William Byron rolled the dice on fuel and it paid off as Byron held off pole sitter Chase Briscoe to win the Iowa Corn 350 at the Iowa Speedway. It was his second win of the season and capped a caution filled race that feature a dozen yellows.

It was his third win at the Iowa Speedway. He claimed an Xfinity Series race in 2017 and a truck series race in 2016.

Briscoe tried to reel in Byron late but could not get by him.

Briscoe on trying to get by Byron.

Brad Keselowski won the first two stages but tried to rally late after getting caught on pit strategy.

Keselowski won the first Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway in 2009 and was bidding for a Cup Series win at the track.

Beni Ngoyi hopes to be Iowa State’s starting corner opposite Jontez Williams season. The redshirt sophomore played in all 14 games last season as a reserve receiver and was approached about switching to defense during bowl practice.

Ngoyi says the switch to defense has been a smooth one.

The Cyclones have had a lot of success with players switching positions.

ISU opens August 23rd in Dublin, Ireland, against Kansas State.

Sam Mayer took command on a restart with 17 laps remaining a went on to become a repeat winner, Saturday, of the Hy-Vee Perks 250. It was the first win of the season for the native of Franklin, Wisconsin, and his second straight win at the Iowa Speedway.

He won despite a pit road mishap that saw him slide through his stall.

It is Mayer’s third win at Iowa.

Chase Briscoe will be on the pole for Sunday afternoon’s Iowa Corn 350. It is Briscoe’s fifth pole of the season and he will be in search of his second win.

Briscoe says qualifying has always been his string suit.

Ryan Blaney will look to repeat as the winner of the Iowa Corn 350 Sunday afternoon at the Iowa Speedway. Blaney won last year’s inaugural race in front of 85 family and friends.

Blaney on what it would mean to repeat.

Bubba Wallace is coming off a win in the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It broke a three year winless streak for him but the celebration was tempered.

It was a win that locked up a spot in the NASCAR playoffs for Wallace.

Tomorrow’s race is part of a busy period for Kyle Larson, who is running the 360 Nationals at the Knoxville Raceway tonight and will try to defend his Knoxville Nationals title next week.

Larson says being the second year on the track will Sunday’s race even more competitive.

It was a season of growing for the 2025 AHSTW Softball team. A group that finished the season 5-16 spent the beginning of the season experimenting and determining the best lineup. Head Coach Katie Pace says the improvement from start to finish was vital.

AHSTW dropped the first three games of the season before picking up their first victory in a lopsided 17-0 win at East Mills and then winning three days later 10-1 at Harris-Lake Park. As the season progressed, Pace said the comradery improved immensely.

Two of the other three wins on the season were against Tri-Center, while the final victory of the season was an 8-4 road win at Underwood. The strength of schedule was extremely visible according to Pace.

Heading into the offseason, the Vikings lose two pivotal seniors in Sienna Christian and Loralei Wahling.

Coming back for the Vikings, are three of their top five hitters including Freshman Clara Pace who led in numerous offensive categories including a .467 batting average. Coach Pace says she is already eager to begin training for the 2026 season.

The Exira-EHK Audubon Softball team completed a 16-12 season and ended one win shy of a trip to the state tournament. A group that featured many players from the 2024 Audubon state runner-up team had high hopes for themselves and Head Coach Tom Petersen was pleased with the way the summer went.

Exira-EHK began the season 4-0 then dropped six of their next seven. Petersen says figuring out the best fit was an equation that was being solved as the season progressed.

It was a tale of streaks for Exira-EHK Audubon in 2025 and heavily relied on Sophomore ace Riley Miller who tossed over 77% of the team’s innings this year with 188 strikeouts and an ERA of under two.

The bats began to click on a consistent basis as the season came down the stretch by winning seven in a row heading into the regional title game against Van Meter. An offense that will return seven everyday starters.

Gust is one of two seniors exiting the program alongside Alissa Testroet.

After coming up one victory shy of a trip to Fort Dodge, Exira-EHK Audubon believes they have the tools needed to get back in 2026.

Mason Mitchell hopes for another trip to victory lane at the Iowa Speedway. The native of West Des Moines will run in tonight’s ARCA Menards Series race. It was an event he won in 2015.

Mitchell finished fourth in last year’s race at the Iowa Speedway.

Mitchell enjoys the added pressure of performing in front of so many friends and family.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa senior return specialist Kaden Wetjen has been named to the 2025 Jet Award Watch List, announced by the Jet Award Foundation on Friday.

The Jet Award honors the most outstanding return specialist in college football. Wetjen was the 2024 honoree after a stellar junior campaign.

Wetjen was chosen as an All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Sporting News, was voted the Big Ten’s Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year, and earned first-team All-Big Ten accolades in 2024.

