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Iowa’s Linderbaum named to Big Ten Preseason Honors list

Sports

July 22nd, 2021 by admin

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa junior center Tyler Linderbaum has been named to the Big Ten Conference preseason honors list. The announcement was made by the league office Thursday.  

Ten members were selected by a media panel, with five representatives from the East and West divisions.

Linderbaum (6-foot-3, 289-pounds) was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy a year ago and earned first-team All-America honors from The Athletic and Pro Football Focus. He was named second-team All-America by the Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Phil Steele and the Walter Camp Foundation. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection by league media.

The Solon, Iowa, native was named a preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection and preseason first-team All-America selection by Athlon Sports.

The Hawkeyes have had eight players named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List in the last eight seasons. They include Linderbaum (2021), defensive end AJ Epenesa (2019), tight end Noah Fant (2018), linebacker Josey Jewell (2017), quarterback C.J. Beathard (2016), defensive back Desmond King (2016), defensive end Drew Ott (2015), and offensive tackle Brandon Scherff (2014). Epenesa, Fant, Jewell, Beathard, King, and Scherff were selected in the NFL Draft after making the list. 

The other Big Ten players on the 2021 list include Michael Penix Jr. (Jr., QB, IND), Thayer Munford (Sr., LT, OSU), Chris Olave (Sr., WR, OSU), Garrett Wilson (Jr., WR, OSU), and Jahan Dotson (Sr., WR, PSU) in the East Division. The West Division includes Linderbaum, Mohamed Ibrahim (Sr., RB, MINN), Brandon Joseph (So., S, NU), David Bell (Jr., WR, PUR), and Jack Sanborn (Sr., LB, WIS).  

The Hawkeyes open the 2021 season Sep. 4, hosting Indiana. For ticket information, visit hawkeyesports.com/footballgameday.

Herron-Martinez, Sinnott Promoted to Associate Head Coaches for ISU Softball

Sports

July 22nd, 2021 by admin

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State softball head coach Jamie Pinkerton has announced the promotion of assistant coaches Courtney Herron-Martinez and Kate Sinnott. Both will now be associate head coaches.

“In their four years together, they’ve done a great job with their positions,” Pinkerton said. “It was important to me to keep the continuity of our program together. This keeps our program going in the direction we want and keeps our staff together. Both are very deserving of the promotion.”

The contributions of both coaches led to the greatest season in Iowa State history in 2021, as the Cyclones went 34-23 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988.

Sinnott’s 2021 pitching staff was a critical piece to the greatest season in program history. Behind the arms of Karlie Charles and Ellie Spelhaug, Iowa State advanced to the NCAA Columbia Regional Final for the first regional final in school history. Sinnott’s work with one of the youngest pitching staffs in the entire country was no small feat. With a bullpen that featured just one player with Big 12 experience, 86 percent of all innings during the 2021 season were thrown by underclassmen. Iowa State’s 3.25 and 3.18 ERA’s in 2019 and 2020 were the two lowest totals in over 10 years for the Cyclones.

Martinez’s work with the Cyclone offense has led to an incredible turnaround for the program. The Cyclones have set a new single-season program home run record in each of the three full season she has been on staff. The work culminated in 2021’s offense that hit 64 home runs in just 57 games. Iowa State also set school records in runs, RBI and walks in 2021. Martinez’s work with Cyclone phenom Sami Williams was instrumental in bringing the ISU program to new heights. With Martinez as a guide, Williams became the first NFCA First Team All-American in program history and was selected number eight overall in the Athletes Unlimited collegiate draft. Under Martinez’s tutelage, Williams put together a staggering statistical season in 2021. Williams broke single-season program records for batting average (.446) and home runs (21) on the year with 54 RBI and an incredible .902 slugging percentage.

Garza Named Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year

Sports

July 22nd, 2021 by admin

ROSEMONT, Ill. — University of Iowa men’s basketball center Luka Garza has been named the 2020-21 Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year, the conference announced on Wednesday.

