Sports

The Waukon boys track team was able to get both of its scheduled meets in this past week, recording a pair of finishes that coincided with the size of the schools they were competing against. The Indians placed fourth out of seven teams of mostly larger schools at the Decorah Early Bird Invitational Monday, April 3 before topping the nine-team field of smaller schools at Postville’s Foster-Kiesau Relays Thursday, April 6.

The Indians were next scheduled to return to Decorah for another meet there Monday, April 10 before competing at New Hampton Thursday, April 13. The Indians will then make their way back to Decorah once again Monday, April 17 before they host their own Indian Relays Friday, April 21, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

For more complete coverage, pick up this week's print edition or subscribe to our e-edition by clicking here.

The Kee boys track and field team ended up with just one meet this past week, competing in the Foster Kiesau Relays hosted by Postville High School Thursday, April 6. The Hawks recorded five top-five finishes, including one team-best third-place finish and three fourth-place results, to help compile 22 team points and finish eighth in the meet’s nine-team scoring field.

That third-place finish was actually half of a consecutive Kee finish in the 400 meter hurdles, where junior Jackson Schulte finished third in 1:11.02 and freshman Justin Wagner placed fourth in 1:13.12. Wagner was also a fourth-place finisher in the 3200 meter run with his clocking of 10:59.08.

For more complete coverage, pick up this week's print edition or subscribe to our e-edition by clicking here.

The Waukon girls basketball season played to a 14-9 season record during its 2022-2023 campaign that included a 6-4 record in Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) play that placed the Lady Indians in third place in this season’s final team standings. Within that above-average team result this season, a number of best-ever accomplishments were compiled in single-game, single-season and career statistics.

“Our greatest accomplishment was the growth of the team,” Waukon girls basketball coach Ben Rausch said. “We also had numerous personal bests for many of our players.”

The Waukon girls golf team will return to the team competition level for its 2023 season, as its squad numbers grew four-fold from last spring. The 2022 Waukon girls golf season featured just one player last year, that being first-year varsity player Alyssa Connelly. This season, she will be joined by three of her classmates in fellow sophomores Faith Cooper, Halea Corwin and Eva Whalen.

Connelly may come into this season as the lone returnee from last spring - and thus, the lone returning letterwinner, but that’s certainly not all. She also brings back that experience at a high level as an All-Conference performer last spring.

The Lady Indians were scheduled to open their 2023 season with a home meet against Decorah and South Winneshiek Tuesday, April 4. They will then play back-to-back nights on the road, at Crestwood Monday, April 10 and at Luana against MFL/MarMac, Oelwein and Postville Tuesday, April 11.

The Waukon boys golf team will return a trio of varsity letterwinners from last season’s squad that played to a 3-15 dual meet record last spring. Those three will lead a team that Coach Tharin Benson says surprises him with the number of kids reporting for early-season duty, as 23 young men are playing golf this season.

That veteran trifecta includes senior Cody Huinker and the junior pair of Dylan Hogan and Cashton Lloyd. “I’ll look for them to be at top of the leaderboards, and help others make proper in-round decisions,” Coach Benson said of his experienced returnees.

The Kee girls track team’s first taste of outdoor competition was a bit shorter than originally planned, as the Tuesday, March 28 Frost Bite Open hosted by Sumner-Fredericksburg threatened to live up to its name. Coaches and meet officials agreed to call off the meet partway through the running events due to falling temperatures, but through the 12 events that were completed the Kee girls tallied 54 points to tie for fourth place with the host Cougars behind one event victory and two each of second- and third-place finishes.

The Waukon girls track and field team got its first taste of team competition for this 2023 season when the Lady Indians took part in the Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) Indoor Meet hosted at Luther College in Decorah Tuesday, March 21. No team scores were kept, but the Lady Indians recorded some high-level finishes among their NEIC peers, including a trio of runner-up finishes and four third-place results.

All three of the field events featured one of those high-end track Tribe finishes earned by junior competitors, including Kaitlyn Krambeer with a 16’1.5” long jump for second place, Cameron Johnson clearing 5’0” to tie for second in the high jump, and Kloe Hemmersbach launching the shot put 33’8.5” for third place. The Lady Indians’ 4x800 relay claimed their only other runner-up finish, with the crew of junior Mia Kurth, freshman Elle Wilkins, and seniors Katerina Kovarik and Paige Hansmeier teaming up for a second-place clocking of 10:52.06.

The Waukon boys track and field squad began its 2023 schedule of team competition at the Northeast Iowa Conference Indoor Meet hosted at Luther College in Decorah Tuesday, March 21. No team scores were kept at the meet, but the Indians did win four events, with nearly all of those wins coming from the Tribe’s distance competitors, providing ample evidence of head coach Ted Snitker’s pre-season forecast of the strength of this year’s distance-running crew.

Those four event triumphs were evenly split between individual and relay events. The individual victories included senior Nathan O’Neill winning the 1600 meter run in a time of 4:44.40 and fellow senior Josh Keenan topping the 800 meter run field with a clocking of 2:15.90.

Following a season that graduated seven seniors and the departure of at least its top six producers in every statistical category from a 12-12 overall campaign last winter, the Kee boys basketball team knew there was going to be plenty of work to do heading into its 2022-2023 season. With just one senior and two juniors returning with their upperclassman leadership this season and mixing with a sophomore group that provided the largest class size that doubled its two elder grade levels, the Hawks meshed all of those efforts together to produce a 7-15 season record during this recently completed season, including a 6-10 mark in Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) play that placed the Kee boys sixth in the final nine-team UIC standings.

The Kee girls and boys track teams got their competition season underway indoors at the annual Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) Indoor Meet held Friday, March 17 at Luther College in Decorah. No team scores were kept at this inaugural competition of the season, but the Hawk girls and boys each brought home event victories among their UIC peers, the Lady Hawks claiming three gold medals and the Hawks one as well.

Both Kee teams are next scheduled to start their outdoor season at the Tuesday, March 28 Sumner-Fredericksburg Invitational. The Hawk boys will then compete in the Waukon Early Bird Invitational March 30 and the Hawk girls will take part in the North Fayette Valley Invitational March 31 before both teams return to the track April 4.

For more complete coverage, pick up this week's print edition or subscribe to our e-edition by clicking here.