It was a great fall sports season, and that includes a very competitive year in volleyball. With that, the Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union has announced the All-State and All-District teams for all five classes.

For the All-State Second Team in Class 4A, Pella freshman Emily Holterhaus was named to the squad. She is the only freshman to be honored in Class 4A. She led the way as Pella qualified for the state tournament in Cedar Rapids this season. She was joined by senior teammate McKenna Bogaard, who was on the Honorable Mention list.

In Class 3A, Centerville’s Alyssa Barger was listed on the 3^rd Team. The senior was the top player for a Centerville squad that pushed top ranked West Liberty to four sets in the Region 8 Final in Donnellson.

In Class 2A, Karlie Taylor of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont was honored on the 1^st Team. The senior had an outstanding career, helping lead the Rockets to the state tournament in Cedar Rapids each of her last three years on the team. She will continue her volleyball career in college at the University of Northern Iowa. Also in the mix was Pella Christian’s Andrea Horstman, who was named to the 3^rd Team. PC was a solid team in the Little Hawkeye Conference, but was eliminated from the regional tournament against Taylor and EBF in the quarterfinal round in Region 4. Pekin’s Beth Atwood was named to the Honorable Mention list after leading the Panthers to the Region 4 semifinals, where again, EBF ended their season.

On the All-District side of things, there were again several athletes that were honored in each class in our area.

In Class 4A, Pella’s Emily Holterhaus and McKenna Bogaard were both named to the Southeast District team, along with Fairfield’s Shelby Heston, who helped Fairfield get to the Regional Final against the Lady Dutch in Class 4A before falling.

In Class 3A, the Southeast District included Centerville’s Alyssa Barger. She was joined by teammate Amory Glosser, who had a great junior season for the Redettes. Davis County’s Mallory Wells was named to the team after an outstanding senior campaign, and Mid-Prairie’s freshman sensation Jaedynn Evans was the only underclassman named to the squad.

In Class 2A, the Pella Christian’s Andrea Horstman landed in the Central District, while EBF’s Karlie Taylor, Taylor Leffler, and Haegen Boyer were all named to the Southeast District team. Pekin’s Beth Atwood was also named to this team, as well as Cardinal senior Dakota Durflinger. EBF Head Coach Gladys Genskow was named Southeast District Coach of the Year in Class 2A.

Finally, in Class 1A, Lynnville-Sully’s Brenna Lanser was named to the South Central Team. In the Southeast District Sigourney senior Sierra Davis was honored, as well as Moravia senior Kendall Brown.

The All-State and All-District Teams were announced by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union on Wednesday.

The season ended two weeks ago with Ankeny Centennial winning the Class 5A Championship, West Delaware getting the title in Class 4A, Nevada winning the crown in Class 3A, Western Christian taking home the trophy in Class 2A, and Janesville coming out on top in Class 1A.

Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s basketball team forced 28 turnovers and overcame poor free-throw shooting to defeat Avila 73-66 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday.

WPU (3-3, 1-1 Heart) was outshot 39.7%-39.3%, but produced 24 points off of those 28 Eagle mistakes.  The home squad fell behind 15-5 early, but finished the first quarter with an 18-6 run to lead 23-21.

Avila (1-6, 0-2 Heart) reclaimed the edge one final time at 25-24, but grabbed the advantage right back on a bucket by Alyssa Phillips (Jr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications), two of her 18 points in the contest.

The Statesmen led 39-29 at intermission, but the resilient Eagles rallied to within two points twice in the third period.  Fortunately, the navy and gold produced 12 straight points for a game-high 14-point edge at 56-42 with 2:01 on the clock in the third quarter.

AU had one more push, drawing within two at 67-65 with 2:20 remaining in regulation.  Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Fr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) took over down the stretch, posting the next five points to seal the victory.  Nwagbaraocha was 7-for-8 from the field and 9-for-14 at the line for a game-high 23 points.  While her charity-stripe shooting was not exactly great, it was actually pretty amazing in comparison to how poorly the Statesmen shot overall, going 23-for-43 total.

