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Page 8 monday • may 22, 2023
Sports
Le Mars Sentinel
Fifita of Le Mars, Akron-Westfield’s Blowe win state titles
By Allen Hamil
Sports Editor
Editor’s note — Results are
through Friday morning’s session.
Check out Wednesday’s Sentinel
for the rest of the results from the
state track meet.
DES MOINES — Plymouth
County’s athletes had a good
start to the state track and field
meet, including a pair of individuals
winning state titles.
Fifita wins high jump
Northwest Iowa had a stacked
set of athletes in the Class 3A
boys high jump. Sione Fifita
ended up taking third place at
the state qualifying meet, but his
jump was the third best entering
the state field. This time, Fifita
was able to beat out his fellow
competitors from this side of
the state, as well as the rest of the
state field, to bring home a title.
Fifita cleared 5-11, 6-01 and 6-03
all on the first attempt at those
heights. He reached 6-05 on his
second try and 6-06 on his first
attempt. All three of his attempts
to match his personal best 6-07
came up short as he ended at
6-06.
MOC-Floyd Valley’s Jesse
Van Kalsbeek, who won the
state qualifying meet with a
6-07 mark, ended up matching
Fifita’s 6-06 mark at state. Van
Kalsbeek needed one additional
attempt throughout the event,
giving Fifita the tiebreaker for
the state title. Fifita joins Judd
McDougal, who won the Class
A high jump title in 1953 with a
jump of 5-09.25, as state champions
for Le Mars in the event.
The other two to advance to
state from the state qualifying
meet at Orange City tied for the
third place spot, Jaron Bleeker of
Bishop Heelan and Dylan Stecker
of Spirit Lake, both at 6-03.
Fifita also ran in two prelims
on Thursday, but did not
advance to the finals in either
event. In the 200 event, Fifita ran
a time of 22.72 which was 13th.
The last time to advance to finals
was 22.49.
Fifita ran a time of 11.38 in the
100 prelims which was 15th. The
last time to advance to the finals
in that event was 11.10.
Blowe brings home championships
Akron-Westfield’s Ian Blowe
brought home a state title in the
Class 1A shot put on Thursday.
Blowe’s first throw of 52-06.50
was the best through the first
three throws as he advanced to
the finals. On his fifth overall
throw, he was able to reach his
best mark of the day at 55-11.50
which was enough to win the
state title as the next-best distance
in the field was a 53-05.75 from
(Photo By Roy Tucker)
Le Mars Community’s Sione Fifita clears the bar in the high jump competition at the state
meet on Thursday. He finished at 6-06 and brought home the Class 3A state title.
Wapello’s Ryan McDonough.
Blowe had finished fourth in the
event last year.
On Friday, Blowe added a
second title in the 1A discus.
He won the event with a toss of
161-08 to finish exactly one foot
in front of runner-up Koleson
Evans of West Harrison. Blowe
had the best distance through
the first three throws of 153-07
to advance to the finals. On his
fifth overall attempt, he got the
winning distance, overtaking
Evans who had surpassed him
on the first throw of finals.
Blowe finished third in the
event last year.
Blowe becomes the first
Akron-Westfield individual to
earn a state title. Akron had four
individual champions before
joining Westfield. That included
Dick Root, who won the Class
B discus in back-to-back years
in 1956 (138-09.375) and 1957
(134-04).
Events reach finals
Several Plymouth County
events advanced to Saturday’s
finals.
The Remsen St. Mary’s girls
shuttle hurdle relay started off
state meet Thursday morning
by advancing to the finals. The
group of Halle Galles, Mya Bunkers,
Whitney Jensen and Claire
Schroeder had the third fastest
prelim time in the 1A field at
1:08.58.
The Le Mars Community
girls shuttle hurdle team capped
off Day 1 by advancing. The
group of Savannah Manley,
Aubree Leusink, Liberty Larson
and Claire Susemihl finished in
1:08.42 which was the seventhfastest
time in the 3A field.
Gehlen Catholic’s Keaten
Bonderson advanced to the
finals in both of his sprint events.
He finished with the sixth-fastest
time of 22.50 in the 200. In half
the distance in the 100 meter
dash, he finished in half the time
at 11.25 to advance to the finals
with the fifth-fastest time.
Claire Schroeder advanced to
the finals of the 100 hurdles with
the fifth-fastest time of 15.48.
The Gehlen Catholic boys
4x400 team advanced to the
finals with a time of 3:28.37
from Chance Kallsen, Ryan
Augustine, Ashton Budden and
Keaten Bonderson. They had the
third-fastest prelim time.
Earning points
Several events finished in the
top eight to score points for their
respective teams.
Cole McCarty of Gehlen
ended seventh in the 1A long
jump with a 20-05 distance.
The top 11 all finished past 20
feet, but only two eclipsed 21
feet. Cam Huffington of Winfield-Mount
Union won with a
jump of 21-08. Newell-Fonda’s
Carter Sievers was runner-up at
21-03.75.
