SIOUX RAPIDS — The Sioux Central boys and girls basketball teams could not have been more different if they would have tried. The girls took control early and never looked back in an 85-16 domination of the visitors from Harris-Lake Park Thursday night. The fans who stayed for the boys game were treated to an exciting evening as the Rebels defeated the Wolves 70-67 in double overtime...

SPIRIT LAKE — The Spencer Tigers claimed the Lakes Conference championship at Spirit Lake on Thursday night. “It is party time in Spencer,” said excited coach Adam Gress after the Tigers won the conference championship title for the first time since 2015...

Tiger swimmer Nic Reinert competing in the 200 individual medley at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake Tuesday night along with his teammates in an un-scored dual with the Tornadoes. “We did not keep score, we used it as a scrimmage.” Tiger boys swim coach Katie Chapman said. The Tigers will be back in the pool on Monday, Jan. 27, at Mason City beginning at 6 p.m.

SPIRIT LAKE — The Spencer Tigers played a doubleheader in Spirit Lake on Tuesday night. The girls lost 49-35 and the boys fell short 59-52 to the Indians. “The second quarter hurt us obviously, we did not score,” Tiger girls coach Matt Stevenson said. ...

SAC CITY — The Sioux Central Rebels competed in the Twin Lakes Conference meet Thursday, Jan. 16. “Conference is always a tough tournament,” coach Onni Prestidge said. “Our guys competed against some of the best wrestlers in northwest Iowa. We had five guys in the top six and two in the top four. ...

SIOUX RAPIDS — The Sioux Central Rebels dropped a pair of basketball games to the Emmetsburg E-Hawks on Tuesday night. The girls fell 53-27 and the boys lost 51-46. “We had a tough time getting our offense going,” Rebel girls coach Kasey Krager said. “We had a few open looks early that did not go. Emmetsburg played outstanding defense. We did not rebound well and we fouled their best post player on several occasions. She is a tough match up and controlled the paint throughout the game.”...

Spencer and Sioux Central athletics will resume Tuesday after the weekend blizzard and Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The Tiger boys and girls basketball squads will be at Spirit Lake Tuesday. The girls will get things started at 6:15 p.m. and the boys will follow at 7:45 p.m...

ESTHERVILLE — Iowa Lakes athletes were recently honored by the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference for academic achievements for the fall semester of 2020. The ICCAC recognized 91 Iowa Lakes student-athletes for their academic achievement. The ICCAC has two award classifications: First-Team (3.5-4.0 GPA) and Second-Team (3.0-3.49 GPA)...

The Tigers split a pair at the field house Thursday night with the Algona Bulldogs. The girls fell 73-62 while the boys got a huge win against the No. 3 ranked Class 3A squad, 61-51. “We started strong then the wheels fell off in the middle of the second quarter,” girls coach Matt Stevenson said. ...

The Spencer Tigers hosted the Le Mars Bulldogs and the Sheldon/South O’Brien Orabs on Tuesday night. The Tigers started the evening defeating the Bulldogs 42-21, and followed up with a close 39-37 victory over the Orabs. Le Mars would top the Orabs to open the night action, 45-28...

Iowa Lakes Community College head softball coach Katie Larson, has announced the signing of Sydney Uekert to the 2020-21 recruiting class. Uekert is the daughter of Penny Uekert. She is from Kronenwetter, Wisconsin and attends D.C. Everest High School. As a shortstop, Uekert has found great success on the softball diamond. As a junior, she batted .403 with 31 hits, including four doubles and three home runs. She was also awarded offensive MVP last year on her team...

GRAETTINGER — The Sioux Central boys and girls basketball squads won on Monday against GT/RA in conference play. The girls opened the evening with a 58-48 win. The boys followed with a 71-44 victory. “We got off to a quick start and were able to be up by 12 at the break,” Rebel girls coach Kasey Krager said. ...

SHELDON — The Spencer Tigers swept the Sheldon/South O’Brien Orabs on Tuesday night. The girls opened the evening with a 64-57 victory. The boys completed the sweep with a 62-33 win. “We finally got out to a good start and took an early 10-point lead,” Spencer girls coach Matt Stevenson said. ...

Coach Katie Chapman and her swimming Tigers hosted their first event of 2020. The Spencer YMCA hosted Storm Lake and Sioux City West, Monday night. “We are excited to get the year going,” Chapman said prior to the swim meet. “The kids have worked hard and showed dedication. We are glad that Sioux City North makes the long drive; we have a great relationship with them. There is some great competition here, Storm Lake will have a strong team.”...

