The Utah women’s track team, coached by Webster City native Kyle Kepler, were the HyVee Cup Champions of the Women’s University Division of 113th Drake Relays. Kepler says he knew the sprint medley relay and the distance medley relay would be important in their chances of winning.

Kepler says while he was thrilled to win the coveted title in his home state, he said he was most excited for the group of young women he’s coaching.

Jack Campbell says he will take the same attitude and worth ethic that helped him succeed at Iowa to the Detroit Lions. The Butkus Award winner was taken with the 18th pick in the NFL Draft by the Lions last week.

Campbell says he is ready to get to work.

Campbell was always know for his leadership skills while a Hawkeye

Campbell feels his blue collar approach is a good fit for Detroit.

Will McDonald says he will be happy to have former Iowa State standouts Breece Hall and Allen Lazard with him as he joins the New York Jets. McDonald was taken by the Jets with the 15th pick in the NFL Draft, becoming the first ISU player taken in the opening round since 1973. He says Hall called him the afternoon prior to the draft.

McDonald says it was his sophomore season in which he led the Big-12 in sacks that he first thought the NFL was a possibility.

The Milwaukee native did not even start playing football until high school and his initial plan was to join the army.

McDonald admits he was a little surprised he was taken with the 15th pick.

JOHNSTON, IA- (4/30/2023): The Iowa High School Soccer Coaches Association (IAHSSCA)
has released its weekly rankings for the 2023 boys’ soccer season for all classes: 1A, 2A, 3A,
and 4A.

Class 4A
Rank Team Record
1. Dowling 9-1
2. Johnston 10-2
3. Valley 9-2
4. Waukee Northwest 9-2
5. Pleasant Valley 9-1
6. Prairie 8-2
7. Bettendorf 9-2
8. Des Moines East 11-1
9. Ames 7-3
10. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 7-1
11. Linn-Mar 9-4
12. Ankeny Centennial 5-4
13. Iowa City West 7-2
14. Dubuque Senior 8-2
15. Des Moines Roosevelt 5-3
16. Muscatine 6-3

Class 3A
Rank Team Record
1. Des Moines Hoover 9-0
2. Marion 11-0
3. Dallas Center Grimes 7-3
4. ADM 9-2
5. Humboldt 7-1
6. Spencer 8-1
7. Norwalk 6-5
8. Urbandale 4-7
9. Fort Madison 11-1
10. Carlisle 9-2
11. Newton 8-5
12. Pella 5-5
13. Storm Lake 4-4
14. Iowa City Liberty 2-7
15. Sioux City West 5-4
16. Bondurant Farrar 5-5

Class 2A
Rank Team Record
1. Assumption 9-0
2. Gilbert 10-1
3. Bishop Heelan 7-1
4. Webster City 7-1
5. Nevada 8-3
6. Glenwood 8-1
7. Greene County 8-1
8. Center Point-Urbana 8-1
9. Williamsburg 7-3
10. Perry 4-5
11. Knoxville 7-4
12. Grinnell 3-4
13. Benton 5-4
14. Harlan Community 5-4
15. Decorah 8-2
16. Chariton 6-2

Class 1A
Rank Team Record
1. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 11-0
2. Regina Catholic 9-1
3. West Branch 9-0
4. Western Christian 7-1
5. West Liberty 8-2
6. Treynor 8-4
7. Des Moines Christian 5-4
8. Underwood 7-2
9. West Central Valley 10-2
10. Prince of Peace 7-4
11. Pella Christian 3-5
12. Beckman Catholic 6-3
13. St. Albert 5-6
14. Mediapolis 8-1
15. Denver 5-3
16. Columbus Catholic 3-5

The NFL Draft came to a close on Saturday in Kansas City. Here is a look at players from the area that signed on to teams as Undrafted Free Agents and who the Kansas City Chiefs signed to UFA deals.

