By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

EMMETSBURG—Freshman Mason Knapp won the title at 106 pounds to highlight the performances of the West Bend-Mallard Wolverines wrestling team at the Twin Lakes Conference tournament held on Saturday, Jan. 14.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

ALGONA—After dropping their 2022-2023 season opener to a nationally-ranked team, the No. 1 squad in Class 1A, the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bear girls’ basketball squad has rattled off 11 consecutive victories.

The last triumph came on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at home as the black-and-gold earned their 48^th straight Top of Iowa Conference win with an 85-38 victory over Belmond-Klemme.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

ALGONA—In a high-scoring non-conference boys’ basketball contest on Thursday, Jan. 12, the Newell-Fonda Mustangs ran past the Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears by the final score of 91-76.

By Greg Grabianowski

Sports Editor

WEST BEND—Sam Fehr poured in a game-high 24 points but it was not enough as the West Bend-Mallard fell to Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 74-54 in non-conference boys’ basketball play on Thursday, Jan. 12.

WEST BEND—Hailey Stalzer poured in 27 points and Kierstin Montag tossed in 22 more to help lead the West Bend-Mallard Wolverine girls’ basketball squad to their fifth victory of the season on Thursday, Jan. 12 with a 65-59 win over Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn.

The home team jumped out to an 18-12 advantage after the first eight minutes of play and led 31-24 at intermission. The purple-and-gold also took a 50-44 lead into the fourth quarter of play.

GRAETINGER—North Union stepped outside of Top of Iowa Conference girls’ basketball play on Tuesday, Jan. 10 and defeated the Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire Titans by the score of 59-45.

The visitors led 16-8 at the end of the first quarter and took a 26-19 advantage to the locker room at halftime. The green-black-and-silver took control of the contest in the third stanza, outscoring the Titans 25-9 to lead 51-28 after three quarters of basketball.

ALGONA—Algona stepped outside of  North Central Conference girls’ basketball play on Saturday, Jan. 14 but fell to the Spencer Tigers by the final score of 58-47.

The Tigers improved to 7-1 overall on the year with the non-conference victory while the red-and-black fell to 8-5 overall and is currently 5-1 in North Central Conference contests.

ARMSTRONG—Logan Odegaard poured in 18 points and yanked down 11 rebounds to help lead the North Union Warrior boys’ basketball team to a 65-35 Top of Iowa Conference victory over the North Iowa Bison on Friday, Jan. 13.

The home team jumped out to an 18-6 lead at the conclusion of the opening eight minutes and extended that advantage to 27-12 at halftime. The green-black-and-silver also led 43-23 after three quarters of Top of Iowa Conference basketball.

ALGONA—Algona built a nine-point first period advantage and maintained that cushion throughout the contest in a 67-52 North Central Conference boys’ basketball victory on Friday, Jan. 13 over Clarion-Goldfield/Dows Cowboys.

The home team led 20-11 after the initial eight minutes of play and took a 33-23 advantage to the locker room at halftime. The Bulldogs led 53-41 after three periods of league basketball.

MILFORD—The Algona Bulldog girls’ wrestling squad competed against Okoboji/Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn on Tuesday, Jan. 10 and return home with a convincing 72-6 victory.

Alyssa Olson, Megan McPeak and Gretchen Gorham each registered a pair of fall while teammates McKayla Erpelding, Malyn Davis, Estrella Santiz, Jenna Stohr, Abbe Gorham and Ryan Haynes all recorded one pin in the win.

LAKE MILLS—The North Union Warriors wrestling went 1-4 on Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Lake Mills Duals. The green-black-and-silver opened the day with a 59-24 loss to Estherville-Lincoln Central before defeating Garner-Hayfield/Ventura 48-24.

Later in the day, the Warriors fell to Lake Mills 54-19, they were defeated by South Winneshiek by the score of 45-36 and fell to Southeast Polk 51-25.

ELDORA—The Algona Bulldog boys’ wrestling team crowned five individual champions and won the team title with 278 points on Saturday, Jan. 14 at the South Hardin Tournament.

The red-and-black got titles from Jacob Zabka, Isaac Wilson, Barrett Morgan, Taevyn Zinnel and Tate Slagle as Elijah Wilhite, Ashton Moreno, Dane Kitzinger, Foster Myhre and Hunter Kollasch all placed second.

NEWELL—Second-rated Newell-Fonda scored often and early in a 79-27 Twin Lakes Conference girls’ basketball victory on Friday, Jan. 13 over the West Bend-Mallard Wolverines.

The home team raced out to a 31-10 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter and increased their advantage to 56-15 at intermission. The Mustangs enjoyed a commanding 72-20 lead heading into the contest’s final eight minutes of play.

ARMSTRONG—Ranked No. 12 in the latest Class 2A rankings, the North Union Warrior girls’ basketball squad rolled to a 49-29 Top of Iowa Conference victory over the West Hancock Eagles on Thursday, Jan. 12.

The contest was decided at the free throw line where the home team was successful on 20 of 27 charity attempts while the Eagles made just one of six foul shots.

ARMSTRONG—Picking up a Top of Iowa Conference girl’ basketball win at home, the North Union Warriors improved to 10-2 overall and 7-1 in the league with a 52-19 victory over the North Iowa Lady Bison on Friday, Jan. 13.

The home team started fast as they took a 21-5 lead at the end of the first quarter and increased their advantage to 33-13 at intermission and enjoyed a 41-17 lead going into the final eight minutes of action.