William Penn was outrebounded 42-39, but a 15-12 offensive edge helped the victors to a 13-7 margin in second-chance points.  Phillips and Sabrina Avery (Fr., Riverside, Calif., Psychology and Sociology) both pulled down nine rebounds.

Ashlee Harper (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif., Education) contributed nine points, while Jenna Santi (Fr., Oak Creek, Wis., Elementary Education) had seven and Dezarea Duckworth (So., Bryant, Ark., Exercise Science) finished with six.

Phillips also stole four passes and blocked two shots, while Avery assisted on three field goals.

“I am very proud of our team tonight,” Head Coach Willie Scott said.  “We played with a sense of urgency.  The fact that we did not give up the lead late showed a lot of determination.  Hopefully, this will grow our confidence and we can build from here.”

Next Up: William Penn travels to Clinton next Saturday to face Mount Mercy as part of the Ashford Classic.  Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s basketball team forced 28 turnovers and overcame poor free-throw shooting to defeat Avila 73-66 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday.

WPU (3-3, 1-1 Heart) was outshot 39.7%-39.3%, but produced 24 points off of those 28 Eagle mistakes.  The home squad fell behind 15-5 early, but finished the first quarter with an 18-6 run to lead 23-21.

Avila (1-6, 0-2 Heart) reclaimed the edge one final time at 25-24, but grabbed the advantage right back on a bucket by Alyssa Phillips (Jr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications), two of her 18 points in the contest.

The Statesmen led 39-29 at intermission, but the resilient Eagles rallied to within two points twice in the third period.  Fortunately, the navy and gold produced 12 straight points for a game-high 14-point edge at 56-42 with 2:01 on the clock in the third quarter.

AU had one more push, drawing within two at 67-65 with 2:20 remaining in regulation.  Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Fr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) took over down the stretch, posting the next five points to seal the victory.  Nwagbaraocha was 7-for-8 from the field and 9-for-14 at the line for a game-high 23 points.  While her charity-stripe shooting was not exactly great, it was actually pretty amazing in comparison to how poorly the Statesmen shot overall, going 23-for-43 total.

William Penn was outrebounded 42-39, but a 15-12 offensive edge helped the victors to a 13-7 margin in second-chance points.  Phillips and Sabrina Avery (Fr., Riverside, Calif., Psychology and Sociology) both pulled down nine rebounds.

Ashlee Harper (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif., Education) contributed nine points, while Jenna Santi (Fr., Oak Creek, Wis., Elementary Education) had seven and Dezarea Duckworth (So., Bryant, Ark., Exercise Science) finished with six.

Phillips also stole four passes and blocked two shots, while Avery assisted on three field goals.

“I am very proud of our team tonight,” Head Coach Willie Scott said.  “We played with a sense of urgency.  The fact that we did not give up the lead late showed a lot of determination.  Hopefully, this will grow our confidence and we can build from here.”

Next Up: William Penn travels to Clinton next Saturday to face Mount Mercy as part of the Ashford Classic.  Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Central College Wrestling team was able to come on top in two weight classes at the Auggie Adidas Open hosted by Augsburg College (Minn.)Saturday.

It’s the second time the Dutch have achieved the feat this year, having previously done it at the Platteville Invitational on November 7. The field at this tournament was loaded with talent, including members of Augsburg’s 2015 NCAA Division III Championship team.

“We’re really intentional about getting up to Augsburg just for the quality of competition,” coach Eric Van Kley said. “We not only want to wrestle great competition in the Iowa Conference but also outside the conference. To have success at a tournament like this reiterates the fact that the expectations level of our program continue to rise.”

At 125 pounds, the AJ Pestano (senior, Torrance, Calif.) and CJ Pestano (sophomore, Torrance, Calif.) shared the individual crown, both going 3-0 to reach the title match in the Gold Bracket. The brothers are able to push each other in practice on a regular basis and have spurred each other to high levels of success.

“There’s a little bit of a competitive rivalry with those two,” Van Kley said. “They both feed off the success that the other one has. There’s a really close relationship between the two and I think they’re success is contagious with each other.”

