(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa student and military veteran has won the prestigious Pat Tillman Scholar Award. Fort Dodge native Jake Schillo is working on his P-H-D after serving six years in the U-S Air Force as a nuclear weapons specialist. Schillo says he hopes winning the scholarship will open doors for other veterans from Iowa. “Iowa has a large community of veterans pursuing an education that would have incredible applications for the scholarship,” Schillo says. “I’m fortunate enough that the foundation saw something in me that they wanted to invest in and I hope that being the first scholar at Iowa helps to pave the way for future Tillman scholars within our state.”

The award is named after a former N-F-L player who gave up his pro football career to enlist in the U-S Army following the Nine Eleven attacks of 2001. Tillman was killed in 2004 while serving in Afghanistan. Schillo is working on his doctorate in the field of cancer genetics and hopes to open his own cancer research facility in the future. “I’m really focusing on creating new technologies that allow us to understand why patients relapse in cancer therapies,” he says, “so a lot of my research is just in that technology development.”

Schillo is among the 2021 Class of Tillman Scholars, 60 students who were selected from a group of several thousand applicants. Schillo says he’s on pace to graduate from the U-I in May of 2022. He graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High in 2005, and has a degrees in biology and chemistry from Minot State University in North Dakota.

(Radio Iowa) – Drake coach Darian DeVries got to see up close what it was like to coach your son while serving as an assistant at Creighton. Doug McDermott was a three time All-American and the national player of the year in 2014 while playing for his father, Greg. Tucker DeVries joins the Bulldog program after leading Waukee High School to the class 4A state championship.

DeVries calls it a unique situation.

He says a key is treating Tucker like the other players.

(Radio Iowa) – A Drake runner has been ruled out of the Tokyo Olympics. Yinka Ajayi won’t get the chance to fulfill her Olympic dream. According to the BBC Ajayi is one of 10 track and field standouts from Nigeria who have been ruled ineligible due to improper drug testing leading up to the games. None of the 10 athletes failed a drug test and many were based in the United States and compete collegiately in the U-S. The Athletics Federation of Nigeria has accepted responsibility for the botched testing. Ajayi was hoping to be on the track this (Friday) morning to take part in the mixed 4×400 meter relay. Ajayi took part in a Zoom conference last week shortly after arriving in Tokyo.

Ajayi said she was proud to represent Drake at the Olympics.

Ajayi has won three Missouri Valley Conference titles in her first two years with the Bulldogs.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s Joe Wieskamp and Luka Garza were both selected in the second round of the NBA Draft. Wieskamp was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 41st pick. He became the first Hawkeye to be drafted since 2015 and the highest draft pick since Ricky Davis went 21st overall back in 1998.

Wieskamp felt going into the draft the Spurs would be a good fit.

Wieskamp helped his draft stock with a strong performance at the NBA Combine.

Garza was taken by the Detroit Pistons with the 52nd pick after a senior season in which he was named the National Player of the Year.

Class 1A Championship @ Merchants Park in Carroll

St. Albert, Council Bluffs 7, Kee, Lansing 5

Class 2A Championship @ Merchants Park in Carroll

Van Meter 10, Centerville 2

Class 4A Quarterfinals @ Duane Banks Field in Iowa City

Pleasant Valley 5, Ottumwa 1

Prairie, Cedar Rapids 8, Dowling Catholic 4

Ankeny 2, Waukee 1

Johnston 11, Dubuque, Hempstead 5

The St. Albert Falcons are the 2021 Class 1A State Baseball Champions. Their 4th State Title in school history was achieved at Merchants Park in Carroll on Thursday afternoon with a 7-5 victory over Kee.

The Falcons scored 2 runs in each of the first, second, and third innings and tacked on one more in the 4th. Kee scored one in the second but St. Albert had the commanding 7-1 lead by the end of the 5th. Kee was able to get the bats going a bit in the 6th and put up four runs to close the gap. Some interesting base running ended up poorly for the Kee-Hawks that frame. One of two runners that were still aboard got chased down in a pickle at third, ending the threat. The Kee-Hawks couldn’t get anything going in the 7th aside from a mishandled grounder that got a runner on first. Carter White made the snag on a fly ball in left field for the final out.

The Falcons racked up 13 hits in the game and Luke Hubbard picked up the win on the mound. Cy Patterson came on in the 6th to secure the save and the title. Patterson also led the offense with two hits, and two RBI. Colton Brennan had 3 hits and scored twice. The Falcons end the season with a terrific record of 35-8 and pick up a State Title for the first time since 1999.

ST. LOUIS, Mo., July 29, 2021 – In accordance with the City of St. Louis’ mask mandate that went into effect on Monday, July 26, the St. Louis Cardinals have updated their existing health and safety protocols.  All fans will be asked to wear a mask when entering or circulating the five indoor ticketed club areas, plus the Official Team Store and the Cardinals Authentics Shop at Busch Stadium.  The five indoor club areas include the Cardinals Club, Redbird Club, UMB Champions Club, National Car Rental Club, and Perficient Red Jacket Club.  Fans do not have to wear masks when actively eating or drinking inside the clubs or in the outdoor seating portions of those clubs.

Fans will also be asked to wear masks in all indoor public spaces at Ballpark Village.

Masks will be made available for guests as they enter enclosed spaces to ensure compliance with the City’s new mandate.  A full list of Busch Stadium health and safety protocols can be found at cardinals.com/backatbusch.

The Cardinals continue to encourage all fans to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

The Iowa Girls Coaches Association has released their 2021 All-State Softball selections. Here’s a look at area honorees.

CLASS 1A

1st Team
TJ Stoaks, Lenox
Macy Emgarten, Exira-EHK
Charlie Pryor, Woodbine
Emily McIntosh, West Harrison

2nd Team
Erika Rife, Logan-Magnolia
Anna Kelly, Griswold
Haylee Pennock, Griswold
Shay Burmeister, Exira-EHK

3rd Team
Kenna Ford, Riverside
Haley Koch, West Harrison
Abby Hiatt, Logan-Magnolia

Honorable Mention
Karly Millekan, Griswold
Maccan Guritz, Logan-Magnolia
Mallory Behnken, CAM
Maddy Holtz, CAM
Alexia Miller, Boyer Valley
Leah Cooper, Boyer Valley
Jolie Sheldon, Sidney
Katelyn Nielsen, Audubon

Full list: 1A

CLASS 2A

2nd Team
Ella Pierce, Underwood
Kenzie Schon, Kuemper Catholic

3rd Team
Ella Sand, West Central Valley
MaKayla Haynes, West Monona

Honorable Mention
Kelsey Madalyn, ACGC
Carly Miller, West Monona
Ally Meyers, AHSTW
Jayden Huisman, Treynor
Maddie Pierce, Underwood

Full list: 2A

CLASS 3A

1st Team
Olivia Engler, Atlantic

2nd Team
Alyssa Derby, Atlantic

Full list: 3A

CLASS 4A

1st Team
Haley Bach, Lewis Central

2nd Team
Chloe Gallegos, Carroll
Emily Brouse, Harlan

3rd Team
Gracie Hagle, Creston

Full list: 4A

5A

Class 1A Championship

12:00—#2 St. Albert, Council Bluffs vs. #4 Kee, Lansing

Class 2A Championship

2:30—#1 Van Meter vs. #2 Centerville

Class 4A Quarterfinals

11:00—#1 Pleasant Valley vs. #8 Ottumwa

1:30—#4 Dowling Catholic vs. #5 Prairie, Cedar Rapids

5:00—#2 Ankeny vs. #7 Waukee

7:30—#3 Johnston vs. #6 Dubuque, Hempstead