The Atlantic boys soccer team continues to grow and learn this 2022 season. The Trojans have had to work through some turnover at certain positions and some injuries this year. The results haven’t always been what they want them to be but Coach Matt Smith said he continues to see improvement. One aspect of the team that he has seen grow is their passing execution.

The defensive side of the field is made up of entirely new faces and Coach Smith said he’s really been impressed with how the new guys have stepped in and gotten to work.

The Trojans are 1-7 so far after a loss early this week to Creston. Coach Smith said he was excited to get a full roster back healthy and together for their game against Harlan this Friday.

The Iowa Hawkeye baseball team has plenty to play for heading into the final month of the season. At 8-4, the Hawkeyes are tied for fourth in the Big Ten heading into Friday night’s start of a three game series at Nebraska. Iowa coach Rick Heller knows the Huskers will also be motivated. They currently sit in eighth place and only the top eight teams quality for the Big Ten Tournament.

Nebraska is 5-7 in the Big Ten and 17-23 overall.

Heller says the Huskers have battled through some key injuries.

BOYS GOLF

CYO Tournament

1. Kuemper Catholic 320
2. Gehlen Catholic 366
3. St. Mary’s Storm Lake 370
4. Remsen St. Mary’s 376
5. Bishop Garrigan 376
6. St. Edmond Fort Dodge 414

Medalist: Maverick Schwabe, Kuemper Catholic, 75
Kuemper’s Tyler Auen was 3rd with an 81, Kayden Schon 4th 81, Carter Putney 5th 83, Benicio Lujano 7th 89.

GIRLS GOLF

CYO Tournament

1. Bishop Garrigan 371
2. Remsen St. Mary’s 397
3. Bishop Heelan 417
4. Gehlen Catholic 427
5. Kuemper Catholic NTS

Kuemper’s Grace Tigges finished 20th with a 112.

GIRLS TENNIS

Kuemper Catholic 9, Atlantic 0

Singles
1. Sam Tidgren 12 (K) def Addie Schmitt 12 (A) 8-0
2. Aylssa Brant 12 (K) def Aspen Niklasen 12 (A) 8-1
3. Jordan Schwabe 12 (K) def Malena Woodward 12 (A) 8-1
4. Sophie Rohe 11 (K) def Keira Olsen 11 (A) 8-2
5. Ella Schwarte 9 (K) def Rio Johnson 11 (A) 8-0
6. Keziah Janssen 11 (K) def Quincy Sorenson 10 (A) 8-4
Doubles
1. Tidgren/Schwabe (K) def Schmitt/Niklasen (A) 8-4
2. Schwarte/Rohe (K) def Woodward/Olsen (A) 8-1
3. M Muhlbauer/Janssen (K) def GMcCalla/Sorenson (A) 8-3

Council Bluffs City Tournament

1. Lewis Central 15
2. CB Abraham Lincoln 19
3. St. Albert 22
4. CB Thomas Jefferson 34

#1 Singles Champion: Lanne Olsen, Lewis Central
#2 Singles Champion: Oasis Opheim, Lewis Central
#1 Doubles Champions: Landry Miller/Allison Narmi, St. Albert
#2 Doubles Champions: Savannah Maisel/Kylie Hansen, CB Abraham Lincoln

BOYS TENNIS

Kuemper Catholic 5, Atlantic 4

1. Ethan Sturm 12 (A) def Sam Janssen 12 (K) 10-4
2. Jared Hansman 12 (K) def Clevi Johnson 11 (A) 10-2
3. Bryan York 12 (A) def Josh Langel 10 (K) 10-7
4. Hans Krahs (K) def Hunter Weppler 12 (A) 10-2
5. Easton O’Brien 11 (A) def Jake Hansman 10 (K) 10-8
6. Max Reineke (K) def Nolan Waters 10 (A) 10-7
Doubles
1. ESturm/Johnson (A) def Janssen/Langel (K) 10-7
2. Hansman/Hansman def York/Weppler (A) 10-4
3. Krahs/Reineke (K) def O’Brien/Waters (A) 10-6

Iowa running backs coach Ladell Betts believes Tyler Goodson is ready for the NFL. Goodson declared for the draft after a junior season in which he piled up more than 1150 yards of rushing and nearly 250 in receiving. He is considered a likely middle round selection.

Betts says Goodson’s style translates well to the NFL.

Iowa State running back Breece Hall could become the first Iowa State player selected in the opening round of the NFL Draft since 1972 on Thursday night when the draft begins in Las Vegas. The two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year is hoping to be the first running back off the board.

Most of the analysts have either Hall or Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker as the first running back selected.

Hall performed well at the combine and at ISU’s Pro Day and credits his family for supporting him during the process.

Iowa is in the hunt in the Big Ten baseball race and pitching is the biggest factor. The Hawkeyes lead the league in earned run average at two-point-95 and opponents are batting just .201. Iowa’s top two starters are back from injury and coach Rick Heller says that has also set up the bullpen.

