Chase McLaren with his parents Dustin McLaren and Jess Ehrman and Atlantic/CAM coach Tim Duff

Atlantic/CAM wrestler Chase McLaren signed his national letter of intent Thursday to wrestle for Grand View University in Des Moines.  Entering his senior season, McLaren has a chance to be a four time state qualifier after a 7th place finish at 132 pounds last season.  McLaren credits the Atlantic/CAM program for making this opportunity possible.

McLaren describes how he will fit into the Grand View program.

Grand View has won the last seven NAIA national championships and had 10 All-Americans last season.  McLaren wants to tap into that success.

McLaren considered playing baseball in college, but chose to wrestle at Grand View after fielding other offers.  He will study business and said being in Des Moines was another plus for Grand View.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — James Palmer overcame a cold start to score 29 points, Isaac Copeland Jr. had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Nebraska beat Seton Hall 80-57. The Cornhuskers ended a seven-game losing streak against opponents from the Big East with their dominant performance in the Gavitt Tipoff Games. Myles Powell had 24 points to lead Seton Hall.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The NFL’s decision to move the regular-season game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams due to the poor condition of the turf at Azteca Stadium has left many Mexicans disappointed, angered and wondering how it will affect the relationship with the league for the future.

NEW YORK (AP) — ESPN’s equipment trucks already were headed for Mexico when the network found out next Monday night’s mega-matchup between the Chiefs and Rams was being switched to Los Angeles. And the scramble was on.

Thursday, November 15

Eight-Player Final
10:00—Rockford (11-1) vs. New London (11-1)

Class A Final
1:30—AHSTW, Avoca (12-0) vs. Hudson (12-0)- ON KJAN

Class 3A Final
7:00—Epworth, Western Dubuque (10-2) vs. Xavier, Cedar Rapids (12-0)

Friday, November 16

Class 1A Final
11:00—West Sioux, Hawarden (11-1) vs. Dike-New Hartford (12-0)

Class 2A Final
2:00—Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (11-1) vs. PCM, Monroe (12-0)

Class 4A Final
7:00—Dowling Catholic, W.D.M. (10-2) vs. Cedar Falls (12-0)

The AHSTW Vikings (12-0) will face the Hudson Pirates (12-0) for the Class A Football Championship on Thursday at the UNI-Dome. We’ll have coverage of the title tilt on KJAN with pregame at 12:30pm and kickoff at 1:30pm from Cedar Falls. It’s the only championship game that will feature two undefeated teams.

Hudson will be playing in their second straight title game after falling to West Sioux 35-14 in last year’s championship. A lot of experience returns from that Pirate team from last season and AHSTW Head Coach Davis Pattee said that makes them a very tough opponent.

The Pirates are led on offense by running back Christian Seres. He has rushed for 1,914 yards this season with 30 touchdowns. He had 123 yards and two scores in the Pirates’ semifinal win over West Hancock. Coach Pattee said the Hudson offense is geared toward getting Seres touches.

The Hudson Defense has been solid throughout the season as well, allowing their opponents just 13.8 points per game on average. The Pirates start five down defensive lineman and Coach Pattee said that makes them tough to deal with at the line of scrimmage.

AHSTW will counter with an offense that was firing on all cylinders in the semifinal win over Edgewood-Colesburg. Quarterback Blake Osbahr was a perfect 11 of 11 with 2 touchdown throws to Drake Partridge in that game. Gabe Pauley continued his consistent play with three touchdown runs in the semifinal win. The Vikings defense has allowed an average of just 11.7 points per game to opponents and the defensive line provided outstanding pressure last round. Coach Pattee said it was great to get the experience of the dome last week and his team is really enjoying the opportunity to play again.

Chris Parks will have the call of the Vikings and Pirates on KJAN. Tune in on-air at AM 1220, FM 101.1, online at kjan.com, or on the web app. Pregame once again gets underway at 12:30pm with kickoff at 1:30pm.

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State women’s basketball program and head coach Bill Fennelly announced Wednesday that two prep standouts have signed their letters of intent, completing the Cyclones 2019 recruiting class. The duo, who all hail from Texas and Iowa, have signed to play for the Cyclones starting in 2019-20 season.

Maggie McGraw, a 5-10 guard from Indianola, Iowa, is a three-time First-Team All-Conference performer for Southeast Polk. McGraw has averaged double figures each of the last three seasons, with her banner season coming in 2017-18, where she averaged 18.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals per contest. McGraw led Southeast Polk to their third-straight conference championship and made it to the semifinals of the State tournament. Last season she also joined the 1,000-point club after just 61 games. McGraw is also a five-star prospect on ESPN.com, rated 45th nationally.

“Maggie has Cardinal and Gold in her blood and we are excited to add her officially to the Cyclone women’s basketball family,” Fennelly said. “Maggie is a skilled offensive player that can play anywhere on the perimeter.   She is a great fit for Iowa State on and off the court.”

Gabby McBride, a 6-2 forward from Roanoke, Texas, is a four year starter on the varsity squad. As a sophomore, she averaged 8.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. McBride was also an All-District honoree as well as an Adidas All-American.

