IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior tight end Sam LaPorta has been named the Kwalick-Clark Big Ten Tight End of the Year to highlight Iowa’s offensive honors on the all-conference teams. The Big Ten announced the offensive awards Wednesday.

LaPorta earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from both league coaches and media after being named third team as a junior. LaPorta is also one of three tight ends named as finalists for the John Mackey Award, which goes to the top tight end in the nation.

True freshman running back Kaleb Johnson earned honorable mention recognition from both coaches and media, while sophomore offensive lineman Mason Richman earned honorable mention honors from Big Ten coaches.

LaPorta leads Iowa in both receptions and receiving yards, totaling 53 receptions for 601 yards and a touchdown. LaPorta was injured in the first quarter of the win at Minnesota and did not play against Nebraska.

LaPorta’s career totals include 148 receptions for 1,730 yards to rank 15th in career receiving yards. Among tight ends, LaPorta ranks first in career receptions and second to Marv Cook in receiving yards.

Johnson leads the team in rushing with 142 attempts for 762 yards and six touchdowns. Johnson’s yardage establishes a freshman record for rushing yards and he surpassed 100 rushing yards in three games.

Johnson was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week following his performance in Iowa’s road win at Purdue. Johnson rushed 22 times for 200 yards at Purdue, including a 75-yard touchdown run. He also surpassed 100 rushing yards vs. Nevada and Nebraska. Johnson also averaged 25 yards on 13 kickoff returns.

Richman started all 12 games at left tackle as the veteran among Iowa’s young offensive line. He has 21 career starts, all at left tackle. He saw action in three games as a true freshman in 2020 and was still able to redshirt.

Senior defensive back Kaevon Merriweather, who earned honorable mention recognition from both coaches and media, was named Iowa’s Sportsmanship Award recipient.

Merriweather, a senior, has started every game and ranks second on the team with three interceptions. He has 47 tackles and scored a defensive touchdown with a fumble return in Iowa’s win at Rutgers. He was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his play against the Scarlet Knights.

Iowa (7-5, 5-4) will find out its bowl destination on Sunday. The Hawkeyes are expecting their 20th bowl invite over the past 24 seasons under Moon Family head football coach Kirk Ferentz.

The Atlantic boys wrestling team is ready to hit the competition mats for a new season which starts with a triangular on Thursday at ADM. The Trojans have a talented and promising group from top to bottom and there seems to be good cohesiveness on the squad. It’s a big senior class this year and Atlantic head coach Tim Duff likes how that group is leading the way.

It will be a bit of a season of change as well. The Trojans had to end their sharing agreement with the CAM school district because enrollment numbers would have bumped them up a class. Girls wrestling is now sanctioned by the state and Atlantic girls are part of the newly formed S.W.A.T. Valkyries team. And the competition calendar has some big changes for this postseason.

The Trojans bring back three state qualifiers from last year’s team: Aiden Smith at 106, Easton O’Brien at 132, and Brenden Casey at 195. Smith said it was a great experience at state and he’s excited about the possibilities this year.

O’Brien feels like the team does a good job of building each other up and holding themselves accountable.

Casey said the team has some big goals they feel they can fulfill.

The Trojans open the season Thursday with a triangular at ADM with the Tigers and Earlham. Listen to the full interview with Coach Duff and a large number of Trojan grapplers below.

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@ Treynor
Treynor 51, Tri-Center 6
Treynor 46, Southwest Iowa 30
Treynor 57, Woodbine 12
Southwest Iowa 48, Woodbine 24
Southwest Iowa 66, Tri-Center 12
Woodbine 22, Tri-Center 31

@ Winterset
Creston 36, Winterset 27
Creston 48, Interstate-35 30
Winterset 33, Interstate-35 31

Girls Basketball

AHSTW 37, Riverside 25
CB Abraham Lincoln 69, Glenwood 57
Diagonal 49, East Union 29
Kuemper Catholic 43, Carroll 41
Lenox 68, Orient-Macksburg 23
Logan-Magnolia 51, Tri-Center 39
St. Albert 55, Harlan 53
Shenandoah 56, SW Valley 20
Twin Cedars 44, Wayne 26