Garza is the first Hawkeye men’s basketball player to earn the Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year award, which was introduced in 1992. He is one of five Iowa student-athletes, and first in 13 years, to be presented with the Big Ten’s most prestigious annual honor. Other previous Hawkeyes selected include wrestlers Brent Metcalf (2008), Barry Davis (1985) and Ed Banach (1983), and football’s Chuck Long (1986).

Garza is the first basketball player to earn the distinction since Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine in 2016, and only the seventh all-time.

Garza swept all major postseason men’s basketball awards in 2021 (Wooden, Naismith, Associated Press, Oscar Robertson, NABC, Lute Olson, Sporting News) to become the program’s first consensus National Player of the Year. Iowa’s first two-time unanimous consensus first-team All-American led the nationally-ranked Hawkeyes to 22 victories and a third place Big Ten finish in 2021.

Garza, who graduated in May with a degree in economics, led the nation in total points (747), 30-point games (8), field goals made (281), and 20-point games (22). The native of Washington, D.C., ranked second nationally in points per game (24.1), fifth in free throw attempts (199), 10th in free throw makes (141), and 11th in double-doubles (13).

His 747 points extended the single-season school record that he set last season (740). The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year broke Iowa’s 32-year-old scoring record held by Roy Marble on Feb. 21, 2021. He finished his Hawkeye career with 2,306 points, which ranks seventh best in Big Ten history. Garza is the only men’s basketball player in Big Ten history to accumulate 2,250 points and 900 rebounds.

In addition to ranking first in career scoring, Garza is tops at Iowa in 30-point games (13), conference scoring (1,399), field goals made (870), field goal attempts (1,594), and 40-point games (2); second in rebounds (931); fourth in double-doubles (34); fifth in blocked shots (154); sixth in free throw makes (446) and attempts (636); and 16th in 3-pointers made (120).

Garza netted 36 points against Oregon in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, which was the most points scored by any player in a 2021 NCAA Tournament game and the most by a Hawkeye in 65 years matching Bill Logan’s 36 scored against Temple in 1956.

The Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year is selected by a panel of conference media members from nominations submitted by each institution.

2021 All Pride of Iowa Conference Baseball Teams

Sports

July 22nd, 2021 by admin

2021 Pride of Iowa All Conference Baseball Teams

1st Team 

Pitcher

*Jaydon Knight So. Mt. Ayr

Keegan Christensen Sr. Lenox

Caelen DeVault Jr. NV

Matt Hughes Jr. MSTM

 

Catcher

Kale Rockhold Fr. CD

 

Infield

*Jaixen Frost So. Mt. Ayr

Wyatt Carlson Jr. EU

*Kasey Carter Jr. MSTM

Matthew Boothe Jr. CD

 

Outfield (3)

Erik Trujillo Sr. Mt. Ayr

Carson Elbert Sr. MSTM

Mason Merfeld Sr. SE Warren

 

Utility (2)

Dawson Swank Sr. Mt. Ayr

Hogan Franey Jr. MSTM

*Unanimous Selection

 

2nd Team

Pitcher (4)

Gavin Stott Jr. MSTM

Cade Nelson Jr. SE Warren

*Devin Adams Jr. CD

Mason Mather Sr. NV

 

Catcher (1)

Dylan Swaney Sr. Bedford

 

Infield (4)

Jace Grose Jr. Mt. Ayr

Boston DeVault So. NV

Tanner Dierking Sr. SE Warren

Cullen Wood Sr. Lenox

 

Outfield (3)

Brock Manser Jr. SE Warren

Troy Holt Sr. MSTM

Silas Walston Fr. Bedford

Tyke Hullinger Jr. CD

 

Utility (2)

Cael Cassady Jr. MSTM

Brendan Knapp Jr. SWV

 

Honorable Mention

SEW – Jeffery Oakley Jr.

