The Oskaloosa boys’ golf team continued their great season by finishing second in the sectional tournament held at Edmundson Golf Course in Osky.

Grinnell got the team crown by shooting a 322, but Osky was right behind them with a 326. Williamsburg was 3^rd with a 331, Centerville was next with a 332, then a drop to Fairfield in 5^th at 348. Chariton was 6^th (375), South Tama was 7^th (389), and Clarke was 8^th (434).

Spencer Tucker once again led the Indians with a 75 and was followed by a personal best round from Nick Den Hartog, who shot a 79. Bennett Spry shot an 84, Ethan Farner and Austin Hafner shot 88s, and Spencer Nelson shot a 101.

Oskaloosa will now move on to the district meet, which will be held at The Preserve on Rathbun Lake on Friday, May 20, with an opportunity to qualify for the state meet.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association has announced the brackets for boys’ substate soccer, and several area teams will have tough tests to get through to state.

In Class 1A Substate 5, Mid-Prairie is taking on Iowa Mennonite in Kalona on May 23^rd. Winner of that game will play Iowa City Regina on the road on May 25^th.

In Class 1A Substate 6, Centerville is taking on Danville at Holy Trinity Catholic in Fort Madison on May 23^rd. That match is at 5 PM. Winner of that match will play either Albia or Central Lee, who play in Albia on May 23^rd as well.

Substate 7 in Class 1A shows Pella Christian with a bye, and they are awaiting either AHSTW or Ankeny Christian Academy. If AHSTW wins, they’ll play in Norwalk on the 25^th. If ACA wins, the game will be at Pella Christian’s home field on the 25^th.

In Class 2A, Substate 4 has Fairfield and Washington paired against each other in the first round. That game is in Fairfield on the 23^rd at 6:30 PM. Winner of that game takes on Fort Madison on the 25^th.

In Class 2A Substate 5, Oskaloosa draws Carlisle on the road. That game in Carlisle will begin at 6:30 on May 23^rd. Winner of that contest will play Pella on the road on the 25^th. Also, Knoxville will be taking on Chariton on the other side of the bracket in Knoxville. Winner of that game will play Norwalk on the 25^th.

Class 2A Substate 6 has Newton in action against Bondurant-Farrar at home. If they win, they’ll face Winterset on the road. PCM is also in action in the first round, as they’ll travel to Adel to take on ADM. The winner of that bout will play Dallas Center-Grimes on the road on the 25^th.

In Class 2A Substate 7, Grinnell will be on the road against Ballard on the 23^rd. Winner of that matchup will face Hudson on the 25^th.

Finally, in Class 3A Substate 5, Ottumwa will host Cedar Rapids Jefferson at 6:30 on the 23^rd. Should they win, they’ll face Cedar Rapids Prairie on the road on the 25^th.

We will have coverage of the Oskaloosa postseason soccer games, beginning with their opener against Carlisle on May 23^rd. You can hear the action starting around 6:15 on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, the KMZN mobile app, and radiokmzn.com.

The Little Hawkeye Conference held their girls’ tennis meet on Tuesday, and the Oskaloosa Indians gave a good run, but it was the teams from Pella who dominated the day.

In Singles Flight 1, Brooke Jorgenson of Pella Christian got the conference title, defeating Pella’s Lily Roozeboom in the finals. Newton’s Megan Pressgrove finished 3^rd, with Grinnell’s Maddie Krumm finishing in 4^th, Oskaloosa’s Josie Bunnell in 5^th, and Norwalk’s Nicole Alexander in 6^th.

In Singles Flight 2, again it was PC with the title, as the Eagles’ Rachel Tvedt got first place. Pella against was second, this time with Cecily Johnson. Grinnell’s Allie Stallman finished 3^rd ahead of Newton’s Katherine Thorpe. Norwalk’s Emma Tollefson got 5^th and Oskaloosa’s Jori Vandenberg finished in 6^th.

On the doubles side, Flight 1 once again had Pella Christian coming out on top with the duo of Andrea Carballo and Abbie Vander Molen. Newton’s Kate Wyre and Sierra Griffith finished in second. Pella’s team of Bronwyn Metcalf and Lauren Kriegel finished in third ahead of the Osky team of Mary Yarkosky and Brooke Caves, who finished fourth. Grinnell’s Taylor Kirby and Holly Deserrano and Norwalk’s Kalei Owens and Elizabeth Klawon finished in 5^th and 6^th respectively.