The pitching staff struggled with walks in non-conference play. Heller says that has been solved in the league race.

Iowa beat Western Illinois 11-1 on Tuesday night to move to 24-13 overall. Heller says the Hawkeyes have improved in a number of areas.

The Hawkeyes are tied for fourth in the Big Ten at 8-4 and just a game behind league leading Rutgers in the loss column. They open a conference series Friday night at Nebraska.

The St. Louis Cardinals avoided a three game sweep and beat the New York Mets 10-5 on Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium. The Mets led the game 4-1 after 2 innings but the Cardinals got two back in the third and plated 5 in the 4th to seize control of the game.

Tommy Edman had 3 hits and 3 runs scored. Nolan Arenado also had three knocks, 1 run scored, and 3 RBI. Four different Cardinal pitchers made an appearance with Jake Woodford getting the win in relief of Steven Matz.

Arenado and Cardinals first base coach Stubby Clapp were ejected following a benches clearing brawl in the 8th. The Mets had been displeased with the number of hit batters in the previous two games and it boiled over Wednesday. Mets righty Yoan Lopez threw up and in at Arenado and the benches cleared after Arenado started barking back.

The Cardinals improved to 10-7 on the season and the Mets fell to 14-6. The Cardinals will host the Diamondbacks on Thursday. We’ll have coverage on KJAN with pregame at 5:50 p.m.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association Board of Control has approved several big changes for the wrestling postseason.

Sectional tournaments will be a thing of the past in Classes 1A and 2A. The number of qualifiers for the State Traditional Tournament will increase from the previous 16 to 24, which would work out as the top three from 8 District sites in each class rather than the top 2.

With the elimination of the Sectional tournaments the State Dual Team Tournament will move to that freed up Saturday on the calendar. The Board said many coaches had expressed interest in moving State Duals away from its recent spot a day ahead of the traditional tourney. A new site for State Duals has not yet been determined. The 24 regional dual qualifiers will be determined by the IWCOA dual team rankings.

The advisory committee had two other recommendations that were approved by the board:

• Seeding criteria for State Traditional Tournament qualifiers will remove the additional point previously received for head-to-head wins over fellow qualifiers.
• IHSAA will continue to use 14 weight classes after NFHS provided states an option to adopt 12, 13, or 14 weight classes for state competition in 2023-24.

Here is a look at the new postseason schedule that will be in place in 2023:

Jan. 31-Feb. 1 – Regional Duals, Host Schools

Feb. 4 – State Dual Team Tournament, TBD

Feb. 11 – District Tournaments, Host Schools

Feb. 16-18 – State Traditional Tournament, Wells Fargo Arena

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State Head Men’s Basketball Coach T.J. Otzelberger has announced updates to his staff for the upcoming season.

Nate Schmidt has been promoted to assistant coach, filling the void after Daniyal Robinson was named head coach at Cleveland State. Former UNI assistant coach Erik Crawford has been named the director of player development, while graduate assistant Mo Ba has been promoted to assistant director of player development.

Schmidt returned to Iowa State last season as the recruiting and player development coordinator. He’s in his second stint on the Cyclone staff, as he previously served as a graduate assistant and coordinator of player development from 2014-17. Over the course of his four seasons at Iowa State, the Cyclones are 94-45 with four NCAA Tournament appearances.

After leaving Iowa State, Schmidt was an assistant coach at Indian Hills Community College for two seasons, before spending the summer of 2019 in Las Vegas training former Cyclone greats Georges Niang, Naz Mitrou-Long and Will Clyburn. Schmidt then spent the 2019-20 season as video coordinator for the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G-League. He followed that with a stint on Otzelberger’s staff at UNLV.

Crawford spent the last 12 seasons as an assistant coach at Northern Iowa. During his time with the Panthers, UNI advanced to the postseason five times and won Missouri Valley Conference regular season titles in 2020 and 2022. The Panthers also picked up MVC Tournament titles in 2015 and 2016. UNI advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and 2016, while advancing to the NIT Second Round in 2012 and 2022. The Panthers made the CIT Semifinals in 2013.

This will be the second stint with the Cyclones for Crawford, as he served as a graduate manager and assistant director of basketball operations from 2006-10. Following his time at Iowa State, he was the director of basketball operations at Creighton for the 2010-11 season.

Ba completed his first season as a graduate assistant for the Cyclones in 2021-22. Ba assisted the staff with scouting, video editing and player development. Prior to coming to Ames, Ba spent the 2020-21 season as a graduate student manager at Houston, helping the Cougars to a 28-4 record and trip to the Final Four.

Prior to joining the Houston basketball staff, Ba spent two years as a basketball player development coach where he assessed player’s skills and deficiencies, creating individualized workout sessions to help athletes improve their overall games. The Ypsilanti, Michigan, native has also worked in sales for the Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers.