April
Garza Named Naismith POY:
University of Iowa senior Luka Garza has been named the recipient of the 2021 Naismith Trophy in April, the most prestigious individual basketball honor presented annually to college basketball’s most outstanding player.
The most dominant player in men’s college basketball, Garza has been named national player of the year by all of the major organizations and publications, including the Associated Press, National Association of Basketball Coaches, United States Basketball Writers Association (Oscar Robertson Trophy), Sporting News, Basketball Times, and The Athletic.
Iowa’s first two-time unanimous consensus first-team All-American was also a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award,
The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year broke Iowa’s 32-year-old scoring record held by Roy Marble in February.
He finished his Hawkeye career with 2,306 points, which ranks seventh-best in Big Ten history.
Brumbaugh Guides Panthers to Denny White Relay Win
Jadan Brumbaugh hurled a state best 44 feet, 1 inch in the shot put as the Mount Pleasant girls’ track team earned a home win at the Denny White Relays in April.
Grace Kelley was another top finisher for the Panthers that night.
Kelley led the Class A discus with a toss of 115 feet, 4 inches, nearly five and a half feet better than that of second place Abbey Bence of West Burlington-Notre Dame.
The Lamm sisters also played a pivotal role in the win.
Both Karsyn and Kenna finished top-three in the hurdles, with Karysn winning the event in 16.19 seconds — Kenna placed third in 16.26 seconds.
State Agrees on Mandated Week Off
Starting over the summer, there was a week off designated for family time for Iowa high school athletes, coaches, and those involved with music and speech.
The week of July 25th is designated as Family Week, so there will be no practices for athletes or participants in music and speech.
The announcement was made in April.
The state baseball tournament will go on as scheduled during the last week in July at Principal Park in Des Moines. Next year, IHSAA Director Tom Keating says the summer baseball and softball seasons will be starting in mid-May.
The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union is cooperating with the boys athletic association in the Family Week program, he says, and the same goes for the Iowa High School Music Association.
May
Panther Boys’ Golf Earns SEC Championship
Nick Matheney and Brevin Wilson were neck and neck for medalist honors — which in the end, really wasn’t all that bad — as the Mount Pleasant Panther boys’ golf team earned a conference championship crown in May’s Southeast Conference Golf Meet in Fairfield.
Matheney finished one stroke better than that of Wilson to claim medalist honors but as it has been all season, it was about the team that night.
Matheney carded a four over-74, Wilson finished with a 75 while Reece Kempker ended his 18-hole afternoon with an 85.
Washington’s Roman Roth took third with a 77, while Isaac Vetter of Washington ended up 4th. Fairfield’s Jeremy Crile placed fifth.
The Demons placed second in the team standings, followed up by Fairfield, Keokuk, and Fort Madison.
Brumbaugh Wins 3A Shot Put Crown
“An absolute powerhouse” is the phrase that throws coach Shawn Striegel used to describe Jadan Brumbaugh, who this morning etched her name into the pantheon of greats at Mount Pleasant, earning a Class 3A Shot Put State Championship in May.
For the Panthers, it’s the second consecutive year that they claim the 3A State Title.
Lexie Magnani, now throwing at UNI, accomplished the feat in 2019.
The 2021 Drake Relays champion, Brumbaugh hurled a monstrous toss of 44 feet, nine inches.
Mount Pleasant’s Beatty to Nationals
Former Mount Pleasant standout now Central Dutch sophomore Sam Beatty punched his ticket to the NCAA Division III Track National Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina in May.
Beatty was also named to the All-Central Region team after hitting 6-8.75 earlier this year.
Beatty was slotted as the 12th seed in the high jump.
Liechty to State
Mount Pleasant senior Elli Liechty punched her ticket to the 2021 State Golf Meet in May.
Liechty shot a team-best 88, which was good enough for 5th on the leaderboard at state qualifying.
Washington’s terrific trio of Kiki Bruner, Anna Nacos and Josei Tanner went 1-2-3, with Bruner burning up the course with a 71.
Amy Sullivan of Knoxville ended her 18-hole day in fourth with an 87.
Sami Wibben was second on Mount Pleasant with a 97 while Ryann Davidson carded a 98.
Kylie Walderbach finished with a 107.
The Panthers finished 11 strokes shy of qualifying the team.
Mount Pleasant had 390 strokes to finish fourth.
Washington and Lisbon were the top two clubs in the team race.
Knoxville finished third.
The State Golf meet was held June 1st and 2nd at River Valley Golf Course in Adel.
June
Ashley Miller Named Iowa Wesleyan Volleyball Coach
Iowa Wesleyan has named Ashley Miller the next head volleyball coach, the school announced in June.
Miller comes to Iowa Wesleyan from William Penn University, where she spent the past two years as the graduate assistant coach for the women’s volleyball program.
She assisted in bringing the Statesmen from a 12-19 record in 2019 to an impressive 17-9 record in 2020-21.
Miller assisted in the day-to-day operations of the Statesmen volleyball program, helping with recruiting, social media, overseeing the varsity reserve team, and developing and implementing practice and game plans.
She was also a strength and conditioning coach for the Statesmen, training their men’s soccer, baseball, and women’s volleyball teams.
Iowa Wesleyans’ volleyball team will begin their season with a scrimmage on August 28th at home against Eureka.
Winfield’s Buffington Offered by Iowa
Winfield-Mount Union star Cam Buffington was officially offered by the University of Iowa in June.
This is Buffington’s, who led the Wolves with 1,029 total yards and 19 touchdowns, first Division I offer.
The 6’3, 200-pounder is expected to play either running back or linebacker at the next level.