Fourth ranked Iowa State and 17th ranked Northern Iowa open the Big 12 Wrestling Championships Friday morning in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

That’s ISU coach Kevin Dresser, who says when it comes to the team race bonus points and the consolation bracket are often the difference.

The Cyclones take a healthy lineup into the conference meet.

UNI finished second in the Big 12 meet a year ago.

That’s Panther coach Doug Schwab, who says the Panthers are enjoying their role as underdog. Third ranked Oklahoma State is the pre-tournament favorite.

The Big 12 Championships serve as a qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.

The Iowa State women open the Big-12 Tournament in Kansas City tonight as the seventh seeded Cyclones take on 10th seeded Arizona State. ISU coach Bill Fennelly says there is an elevated sense of urgency as the post season begins.

Fennelly says in a balanced league the Cyclones have the potential to make a deep run this weekend.

The winner advances to play second seeded West Virginia Friday night.

2A

#2 Rock Valley – 43 vs #7 Regina Catholic – 31

#6 Treynor – 62 vs #3 Central Lyon – 50

1A

#3 St. Albert – 45 vs #6 Exira-EHK-Audubon – 37

#1 Bishop Garrigan – 64 vs #8 Kee High – 42

#2 Newell-Fonda – 77 vs #7 Saint Ansgar – 58

#5 Dunkerton – 60 vs #4 Lynnville-Sully – 39

The Exira-EHK-Audubon girls basketball team saw their 22-game win streak and their season come to an end Wednesday night as they fell to the St. Albert Saintes 45-37 in the state quarterfinal. Despite a slow start, Exira-EHK-Audubon fought hard in a physical game for all four quarters. After surrendering a 15-1 run to start game, they would constantly battle and thanks in large part to their stout defense, would tie the game in the fourth quarter. Although Taryn Petersen’s team leading 18 points played a large part in the comeback effort, St. Albert’s ability to control glass was too much to overcome. It was a solid effort against one of the best teams in the state that came up just a little short.

The start to the ball game couldn’t have gone any worse for Exira-EHK-Audubon. St. Albert was on top of them from the opening tip. At points throughout the opening quarter, Exira-EHK-Audubon struggled to move the ball without turning it over. Although St. Albert wasn’t electric on offense it was enough to go on a 15-1 over the course of the first five minutes. However, after Taryn Petersen hit the first field goal of the game with just under two minutes in the quarter, Exira-EHK-Audubon settled in. Over the course of the final two minutes, they outscored St. Albert 7-2 to get themselves back in the game.

That trend continued in the second. Although it took a while for the offense to get going, they continued to close the gap. Through the final 10 minutes of the half, Exira-EHK-Audubon outscored the Saintes 19-7 including a 9-2 run over the final four minutes of the second and went into the half down by two.

Credit has to be given to the defenses. It was the lowest point total in a class 1A quarterfinal, and the lowest point total in the whole tournament for a game that finished within single digits. St. Albert’s pressure caused a lot of issues for Exira-EHK-Audubon. On the other end, Exira-EHK-Audubon did a phenomenal job in the half court and continued to find ways to survive. However, it was the overwhelming need to survive possessions caused by the rebounding of St. Albert that ultimately turned out to be the biggest difference. The Saintes outrebounded Exira-EHK-Audubon 51-25. A lot of the damage was done on the offense glass. There were numerous times were the Saintes earned second, third, and even forth chance opportunities. Eventually this became too much to survive.

However, despite everything, Exira-EHK-Audubon hung in the game. Although St. Albert extended their lead in the third, Exira-EHK-Audubon came right back in the early stages of the fourth going on a 10-2 through the first three minutes of the frame to tie the game. Unfortunately, St. Albert found and answer on both offense and defense, as Exira-EHK-Audubon never truly threatened again.

Head coach Tom Petersen was extremely pleased with his team’s effort against the defending champs.

Junior Taryn Petersen credited their ability to get to the inside as the adjustment that got them back into the game.

Jaelyn Petersen one of three seniors on the team was happy with what her and her classmates were able to accomplish over their careers.

St. Albert is one of the best teams in the state and are primed to defend their state championship. For Exira-EHK-Audubon, they showed that they could hang with the best.

Exira-EHK-Audubon ends the season with a record of 22-2 and made their first state tournament appearance in four years.

The Iowa Hawkeye men look to rebound from a bad loss when they close the home schedule on Thursday night against third ranked Michigan. Saturday’s 71-69 loss at Penn State could prove costly when it comes to seeding for the Big Ten Tournament.

That’s Iowa coach Ben McCollum. At 17-1 in the Big Ten, the Wolverines have already clinched the regular season title and will have a huge advantage along the front line against the undersized Hawkeyes.

The Michigan front line trio of Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara is averaging better than 39 points and more than 21 and-a-half rebounds per game.

McCollum says the Hawkeyes need to get better in their half-court defense at crunch time.

Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson says defense will be a key on Thursday night when the sixth seeded Panthers take on 11th seeded Evansville at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis. The Panthers beat the Aces twice in convincing fashion during the regular season.

Evansville finished the regular season 7-24 but Jacobson feels they have made progress at the end of the season.

Evansville coach David Ragland on the challenge UNI provides.

Ragland says the Aces need to find a way to solve the UNI defense.

Two teams heading in opposite directions collide in the opener at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis Thursday afternoon when Drake plays Southern Illinois. The ninth seeded Bulldogs are 12-19 and closed the regular season with nine consecutive losses while the eighth seeded Salukis are 16-15 and have won four straight.

That’s first year Drake coach Eric Henderson. The teams traded a pair of road wins during the regular season.

It has been a bitterly disappointing season for the three-time defending champion Bulldogs who had won 20 or more games in each of the past seven seasons.

Iowa women’s basketball coach Jan Jensen says senior forward Hannah Stuelke remains questionable for this week’s Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Stuelke injured her right elbow in the ninth ranked Hawkeyes February 26th win over Illinois and missed Sunday’s victory at Wisconsin.

The Hawkeyes are the two seed in the tournament and don’t play until late Friday afternoon.

If Stuelke can’t play she will have two weeks to get ready for the NCAA Tournament.

If Stuelke can’t play, freshman Journey Houston will take on a bigger role.

After a disappointing dual season the seventh ranked Iowa wrestling team gets ready for this weekend’s Big Ten Championships at Penn State. The Hawkeyes were 12-6 in duals and have finished third and fourth at the last two Big Ten Meets.

That’s Iowa coach Tom Brands. The tournament seeds that came out at the beginning of the week have triggered a lot of debate but Brands says for the wrestlers it is all about the bracket.

Brands on the keys this weekend.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa’s Ryan Johnson was named the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Championships, the conference announced Wednesday.

Johnson claimed the Big Ten weight throw title with a world-leading mark of 25.66 meters at the 2026 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships. Mike Stein was Iowa’s most recent winner of this award, earning the distinction in 2024 after he won the Big Ten javelin title.

The throw set a new school record, previously held by Johnson, and broke the collegiate, meet, and facility records. With the performance, Johnson moves to third on the all-time American weight throw list and fourth in world history. The previous Big Ten record of 25.58 meters was set by Wisconsin’s Michael Lihrman in 2015.

Now a back-to-back Big Ten champion, Johnson earned the program’s first men’s weight throw conference title last season with a 24.38-meter effort.

Johnson returns to competition at the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 13. The men’s weight throw is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. (CT).

Men’s Indoor Track & Field Sportsmanship Honorees

Vaughn Devaughn III, Iowa

Women’s Indoor Track & Field Sportsmanship Honorees

Princess Uche, Iowa