SIOUX CITY — After completely rampaging through three conference games to start the season, Spencer’s 2A No. 7-ranked soccer girls encountered their first true test Thursday night against the 3A No. 12-ranked Black Raiders of Sioux City East. Despite difficulties handling the Raiders’ style of play in the midfield, the Tigers held the lead for much of the game and saw Mia Fank take care of business with a rocket shot from outside the box with 3:30 left in the game, sealing a 3-2 Tiger victory...

Forced to play inside at the two-court Westside Racquet Club, Spencer’s tennis boys handled their business about as well as possible Thursday against Cherokee, finishing the meet early with a perfect 6-0 performance in singles play. “Tonight’s meet went as well as could be expected given the circumstances,” Spencer boys tennis coach Joe Steele said. ...

CARROLL — With the worst spring in recent memory wreaking havoc on the early part of their season, Spencer’s golf boys finally got out on a course Thursday, playing against Carroll Kuemper and Denison at the Carroll Country Club. The Tigers split the competition, carding a 178 as a team to come in 18 strokes behind Kuemper and five in front of Denison’s 183...

CRESTON — The Iowa Lakes Community College softball team outscored Ellsworth Community College 29-12 in 11 innings across two games Tuesday to complete the sweep. The Lakers had double digit hits in both games, ran the bases aggressively and kept the Panther hitters in check during the games. The Lakers are now 14-20 overall and 5-9 in conference...

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. — The Laker baseball team once again hit the road Monday and Tuesday to take on Northeast Community College in what was considered a four game home series for Iowa Lakes. ILCC protected their “home turf” three times in the series...

ESTHERVILLE — Iowa Lakes Community College head women's basketball coach Ashley Martin announced the signing of Tejah Hayden, a 5-foot-7 guard from St. Louis Park, Minnesota this week. “We are thrilled that Tejah decided to continue her academic and basketball careers at Iowa Lakes,” Martin said. “Tejah’s toughness and competitive drive will be a great addition to our program. She is athletic and can get to the rim. (I’m) excited to see her game grow at Iowa Lakes.”...

SIOUX CENTER — Following two straight postseason trips that ended in substate final disappointment for Spencer’s soccer girls, the Tigers set out to keep the pedal to the metal this season in hopes of keeping everything as crisp as possible come playoff time...

SIOUX CENTER — Spencer’s soccer boys are still in search of their first victory on the season after falling to Sioux Center on the road Monday night by a score of 3-1. “We came out really soft and slow,” Spencer boys soccer assistant coach Andy Eisenbacher said. ...

Iowa Lakes softball player Leilani San Pedro signed to continue her athletic and academic careers at NAIA Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida this past week. San Pedro will be studying psychology in the hopes of becoming a child psychologist in the future...

SPIRIT LAKE — The Sheryl Maahs Field at Spirit Lake High School played host to a dozen schools Thursday night during the Spirit Lake Boys Invitational. The Sioux Central Rebels made the trip north to take part in the blustery action, placing 10th with a score of 29 points...

LE MARS — Spencer’s tennis boys needed their best effort in their first action of the season Thursday night, traveling to take on three-time defending Lakes Conference champion Le Mars. The Tigers took care of business and put the league on notice with a 6-3 victory...

After coming up empty against Le Mars last year, Spencer’s tennis girls showed some positive movement in their season debut Thursday at Riverview Park, winning three singles matches in a 6-3 dual defeat. “Le Mars has been one of the top teams in the conference the last few years, and this was their second meet compared to our first,” Tiger tennis girls coach Bob Schlaeger said. ...

STORM LAKE — For the second straight game to start the season Spencer’s Katie Moser pumped in four goals Thursday night against Storm Lake during a 7-0 victory for the No. 7-ranked Tigers. Through two games, Spencer has scored 17 times and barely given up even a look at the net on the defensive end let alone a goal...

Spencer’s soccer boys knew they were in for a tough test during their home opener Thursday against defending conference champs and 2017 state participants Storm Lake. The No. 3-ranked Tornadoes didn’t lose much from last year while the Tigers’ youth showed in a 6-0 Storm Lake triumph...