Pittsburgh Steelers
FB- Monte Pottebaum, Iowa
C- Trevor Downing, Iowa State

Seattle Seahawks
DE – MJ Anderson, Iowa State

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
S- Kaevon Merriweather, Iowa

NY Giants
LB- O’Rien Vance, Iowa State- Minicamp Invitation

Denver Broncos
LB – Seth Benson, Iowa

Green Bay Packers
CB- Benny Sapp III, UNI

Kansas City Chiefs
CB – Reese Taylor, Purdue
LB – Cam Jones, Indiana
DL – Truman Jones, Harvard

ST. LOUIS, MO., April 30, 2023 – The St. Louis Cardinals organization and the St. Louis community were saddened this morning to learn of the passing of popular Cardinals broadcaster, former player and St. Louis native son Thomas Michael “Mike” Shannon at the age of 83.  Shannon, who was preceded in death by his first wife, Judy, is survived by their sons Michael Jr., Tim and Dan, and daughters Patricia, Peg and Erin; his wife Lori, 18 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

Shannon, who was a member of three Cardinals World Series teams in 1964, 1967 and 1968, spent over 60 years with the Cardinals organization, including 50 as a member of the team’s radio broadcasts.  Shannon was recognized in recent years by the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a finalist for the prestigious Ford C. Frick broadcasting award and he was enshrined in the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.

“The St. Louis Cardinals were saddened to learn this morning of the passing of Cardinals Hall of Famer and beloved St. Louisan Mike Shannon,” said Cardinals’ Owner & Chief Executive Officer Bill DeWitt, Jr.  “Mike’s unique connection to Cardinals fans and his teammates was reflected in his unbridled passion for the game, the Cardinals, and the St. Louis community.  On behalf of the entire Cardinals organization, we share our condolences with Mike’s family and friends, and his many fans.”

“My dad’s life was encapsulated by his devotion to his family, his friends, the Cardinals organization and the St. Louis community,” stated his son, Tim Shannon, on behalf of the Shannon family. “My dad lived his life to the fullest, and he squeezed every drop from it.”

Throughout his years as a broadcaster for the Cardinals, Shannon also made appearances for the Cardinals on their television broadcasts, including as a pre-game analyst for Fox Midwest.  He also worked with NBC’s Baseball Game of the Week and called St. Louis Cardinals NFL football games on radio.

A St. Louis native, Shannon broke into the big leagues with the Cardinals in 1962 and became the regular right fielder during the 1964 World Championship season.  During the 1964 Series opener vs. New York, he hit a game-tying, two-run homer as St. Louis went on to defeat the Yankees in seven games.  In 1967 Shannon was moved to third base to make room for newly acquired right fielder Roger Maris, as the Cardinals went on to win two straight National League pennants in 1967 and 1968 as well as the 1967 World Series.

Mike’s nine-year (1962-1970) playing career was cut short by a kidney disease and he joined the Cardinals front office in 1971 as assistant director of promotions and sales and entered the broadcast booth in 1972, where he remained for 50 years. His many years with the organization gave Shannon a unique insight in his commentary.  He was honored throughout the 2021 season for his 50 years of service with the ball club.

Shannon received numerous awards and honors throughout his career.  A gifted athlete, he was a High School All-American football player at Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis, and in 1957 was named the Missouri prep Player of the Year in both basketball and football – the only player ever to receive both in the same year.  He would attend the University of Missouri as a college quarterback before signing a contract to play for the Cardinals.

Shannon was named St. Louis Ambassador’s 1993 Sportsman of the Year, received the 1985 Emmy Award for Sports Broadcasting, St. Louis chapter, and received the Sportscaster of the Year award for the state of Missouri from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA) in 2002, 2003 and 2014.  In 1999, Shannon was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of his on-air career and as a player on the field, and in May 2013 the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame named Mike a Missouri Sports Legend, the 26th such honor given.  In 2009, he was selected to be a member of the Academy of Missouri Squires and he was honored as St. Louis Press Club Media Person of the Year in 2010.

After a glorious week of weather competitors were forced to deal with rain during the final hours of the Drake Relays. The rain began at the start of the girls 400 meter hurdles. It was won by Ali Fransden of Ames.

It was a big weekend for Fransden who also won the 100 hurdles on Friday.

Nicholas Gorsich of Linn-Mar used a late surge to win the boys 400 hurdles and says the conditions were ideal for him.

Northern Iowa’s Isaiah Trousil set a personal record of 10.14 seconds in winning the 100 meter title. The former West Burlington standout bettered his winning time of 10.16 seconds at the Texas Relays.

Trousil was one of two Panthers champions on the final day of competition and took control after what looked like a slow start.