SHELDON — The Sioux Central wrestlers competed in a quad on Saturday in Sheldon. The Rebels lost to Estherville Lincoln-Central 40-36, Sheldon 63-12 and Sioux Center 54-30. “Our guys wrestled hard,” coach Onni Prestidge said. “We started slow and sluggish, but after we got going we came out like hammers and started competing against bigger and better teams that we should not even be in matches with.”...

The 17th-ranked Iowa Lakes Community College men's basketball team moved to 13-3 on the season with a 88-81 win over Dakota County Saturday. The Lakers were led by Alan Kikwaki with 27 points. Justin Brookens had 20 points and Malcolm Clayton added 17 points. Clayton also led the team in rebounds with 7...

HAWARDEN — Spencer wrestlers didn’t bring home the hardware from the West Sioux Invite Saturday, the Class 1A, fourth-ranked host Falcons did that with the squads eight top-10 ranked wrestlers leading the way. Bu the Tigers did see marked improvement from last year’s journey to the Iowa-South Dakota border event...

CHEROKEE — The Spencer boys and girls basketball teams fell to the Cherokee Braves on the road Friday night in Lakes Conference action. The girls were defeated 87-62, and the boys lost 65-52. “I thought we played well in the first half,” Tiger girls coach Matt Stevenson said after the game. ...

SIOUX CITY — The Spencer Tigers traveled to Sioux City on Saturday night participating in the three-day 14th Annual CNOS Foundation Basketball Classic at the Tyson Events Center. They were matched up against the undefeated West Sioux Falcons, lead by Iowa State, football signee, Hunter Dekkers. The hard fought contest saw the Falcons come out on top, 73-61...

SIOUX CITY — Spencer Tiger senior guard Ethan Schmidt received recognition from the CNOS Foundation for his outstanding effort in academics, athletics and citizenship. Schmidt was presented with the honor prior to the Tigers’ CNOS Foundation Tournament game against West Sioux at Sioux’s City’s Tyson Events Center Saturday night. He has a GPA of 4.0, involved in the Interact Club and is a member of the National Honor Society. “Ethan is a hard worker and has leadership skills,” Spencer coach Kory Petzenhauser said. “He is unselfish and always has a positive attitude, which indicates his role and understanding of a team concept. He helped establish the Interact Club, which is compared to the Rotary Club. His work ethic benefits his school and community.”

SIOUX RAPIDS — The Sioux Central boys and girls won their games on Friday night in convincing fashion over the guests from West Bend-Mallard. The girls came out on top 41-23, while the boys won their contest 59-23. “We got off to a slow start,” Rebel coach Kasey Krager said. ...

Sophomore Jovoney Brown, from Savanna La Mar, Jamaica, was named to the 2019 NJCAA All-American First Team. Brown had a phenomenal year for the (14-4-1) Lakers. The Jamaican led the team in with 18 goals, 11 assists and 47 points. Brown’s ruthless goal scoring ability carved his name into Iowa Lakes history, by breaking the previous single season goal scoring record of 15. ...

ESTHERVILLE — Coach Adam Gress’ wrestlers dominated the Lakes competition in convincing fashion on Thursday night. The Tigers defeated Cherokee in the first dual of the night, 71-5. In the final dual of the evening in the Estherville-Lincoln Central gymnasium, the Tigers controlled the host Midgets, 67-6. ...

ORANGE CITY — The Sioux Central Rebels began their 2020 schedule on the road at Orange City. The Rebels lost to Hinton 58-13 and MOC-FV 42-39. They defeated Sioux City North 42-36. “This is a new year and a new team,” Sioux Central coach Onni Prestidge said. ...

Spencer Tiger Baseball coach Brian Dirkx announced Thursday that senior pitcher Ryan Boyd has signed a scholarship with Mount Mercy University, an NAIA school located in Cedar Rapids. “We are very excited to have Ryan on our squad,” said Jack Dahm, head baseball coach at Mount Mercy University. “He is a young man of high character, strong academically and has connections to the Cedar Rapids area.”...

The Spencer girls basketball team hosted Newell-Fonda, the defending Class 1A state champions, and the Tiger boys fell just short against the Mustangs as both teams got the 2020 portion of their schedule underway. Tiger girls coach Matt Stevenson felt if his team were patient they could have a chance. Although they showed signs of it, Newell-Fonda took a 22-point lead at the end of the first quarter and came away with an 80-48 victory at the Spencer field house on Tuesday night...