Mt. Ayr – Briar Knapp Sr.

CD – Jaxson Cornett So.

Lenox – Brad Larson Sr.

NV – Evan Forcht Sr.

Bedford – Noah Johnson Jr

MSTM – Jack Franey Sr.

EU – Ethan Mitchell Sr.

SWV – Caleb Pearson Jr.

Wayne – Strait Jacobsen So.

 

UI study considers why Olympic bronze medalists are so darn happy

Sports

July 22nd, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A new University of Iowa study finds Olympic bronze medalists tend to appear happier on the podium than the silver medalists who beat them. U-I marketing professor Andrea Luangrath focuses much of her research on non-verbal communication and is using high-tech software that can detect emotions from facial expressions in photos and video.  “We actually formed the largest data set ever used to test this phenomenon,” Luangrath says. “We gathered more than 400 athlete photos, representing more than 60 countries, and we did this from the Olympic games over time, too, so we gathered photos from the 2000 to the 2016 Olympics.”

So why do the third-place finishers smile more broadly than those in second-place? It has to do with “counterfactual thinking,” or imagining an alternate reality. The silver medalist, Luangrath says, tends to make an upward comparison, looking to the gold medal winner and thinking, “If only I’d been a little better.” “But the bronze medalist, they formed what we call a downward comparison,” Luangrath says. “It’s kind of thoughts of, ‘Well, at least I won a medal at all.’ They’re thinking about that 4th place finisher and they’re saying, ‘I’m actually just happy to be on the medal stand at all.'”

Gymnast McKayla Maroney and her famous face from the 2012 Games.

Perhaps the most recognized silver medal winner in recent years is American gymnast McKayla Maroney. She made the famous “not impressed” grimace after finishing second in the women’s vault at the 2012 Games in London. The U-I professor says it’s the perfect example of this phenomenon as Maroney underperformed. “Everyone had this expectation that she was going to earn a gold medal and so when she fell short of that, of course, she was disappointed in herself, as was everyone else for her, but it was really revealed on her face,” Luangrath says. “That iconic face has actually gotten her a lot of mileage. She’s take that face all over the world.”

The software used in the research can read a person’s facial expression by the shapes and positions of their mouths, eyes, eyebrows, noses, and other parts of the face. Not surprisingly, the study found gold medalists are far more likely to smile than the other two medalists, and people who finished better than expected were also more likely to smile, regardless of their medal. The study, “Counterfactual Thinking and Facial Expressions Among Olympic Medalists,” was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

(Podcast) KJAN morning Sports, 7/22/21

Podcasts, Sports

July 22nd, 2021 by Ric Hanson

With Jim Field.

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‘Field of Dreams’ game is in three weeks!

Sports

July 22nd, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The highly-anticipated Major League Baseball game at the Field of Dreams Movie Site is coming up on August 12th and Dyersville is hosting a “Beyond the Game” festival that starts the day before. Dyersville Chamber director Karla Thompson says there’s been a surge of interested in the area after the game was announced.) “We talk to tourists all the time that (say) they’ve never been there, it’s on the bucket list and this is the year they’re going to come to the Field of Dreams,” Thompson says.

The Dyersville Chamber has been fielding lots of calls about how to register for game tickets, which are being awarded through a lottery to Iowa residents. “Even if they don’t get tickets, they can come to our festival,” she says. “…We’re going to be the official viewing party for that game. We’re going to have that in the city square, which is right downtown in Dyersville.”

The game will be played on a newly-constructed, eight-thousand seat ballpark that’s next to the baseball diamond that was seen in the 1989 movie. The site is a few miles outside of Dyersville. In town, there’s an “If You Build It” exhibit about the making of the movie. Thompson says an “Iowa Zone” will be set up during the two-day festival so tourists — and locals — can learn more about the state as a whole.