In the Class 2A girls shot put,
Hinton’s Lauren Kounkel and
KP-WC’s Allie Schweitzberger
finished back-to-back in the fifth
and sixth place spots. Kounkel
ended with a distance of 38-11,
just in front of Schweitzberger’s
38-09.25. The event had a strong
northwest Iowa flavor as West
Lyon, Sheldon and Estherville-
Lincoln Central individuals
placed in the top three spots.
Jana Ter Wee of West Lyon won
with a distance of 42-05, a foot
in front of Sheldon’s Katelyn
Grady.
Hinton’s Bailey Boeve finished
fifth in the 2A long jump.
She reached 17-01.50 on her best
attempt. New Hampton’s Carlee
Rochford won the event with a
17-10 distance.
Hinton’s 4x800 team finished
seventh to add an additional two
points to their team score. The
Blackhawks had the fastest time
in their heat by a wide margin,
finishing in 9:50.37 to beat the
next-best time by 23 seconds.
The time from the group of
Gabbie Friessen, Ava Lang, Kaci
Allen and Kadence Peters ended
up holding up for seventh after
the fast heat. Van Meter won the
state title with a time of 9:34.46.
On Friday morning, Gehlen’s
Miyah Whitehead competed in
the 1A discus. She hit 113-00
which ended up being the seventh
place throw in the event.
Pekin’s Anna Hadley won with
a toss of 134-10.
The Gehlen boys scored
points later on Friday morning
in the 4x200. Their team of Kale
Pearson, Aiden Spangler, Connor
Kraft and Keaten Bonderson
took fourth in 1:31.63. Lawton-
Bronson won with a state meet
record time of 1:28.70, shattering
the old 1A record of 1:29.62 set
by Panorama in 1997.
MMCRU’s Mitchell Schnepf
finished eighth in the discus
event which conference foe
Blowe won. Schnepf had a best
throw of 139-02.
Other events
Several other events competed
but did not make the top eight to
either qualify for finals or score
points.
MMCRU’s Kaden Galles was
11th in the 1A 3200 race with a
time of 9:55.71.
Another 11th place finish
(Photo By Roy Tucker)
Akron-Westfield’s Ian Blowe competes in the shot put at the state
meet on Thursday. He won Class 1A with a mark of 55-11.50.
came in the 1A girls long jump
where Akron-Westfield’s Ciara
Barron reached 15-10.25. She
entered the field seeded 22nd.
In the boys 4x800, Gehlen
Catholic and MMCRU both ran.
Gehlen’s team of Trevor Teel,
Zac Harpenau, Eric Scheitler
and Ryan Augustine were 14th
in 8:34.16. MMCRU’s group
of Lucas Braun, Owen Alesch,
Wyatt Alesch and Jace Colling
was 23rd in 8:48.09.
Chance Kallsen was 13th for
the Jays in the 400 meter dash
with a time of 51.57. A state meet
record was broken in the event
as Mount Ayr’s Ryce Reynolds
finished in 48.21. He was under
the 48.32 Class 1A meet record
which had been in place since
2007 when Jordan Cornilsen of
Preston-East Central ran.
The Gehlen boys shuttle
hurdle team came up short of
advancing from the prelims. The
group of Cole McCarty, Brandon
Gengler, Ethan Nuebel and
Jaxten Kramer finished 20th in
1:04.75. A state meet record was
also broken in that event. Lisbon,
who held the previous 1A record
of 1:00.20 set in 2021, broke their
own record with a 59.96 time in
the prelims. Now all four classes
have sub-1 minute record times
in the event.
Rachel Putze of KP-WC finished
24th in the 3000 with a
time of 12:07.61.
Madi Huls of Le Mars ended
11th in the 200 prelims with
a time of 26.34. She was twotenths
of a second behind the
last qualifying time for the finals.
In the boys 200, Hinton’s
Daniel Blackwell ended 23rd in
a time of 23.71. A time of 22.75
was the last to qualify for the
finals.
Maya Hogrefe of Le Mars finished
22nd in the 400 dash with a
time of 1:03.96. She was the only
freshman in the 3A field in that
event. Hogrefe also competed in
the high jump. She did not clear
the opening height of 4-10.
In the boys high jump, Lucas
Braun of MMCRU finished just
outside the top eight. He finished
in a tie for ninth as he topped out
at 6-01.
The MMCRU boys distance
medley finished 19th in a time
of 3:44.52 from Gunnar Johnson,
Kaden Neddermeyer, Jace
Colling and Owen Alesch. They
were about 10 seconds behind
the winning time from Mount
Ayr.
Gehlen’s Cole McCarty
ended 10th in the 110 hurdle
prelims with a time of 15.29.
The last time to advance to the
finals was 15.22. A 1A state meet
record was broken in the prelims
of the event as Triston Miller of
Columbus crossed the finish line
in 14.12. The previous mark of
14.41 by Treynor’s Cory Woods
had stood since 1997.
MMCRU’s 4x200 team of
Xander Tentinger, Brayson
Mulder, Kaden Neddermeyer
and Gunnar Johnson finished
17th in a time of 1:34.49.
