Mike Condon

Clear Creek Amana is two wins away from completing the business trip it has been on all season. The state's top-ranked Class 4A team made quick work of No. 10 Norwalk, 25-13, 25-14, 25-19 in a state tournament quarterfinal match Monday at Xtream Arena.

Fortunately for Pleasant Valley, talent ruled the day as the fourth-ranked Spartans outlasted No. 5 Johnston, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-20, in a Class 5A state volleyball quarterfinal on Monday at Xtream Arena.

Playing in a state tournament always is a challenge. Playing another school in your town makes it a little tougher. That was the case for top-ranked West Des Moines Dowling in a four-set win over West Des Moines Valley in a Class 5A state volleyball quarterfinal match.

For No. 6 Central City, the harsh realities of football came to light in Friday night's game with No. 7 Gladbrook-Reinbeck. The Wildcats lost one of their most versatile players in last week's win over Lansing Kee when Matthew Klostermann went down with a knee injury. That was compounded by the loss of Christoper Greif and Braxton Davis during the team's 36-12 loss to the Rebels in a second-round game.

Hannah Stuelke scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Iowa’s 122-49 exhibition win over defending NAIA national champion Clarke. Caitlin Clark had 24 points and nine assists.

It all came down to the 400 free relay. Iowa City West’s foursome of Hannah Geng, Averie Bilskemper, Bella Frissen and Kolby Reese came home well below its seed time, winning in 3:39.03. Not only was the time 10 seconds better that runner-up Cedar Falls, it allowed the Trojans to win the Mississippi Valley Conference title for a sixth straight season.

In a season of what might have been, the Linn-Mar football team just did not have enough in Friday night’s regular-season finale against Class 5A No. 4 Pleasant Valley.

Iowa City West has been the gold standard for girls’ swimming in the Mississippi Valley Conference in recent years. There should be an interesting battle with Cedar Falls at this year's conference meet at Dubuque Hempstead.

Top-ranked and two-time defending state champion Waukee headlines a nine-team field assigned to the Linn-Mar state qualifying meet to be held on Nov. 4. Assignments for the six girls’ swimming qualifying meets were released over the weekend by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

In a game where the prize was a Class A playoff berth, North Linn turned away Bellevue at every turn. The Lynx took the ball away from the visitors nine times, including eight interceptions, rolling to a 56-6 victory on a windy, rainy night on North Linn's field.

Coleton Beasler-Weber returned a pair of punts for scores and added a third on a 24-yard run as No. 6 Xavier rolled to a 42-0 homecoming win over the Indians on a blustery night at Saints Field.

Dylan Muszynski made his mark right away in his return from injury, taking off on a 65-yard run on his second carry. He finished with 198 yards on 25 carries and caught two passes for another 33 yards as the Lions snapped their three-game losing streak with an impressive, 35-9, win over the Muskies.

Iowa high school swimming notebook: In a year of transition for the Iowa City West girls’ swimming team, the level of success has remained constant.

Cedar Rapids bolted to a 21-0 lead, only to see turnovers and penalties take hold, especially in the second half. In the end, Prairie was able to come away with a 38-30 victory over Iowa City Liberty.

As a swimmer, coach, teacher and administrator at Cedar Rapids Washington, Chris Cruise had a drive to succeed and nothing gave him more joy than seeing his students strive for and achieve success. That fighting spirit was extinguished on Thursday. Cruise's wife, Kim, announced Thursday night on social media that the Hall of Fame coach, who had been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in August, had “passed away peacefully” at home.