By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

SAINT ANSGAR—Senior Brennen Bollinger placed third to highlight the performances of the North Union Warriors wrestling team at the annual Top of Iowa Conference tournament held on Saturday, Jan. 25.

Bollinger received a first round bye before pinning Dominic Holder of Garner-Hayfield/Ventura in 26 seconds in the quarterfinal round but lost by fall in 0:26 to fourth-ranked Ledyer Nehfs of Osage in the 285-pound semi-finals.

By Greg Grabianowski, Sports Editor

MASON CITY—In their final meet of the 2024-2025 regular season, the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bear boys swim team won three events on Tuesday, Jan. 21. The black-and-gold dropped the meet to the Mason City Riverhawks by the final score of 116-48.

ALGONA—A wise person could say that the eyes of Algona’s Ben Helmers light up each and every time he sees Pocahontas Area on his team’s schedule.

Last year at Pocahontas, Helmers tied the Bulldog school record with 45 points and on Thursday, Jan. 23, Ben erupted for a new school record 51 points in an 87-62 non-conference boys basketball victory for the Bulldogs over the Indians.

ARMSTRONG—A strong first period gave North Union a big lead on Friday, Jan. 24, and the green-black-and-silver never looked back in a 67-54 Top of Iowa Conference boys basketball victory over the West Hancock Eagles.

The Warriors drained 10 three-pointers in the league win as they jumped out to a 25-9 lead at the end of the first stanza. The home team took a 42-23 advantage to the locker room at intermission and led 60-42 heading into the fourth quarter of action.

EAGLE GROVE—Fourth-ranked Bishop Garrigan is known for their high powered offense that hits a lot of three-pointers and averages over 60 points a game.

One thing that is often overlooked for the talented squad is the great defense they play. That aspect of the team was on display again on Friday, Jan. 24 as they rolled to a 62-17 Top of Iowa Conference girls basketball win over the Eagle Grove Eagles as the swarming black-and-gold defense forced 30 Eagle turnovers.

ALGONA—Algona stepped outside of North Central Conference girls basketball play on Thursday, Jan, 23 as the squad held on for a narrow 59-56 non-conference win over a stubborn Pocahontas Area Indians team.

The home team led 15-13 after the first minutes of play and took a 36-27 advantage to the locker room at halftime. The red-and-black led by four points at 50-46 as the third period concluded.

ALGONA—A big third quarter proved to be the difference as the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bear boys basketball team earned a hard-fought 60-51 Top of Iowa Conference win over the Lake Mills Bulldogs.

Lake Mills led 16-11 at the conclusion of the opening frame as the home team took a narrow 24-23 one-point advantage to the locker room at intermission.

ALGONA—Remaining perfect on the year in dual meets, the second-ranked Algona Bulldog boys wrestling team earned a pair of non-conference wins on Tuesday, Jan. 21 on their home mat.

The red-and-black blanked the Rockford Warriors 85-0 and toppled the Lake Mills Bulldogs by the final score of 49-15 to improve to 12-0 overall for the season.

WEST BEND—West Bend-Mallard played well in the opening eight minutes, but it was all Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire after that as the Titans handed the home team a 79-40 Twin Lakes Conference boys basketball loss on Friday, Jan. 24.

FOREST CITY—Fourth-ranked Forest City got off to a fast start and never looked back in a 66-32 Top of Iowa Conference girls basketball victory on Tuesday, Jan. 21 over the North Union Warriors.

The red-and-white raced out to a 27-15 lead at the end of the first quarter and increased their advantage to 43-19 at intermission. The Indians also took a commanding 59-24 lead in the fourth quarter.

EAGLE GROVE—Bishop Garrigan remained tied with Forest City for first place in the Top of Iowa Conference boys basketball standings with a 10-1 league record after a 57-36 road victory on Friday, Jan. 24 over the Eagle Grove Eagles.

Amaury Thomas poured in a game-high 18 points to lead the purple-and-gold in scoring while teammates Carter Schwab added 13 and Michael Joyce scored 11 points also reaching double digits.

ALGONA—Heading on the road for a North Central Conference contest, the Algona Bulldog boys basketball team came home with a narrow 55-54 league victory on Friday, Jan. 24 over the Iowa Falls-Alden Cadets.

The Bulldogs led 20-11 at the conclusion of the opening frame and took a 31-20 advantage to the locker room at halftime. The visitors also led 47-38 heading into the fourth period of action.

ARMSTRONG—North Union blanked Northwood-Kensett in the opening eight minutes and never looked back in handing the Viking girls a 56-14 non-conference loss on Thursday, Jan. 23.

The green-black-and-silver raced out to a 27-0 lead at the end of the first period and increased their advantage to 41-7 at intermission. The home team also took a commanding 49-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter of action.

HUMBOLDT—Fourth-ranked Bishop Garrigan stepped outside of conference play on Thursday, Jan. 23 on the road and came home with a nice 69-42 girls basketball non-conference victory over the Humboldt Wildcats.

The visitors started slow, leading by only four points 10-6 at the conclusion of the opening frame. The black-and-gold increased their advantage to 34-12 at intermission and led 50-32 heading into the fourth and final quarter of action.

IOWA FALLS—Algona remained undefeated in North Central Conference girls basketball play on Friday, Jan. 24 with a hard-fought 51-46 road victory over the Iowa Falls-Alden Cadets.

The red-and-black improved to 13-3 overall on the year and stayed perfect in the league at 8-0. The visitors led 15-9 at the end of the first quarter, 27-25 at intermission and led 42-37 heading into the final eight minutes of the game.