Boys Basketball

AHSTW 72, Riverside 41
Bedford 91, Essex 14
Carroll 84, Kuemper Catholic 71 (OT)
Central Decatur 62, Centerville 38
Clarinda 57, Red Oak 35
Diagonal 57, East Union 45
Glenwood 72, Thomas Jefferson 60
Southwest Valley 52, Shenandoah 30
Tri-Center 61, Logan-Magnolia 44
Wayne 65, Twin Cedars 36

(Iowa DNR News) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is reminding shotgun deer season hunters of the rules, requirements, and tips for keeping safe:

• Make sure to have a valid hunting license and habitat fee, and deer tag for the correct season.
• Make sure blaze orange still fits and that the orange hasn’t faded to the point of being ineffective. The minimum amount of blaze orange required by Iowa law to hunt in the firearm deer season is a 100 percent solid blaze orange vest, but more is better.
• Talk to the landowner or tenant to confirm permission to hunt and to see if anyone else has permission to hunt the same property.
• Create a hunting plan that identifies the hunt location, who’s on the hunt and outlines their role, describes how the hunt will unfold and when the hunters are expected to return home. Leave a copy of the plan with someone in the event of an emergency.
• Pick up and fill an antlerless deer tag. County specific antlerless deer tags are still available in 27 counties. Go to https://gooutdoorsiowa.com/RealTimeQuotas.aspx for info on antlerless tag availability.
• Check the Iowa Deer Exchange to see if someone nearby is looking for deer meat. The Iowa Deer Exchange is a deer donation program connecting participants willing to provide deer meat with those willing to accept it. To sign up, go to iowadnr.gov/deer then scroll down to Iowa’s Deer Exchange Program link and fill out the required fields. The database creates a map and table with information deer donors and deer recipients can use to get connected. There is no cost to participate. It is illegal to sell wild fish and game in Iowa. The deer exchange, along with the Help us Stop Hunger (HUSH) program, allows hunters an opportunity to provide high quality lean protein to their neighbors.
• Report their harvest by midnight on the day after it is tagged or before taking it to a locker or taxidermist. The hunter whose name is on the transportation tag is responsible for making the report. If no deer is harvested, no report is necessary.
• The Iowa DNR will be working with hunters to collect deer tissue samples to test for chronic wasting disease. Interested hunters are encouraged to contact their local wildlife biologist to arrange for sample to be collected. If the sample quota has filled, the DNR will assist with submitting the sample through the hunter submission system, in partnership with Iowa State University – which comes with a fee of $25.
• Shotgun one is Dec. 3-7; shotgun two is Dec. 10-18.
• Become a mentor and share your hunting experience. Invite someone along from outside of the group to experience Iowa deer hunting.

Kris Murray scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds, Tuesday night, as Iowa beat Georgia Tech 81-65 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Hawkeyes improve to 6-1.

That’s Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. The Hawkeyes saw a 14 point halftime lead trimmed to four before taking command with a 9-0 run.

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger says his team gained confidence from a tournament in Portland. The 23rd ranked Cyclones are 5-1 after a loss to UConn in the title game of the Phil Knight Invitational. They host North Dakota tonight  (Wednesday night).

Otzelberger says wins over Villanova and North Carolina were big for this team.

Otzelberger says despite have several new players on this team the formula has not changed.

The eighth ranked Iowa State women outscored Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 29-8 in the second quarter, Tuesday, and rolled to a 93-43 win in Ames. Junior guard Lexi Donarski led the Cyclones with 22 points.

The Cyclones were 18 of 19 at the line.

Emily Ryan added 13 points as ISU improved to 6-1.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior tight end Sam LaPorta is one of three finalists for the John Mackey Award. Presented annually by the Friends of John Mackey, the award goes to the nation’s most outstanding tight end.

LaPorta is joined as a finalist by Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer and Brock Bowers of Georgia.

