Remaining Class 1A and 2A schools will compete in volleyball Regional Semifinals tonight around the state. Here is a look at area matches with first serve set for 7:00pm for all.

Class 1A

Region 2

Stanton @ East Mills
Fremont-Mills vs. Boyer Valley (@Woodbine)

Region 3

North Tama vs. Gladbrook-Reinbeck (@ Traer)
Ar-We-Va vs. CAM (@ Audubon) – ON KJAN

Class 2A

Region 3

Earlham @ Treynor
West Monona @ St. Albert

Region 4

AC/GC @ Tri-Center
BCLUW vs. Woodward-Granger (@ Jewell)

Region 5

Central Decatur @ Sidney
Pella Christian @ Pleasantville

An Iowa football player is tackling much more than X’s, O’s, and school work this season. Senior offensive lineman Dalton Furgeson and his girlfriend, Rachael, became parents to twin girls last month. Ella and Hazel were born five weeks premature. After spending a lot of time in the UI Children’s Hospital, Ferguson told KCRG-TV that his daughters are now at home – gaining weight and strength every day. “They’re doing really well. They’re gaining about one-and-a-half to two ounces a day, so they’re making good strides,” Ferguson said.

Dalton Ferguson

The girls were born on September 7. The next day, Ferguson was in the starting lineup as the Hawkeyes beat Iowa State. He took part in an emotional “wave” at the end of first quarter as Rachel, with their newborns, watched from the hospital overlooking Kinnick Stadium. Now, they’re at home with the babies, who are keeping their parents busy day and night. “No sleep, waking up in the middle of the night,” Ferguson said with a laugh, “but it’s all worth it.”

Ferguson, a native of Solon, joined the Iowa football team as a walk-on but was placed on scholarship this semester. He’s getting his first significant playing time this season after recovering from a pair of serious injuries. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz is impressed with what Ferguson is doing both on and off the field. “What a semester for him, on every front,” Ferentz said. “First of all, being a father and having them in the hospital for a while, being able to wave at them. Now, having them at home…anybody who’s a father understands that’s a big adjustment for the parents.”

Ferentz believes Ferguson has a shot at playing in the NFL. Ferguson, an education major at the UI, has said his long-range plan is to be a player development director for a college team.

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

UNDATED (AP) — Guilty verdicts on fraud charges against three men should have an impact on future college corruption trials, possibly NCAA enforcement. The federal trial set a precedent that paying recruits defrauds federally-funded schools, making it a federal crime.

UNDATED (AP) — Northwestern’s improbable run to the top of the Big Ten West standings has been marked by come-from-behind wins over Nebraska and Rutgers the last two weeks. Now the Wildcats host No. 20 Wisconsin in a key division game. Penn State’s Miles Sanders and Trace McSorley face a big test against Iowa’s defense. Illinois has questions at quarterback as it goes to Maryland as an 18 ½-point underdog. Freshman sensation Rondale Moore looks to keep piling up yards in Purdue’s visit to Michigan State.

UNDATED (AP) — Texas Tech and Iowa State both have won their last two games, and both have true freshman starting quarterbacks. The Red Raiders and Cyclones play Saturday. Only league-leading Texas at six has a longer winning streak. Iowa State’s Brock Purdy hadn’t thrown a pass before starting the past two games. He threw seven TDs as the Cyclones won in consecutive weeks over Top 25 teams for the first time since 1973.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kareem Hunt never got down when the Chiefs spent the first few weeks winging the ball all over the field. Nor has he gotten too high now that he’s toting the ball every week. Rather the NFL’s reigning rushing champion is content simply because the Kansas City Chiefs are winning, a testament to his team-first attitude.

BOSTON (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina has won the Roberto Clemente Award, a fitting honor for the star who grew up on Puerto Rico and idolized the island’s late Hall of Famer. Major League Baseball presented the award before Game 2 of the World Series. It is given to the player who best represents Clemente’s humanitarian efforts. Molina has worked hard to help Puerto Rico recover from the effects of Hurricane Maria last year.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas State coach Bruce Weber not long ago bemoaned the fact that nobody wants to play the Wildcats, especially considering they return everyone from a team that reached the Elite Eight.
Well, the Big 12 is helping him out.

The league has added a challenge series with the Big East to its existing one with the SEC, helping to ease the burden on its coaches to schedule tough games. It had become a more prevalent problem the past few years, as larger leagues begin scheduling 20-game conference slates and with the Big 12’s success in the NCAA Tournament, to lure marquee opponents to Big 12 venues.

“We can’t expand. We already play everyone twice, which the other leagues don’t to, which makes it tough for us and we have to find a vehicle to get another tough game,” Weber said. “This will definitely help us get a positive home game into nonconference for our fans and for our team.”

The 10-team league already had four such games lined up for this season with top-ranked Kansas facing Villanova at Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas State heading to Marquette, Creighton visiting Oklahoma and Providence visiting Texas. The return games for those series will begin the challenge next season, while the remaining schools will match up so that the Big 12 and Big East each get five home games each year.

Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said the leagues are working with their respective broadcast partners — ESPN for the Big 12 and Fox Sports for the Big East — on how to handle television rights.

“It ought to be a very good thing for both leagues,” Bowlsby said of the four-year agreement. “There again, like the Big 12-SEC Challenge, we see it as an ongoing activity. But time will tell.”

The Big 12 had seven teams reach the NCAA Tournament last year and the Big East had six, and Villanova won its second national title in the past three years by beating the Jayhawks along the way.

