Jeff Linder

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.

Area volleyball Super Ten through matches played Sept. 24: No change among the top five; Mid-Prairie, Marion, Anamosa make leaps.

Can Cedar Rapids Jefferson top rival Cedar Rapids Washington to reach 5-0? Offenses vs. Defenses? Midseason awards? Best mascots? The Gazette’s Jeff Linder, Jeff Johnson, K.J. Pilcher and Nathan Ford share their insights on these Iowa high school football topics.

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 4 determined by our unofficial calculations.

Iowa high school football rankings: West Des Moines Valley edges Dowling as the latest No. 1 in Class 5A; ACGC assumes the top spot in Class A.

Cedar Rapids Xavier beat reigning 4A state volleyball champion North Scott for the second time in three matches this season, then topped Marion for the Benton Invitational tournament title.

Iowa City Liberty’s Reece Rettig scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 7-yard run with 20 seconds left, and the Lightning outscored Class 5A seventh-ranked Cedar Falls in an offensive showcase, 49-42, Friday night at Liberty High School.

The Big Ten released its 2024-25 women’s basketball schedule. Sundays are for Big Ten showdowns at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Coming to Iowa: Maryland (Jan. 5), Indiana (Jan. 12), USC (Feb. 2) and UCLA (Feb. 23).

Girls’ basketball: The schedule for the 20th rendition of Rivalry Saturday is set for Nov. 30 at Johnson Hall on the campus of Kirkwood Community College.

A dozen of the top Gazette-area Iowa high school football games to watch in Week 4.