Even with the loss of All-American Cooper DeJean the Iowa secondary is considered one of the best in the country heading into next season. Senior corner Jermari Harris is one of eight starters back from a defense that ranked fourth in the country in points allowed. The Hawkeyes are going through summer workouts.

Even as a veteran Harris is using the summer to improve his technique.

The Hawkeyes open the season at home on August 31st against Illinois State.

After leading Northwestern to back-to-back trips to the NAIA championship game quarterback Jalyn Gramstad has transferred to Nebraska. The NAIA National Player of the Year grew up a Husker fan.

Gramstad has already moved to Lincoln.

The former West Lyon High School standout led Northwestern to a national title in 2022 and a runner-up finish last season. Gramstad was 24-1 as a starter for the Red Raiders.

Hawkeye Ten 

#9 Clarinda 12, Fremont-Mills 1
Shenandoah 6, Tri-Center 0
#9 Clarinda 9, Tri-Center 1
Iowa City West 6, Creston 4
Glenwood 15, Roland-Story 2
Fremont-Mills 4, Shenandoah 3
Dubuque Hempstead 6, Creston 2
#12 Bondurant-Farrar 12, Glenwood 2
St. Albert 4, Denison-Schleswig 3

Western Iowa Conference

Woodbine 11, IKM-Manning 1
West Monona 12, Riverside 1
Tri-Center 9, Fremont-Mills 8

Corner Conference 

Highland 7, Griswold 3

Raccoon River Conference

#15 Gilbert 10, Humboldt 0
Boone 5, #11 West Marshall 2
Carlisle 12, Regina Catholic 0
Ankeny 4, North Polk 0
Dowling Catholic 2, #15 Gilbert 1
Boone 13, Humboldt 0
#1 North Polk 4, Oskaloosa 0
Carlisle 4, Clear Creek Amana 3
#12 Bondurant-Farrar 10, Grinnell 2

West Central Activities Conference 

West Central Valley 9, Melcher-Dallas 7
Indianola 16, #10 Interstate-35 7
Seymour 6, West Central Valley 3

Hawkeye Ten 

Kuemper Catholic 12, Pocahontas Area 7
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 8, St. Albert 0
Kuemper Catholic 7, Woodbine 4
Bondurant-Farrar 4, Clarinda 1

Western Iowa Conference

Bedford 8, AHSTW 2

Rolling Valley Conference 

Woodbine 7, Pocahontas Area 1

Raccoon River Conference

Ankeny Centennial 7, Carlisle 2

West Central Activities Conference 

Des Moines Christian 8, Fort Dodge 6

Hawkeye Ten 

Council Bluffs Lincoln 7, Glenwood 1
Denison-Schleswig 10, MVAOCOU 0
Lewis Central 11, Atlantic 1
Harlan 8, St. Albert 4
Underwood 2, Creston 1

Western Iowa Conference

AHSTW 4, IKM-Manning 3
Tri-Center 12, Audubon 2
Treynor 12, Missouri Valley 2

Corner Conference 

Stanton 10, East Mills 0 – Corner Conference Tournament

Rolling Valley Conference 

Coon Rapids-Bayard 12, Ar-We-Va 0
Woodbine 14, Boyer Valley 2
CAM 13, Exira-EHK 3

West Central Activities Conference 

Waukee Northwest 18, Van Meter 8
Alta-Aurelia 8, Madrid 3
Perry 5, West Central Valley 0

Hawkeye Ten 

Denison-Schleswig 7, Spencer 2
Glenwood 2, Saydel 1
St. Albert 11, Harlan 10
Denison-Schleswig 7, Spencer 2

Western Iowa Conference

AHSTW 11, IKM-Manning 1
#7 Audubon 10, Tri-Center 0
Treynor 7, #8 Missouri Valley 2

Corner Conference 

Griswold 9, Fremont-Mills 6 – (Corner Conference Tournament Champions)

Rolling Valley Conference 

Coon Rapids-Bayard 6, Ar-We-Va 4
Woodbine 16, Boyer Valley 5

Raccoon River Conference

Carlisle 3, Solon 2
#12 Bondurant-Farrar 11, Roland-Story 0
#8 ADM 11, Knoxville 0
#13 Urbandale 9, Boone 6
#11 Winterset 7, #12 Waukee 5

West Central Activities Conference 

Glidden-Ralston 5, Panorama 4
Nevada 6, Ogden 5

The CAM Cougars baseball team had another strong win against the Exira-EHK Spartans Friday night by ending the ball game with a 13-3 score through five innings. To start the ball game both teams exchanged base hits but were tied after the 1st inning. Making it seem that this would be another competitive Rolling Valley matchup.  The game’s momentum completely shifted in the 2nd inning when CAM’s first three batters all had base hits to load up the bases with no outs. Then back-to-back hitters were hit by pitches to give the Cougars the lead at 2-0. Then the runs started pouring in for CAM as they would total 8 hits in the top of the 2nd making the score 10-0 after relief pitcher Jameson Kilworth came in to retire the next three batters he faced. The Spartans had no response in the bottom of the 2nd and their batters wouldn’t even reach second base till the fifth inning due to another impressive night from Makade Paulsen.

CAM would tack on 1 run in the 4th and 2 in the 5th to make the game 13-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth. There with two outs Exira-EHK would score 3 runs with an RBI single from Alex Hansen and a 2 RBI grounder from Jaiden Pettepier. With the score sitting at 13-3 through five innings, the officials called the end of the ball game.

Cougars Head Coach Drew Ticknor credited his team’s vision at the plate to create that massive 10 run lead in the bottom of the 2nd inning.

Coach Ticknor applauded the effort from Makade Paulsen on both sides of the game pitching 5 innings, having 4 hits, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks, and no runs. Paulsen also went 3-4 at the plate with 2 RBI’s.

The victory for CAM gets them to a double-digit win record at 10-6 on the season. The Cougars will be back at home on Monday against a competitive Coon Rapids-Bayard team.

The Spartans’ leading hitter was Austin Rasmussen who had the only extra base hit for Exira-EHK while also going 2-3. The Spartans will start their road trip on Monday against a talented Woodbine squad.

May of 2024 brought some major success in the life of Atlantic Alumni and Ankeny Head Track and Field Coach Jordan Mullen. He had the opportunity to watch his track program win the Class 4A State Title this year in Des Moines while eclipsing a state record 112 points. It was the first state title for the Hawks since 1972. The feeling of winning a state title was one filled with passion and euphoria for Mullen.

When reflecting on the moments that led him to such a powerful accomplishment, Mullen had a list of names to thank. But one former coach in Atlantic had a major impact in his high school life. State title winner and Atlantic community member Gaylord Schelling.

Coach Mullen had a prolific career as a Trojan being a seven-time state champion, setting a class 3A state meet record in the 110 meter hurdles his senior year and winning two titles at the Drake Relays in the 110-meter hurdles.

That success carried over for Mullen as a springboard to becoming a Big Ten champion at the University of Iowa, breaking school records, and winning multiple invite titles. Mullen’s time at Iowa was some of his most formative years and he credits his time as a Hawkeye to making him the coach he is today.

Coach Mullen is excited about his second year of coaching at Ankeny. He noted that they have another large class of athletes filled with plenty of talent.

With the size of next year’s group and the memories of winning a state title still fresh, Coach Mullen is keeping his expectations high for next year. He also hopes that his group of athletes can stay healthy throughout the year.

The future is looking bright for the Hawks and Coach Mullen.