Ryan Vandall (junior, Phoenix, Ariz., Moon Valley HS) won his second title of the season at 165 pounds. Vandall went 3-0 and defeated Zak Benitz of Upper Iowa in the final. Vandall was the starter at 149 pounds last year, but the move up has been beneficial for the junior.

“Moving up two weight classes has been really good for him,” Van Kley said. “He put a tremendous amount of time and energy into the weight room over the summer and he’s wrestling with a lot of confidence. He’s winning hard-fought matches the right way.”

In the 285 pound silver bracket, Jaime Miranda (junior, Aberdeen, Wash.) went 3-1 to take second. He came up on the losing end of the title bout against Logan Linderbaum from Minnesota State, but Van Kley was pleased with Miranda’s effort.

“Jaime had a great day,” he said. “He lost a close match in the finals to a pretty talented guy. He’s wrestling with more composure and consistency each and every week.”

In total, nine Dutch wrestlers were place-winners on the day.

“We’re competing extremely hard and committed to the little things,” Van Kley said. “We’ve just got to continue to get better and stick to the process.”

Central returns to the mat for an 8 p.m. dual against Augustana (Ill.) in Indianola on December 3.

Story provided by  Joe Flaherty

Oskaloosa–The Statesmen men’s basketball team made a big statement Saturday as it dispatched previously-unbeaten Avila 108-72 in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.

William Penn (6-1, 2-0 Heart) went wire-to-wire in its highest-scoring game of the year.  The navy and gold led 10-2 just 1:51 into the matchup, but the Eagles (6-1, 1-1 Heart) managed to keep it close at 30-21 with 8:19 still left in the first half.

The hosts kept pushing, ending the stanza on a 10-3 run to lead 53-30 at halftime.  They never let up, staying up by at least 22 points for the last 20 minutes of action (high of 42 points).

The Statesmen dominated in nearly every category, including shooting (53.7%-43.9%) and rebounding (54-37).  WPU had six fewer turnovers (14-20), leading to an impressive 18-4 advantage in points off mistakes.

Even when the Statesmen struggled (10-for-25 at the line), they found success as they pulled down numerous missed attempts, both at the line and from the floor, en route to an 18-0 edge in second-chance points.

Antonio Levy (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) paced WPU with 21 points, while six of his teammates also reached double digits.

Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) and Dondre Alexander (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Physical Education) tallied 14 points each, while Charles Knowles (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) and Josh Caldwell (Sr., Denver, Colo., Physical Education) added 13 points apiece.

Shane Bosek (Sr., Lowry, Minn., Physical Education) finished with 12 points, but it was Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) who had the most balanced evening with a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds.  Roundtree stole three passes as well.

Kevin Smith (Jr., Baltimore, Md., Physical Education) dished out four assists in the win.

“With Avila’s undefeated record coming into the game, our guys were very focused,” Head Coach John Henry said.  “Coach Sandquist did a nice job with the scouting report, as he always does.  Our rebounding was key tonight, especially on free throw box-out situations.”

Next Up: William Penn remain in Oskaloosa next Friday, hosting Oak Hills Christian in non-conference play at 7 p.m.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

Dutch wrestlers lose tight Iowa Conference opener

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Central College wrestling team gave No. 11 Coe College all it could handle Thursday night, but came up short in the upset bid, falling 19-18.

The Dutch (0-1, 0-1 conf.) and Kohawks (1-0, 1-0 conf.) were tied 18-18 after the completion of all 10 matches. The match went to the third tie-breaking criteria of total points scored not including falls or forfeits, where Coe had outpaced Central 44-42, to break the tie and give Coe the win.

Central competed Thursday night without returning All-American and third-ranked Matt Seabold (junior, Burlington) at 197 pounds, who was out for medical reasons.

Three straight wins to start the match catapulted Central to a 12-0 lead. CJ Pestano (sophomore, Torrance, Calif.) and Aaron Anderson (senior, Clarion, Iowa, Clarion-Goldfield HS) got it started with decisions at 125 pounds and 133 pounds, respectively. Sophomore Jahleel Vester (Oak Harbor, Wash.) punctuated the 12-0 run with a second period fall.

