HARLAN (June 4) -- The goal for the Harlan Community baseball team - finish the season in Des Moines - is a constant from year to year. And for eight consecutive seasons prior to last July, it was a reality. Longtime Cyclone head coach Steve Daeges and his staff have a proven system in place of evaluation, trial and error, fine-tuning and ultimately putting the best team on the field for a four-to-six game postseason run. Thanks to COVID-19 a

 HARLAN -- Seniors Abby Alberti and Lucy Borkowski of Harlan Community have been named to the 2020 Iowa Association of Track Coaches’ Academic All-State Team for track and field. The list includes 47 girls and 36 boys from across the state. Academic All-State requirements include being a senior with a cumulative grade point average of 3.8 or higher, an ACT score of at least 28 and being a state meet qualifier or alternate in at least one event

 HARLAN -- It’s official. The Shelby County Speedway will open its 2020 racing season Saturday night (June 6) following five weeks of cancellations due to COVID-19. The track season includes 10 Saturdays this summer with the exception of July 4 and July 25, concluding with the season championships on August 22. The 28th Annual Tiny Lund Memorial will be held September 25-26. As of now, the grandstand will be open to 50 percent capacity and the

 PORTSMOUTH (May 31) -- Portsmouth rallied for six runs in the bottom of the eighth but left the bases loaded in a scoreless ninth inning on Sunday, falling to Walnut 11-9 in the Iowa Western League opener for both sides. Portsmouth trailed 11-2 at the seventh-inning stretch before mounting a comeback, but left the bases loaded in both the eighth and the ninth.

 AREA -- Three student-athletes from the Harlan Community Schools Delegation have been selected by Special Olympics Iowa as honorees for the 2020 Des Moines Register’s All-Iowa Sports Awards program. Seniors Gracie Assmann and Chloe Hays of HCSD are both among three finalists for the Special Olympics Iowa Girl Athlete of the Year while Cameron Hicks, a junior, is one of three finalists for the Special Olympics Iowa Boy Athlete of the Year. To

 MARYVILLE, MO. (May 26) -- Harlan native Marcus Klein was one of 20 Northwest Missouri State University student-athletes to receive 2020 NCAA Division II All-American honors Tuesday for the indoor track season. The All-Americans were selected by the U.S.

 HARLAN -- Abigail Alberti, a 2020 graduate of Harlan Community High School, was one of just seven seniors in the state awarded the 2020 Track Guy Foundation Scholarship on May 20. Abigail is the daughter of Todd and Jacqueline Alberti of Harlan. The Iowa Track Guy Foundation’s Board of Directors selected the $500 scholarship recipients from an application list of 47 seniors involved in track and field and/or cross country. Alberti was also re

HCHS Baseball: 2020 ScheduleJune 15    at St.

 HARLAN (May 28) -- The Shelby County Speedway is likely to open its 2020 racing season on Saturday, June 6, following Tuesday’s announcement from Governor Kim Reynolds that Iowa race tracks may operate with grandstands at 50 percent capacity. Shelby County Speedway announced on its Facebook page Tuesday that it will be opening up for practice this Sunday (May 31) from 12:00 to 8:00 p.m.

LOGAN SCHABEN (SR.)Iowa State University (Ames); NCAA Division I • Portsmouth, IA • 2016 HCHS graduate2020 Season - Schaben was hitting a career-best .266 (21-for-79) when her senior season ended abruptly in mid-March due to COVID-19. Iowa State was 11-13 overall following the USF (South Florida) Tournament March 6-8.

 This guidance was created in consultation with the Iowa Department of Public Health, Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union as a resource for administrators to determine when and how districts and nonpublic schools may begin to engage in school sports seasons while keeping participants and spectators safe.

DILLON SEARS (JR.)Western Illinois University (NCAA Division I) • Westphalia, IA • 2017 Harlan Community graduate2020 Season - Sears, a Physical Education major at WIU, started eight games for the Leathernecks before the season was cancelled. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound middle infielder was hitting .250 (6-for-24), highlighted by a three-hit game at Butler on February 22, and had an on-base percentage of .357.

 AREA -- Play ball! There will be a high school baseball and softball season, after all, for eager athletes, coaches and fans across the state. On Wednesday morning, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced that summer athletic seasons could be held at the high school level following a two-month suspension of activities due to COVID-19, including the cancellation of all spring sports. By Wednesday afternoon, the Iowa High School Athletic Associati

 HARLAN (May 18) -- It is still an unknown when the Shelby County Speedway might hold its first racing night of the 2020 season, or if fans will be able to watch from the grandstand. The SCS racing season was originally set to begin on April 17-18, but opening night was pushed back at least two weeks based on COVID-19 health concerns.

 AREA -- The Iowa Western Baseball League is forging full speed ahead with its 74th season starting May 31. IWL Commissioner Jim Bruck released the amateur league’s 2020 schedule on Friday with five teams set to compete: Portsmouth, Persia, Walnut, Council Bluffs and Massena. Bruck said there will be no restrictions on the number of fans who can attend. Two games have been scheduled for each Sunday between May 31 and August 9 with the exceptio