HUMBOLDT — On the blue oval inside the Humboldt Community Recreation Center opened just a few months ago on Dec. 3, Spencer closed out its indoor track and field season Thursday night, racing against Forest City, Southeast Valley and the hosting Wildcats...

The Spencer Family YMCA Tigersharks continued to make some waves at the state level this past Saturday, sending 59 swimmers to the Greater Iowa Swim League State Meet hosted by Grinnell college. Forty-five Tigersharks earned medals for placing first, second or third while competing against 12 other teams from across the state.

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — The Iowa Lakes Community College softball team dropped two games Sunday during its spring break trip in Florida. The Lakers fell in game one to Waubonsee Community College 9-8. Kacie Salazar led the Lakers at the plate going 3-for-3, while Naomi Tolmachoff took the loss. Madison College had a late game push to beat Iowa Lakes 9-4 in game two...

STORM LAKE — The second meet of the indoor season for Spencer’s boys and girls track and field teams saw 32 teams take to the Dennis Young Indoor Track at Buena Vista University for the BVU Elite Meet Friday night. No team scores were kept as area teams continued to knock off the winter rust, but Spencer turned in some quality finishes starting with Josie Heisinger and Morgan Robinson placing second and sixth in the shot put. ...

Three-pointers came in handy for the Spencer Tigers during games this past season and continue to benefit the athletic programs in the post-season. Spencer’s Northwest Bank branch agreed to donate $3 for every 3-point shot made by both the boys and girls junior varsity and varsity basketball teams. Friday, staff members from the bank presented the Spencer Tailtwisters with a check for $1,107 — representing 369 made from beyond the arc. The Tigers boys and girls varsity top 3-point shooters (center), senior Chase Hough and freshman Alexa Johnson, also accepted the check on behalf of the school’s athletic support organization.

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — The Iowa Lakes softball team went 1-1 Saturday during their spring break trip to Florida. The Lakers dropped game one to Waubonsee Community College before winning in the bottom of the eighth inning against Onondaga Community College...

The Spencer Family YMCA sent 54 boys and girls to the YMCA State Meet held the weekend of March 2-3 in Marshalltown. Thirty girls and 24 boys hit the waters at the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA taking on some of the best youth swimmers the state has to offer.

ESTHERVILLE — Four players from this year’s Iowa Lakes men's basketball team were honored by the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference as being all region performers this week. Iowa Lakes finished the year 22-10 overall and 10-4 in the ICCAC which was a third-place finish...

ESTHERVILLE — The Iowa Lakes softball team opens up the 2019 season with their spring break trip in Florida, competing in 12 games this week. The Lakers finished fourth in the regular conference season last year and made it to the regional championship game...

Tiger track teams debut well at Lakes Indoor Championships STORM LAKE — Despite a delightful mixture of snow drifts and mud puddles outdoors, Spencer’s boys and girls track teams got off and running for the season Tuesday night at the Lakes Indoor Championships hosted by Buena Vista University...

MASON CITY — The Iowa Lakes men’s basketball season came to an end with a 90-82 loss at NIACC Thursday night. The Lakers finish the season 22-10 overall. The Lakers were led by Equan Ards with 21 points. Kevin Jennings added 20, and Lamontae Lewis had 14...

OKOBOJI — An anonymous donation has led to the acquisition of the former Brooks National Golf Club by the Dickinson County Conservation Board. A donation of $3 million was given to the Conservation Foundation of Dickinson County — the nonprofit fundraising arm for the Dickinson County Conservation Board — to purchase the Brooks National Golf Club when it was put up for sale earlier this year. ...

Middle schoolers finish in 15th DES MOINES — Spencer’s army of archers ranging from elementary to high school stepped to the firing line at the Jacobson Exhibition Center on the Iowa State Fairgrounds for the 2019 Iowa State NASP Bullseye Tournament this weekend with the high school team turning in the strongest finish, placing seventh out of 31 teams with a score of 3,312 with 161 perfect 10s...

ESTHERVILLE — The Iowa Lakes women’s basketball team was eliminated from the postseason by Iowa Central Wednesday night 64-55. The Lakers were led by Shareece Smith who recorded a double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Safiyer Coleman added 14 points and nine rebounds...

Spencer archers travel to state tournament this weekend A total of 59 Spencer archers from the elementary through high school ranks will descend upon the Jacobson Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines this weekend to participate in the 2019 Iowa State NASP Bullseye Tournament, vying for an opportunity to advance to the national tournament to be held May 9-11 in Louisville, Kentucky...