“If you’re going to compete with a team like Coe, you have to set the tempo early,” coach Eric Van Kley said. “Those three established an intensity level that we really needed as team in order to give ourselves a chance to win”

Vester took over as the starter at 141 as a freshman in 2014-15 and emerged once again from a crowded field this season.

“I think that Jahleel just had to figure out how could he could be, “ Van Kley said. “He’s realizing he can be pretty special. He’s just got to continue to commit to the process and making improvements.”

Central needed dramatic wins on the back end to stay in the match. At 184, freshman Austin Laabs (Guthrie Center) won 3-1 in overtime to keep the Dutch alive. Senior Jay Pike (Solon) followed that up by scoring a takedown with less than 10 seconds left in a 3-1 win.

“I think both of those guys are great examples of mental toughness and staying the course,’ Van Kley said. “Both of those matches were grinding and challenging matches. Austin and Jay kept a good head on the shoulders and won tough matches. I’m proud of their effort.”

The Dutch nearly pulled off their first road win against the Kohawks since 1990, but fell to the third tie-breaking criteria.

“Bottom line, every guy in our program is disappointed that we didn’t get the job done,” Van Kley said. “Our guys expect to be able to compete in those kind of environments. Our guys showed that they’re capable of it tonight.”

The Dutch have a short turnaround, as they hit the road to compete at the Augsburg Adidas Open in Minneapolis Saturday.

“We’ve got to get better,” Van Kley said. “They’re were a lot of opportunities tonight that we didn’t capitalize on. The great thing about our schedule is that we’re on our bus (Friday) at noon and we get another chance to compete. I think we’ve got a lot guys that like competing in big matches.”

Story provided by Joe Flaherty

Oskaloosa–Junior hitter Savanna Hartman (Morgan Hill, Calif., Psychology) and senior setter Leyra Jusino (Bayamon, P.R., General Biology) both notched postseason recognition as the 2015 all-Heart of America Athletic Conference volleyball teams were announced today.

Hartman and Jusino, who are both first-time honorees, were named to the 23-person honorable-mention list.  A total of 51 individuals garnered either first, second, or honorable-mention laurels.

Hartman paced William Penn (6-23, 1-10 Heart) with 254 kills (.156 attack pct.) in addition to 77 digs, 36 blocks, three aces, and two assists.  The junior reached double-figure kills on 13 occasions, highlighted by an 18-kill effort against Avila.

Jusino ‘captained’ the offense with 747 assists (7.3 assists/set).  She also managed 50 kills, 238 digs, 23 blocks, and eight aces.  The senior recorded a season-best 55 assists against Robert Morris (Ill.).  She was named Heart Setter of the Week on October 5.

Rachel Kater of MidAmerica Nazarene was named both Heart Player and Setter of the Year.  Jhessica Martins of Peru State claimed Attacker of the Year accolades, while Morgan Smith (Evangel) and Shannon Liewer (Peru State) shared the Libero of the Year award.  Freshman of the Year honors went to Cydney Newton of Avila.  MNU’s Kristin Steele and Molly Brewster were named Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year, respectively.

For the complete 2015 all-Heart team, go to http://www.haacsports.com/d/2015-16/2015%20VB%20All%20Conf.pdf

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

The Oskaloosa 8th Grade Boys traveled to Grinnell Tuesday night and came back with a split. Oskaloosa won the “A” game 47-14 and came up just short in the “B” game losing 33-28.

In the “A” game, Oskaloosa started slow and then was able to build a 21-10 halftime lead. The Indians came out in the second half with a little more fire and turned numerous Grinnell turnovers into points. Oskaloosa played a full-court trapping man defense which helped put the game out of reach early I the second half. Tyler Miller led the way with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 8 steals. Reese Sarver scored 9 points with Noah VanVeldhuizen next at 8 points and 8 rebounds. Xavier Foster and Iszak Schultz each scored 7. Foster pulled down 5 rebounds and Schultz pulled down 4 rebounds and 5steals. Colton Butler and Walker Newman rounded out scoring with 2 points each. The Indians committed 17 turnovers and will need to improve on that when they meet Pella on Monday, November 23rd.

