(Radio Iowa) – The pandemic forced the cancellation of the Drake Relays, but Drake University’s Beautiful Bulldog contest continued and was decided by online voting via Facebook on Tuesday.

The winner is “Hulk,” a three-year-old English bulldog owned by Heath and Justine Johnson of Jewell. Justine Johnson says her pooch coming out the victor was a tremendous surprise and honor as Hulk became the top vote getter with just seconds to go in the canine competition.

“We were jumping up and down,” Johnson says, laughing. “It was crazy. It was like we really were running a race. It was the last two minutes, literally, that he pulled ahead, so a lot of adrenaline.” More than 16,000 voters took part in the contest, which has been a Drake tradition for 41 years.

Hulk and his family.

Johnson was asked about Hulk’s response to winning the high honor. “He is excited even though, I don’t know if you watched the news but he was kinda’ sleeping during his interview,” Johnson says. “He had a lot of excitement going on yesterday.”

Hulk will be the mascot for the Des Moines university for the next year. A total of 150 bulldogs entered the contest with the number narrowing to 32 in the final phase. Tuesday was National Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — After leading the Kansas City Chiefs to their first Super Bowl championship in five decades, quarterback Patrick Mahomes is finally eligible to sign a contract extension this offseason. And while there is no hurry given the fact that Mahomes is entering just his fourth season in the league — and the Chiefs could simply pick up his fifth-year option —

FILE – In this Feb. 2, 2020, file photo, Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, left, and Tyrann Mathieu celebrate after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Super Bowl 54 football game in Miami Gardens, Fla. After leading the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl championship in five decades, Mahomes is finally eligible to sign a contract extension this off-season. Both sides are eager to come to terms on what could be a record-setting deal. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

the reality is both sides are eager to come to terms on what could be a record-setting deal.

Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell says the Cyclones are still trying to get better, even at a different pace. Campbell says with the campus shut down they are using different forms of technology to try and maintain a routine for the players.

Campbell wants the players to remain focused on getting better even from long distance.

Campbell says while strength and conditioning is not taking pace in person the recruiting season continues.

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While one big bicycling event across Iowa (RAGBRAI) is on hold until next year, officials holding a similar event (The Iowa Ride) say they’re hopeful the spread of COVID-19 will have lessened and the ride can still take place.

In a social media post, Monday, organizers said “Our priority to keep everyone safe. A bike ride is never that important. We also know that the start of Iowa’s Ride is still close to 3 months away, so it is still early to decide at this point. We will remain hopeful that the health risks will subside towards the end of summer. Again, our top priority is the safety of everyone involved in our inaugural event.”

The Iowa Ride is scheduled to take place July 12th through the 18th, or one-week before the scheduled start of the now postponed RAGBRAI event. RAGBRAI organizers said Monday, the same ride planned for this year, will instead take place in 2021.

Instead of proceeding from west to east, the RAGBRAI, the 416-mile long Iowa Ride starts in Dubuque on July 12th and ends in Rock Rapids on the 18th.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa wrestling program announced Monday that Michael Kemerer has been granted a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA.

The NCAA granted the three-time All-American a clock extension resulting from a redshirt year during initial year of enrollment and a hardship waiver (NCAA Bylaw 12.8.1.7).

The NCAA decision means Iowa will return nine All-Americans from a 2020 team that saw 10 All-Americans win a Big Ten title, post a 13-0 dual record, and enter the NCAA Championships as the favorite to win the 24th team title in program history.

“I am thankful and already ready to compete again,” Kemerer said. “We did so many things and met every challenge we faced last year. We had a great team and a lot of fun doing it. We are bringing a lot of guys back, but it is a new season now, so we are going to have to go out and earn it again. You don’t take your accomplishments from last year into the next year, so we have to be looking forward, but we have a good team and it is going to be a fun year.”

(Radio Iowa) — RAGBRAI 2020 is being called off due to COVID-19. Organizers say it’s being postponed to 2021. The seven-day bike ride across Iowa usually draws 10K participants in late July. Event organizers said on the official RAGBRAI website, “After deep consideration and collaboration with the eight overnight town executive committees, government agencies, the public health department, and official business partners of RAGBRAI, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone RAGBRAI XLVIII (48) to July 25-31, 2021.”

Because RAGBRAI takes months of planning and preparation, officials said “Based on the extreme disruption COVID-19 has had and will have on the planning, we didn’t feel it was responsible to move forward and put the safety of our riders, crew, communities, or residents of Iowa at risk.” The RAGBRAI XLVIII route will remain the same for 2021. The towns along the route have already put a substantial amount of work and resource into planning and will have the opportunity to showcase their communities in 2021.

The full route with meeting and pass-through towns will be announced at a later date.

REGISTRATION REFUND OPTIONS:

All riders who have registered and paid for 2020, will have three options.