ESTHERVILLE — The Iowa Lakes men's basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the Region 11 Tournament with a 76-64 win over Iowa Central Tuesday night. The Lakers were led by Solomon Clayton with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Malcolm Clayton added 12 points, Lamontae Lewis had 11 points and Equan Ards had 10 points...

BUFFALO, New York — The Iowa Lakes swim team has traveled to Buffalo, New York to compete in nationals from Wednesday, March 6 to Saturday, March 9. The days are long with preliminaries beginning at 9:30 a.m. and finals beginning at 5:30 p.m. The top 16 individuals from the preliminaries in each event advance to the finals...

Spencer YDC competition dance team members Aaliyah VanAmpting (left) and Zarah Zahrt (right) stand together after placing first in the preteen jazz duo division and first overall in all preteen duos and trios during the Midwest Starz Dance Competition in Des Moines March 1-3. Zahrt also received first in preteen jazz solo and five overall in preteen solo. Also receiving awards from Spencer YDC amongst the 400 entries in the event were Paris Dean, placing third in the teen jazz solo category, the trio of Faith Klatt, Leila Kollasch and Mady Johnson placing first in the teen jazz trio and first overall in teen duos and trios, and the preteen small group received a gold rating in the open category.

Sioux Central’s Karly Boettcher was named to the All-Twin Lakes Conference First Team for her performance on the court this season. Boettcher led the Rebels with 12.2 points, 2.5 assists. 2.5 steals and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting just under 40 percent from 3-point range...

--- FIRST TEAM --- SECOND TEAM --- THIRD TEAM --- Coach of the Year: Clive Clark, South Central Calhoun...

Sioux Central falls 55-54 in 1st ever state tourney game DES MOINES — All that stood between Sioux Central and a possible semifinal contest were 13 seconds. However, the No. 7 seed Alburnett Pirates had different ideas when Hunter Caves banked home a jump shot from just beyond the free-throw line for what proved to be the difference maker in a 1A state quarterfinal contest Monday afternoon in Wells Fargo Arena. ...

Rebels take game at a time approach into 1st state tournament Being the first Sioux Central boys basketball team to reach the state tournament didn’t happen overnight, but from the outset of the season, this year’s group of Rebels knew they were special and weren’t afraid to reach for greatness...

Mustangs force 43 turnovers in state quarterfinal win DES MOINES — The Newell-Fonda players and coaches have gone on record saying Wells Fargo Arena is the best place in Iowa. Despite some cold shooting in the 1A state quarterfinal contest against Springville, the Mustang defense upped their play in their favorite place to play in the state, forcing 43 turnovers in a 69-39 win over the Orioles...

ESTHERVILLE — The Iowa Lakes men's basketball team won their 20th game of the season with a 101-67 win over Graceland JV Wednesday night. The Lakers are now 20-9. Leading the way for the Lakers was Kevin Jennings with 16 points. Malcolm Clayton added 15 points. Xavier Dixon had 14 points, Solomon Clayton had his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds, and Brandun Robinson and Equan Ards each scored 12 points...

Rebels earn 1st ever tournament berth with 80-69 win CARROLL - It was a battle of two-loss teams in the 1A Substate 8 final on Tuesday night with both Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton and Sioux Central entering the final game before state looking to avoid that third loss. ...

SIOUX CITY — A combined five men’s and women’s events will represent Morningside College’s indoor track and field teams at the 2019 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ Championships Thursday through Saturday. South Dakota State University is the host institution and SDSU’s Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, South Dakota is the host venue. A complete meet schedule for the men’s and women’s championships is accessible at www.naia.org...

Rebels reach substate final with 54-44 win over NF SAC CITY — Sioux Central’s preseason goal of reaching the state tournament is just one game away now that the Rebels knocked off Newell-Fonda 54-44 Thursday night to clinch a district title. Thursday’s meeting marked the third time Sioux Central topped the Mustangs this season, winning regular season matchups in Newell and Sioux Rapids...

Tigers end season at 15-7 after 64-41 substate semifinal loss to SB-L SERGEANT BLUFF — Scoring against 3A No. 2-ranked Sergeant Bluff-Luton doesn’t come easy with 6-foot-8 Daniel Wright and 6-foot-7 Jake Layman roaming the paint, but perhaps the biggest challenge when facing the Warriors is trying to pick which of their four scorers that average double figures needs the most attention. ...

SIOUX RAPIDS — River Valley’s lengthy defense centered around 6-foot-7 Chris Todd and 6-foot-4 Tyler Towne created all sorts of problems for Sioux Central in district semifinal aciton Tuesday night. Toss in some foul trouble for the home team’s second leading scorer in bouncy, 6-foot-2 Rebel post Prestan Samson, and things got a little dicey with just a one point game at halftime...