SERGEANT BLUFF — Opening their 2020 campaign on the road at one of the toughest possible locations, Sergeant Bluff, where they faced two teams of Warriors — first from Sergeant Bluff-Luton then from Sioux Center. After suffering a pair of lopsided defeats in last year’s matchup, Spencer would earn a split, falling to SB-L 41-31 and edging Sioux Center, 42-39...

HOLSTEIN — The Sioux Central Rebels basketball teams got off to a good start as the boys and girls earned wins against the Ridge View Raptors on the road Tuesday night. The boys defeated Ridge View 46-38 while the girls won a 37-34 close one. “I was really pleased with how we executed our game plan defensively, especially on our ball screen coverage,” Sioux Central boys coach Stephen Tjaden said. ...

Break time is over for the Spencer Tigers. Tuesday, the boys and girls will get the new year started with the Newell-Fonda Mustangs coming to town. Girls coach Matt Stevenson has high praise for the visitors. “They could win four to five state championships in a row,” Stevenson said...

Originally published May 17, 20 Spanning three days, the Iowa State High School Track Meet featured a large contingent of Spencer and Sioux Central athletes — many of whom enjoyed great success. Day one provided quality record conditions, but days two and three proved rain-bogged for a good number of the elements. ...

Originally published May 28 After a substandard day one at the Class 3A State Boy’s Golf Tournament in Fort Dodge, the Tigers sat in third place overall anxious to get day two underway so they could make a run at the state tittle. That opportunity would never present itself as overnight storms prompted tournament officials to cancel day two — ignoring reasonable solutions offered by the collective coaches to allow the play to continue for the final 18 holes. ...

Originally published Oct. 25 For the fifth straight year, the Spencer girls cross-country punched its ticket to the state meet in Fort Dodge. With three seniors leading the way, complimented by one sophomore and three freshman, this unit comprised primarily of sisters, demonstrated a continuing tradition of success in this Spencer High School sports program. That makes it the No. 3 Sports Story of 2019...

Originally published June 5 Back-to-back state trips for the Spencer girls soccer team, powered by a 19-1 mark, would result in the third visit within the past five years at the big show in Des Moines. Though the Tigers were unable to get a win, the young, talented team showed its teeth and proved they will be a force to reckon with for the next few years. That makes it the No. 4 Sports Story of 2019...

In the first game of a boy-girl Lakes Conference doubleheader Friday night, the Spencer girls basketball team opened up a double-digit halftime lead and used a 20-point fourth quarter to put away the Storm Lake Tornadoes, 60-41, in the Spencer field house...

On May 15, the Spencer girls tennis team which had struggled in recent years, under the oversight of caring coach Bub Schlaeger sent three girls to state for the first time in several years. The program finding its way back to the biggest courts makes it the No. 5 Sports Story of 2019...

POCAHONTAS — Benefiting from home cooking and some good fortune, Pocahontas was able to pull off a pair of very close victories against Sioux Central in girl’s and boy’s basketball on Friday. Pocahontas would get a late score in the girl’s contest 44-43 in the opener while the Rebel’s rally would fall short in a fourth quarter of the boy’s game, falling 51-47...

Freshman 220-pounder Logan Huckfelt ran the table Saturday at the Austin Roberts Memorial Invitational in Spencer to take the weight class where the tournament’s namesake competed until his passing four years ago after collapsing on the mat in the championship match of the very same meet...

GRAETTINGER — The gym at Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire was not kind to Sioux Central as the Rebels would come up short in Thursday night wrestling action, falling to Alta-Aurelia 42-36 before dropping the nightcap to the host Titans, 48-33. “We knew tonight was going to be tough going in with half our starters out of the lineup due to illness,” Sioux Central Coach Onni Prestidge said. ...

SIOUX CITY — On the road to close out the 2019 season, the Spencer boy’s swim team had enough success to edge Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln in the pool Thursday, 50-48, but not enough to get past the host Sioux City Spartans, falling 60-38. “We had some really good solid races with some great first place finishes,” Spencer swim coach Katie Chapman said. “But what's hurting us is that we can't get another swimmer in that second or even that third place spot for better points...

SIOUX CITY — For the second straight year, 2016 Spencer High School graduate Nathan Nissen will be playing for a national championship in college football. The former Tiger is a member of Morningside College Mustangs who will seek back-to-back NAIA National titles on Saturday...