Gehlen’s Sophie Ruden was
14th in the 400 hurdles with a
time of 1:09.35.
The Gehlen boys 4x100 finished
22nd in the prelims with a
time of 45.60 from Kale Pearson,
Aiden Spangler, Connor Kraft
and Cole McCarty.
Le Mars splits games with East
A-W baseball beats Unity, Cherokee
By Allen Hamil
Sports Editor
LE MARS — The Le Mars
Community baseball team split
a doubleheader with Sioux City
East in Missouri River Activities
Conference play on Thursday.
Le Mars scored runs in the
first two innings of Game 1, but
couldn’t hang on in the middle
innings as the Black Raiders
scored five in the third, two in
the fourth and one more in the
fifth. The Bulldogs scored one in
the seventh, but fell 8-3.
Ayden Hoag drove in a run
with a double in the first inning
as he was the only player with
multiple hits in the contest. He
also reached on a walk. Teagen
Kasel reached on a hit-by-pitch,
two walks and a single in the
game.
Brayden Dreckman, Sy Bixenman
and Kole Carpenter had
a hit apiece. Bixenman’s was a
home run.
Hoag ended up taking the
loss, giving up eight runs, seven
of which were earned, on seven
hits, three hit batters and two
walks. He struck out six. Carpenter
worked three innings of shut-
By Allen Hamil
Sports Editor
ORANGE CITY — The
Akron-Westfield baseball team
won 12-1 in six innings over
Unity Christian on Wednesday.
The Westerners were led by
a 4 RBI game from Michael
Swancutt as he had three hits
in the game. Carter Wilken and
Conner Wendel each drove in
two runs. Arik Allard, Jack
Terpstra and Tatum Wilken
drove in a run apiece.
The team got 14 hits in
the game, eight against Kyan
Emmelkamp and six more
against Graden Van Essen.
Emmelkamp took the loss with
five runs allowed in five innings.
Ashton McCully pitched a
complete game with just one
run allowed in six innings. He
struck out two in the win.
Both teams had a 1-1 record
at the end of the contest.
(Sentinel Photo By Allen Hamil)
Le Mars catcher Chase Peterson snags a pop up in front of home
plate for an out in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader.
out relief with five strikeouts.
Bohdy Colling earned the
win, settling in for five innings
after giving up runs in the first
two innings. He struck out
six. Tony Bartels pitched two
innings of relief.
Le Mars jumped ahead early
in Game 2 and held on to earn
a doubleheader split. The team
scored five runs in the first and
four in the second and went on
to win 10-4.
Carpenter drove in a pair of
runs with a single and double.
Carter Baumgartner drove in
a pair of runs. Kasel and Evan
Pratt added an RBI apiece.
Dreckman earned the win
with seven strikeouts in five
innings. He gave up one run on
three hits, two walks and two hit
batters. Pratt pitched the final
two innings.
At the end of the night the
Bulldogs were 2-2 overall and
in the conference. East was 1-4
overall and 1-3 in MRAC games.
AKRON — The Akron-
Westfield baseball team won
3-2 over Cherokee in a nonconference
game on Thursday.
The Westerners filled the
bases in the first inning and
(Sentinel Photo By Allen Hamil)
Akron-Westfield shortstop Conner Wendel makes a throw to
first in Thursday’s game against Cherokee.
scored a run on a fielder’s choice
off the bat of Kasey Nielsen.
Cherokee answered in the
second as Jack Waldner hit a
triple to drive in a run. He then
scored on a wild pitch.
The Westerners rallied for
two runs in the sixth to come
back for the win. The rally
included a run batted in for
Carter Wilken.
Hayden Wahlberg, Arik
Allard, Nathan Gaswint
and Nielsen all had hits for
the Westerners in the game
against Carter Kruse who took
the complete game loss for the
Braves.
Allard got the start and took
the no decision. He went 3 1/3
innings while giving up two
runs and striking out four.
Michael Swancutt struck out
eight in 3 2/3 innings of relief
and earned the win.
The Westerners improved to
2-1 with the victory. Cherokee
fell to 0-3 with the loss.
Monday
Boys State Golf
• Gehlen Catholic,
Kingsley-Pierson,
Remsen St. Mary’s at
1A meet
Baseball/Softball
• Gehlen Catholic vs.
West Sioux (SB)
• MMCRU at Trinity
Christian
• Akron-Westfield at
Hinton
• Kingsley-Pierson vs.
MVAOCOU (SB)
• Remsen St. Mary’s vs.
Unity Christian (SB)
Tuesday
Boys State Golf
• Gehlen Catholic,
Kingsley-Pierson,
Remsen St. Mary’s at
1A meet
Baseball/Softball
• Gehlen Catholic vs.
West Sioux (BB)
• Gehlen Catholic at
Akron-Westfield (SB)
• Le Mars at Sioux City
North
• Kingsley-Pierson at
Ridge View (SB)
• Kingsley-Pierson vs.
Lawton-Bronson (BB)
• Hinton vs. West
Monona (BB)
Boys state tennis
• Michael Meis and
Evan Pratt (Doubles)