Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras has a new position coach this spring. Offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz took over the role of quarterbacks coach after Ken O’Keefe announced his retirement.

Petras believes there are advantages to having the offensive coordinator handle the quarterbacks.

Petras says spring is the time to focus on individual development.

Iowa Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray (15) during a photo shoot at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA on Monday, September 13, 2021. (Stephen Mally/hawkeyesports.com)

Iowa sophomore forward Keegan Murray announced on Tuesday that he will enter the 2022 NBA Draft. Murray was a consensus First Team All-American this season after averaging 23.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per contest.

Murray helped Iowa win the Big Ten Tournament Championship and was named Most Outstanding Player at the tourney after scoring a record 103 points in the four-game stretch.

Murray led the country in player efficiency rating this season and was fourth in the country in scoring. He exploded on the scene this season after coming off the bench as a freshman, learning from 2021 National Player of the Year Luka Garza.

Murray is being projected as a likely top 10 pick. The NBA Draft will be held June 23rd in Brooklyn, New York.

Ryan Hawkins has been selected to compete in the 2022 Dos Equis 3x3U National Championship April 1-3 at The Sugar Mill in New Orleans. The event is part of the Final Four weekend festivities. Another Creighton Senior, Alex O’Connell, has been selected to compete in the TaxAct Men’s 3-Point Championship on Thursday at the Xavier University of Louisiana Convention Center. He is one of eight men selected for the event, which airs live on ESPN at 8 p.m. CT

For the 3×3 event, sixty-four players, who have elected to begin their professional careers, will represent all 32 Division I conferences and compete for their share of $150,000 – one of the largest prize purses at any FIBA 3×3 sanctioned events – by teaming up with other aspiring pro prospects from around the country. Each conference will be paired with another, forming 16 four-man rosters that will be separated into four pools. Hawkins is one of four players that will be part of the Beast Coast Ballers, a team composed of players from the BIG EAST and the Atlantic-10 Conferences. A full list of participants has not yet been announced.

Teams will play each squad in their respective pool on April 1 and 2 before all 16 will head to the knockout stage on April 3, with the top two teams from each pool receiving byes to the quarterfinals. The winning team from each pool play game will win $1,000, victories in the first two knockout rounds will net another $1,000, a quarterfinal win is worth $5,000, a semifinal triumph is another $10,000, while the team that takes home the Tournament title will add $50,000 to their winnings.

The paired conferences, and their respective pools, can be found below:

Hawkins led Creighton with 13.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in his lone season as a Bluejay, earning Second Team All-BIG EAST and USBWA All-District 6 accolades. He ranks first among active Division I players with 1,220 career rebounds and 927 field goals made, second with 2,580 points, fifth with 41 double-doubles, seventh with 363 three-point field goals and 11th with 257 steals.

This year, the Tournament will once again receive non-stop coverage via Twitter and on ESPN networks. Every second of the 2022 Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship will be available to a national audience beginning with pool play games on Friday and Saturday, April 1-2, and knockout rounds on Sunday, April 3.

Through the first three years of the Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship, at least 200 players that have participated in the event have signed professional contracts.
(Information from gocreighton.com)

(Ida Grove, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports, an investigation that began as a turkey poaching case last fall has concluded with five individuals pleading guilty to 48 wildlife charges and assessed nearly $83,000 in fines and liquidated damages. State conservation officers were executing a search warrant at the home of 26-year-old Devon Lewis, of rural Washta, Iowa, on Nov. 21, when they discovered evidence of other poaching activity. Once an additional search warrant was secured, investigators uncovered evidence of a year-round poaching network involving at least 70 deer, four turkeys, ducks, raccoons and red fox dating back to at least 2018.

State Conservation Officer Kirby Bragg said evidence from the lengthy investigation showed that these individuals would shoot wildlife out of season, over bait and from vehicles, often without the proper tags. The deer were primarily bucks with antlers.

Iowa DNR photo

The following individuals pleaded guilty in January in Ida County court.

• Devon Lewis, 26, of rural Washta, pleaded guilty to 23 citations with fines and damages totaling $37,600 and a minimum seven-year hunting license suspension;
• Taylor S. Luvaas, 27 of Schaller, pleaded guilty to 14 citations, with fines and damages totaling $31,118 and a minimum seven-year hunting license suspension;
• Jacob R. Fouts, 23, of Cherokee, pleaded guilty to six citations, with fines and damages totaling $5,861 and his hunting license will be suspended;
• Dylan D. Lewis, 22, of Cushing, pleaded guilty to three citations, with fines and damages totaling $5,251 and his hunting license will be suspended;
• Austin T.L. Lewis, 19, of Cushing, pleaded guilty to two citations, with fines and damages totaling $4,300.

The judge condemned five rifles, three shotguns and three bows used to commit the crimes. “Our best chance to catch poachers is when the public provides us with timely information after witnessing illegal activity take place,” said Officer Bragg. “It was apparent that this activity had been going on for quite some time.”

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources was assisted by the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office, Woodbury County Conservation Board, Ida County Sheriff’s Office and the Ida County Conservation Board.

The Atlantic girls soccer team is looking to build off a winning season last year. The Trojans finished 10-8 in 2021 and a lot of experienced players return this season. Head Coach Dan Vargason said they have things to work on, but expectations are to take the next step.

It will be a very athletic team for Coach Vargason. Top-scorer Jada Jensen returns after a huge 27-goal season a year ago. Lindley Eblen returns after 7 goals last season, and keeper Edria Brummer is back. Quinn Grubbs, Aubrey Guyer, Eva Steffensen, Paytn Harter, Maddie Dvorak, and Irelyn Gundy are expected to be big contributors as well. Coach Vargason said it will be fun to have a wealth of athleticism on the field.

