AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State football program placed three players on the Associated Press All-Big 12 team, announced today by the organization.

Jaylin Noel led the way on the first team as an all-purpose selection after having more than 1,300 all-purpose yards as a senior. The Kansas City, Missouri native finished with 72 receptions for 1,077 yards and seven touchdowns. He also returned 13 punts for 199 yards, averaging better than 15.0 yards per return.

Wide receiver Jayden Higgins and defensive back Jontez Williams earned spots on the second team.

Higgins, a senior from South Miami, Florida, teamed up with Noel as the only teammates nationally to record 1,000 receiving yards. Higgins finished with 87 catches for 1,183 yards and nine receiving touchdowns, all of which are the second-best season totals in school history.

Williams had four interceptions and 38 tackles in his first season as a starter. The Starke, Florida native picked off a pass in four-straight games, including two that came in the end zone and another that sealed Iowa State’s victory against UCF.

The Cyclones return to action at the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Dec. 28 at 2:30 p.m. (CT) on ABC.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Two University of Iowa football players – junior running back Kaleb Johnson and senior linebacker Jay Higgins — have been named Walter Camp First-Team All-Americans, it was announced Thursday by the Walter Camp Foundation.

The Hawkeyes have had at least one Walter Camp All-American (first or second team) over the past 11 seasons, dating back to 2014. Iowa has the longest active streak nationally of having a first-team All-American (2019-24). The Hawkeyes have had multiple Walter Camp honorees in five of the last six years, including the last two seasons with multiple first-team selections.

Walter Camp, the nation’s oldest college football All-America team, is one of five outlets recognized by the NCAA to determine consensus All-Americans (Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Sporting News, Associated Press).

Higgins earns Walter Camp All-America honors for a second straight year, after earning second team distinction in 2023. Higgins (6-foot-2, 232 pounds) has been recognized as the Butkus-Fitzgerald Big Ten Linebacker of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten. Higgins, who was a semifinalist for three national awards (Lombardi, Butkus, Lott IMPACT), is the only player in the nation with 100+ tackles and four interceptions. His four picks are tied for the most amongst linebackers from a Power 4 conference. Higgins has been a tackling machine for Iowa’s defense, racking up 118 tackles — second most in the Big Ten, 13th-most nationally. The Indianapolis native has been a leader on an Iowa defense that is ninth nationally, allowing 17.1 points per game.

Johnson, who was honored as the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten and a Doak Walker Award finalist, had a historic year. He posted school single-season records in points (138), total touchdowns (23) and rushing scores (21). Johnson (6-foot, 225 pounds) rushed for 1,537 yards in 12 games, sixth-most in the country and third-most in program history. The native of Hamilton, Ohio, scored at least one touchdown in all 12 regular season games — the longest stretch in school history. He had seven games in 2024 with two or more rushing touchdowns, believed to be the most in a single season in program history. He declared for the NFL Draft earlier this month.

The 2024 American Football Coaches Association FBS Coaches’ All-America teams will be announced on Friday.

The Hawkeyes will play No. 19 Missouri on Dec. 30, 2024, in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl in Nashville. The game will start at 1:30 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on ESPN.

2024 IOWA POSTSEASON ALL-AMERICA NATIONAL HONORS
JAY HIGGINS: Walter Camp, CBS, The Athletic (first team)
KALEB JOHNSON: Walter Camp (first team); CBS, The Athletic (second team), Pro Football Focus

In their very first year of existence, the Atlantic Girls Wrestling are battling and competing in their very first season. Although they dropped two matches at last night’s Triangular at Creston, Cadence Kinzie, Leah Thomas, and Hayley Armstrong all picked up wins. Head Coach Mike Greving has been proud of the way the team has battled through the early part of this first season.

There are always challenges when starting anything from scratch, much less a sports team. This can include anything from fundraising, acquiring uniforms and equipment to things like setting up procedures, habits, and even teaching athletes a new sport. Although Coach Greving said there have been challenges, the wrestling community of Atlantic has been there to help.

Despite being in their first season, there is some experience and leadership on this Atlantic team.

