Trey Darnall looks for an open teammate during Thursday’s season-ending loss to Beckman Catholic. Darnall had six points, four rebounds and three assists in the 66-32 loss. (Zakary Kriener photo)

Blazers too much for TigerHawks

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The TigerHawk boys’ basketball team saw its season come to an end Thursday as the Trailblazers of Beckman Catholic downed them, 66-32.

“Dyersville just really got after us defensively and it bothered us, especially in the first quarter,” said coach Matt Krambeer after the season ending loss. “We turned it over 10 times and only got five shot attempts in the first quarter and were down 16-2 after that blitz. When you dig yourself in a hole like that, it makes it tough to come back against a team like Beckman.”

The TigerHawks were able to generate some offense in the second quarter as they cut the lead to 33-12 at the half, but the Blazers proved to be too much for NFV.

TigerHawk senior Joel Grimes gets an upper hand on his first-round opponent at the Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament last week in Des Moines. Grimes went 1-2 in the tournament with a win over Osage’s Ryan Adams. (submitted photo)

Two NFV grapplers compete at State

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The TigerHawk wrestling team sent a pair of wrestlers down to Des Moines last week to compete at the 2020 Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament.

Senior Joel Grimes qualified at 138 pounds and fell in his first match by a 4-0 decision to eventual seventh-place finisher Payton Drake of PCM-Monroe. In the consolation bracket, Grimes earned a 7-3 decision over Osage’s Ryan Adams.

In round two of the consolation bracket, Grimes fell to Iowa Falls-Aiden’s Alberto Salmeron, 7-1. Salmeron finished sixth at 170 pounds.

South Winneshiek’s Janessa Zweibohmer looks for an open teammate during a recent Warrior basketball contest. Zweibohmer and the Warriors saw their season come to an end Thursday as they fell to Kee. (Zakary Kriener photo)

SW girls fall to Kee in Regionals

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The South Winneshiek girls’ basketball team saw its 2019-2020 season come to an end last week as the Warriors were defeated by Kee, 52-18, in the first round of Regionals.

Coaches comments and statistics were unavailable at press time. 

The Warrior girls end their season with a 2-18 record. The team was led by lone senior Liz Tieskoetter who averaged 10.9 points per game.

Jacob Herold leans in for a shot during recent South Winneshiek basketball action. Last week, Herold and the Warriors went 1-1 as he combined for 31 points and seven assists in the two games. (Zakary Kriener photo)

SW lights up scoreboards to close out regular season

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The South Winn boys closed out their 2019-2020 regular season basketball season last week as the team split its two games on back-to-back nights to improve to 13-8 on the season. The Warriors dropped their Monday night (Feb. 10) non-conference matchup against Waukon, but rebounded with a win over Central on Tuesday (Feb. 11) to secure a runner-up finish in the Upper Iowa Conference.

South Winneshiek sophomore Ethan Maldonado became a two-time State qualifier Saturday as he took second place at 113 pounds at Districts in Starmont. Maldonado will face Braden Graff of West Sioux in the first round on Thursday evening. (LeAnn Larson photo)

Warriors send three to State!

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the South Winneshiek wrestling team Saturday as it competed at Districts at Starmont, but when the dust settled, three Warriors punched their tickets to the 2020 Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament in Des Moines.

“A lot of different emotions are felt in a short time. We had some great wins and some devastating losses,” said coach Jacob Elsbernd after Saturday’s action. “Ethan Maldonado started off the day with a big win vs. Don Bosco, which was about as exciting as it gets. But then Phillip lost a tight match to bring us right back down. It went that way all day back and forth – a big win and then a tough loss. As coaches, we are excited for our State Qualifiers but also feel the pain of our wrestlers who didn’t make it.”

Third times a charm for NFV boys

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

Going into the game, the TigerHawks were 0-2 against Postville – but that didn’t matter as NFV picked up a 53-46 win over the Pirates in round one of District basketball on Monday night in Cresco.

It was a close, back and forth game throughout most of the contest, but in the fourth quarter, the TigerHawks pulled away to get the win and advance in the bracket.

Two North Fayette Valley wrestlers, including Kale Rodgers and Joel Grimes (middle two), will compete at the State Wrestling Tournament this week in Des Moines after their performances at Saturday’s District Tournament in New Hampton. Joining the wrestlers include NFV coaching staff (l-r) Robbie Kerr (assistant coach), Jacob Pedersen (head coach), Doug DeMuth (assistant coach), and Aaron Grimes (assistant coach). (Zakary Kriener photo)

Grimes and Rodgers punch tickets to State

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

Saturday’s District 6 Wrestling Tournament in New Hampton was one of the toughest districts in the state, but the North Fayette Valley wrestling team emerged with a pair of State qualifiers in Joel Grimes and Kale Rodgers!

The road was not easy for either grappler as both had to face at least one ranked opponent in their respective brackets.

Junior Abby Reichter drives past a Cadet defender during Saturday night’s Regional basketball matchup against the No. 8-ranked Crestwood Cadets. In the end, the TigerHawks fell in the hard fought battle by a score 65-51. (Zakary Kriener photo)

NFV girls fall to No. 8 Cadets in Regional matchup

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The TigerHawk girls’ basketball team knew that it had a tough fight ahead of it, but it did not back down on Saturday night as NFV took on No. 8-ranked Crestwood in the first round of Regional action.

North Fayette Valley fought hard throughout, keeping the lead within site throughout the majority of the contest, but in the end, it was the Cadets that won and advanced to the semifinal round of Region 4.

Members of the South Winneshiek wrestling program, which placed first at the Class 1A Sectional 12 Tournament on Saturday, include (front, l-r) Logan Schnuelle, Ethan Maldonado, Phillip French, Tony Greve, Zach Taylor; (second row) Kenny Mikota (assistant coach), Jacob Elsbernd (head coach), Kaden Bullerman, Lane Quandahl, Sam Conway, Logan Hageman, Chance Adam, Ethan Adams (assistant coach); (back) Jason Schmelzer (assistant coach), Landon Garcia, Shawn Israel, Damon Meyer, Ethan Timp, Brayden Bodensteiner, and Jacob Everts (assistant coach). (LeAnn Larson photo)

Warriors win Sectional Title

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

Saturday was a big day for the Warrior wrestling team as it not only advanced eight wrestlers to this weekend’s District Tournament, but also captured a Sectional team title.

“We wrestled pretty well overall as all 12 of our guys made the semifinals,” said coach Jacob Elsbernd after the tournament in Monona. “I am very proud of how the guys responded throughout the day.”

Among the eight to advance to Districts next week at Starmont were four first-place finishers in Ethan Maldonado, Phillip French, Tony Greve, and Zach Taylor.

South Winn’s Collin Wiltgen slips past a defender during a recent game in Calmar. Wiltgen, who leads the team with 13.3 points per game, dropped 20 in a win against Kee on Friday and 12 in last week’s loss to Turkey Valley. (Zakary Kriener photo)

SW gets rebound win over Kee after falling to TV

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The South Winn boys started the week with a tough loss to UIC-leading Turkey Valley, but rebounded nicely with a win over Kee to close out the week and move to 12-7 on the season.

Turkey Valley

South Winn took on Turkey Valley on Tuesday, Feb. 4, as the conference-leading Trojans topped the Warriors, 68-42. With a South Winn victory, the conference lead would have been a tie between the Warriors and MFL/MarMac, but instead, the Bulldogs now share the lead with Turkey Valley.