Texas Tech

Kansas

Home-and-away: Baylor, BYU, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma
Home-only: Cincinnati, Houston, Oklahoma State, West Virginia
Away-only: UCF, Texas, TCU, Texas Tech

Kansas State

Home-and-away: UCF, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas
Home-only: BYU, Houston, Oklahoma State, West Virginia
Away-only: Baylor, Cincinnati, TCU, Texas Tech

Oklahoma

Home-and-away: Cincinnati, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas
Home-only: Baylor, UCF, TCU, Texas Tech
Away-only: BYU, Houston, Iowa State, West Virginia

Oklahoma State

Home-and-away: Baylor, UCF, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech
Home-only: BYU, Houston, Texas, West Virginia
Away-only: Cincinnati, Kansas, Kansas State, TCU

TCU

Home-and-away: BYU, Houston, Texas, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Home-only: UCF, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State
Away-only: Baylor, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Oklahoma

Texas

Home-and-away: Baylor, Oklahoma, Kansas State, TCU, Texas Tech
Home-only: BYU, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas
Away-only: UCF, Houston, Oklahoma State, West Virginia

Texas Tech

Home-and-away: Cincinnati, Houston, Oklahoma State, Texas, TCU
Home-only: UCF, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State
Away-only: Baylor, BYU, Oklahoma, West Virginia

West Virginia

Home-and-away: Baylor, UCF, Cincinnati, Iowa State, TCU
Home-only: Houston, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech
Away-only: BYU, OSU, Kansas, Kansas State

IGHSAU State Softball Tournament
Thursday, July 20

3:30 p.m. – Class 5A Third Place
Southeast Polk (31-10) vs. Muscatine (33-7)

5:00 p.m. – Class 5A Championship – Kruger Field
Ankeny Centennial (35-5) vs. Pleasant Valley (32-9)

6:00 p.m. – Class 4A Third Place – Iowa Central Field
Fort Dodge (32-10) vs. Norwalk (32-10)

7:30 p.m. – Class 4A Championship – Kruger Field
Winterset (27-12) vs. North Scott (28-11)

Thursday, July 20

Class 2A Semifinals @ Merchants Park in Carroll

4:30–Cascade vs. Underwood

7:00–Beckman Catholic, Dyersville vs. West Lyon, Inwood

Class 4A Semifinals @ Duane Banks Field in Iowa City

5:00 p.m.- #1 Johnston vs. #4 Dowling Catholic

7:30 p.m.- #6 Cedar Falls vs. #7 Ames

FARGO, N.D. – Incoming University of Iowa wrestler Ryder Block won a national title at the Junior Nationals Freestyle Championships on Wednesday at the Fargo Dome. Block and incoming freshman Kale Petersen both earned All-America honors.

Block and Petersen were joined by incoming teammate Koye Grebel. Iowa’s three wrestlers in attendance posted a 17-3 record during the tournament.

Block rolled to his second Junior National title at 138 pounds, winning his seven matches by a combined score of 75-10. The Waverly, Iowa, native defeated California’s Daniel Zepeda in the title bout, 10-0.

Petersen made it all the way to finals before falling to Kyler Larkin of Arizona, 8-0. Petersen won his first six matches to earn All-America status. Petersen outscored his opponents, 56-20.

Grebel won his first two matches before losing to Block, 17-5, in a matchup of future Hawkeyes. He rattled off two more wins before falling to Tony Woods of Indiana, 13-11, to end his tournament.

Fargo All-Americans
Kale Petersen – 2^nd place – 132 pounds

Ryder Block – 1^st place – 128 pounds

Individual Results 

Kale Petersen (132) – All-American (Second Place)
Def. Maddox McArthur (Georgia), 10-0

Def. Noah Torres (Arizona), 10-0

Def. Carson Bissey (Illinois), 12-0

Def. William Dekraker (New Jersey), 6-0

Def. Matthew Botello (Massachusetts), 9-6

Def. Dalton Perry (Pennsylvania), 9-6

Lost Kyler Larkin (Arizona), 8-0

Ryder Block (138) – All-American (First Place)
Def. Dylan Sherman (Connecticut), 8-0

Def. Nicholas Blackburn (Ohio), 10-0

Def. Koye Grebel (North Dakota), 17-5

Def. Chase Van Hoven (Virginia), 11-0

Def. Paul Kelly (California), 13-2

Def. Landon Robideau (Minnesota), 6-3

Def. Daniel Zepeda (California), 10-0

Koye Grebel (138) 

Def. Taylor Tan (California), 10-0

Def. Quentin Harding (Washington), 11-0

Lost Ryder Block (Iowa), 17-5

Def. Gavin Suica (Pennsylvania), 11-0

Def. Charles Curtis (Ohio), 14-4

Lost Tony Wood (Indiana), 13-11