Ryan Pleggenkuhle

Dave Ballstaedt, who began racing at Hawkeye Downs in 2007, also competes in the Sportsmans division. He won the HD Dawgs feature race on June 21 — his first victory on the track since 2020.

It’s been a whirlwind of emotions recently for Corey Crispin. Two weekends ago, Crispin’s grandmother, Barbara John, died. Friday, the reigning Hornets track champion and current points leader found himself in victory lane for the second time this season.

The Iowa BIG Teen Race returns to Hawkeye Downs Speedway on Saturday. Now in its third year, the event presents an opportunity for individuals (with a valid Iowa driver’s license or Iowa minor school license) to step into the driver’s seat of a racecar and compete against others.

Iowa City West’s postseason success rolls on. The fourth-ranked Trojans defeated No. 5 West Des Moines Valley, 4-2, Wednesday in a Class 4A boys’ state soccer quarterfinal at Cownie Soccer Park.

No. 10-ranked Iowa City High gave top-ranked Johnston (18-2) everything it could handle in the opening round of the Class 4A boys’ state soccer tournament Wednesday at Cownie Soccer Park before falling 3-2 in double-overtime.

The West Branch Bears were giants all season. Alas, the ball didn’t roll the Bears’ way Wednesday in their only loss of the season, a 3-1 Class 1A state quarterfinal defeat to Van Meter at Cownie Soccer Park.

Iowa City Regina is in the boys’ state soccer semifinals for the seventh time in the last eight seasons and 14th time since 2008 after a 3-0 win over No. 8 Hudson on Wednesday.

Bruce Songa scored in overtime to give fifth-ranked West Liberty a 2-1 win over No. 4 Western Christian in a Class 1A quarterfinal Wednesday at Cownie Soccer Park.

North Fayette Valley’s fifth season as a varsity boys’ soccer program will forever be remembered. The third-ranked TigerHawks rallied for their first state tournament victory, 2-1 over No. 7 West Sioux in a Class 1A quarterfinal Wednesday at Cownie Soccer Park.

Wednesday’s Class 2A boys’ state soccer quarterfinals: Decorah fell to Perry in a penalty-kick shootout, while Center Point-Urbana came up short in a highly-competitive match against top-ranked Gilbert.

Wednesday’s Class 3A boys’ state soccer roundup: Cedar Rapids Washington proved it is a better team than the first time it faced Cedar Rapids Xavier this season. Marion was shut out by Norwalk.

The Saints battled for 80 minutes. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to take down the two-time defending state champions. Fourth-ranked Dallas Center-Grimes (16-3) defeated seventh-rated Cedar Rapids Xavier (9-5), 4-1, Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A Iowa high school girls’ soccer tournament at Cownie Soccer Park.

A successful season of firsts came to an end Tuesday for the Iowa City Liberty girls’ soccer team. The sixth-ranked Lightning (13-5) were defeated, 4-2, by the fifth-rated Pella Dutch (14-4) in the quarterfinal round of the Class 2A Iowa high school girls’ state soccer tournament at Cownie Soccer Park.

It certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort. In the end, the fourth-ranked Linn-Mar girls’ soccer team couldn’t muster enough offense to beat No. 5 West Des Moines Valley in a Class 3A girls’ state soccer quarterfinal.

The Iowa high school boys’ state soccer tournament kicks off Wednesday with the quarterfinal round at Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines. Here is a look at the 11 Gazette-area boys’ teams that qualified for state.