HARLAN (May 30) -- Morgan Schaben pitched five innings of one-hit ball in game one and notched the save in the night cap Thursday as the Harlan Community softball team swept Creston in its Hawkeye Ten Conference opener, winning 12-2 (in five) and 8-7. The Cyclones (4-2 overall) put up a five-spot in the second inning of game two, then scored three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth that turned out to be huge, making it an 8-3 game.

 SERGEANT BLUFF (May 29) -- The Harlan Community softball team took early leads of 2-0 and 3-2 but was unable to pull off the win at Sergeant Bluff-Luton on Wednesday, losing 6-4 to the 14th-ranked (4A) Warriors. Madison Schumacher hit a two-run homer in the first inning for the Cyclones, who added just two runs the rest of the way off SB-L pitchers Madelyn Mogensen and Kinsey Foley.

 MARSHALLTOWN (May 29) -- The IKM-Manning girls golf team finished 10th out of 10 teams at the Class 1A State Tournament last week, scoring 18-hole rounds of 432 and 435 for a total of 867. Held at the American Legion Golf Course in Marshalltown, the state meet featured a suspension of play during the first round on Tuesday (May 28) due to lightning and rain and continued on Wednesday with the completion of round one and the full second round.

 NEOLA (May 28) -- For the third time in four years, AHSTW finished the girls soccer season with a regional loss to Tri-Center. The difference this time around was the competitiveness of the match. Facing an opponent that was fast, physical and skilled with the ball, the Lady Vikes never backed down and kept it a one-score game until the 57th minute.

 TREYNOR (May 28) -- The Harlan Community girls soccer team advanced to the regional semifinal round courtesy of Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Logan-Magnolia in a Class 1A, Region 2 quarterfinal played at Treynor. Freshman Raegen Wicks scored two goals and senior Kara Weis added another for the Cyclones (10-7), who will now face fifth-ranked Treynor (11-2) in Friday’s regional semifinal back in Treynor.

 HARLAN (May 29) -- The Harlan Community baseball team improved to 4-0 Wednesday night, sweeping Shenandoah 8-0 and 24-7 in a Hawkeye Ten doubleheader played at Jim Goeser Field. The twin bill was scheduled to be played at Shenandoah but was moved to Harlan due to heavy rains in southern Iowa.

 AVOCA -- The AHSTW Community School District has filled two key positions from within during recent weeks, hiring G.G. Harris as the new head football coach (effective immediately) and Jason Holst as 7-12 Activities Director (effective July 1). Davis Pattee previously held both positions but was hired February 28 as the new 7-12 Activities Director and Associate Principal for the Harlan Community School District, also effective July 1.G.G.

Monday, May 20Woodbine 6, Exira-EHK 5 (8) WOODBINE -- Trailing 5-0 early, Exira-EHK eventually forced extra innings with three runs in the top of the seventh but the host Tigers won in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the eighth in the season opener for both teams. Spartan senior Cole Burmeister stole six bases and scored three runs in defeat, going 1-for-3 with a double and two walks.

Monday, May 20Exira-EHK 11, Woodbine 1 (5) WOODBINE -- Macy Emgartner struck out 12 Woodbine batters in five innings and eighth-grader Shay Burmeister had five of the team’s nine stolen bases as Exira-EHK rolled past the Tigers 11-1 in last Monday’s season opener. Emgartner, a second-year varsity freshman, allowed three hits, two walks and one unearned run from the pitching circle.

 OAKLAND (May 25) -- AHSTW rallied twice in the first half to tie up Greene County during Saturday’s Class 1A, Substate 8 boys soccer final. A third comeback was not in the cards, however, as the fourth-ranked Vikings lost to the ninth-ranked Rams 5-2 at Riverside High School. Greene County’s Junior Gutierrez, the state’s leading scorer with 55 goals, put three in the back of the net on the day, including a go-ahead penalty kick with 31:17 to

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (May 25) -- When it comes to Class 2A boys soccer in southwest Iowa, perhaps the only team playing better than Harlan Community of late was the one the Cyclones met in Saturday’s Substate 8 final. Scoring twice in a 54-second span of the first half and adding two more goals late, Lewis Central took control early and never let HCHS have any momentum, avenging a season-opening 4-0 loss in Harlan with a 4-0 victory at Titan Stadiu

 NEWTON (May 23) -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton boys never got their second chance after some opening-day struggles at the Class 1A Boys State Golf Tournament. The Spartans posted a team score of 364 at the Westwood Golf Course Thursday, finishing last out of eight teams when Friday’s second day of competition was cancelled due to very wet course conditions.

 HARLAN (May 24) -- Connor Bruck pitched five scoreless innings of relief and Brenden Bartley drove in four runs from the eight hole Friday night as Harlan Community erased an early 6-3 deficit and beat Sioux City Bishop Heelan 9-6 in an early-season matchup of Class 3A state baseball powers. Bruck, who struck out all six batters he faced in last Monday’s season opener at Carroll, was extremely sharp once again against the fifth-ranked Crusade

 WINTERSET (May 25) -- Harlan Community finished 1-1 at the rain-shortened Winterset Softball Tournament on Saturday, beating ninth-ranked (2A) Van Meter 3-1 in five innings and losing to Interstate 35 (Truro) 5-3 in six.

 UNDERWOOD (May 20) -- Morgan Schaben pitched six hitless innings and drove in five runs at the plate to lead the Harlan Community softball team past Underwood 15-3 in last Monday’s season opener. The Cyclones scored three runs each in the first three innings and blew the game open with a six-run sixth to win by the mercy rule. Schaben, who has signed to play collegiate softball at Central College in Pella, struck out eight and walked three, a