1. Transfer their 2020 registration to the 2021 ride. Any rider who chooses this option is not subject to the lottery and will receive their wristband and bike band in 2021. In addition, they will receive a $15 merchandise voucher good through Dec. 31, 2020.
2. Request a full refund of their 2020 registration.
3. Donate their registration to Iowa Bicycle Coalition. The non-profit works 365-days a year to advocate, educate, and enhance bicycle laws and safety in the state. Their work goes a long way in making Iowa safe and fun for cyclists.

All riders will be required to fill out a request form by June 01, 2020, to be eligible for a full refund. Riders who do not fill out a form by June 01, 2020, will automatically be transferred to the 2021 ride. To view a detailed FAQ or to fill our your REQUEST FORM, please visit RAGBRAI.com/registration.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The National Wrestling Coaches Association announced Friday that 10 University of Iowa wrestlers have earned All-America honors for the 2020 NCAA wrestling season.

Nine Hawkeyes — Spencer Lee, Austin DeSanto, Max Murin, Pat Lugo, Kaleb Young, Alex Marinelli, Michael Kemerer, Jacob Warner, and Tony Cassioppi — were named first-team All-Americans. Abe Assad was named a second-team All-American.

Iowa was the only NCAA Division I school in the country with 10 All-Americans, and the only team with nine first-teamers. It marks the seventh time in school history, and first since 1995, that nine Hawkeyes earned first-team All-America honors. This year is the first in program history that all 10 Hawkeyes were named to an All-America team.  

Each year the NWCA names its All-America teams based on a wrestler’s performance at the NCAA Championships. Because the national tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, All-America honors were based on each wrestler’s overall body of work through the conference tournaments and up to the national championships.

“Officially naming All-Americans is the right thing to do,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. “Our guys were consistent and earned their results. They earned their seed at the national tournament. They were dominant and based on their entire body of work they deserved to be recognized.”

Iowa’s 10 All-Americans combined for a record of 184-29 (.864). They scored bonus points in 90 matches and defeated 79 ranked opponents.

Iowa was ranked at the top of every national poll entering the national tournament and was expected to win the 2020 NCAA Championships by more than 50 points based on point totals calculated from seeds. The Hawkeyes had three top seeds, nine wrestlers seeded eighth or better, and another seeded 11th. A team title would have been the 24th in program history.

Iowa posted a 13-0 dual record and 9-0 Big Ten Conference record. The Hawkeyes won the 2020 Big Ten Championships, crowing three individual champions and scoring 157.5 points, its highest total since 1995. Brands was named NWCA and Big Ten Coach of the Year, and junior Spencer Lee was named winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy and Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.

Following Friday’s recommendations to keep Iowa schools closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year due to the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), all spring activities of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and the Iowa High School Athletic Association are canceled.

The cancellation of all four boys’ and girls’ sports – golf, soccer, tennis, and track and field – was made by the IGHSAU and IHSAA in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Education and state officials. The decision was also approved by the IGHSAU and IHSAA boards.

Guidance from Governor Kim Reynolds, the Iowa Department of Education, and the Iowa Department of Public Health had previously suspended spring activities through April 12, then through April 30. Governor Reynolds announced the extended closure of in-person schooling and school activities with Department of Education executive director Dr. Ann Lebo at a news conference Friday.

This cancellation is effective for all spring practices, competitions, and postseason events.

“While we are disappointed that student-athletes will not have the opportunity to compete this spring, we remain committed to our primary goal of keeping students, coaches, officials and communities safe,” IHSAA executive director Tom Keating said. “This cancellation comes out of an abundance of caution for the well-being of all. Conducting our spring season would involve moving groups of people in and out of various communities for competition. At this time we believe that is a risk we should not take.”

The spread of COVID-19 has caused an unsatisfying and unfortunate end to the 2019-20 school year as students across Iowa and the United States have faced cancellations and suspensions of school and athletic competition.

The IGHSAU and IHSAA would like to thank all spring sports participants, coaches, administrators, officials, and spectators for their passion, patience, and effort during this unprecedented time.

“We understand the important role that athletics and activities play in the lives of our students, schools and communities,” IGHSAU executive director Jean Berger said.

“But during this time of uncertainty, we must support the health and safety recommendations of our state and national leaders. This decision is especially heartbreaking for our senior competitors, and we thank them for all they have done to represent their schools throughout their careers.”

Summer sports (boys’ baseball, girls’ softball) are suspended pending an assessment made in collaboration with state officials before June. Practice, competition, and postseason dates will be announced when they become available.

Both organizations will continue to follow guidelines from health and government officials in determining when it is safe to resume school activities and mass gatherings.

In the 2018-19 school year, the four spring sports accounted for over 45,000 participants among Iowa high school boys and girls. Track and field was the second most popular sport by participation for both the IHSAA (12,012 boys) and the IGHSAU (9,908 girls).

The IGHSAU and IHSAA continue to encourage member schools and communities to follow the guidance of Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Public Health via https://idph.iowa.gov/ and https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/.

Updates will continue to be made online and shared with member schools on summer and 2020-21 activities.