IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody was named Big Ten Men’s Coach of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday.

Woody and the Hawkeyes defended their indoor conference title last weekend at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, behind freshman Jenoah McKiver’s 600-meter title and a win in the 4×400-meter relay (Everett Steward, Julien Gillum, Armando Bryson and McKiver).

The Big Ten Championship was the fourth overall for Woody and the Hawkeyes since 2019 (’19 and ’21 outdoors, ’21 and ’22 indoors). Iowa opened the season ranked eighth in the country in the USTFCCCA National Rating Index and have reached as high as No. 6 this season — the highest ranking in program history.

The Hawkeye men advanced a program-record nine individuals and the 4×400-meter relay to the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 11-12. The Iowa women’s 4×400-meter relay team will also be going to the NCAA Championships.

The Hawkeyes’ Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winners are senior Nia Britt and sophomore Jordan Hawkins.

Britt ended her Hawkeye career as a seven-time Big Ten point-scorer and her name litters Iowa’s all-time performance lists (No. 2 shot put; indoor and outdoor, No. 3 weight throw, No. 3 hammer throw). Britt was a constant team-player throughout her Hawkeye career, always cheering on her teammates regardless of event group.

Hawkins ended the season ninth in the weight throw at the Big Ten Championships and jumped to seventh on Iowa’s all-time list in the event this season.

Thursday, March 3

Class 5A semifinals

Johnston 64. Pleasant Valley 44
-Johnston is back in the Class 5A state championship game with a chance at a rare achievement. The top-seeded Dragons, reaching the title game the third straight year, were sharp in all areas in beating fourth-seeded Pleasant Valley 64-44 to start the 2022 semifinal round. Now 25-0, Johnston will go for its second state championship in three years at 6 p.m. Friday – with a chance to become the first large school to go unbeaten since Des Moines East went 26-0 en route to the 2011 Class 4A title. The state tournament went to five classes in 2013. Johnston shot 48 percent and had assists on 17 of its 23 baskets, leading to layups and open 3-point shots. The Dragons, who lost to Waukee in last year’s championship game, piled up 32 points in the paint and knocked down seven 3s. They also forced 21 turnovers, which led to 25 points. University of Iowa recruit Jada Gyamfi led a balanced offense with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Waterloo West 58, West Des Moines Valley 48
–The Waterloo West Wahawks beat West Des Moines Valley 58-48 to reach the Class 5A state championship game and gave coach Tony Pappas his 600^th victory at the school. Sixth-seeded West rattled off the first eight points of the game, built a 16-2 lead late in the first quarter and the seventh-seeded Tigers never caught up. It will be the first appearance in the title game since 2002 for West (23-2), which will face top-seeded and unbeaten Johnston at 6 p.m. Friday. The Wahawks had excellent balance, with four players scoring in double figures. Sierra Williams, a junior and one of the state’s top Division I college prospects, led with 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Class 3A Semifinals

Estherville-Lincoln Central 57, Unity Christian 44

Ballard 56, West Lyon 51

Class 4A Semifinals

Cedar Rapid Xavier 55, Dallas Center-Grimes 50 3OT

Bishop Heelan 68, Glenwood 51

Iowa sophomore forward Patrick McCaffery may be back in the lineup tonight (Thursday night), when the 24th ranked Hawkeyes visit Michigan. McCaffery missed Monday’s victory over Northwestern after suffering a hip injury last week at Nebraska.

That’s Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. A team that lost Luka Garza and Joe Wieskamp to the NBA has a shot at a top four finish in the Big Ten after Nebraska’s upset victory at Ohio State. The return of Jordan Bohannon and Connor McCaffery gave the Hawks a much needed veteran presence.

McCaffery believes depth has been a major factor in a late season run that has seen the Hawkeyes win seven or their last eight games.

McCaffery says depth has allowed the Hawkeyes to handle the adversity that occurs during a conference race.

Iowa is 11-7 in the Big Ten. The Wolverines are 10-8 in conference play after a Tuesday night victory over Michigan State.

The UNI women are on the road tonight (Thursday night) to take on Indiana State in Missouri Valley action. The Panthers are currently third in the league race with a record of 11-5. The Sycamores are 5-11 in the Valley.

