DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Nearly every coach in the Big 12 and beyond will swear that spring practice shows just how far away their team is from playing a real game. For some, like new Kansas coach Charlie Weis, it’s far from hyperbole. Weis took over in the offseason after the Jayhawks fell to 2-10 under departed coach Turner Gill, and it didn’t take long for him to see why. The Jayhawks have issues on both sides of the ball — including the nation’s worst defense at nearly 44 points allowed per game in 2011 — and Weis took spring ball as an opportunity to start fixing what’s wrong. Many of Weis’s new colleagues have used the spring to settle on new quarterbacks. Baylor, Iowa State and Oklahoma State are among the Big 12 schools searching for signal callers.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs head into the NFL draft this week in an envious position. General manager Scott Pioli believes he’s filled most of the pressing needs on the roster – left tackle Eric Winston, running back Peyton Hillis, tight end Kevin Boss and cornerback Stanford Routt have all signed in free agency.  That means Pioli has a bit more flexibility when the Chiefs go on the clock Thursday night.  They have the No. 11 pick and are expected to go after help at middle linebacker or along the offensive and defensive lines. But with all those major holes already filled, Pioli also has the flexibility to pick a quarterback or some other position if the right opportunity presents itself.

Team Standings:

1st — Lewis Central 26
2nd — Clarinda        24
3rd —  Des Moines Lincoln 23
4th — Audubon         21
5th —  CB  AL           18
6th — Harlan            16
7th — Atlantic           12
8th — JV All-Stars      4

Individual Results:

#1 Singles
Championship — Abby Bergsten 9 (LC) over Casey Dean 11 (Clar) 6-0 6-1
3rd Place — Carly Heese 12 (H) over Suzanne Peterson 11 (CBAL) 6-2, 7-6 (8-6 Tiebreak)

#1 Doubles
Championship — Shelby Nielsen 12/Kenzie Krauel 12 (Aud) over Taylor Volentine 11/Maddy Rief 10 (CBAL) 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-3 tiebreak)
3rd Place — Jessica Sanders 12/Stephanie Sanders 11 (DML) over Alissa Andersen 11/Katie DuVal 10 (H) 6-4 6-4

#2 Singles
Championship — Maddie Misfeldt 12 (LC) over Krista Rogers 11 (Clar.) 6-1 6-1
3rd Place — Gracie Benton 9 (DML) over Kayla Polson 12 (Aud) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4 tiebreak)

#2 Doubles
Championship  — Joselyn Pulliam 11/Kayla Rogers 9 (Clar.) over Hannah DeVries 12/Hannah Dewey 12 (DML) 6-7 (10-8 Tiebreak), 6-1, 1-0 (10-6 tiebreak)
3rd Place — Amy Epperson 10/Aly Shea 12 (LC) over Rachael Jones 12/Maddie Christensen 10 (Aud) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5 tiebreak)

Atlantic Results:

#1 Singles —
Casey Dean (Clar) over Leah Tjepkes 10 (A) 6-0 6-0
Afton Muhr 12 (Aud) over Tjepkes 6-0 7-6 (7-4 tiebreak)
7th Place Match — Tjepkes over Madeline Jannes 9 (DML) 6-4, 6-1

#1 Doubles —
Alissa Andersen 11/Katie DuVal 10 (H) over Tori Dolch 11/Lexi Allen 10 (A) 6-4 6-4
Dolch/Allen over Hannah Shea 9/Ally Montgomery 10 (LC) 6-0, 5-7, 1-0 (10-6 tiebreaker)
5th Place Match — Natalie Burton 12/Carly DeMarque 12 (LC) over Dolch/Allen 6-8, 6-2, 1-0 (10-8 Tiebreaker)

#2 Singles —
Gracie Benton 9 (DML) over Hope Bowker 11 (A) 6-4 6-2
Bowker over Madison Forsyth 11 (H) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8 Tiebreaker)
5th Place Match — Savannah Beaman (CBAL) over Bowker 8-6

#2 Doubles —
Amy Epperson/Aly Shea (LC) over Libby Gifford 11/Lisa Gearheart 10 (A) 6-2 6-4
Gifford/Gearheart over Emma Pullen/Payton Larsen (All-Stars) 6-0 7-5
5th Place Match — Gearheart/Gifford over Ally Jones 11/Teresa Arkfeld 9 (H) 6-2 6-1

