MASON CITY—Both the Algona and North Union boys track teams competed with 24 other schools from all four classes in the River-Hawk Invitational on Monday, March 17. No team scores were held in the indoor meet held inside Mason City High School indoor facility.

The red-and-black won four events during the meet, including three relays. They recorded four runner-up finishes, one third, one fourth place showing, earned one fifth place finish and one sixth place during the indoor meet.

AMES—Six members of the West Bend-Mallard Wolverine boys track team competed in the Class 1A IATC state indoor meet on Thursday, March 13 but did not score any points.

The top place winner for the purple-and-gold was the 4 x 400-meter relay quartet of Grady Goddard, Silas Bindel, Abner Zaugg and Leydan Grimm that finished in 19^th place overall in 4:03.80.

First Team

*Elliot Carlson, Humboldt, 12

*Hunter Horn, St. Edmond, 11

*Thomas Meyer, Clear Lake, 12

Brady Harr, Hampton-Dumont, 11

Ben Helmers, Algona, 12

Titan Schmitt, Clear Lake, 12

*Denotes unanimous selection

Second Team

Kale Kalous, Iowa Falls-Alden, 12

Jakob Koopman, St. Edmond, 11

Chaz Lane, Clarion-Goldfield/Dows, 10

First Team

Kinzee Hinders, Newell-Fonda, 12

Sophia McCullough, Manson NW Webster, 12

Breanne Patterson, South Central Calhoun, 12

Nora Peterson, Alta-Aurelia, 12

Rachel Schany, Emmetsburg, 11

Hailey Stalzer, West Bend-Mallard, 12

Madison Vial, Pocahontas Area, 12

Avery Wilson, Sioux Central, 11

Coach of the Year – Dick Jungers, Newell-Fonda

By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

DES MOINES—Top-ranked Council Bluffs St. Albert scored the first nine points of the game and went onto a 59-51 victory over the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears on Friday, March 7 in the Class 1A state semi-final round of the girls state basketball tournament.

By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

DES MOINES—Bishop Garrigan senior Zoe Montag was looking forward to her fourth straight state basketball tournament to be a memorable one, and she got things started in the right direction on Wednesday, March 5.

The black-and-gold senior poured in a season-high 16 points to lead the fourth-ranked Golden Bears to a convincing 69-31 victory over No. 6 Montezuma in the opening round of the Class 1A girls state basketball tournament.

By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

DES MOINES—Sophomores Graclyn Eastman of Bishop Garrigan and Ainsley Ulrich of North Union were selected this past weekend by the Iowa Sports Print Writers Association to the Class 1A girls basketball first-team all-state squad.

Eastman moves up from the third team last season as Ulrich makes an all-state team for the first time. Eastman’s teammates, juniors Sacha Alesch and Emmi Bartolo, were chosen to the third team.

By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

AMES—Former Bishop Garrigan standout and Iowa State sophomore Audi Crooks continues to earn more honors and records with her outstanding play on the hardwood.

Last week, Crooks was selected as a unanimous selection to the first-team All-Big 12 squad for a second straight year. It was the first time in the school’s history that a Cyclone women’s player had been chosen to the first team the first two years of one’s career.

By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

BOONE—The four area high school football teams found out last week their district groups for the 2025 and 2026 seasons from the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

Algona was assigned to the Class 3A, District No. 1 with five other teams. The Bulldogs went 9-2 overall last fall and fell in the quarterfinal round, falling one win short of playing in the UNI-Dome.

First Team

Graclyn Eastman, Bishop Garrigan, 10

Adasyn Lamb, Belmond-Klemme, 12

Colette Loges, Forest City, 12

Cora Sauer, Lake Mills, 10

Bella Schisel, Garner-Hayfield/Ventura, 11

Ainsley Ulrich, North Union, 10

Bethany Warren, Forest City, 12

Player of the Year-Ainsley Ulrich, North Union

Coach of the Year—Matt Erpelding, Forest City

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

MASON CITY—For the sixth consecutive season, the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bear girls basketball squad is headed to the Class 1A state basketball tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The fourth-ranked black-and-gold made easy work of 12^th-ranked Saint Ansgar with their smothering defense and drained 10 three-pointers in the win.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

HUMBOLDT—A pair of 21-3 teams met on Saturday, March 1 in the sub-state number two final for the right to advance to the 2025 Class 1A state basketball tournament.

Fourth-ranked St. Edmond used an early 9-0 run in the final stanza to build a double digit advantage and put the contest away at the charity stripe late in a 78-61 victory over the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

CLEAR LAKE—A big third quarter sparked the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bear boys basketball team to claim the Class 1A District No. 3 title on Tuesday, Feb. 25 with a 63-51 victory over the Lake Mills Bulldogs, one of their conference rivals.