LaPorta (6-foot-4, 249-pounds) leads Iowa in both receptions and receiving yards, totaling 53 receptions for 601 yards and a touchdown. LaPorta was injured in the first quarter of Iowa’s win at Minnesota and did not play against Nebraska. LaPorta leads the Big Ten Conference tight ends in receptions and yards.

LaPorta’s career totals include 148 receptions for 1,730 yards to rank 15th in career receiving yards. Among Iowa tight ends, he ranks first in career receptions and is second to Marv Cook in receiving yards.

LaPorta had nine receptions for 101 yards at Illinois, six receptions for 55 yards at Ohio State and three receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown at Purdue. Prior to his first quarter injury at Minnesota, he had totaled four catches for 95 yards.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior linebacker Jack Campbell has been named the Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Butkus-Fitzgerald Big Ten Linebacker of the Year to highlight Iowa’s defensive honors on the all-conference teams. The Big Ten announced the defensive awards Tuesday and will announce offensive awards Wednesday.

Campbell was named first-team All-Big Ten by both league head coaches and the voting media. Defensive teammates joining Campbell in earning first-team honors are defensive back Riley Moss (coaches) and defensive back Cooper DeJean (media). Moss was second team in the media voting and DeJean earned second-team honors from the coaches.

Two additional Hawkeyes earned second-team honors on both teams, including linebacker Seth Benson and defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness. Defensive end Joe Evans was a second-team selection by media, while earning honorable mention honors from coaches. Players earning honorable mention honors on both teams include defensive tackles Logan Lee and Noah Shannon and defensive back Kaevon Merriweather.

Campbell earned first-team honors for a second straight year after recording 118 tackles in 12 games. The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native is a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy and the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker. He is the third Hawkeye under Ferentz to be named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, joining lineman Daviyon Nixon (2020) and linebacker Josey Jewell (2017) and the second Hawkeye to be voted the Butkus-Fitzgerald Big Ten Linebacker of the Year (Jewell, 2017).

Moss, a senior, who was named the Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year in 2021, also repeats as a first-team selection. He recorded 46 tackles and led the team with 10 pass break-ups and had one interception. He is tied for seventh with 11 career interceptions.

DeJean made a significant impact for the Hawkeyes in his sophomore season. He played both cornerback and the CASH linebacker position in recording 68 tackles. DeJean leads Iowa with four interceptions for 77 yards, with two touchdowns. He also averages 17.6 yards on seven punt returns.

Benson started all 12 games while playing both the weakside and outside linebacker positions. The senior is second to Campbell with 88 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss, with one interception and a fumble recovery.

Evans has 37 tackles from his end position, while Van Ness has 34 stops while playing both end and tackle. Van Ness leads the team with 9.5 tackles for loss, while he and Evans both have six sacks to share the team lead. Evans is a senior, while Van Ness is a sophomore.

Merriweather, a senior, has started every game and ranks second on the team with three interceptions. He has 47 tackles and scored a defensive touchdown with a fumble return in Iowa’s win at Rutgers. He was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his play against the Scarlet Knights.

Shannon and Lee have started in the trenches throughout the season at the tackle position. Lee has collected 48 tackles, with 7.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Shannon is right behind with 44 tackles, including 8.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Shannon is a senior and Lee is a junior.

Punter Tory Taylor was a first-team selection in the media voting and third team by coaches. Kicker Drew Stevens earned second-team honors on the media team and third team recognition by coaches. Taylor has handled all punting duties, averaging 45.1 yards on 74 punts, with a long of 70 yards. In his junior season Taylor has placed 32 punts inside the 20 with just 11 touchbacks. He has 22 punts of 50 yards or more, while opponents are averaging just 3.7 yards on 18 returns.

Stevens is a true freshman who joined the program as a walk-on. He leads the team in scoring with 69 points, connecting on 16-of-18 field goals and all 21 PAT attempts. Stevens has a long of 54 yards. He also has handled kickoffs throughout the season, with 29 touchbacks on 51 kicks.

Iowa (7-5, 5-4) will find out its bowl destination on Sunday. The Hawkeyes are expecting their 20th bowl invite over the past 24 seasons under Moon Family head football coach Kirk Ferentz.