Douglas Miles

As the Linn-Mar senior chases a girls’ wrestling state championship later this week, she is bolstered by having her father and biggest fan, Kelly Seery, as her head coach.

The victory was the fifth in six games after an 0-2 start to the season for Prairie (5-3). The outcome was never in doubt thanks to an explosive 17-3 Hawks’ burst that opened the night.

“That was a bummer … but I’ve been incredibly proud of our team,” Coe Coach Kayla Waskow said after the Kohawks routed Luther, 78-49, in an American Rivers Conference game Wednesday at Kohawk Arena.

Roundup of the Crossover Challenge at the Alliant Energy Power House Saturday, January 3, 2026.

The Lions have been a fixture at the third-year boys basketball showcase, which features some of the premier teams from central and Eastern Iowa for intriguing non-conference matchups. Over the past two editions, Linn-Mar suffered narrow defeats to West Des Moines Valley and Ankeny.

Prairie (3-3) led by as many as six points in the first half at 23-17, but Ankeny closed strong with a 13-6 surge and claimed the advantage at the break, 30-29. The margin was narrow throughout most of the third frame until Ankeny exploded with 17 of 21 points and a 62-46 lead with 1:58 to go.

The Iowa Western roster lists a dozen players from Eastern Iowa high schools, including Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Clear Creek Amana, Iowa City Liberty and Iowa City West.

The Iowa women’s basketball team returned to Carver-Hawkeye Arena eight days after having a go at No. 1 Connecticut, a game in which the margin of defeat (26 points) matched the Hawkeyes’ turnover total.

The Class 2A fourth-ranked Golden Hawks were in search of their first trip to the state semifinals in program history, but a Van Meter team with all the tradition in the world stood in the way.

Class 3A second-ranked Spartans routed Benton Community, 31-6, in the first round of the high school football playoffs Friday night at Solon High School.

Springville (26-13) was in search of its first trip to state since the 2022 team reached the 1A semifinals. Following that season, a rebuilding job ensued as the Orioles won just 11 matches in 2023, but have now rebounded with back-to-back 26-win campaigns.

Eighth-ranked Iowa City West advanced to the state volleyball tournament for the first time since 2016 by dispatching crosstown rival Iowa City Liberty for the third time this season, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17, in a Class 5A regional final Tuesday night at Iowa City West High School.

North Linn opened the playoffs by turning Will Sommerfelt loose.The junior quarterback piled up 158 of his career-high 191 rushing yards by halftime and accounted for five total touchdowns as the Class A 10th-ranked Lynx routed Columbus Community, 59-14, in a first round playoff game Friday night at Troy Mills.

With a district showdown looming next week at Class 3A No. 1 Clear Lake, the fourth-ranked Hawks gave Benton Community their undivided attention in a resounding 42-20 victory in a District 2 game on a rainy Friday night at Benton Community High School.

For the first time in nearly two years, the J-Hawks were held scoreless as visiting Bettendorf posted a 31-0 shutout in a high school football game Friday night at Kingston Stadium.