Some of those leaders for the Trojans have been sophomore Cadence Kinzie and junior Haley Huffman. Both bring experience to the table and have first and second-place finishes in their respective weight classes this year. Coacher Greving has been proud of the way they have wrestled this year, in addition to helping out the team.

Given the first-year status of the program, there were bound to be pleasant surprises and Greving has been impressed with some of his wrestlers who have adapted to a new sport.

Above all though, Coach Greving says it is about more than just results.

Coming up on Friday the Trojans will head to Council Bluffs for the Council Bluffs Classic and Greving is excited to see where his team is at.

After the Council Bluffs Classic, Atlantic will compete in the ADM Girls invite next Saturday before the Christmas break.

AT CRESTON

Creston 48, Atlantic 18

Creston 48, Red Oak 33 

Red Oak 48, Atlantic 18 

Creston winners — Alainah Galanakis (2), Karlie Kruse, Evy Marlin (2), Grace Keeler (2), Lydia Williams, Danikka Barber (2), Nevaeh Chestnut (2), Karter Clayton (2), Sydney Hoffman

Atlantic winners — Leiah Thomas (2), Haley Armstrong (2), Cadence Kinzie (2)

Red Oak winners — Nicole Bond (2), Paige Baier (2), Lilly Ford (2), Abbi Henderson, Emma Sallach (2), Elaina Kuipers (2), Jaden McAlpin, Amber Rea, Bryleigh Mauer

AT CRESTON

Atlantic 43, Creston 32

Atlantic 57, Red Oak 18 

Creston 59, Red Oak 21 

Atlantic winners — Aiden Smith (2), Kalvin Hayes (2), Jayden Harter (2), Donovan Hedrington (2), Evan Sorensen (2), Keaton Schroeder (2), Collin Harris (2), Braxton Hass (2), Dreven Smith, Mason Betts

Creston winners — Jackson Pettegrew (2), Weston Trapp, Kal Barber (2), Gunner Martwick (2), Kylen Parsons (2), Lane Travis (2), Colby Brammer, Colt Key, Ben James, Landen Lillie, Brodrick Phelps 

Red Oak winners — Kyler Sandholm, Adam Baier (2), Nolan Perrien, Tyler Schofield, Dayton Gusman, Curtis Jackson, Oliver Dykes 

AT SOUTHWEST VALLEY

Southwest Valley 54, CAM 12

Southwest Valley 60, Griswold 18

Southwest Valley 48, Southwest Iowa 18 

Southwest Iowa 30, CAM 16

Southwest Iowa 42, Griswold 30 

Griswold 48, CAM 18 

SWV winners — Brody Crozier (2), Gavin Wetzel (3), Brylan Marks (3), Ian Forsythe (3), Degan Farwell (3), Ben Waddell (2), Carson Boswell (3), Wyatt Shires (3), Carson Cooper (3), Brody Sparks 

SWI winners — Max Mount (3), Paxton Campbell, Blake Schaaf (2), Nash Moreland, Flynt Bell (2), Landon Ramos (2), Landon Roof (2), Tate Hanna, Evan Lang

Griswold winners — Wyatt Peterson (3), Jaden Jensen (3), RJ Dishong (3), Holden Jensen (2), Nollan Smith (2), Hudson Perkins, Quentin Ruchti-Wilson, Ethan Baxter

CAM winners — Kegan Croghan (2), Drew Barber, Drew Barber, Parker Wilson (2), Reilly Becker 

AT WAYNE 

Nodaway Valley 48, Wayne 36 

Nodaway Valley 46, Martensdale-St. Marys 27 

Nodaway Valley winners — Ty Strode (2), Keyin Steeve (2), Jett Christensen, Eli Harris (2), Derek Raasch, Caleb Christensen (2), Ashton Honnold (2), Trent Warner (2), Josh Nelson, Trevyn Colton

