Sports

The Waukon baseball team opened its 2017 season with mixed results against a trio of teams from the Upper Iowa Conference. The baseball Tribe kicked off the season with a 4-1 victory at North Fayette Valley Tuesday, May 23 before falling at home to South Winneshiek, 8-0, Thursday, May 25 and again at Clayton Ridge Friday, May 26 by a 5-3 count.

The Indians were scheduled for a busy early part of the week this week, originally slated to host a varsity doubleheader with Waverly-Shell Rock to open its Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) season Tuesday, May 30 before playing at MFL/MarMac Wednesday, May 31. That May 30 home date will have to be played at Waverly, as a water pipe in the Indians’ field watering system requires repair before the field will be playable again. The Tribe will then play another NEIC double-dip at Charles City Tuesday, June 6 before hosting Turkey Valley Wednesday, June 7 and playing at Decorah Friday, June 9.

The Waukon softball team got its 2017 season off to a winless start, although the Indians were leading when one game ended. That Tuesday, May 23 season opener at home against Central Elkader had the Indians holding a 4-2 lead in the fifth inning when the game was called due to rainy conditions and is not scheduled to be completed. Following that wash-out, the Indians’ luck didn’t change for the better, being swept at home by Waverly-Shell Rock, 12-0 in five innings and 7-4, in their Northeast Iowa Conference opener Thursday, May 25 before suffering a similar fate, 11-0 in five innings, at home to Class 1A top-rated and defending State Champion Kee Friday, May 26.

The Kee baseball team got its 2017 season underway with what ended up being a pair of doubleheaders that resulted in just a single win, although the Hawks were on the brink of at least two more. The week began with the Hawks being swept at Decorah Tuesday, May 23 with a 3-2 loss in the final inning of game one followed by a 6-0 loss in the nightcap. Kee was then scheduled to host its annual Shooky Fink Tournament Saturday, May 27, but a scheduling conflict, instead, turned that date into a doubleheader with Waterloo West, which was split between a 6-0 Kee victory and an 8-6 Hawk loss.

A busy upcoming week for the Hawks begins with a home doubleheader against Edgewood-Colesburg Tuesday, May 30 before Kee travels to Clayton Ridge Thursday, June 1 and then hosts Riceville Saturday, June 3, both of those dates doubleheaders as well. That trend continues at home with Starmont Monday, June 5 before traveling to South Winneshiek Thursday, June 8.

The Kee softball team got its 2017 season off to a busy start with a series of six games in five days, but put all six of those contests in the win column for an undefeated start. The Lady Hawks began that busy, and successful, stretch with a 9-0 road win at Decorah Tuesday, May 23 before sweeping an Upper Iowa Conference twinbill at home over MFL/MarMac, 10-0 in five innings and 4-1, Thursday, May 25 and then blasting intra-county foe Waukon by an 11-0 count in five innings Friday, May 26. The Kee diamond dwellers continued their winning ways by sweeping a pair of contests in comeback fashion at the Jesup Invitational Saturday, May 27, defeating Sumner-Fredericksburg, 5-4, as well as the host school, 13-12.

The 2017 State Track Meet held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines Thursday through Saturday, May 18-20 marked the end of the 2017 Iowa high school track season, and the end of some decorated careers of three Waukon girls track seniors who competed in the season grand finale. Although neither of the two events the Lady Indians qualified for this year’s State Meet came away with any medal-winning hardware, the three Indian seniors who competed among this season’s five qualified competitors were able to end their careers where all Iowa high school athletes would have loved to, and where each of them have finished at least their last three seasons.

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The 2017 State Track Meet held Thursday through Saturday, May 18-20 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines brought to a close the Iowa high school track season, and an end to the high school track careers for half the Waukon boys track team members competing in the season grand finale. Seniors Tyler O’Neill, Blain Swenson, Brandon Regan and Hunter Jensen all made their final go-rounds on a high school track with completion of this season’s State Meet, but it was junior Mitchell Snitker who produced the track Tribe’s greatest highlight with his medal-winning finish in the 400 meter hurdles.

The 2017 State Track Meet at Drake Stadium in Des Moines Thursday through Saturday, May 18-20 put the icing on another historic cake for the core group of girls who seem to be involved in nearly every historic aspect of Kee girls athletics in recent times. That icing, however, may not have always tasted as sweet as those Kee track girls may have wanted.

The Lady Hawks were able to bring home a couple medals from their nine State Meet qualifications, but were also within a spot or two of doing so in many more, as the Kee tracksters were able to garner finishes within the top half of their respective event fields in all but two of their nine event efforts. A sixth-place medal won by sophomore Katie Brennan in the 3000 meter run and an eighth-place medal won by senior Courtney Cooper in the shot put were among the greatest highlights for the Hawks in this season’s final go-round.

The Waukon boys golf team wrapped up its regular season and also marked an end to its overall season in its two competitions this last week. The golf Tribe first ended its dual meet season with a narrow, 190-189 loss at home to Oelwein Tuesday, May 9 in a make-up date from May 1. The Indians then fell shy of extending their 2017 season beyond the Monday, May 15 Northeast Iowa Conference Tournament by finishing seventh at their Class 2A Sectional Tournament at New Hampton, not placing within the top-two required finish to advance further into postseason tournament play.
The Indians were next scheduled to compete in the Northeast Iowa Conference Tournament Monday, May 15 at New Hampton. That tournament will mark the end to the Tribe’s 2017 season.

Distance medley returns with veterans Bulman and Wasson; Johnson also returns in long jump

Although the Class 2A State Qualifying Meet hosted by North Fayette Valley Thursday, May 11 was the end of the road for many high school track and field athletes, the Waukon girls track team managed to extend the season for two of its events, including one final return trip for a senior trio. The Lady Indians could not muster any automatic qualifications for this week’s State Meet in Des Moines with a required top-two event finish, but did have one third-place effort and another fourth-place effort find their way into the “best of the rest” qualification on the way to scoring 36 team points and finishing 10th in the final 12-team standings.

Tyler O’Neill returns in 3200 meter run, joins Mitchell Snitker and Blain Swenson as automatic qualifiers

The Class 2A State Qualifying Meet hosted by North Fayette Valley High School in West Union Thursday, May 11 proved to be an extension of the season for six events for the Waukon boys track team. Although no event championships were won by the Indians, three of those season extensions did come automatically with runner-up finishes, while three more had to wait until the next day to see if they were among the “best of the rest” to earn qualification, all of those results helping the Indians to 71 team points and a sixth-place team finish in the final 12-team standings at the meet.

TEAM SCORES
Anamosa 117; North Fayette Valley 86; Cascade 80; Monticello 73; Bellevue 72; WAUKON 71; New Hampton 68; Dyersville Beckman 66; South Winneshiek 48.5; Oelwein 37.5; MFL/MarMac 13; Sumner-Fredericksburg 9