“Businesses and organizations are going to be there, giving out samples or promoting their product or just kind of showcasing or providing an education opportunity, so like John Deere, Blue Bunny, Musco Lighting — those all kind of represent Iowa,” Thompson says.

Musco Lighting, based in Oskaloosa, has installed lighting systems at several sports arenas major league ballparks, including Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City. Thompson is looking for volunteers to help out during the festival, including at the “Kid’s Zone” in Dyersville where there will be all sorts of activities — and even a pitching contest. “It takes a village to put this on,” Thompson says, “so we’re kind of excited.”

The Field of Dreams game was originally scheduled for last summer, but was postponed due to the pandemic. The Chicago White Sox will be the home team and their game against the New York Yankees will count as a regular season game. From now through this Friday, fans with an Iowa zip code can register in a lottery for tickets. Winners will be notified on August 2nd if they won the chance to buy two tickets to the game.

Class 3A and 4A Substate Final Baseball Scoreboard 07/21/2021

Sports

July 21st, 2021 by admin

CLASS 3A

Substate 1: MOC-Floyd Valley 1, Storm Lake 0
Substate 2: Waverly-Shell Rock 9, Webster City 3
Substate 3: Wahlert Catholic 5, Independence 1
Substate 4: Central DeWitt 6, Assumption 1
Substate 5: Cedar Rapids Xavier 6, Solon 3
Substate 6: Marion 14, Benton 1
Substate 7: ADM 8, Boone 4
Substate 8: Winterset 4, Gilbert 2 (8 innings)

CLASS 4A

Substate 1: Ankeny 3, WDM Valley 1
Substate 2: Dowling Catholic 6, Mason City 2
Substate 3: Prairie 4, Cedar Falls 2
Substate 4: Pleasant Valley 4, Linn-Mar 0
Substate 5: Dubuque Hempstead 2, North Scott 1
Substate 6: Ottumwa 2, Iowa City High 1
Substate 7: Johnston 4, Indianola 1
Substate 8: Waukee 13, Norwalk 0

2021 State Softball Schedule Thursday 07/22/2021

Sports

July 21st, 2021 by admin

CLASS 1A

Third Place
3:30 p.m. – Iowa Central Field –  Southeast Warren (29-3) vs. Wayne (24-5)

Championship
5:00 p.m. – Kruger Seeds Field – Newell-Fonda (37-4) vs. Lisbon (37-8)

CLASS 2A

Third Place
6:00 p.m. – Iowa Central Field – #1 Wilton (29-4) vs. #3 Central Springs (30-7)

Championship
7:30 p.m. – Kruger Seeds Field- #4 Earlham (34-9) vs. #2 North Linn (41-6)

2021 State Softball Scoreboard 07-21-2021

Sports

July 21st, 2021 by admin

CLASS 1A

Semifinals
#1 Newell-Fonda 7, #4 Southeast Warren 3
#4 Lisbon 4, #2 Wayne 3

CLASS 2A

Semifinals
#4 Earlham 9, #1 Wilton 6
#2 North Linn 8, #3 Central Springs 5

CLASS 3A

Semifinals
#1 Davenport Assumption 12, #4 Atlantic 0 (4 innings) ON KJAN
#2 Mount Vernon 6, #3 Williamsburg 3

Consolation
#6 West Liberty 7, #7 Estherville-Lincoln Central 4

CLASS 4A

Semifinals
#5 Boone 4, #1 Winterset 2
#2 Western Dubuque 8, #3 ADM 1

Consolations
#4 Carlisle 4, #8 Oskaloosa 0
#6 Clear Creek-Amana 7, #7 North Polk 6

CLASS 5A

Semifinals
#6 Ankeny Centennial 8, #2 Pleasant Valley 1
#1 Fort Dodge 8, #4 Waukee 3

Consolations
#3 Iowa City High 2, #7 Southeast Polk 0
#8 Bettendorf 11, #5 Cedar Rapids Kennedy 2