AT LENOX 

Interstate-35 54, Lenox 28 

Lenox 36, ACGC 24 

Lenox 52, Coon Rapids-Bayard 30

Interstate-35 51, Coon Rapids-Bayard 25 

ACGC 41, Coon Rapids-Bayard 31 

Lenox winners — Dylan Stein (3), Chase England (3), Caden Kaufman (2), JJ Martin-England (3), Laine Brown (2), Chase O’Riley (2), Wylie Brokaw (3), Levi Fitzgerald, Daysen Gregg, Keaton Lynn

CRB winners — Derek Harrison (2), Tyler Mohr (3), Kellen Hilgenberg (2), Owen Reineke (3), Ezra Cortez (3), Ethan Bauer (2), Treynor Cose (2) 

Boys Basketball

CAM 62, West Harrison 19

Martensdale St. Mary’s 58, Nodaway Valley 10

Bedford 47, Mount Ayr 45

Logan Magnolia 78, Fremont Mills 41

Greene County 47, Glidden Ralston 43

Girls Basketball

Martensdale St. Mary’s 54, Nodaway Valley 48

Mount Ayr 64, Bedford 24

Logan Magnolia 39, Fremont Mills 35

Glidden Ralston 52, Greene County 27

Iowa State turned up the defense at crunch time to rally for a victory in Iowa City, Thursday night. The third ranked Cyclones held Iowa without a field goal for more than six minutes down the stretch for an 89-80 victory, their first win in Carver-Hawkeye Arena since 2014.

That’s ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger. It was a game the Cyclones trailed by 13 points in the opening half before battling back.

A Nate Heise layup with just over three minutes remaining gave the Cyclones their first lead of the game.

Curtis Jones led ISU with 23 points and Joshua Jefferson had a huge game with 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Iowa State made eight of 15 from three point range and scored 52 points in the second half.

That’s Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. The Hawkeyes were dominated on the glass and the Cyclones had 18 offensive rebounds.

Owen Freeman led the Hawkeyes with 16 points.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa D-N-R reports the number of deer taken in the early archery and other seasons was down about five percent leading into the first gun season. The D-N-R’s Pete Hildreth says early gun totals are looking good. “During the first four days of the 2024 gun one seasons. So that’d be December 7th through the 10th, we had approximately 24-thousand-600 deer harvested and reported statewide,” Hildreth says. He says that’s a slight increase.

“That is a four percent increase of the season prior, and about two and a half percent higher than the five year average,” he says. Hildreth is the Conservation and Recreation Division administrator, and spoke during the Natural Resources Commission meeting. He says hunters in eastern Iowa have seen the best success.

“Eastern Iowa is showing strong harvest rates relative to past years, whereas much of western Iowa is lagging considerably,” he says. Hildreth says the lower deer totals in western Iowa are due to the impact of Epizootic Hemmorrhagic Disease or E-H-D on deer. Hildreth says they confirmed another disease in three new counties during the first shotgun deer season. Davis, Wapello and Shelby counties all had deer samples that tested positive for chronic wasting disease for the first time.

There are now 26 of the 99 counties with confirmed C-W-D cases, and 14 of those counties have only one confirmed case. “Unfortunately, nine of those counties with one detection have come online just since 2023, meaning that C-W-D is moving across our landscape, but not necessarily taking root,” Hildreth says.

The second gun deer season starts on Saturday.

(Radio Iowa) – Christmas Eve is a dozen days away and tens of thousands of Iowans are planning to drive or fly to see family and friends for the holiday. Brian Ortner, at Triple-A-Iowa, says the overall travel numbers are something of a surprise.

Dedicated fans of Cyclone and Hawkeye football will be headed to the southeast for bowl games later this month. Iowa State will play Miami in the Pop Tarts Bowl on December 28th in Orlando, while Iowa faces Missouri in the Music City Bowl in Nashville on December 30th. Ortner says many of those Iowans will be flying.

Des Moines International Airport photo

New Year’s Eve is said to be one of the deadliest nights to be on the roads due to the increased risk of encountering a drunk driver. Ortner says Iowans would be wise to cement their arrangements now.

Gasoline prices in Iowa are averaging about two-dollars and 70-cents a gallon, that’s about a dime a gallon cheaper than a year ago. The national average is three-oh-two.