Iowa State’s Kaylyn Hall became the first Cyclone woman to win the 100 hurdles. Hall was also part of ISU’s winning shuttle hurdle relay team.

Hall keeps lowering her personal record with virtually every race.

U-S Olympian Anna Cockrell won the women’s 400 hurdles and says she has run in worse conditions.

Cockrell says competing in challenging conditions is good preparation.

A total of 11 Drake relays records were broken.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson was drafted Saturday by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the 205th pick.

Hutchinson is the second Cyclone selected in this draft, joining teammate Will McDonald, who was a first round pick Thursday by the New York Jets. 

Hutchinson, a Jacksonville, Florida, native, had arguably the best season by a wide receiver in school history. He was a First Team All-American and a Biletnikoff Award Finalist after catching a school record 107 receptions.

Hutchinson became the first player in Big 12 history to lead the league in receptions three consecutive seasons and finished his career with a school-record 254 catches, the most-ever by a Big 12 player in just three seasons.

Iowa State defensive back Anthony Johnson Jr. was drafted Saturday by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the 242nd pick.

Johnson is the third Cyclone selected in this draft, joining teammates Will McDonald IV, first round pick Thursday by the New York Jets, and Xavier Hutchinson, who went earlier Saturday to the Houston Texans.

Johnson, a St. Petersburg, Florida, native, made the switch to safety in 2022 after playing his first four seasons as a Cyclone at cornerback.

In his career, Johnson was the Big 12’s iron man, making a Big 12 record 54 career starts. He played in 62 career games, the second-most in school history.

Johnson compiled 243 career tackles, including 14.0 for a loss, and three sacks in his career. He broke up 28 passes in his career and had two interceptions and five forced fumbles.

Boys Shuttle Hurdle Relay Prelim – 8:15 a.m.
CAM (Jack Follmann, Sam Foreman, Collin Bower, Cale Maas)- 5th 1:00.68, Missed the finals by 0.56 seconds.

Girls 4x100M Relay Prelim – 9:15 a.m.
Atlantic (Hailey Huffman, Lila Wiederstein, Nicole Middents, Jayci Reed)- 82nd 52.58
Carroll- 56th 51.76
CB Abraham Lincoln- 69th 52.12
Clarinda- 43rd 51.62
Glenwood- 31st 51.04
Lewis Central- 68th 52.11
Nodaway Valley- 62nd 51.97
Riverside- 54th (Veronica Andrusyshyn, Emma Gordon, Elly Henderson, Lydia Erickson) 51.72
St. Albert- 94th 53.25
Treynor- 36th 51.33
Underwood- 40th 51.48

Boys 4x100M Relay Prelim – 9:43 a.m.
ACGC (Brock Littler, Jedd Weinkoetz, Lance Bunde, Austin Kunkle)- 46th 44.39
Clarinda- 74th 45.15
Glenwood- 89th 45.51
Harlan (Jacob Birch, Aidan Hall, Cade Sears, Will Neuharth)- 5th 43.11
Lewis Central- 37th 44.24
Mount Ayr- 54th 44.55
Red Oak- 35th 44.20
Shenandoah- 32nd 44.08
Treynor- 23rd 44.78
Underwood- 69th 45.00

Girls 4x800M Relay Final – 10:10 a.m.

Boys 4x800M Relay Final – 10:25 a.m.

Girls Shuttle Hurdle Relay Final – 11:43 a.m.

Boys Shuttle Hurdle Relay Final – 11:48 a.m.

Girls 400M Hurdle Final – 12:53 p.m.
Clara Tiegland, Treynor- 2nd 1:01.70

Boys 400M Hurdle Final – 1:00 p.m.
Jack Follmann, CAM- 8th 54.82
Gabe Funk, Lenox- 10th 55.21
Ryce Reynolds, Mount Ayr- 2nd 52.57
Karson Elwood, Treynor 55.81

Boys 4x100M Relay Final
Harlan- (Brehden Eggerss, Cade Sears, Jacob Birch, Will Neuharth)- 7th 43.38

Girls 1500M Final – 4:39 p.m.
Mayson Hartley, Clarinda- 13th 4:45.52

GIRLS TENNIS

Lewis Central 9, Shenandoah 0
Lewis Central 9, Creston 0
Shenandoah 6, Creston 3