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JR Blount
AMES, Iowa – JR Blount, widely recognized as one of the top assistant coaches in the Mountain West Conference, has been named an assistant coach by Iowa State head men’s basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger.
Blount brings 12 years of coaching experience to Iowa State. Last summer, Stadium named Blount one of the top-five assistant coaches in the MWC thanks to his success at Colorado State.
“JR is one of the bright young minds in all of college basketball,” Otzelberger said. “A very gifted coach in guard development, he also impacts young men in a positive way off the court. JR is well respected across the country as a recruiter, building genuine and long-lasting relationships. He has had success at each of his stops and I know he’ll be a valuable member of our program.”
“I’m so excited to join T.J. and the entire staff,” Blount said. “T.J. has been a mentor of mine since I was in high school in Milwaukee. My family and I are grateful for this amazing opportunity to join Cyclone Nation and bring the magic back to Hilton Coliseum and this prestigious program.
“We are excited to be back in the Midwest and come back home to an opportunity that was too good to overlook. With the guidance of T.J. and the rest of the staff I look forward to getting back to the winning ways at ISU and promoting the development of great young men both on and off the court.”
Blount has steadily risen through the college coaching ranks since starting his career as graduate assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2009, where the team won the 2010 Division III national championship.
After spending three seasons at Saint Leo University as an assistant and associate head coach, Blount moved to Des Moines and served as director of basketball operations and assistant coach for four seasons at Drake.
Most recently, Blount spent the last three seasons at Colorado State as an assistant coach. In his time in Fort Collins, the Rams signed the highest-rated class in school history.
Blount worked closely and was instrumental in the development of two-time All-Mountain West player Nico Carvacho. In 2020-21, three Rams earned All-MWC honors as CSU ranked among the top-three in the league in scoring and scoring defense.
The Rams made marked improvements as a team as well, improving by eight wins after his first season at the school and winning 20 games before the season was ended due to COVID-19. This season, Colorado State went 20-8 and advanced to the semifinals of the National Invitational Tournament.
Blount was an integral leader of the TOGETHER INITIATIVE at Colorado State that promoted social justice and racial equality on campus.
Blount played collegiately at Loyola Chicago from 2005-09 where he was three-year team captain and was twice named the team’s most valuable player. He was twice honored as the school’s athlete of the year as well.
After his college playing career was over, Blount played professionally for the Leicester Riders of the British Basketball League during the 2010-11 season.
He earned degrees in psychology and sociology from Loyola in 2009 and later received his master’s degree in education from UW-Stevens Point in 2012.
A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Blount was a standout high school player at Dominican High School, earning all-state honors in 2004 and 2005. He was named Wisconsin Sports Player of the Year in 2005.
The Audubon Boys Early Bird track meet set for tonight has been cancelled. Audubon Activities Director Sean Birks said the meet was called off due to cold temps and high winds. The meet has simply been cancelled and will not be made up.
Girls Team Scores
Jenna Wheatley won the 200M for CAM. The Cougars also got a win from Molly Venteicher in the Shot Put. Hope Ogg of Griswold won the 100M Hurdles.
Full results HERE.
Boys Team Scores
CAM picked up wins in eight events on their way to the team title. Lane Spieker had a phenomenal night with wins in the 100M, 200M, and Long Jump. Walker Gettler won the 400M and Connor McKee took the 110M Hurdles. Cade Ticknor was a winner in the Shot Put. The Cougars also took the 4x100M and 4x400M Relays.
Full results HERE.
2019 Atlantic Boys Track at State
The Atlantic boys track and field team is hoping to hit the ground running this season despite the year hiatus from competition. The Trojans picked up a team runner-up finish in 2018 and a 3rd place finish at the 2019 State Meet at the end of Head Coach Jordan Mullen’s tenure. Abby Becker was set to take over the program before last season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Coach Becker is hoping that recent success will help the upperclassmen show this year’s team the path to success.
Collin Mullenix and Craig Alan Becker are a couple of those seniors that experienced that State success as members of winning relay teams, and Coach Becker feels like they have a number of other key pieces ready to step in. The other dynamic missing last season has created for all teams is two classes that are new to high school level competition. Coach Becker said it will all be about establishing baselines early.
Goals will certainly be lofty for the team given the recent history of success, but Coach Becker hopes they can focus on steps to reach big goals.
The Trojans were set for their first full team meet on Tuesday at Denison but that meet has been postponed due to expected weather conditions. Their next scheduled meet is Thursday at Dowling Catholic.
IOWA CITY, Iowa – For the second year in a row, University of Iowa national champion Spencer Lee has been awarded the WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy. The award is presented annually to the nation’s most dominant college wrestler.
For the just the second time in its 27-year history, the Hodge committee determined two wrestlers worthy of recognition. Minnesota heavyweight Gable Steveson is also being recognized as a 2021 Hodge Trophy winner. The only other time two trophies were awarded in the same season was 2001, when Cael Sanderson and Nick Ackerman were both recognized.