Finally, in Flight 2 in doubles, Grinnell’s Macy Harris and Aleah Kastendick finished in first place, preventing a clean sweep for Pella Christian. The Oskaloosa team of Macy Scharff and Saydee Smith finished in second, with Pella’s Elyse Sadler and Patience Dykstra in third. Newton’s Madison Humphrey and Bethany Baumgartner finished in 4^th, followed by Pella Christian’s Holly Milby and Bethany Van Kooten in 5^th and Norwalk’s Madison Thielen and Emme Stockwell in 6^th.

Pella Christian won the conference meet in the team standings with 36 points, followed by Pella with 32 points. Grinnell and Newton tied with 26 points for 3^rd. Oskaloosa finished in 5^th with 19 points. Norwalk brought up the rear with 7 points.

Next up for girls’ tennis is the postseason with the regional tennis meets, which take place on May 19^th for individuals and on May 21^st for teams. The state meet will begin on June 2^nd.

The Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union has released their brackets for all regions, and there are some interesting matchups for area teams.

In Class 1A Region 4, Pella Christian will be on the road to face Bondurant-Farrar on Tuesday, May 31^st. The winner of that matchup will take on Nevada on June 3^rd on the road. In the other half of that bracket, Knoxville is hosting Centerville on the 31^st, with the winner facing Ballard on June 3^rd.

In Region 8 in Class 1A, Mid-Prairie is hosting Williamsburg on the 31^st. The winner of that match will take on Iowa City Regina on the road on June 3^rd. In the bottom half of that bracket, Fairfield is hosting Mediapolis on the 31^st. If they win, they’ll face either Holy Trinity Catholic or Columbus on June 3^rd.

In Class 2A Region 3, Grinnell received a bye, and they will face either Des Moines Hoover or CMB on May 31^st. The first round for Class 2A will be held on May 26^th. Winterset got the bye on the other side of the bracket and will face either Webster City or CAL/Hampton-Dumont.

Region 4 in Class 2A has PCM on the road for a matchup with Norwalk on the 26^th. The winner of that match will take on a very tough Dallas Center-Grimes team, who has had a great season in the cutthroat Little Hawkeye Conference. ADM got the bye on the other side of the bracket, and they’ll face either Chariton or Des Moines North.

Class 2A Region 5 is where Oskaloosa is, and they’ll line up against Washington on Thursday, May 26^th, at home. The winner of that matchup will take on Clear Creek-Amana on May 31^st in Tiffin. Newton received the bye on the other side of the bracket and they will face either Carlisle or South Tama in the semifinals.

In Class 2A Region 6, Pella got the bye. The Lady Dutch have been ranked among the top teams throughout the season, and they will face either Burlington or Mount Pleasant on May 31^st at home. The other side of the bracket has Burlington Notre Dame with the bye, and they are awaiting either Keokuk or Fort Madison.

Finally, in Class 3A Region 6, Ottumwa will be underdogs in their first round match on the road against Marshalltown, which occurs on Saturday, May 28^th. If the Bulldogs win, they’ll face Cedar Rapids Kennedy on June 1^st. Iowa City High and Cedar Rapids Prairie are already in the semifinals in the five-team bracket on the other side.

All area games have a start time of 6 PM, except Ottumwa and Marshalltown, which are due to kickoff at 2 PM.

You can hear the Oskaloosa postseason matchups on 99.5 FM and AM 740 KMZN and all over the world on the KMZN mobile app and radiokmzn.com. Pregame show will begin with Jamie Brockman around 5:45 for the first round matchup against Washington.

Kansas City, Mo.–Behind an outstanding performance by Spencer Skipper (Sr., Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Business Management), the William Penn men’s golf team was a real contender at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships Monday and Tuesday.

The Statesmen finished fourth out of 11 teams with a 54-hole score of 893 (294-294-305) at the par-72 Swope Memorial Golf Course.  #8 Grand View held off the navy and gold as well as runner-up and #17 Mount Mercy (889) and third-place Culver-Stockton (890).  With the win, GVU earns the Heart’s automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships on May 24–27 in Moline, Ill.

