CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

5A

#1 Johnston – 51 vs #3 Waukee Northwest – 37

3A

#2 Maquoketa – 59 vs #1 Mount Vernon – 42

SEMI-FINALS

2A

#1 Hinton – 57 vs #4 Denver – 48

#2 Rock Valley – 57 vs #6 Treynor – 54

1A

#1 Bishop Garrigan – 49 vs #5 Dunkerton – 38

#2 Newell-Fonda – 50 vs #3 St. Albert – 45

March Madness in St. Louis courtesy of Drake. The Bulldogs shot a blistering 60 percent and crushed top seed and regular season champ Belmont 100-79 at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Drake advances to the semifinals for the eighth consecutive year.

That’s Drake coach Eric Henderson. The Bulldogs have won two games in St. Louis after closing the regular season with nine straight losses.

Following a 2025 season with four top 5 meet placements, the CAM Cougars are ready for a successful 2026 season. They sent a 400-meter hurdler and a long jumper to state, and now with a big freshman class and a strong group of juniors this season, CAM is hoping for even more state qualifiers in 2026. Collin Bower, one of just a couple seniors this year, will be one of the key pieces to the team. He recorded the fastest 100m time and 2nd fastest 400 time on CAM during the 2025 track season. Head Coach Drew Ticknor is looking forward to building off last year’s success.

A strong junior class paired with the talent of senior Collin Bower could provide a lot of excitement on the track:

Those upperclassmen will be a big help to a a group of underclassmen that are looking to help out the team in 2026:

With a much larger roster in 2026, Coach Ticknor is excited about being able to place different athletes where their strengths can be used the most:

CAM will be strong in plenty of areas, but there are specific events that Coach Drew Ticknor is very excited about:

The CAM Cougars Boys Track and Field season begins on Monday, March 9th when they head to the UNI Dome for the A.D. Dickinson Relays.

The ninth ranked Iowa Hawkeye women open the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis tonight by taking on Illinois. The second seeded Hawkeyes are 24-5 while the 10th seeded Illini have already posted wins over Purdue and Michigan State.

That’s Iowa coach Jan Jensen. No matter what happens this weekend the Hawkeyes are virtually assured of a high seed and the chance to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

The Hawkeyes and Illini met once in the regular season with Iowa claiming a hard fought 82-78 win in Iowa City on February 26th.

5A

#1 Johnston – 49 vs #5 Ankeny – 39

#3 Waukee Northwest – 56 vs #2 Dowling Catholic – 50

4A

#5 Carlisle – 73 vs #1 Bishop Heelan – 60

#2 Dallas Center-Grimes – 47 vs #3 Norwalk – 42

3A

#1 Mount Vernon – 53 vs #4 Wahlert Catholic – 49

#2 Maquoketa – 61 vs #3 Des Moines Christian – 54

Northern Iowa advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis, Thursday night. Trey Campbell scored 23 points as the Panthers beat Evansville 68-59. UNI limited Evansville to 23 second half points.

That’s Panther coach Ben Jacobson. Sophomore forward Will Hornseth added 13 points. UNI will play third seeded Illinois State in Friday night’s late game.

The Panthers are now 20-12 on the season.

Iowa’s upset bid fell short against third ranked Michigan. Aday Mara’s layup with 43 seconds remaining gave the Wolverines the lead for good in a 71-68 win in Iowa City, Thursday night.

That’s Hawkeye coach Ben McCollum. Iowa held Michigan’s high powered offense in check and forced 18 turnovers. The Wolverines countered by making 17-of-22 free throws.

Iowa finished 14-3 at home in a season that featured increased attendance at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa is 10-9 in the Big Ten and 20-10 overall and closes the regular season at Nebraska Sunday.

One and done for the Iowa State women at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Thursday night. The Cyclones never led in a 77-68 loss to Arizona State. ISU was seven-of-36 from three point range.

That’s Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly. The Cyclones shot only 36 percent for the game in falling to 22-9.

The Drake women held Illinois State to 38 percent shooting Thursday night,  and beat the Redbirds 73-55 in the Knapp Center.

That’s Drake coach Allison Pohlman. It was the Bulldog’s fourth win in their last five games as they move to 10-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Drake survived at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and snapped a nine-game losing skid in the process. Jalen Quinn scored 22 points as the Bulldogs edged Southern Illinois 67-63.

After a string of heartbreaking losses the Bulldogs made enough plays down the stretch to hang on for the win.

The Bulldogs advance to play top seeded and regular season champion Belmont in the quarterfinals at noon on Friday.