Coach Shawn Petersen’s Comments:
Overall, we finished about where I thought we would — definitely the least experienced team of the varsity teams; I thought all 6 girls in our lineup played very well — Leah Tjepkes struggled early, then found her groove, almost won two matches for us — Leah made a big step forward; #1 doubles — Tori and Lexi played pretty well most of the day — they were up 8-4 in tiebreaker, and lost 6 straight points to lose out on a medal — good learning experience for them, and the first time they had played together.  Hope got her first varsity experience on Saturday, and played admirably, with a win and two close losses.  Libby and Lisa went 2-1 on the day — their first varsity wins, to get us our best finish on the day.  Very proud of the girls for how well they played, esp. as first year players.   Girls host Harlan Monday, Audubon on Tuesday.

w/ Jim Field

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The Audubon boys varsity golf team played Saturday, April 21, in the Panorama Invitational, at Lake Panorama National Golf Course.  Eleven schools competed and Audubon finished 4th with 361 strokes (the team’s four best 18-hole scores).  It was the top team in Class IA.  2A South Hamilton finished in first place with 316, 2A Des Moines Christian was second with 327, and 3A Dallas Center-Grimes was third, followed by Audubon (361), Panorama (365), Guthrie Center (381), Adair-Casey (393), Earlham (415), and West Central Valley (428).  Golfers from IKM-Manning and Ankeny Christian Academy also played, but neither school had four golfers to compete for the team honors.  The Wheelers were lead by senior Michael Bylund who shot 81, a score that tied for the 5th place medal, but the tiebreaker gave it to a Des Moines Christian golfer, Andrew Minor.  Audubon’s other scores that counted in the team total were Nick Fett (93), Cameron Mennenoh (93), Andrew Irlmeier (94), and Andy Hoffmann (94).
The top individuals were South Hamilton’s Jordan Sogard (76), Trevor Ullestad (79), Austin Heeren (79), and Des Moines Christian’s Chris Sturdivant (77).
Audubon’s dual meet record is 5-1, second in the Western Iowa Conference,  and overall record (counting Saturday tournaments) is 17-4.  The Wheelers travel to Griswold on Monday, April 23, and to Coon Rapids on Thur., April 26.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Ellis Coleman, best known for his unorthodox “Flying Squirrel” flip over opponents, headlined the list of wrestlers who earned spots Sunday night on the U.S. team headed to the London Olympics. The 20-year-old Coleman upset top-seeded Joe Betterman in the 60-kilogram Greco-Roman weight class to earn a trip to London in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Jake Herbert, Jared Frayer, Tervel Dlagnev, Ben Proviso and Sam Hazewinkel also claimed spots on the U.S. team. Clarissa Chun became the first American woman to qualify for the Olympics twice, and Elena Pirozhkova made the team for the first time. Henry Cejudo, who won a freestyle gold medal in Beijing in 2008, lost to Nick Simmons in the semifinals earlier Sunday and promptly retired.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo is retiring after his comeback bid ended with a loss in the semifinals of the U.S. Olympic trials. Cejudo was the freestyle champion in Beijing four years ago at 55 kilograms. He fell to top-seeded Nick Simmons 3-0, 5-9, 5-2 on Sunday. Cejudo removed his shoes after the loss, symbolic of a wrestler calling it quits, and flung them into the crowd in Iowa City. Cejudo, a native of Phoenix, was the only U.S. wrestler to win gold in the Beijing Games. Cejudo didn’t wrestle for three years and competed in just a few tournaments before returning for the Olympic trials. Cejudo says he returned to the sport to inspire people, adding that he’s at peace with his decision to retire.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Kyle Lohse scattered six hits while pitching into the eighth inning to lead the St. Louis Cardinals past the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 on Sunday. David Freese had a two-run single for the Cardinals and Rafael Furcal had three hits as St. Louis extended its strong start behind another superb outing from Lohse (3-0). The veteran right-hander struck out five without issuing a walk, though his ERA actually ticked up from 0.89 to 0.99. Pittsburgh’s Erik Bedard (0-4) gave up three runs on six hits, walking four and striking out seven in seven innings but was again undone by a lack of support. The Pirates have scored three runs combined in Bedard’s four starts. The Cards take on the Chicago Cubs Monday evening. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:10-p.m, on KJAN.