The Vikings not only denied WPU the team crown, but also kept Skipper from a qualification as an individual as Myles Pfingsten won the medalist honor at five-under 211 (71-68-72).

Skipper paced his squad in third place out of 55 players at even-par 216 (70-70-76).  His pair of two-under-par rounds were the team’s best single-round efforts of the season.

Brandon Dizon (Jr., San Leandro, Calif., Sociology) was next for William Penn, placing 14th at 225 (77-71-77), while Frederik Lundsgaard (So., Jebjerg, Denmark, History/Government) (72-78-76) and Justin Bothma (Sr., Boksburg, South Africa, Business Management) (75-75-76) both tied for 15th at 226.

Ben Roberts (Sr., Albia, Iowa, General Accounting) wrapped up the team’s scoring at 238 (80-81-77) to tie for 36th.

The tournament marks the end of the collegiate careers of Bothma, Ethan Powers (Tipton, Iowa, Physical Education), Roberts, and Skipper.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–A pair of Statesmen collected postseason honors Monday as the all-Heart of America Athletic Conference baseball teams were announced.

Second baseman Anthony York (Jr., Chula Vista, Calif., Physical Education) was one of 17 first-team selections, while starting pitcher Dylan McDonald (Jr., Chula Vista, Calif., Industrial Technology) earned one of the 21 honorable mentions.  A total of 16 other individuals were also tabbed for second-team recognition.

The awards are the first for both players who helped William Penn to a 24-23 record (14-18 Heart) this spring.

York was a tremendous hitter for the navy and gold, posting a team-high .407 batting average (66-for-162).  The junior, who tallied 18 doubles, four triples, and one home run, also managed 36 RBIs and 35 runs scored.  In addition to pacing WPU in average, he was also best in hits, doubles, steals (17), slugging percentage (.586), and on-base percentage (.459).

York owned an eight-game hitting streak and hit .700 (21-for-30) during that stretch.  The second baseman ranked third in the conference in batting average, fifth in doubles, sixth in stolen bases, seventh in triples, eighth in on-base percentage, and 10th in hits.

McDonald finished the 2016 campaign with a 7-3 record and a 4.10 Earned Run Average.  The right-handed hurler appeared in 11 games (all starts) as part of 68 total innings, going the distance in six of those contests.  He struck out 52 batters and walked 27, and opponents hit .280 against him.

At one point, McDonald won six consecutive decisions from March 5 to April 3.  The junior ranked third in the Heart in innings pitched per outing (6.2), while also being eighth in wins and ninth in hits allowed (75).

Jordan Eckley of MidAmerica Nazarene was named Heart Player of the Year, while E.J. Merlo of Avila earned Pitcher of the Year laurels.  Avila’s Daryl Cronk was tabbed by his peers as Heart Coach of the Year.

To view the complete all-Heart teams, go to http://www.heartofamericaconference.com/d/2015-16/2016%20Heart%20All%20Conference%20Baseball%20Teams.pdf

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

Des Moines–The William Penn track and field teams worked around the university’s graduation ceremonies to produce plenty of solid results at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships Friday and Saturday.

The men finished sixth with 62 points, while Baker claimed the league crown with 178.5 points. The women placed 10th (29 points); Grand View was at the top at 138.

Kalob Gist (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management) headlined the meet’s activities with a personal best in the shot put. The senior qualified for nationals and won the event with a ‘B’ standard of 51-1. He will join teammate Derek Seddon (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) at nationals in the men’s shot put and is the seventh Statesmen in six different events (nine total qualifiers).

Seddon could not match Gist as an event winner, but did take home a pair of silvers in the discus (169-0) and hammer (173-10).

Fellow thrower Derek Robinson (So., Jenks, Okla., Communications) produced a trio of top-10 performances, including finishing fifth in the discus at 149-3. The sophomore was also ninth in both the shot put (45-0.25) and hammer (149-3).

Another runner-up finish came from CJ Watts (Sr., Rockville, Md., Physical Education). The senior was second in the 400-meter dash in 48.60 seconds and third in the 200-meter dash in 22.36 seconds.

