Mike Condon

Dyersville Beckman had not been to state volleyball since 2021 and it was something the team thought about all season. The No. 3 Trailblazers rolled to an impressive victory over West Burlington to get there.

Fun may have been the key word to describe the mood at Saturday’s Mississippi Valley Conference girls swim meet. For Cedar Falls, it was a return to glory. For Iowa City High, it was the joy of hosting the meet with one of the state's best performers taking center stage.

Iowa City Liberty put up over 550 yards of total offense in Friday's night 70-33 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson at Kingston Stadium. The Lightning will be the No. 1 seed in Class 5A playoffs.

Kennedy Gilbertson, the MVP of the Iowa swimming team in 2023, has embraced the tradition of Iowa City West swimming while also putting her own touch on the program as its new head coach.

Linn-Mar will serve as one of the six host sites for the Iowa high school girls’ regional swimming meets set for Nov. 9. The regional assignments were released Tuesday by the IGHSAU.

With Friday night’s 55-6 demolition of winless Davenport West, Linn-Mar likely has secured a spot in the Class 5A playoffs. The next goal: Securing a first-round home game in the playoffs.

Cedar Rapids Xavier quarterback Cash Parks was starting over after missing the last three Saints games after being involved in an auto accident. It took Parks and his teammates a while to get started, but when it mattered most in the fourth quarter the eighth-ranked Saints came through in a 28-21 win over No. 7 North Scott.

A revamped postseason schedule will be part of high school girls’ tennis in Iowa when the season moves to the fall in 2025.

Dylan Muszynski’s fourth touchdown of the night tied the score with 16 seconds left. Bradley Duncan-Porter’s PAT kick provided the winning margin as No. 9 Linn-Mar rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to beat No. 10 Cedar Falls, 28-27.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy came away with a hard-fought, 28-14, win over Cedar Rapids Washington on Friday night. After losses to West Des Moines Dowling, Pleasant Valley and Linn-Mar, Kennedy found itself in another tussle with the Warriors.

Prairie Coach Kyle Knock took a page from the Cyclone playbook that got them a comeback win at Iowa. The Hawks followed the formula to perfection and the end result was a 30-20 upset win over No. 5 Southeast Polk on Friday night at John Wall Field.

This year’s IGHSAU state swimming and diving meet could end up being the last at the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA's Linda Bloom Natatorium. Or it could be coming back.

Linn-Mar overcame three first-half turnovers against Cedar Rapids Washington, scoring three times in a five-minute span in the second quarter to go on to a 41-10 triumph.

Linn-Mar’s Dylan Muszynski was back to his old ways in Friday’s season opener. He scored four first-half touchdowns, including a highlight reel 5-yard run as Linn-Mar rolled to a 50-0 win over Dubuque Senior.

The Gazette’s area individuals and teams to watch during the 2024 Iowa high school girls’ swimming and diving season.