Sports

The Waukon baseball team got its 2021 campaign off to a busy and initially promising start, equaling its entire win total from last season in just the first two games of this season with an 11-1 walk-off win at home in six innings Monday, May 24 over Clayton Ridge/Central Elkader followed by a 6-0 triumph at North Fayette Valley Tuesday, May 25. That hot start cooled off a bit over the latter half of the week, although still showing some promise with just a 3-2 loss to Class 1A sixth-rated South Winneshiek at home Wednesday, May 26 followed by a home doubleheader loss to Charles City Friday, May 28 that included a 14-4 loss in six innings followed by a 4-2 battle that also escaped the win column.

The Waukon softball team got its 2021 season off to an undefeated start this past week, with Mother Nature the only one to post an upperhand over the softball Tribe in postponing a home doubleheader with Charles City from its Thursday, May 27 origination to a June 25 date. On either side of that postponement the Lady Indians posted a pair of non-conference wins, 14-4 in six innings at Clayton Ridge Tuesday, May 25 and 6-2 at home over Kee Friday, May 28.

The Indian diamond dwellers are next scheduled to hit the road this week, playing at New Hampton Tuesday, June 1, a doubleheader at Waverly-Shell Rock Thursday, June 3, at South Winneshiek Friday, June 4 and in the North Fayette Valley Tournament Saturday, June 5. The softball Tribe will then travel to Oelwein Monday, June 7 before hosting Decorah for a doubleheader Wednesday, June 9 and then playing in the Riceville Tournament Saturday, June 12.

The Kee baseball team book-ended its initial week of the 2021 season with results on each end of the win-loss spectrum, also having a Thursday, May 27 home doubleheader with MFL/MarMac postponed by rainy weather to a new June 11 date. On either side of that rescheduling, the Hawks got their season underway with a doubleheader loss at Decorah Tuesday, May 25 by scores of 8-4 and 11-1 in five innings before wrapping up the week with a pair of wins at home in their annual Shooky Fink Tournament Saturday, May 29, including a 6-0 victory over Northwood-Kensett followed by a 5-4 triumph over Davenport West.

Senior slinger also finishes sixth in discus, Krambeer medals in long jump debut

For the Waukon boys track team, the 2021 Iowa High School State Meet at Drake Stadium in Des Moines was a learning and growing experience for the four young men competing in six different events Thursday, May 20 and Friday, May 21. With none of those track Tribe competitors being seniors and all of them being first-time State Meet competitors this season, that growth will be looked forward to and expected for future seasons, but for some of this year’s season grand finale competitors that growth happened and paid medal-winning dividends within just a day or even only within a couple hours.

The Kee boys track team was represented in a pair of field events at this year’s Iowa High School State Track Meet held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines Thursday-Saturday, May 20-22. Both of those events took place on the first day of that season grand finale, as Kee juniors Tyson Cota and Damon Weber each competed among Class 1A’s best in their respective field event specialties Thursday, May 20.

Needing a top-eight placement in their respective fields of 24 competitors in order to advance to the final round of point-scoring competition, neither Hawk ended up in that final top-eight and, thus, did not garner any team points. Still, both competitors gained valuable experience that they will return to the track and field program with next season as seniors.

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Haley Meyer finishes in top four of all three distance races, D-Medley also medals

Returning to the big blue oval of Drake Stadium in Des Moines for the first time since making history with a share of the program’s first-ever Class 1A State Championship in 2019 - the last time the Iowa High School State Track and Field Meet was held due to last spring’s COVID-19 cancellation, the Kee girls track team competed in that season grand finale again Thursday-Saturday, May 20-22. With about half of those championship team members returning from that history-making feat being joined by a trio of sophomore newcomers this spring, the Lady Hawks brought home four medals from their seven events qualified, scoring 20 team points to finish tied with Lisbon for 10th place in the final Class 1A team standings.

Braxton Stewart is double champion, Tribe qualifies in all four field events

The Waukon boys track team was looking to extend any portion of its season that it could in competing at the Class 2A State Qualifying Meet at Jesup Thursday, May 13. Four of this season’s team members were able to accomplish that goal by qualifying six different events for this year’s State Track Meet, meeting either requirement of a top-two event finish at Thursday’s meet or turning in one of the next eight best non-top-two performances from any of the eight Class 2A State Qualifying Meets taking place that same evening.

Annika Headington is shot put champion and double qualifier, joins fellow senior Maddy Waters in returning to grand finale; Criswell, Johnson qualify both individually and in relay

When the Waukon girls track team drove away from its Class 2A State Qualifying Meet at Jesup Thursday, May 13 just three Lady Indians knew they had earned automatic qualification in four events for this year’s State Track Meet being held in Des Moines later this week. By the middle of the following day, however, the track Tribe learned that its event qualification total nearly doubled with three more at-large berths, and those advancements involved more than triple the number of Lady Indians, with a total of seven State Meet qualifications involving 10 track Tribe members.

Meyer and Bakewell are both double champions, four-event qualifiers

The Kee girls track team continued to accomplish many of its season objectives at its Class 1A State Qualifying Meet Thursday, May 13 at Edgewood-Colesburg, despite having to also continue to overcome some obstacles in the way. Already dealing with illness and injury throughout the regular season, the Lady Hawks were dealt another challenging hand by COVID-19 that took their most seasoned veteran out of Thursday’s competition mix. Despite that latest adversity, the Kee girls were able to rack up nine qualifications for this year’s State Meet, winning four events for automatic advancement Thursday night and adding five more at-large qualifications with performances that ended up being within the top 14 non-championship results from throughout the 10 Class 1A State Qualifying Meets held throughout the state of Iowa.