That’s UNI coach Tanya Warren who says the Panthers will need to play well on defense.

Drake’s injury woes at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament continue. Senior guard D.J. Wilkins will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL in Saturday’s regular season finale. Last year standout point guard Roman Penn missed the tournament with a season ending foot injury as Drake lost to Loyola in the title game and in 2019 standout center Nick McGlynn suffered a knee injury in an opening round win over Illinois State and the Bulldogs had only six healthy players in a semifinal round loss to UNI.

That’s Drake coach Darian DeVries who says their only focus right now is finding a way to get past Southern Illinois in Friday night’s quarterfinal round.

Wilkins averaged just over 10 and-a-half points this season and was a member of the Missouri Valley All-Defensive team.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans in the Iowa Senate have sent the governor a bill to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls sports in Iowa’s public and private K-through-12 schools. The ban also applies to women’s sports in all colleges and universities in Iowa, limiting participation to athletes who have female marked on their birth certificates. Senator Jesse Green, a Republican from Boone, says the bill is historic.

“We send a message to the nation that Iowans will not put common sense aside for wokeness,” Green said. “In the midst of an ongoing culture war, Iowans are taking bold steps to preserve the integrity and purity of athletic competition for generations to come.” All 17 “no” votes came from Democrats. Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls says the bill violates the Iowa value of inclusion.

“Iowa politicians have decided to pour gasoline on the culture war fires and embrace the worst form of identity politics, pitting Iowans against each other,” Wahls says. “…Why does this legislature have to police the lives of some of the most marginalized people in our society?” Governor Reynolds, who is expected to sign the bill, has said Iowa girls are in danger of losing out on college scholarships or winning championships if they’re competing against transgender athletes who were born male, but identify as female.

Senator Jeff Taylor, a Republicans from Sioux Center, says transgender ideology poses a danger to women. “This bill is not about hatred or discrimination. It is about keeping ourselves in alignment with reality,” Taylor says. “…It simply says, in regard to a non-coed, team context, that girls should be competing against other girls in K-12 athletics and women should be competing against other women in college athletics.”

Senator Pam Jochum, a Democrat from Dubuque, says the bill will isolate trans youth just like previous policies that forbid participation based on other characteristics, like race. “History is stained with these artificial boundaries that we set up,” Jochum said, “and as time goes on and we start to understand more and more of this, we open up our hearts and our minds and we become a more inclusive society.”

Eleven states have passed similar trans athlete bans and lawsuits challenging those bans have been filed in four of them. Senator Claire Celsi, a Democrat from Des Moines, says in 2020 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Civil Rights Act protects transgender Americans from discrimination. “I find this current bill not only legally risky, but petty, partisan, hateful and the reasoning shaky,” Celsi said.

Senator Jim Carlin of Sioux City says he and other Republicans are standing up for girls and women. “We’re just trying to protect time honored boundaries for women and little girls who want the privacy of a restroom and a shower, who want authentic competition in the field of sports,” Carlin said. The bill passed the House on February 21st on a 55 to 39 vote.

(Radio Iowa) – “Cashless” wagering would be allowed at Iowa casinos under legislation that’s cleared the Iowa House. Representative Shannon Lundgren, a Republican from Peosta, says many people now have digital wallets on their smartphones and do not carry cash.  “The cashless e-wagering system allows you to set a time limit and an amount,” Lundgren says. “Once that amount is gone, you have to wait until your time limit is up in order to reload it.”

Representative Chris Hall, a Democrat, says he’s supported Iowa’s gambling industry in the past — including the casino in his hometown of Sioux City — but cashless wagering may be a step too far after the explosion of sports betting. “I now am kind of struck by turning on SportsCenter on the weekend or turning on ESPN and being surprised at the fact that more and more time is devoted to a ticker at the bottom of the screen that is placing odds on the games or a segment of SportsCenter that is solely devoted to what the betting lines are,” Hall says, “so it’s actually becoming a little bit more about gambling coverage than it is about the athletics and the sports themselves.”

It’s been legal in Iowa to place bets on sporting events like football and basketball games since August of 2019. The bill approved by the House would make betting on “electronic sports” legal, too. E-sports competitions feature people playing a video game. There are now professional and college e-sports leagues. Representative Sandy Salmon, a Republican from Janesville, says the bill represents another expansion of gambling in Iowa.

