Jeff Linder

Volleyball notes: When setter Logan Keller went down with a knee injury Sept. 7, it was “Buddy, you’re up” to freshman Adelyn Stien, who resembled a seasoned veteran in Center Point-Urbana’s four-set win over Marion on Tuesday.

What teams have been pleasant surprises? Which Iowa City high school quarterback would you choose? Conversions vs. extra points and the best media accommodations. We also introduce reader questions. The Gazette’s Jeff Linder, Jeff Johnson, K.J. Pilcher and Nathan Ford share their insights on these Iowa high school football topics.

Women’s basketball: Iowa’s Sydney Affolter will miss about a month after undergoing knee scope.

The Gazette’s Jeff Linder reveals his preseason ballot for the Associated Press women’s basketball poll. South Carolina is No. 1; Iowa State is 12th, Iowa 21st.

The 16-team playoff field in Class 5A Iowa high school football will be determined solely by RPI. Here is how the top 20 teams stand through Week 5 determined by our unofficial calculations.

Iowa high school football rankings: The top three in each of the seven classes are unchanged from last week.

High school cross country: Oelwein’s Conall Sauser and Tipton’s Noelle Steines won individual titles at the Anamosa Invitational. The Oelwein boys and Fort Madison girls were team champions.

Tiernan Boots got most of his 164 yards on tough runs up the middle, and fifth-ranked Lisbon outfought Pekin, 28-15, in a Class A District 5 football showdown Friday night. Boots carried the ball 28 times, scored three touchdowns and upped his season rushing total to 986 yards.

The Gazette’s 2024 mock regional brackets for all five Iowa high school volleyball classes, all 355 teams. They’re shooting for a spot at the state tournament Nov. 4-7 at Xtream Arena in Coralville.

The daughter of two former Gazette Athletes of the Year, Center Point-Urbana sophomore cross country runner Grace Estling is the girls’ individual champion at the Eastern Iowa Classic.

Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke, Lucy Olsen earned preseason all-Big Ten women’s basketball honors. USC’s JuJu Watkins is the preseason player of the year, and the Trojans are preseason title favorites.

A dozen of the top Gazette-area Iowa high school football games to watch in Week 5.

The champion of last week’s Lisbon Invitational, Anamosa is 24-5 overall, 4-0 in the River Valley Conference North Division. The Blue Raiders have lurked just outside of the Class 3A rankings all season.

A wild Iowa high schoool football Week 4 saw another No. 1-ranked Class 5A team fall, a two-point conversion decide one rivalry game and a failed two-point conversion determine another. We break it all down on the Prep Football Huddle podcast.

Caitlin Clark has departed, but fan interest in the University of Iowa women’s basketball program remains sky-high. General public seating for the 2024-25 season is sold out at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the university announced Wednesday.