“Gabby is a player who has a good upside on the court and will add great personality to our program as well,” Fennelly said. “She is athletic and physical around the rim and as we lose players in the post through graduation this was a position of need for our program.”

2018-19 Iowa State Signees

Maggie McGraw, G, 5-10, Indianola, Iowa, Southeast Polk High School

Gabby McBride, F, 6-2, Roanoke, Texas, Liberty Christian High School

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (3-0) rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat Auburn (3-1), 67-64, and advance to the championship of the Preseason WNIT. Freshman Ashley Joens put up a team-high 18 points, while senior Bridget Carleton scored the game-winning basket with nine seconds remaining to lift the Cyclones to victory.

Carleton stuffed the stat sheet in Tuesday’s win, putting up 15 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. She was followed in the scoring column by Madison Wise (13) and Meredith Burkhall (10).

How It Happened
The Cyclone offense struggled to find its rhythm from the outset against a scrappy Auburn defense. Despite generating a number of open looks, Iowa State opened the game 1-of-13 from the field, missing its first eight shots from beyond the 3-point line. Carleton helped right the ship after the slow start, scoring seven points in the opening quarter to help close the gap to 18-13 after 10 minutes.

Iowa State clawed to within 24-21 on a Madison Wise layup midway through the second quarter, but a 12-0 Auburn run ensued, book-ended by triples from Janiah McKay and Emari Jones. Joens and Wise responded with treys of their own to stop the run, but Auburn still led 38-29 at the intermission.

A 10-0 Cyclone run early in the third quarter brought the Hilton Coliseum crowd to its feet. Joens and Wise each knocked down triples to narrow the deficit to just 41-39 with 6:34 to play in the period. Wise would later tie the game at 45-45 with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the quarter.

It was the beginning of a 13-0 spurt, with Iowa State taking his first lead of the night on yet another Joens triple just nine seconds into the fourth quarter. The Tigers climbed back to within two at 56-54 with 4:28 to play, but Carleton and Alexa Middleton combined to score 10 straight to extend the lead

Late-game heroics from Auburn’s Janiah McKay ensued, as the Tiger guard hit three triples in 47 seconds, the last of which tied the game at 64-64 with 41 seconds to play. However, Carleton had the last word, with a game-winning drive to the basket for a lay-in with nine seconds remaining. She also swatted McKay’s final shot attempt out of bounds in the closing moments to secure the 67-64 win.

Up Next
Iowa State will take on the winner of Thursday’s Marquette vs. Miami semifinal game. The Preseason WNIT championship game will be played Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum. The game will be televised live by CBS Sports Network.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Maybe this was only fitting: Two players named Wright got Colorado’s season started on the right foot. Namon Wright scored 25 points and McKinley Wright IV added 17, helping the Buffaloes pull away in the second half to beat Drake 100-71 on Tuesday night in their season opener.

Coming off the bench, Namon Wright — a senior guard — hit 8 of 12 shots to establish a new high while at Colorado. His overall career-best is 28 set on Feb. 24, 2015, while playing for Missouri. At more than 29 minutes, he saw more court time than any other Colorado player.

Tyler Bey had nine points and 14 rebounds as the Buffaloes (1-0) moved to 9-0 in home openers under Boyle. McKinley Wright picked up where he left off in the assist department with six. He broke Chauncey Billups’ freshman record for assists a season ago with 175.

The Buffaloes showed some early rust, but relied on their stingy defense until the offense found some rhythm. They out-rebounded Drake by a 44-29 margin and kept the turnovers to a minimum — until garbage time. The Bulldogs kept up with Colorado when the 3-pointers were falling. They were 7 of 18 in the first half from long range, and 4 of 19 in the second.

It was a Drake-themed night with the school from Iowa in town, filled with plenty of music from the rapper/song writer. There was a Drake trivia contest and a name-that-tune challenge. Even the Buffaloes’ mascot got into the act by dressing in Drake-style clothing.
UP NEXT
Drake faces Texas State on Saturday in the first of three straight games at home.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Megan Gustafson scored 29 points, making all 13 of her shots, Makenzie Meyer made five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points and No. 13 Iowa beat Western Kentucky 104-67 on Tuesday night.

Gustafson became the second player in program history to surpass 1,000 career rebounds with six boards in the first half. She scored 12 straight Iowa points spanning the third-quarter break.

Hannah Stewart added 14 points for Iowa (3-0), which has its highest ranking since the Feb. 16, 2016.
Iowa led 50-36 at halftime behind Gustafson’s 13 points and six rebounds. Meyer and Alexis Sevillian each scored 11 points. The Hawkeyes had 18 assists on 22 field goals, and shot 64.7 percent from the field. The Hilltoppers were held to just 10 points in the third quarter, and trailed 79-46.

Raneem Elgedawy and Alexis Brewer each scored 14 points — with 26 coming in the first half — for Western Kentucky (0-3), which faced ranked Louisville in its opener and later Oklahoma.