“This makes the availability and access to gambling so much easier, thus increasing its danger and addictive power,” Salmon says. “…People tend to think that when something is legal that it is o.k. and safe and even helpful and even that it can’t hurt you — and that’s a lie.” The bill also would make it legal to bet on charity events featuring professional athletes — like golf tournaments and the N-B-A All-Star game.

Betting on player-of-the-year awards and the drafts held by professional leagues — like next month’s N-F-L draft — would be allowed as well. The bill passed a 71-to-28 vote and goes to the Senate for consideration.

A dreadful offensive performance spoiled Senior Night at Iowa State. Oklahoma State closed the game on a 23-6 run to beat the Cyclones 53-36. The 36 points were the fewest ever for an ISU team in Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones made only 15 of 52 shots.

That’s Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger who says they struggled with the Cowboy’s zone.

The loss snapped ISU’s four game win streak. The Cyclones travel to third ranked Baylor on Saturday to close the regular season.

Iowa State drops to 7-10 in the Big 12.

Shots wouldn’t fall and the Exira-EHK Spartans saw their season come to an end in the Class 1A Quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon. MMCRU won the rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game 50-39.

An early 13-0 run in the first quarter put the Royals out front and Exira-EHK would never get closer than 7 points the rest of the game. The Royals led 28-14 at half and 43-25 by the end of the third. MMCRU made it difficult for the Spartans to get any paint touches for much of the game and they settled for a lot of outside shots. It was a rough go of it from outside with the Spartans going just 4-32 from three and only 15-51 from the field in the game. Spartan junior Quinn Grubbs said their defense wasn’t good enough early either.

The Royals were able to get their offense going a little bit better and also gained an edge by dominating the glass. The Royals outrebounded the Spartans 44-21, limiting the Spartans to only 4 second chance opportunities in the game. Emily Dreckmann scored 18 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots. Ellie Hilbrands added 8 points and 13 reboounds for the Royals. MMCRU pick up their first ever state tournament win as a merged district and improved to 24-1. They’ll advance to take on defending champion Newell-Fonda on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

The Spartans were led by 11 points each from Quinn Grubbs and Mollie Rasmussen. Exira-EHK finishes another impressive season with a 23-2 record. The Spartans said goodbye to seniors Alisa Partridge, Mollie Rasmussen, and Macy Emgarten. After the game Rasmussen talked about the accomplishments she can be proud of.

Grubbs was thankful for the time she has had with a good group of seniors and knows it will be a tough act to follow for the next guard.

It wasn’t the finish the Spartans had in mind, but they sure do have a lot to be proud of again.

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Class 2A Quarterfinals:

#2 Denver 58, #7 Underwood 51

Denver sophomore Macy Matthias knocked down two 3-pointers to put her team ahead to stay late in the third quarter and the second-seeded Cyclones went on to beat seventh-seeded Underwood 58-51 to start Day 3 of the 2022 state tournament.  Denver improved 24-2 with the victory.  The Cyclones also got a big lift from senior starter Sydney Eggena, who was averaging a modest 6.5 points. She finished with 18 on 7-for-12 shooting to lead all scorers and grabbed six rebounds.  Teammate Reese Johnson filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Grace Hennessy added 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.  Underwood (22-3) reached the state tournament for the first time since IGHSAU Hall of Famer Jamie Boyd led the Eagles to consecutive state titles in 2003 and 2004. And with only one senior, they have a promising future.  That senior, Kendra Kuck, led Underwood with 13 points. She also made three steals, blocked a shot and handed out an assist. Juniors Aliya Humphrey and Leah Hall each scored 10 points for the Eagles and Humphrey added five assists. Alizabeth Jacobsen, a 6-foot-3 sophomore who has star potential, grabbed 13 rebounds, blocked two shots and scored nine points on 4-for-5 shooting.

