Sophomore Samantha Becker registered 23 points, 12 rebounds and four steals, and her series of fourth-quarter free throws sent the Warriors past Class 4A No. 15 Western Dubuque, 58-48, in a matchup of two teams vastly improved from a year ago.
The final area girls’ basketball unbeaten? That will be determined next Tuesday. This Tuesday marks the first night of January action for some teams. Here’s a look at area conference races as we resume.
Here is The Gazette’s first 2023-24 installment of area high school boys’ wrestling individual rankings.
The Iowa High School Athletic Association released the first installment of its dual rankings for all classes. The poll is used to determined regional dual qualifiers and are considered in pairings. Eight regional dual champions advance to the State Duals tournament Feb. 3 at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
Spencer Lee is back to being Spencer Lee with another freestyle title. Upper Iowa with a strong showing at the Midwest Classic. Linn-Mar leads a good local performance at the Battle of Waterloo. Vinton-Shellsburg girls’ and West Branch boys’ win team titles. This is the Wrestling Weekend That Was.
Kurtz has produced a successful wrestling career, earning state medals in each of his first three seasons. He is ranked fourth and delivered a major decision in Class 3A No. 18 City High’s 52-24 victory over host Western Dubuque Thursday night in Mississippi Valley Conference dual.
In addition to overall co-players of the year Derek Weisskopf of Williamsburg and Preston Ries of Monticello, The Gazette’s 2023 all-area football team is led by offensive player of the year Grant Glausser of Western Dubuque and defensive player of the year Rayce Heitman of Williamsburg. Curt Ritchie of Williamsburg is the area coach of the year.
Girls’ basketball notes: Wamac teams have fashioned a 7-1 record against the MVC.
Solon, Clear Creek Amana and North Linn maintain the top three spots in this week’s girls basketball Super Ten. Mount Vernon climbs a spot to No. 4, and Western Dubuque and Marion are newcomers for this season.
Rivalry Saturday: Western Dubuque hangs close for a half, but Haylee Stokes and 3A No. 1 Estherville-Lincoln Central pull away, 52-33.
The 19th rendition of Rivalry Saturday is, well, Saturday at Johnson Hall on the campus of Kirkwood Community College. Here are thumbnails on the eight games.
Derek Weisskopf of Class 3A state champion Williamsburg and Preston Ries of 2A semifinalist Monticello have been named class captains by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association. The honors were in conjunction with the IPSWA all-state teams, which were voted upon Sunday and released Tuesday.
Iowa high school girls’ basketball 2023-24 rankings: Johnston, Dallas Center-Grimes, Estherville ELC, Dike-New Hartford and North Linn are the IGHSAU’s preseason No. 1 teams.
Junior quarterback Brady Hetzel threw for 325 yards and four touchdowns to lead Council Bluffs Lewis Central to a 40-21 win over Western Dubuque in Thursday night’s Class 4A state championship football game.
Lewis Central defeated Western Dubuque 40-21 to win the Class 4A state football championship at the UNI-Dome.
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