The Iowa State football team has a talented group of wide receivers working to get better in spring drills. Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins combined for 119 receptions and 13 touchdowns last season. Noel led the way with 66 catches.

The Cyclones have added another weapon through the transfer portal. Isaiah Alston played at Army before joining the ISU program.

With so many key players on both sides of the ball returning the expectations for the Cyclones will be high next season.

ISU’s spring game is April 20th.

(Radio Iowa) – The Hoosier State is now banking on its own Caitlin Clark Effect, as the Indiana Fever is expected to pick the University of Iowa star basketball player during Monday’s W-N-B-A draft. Cathy DuBois, dean of the College of Business at Ball State University in Muncie, says Clark is an absolute national phenomenon and the sky’s the limit for the West Des Moines native, wherever she goes.

A Ball State study predicts Clark’s addition to the Fever roster will bring another 12-hundred fans to each game in the upcoming season, many of whom will be coming from outside the region. That means plenty of dollars spent in hotels, restaurants, and other entertainment venues during their stay.

Clark led the Hawkeyes to two consecutive national championship games, including the match with South Carolina this past Sunday which set a record for television viewers.

Clark’s number, 22, was retired during a celebration on Wednesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the U-I campus, after a season during which she racked up a long series of awards and national records.

Caitlin Clark signs autographs (UI photo by Tim Schoon)

With the new countrywide focus on women’s basketball, DuBois predicts the entire professional league will benefit as Clark joins its ranks.

Another study done in part at Ball State found more than 162-thousand media stories featured Clark during the N-C-double-A tournament, resulting in 177-billion media impressions valued at more than 2-point-6 billion dollars.

Iowa defensive end Max Llewellyn says earning the trust of defensive line coach Kelvin Bell has allowed him to take the next step. The junior from Urbandale appeared in all 14 games last season and had a career high in tackles in a Citrus Bowl loss to Tennessee.

Llewellyn says that trust and the experience he gained has given him more confidence.

The Hawkeyes close out spring drills on April 20th with an open practice.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa baseball team defeated St. Thomas, 17-11, on Wednesday night at Duane Banks Field.

The Hawkeyes trailed 5-0 through two innings but a six run third inning gave them the lead. St. Thomas retook the lead in the fourth and led 8-7 after five. Iowa had its second six run inning in the sixth and led for the remainder of the contest scoring two in the seventh and eighth.

Four Hawkeyes had three RBIs in the game: Raider Tello (1-for-4), Davis Cop (2-for-5), Kyle Huckstorf (4-for-5) and Gable Mitchell (2-for-5).

Reese Moore and Connor Hennings each added an RBI for Iowa.

“I thought the offense was good,” said head coach Rick Heller. really. And I was happy with the bottom part of the order. They kind of got us going today. Maybe not so much with a lot of hits, but the Seeger’s was on base four times and scored four times. Will Mulflur did a good job. Gable and Connor Hennings both had good games. I was happy to see those guys spark us a little bit.”

12 different pitchers saw action in the midweek matchup. Jack Young, Reese Beuter and Chas Wheatley each had two strikeouts in the contest.

Aaron Savary threw 1 1/3 innings of hitless baseball and tallied one strikeout to earn the win. He improved to 3-0 on the season.

“Well, it was a rough start obviously,” said Heller. “We had some guys step up and slow things down, which was good to see. Beuter was good, Savary was good, Watts was good. It’s great to see Brant Hogue back out there. and he was confident, you could tell, and threw with good intent, and had a quality inning for us. Then Ben DeTaeye was good in a tough situation. But mixed in there were some really, rough ones, you know. And it’s kind of the way it’s gone at times this year. I’m really pleased with how the offense handled it when it fell behind us. There was no pressing.”

Iowa returns to action on Friday to start a three-game series in Columbus, Ohio, against Ohio State.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education, Wednesday night, gave the green light to purchase new wrestling mats, and removable vinyl sponsorship placement stickers on the mats. Activities Director Andy Mitchell said he had previously spoken with Superintendent Dr. Beth Johnson and the District’s Director of Finance Lisa Jones, about the idea. Mitchell said also, that he and Board member Josh McLaren had a brief discussion about the matter during the Winter, after he was approached by a business who has an interest in purchasing one or two new wrestling mats, but there’s a catch.

The District bought one new wrestling mat last year, but Mitchell said they’re getting close to needing a few more. usable lifetime. New wrestling mats, Mitchell said, should last 10-to 15-years. Permanent sponsorship logos on the mat, he said, would get worn-out after years of use, but vinyl sponsorship ads would be removable and storable, thereby extending their lifetime.

Having a sponsors on the wrestling mats is a win-win for the sponsor, and the School District.

Josh McLaren left no doubt about his feelings about sponsorship advertising and the mats…

Mitchell said he’s open to having a more permanent business logo on a mat, but vinyl logo’s make more sense in the long-run.

Mitchell said also, with Spring sporting events in full gear, he gives a tip-of-the hat to District Transportation Director Steve Andersen, for being able to juggle bus schedules and drivers to get students to the various sporting events they attend.

Girls Tennis 

St. Albert 6, Thomas Jefferson 3

Girls Soccer

Omaha South 1, Lewis Central 0

Boys Soccer

St. Albert 10, Red Oak 1

Girls Golf

Sioux City East 192, Thomas Jefferson 274

Medalist: Aubrey Koch, Sioux City East, (44)

The CAM Cougars girls track team has been off to a running start to the season.

CAM Cougars track coach Luke Symonds says he has been impressed  on how well the track team has been doing so far on the early part of the season.

Even though the Cougars are over a month into the season, coach Symonds commented on what the team can improve on the rest of the year.

Coach Symonds talked about what events are the strengths of his team this year.

Coach Symonds talked about what Cougar’s fans can expect out of his group of track athletes this season.

The Cougars next track meet will be Thursday April 11th at the Charger Relays in Guthrie Center. That Relay event will get underway at 4:30 p.m.

The AC/GC Chargers boys golf season is underway. The Chargers have 13 high school participants out and are coached by Lori McGivney.

Coach McGivney says the team graduated six seniors from last years team and will have to try to find a way replace them.

Coach McGivney commented on how the squad has been doing so far on the early season.

Coach McGivney elaborated on what the team has been focusing on in practice.

Coach McGivney talked about what her team’s goals and expectations are for the season.

The Chargers next golf meet will be April 13th for a High School Boys Golf Invite at Manning Manilla Golf Course, where they will take on Boyer Valley, IKM-Manning, Underwood & Coon-Rapids-Bayard. That golf invite will start at 9:00 a.m.

Iowa fans gathered at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to honor the Hawkeye women’s basketball team that lost in the NCAA Championship game to South Carolina. It was their second straight runner-up finish and closed a two year run that featured record crowds and television ratings.

That’s Iowa coach Lisa Bluder, who has led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back Final Fours.

Bluder says record television ratings on seven different networks made this team an example for kids across the country.

Bluder thanked the fans for their support and wants to see the arena sold out in the future.

During the ceremony Iowa athletic director Beth Goets announced Caitlin Clark’s number-22 jersey will be retired.

Clark on her number being retired.

Clark signed with Iowa hoping to take the program to new heights. She ends her career as college basketball’s all-time leading scorer and a two-time National Player of the Year.

Clark is expected to be the top pick in Monday night’s WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.

Cooper DeJean opted for the NFL Draft but several other standouts returned at Iowa meaning the Hawkeyes have an experienced defense. Nine starters return from a unit that helped lead the Hawkeyes to a 10-4 record. Senior defensive end Ethan Hurkett (herk-it).

Hurkett is part of a defensive line that has talent and depth.

Hurkett has noticed a lot of changes in the offense this spring under new offensive coordinator Tim Lester.

The Hawkeyes close spring drills with an open practice on April 20th.