#3 Central Lyon 42, #6 Cascade 40

A dramatic finish ended the Class 2A quarterfinals and sent third-seeded Central Lyon into the next round.  Sophomore Desta Hoogendoorn took a bounce pass from Regan Van Wyhe and hit a short jumper in the lane at the buzzer to give Central Lyon a 42-40 victory over Cascade.  Hoogendoorn finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lions (23-2), who’ll face second-seeded Denver in a semifinal at 11:45 a.m. Friday. She also had three assists and two steals and blocked four shots.  Addison Klosterbuer added 14 points with four 3-pointers and nine rebounds for Central Lyon, while Kaylee Davis had six points and seven rebounds.  Ally Hoffman led Cascade with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Alyssa Lux added eight points, three assists and three steals for the Cougars (20-4), who made the tournament for the eighth time in 10 seasons.

CLASS 1A Quarterfinals

#1 Newell-Fonda 77, #8 North Mahaska 44

The top-seeded Mustangs swept past eighth-seeded North Mahaska 77-44 to open the Class 1A quarterfinals and now sit just two victories from a record-tying fourth consecutive state championship.  They did it the usual way – with swarming defense that produced fastbreak layups and points in bunches. Newell-Fonda came up with 29 steals in this one and forced 40 turnovers in all.  The Mustangs (24-1) weren’t perfect. They had 23 turnovers themselves.  But they shot 53 percent in the second and 50.8 percent for the game and amassed 46 points off turnovers.  All 15 players saw action for coach Dick Jungers and 11 scored.  Macy Sievers, the lone senior who starts for the Mustangs, led with 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting – mostly layups after steals. She also grabbed four rebounds, handed out three assists and made six steals.  Sophomore Kierra Jungers, the coach’s daughter, had 15 points, five rebounds, five blocks and five steals and Mary Walker scored 11. Freshman Kinzee Hinders came off the bench to get nine points, three rebounds and four steals.  Sophomore Isabel Bartek was the only starter who didn’t score, but she contributed five assists, four rebounds and four steals. Ten Newell-Fonda players recorded at least one steal.

#4 MMCRU 50, #5 Exira-EHK 39

In a repeat pairing from last year’s Class 1A quarterfinals, fourth-seeded MMCRU jumped out early and beat fifth-seeded Exira-EHK 50-39 to move on to Friday’s semifinal round.  The Royals (25-1) turned the tables after losing to the Spartans 60-55 in the quarterfinal round a year ago. A fast start did the trick.  MMCRU made six of its first eight shots, including three 3-pointers, in bolting to a 15-2 lead less than 4 minutes into the game. The Royals were up 17-7 at the end of the quarter and the Spartans never found enough office to cut into that lead.  Exira-EHK managed only six field goals in the first half and shot 29.4 percent for the game.  Emily Dreckman led the winners with 18 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Taylor Harpenau and Mya Holmes each scored nine points and Ellie Hilbrands added eight points to go with 13 rebounds. Holmes complemented her scoring with six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.  Quinn Grubbs and Mollie Rasmussen led Exira-EHK (22-2) with 11 points each. Macy Emgarten added eight points and eight rebounds for the Spartans, whose only other loss was to Class 2A semifinalist Panorama in late January.  This was Exira-EHK’s sixth trip to state in the last eight years and only the second time the Spartans failed to reach the semifinals in that span.

#2 Bishop Garrigan 77, #7 Burlington Notre Dame 42

6-3 junior Audi Crooks poured in 32 points as Bishop Garrigan raced past previously unbeaten Burlington Notre Dame 77-42 and into the Class 1A semifinals for the third straight year. Crooks scored mainly on lob passes from her teammates in making 15-of-18 shots. And two of those misses didn’t matter because she grabbed the rebound and went right back up to score. College coaches have been impressed by how deftly she catches the ball and that was apparent when she easily snared a long pass from point guard Molly Joyce and banked in a layup. Joyce also was a big factor, scoring 25 points to go with six assists, five rebounds and seven steals. Abbie Capesius added 12 points and eight rebounds for the second-seeded Golden Bears, who shot 55 percent and will take a 23-3 record into the semifinals at 3:15 p.m. Friday. Win that one and Bishop Garrigan would be in the championship game for the third straight year. The Golden Bears lost to Newell-Fonda in their two previous appearances. Bishop Garrigan has won 20 straight since a 3-3 start against a rigorous schedule that included games with Class 5A Iowa City West, 3A tournament semifinalist West Lyon and Newell-Fonda, which beat the Golden Bears 74-70.

#6 North Linn 58, #3 Springville 56