Earl George (Jr., Gaithersburg, Md., Biology) claimed a pair of top-10s as well, including taking fourth in the decathlon with 5,635 points (topped the field in the 100 and shot put). George also finished ninth in the javelin with a distance of 144-11.

Other top-10 showings were recorded by Payton Busch (Jr., Centerville, Iowa, Secondary Education) (fourth, 800-meter run, 1:56.80), Chris Gossett (Sr., Park Forest, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) (fifth, triple jump, 45-5), Charles Hurt (Fr., Gary, Ind., Sociology) (eighth, 400, 51.38), and Tyler Connelly (So., Trenton, Texas, Software Engineering) (10th, 3,000-meter steeplechase, 11:05.46).

The men’s 4×400-meter relay team also earned points by finishing sixth in a time of 3:25.77.

Tarah Alexander (Sr., Cedar, Iowa, Physical Education) and Meaghan Foster (Sr., Centerville, Iowa, Physical Education) were both runners-up on the women’s side. Alexander finished the 800 in 2:18.15, while Foster threw the shot put a length of 43-1.

Kristin Lastovka (Sr., Brooklyn, Iowa, Business Management) was the women’s lone multiple top-10 placer, ending up seventh in the shot put (39-6.5) and 10th in the hammer (128-6).

Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Fr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science), in third place (tiebreaker), and Alyssa Phillips (Jr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications), in sixth place, both cleared a mark of 5-1 in the high jump.

Taylor Richardson (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Undecided) was also sixth in the long jump at 17-4.75, while Addison Kepner (Sr., Cincinnati, Iowa, Biology) was ninth in the 1,500-meter run in 5:15.39.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa’s boys’ basketball team is beginning to turn a corner with the influx of talent that is quickly rising the ranks and joining the varsity team in the next couple of years.

One of those players who laid the groundwork has decided to stay close to home to watch what happens next.

On Wednesday, Wade Votroubek signed his letter of intent to play basketball at William Penn University, leaving a bubbling program for one that is on the national stage.

“It was a really easy decision after I knocked out another college,” Votroubek explained. “I see how well of a family this team is and how much success they have and how much I enjoyed watching them. I said, ‘I want to be a part of that.’ And that’s how I made the decision to come here to Penn.”

Votroubek had his signing in the Penn Gymnasium with his parents and Statesmen Head Coach John Henry. Votroubek says he’s excited to play for one of the top collegiate coaches in the region.

“I can see how hard Coach Henry pushes his players to be as good as they possibly can be,” Votroubek said. “I’m looking forward to having him as a coach because he knows how to coach each and every single player.”

Henry is excited to bring the Oskaloosa native into the program, especially for his intangibles.

“First and foremost, Wade is a great kid and a great person from a great family,” said Henry. “I’ve known him for a long time and always thought that he’d be a great addition to our program. [He’s a] character building kid and a hard worker.”

In terms of basketball, Votroubek draws a comparison to another Osky grad who was a big part of recent postseason runs for the Statesmen.

“I don’t like to compare players to other players,” explained Henry. “But the comparison to Erik McGee is inevitable. It’s right there, glaring. And that’s tough for Wade, because McGee was fantastic. But we think it’s something he can live up to. There will be a lot of the same type of attributes that Wade will bring that Erik did.”

McGee was a rotation player his junior and senior seasons for William Penn, helping the Statesmen to the Elite Eight in his junior campaign in 2014. The Oskaloosa alum was notable for his tenacious rebounding and effort, despite only standing 6’4’’.

For now, Votroubek is focused on getting better before joining the team in the fall.

“I definitely need to work on my conditioning right now because I see how fast-paced the games are,” said Votroubek. “[For] weightlifting, I need to build up a little more weight. And definitely shooting, because they want me to play a stretch-4, which means I need to be able to make a jump shot here and there, or a three-pointer here and there.”

Votroubek will look to compete for playing time early in his career, but it won’t be easy, as the Statesmen will have another large group of transfers that are looking to help get Penn back to the National Tournament and even further than the Elite Eight, which is what they accomplished in their first year in NAIA Division I in 2016.

William Penn was ranked 6^th in the postseason poll after an outstanding 29-7 campaign. They finished 17-5 in their first season in the Heart of America Athletic Conference, claiming a share of the regular season title, and winning the Heart Conference Tournament.

Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s golf team’s battle for a national crown will start as a squad just outside of the top 20 as the NAIA released its final top-25 poll Thursday.

The Statesmen remained 21st in the nation with 186 points.  The Heart of America Athletic Conference champions is the league’s lone nationals representative and will join Morningside (GPAC champions) as the only programs from the state of Iowa at the NAIA National Championships on May 17-20 in Pooler, Ga.

William Woods (Mo.) is still #1 in the ranking with 527 points and 13 first-place votes.  Keiser (Fla.) (six first-place votes), Dalton State (Ga.), Oklahoma City, and Cumberlands (Ky.) round out the top five.

WPU will find out its first and second-round pairing partners Friday afternoon.

NAIA Women’s Golf Final Rating – May 5, 2016
(Number in parentheses is first-place votes)
1. William Woods (Mo.) (13)
2. Keiser (Fla.) (6)
3. Dalton State (Ga.)
4. Oklahoma City
5. Cumberlands (Ky.)
6. South Carolina Beaufort
7. SCAD Savannah (Ga.)
8. Bellevue (Neb.)
9. Wayland Baptist (Texas)
10. Coastal Georgia
11. Texas Wesleyan
12. British Columbia
13. Milligan (Tenn.)
14. Thomas (Ga.)
15. SCAD Atlanta (Ga.)
16. Campbellsville (Ky.)
17. William Carey (Miss.)
18. Indiana Tech
19. Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
20. Victoria (B.C.)
21. William Penn
22. Marian (Ind.)
23. Arizona Christian
24. Mobile (Ala.)
25. Rocky Mountain (Mont.)

Others receiving votes: Southeastern (Fla.) 83, Faulkner (Ala.) 76, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 74, Lawrence Tech (Mich.) 66, Madonna (Mich.) 29, Corban (Ore.) 10, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 10, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 8, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 4, Bethel (Ind.) 4.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

Nebraska City, Neb.–It may be a different conference, but the result is a similar one as the Statesmen women’s golf team brought home another league title by claiming the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships Monday and Tuesday.

#21 WPU was first out of 11 teams with a two-day score of 643 (326-317) at Table Creek Golf Course.  It is the program’s third league title in a row (last two in the Midwest Collegiate Conference) and its fourth-straight tourney crown overall (school-record seventh this year).  Rival Grand View was second, 21 strokes behind the Statesmen at 664 (338-326).

The win secures an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships on May 17-20 at Savannah Quarters Country Club in Porter, Ga.  Joining the Statesmen will be individual medalist Lucy Clark of Culver-Stockton who posted a 153 (76-77).

Demi Coertze (Sr., Johannesburg, South Africa, Digital Communication) was just three strokes behind Clark for the top spot at 156 (81-75) to place second.

Elise Warne (Fr., Melbourne, Australia, Exercise Science) matched Coertze with a tourney-low 75 on Tuesday, finishing fourth out of 53 players at 158 (83-75).

Brooke Fletcher (So., Atlantic, Iowa, Business Management) tied for sixth at 164 (80-84), while Natalie Booton (Sr., Mount Pleasant, Elementary Education) tied for ninth at 166 (83-83).  Miranda Keeler (So., Plattsmouth, Neb., Communications) rounded out the team’s scoring in 16th place at 172 (82-90).

William Penn will be seeking its first national title in program history, after finishing 15th in 2014 and 12th last spring.

“I am so proud of every player in our program; this is a culmination of an entire season of hard work,” Head Coach Nik Rule said.  “Our vision for this program is a team-centered dynamic that focuses on how to succeed together; that big-picture approach is something our players learn to excel in. The only way it became possible to win three league titles in a row was by understanding that we can accomplish far more as a group than we can as individuals. Our university and community can be proud of what our young ladies have accomplished on and off the course.”

“We are really beginning to hit our stride and are showing signs of performing at the level we should be at,” Rule added.  “We challenged our players after a sub-par first day to take their games to the next level and as a whole we did.  Hard work pays off when it is done with character and inspired dedication.  Not much can beat this feeling and we are so excited to represent William Penn University and the Heart of America Athletic Conference at nationals in a few weeks.”

Story provided by Wade Steinlage