Wetjen’s 1,055 combined kick return yards led the country by a wide margin in 2024. He was first in the FBS in kickoff return yards (727) and second in punt return yards (328).

The native of Williamsburg, Iowa, native had two returns for scores in 2024, including a 100-yard kickoff return against No. 19 Missouri in the Music City Bowl. The return is tied for the longest in program history and tied Iowa’s longest bowl game kickoff return (C.J. Jones against USC in the 2003 Orange Bowl) and the Music City Bowl’s longest kickoff return (LSU’s Leonard Fournette in 2014). Wetjen had three returns for 151 yards against the Tigers, averaging 50.33 yards per return, which is an Iowa bowl game record.

During the regular season, Wetjen also returned a punt 85 yards for a score against Northwestern, the seventh-longest in school history. He had 100+ kickoff return yards in three straight games (Washington, Michigan State and Northwestern) in 2024, a first by a Hawkeye since at least 1978.

The preseason watchlist features 16 standout players from across the nation who have demonstrated exceptional abilities in the return game. The winner of the 2025 Jet Award will be selected by a distinguished panel of voters including members of the FWAA, former winners of the Jet Award, and co-founders Johnny Rodgers and William Reed.

The award, named in honor of Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer Johnny “The Jet” Rodgers, will culminate with the presentation at the Jet Award Gala on April 2, 2026, in Omaha.

The Hawkeyes kickoff the season against UAlbany on Aug. 30 at Kinnick Stadium beginning at 5 p.m. (CT).

HAWKEYES ON 2025 WATCH LISTS
* Rhys Dakin – Ray Guy Award
* Gennings Dunker – Outland Trophy // Wuerffel Award
* Aaron Graves — Nagurski Trophy
* Mark Gronowski — Maxwell Award
* Logan Jones – Outland Trophy
* Drew Stevens – Lou Groza Award
* Kaden Wetjen – Jet Award

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa sophomore punter Rhys Dakin has been named to the 2025 Ray Guy Award Watch List, while senior place-kicker Drew Stevens has been named to the Lou Groza Award Watch List. The announcements were made Friday by the Augusta Sports Council and Palm Beach County Sports Commission.

The Ray Guy Award is presented to the nation’s top collegiate punter, while the Lou Groza Award goes to the country’s best place kicker.

Dakin (6-foot-4, 223 pounds) earned Freshman All-America honors Football Writers Association of America and was recognized on the all-conference second team in 2024.

The native of Melbourne, Australia, averaged 44.1 yards on 64 punts, which ranked fourth in the Big Ten and 24th nationally. Thirty-three of his punts were fair caught, 29 were downed inside the 20 and 16 traveled 50+ yards. Only five of his punts were touchbacks.

Established in 2000, the Ray Guy Award is named after College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Ray Guy. The recipient of the 2025 Ray Guy Award will be announced in December. Former Hawkeye Tory Taylor won the award in 2023 — and was a semifinalist in 2020 and 2021 — while Ryan Donahue was a finalist in 2010.

Stevens (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) was a semifinalist for the award in 2022 and 2023. He is the third Hawkeye to be a two-time Groza Award semifinalist; Nate Kaeding won the award in 2002 and was a finalist in 2003, while Mike Meyer was a semifinalist in 2011 and 2012. Iowa has had a Groza Award semifinalist four of the last six seasons: Keith Duncan (2019), Caleb Shudak (2021) and Stevens (2022 and 2023).

The native of North Augusta, South Carolina, ranks seventh in school history scoring (245), converting 54-of-67 field goals and 83-of-84 PATs. His 54 field goals are fourth most in program history. Stevens enters his senior season having made a school-record eight field goals of 50 yards or more. He has twice been successful with career-long 54-yard field goals (Northwestern, 2022; Maryland, 2024). Stevens was a third-team all-conference selection in 2024, scoring 100 points (20-of-23 FG; 40-of-40 PAT).

Semifinalists for the award will be announced on Nov. 18. From this list, a panel of FBS head coaches, SIDs, media members, former Groza finalists, and current NFL kickers select the top three finalists, announced on Nov. 25. The national winner will be announced on Dec. 12.

The award is named for NFL Hall of Fame kicker Lou Groza, who played 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Groza won four NFL championships with Cleveland and was named league player of the year in 1954.

The Hawkeyes kickoff the season against UAlbany on Aug. 30 at Kinnick Stadium beginning at 5 p.m. (CT).

HAWKEYES ON 2025 WATCH LISTS
* Rhys Dakin – Ray Guy Award
* Gennings Dunker – Outland Trophy // Wuerffel Award
* Aaron Graves — Nagurski Trophy
* Mark Gronowski — Maxwell Award
* Logan Jones – Outland Trophy
* Drew Stevens – Lou Groza Award