Oskaloosa dropped a close 33-28 decision in the “B” game. Sullivan Tighe led the scoring with 10 points while Dalton Deney was next with 6 points. Collin Bambrook chipped in 4 points and Austin Adams, Andrew Scholes, Kaden Bambrook, and Owen Gordon each scored 2 points. Treyton Schilling was the leading rebounder with 4.

Story provided by Doug DeKock

Marshall, Mo.–Three players eclipsed the 20-point mark and the Statesmen men’s basketball team survived both its first road test and first battle in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with a 92-83 win over Missouri Valley Wednesday.

William Penn (5-1, 1-0 Heart), which has won five games in a row, defeated the defending Heart Tournament champions with superior shooting (47.7%-46.8%) and rebounding (41-33).  To claim the victory, the team was forced to overcome serious foul trouble (four starters and a reserve player finished with at least four fouls) and also the absence of key player Steven Roundtree (Sr., Jacksonville, Fla., Physical Education) (coaches decision).

The Vikings (1-2, 0-1 Heart) led by a 6-2 tally 4:04 into a slow-moving contest, but the navy and gold opened it up with a 16-6 run.  MVC rallied right back to lead 22-21 only to see the visitors reel off 14 of the next 16 points.  WPU’s margin was trimmed to four at halftime, 48-44.

The home squad continued to chip away, eventually claiming a trio of one-point leads early in the second stanza.  Fortunately, another pro-WPU stretch followed as a 57-57 tie with 16:13 to go turned into a 69-60 Statesmen advantage with 12:22 still on the clock.

William Penn’s lead ballooned to as big as 14 points before a mini 7-0 Viking run in the final minutes brought them within five with 30 seconds left.  The Statesmen, who finished 19-for-26 at the charity stripe, put the proverbial cherry on top with four successful free tries at the end.

Antonio Levy (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) owned sharpshooter status Wednesday, pacing WPU with 23 points by going 8-for-12 from the field (5-for-8 3-PT).

He was joined in the 20-point crew by Brady Burford (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) and Dondre Alexander (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Physical Education), both of whom recorded double-doubles.  Burford finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks, while Alexander posted 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Charles Knowles (Jr., Chicago, Ill., Physical Education) added seven points off the bench and Josh Caldwell (Sr., Denver, Colo., Physical Education) contributed six more. Jake Guenther (Sr., Altoona, Iowa, Secondary Education) scored five points in only three minutes of action as well.

Capitalizing on its foe’s mistakes also steered the Statesmen to the ‘W’.  WPU had 14 turnovers, but forced MVC into 16 turnovers which were converted in 22 points.

“This was the best we have played all year,” Head Coach John Henry said.  “This is a tough place to win; they had a loud and intense crowd.  We kept our composure and made plays all night.”

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Saturday to host Avila in Heart action at 4 p.m.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

PELLA—On the heels of a double-double in her collegiate debut, Central College women’s basketball player Claire Marburger (freshman, forward, Perry) has been named an Iowa Conference player of the week.

Marburger scored 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in a season-opening 67-39 victory over Blackburn (Ill.) last Saturday. She was 6-for-11 from the field and hit one of her two 3-point attempts. Marburger was 3-of-6 at the free throw line and also added a block and a steal. She played 24 minutes in the contest.

Marburger and the Dutch will make their home debut Wednesday at 6 p.m. when Iowa Wesleyan makes the trip to Pella.

Story provided by Alex Cooper

PELLA—In conjunction with Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, the Central College Student-Athlete Advisory Council will sponsor a canned food drive Wednesday at the Dutch basketball games.

Non-perishable items and monetary donations will be accepted from 5:30-8:30 p.m. and will support Pella and the surrounding communities’ food shelves. The Big Red Radio from KNIA/KRLS will be set up outside of P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium to accept the donations.

The Dutch basketball squads will take on Iowa Wesleyan at 6 and 8 p.m., with both looking to improve to 2-0 this season.

Story provided by Alex Cooper