Sports

The Waukon boys track team was finally able to compete for the first time in nearly two years when it took part in a pair of early-season meets this past week. The track Tribe first took to the competition circuit at the Frostbite Invitational hosted by Sumner-Fredericksburg Tuesday, March 30, placing second out of nine teams, and then hosted its own Early Bird Invitational Thursday, April 1, finishing third in that seven-team field.

The Indians were next scheduled to compete this week at Decorah Monday, April 5 and at Postville Thursday, April 8. The track Tribe will then return to Decorah for another invitational Monday, April 12 before competing at New Hampton Thursday, April 15 and then making yet another trip back to Decorah Monday, April 19.

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The Kee boys track team got its 2021 season underway not too far from home, taking part in the Waukon Early Bird Invitational Thursday, April 1. The Hawks tallied a handful of top-five event finishes among a field mostly filled with larger schools, tallying 32 team points to finish sixth in the seven-team event.

The Hawks were next scheduled to compete Tuesday, April 6 at the Edgewood-Colesburg Invitational before taking part in the Postville Invitational Thursday, April 8. The Kee boys are then slated to take part in the Crestwood Invitational at Cresco Tuesday, April 13 before competing at MFL/MarMac in Monona Thursday, April 15 and then traveling to Oelwein Monday, April 19.

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The 2021 Waukon girls golf team will be headlined with upperclassman leadership, but that veteran experience may be more limited than in typical seasons as those upperclassmen have not been on the high school competition course for nearly two years due to the cancellation of last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Waukon girls golf coach Kathy McMillan also feels that last season’s pandemic absence will have additional impacts on her program, including the most evident impact of just one sophomore and no freshmen taking to the course this season for the Lady Indians.

“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and having to miss last season hurt my enrollment in the golf program,” Coach McMillan explained. “We were not able to work out in practice and build upon each golfer’s fundamentals. Not playing summer golf also hurt their skill improvement.”

It is with bittersweet anticipation that the Waukon boys golf team begins it 2021 season. The golf Tribe will field one of its biggest teams in recent years, but within this spring’s 18 participants just one brings back any letterwinning experience to build on, as the cancellation of last spring’s season due to the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic not only took away a season’s worth of competition for the team but also a season-plus of building block experience for players.

“Losing a full year of practice/playing was very unfortunate and last year’s team had the potential to make the State Tournament,” Waukon boys golf coach Tharin Benson said. “Missing a year of practice and play for the younger golfers will show early on in the season. Hopefully, we can get on the right track.”

The 2021 Waukon boys track season is being looked to with strong anticipation, as 67 young men from the freshman through senior ranks will be competing for the track and field Tribe this spring. Most of that anticipation stems from the fact that, like every other Iowa high school squad, the Indians were denied their 2020 campaign last spring by the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down all Iowa high schools last spring.

“I feel we may have missed out on a very successful track season last year,” Waukon boys track coach Ted Snitker said. “With what we had coming back and kids that had developed, I think we were ready to do very well. Not having that season, we have kids who didn’t get to see the successes I think our athletes, team and program would have had.”

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It’s been about two years since the Waukon girls track team has been able to compete, following last spring’s emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic that ultimately closed down the spring high school athletic seasons and the last couple months of the 2019-2020 school year. In addition to that pandemic erasing the entire 2020 track season, the loss of that season will likely continue to have impact throughout this spring as well, according to Waukon girls track coach Bob Wasson.

The 2021 Kee boys track and field season will bring an abundance of new into a mix of returning veterans - most of whom have been waiting to return to the track for nearly two years following the cancellation of last spring’s Iowa high school sports seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Just one senior and five juniors are returning with at least one full season of varsity competition experience for the Hawks to lead a team of 17 young men reporting for early-season track and field duty, with all of them being led by a new head coach this season who brings his own bit of veteran and first-time experience, Ray Rankin.

The 2021 Kee girls track season has been looked forward to for a variety of reasons, as 14 young ladies have reported for early-season duty for the Lady Hawks this spring. Not only are the Hawks likely in the vast majority of teams wanting to get back into track and field competition after last spring’s season was canceled by the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Kee girls also have plenty to look forward to with the return of some strong remnants of State Championship accolades on this spring’s squad, both from the last completed Iowa high school track season in 2019 and just this past fall at the State Cross Country Meet.

After a year’s absence, the return of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has brought back with it The Standard’s Bracket Challenge. That year’s absence hasn’t dampened the excitement of the tournament nor the support of the Bracket Challenge.
The first two rounds of the tournament this past weekend have left the following top-24 entries, with another dozen entries tied for the 25th spot, just a single point off of this list:
Dalton Dibert    45
Jeremy Engrav    43
Janessa Weymiller    42
Gene Praska    42
Jonathan Miller    42
Ron Brinkman    42
Betty Jepsen    41
Kole McCormick    41
Morgan Weymiller    41
Brad Krambeer    40
Will Robinson    40
Mason McMillan    40
Mike Kramer    40
Charlene Baxter    40
Gary Hammel    40
Jen Moose    40
Dave Martin    40
Tami Stilwell    39
Troy Gress    39
Dennis Miller    39

Waukon High School senior Bailey Shafer was one of five Iowa high school seniors who received a 2021 Iowa Bankers Association (IBA) Student Athlete Achievement Award during the Iowa High School Girls Basketball State Tournament March 5-6 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. One student from each class was awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the IBA to the college of her choice, with Shafer pictured at right receiving her award during the Class 3A State Championship game Saturday, March 6 from Dennis Lyons of FreedomBank of Waukon.
Award recipients were selected based on their academic performance, athletic participation, leadership skills and community involvement. Other award recipients included Class 1A: Ellie Lago, Newell-Fonda High School; Class 2A: Alexis Shike, Nodaway Valley High School; Class 4A: Emma Hughes, Glenwood High School; and Class 5A: Lindsey Kelderman, Waukee High School.