HARLAN -- Led by the runner-up finish of Jacob Wingert at 160 pounds, Harlan Community secured 11 medals and placed fifth in the team standings as the host of Saturday’s Hawkeye Ten Conference Wrestling Tournament. The Cyclones’ fifth-place finish was one spot higher than each of the last two years and their 144 points was an improvement of 31 over last season. Creston/Orient-Macksburg, ranked third in Class 2-A, claimed its fourth conference

 ELK HORN -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton overcame a slow night on offense with some shut-down defense in the second half to beat the Coon Rapids-Bayard boys, 37-29, last Tuesday night. Trailing 21-13 at halftime, the Spartans made a few defensive adjustments and outscored CR-B 24-8 the rest of the way. According to head coach Doug Newton, the Spartans made a few transition buckets in the third quarter to cut the margin to 24-22, then scored on s

 ELK HORN -- Outscoring Coon Rapids-Bayard 49-10 during the second and third quarters, the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls cruised to 16-0 last Tuesday night with a 72-29 win over the Crusaders. The game was close for one quarter (15-13) before the 2nd-ranked (1-A) Spartans dominated the rest of the way. Sophia Peppers (9-for-11 shooting) and Mara Burmeister (8-for-13) scored 20 and 19 points, respectively, to lead Exira-EHK, which shot 61.5 p

 WEST DES MOINES -- Hired to direct the Harlan Community baseball program in 1994, Steve Daeges never imagined the type of success that would follow. Twenty-two seasons and 579 wins later, he’s a hall of famer. On Saturday night, January 23, at the Sheraton Hotel in West Des Moines, Daeges was honored as one of five new inductees into the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

 HARLAN -- Taylor Frederick and Jordyn Moser combined to score 42 points Tuesday night as the Harlan Community girls basketball team overcame a sluggish start to beat Denison-Schleswig, 65-43, in Hawkeye Ten Conference play. The top-ranked (Class 4-A) Cyclones led by 30 points before D-S closed the gap in the final three minutes. Frederick led HCHS with 23 points and 11 rebounds (adding three steals and three blocks) while Moser had 19 points,

 HARLAN -- It took nearly three quarters, but Harlan Community eventually delivered the knockout punch Tuesday night in a 74-43 boys basketball win over Denison-Schleswig. After the Monarchs pulled within 41-33 at the 2:30 mark of the third period, Cyclone coach Mitch Osborn called a timeout and the team responded with a 33-10 closing run to sweep the season series. HCHS point guard Caleb Rasmussen ignited the final push with two impressive le

 HARLAN -- Bonus points proved to be the difference maker Tuesday night as the Harlan Community wrestling team settled for a split of its Hawkeye Ten home double dual vs.

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community girls and boys bowling teams both improved their records to 4-2 overall last Thursday (Jan. 21) with victories over OA-BCIG at Cyclone Lanes. The Cyclone girls won by 418 pins (2,324 to 1,906), led by Bailey Portwood’s individual series of 362. The Cyclone boys won by 95 pins (2,623 to 2,528), led by Mitchell Leinen’s 380.

 TRI-CENTER -- Another game, another big second half by the IKM-Manning boys basketball team. Three nights after outscoring Audubon 45-19 in the final 13:30 of an 11-point home win, the Wolves erased a one-point halftime deficit on the road by outscoring Tri-Center 55-18 in the second half of an 82-46 victory. The 8th-ranked (Class 1-A) Wolves buried 12-of-25 three-point shots in the contest, including five by Kyle Wagner, three by Jared Volls

 RED OAK -- The 13th straight victory for the Harlan Community girls basketball team was its most lopsided yet as the top-ranked Cyclones built a 45-10 halftime lead and trounced Red Oak, 66-22, on Friday night. HCHS rolled to 7-0 in Hawkeye Ten Conference play (one game ahead of Lewis Central) and 13-1 overall, while the Tigers dropped to 1-6 and 3-10, respectively. The Cyclones stormed out to a 28-7 lead after the first quarter and dominated

 RED OAK -- Ahead by just six points at halftime, the Harlan Community boys put together a 23-8 third-quarter run and continued to pull away in the fourth to post a 78-49 win at Red Oak Friday night. Senior Kyle Juhl led the 5th-ranked (3-A) Cyclones with 31 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots, shooting 13-of-19 from the field as HCHS improved to 8-1 in Hawkeye Ten Conference play (tied for first place) and 1

 OMAHA, NEB.

 MISSOURI VALLEY -- Bolstered by four first-half 3-pointers and solid man-to-man defense, the AHSTW girls basketball team scored the first 10 points of the game en route to an 18-point lead and held off Missouri Valley, 46-40, Friday night to sweep the season series. Taking their biggest lead at 26-8, the Lady Vikes led 26-10 at halftime and maintained a double-digit edge for most of the second half. Mo.

 TRI-CENTER -- Paige Gaskill’s season-high 17 points gave IKM-Manning the boost it needed Friday night as the Wolves outlasted Tri-Center, 46-36, to snap the Trojan girls’ six-game winning streak. IKM-M trailed 19-17 at the half before outscoring T-C 29-17 after the break, improving to 11-4 overall and 8-4 in the Western Iowa Conference. Gaskill, who had played in only seven previous games, took advantage of her opportunity Friday as Madi Ling

 DUNLAP -- All five Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton starters scored in double figures Friday night, combining for every Spartan point as the 2nd-ranked team in Class 1-A girls basketball won 58-43 at Boyer Valley. Exira-EHK established an 18-9 lead after one quarter and was able to build on it the rest of the way, improving its unblemished record to 15-0 overall and 14-0 in the Rolling Valley Conference. Spartan junior Mara Burmeister hit 4-of-9 thr