HARLAN (June 5) -- Sophomore Connor Bruck pitched six innings of three-hit ball and helped his own cause with a pair of singles and three RBI here Tuesday night as the Harlan Community baseball team improved to 6-0 inside the Hawkeye Ten with a 7-1 win over Atlantic. Bruck (2-0), who faced the minimum through three, finished his 78-pitch outing with six strikeouts, one walk and a hit batsman.

 HARLAN (June 5) -- Just one night after losing 8-1 to the number nine-ranked team in Class 4A, the Harlan Community softball team put up a much better fight against the No. 9 team in 3A here Tuesday. Falling behind 4-0 early on, the Cyclones battled back and had the tying runs in scoring position in the sixth inning before coming up short against Atlantic, 4-2, at H.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (June 4) -- Aided by walks and hit batsmen, Lewis Central put together two big innings Monday night to beat the Harlan Community softball team 8-1. The 9th-ranked (4A) Titans scored three runs in the second inning vs. Cyclone pitcher Morgan Schaben, getting two-out RBI singles from Taylor Elam and Haley Bach after a walk and an error set the table.

 AVOCA (June 4) -- Trailing 4-2 at one point, the AHSTW baseball team scored 13 runs in its last three at-bats to down Logan-Magnolia 15-5 in six innings Monday night for its fourth win of the season. Sam Porter (2-1) pitched all six innings for the win, allowing five hits and no earned runs.

 AVOCA (June 5) -- The AHSTW softball team dropped a pair of Western Iowa Conference games earlier this week, falling to ninth-ranked (2A) Logan-Magnolia Monday night, 11-1, and losing at Audubon 14-4 on Tuesday. The Lady Vikes had just three hits vs. Lo-Ma, including an RBI double by Sarah Butcher.

      IOWA FALLS – Former Harlanite Kate Cox was inducted into the Iowa Rugby Fall of Fame here May 5. Kate is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Terry Cox, Harlan. Cox, a 2000 Harlan Community High School graduate, began playing rugby as a freshman at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls where the UNI Panthers went on to win back-to-back national championships in 2001 and 2002 and were the runner-up in 2003.

 HARLAN -- Shane Chamberlain, a 2018 Harlan Community High School graduate, signed a letter of intent this spring to play collegiate basketball at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska. As a senior in 2017-18, Chamberlain helped lead the Cyclones to a 15-8 overall record and a trip to the Class 3A substate finals.

 HARLAN -- Logan Klaassen, a 2018 Harlan Community High School graduate, signed a letter of intent this spring to play collegiate basketball at Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska. As a senior, Klaassen helped the 2017-18 Cyclones finish 15-8 overall and reach the Class 3A substate finals. The 6-foot-2 shooting guard was second on the team with a scoring average of 14.3 points per game while also averaging 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

 MANNING -- Kia Rasmussen, a 2018 IKM-Manning High School graduate, signed a letter of intent this spring to play collegiate basketball at Simpson College in Indianola.

 IRWIN (May 30) -- It was a typical IKM-Manning vs.

 CRESTON (May 31) -- The Harlan Community softball team totaled 31 hits in just 10 innings at bat Thursday night, improving to 3-0 in Hawkeye Ten Conference play with a doubleheader sweep at Creston. HCHS won 7-4 and 14-2, with game two lasting just three innings. The Cyclones also moved back over the .500 mark with a 5-4 overall record.

 CRESTON (May 31) -- The Harlan Community baseball team swept a conference doubleheader at Creston Thursday, holding on for a 2-1 win in game one before routing the Panthers 10-0 in a five-inning night cap. HCHS improved to 5-2 overall and 4-0 in Hawkeye Ten Conference play while Creston dropped to 2-4 and 1-2, respectively.HCHS 2, Creston 1 Connor Bruck pitched a perfect seventh inning with just seven pitches to earn his second save and close

 URBANDALE (June 1) -- Harlan Community played hard and determined, but didn’t control the ball enough to hang with Des Moines Christian in Friday’s Class 1A regional semifinal girls soccer game. The 15th-ranked Lions dominated possession time and shot attempts and got a hat trick from Angela Kinzie on their home turf, posting their 11th shutout of the year with a 4-0 win over HCHS. Des Moines Christian (15-2) advanced to Monday’s Region 3 fin

 MARSHALLTOWN (May 30) -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton sophomore Jacey Anthofer made herself right at home in her state golf meet debut last week, shooting identical rounds of 88 to place 12th out of 83 competitors in Class 1A. This year’s 1A Girls State Golf Tournament was held May 29-30 at Marshalltown’s American Legion Golf Course. Anthofer, who placed sixth at her regional final meet in Atlantic May 21, finished with a 34-over-par total of 17

 AMES (May 30) -- Harlan Community senior Ellen Keast finished her three-year high school golf career at the Class 3A state tournament last week, placing 69th out of 75 individuals at Coldwater Golf Links in Ames. Keast shot consistent nine-hole scores during the 36-hole event last Tuesday and Wednesday (May 29-30), but was plagued by a few bad holes in carding rounds of 110 and 116 for a total of 226 strokes. Keast, who did not join the HCHS