“The full-participation series assures our schools of premier nonconference competition that will only add to the strength of our conferences,” Big East commissioner Val Ackerman said. “We look forward to working with the

Big 12 to create an exciting new set of rivalries of our players, coaches and their supporters.”

Weber wasn’t the only Big 12 coach excited by the news.

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins once coached in the Big East, before the Mountaineers departed for the Big 12 and conference realignment dramatically reshaped his former league. So while many of the teams now in the Big East are different, Huggins said he’s excited about the series for another reason: travel.

The Mountaineers often have to travel thousands of miles to play conference games in the Big 12.
“For us it’s good because that’s one less time change, one less trip,” Huggins explained. “We can fly to virtually anywhere in the Big East in an hour, so that helps us.”

Plus, the league gets more exposure by playing games in places such as Madison Square Garden.

“I like going to New York and playing and then leave and go home,” Huggins said. “Generally speaking, the crowd in the Garden is very knowledgeable. Very good basketball people. So I enjoy that a lot.”

Big 12 Conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced that the league will continue to play its men’s basketball tournament at Sprint Center through 2024, extending the current deal by four years. The women’s tournament is also returning to Kansas City to run concurrently with the men’s event.

“We really don’t have much debate at this point about the site of our men’s tournament, Bowlsby said. “This is a wonderful venue to host it. The area around it has gotten better and better.”

JACKSON COUNTY, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa DNR report that at around 9-a.m. Saturday, Sabula Fire and Rescue were dispatched to Browns Lake near Green Island Wildlife Management Area in eastern Iowa’s Jackson County, for a hunter in the water holding onto a capsized kayak. An Iowa DNR Conservation Officer already on the water patrolling responded to the area immediately, as well as another DNR Conservation Officer utilizing a mud boat and a DNR Wildlife Technician in the area.

Authorities say DNR officers and first responders dealt with major challenges during the rescue operation due to the extremely windy conditions and high waves. The hunter, identified as Jared Porter of Madison, Wisconsin, was eventually located in a flooded timber area holding onto a tree. A DNR Conservation Officer, along with the Sabula Fire Department were able to rescue the hunter and his dog from the water and bring them to shore. Porter was transported to a local hospital and released; his dog didn’t require any medical attention.

When officers later talked with Porter, the man explained he was trying to locate a place to hunt but was unable to due to the higher than normal water levels and when he left for the hunt in the morning, there were no winds and the water was very calm. Porter said his kayak capsized while he was on his way back and got out onto the open waters and hit a large wave about 50 yards away. Porter was able to remain on his cell phone with dispatch the entire time because of his water proof cell phone case.

A send-off ceremony will be held on Friday morning for the Atlantic boys and girls cross country teams as they had to the State Meet. The sendoff will be held at 10:25am on Friday in front of the Atlantic High School. Everyone is encouraged to come out and wish all the Trojan runners good luck.

The State Meet will be held Saturday at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge. Here is a look at the meet schedule: 2018_State_XC_Schedule

This is the first time since 2002 that both the boys and girls teams have qualified for the state meet in the same season. The last girls team qualification was in 2010 and the last boys team qualification was in 2007.

The Iowa Association of Track Coaches released their final team and individual cross country rankings for the 2018 season on Tuesday. The State Cross Country Meet will be contested this Saturday at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge. Here is a look at area teams and individuals in the final rankings.

Class 3A Boys

Team

13. Atlantic
14. Glenwood

Individuals

23. Jalen Petersen, Atlantic
27. Trey Gross, Harlan

Class 3A Girls

Team

5. Harlan
7. Glenwood
11. Atlantic

Individuals

3. Jannette Schraft, Glenwood
8. Taylor McCreedy, Atlantic
23. Brielle Baker, Creston
26. Raegan Anderson, Denison-Schleswig

Class 2A Boys

Individuals

2. Jerry Jorgenson, Treynor
9. Jordan Hustak, Missouri Valley

Class 2A Girls

Team

5. Panorama
13. Shenandoah

Individuals

5. Ella Waddle, Panorama
22. Tori Castle, Treynor

Class 1A Boys

Team

5. Nodaway Valley
9. St. Albert

Individuals

3. Joshua Baudler, Nodaway Valley
10. Noah Nelsen, AC/GC
14. Noah Jorgensen, Sidney
26. Bennett Heisterkamp, St. Albert
30. Justin Ambrose, Boyer Valley

Class 1A Girls

Team

1. Logan-Magnolia
12. Tri-Center
14. AC/GC

Individuals

1. Peyton Pogge, Tri-Center
2. Taylor Sporrer, Logan-Magnolia
4. Emma Lucas, Bedford
5. Kate Crawford, AC/GC
7. Courtney Sporrer, Logan-Magnolia
10. Reagan Weinheimer, Nodaway Valley
15. Alexis Post, Riverside
24. Kylie Morrison, Logan-Magnolia

Full team rankings here.

Full individual rankings here.

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

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a woman stole about $40,000 from a Des Moines soccer club. Thirty-four-year-old Brandi Preul, of Carlisle, is charged with theft. Her attorney is Michael Culp, and he told The Des Moines Register that Preul will be pleading not guilty. She’s accused of stealing from the Greater Des Moines Over the Hill Soccer Club, which operates the Central Iowa Coed Soccer League. League commissioner Chris Beck says it has about 35 active teams and supports more than 500 players who play games around central Iowa.

Beck says Preul was the league’s commissioner earlier this year.