Eight schools joined Spencer at Dale Norton Field Thursday night for the Spencer Girls Invite, and the Tigers nearly doubled up the competition, scoring 174 points for the win while Emmetsburg placed second with 96. Sioux Central took third with a score of 61...

ESTHERVILLE — The Iowa Lakes women’s basketball team will be holding a clinic on Sunday, April 29, for girls grades K-12 at the Iowa Lakes Community College gymnasium on the Estherville Campus. The first session will be from 1-3 p.m. for kindergarten to sixth grade, and the second session will be from 3:30-5:30 p.m. ...

LE MARS — On the 10th day of April, the heavens shined down on northwest Iowa just long enough to get the area’s first day of outdoor track and field action in the books with Spencer’s boys competing at the annual Don Shilling Invite hosted by Le Mars. ...

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Iowa Lakes Community College softball team dropped two games to No. 3-ranked Kirkwood Community College Satruday. The Lakers are now 11-17 overall and 2-7 in conference. Kirkwood jumped out to the early lead in game one, scoring four in the bottom of the first. They did this on five hits, including one home run. They scored five more in the second on four hits and two Laker errors...

CEDAR RAPIDS — Saturday's doubleheader between Iowa Lakes and No. 4-ranked Kirkwood Community College was a tale of two completely different games. The Lakers would fall in game one by a final of 17-0. With all the momentum from game one in favor of the Eagles, the Lakers would come out and play arguably their best game of the year in game two but dropped a tough one thanks to a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Kirkwood the 9-7 win...

KINGSPORT, Tenn. — If Spencer sixth-grader Olivia Huckfelt does indeed call it a wrap on her wrestling career following this season like she planned at the start of the year, she’ll be going out on top as she now has the title of All-American attached to her name in addition to winning two state titles at Wells Fargo Arena back in February...

ORANGE CITY — Despite there being little piles of snow along the edge of the track at Northwestern College’s De Valois Stadium Thursday night, Spencer’s soccer girls got their season off to a red hot start, finishing off MOC-Floyd Valley via 10-0 mercy rule with 12:49 remaining in the second half...

ORANGE CITY — Thursday’s season debut for the Tiger soccer boys came with some peaks and valleys, but a recurring pitfall gave MOC-Floyd Valley a late opportunity on which the Dutch capitalized to force overtime tied at 3-3. Neither team could score in the extra time, leading to a shootout that went the way of the Dutch 3-2...

Indian Hills Community College has named Iowa Lakes men’s soccer graduate assistant Juan Espinal as its new head coach for men’s soccer. Espinal has served as a graduate assistant coach for the Lakers for the past year and a half. Espinal’s coaching duties have included recruiting, team and individual training, as well as scheduling. He has contributed to Iowa Lakes in other facets also, including supervising intramurals and student senate activities. He has also served as a resident assistant...

CRESTON — The Iowa Lakes Community College softball team took two losses to conference foe, Ellsworth Community College Friday. Bibiana Rosales took the 12-11 loss in game one and the 13-6 loss in game two. The Lakers are now 9-13 overall and 0-2 in conference play...

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Thursday Iowa Lakes Community College head women's basketball coach Ashley Martin announced the signing of Breanna Wendland, a 5-foot-8 guard from Richfield, Minnesota. “We want to welcome Breanna and her family to our Iowa Lakes women’s basketball family,” Martin said. ...

OTTUMWA — Iowa Lakes Community College softball dropped two games to NJCAA D-I Indian Hills Wednesday. The first game was 13-1 and the second was 9-0. The Lakers are now 9-11 overall. They will travel to Creston Friday to take on conference foe Ellsworth Community College at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m...

DES MOINES — The community of Spencer sent a total of 55 archers from four schools to the 2018 Iowa State NASP Bullseye Tournament held March 10 at the Jacobson Building on the Iowa State Fairgrounds, qualifying four for the upcoming 2018 NASP Eastern National Tournament to be held May 10-12 in Louisville, Kentucky. Individuals made it through to the national level by virtue of placing in the top 10 of their respective division...

