HARLAN -- A week after posting a 5-0 win at Creston, the Harlan Community boys soccer team knew it would face a much tougher challenge when the Panthers came to Harlan for Monday night’s postseason rematch. The Cyclones got the battle they bargained for, but in the end shut out Creston once again, winning 2-0 in a Class 2-A, Substate 8 quarterfinal match at Merrill Field. Drew Voge broke a scoreless tie with just 27.5 seconds left in the firs

 AVOCA -- The AHSTW boys soccer team won its Class 1-A, Substate 7 opener Monday night, getting two late goals from Preslyn Grobe to pull away for a 4-1 victory over Ankeny Christian Academy. The Vikings improved to 8-6 overall and advanced to face No. 7 Pella Christian in a substate semifinal at Norwalk on Wednesday. ACA wrapped up its season at 3-9 overall.

 DES MOINES -- What a difference a year makes for AHSTW sophomore sprinter Gage Clay. Last season, Clay did what he could for the Vikings but was hampered by a foot injury that required surgery during the summer.

 DES MOINES -- Senior Marcus Klein brought home two state medals on Saturday, but the Harlan Community boys left Des Moines with a somewhat sour taste in their  mouths following three days of competition at the 2016 Iowa High School Track and Field Championships. Klein placed fourth in the 400-meter dash on Thursday and secured an eighth-place medal in Saturday afternoon’s 200-meter dash final, giving HCHS six points for a 29th-place tie in th

 DES MOINES -- For the first time in many years the Harlan Community girls track team finished scoreless at a state meet this past weekend, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort. The Cyclones took eight events to the 2016 State Track and Field Championships and performed at, or close to, a season-best level in most of them.

 DES MOINES -- A trio of Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton athletes competed in four events at the Iowa High School Track and Field Championships this past weekend, but the Spartans were unable to bring home any medals from Drake Stadium. Seniors Martin Olson (shot put) and Brady Hansen (110 high hurdles), along with junior Emily Copic (3,000 and 1,500), each placed between 16th and 21st in their events after qualifying for state anywhere from eighth

 DES MOINES -- All in all, it was a great state meet for the IKM-Manning girls and boys track teams. The Wolves combined to qualify five events for the State Track and Field Championships last weekend and brought home Class 1-A state medals in three of the five. On Friday, the IKM-M girls placed seventh in the distance medley relay with a school-record time of 4:24.94.

 ATLANTIC -- Battling through two weather delays, a significant temperature drop and strong north winds during the last half of the meet, Harlan Community didn’t play its best golf last Friday but managed to keep its season alive at the Atlantic Country Club. Counting four scores in the low-to-mid 80s, HCHS finished with a third-place 334 in its Class 3-A Boys Sectional Golf Tournament, holding off Carroll by one stroke for the meet’s third an

 COON RAPIDS -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton boys golf team advanced to district play last Friday by placing third at the Class 1-A Sectional Tournament held in Coon Rapids. The Spartans tied Audubon for third place with a team score of 385, but qualified ahead of the Wheelers based on having the better fifth score. Chris Paulsen carded a 92 for seventh place and Gage Lauritsen shot a 93 to lead the team individually.

 DES MOINES -- The girls and boys track teams from Harlan Community, IKM-Manning, AHSTW and Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton have combined to qualify 29 entries for this week’s Co-Ed State Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium (May 19-21). All eight area squads qualified at least one event for the state meet, led by the HCHS boys with nine entries and the Cyclone girls with eight.

 CRESTON -- Five Harlan Community players scored one goal each Monday as the Cyclone boys soccer team won their final Hawkeye Ten Conference match, 5-0, on a slick field at Creston. HCHS (8-7 overall) won its first conference game in over a month to finish 3-4 in the H-10 standings. Creston dropped to 3-13 overall and 0-7 in league play.

 HARLAN -- A slow start plagued Harlan Community on Senior Night last Friday as St. Albert scored all three of its goals in the opening 13 minutes to beat the Cyclones, 3-1, at Merrill Field. The Falcons improved to 9-8 overall (4-2 in the Hawkeye Ten) while HCHS dropped to 7-7 and 2-4. With HCHS fielding a starting lineup of nearly all seniors, St.

 HARLAN -- Hosting one of the top girls soccer teams in the state on Monday, Harlan Community fell behind 4-0 in the opening three minutes and never recovered, losing to Lewis Central 10-0 in a match that ended via the mercy rule with 18 minutes remaining. The 2nd-ranked (Class 2-A) Titans reached 10 goals for the fifth time on the year, improving to 9-3 overall and 6-0 in the Hawkeye Ten.

 CARROLL -- Junior Isaac Stitz earned two of Harlan Community’s three wins and placed third in the singles bracket last Thursday (May 12) as the Cyclones finished their season by placing sixth in the Class 1-A Boys District Tennis Tournament at Carroll. Just two days after finishing second in the Hawkeye Ten Conference Meet, HCHS was unable to repeat the same level of success at districts and scored only six points. “Today was not our day,” st

 COUNTY -- The Harlan Community Trap Team held their second home meet of the year at Shelby County Trap Range on April 16. The meet included 236 shooters from 12 different schools. Once again, the wind was a major factor with gusts of 25 mph making the targets very sporty.    Harlan Community High School’s Team Red placed 2nd in the team event. Team members were Jack Gubbels, Alex Assmann, Jamie Schechinger, Marshall Tucker and Lucas Schmitz.