SERGEANT BLUFF — MOC-Floyd Valley put Spencer on its heels early Monday night in Class 3A Substate 1 quarterfinal play. The Tigers struggled to get any shots to drop, and the Dutch seemed to be able to score at will in the paint as they built a lead as large as 16 points. Spencer’s perimeter defense flipped the script in the second half, closing off the lane while the Tiger offense drilled five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for a thrilling 60-55 comeback victory...

SIOUX RAPIDS — The postseason finally began Friday night after a one day postponement for Sioux Central’s boys as they took on Storm Lake St. Mary’s in 1A District 16 action following St. Mary’s 71-36 win over Glidden-Ralston in a play-in game Wednesday night...

DES MOINES — Spencer 145-pound junior Isaiah Spencer came up one match short of a guaranteed podium spot Friday during day two of the Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. After dropping his first round match Thursday 4-2 and bouncing back with a third period pin in the first round of consolations, Spencer awaited his second round consolation opponent Friday while the quarterfinals took place with the loser of a match between 36-2 Will Esmoil, of West Liberty, and 42-2 Chase Luensman, of Monticello, coming his way.. ...

Spencer High School senior Michael Storey flanked by his mother Tarrel Habben (left) and his father Jamie Storey (right) with local shriner Dean Jacobsen (back left) and Tiger head football coach Jim Tighe (back right) met in the board room of Northwest Bank Friday afternoon for Jacobsen to give the future Northwestern football player a rundown of expectations for his upcoming appearance in the Iowa Shrine Bowl this summer. One highlight of the meeting, which informs Storey’s of his fundraising duties for the bowl and the schedule of events for the week of the bowl, was Jacobsen, a former Northwestern football player himself, telling the future Red Raider how the North offensive and defensive coordinators needed to have head coach Jay Rozeboom, of West Lyon, step in to decide which side of the ball would get Storey’s services. Rozeboom slated him for offense as a wide receiver, but Jacobsen added with a chuckle, “Be prepared to go both ways.” The Iowa Shrine Bowl features some of the best football talent the state of Iowa has to offer every year with 100 percent of the proceeds of the event going towards financing Shriners Hospitals for Children which provide no cost health care to little ones and have a running cost of nearly $2 million per day.

DES MOINES — A second trip to the Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena has already become more successful for Spencer junior Isaiah Spencer as he battled his way to day two with a pin in the first consolation round after dropping his opening match Thursday on the big stage...

Playing without freshman phenom Karter Petzenhauser due to an injury sustained this week in practice, Spencer’s boys did an impressive job in the first half Thursday night against 4A No. 6-ranked Sioux City East, holding the Black Raiders, who average 77.6 points per game, to just 22 points. However, the Raiders got things figured out in the third quarter and took complete control of the action to hand the Tigers a 68-30 defeat...

ESTHERVILLE – The Iowa Lakes women’s basketball team fell to DMACC at home 77-68 Wednesday night. The Lakers were led by Breanna Wendland with 17 points. Beth Rehse added 11 points. Shareece Smith and Brianna O’Donnell added 10 points each. The Lakers are now 20-6 on the season and 8-4 in conference play. The Lakers return to action this Saturday in Cedar Rapids against Kirkwood at 1 p.m...

ESTHERVILLE — The Iowa Lakes men's basketball moved to 17-8 overall and 7-3 in Iowa Community College Conference play with a 112-106 triple overtime win over DMACC Wednesday night. The Lakers were led by Kevin Jennings with 36 points. Others in double figures for the Lakers were Equan Ards with 21, Lamontae Lewis with 19 and Malcolm Clayton with 14. Ards led the ream in rebounding with 11...

--- --- Player (Grade) Chase Hough (Sr.) Marcus Klemme (Sr.)...

Spencer’s Isaiah Spencer, pictured during his district championship match this past Saturday, begins his state tournament run today at Wells Fargo Arena. The 145-pound junior, who is currently ranked 10th in 2A by IAWrestle.com, will start his run against Harlan junior Oscar Olmos, who is ranked ninth by thepredicament.com. Class 2A has the evening session Thursday in Des Moines which will contain the first round and first round consolations beginning with 106-pounders at 6 p.m.

SERGEANT BLUFF — Both teams ended up shooting 39 percent from the floor Wednesday night in 4A regional play between Spencer’s girls and Sergeant Bluff-Luton, but the Warriors put up 23 more shot attempts on the strength of 15 offensive rebounds and half as many turnovers as the Tigers, resulting in a 65-43 win over the purple and gold...