Lee won the 125-pound NCAA Championship on March 20. He outscored his five opponents at the national tournament, 59-8, capturing his third career NCAA title and leading Iowa to the team title for the first time since 2010.
Lee was 12-0 in 2021, scoring bonus points in 11 matches and recording five first-period falls. He outscored his 12 opponents, 141-15, and his 91.6 bonus-point percentage led the country.
Not one of Lee’s first eight matches went the seven-minute distance. He had five first-period falls and recorded three technical falls, including a 21-3 win by technical superiority in the finals of the Big Ten Championships. He did not allow a point in the NCAA finals, winning 7-0, the largest margin of victory of any of the 10 NCAA finals matches.
Lee finished the season riding a 35-match winning streak, outscoring his opponents 432-42 during the stretch.
The winner of the Hodge Trophy is determined by the Hodge Trophy Voting Committee, made up of past Hodge winners, a retired college coach from each region, and national media members. A fan vote winner receives five additional first-place votes. Primary criteria for the award are a wrestler’s record, number of pins, dominance and quality of competition. Past credentials, sportsmanship/citizenship and heart are used as secondary criteria in years where two finalists’ stats are nearly equal.
Lee is one of five multi-winners in the history of the award. He won the Hodge Trophy in 2020, earning 51 of a possible 56 first-place votes. He dominated the 125-pound weight class in 2020, posting an 18-0 record and outscoring his opponents 234-18. He scored bonus points in 17 of 18 wins last year, recording four first-period falls and nine technical falls.
Lee is one of three Hawkeyes to win the award since its inception in 1995. Mark Ironside was honored in 1998 and Brent Metcalf earned the award in 2008.
Kyle Green
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State head men’s basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger has added longtime Northern Iowa assistant and 25-year veteran of college basketball Kyle Green to his staff as an assistant coach.
Last summer, Green was named Stadium’s top assistant coach in the Missouri Valley Conference in a poll of coaches in the league.
“Kyle has tremendous integrity, is hard-working and one of the best teachers of the game that I’ve been around,” Otzelberger said. “He is an innovative defensive mind with a gift for implementing schemes and concepts. Kyle is an elite recruiter with a dynamic personality. The experience he has gained as both a head coach and assistant coach will have a great impact on our program.”
“It is exciting to get a chance to work in an environment like this and work with T.J., who I’ve known and respected for a long time,” Green said. “When the opportunity presented itself, we just felt like this was something we couldn’t pass up.
“We’ve lived in Iowa for a long time and know how great of a school Iowa State is and how passionate the fans are. I’ve experienced Hilton Magic and it is special. I’m really looking forward to working with T.J. and the rest of the staff.”
Green, who spent 16 seasons at Northern Iowa and was a part of more than 300 victories, had three stints at the school and was elevated to associate head coach prior to the 2017-18 season. He also coached in Cedar Falls from 2001-03 and 2006-11.
While on the UNI staff, the Panthers have won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title twice, reached the NCAA Tournament four times and made seven total postseason appearances. In 2009-10, UNI went 30-5 and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with wins over UNLV and top-seeded Kansas.
On 33 occasions, a UNI player has earned All-Missouri Valley Conference accolades during Green’s time at the school. He has also coached three MVC Player of the Year award winners, including his son A.J., who is a junior for the Panthers. He has also coached a pair of MVC Defensive Player of the Year winners, four MVC Sixth Man of the Year recipients and three scholar-athletes of the year.
UNI has frequently ranked in the upper echelon nationally in team defense, with Green working primarily with the Panther post players.
The Minneapolis, Minnesota native has experience as a head coach, having led programs at Wisconsin-Eau Claire during the 2011-12 season, Lewis University from 2004-06 and Western State College in 2000-01. He also served as an assistant coach under Tom Crean at Marquette during the 2003-04 season, helping the Golden Eagles reach the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament.
Green was a player/coach for Frederica (Denmark) Basketball Club in 1992. He earned Denmark Serie Coach of the Year honors after leading Frederica to a 30-3 record.
Green graduated from Hamline (Minn.) with a bachelor’s degree in social studies and psychology in 1992. He earned his master’s degree in athletic administration from St. Thomas University in 1999.
Denison schools announced on Monday that the Co-Ed Monarch Relays that were scheduled for Tuesday night have been postponed. The forecast on Tuesday is calling for continued high winds and cooler temperatures so officials have decided that will find a better day to compete. This was the first big opening meet for many area full team squads including for Atlantic. A makeup date has not yet been decided.
Big plays lifted the Northern Iowa football team to a 34-20 win at Western Illinois over the weekend. The Biggest was on the final play of the first half when Omar Brown blocked a Leatherneck field goal attempt and returned in 62-yards for a touchdown.
On the game’s first play from scrimmage Panther receiver Isaiah Weston took pass 75-yards for a touchdown.
The Panthers are 3-3 after snapping a two game losing streak. UNI coach Mark Farley.
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