ESTHERVILLE — Iowa Lakes women's basketball player Mia Wassink has committed to continue her academic and athletic career at Gustavus Adolphus College, a Division III institution located in Saint Peter, Minnesota. The Gustavus women’s basketball team is coming off a historic season, finishing 24-7 and advancing to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen...

WINONA, Minn. — Iowa Lakes took on Ellsworth Community College Sunday at Winona State Univeristy to conclude the conference opening series. The Lakers would end up falling in both games by scores of 7-6 and 11-3. Freshman Pitcher, Carl Renz (Pewaukee, Wisconsin), took the ball in game one and would cruise through the first inning, retiring the Panthers in order. ...

Blake Gillis’s wrestling career started just like dozens upon dozens of other Tigers over the last two-plus decades — as a 5-year-old with an eventual hall of famer in coach David Schaefer rolling around on the mat with him blissfully unaware that he too could become a hall of fame member in the wrestling lexicon...

Iowa Lakes Community College softball player, Leilani San Pedro, has been recognized as the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week and National Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Week. "It is an honor to receive the ICCAC Player of the Week,” San Pedro said. ...

ESTHERVILLE — Iowa Lakes Community College softball players, Desiree Lopez and Kenlee Frank, have signed to continue their athletic and academic careers at NAIA Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri. Lopez is the daughter of Melany Lopez and Jose Lopez. ...

MARSHALLTOWN — Iowa Lakes baseball opened the conference season against Ellsworth Community College with a neutral site doubleheader Saturday. The Lakers were able to split the series opening doubleheader with the Panthers by winning game one by a score of 5-2 and falling in game two 14-5...

OKOBOJI — "Hello, everyone. I'm Xavier Rhodes from the Minnesota Vikings. Everyone having a good day today in school? Are there any Vikings fans?" On cue, more than a dozen little hands shot up from the center of Mrs. McCabe's classroom Friday afternoon at Okoboji Elementary School in Milford. Two, seated in the front row, were completely decked out in Vikings gear...

The YMCA State Meet was held in Marshalltown the first weekend of March, and the Spencer YMCA Tigersharks had 11 swimmers swim to either gold, silver, or bronze medals in 19 different events. The girls 8-and-under relay team of Morgan Irvine, Emily Schmidt, Halle Sears and Marley Prenzlow swam to a gold medal in the medley relay and a silver medal in the free relay. The boys 8-and-under medley relay team of Maxx Techen, Hunter Pearson, Aaden Techen and Oliver Hass earned a silver medal...

--- Spirit Lake at Spencer Sioux Central at Pocahontas CC-E at Northwood-Kensett --- Spencer at Webster City GT/RA at Sioux Central North Iowa at CC-E --- MOC-Floyd Valley at Spencer Sioux Central at Akron-Westfield Newell-Fonda at CC-E --- Spencer at Humboldt...

Photos submitted The Spencer YMCA Studio Dance Company took part in the Starpower National Talent Dance Competition, which featured over 500 entries, this past weekend. Zandra Zahrt (DIRECTION) received first place for her hip-hop solo while Mady Johnson and Faith Klatt took first with their jazz duet and earned an overall high score plaque. Zarah Zahrt also received a first and high score plaque for her jazz solo. Johnson, Zarah and Klatt are pictured (THREE DANCERS DIRECTION).

VERMILLION, S.D. — Due to weather, the indoor season was pretty short and sweet for the Spencer Tigers this season as they wrapped up their sheltered slate Monday at the Dan Lennon Class A High School Meet held in the University of South Dakota’s Dakota Dome...

STORM LAKE — Just when it seemed the local tracksters had helped everyone turn the corner to spring, Friday’s weather rolled through to put a damper on things, trimming the field at the Buena Vista University High School Elite Meet from 32 teams to just 13, and some of those squads opted to head for their buses before the meet’s end. However, Spencer’s boys and girls as well as Sioux Central’s girls stuck it out to the end...