Coach Vargason said they will need to improve their offensive diversity to be successful.

The Trojans open up the season on Thursday at home against Perry at 7:00 p.m.

Iowa State backup point guard Tre Jackson has entered the transfer portal. Jackson averaged 3.7 points this season for the Cyclones, averaging 12.8 minutes in 28 games.

Jackson’s playing time was up and down this season but he was part of the rotation during the Cyclones NCAA Tournament run. Jackson appeared in 74 games over three seasons at Iowa State.

The 6-foot guard from Columbia, SC will have two years of eligibility remaining.

ST. LOUIS, MO., March 28, 2022 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have reached an agreement with Albert Pujols on a one-year contract for 2022, re-uniting the franchise with one of its most decorated players of all-time.  Pujols, 42, was drafted by St. Louis in 1999 (13th round) and played his first 11 seasons with the Cardinals, nine of those as a National League All-Star.

“We are pleased and excited to have Albert return to the Cardinals for the upcoming season,” stated Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt, Jr.  “This reunion with Albert is a wonderful opportunity for not only him and the Cardinals, but also for our great fans, the St. Louis community, our players and staff, and everyone connected to the St. Louis Cardinals organization.  “We look forward to seeing Albert in the “Birds on the Bat” once again, and wearing his familiar uniform number 5.”

A member of the Cardinals 2006 and 2011 World Series Champions, Pujols compiled a .328 batting mark, 445 home runs and 1,329 RBI in his 11 seasons (2001-11) with the Cardinals, earning National League MVP honors in 2005, 2008 and 2009.

“Seldom does one get to share in watching or being a part of ‘living’ history,” said Cardinals’ President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak.  “From the day we called Albert’s name in the draft room back in 1999, to now, as we set our sights on 2022, this reunion just makes sense in so many ways.  We are all looking forward to reuniting Albert with his Cardinals family, and for the fan in all of us, including myself, this feels like looking through the pages of a favorite scrapbook or baseball card album and seeing those images and memories jump off the pages.”

Pujols currently ranks among the top-10 in Major League Baseball’s all-time career leaders in RBI (2,150, 3rd), home runs (679, 5th), doubles (672, 5th), extra base hits (1,367, 4th), total bases (6,042, 4th) and  at-bats (11,114, 8th) and his 3,301 career hits rank 12th.

In his 11 seasons with the Cardinals, “El Hombre” posted franchise career top-10 totals for slugging pct. (.617, 1st), on-base pct. (.420, 2nd) home runs (445, 2nd), RBI (1,329, 2nd), doubles (455, 2nd), walks (975, 2nd), games (1,705, 8th), runs (1,291, 3rd) and batting average (.328, 6th).

Albert is a 10-time All-Star, six-time Silver Slugger, two-time Rawlings Gold Glover, 2001 N.L. Rookie of the Year, 2004 N.L. National League Championship Series MVP, 2003 National League batting champion (.359), and 2008 Roberto Clemente Award honoree.

Pujols led the National League in runs scored five times, hits once (212 in 2003), home runs twice, and RBI once (118 in 2010).   He holds the 2000s decade (2000-09) National League “Triple Crown” for batting (.334), home runs (366) and RBI (1,112) despite the fact he didn’t debut until 2001.

Pujols has appeared in 74 career postseason games for the Cardinals, hitting a franchise postseason record 18 home runs with 52 RBI, including a World Series record-tying 3 HR’s in Game 3 of the 2011 Fall Classic.

Pujols ranks among the all-time Busch Stadium III leaders in games played (462, 5th), home runs (112, 1st), RBI (358, 2nd), runs scored (314, 3rd) and hits (544, 2rd).

The St. Louis fan-favorite spent the 2012-21 seasons in Los Angeles with the Angels and Dodgers, earning an All-Star selection in 2015 with the Halos.  Pujols had six seasons with 20 or more homers for the Angels and four 100-plus RBI seasons.   He batted .254 with 12 HR’s and 38 RBI in 85 games with the Dodgers last season, and hit .294 with 13 HR’s and 34 RBI with a .939 OPS in his 146 plate appearances versus left-handed pitching in 2021.

Pujols will wear his iconic uniform no. 5, which the team never re-issued after its 2011 World Series Championship season.

GIRLS TRACK

Bondurant-Farrar Invitational

Creston finished 7th with 38 points and Winterset was 3rd with 108. Creston’s Brianna Fields went 5th in the Shot Put and 3rd in the Discus.

BOYS TRACK

Creston finished 5th with 82 points and Winterset was 4th. Creston’s top finishes were a win by Brandon Bailey in the 800M, 5th place run for Casen Dryden in the 200M, Jayden Pettegrew was 5th in the 400M and 3rd in the 400M Hurdles. The Panthers were 3rd in the 4x200M, 2nd in the 4x400M and 4x800M,

Girls Golf

St. Albert 213, Logan-Magnolia 235, Tri-Center 245
Medalist: Lainey Sheffield, St. Albert, 49
Runner-Up: Alexis Narmi, St Albert 53

Boys Golf

Tri-Center 202, St. Albert 222
Medalist: Grant Way, Tri-Center, 43
Runner-Up: Jaxon Johnson, Tri-Center, 50

Girls Soccer

Glenwood 3, Sioux City West 1
Lewis Central 10, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 0
Tri-Center3, Harlan 1

Boys Soccer

Riverside 3, Atlantic 2 OT (R: Rhett Bentley 2 goals, Mikey Casson game-winner in 2nd OT. A: Gershon Segura and Tristan Mathisen each had a goal.)