Sports

The Waukon baseball team of 2026 played to one of the program’s best seasons in recent history with a 22-6 overall record, not only playing to its first winning record since the 2008 season but also recording the most wins since that 2008 season’s 31 victories. Within that overall mark, the baseball Tribe also played its way to a 14-3 Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) result that placed the Indians atop the Large School division of this season’s new UIC format, the first time since the 2007 season that Waukon baseball has finished atop any type of conference standings, with that 2007 campaign being the only time Waukon baseball ever won the Northeast Iowa Conference season title.

The Waukon softball team played its way to a 6-24 overall record during its 2026 campaign, as former Waukon softball head coach Melissa Ward returned to the helm of the program after a two-year absence. This summer’s overall result includes a mark of 4-16 in Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) play that placed the Lady Indians sixth in the final Large School Division standings of the UIC, as an overall young squad that featured just one senior on this season’s roster and as many as three each of sophomores and freshmen in the line-up, along with one eighth grader, worked to find the right mix as the season played on.

Derek Heins of West Union won the 2026 Men’s Invitational Tournament hosted by the Waukon Golf & Country Club Saturday and Sunday, July 25-26. Heins, the Invitational’s 2022 Champion, birdied the final two holes of regulation play to force a play-off with 2016 Invitational Champion Heath Hesse, and ultimately claimed the tournament title on the second play-off hole. Submitted photo.

For a full recap of this event, pick up the Wednesday, August 5, 2026 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.

The Northeast Iowa Mudd Puppies, a team of baseball players combining from several communities throughout northeast Iowa, played their way to a State Championship in the 2026 United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Iowa State Tournament held in Cedar Rapids July 17-19. The team competed in the 13 and Under AA division of the tournament competition, sweeping through all six of its tournament games over a three-day period to win this year’s State Tournament crown.

The Kee softball team had its Class 1A postseason tournament trail both started and stopped this past week, as the Lady Hawks split a pair of five-inning mercy-rule results to ultimately have their 2026 season brought to a close. Kee’s girls opened Class 1A Region 7 tournament play with an 11-3 win at home over Springville in a regional quarterfinals match-up Wednesday, July 8 before experiencing a reversal of that fortune two days later with a 9-1 defeat at 15th-rated Edgewood-Colesburg Friday, July 10 to bring this summer’s diamond campaign to a halt.

The Waukon softball team had both its regular and overall season brought to a close this past week with a pair of losses in the final two games of its 2026 campaign. The Lady Indians first wrapped up their regular season with a 22-0 home loss in four innings to Decorah Tuesday, July 7 before having their overall season brought to a close two days later with a 12-0 loss in four innings to second-rated Dubuque Wahlert in the opening round of Class 3A Regional Tournament play Thursday, July 9 at the University of Dubuque softball field.

This past week’s results closed out the diamond Tribe’s 2026 campaign with a 6-26 overall record that includes a mark of 4-16 in Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) play that placed the Lady Indians sixth in the final Large School Division standings of the UIC. Wahlert went on to defeat Crestwood Saturday, July 11, 10-0 in four innings, and will now play for a return trip to the Class 3A State Tournament Tuesday, July 14 against Osage.

The Waukon baseball team was able to host a pair of Class 2A District 5 Tournament games this past week, playing to a split of those contests to ultimately have its 2026 summer season brought to a close. After receiving a first-round district tournament bye with a District 5 best 22-5 season record, the Indians made short work of their first postseason opponent with a 21-2 home victory over Osage in a mercy-rule four innings Tuesday, July 7. Advancing to the District 5 championship game with that win, the diamond Tribe matched up with an overall young Denver squad at home Saturday, July 11 and had its own late rally overcome by an even later and greater Cyclone comeback to fall by a 5-4 result and have its 2026 campaign brought to a close.

The Waukon softball team brought its Upper Iowa Conference season to a close this past week, but earlier than what was anticipated, as the final three games of the diamond Tribe’s schedule this past week were called off. A Thursday, July 2 home doubleheader with Postville already postponed from June 10 was called off again due to weather, not to be made up this time due to lack of room on either team’s schedule, and a Friday, July 3 game at Starmont was called off due to the host squad not being able to field enough players for that contest.

The four games the Lady Indians were able to play included a pair of Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) doubleheaders played within the first half of the week. The diamond Tribe first fell at home to North Fayette Valley by scores of 4-2 and 8-0 in six innings Monday, June 29 before suffering a similar fate at Turkey Valley Wednesday, July 1 by final results of 3-2 and 10-6.

The Kee baseball team had both its regular season and overall season brought to a close this past week, playing five games and winning just two of them to bring its 2026 campaign to a close with a 20-16 season record that includes a 14-3 mark in Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) play that placed the Hawks second in the final standings of the Small School division of the UIC. The Hawks opened the week with one of its biggest wins of the season, as they handed Class 1A fifth-rated South Winneshiek its first UIC loss of this season, playing to a split at the home of the Warriors Monday, June 29 with a 10-4 triumph in game one before suffering a 10-0 loss in the night cap.

UIC Large School division crown is first top finish in baseball standings since 2007 season

The Waukon baseball team wrapped up its regular season with three games this past week, including two final games that helped the diamond Tribe clinch the Large School division championship of the Upper Iowa Conference (UIC). Those two UIC contests came on the same night against two different teams Monday, June 29, as the Waukon boys first handed North Fayette Valley a 13-2 mercy-rule loss in six innings before doing likewise to MFL/MarMac by a 14-0 count in five frames.