CONTENTS Volume 12 Issue 12
4 Pee Wee Profiles Qwest M.V.P: Bruce Stilson, Des Moines Bruce Stilson and his family volunteer much of their time to help out during sporting events. Turn to page 4 to read about what Stilson believes sports and volunteering can teach kids.
8 Prep Connection Muscatine Crowned Boys State Swimming Champs The 2011 High School Boys State Swimming Tournament found Muscatine at the top of the team standings overall, with Dubuque Senior in second and Cedar Falls rounding it off in third place.
20 Collegiate Corner Heart of an Athlete: Sarah Paulson Central College junior Sarah Paulson talks about her involvement in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Central basketball and golf teams. She also discusses her chosen attribute, how it relates to her life as and athlete, and some of her personal athletic experiences.
26 Minor But Major Zach Johnson Receives Double D Award From Drake Drake alumnus Zach Johnson was presented with the highest award Drake University has to offer it’s former student athletes on Jan. 25. Johnson won the Masters in 2007, and was a member of the 2010 Ryder Cup team.
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Contributing Writers: Amy J. Tagliareni, Ashley Lewis, Barron R.B. Bremner, Greg Boyd, Molly Brown, Lynn M. Lindaman, Ted Schultz, Howie Thompson
Contributing Photographers: Impact Imagery
Cover: Baltimore Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff celebrates after making a field goal. The former Drake Bulldog and Harlan Cyclone was an NFL All-Pro selection.
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Prose From the Pub
Drake Bulldog Determination and Fury of a Harlan Cyclone Carry Billy Cundiff to Pro Bowl! he accomplished that Billy Cundiff graces with gusto and made a the front cover of this resounding statement 13th anniversary of the to every team that had Iowa Sports Connection overlooked this former and how appropriate, Cyclone and Bulldog. I for as we launched this one am proud to call him company while Billy and a friend not because he’s his friends from Drake in the NFL but because worked for the Local he represents his family, Sports Connection. Billy Harlan, Drake and the rest Cundiff was actually Mike Rickord ISC Publisher of Iowa with integrity, on the September hard work, character, 2002 cover with the and humility. Sounds like title “Billy the Kid is a another Drake Alum from Cedar Cowboy!” That was his debut in the Rapids who happens to also be on NFL as he shocked the world by page 26 of this 13th Anniversary making the Dallas Cowboys roster edition of the Iowa Sports and proceeding to tie the Monday Connection. Night Football record for field goals The 13th anniversary issue of the with seven on a Monday night in the Iowa Sports Connection! Man what Meadowlands against the New York a journey it has been! However, the Giants. number 13 has been very lucky for Billy Cundiff played his high our firm as we continue to expand school football in Harlan, Iowa, for our multi-media reach across Iowa legendary coach Curt Bladt and the with TV, radio, magazines, digital powerful Cyclones. Billy finished high magazines, web sites, video, live school career and came west to scoring, Facebook, Twitter, and Bulldog Country and played at Drake e-mail newsletters. for Rob Ash. Drake University is The expansion of our coverage certainly not recognized as a mecca of active Iowans “From the Pee for aspiring NFL place kickers, but Wees to the Preps to the Pros” Billy’s athleticism and leg strength and “From the Missouri to the caught the eye of several scouts. Mississippi” has propelled our firm The rest is history and, as the to a leader in the state and it’s Beatles sang, the “Long and Winding entirely on the shoulders of our Road” to this year’s Pro Bowl began. incredible staff, clients, and the Billy was on a roll and destined for a hundreds of thousands of athletes long career with the Dallas Cowboys in all 99 counties that we have had when an injury sent him into the the privilege of covering over these league’s unemployed ranks for a 13 years. I want to thank each period with many job interviews and of you who have supported us by part-time positions in the fickle world listening to our shows, picking up of NFL kickers. I quit keeping track our magazines, watching our TV of all of his stops as it was getting shows, logging on to our websites too expensive for me as I always and following us on our social purchased a ball cap from the team platforms. The expansion of our firm he signed with in a statement of will continue this year with additional support for my favorite NFL player. digital products, expanded radio Okay, I’ll try to remember: Packers, network, statewide TV, and exciting Chiefs, Saints, Bucs, Falcons, partnerships that will be announced Browns. Cundiff saved the best for this spring. I have encouraged last by signing with the Baltimore our audience for years to send Ravens and landing a spot on the us great stories from across this Pro Bowl roster. state regardless of the sport or the The determination and age. If it relates to an active Iowan commitment that Billy displayed in participating in a healthy endeavor, his quest to return to the league we want to recognize them. and prove that he still was an In closing, I thank you again for elite athlete is nothing short of your support and look forward phenomenal. Billy is a very intelligent, to many more years of covering balanced young father of two and the great state of Iowa and the husband to his college sweetheart incredible residents that inhabit its living comfortably in Arizona with boundaries. Have a Championship an MBA under his belt in case this Month! God Bless You and God Bless kicking gig didn’t pan out. However, America! he was certain that his talents were still at the caliber that would merit a full time roster offer and Volume 12 Issue 12
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Pee-Wee Profiles
Presented By:
Qwest Most Valuable Parent: Bruce Stilson, Des Moines Tim Weideman Editor
When Bruce Stilson was involved in sports as a kid, there weren’t many people who volunteered. As anyone who has ever been involved in youth sports will tell you, having very few volunteers makes operating youth sporting events very difficult. He wants to help make things easier and help the kids have more fun. But for Stilson, sporting events aren’t just about the kids having fun. They’re also about kids learning life lessons from the sports. Stilson says sports teach kids how to be self-disciplined, how to take directions from those in positions of authority and kids will learn that sports can be a “fundamental building foundation for life.” Stilson also makes sure his own kids understand this too. His kids are all involved in sports. In fact, the whole family is involved in volunteering too. He makes sure they realize that what they learn in sports can also be applied to life in general. “One of the things I teach them is you don’t go into anything half-heartedly,” says Stilson. “You’ve got to put your heart behind it. You have to understand that every sport that you’re in, you have to want to be in the sport. If you don’t give 110 percent, there’s no sense in being in it.” Stilson also teaches them that sports will show them how to be coachable. This is another one of the lessons he says applies outside of sports.
He also stresses the importance of helping others. Even if his kids aren’t participating, they’ll volunteer with their parents. One example is how Stilson’s daughters volunteer during football games, even though they don’t necessarily like football. “One of the things I teach them is you always have to give back,” says Stilson. “Everything in life is not free, so you have to give back in some way, shape or form.” That makes the Stilsons busy during sporting events. Bruce and his family are always attending sporting events—usually while volunteering. Stilson adds that he is so proud of how much his kids are willing to “give back to people who don’t have.” The Stilsons’ willingness and readiness to help out has left a positive impression on youth sports directors such as Brian Keck, the Iowa Grade School and Junior High Wrestling tournament director. “He’s been there since I started the tournaments,” says Keck. “I can always rely on at least their family to be there.” Keck says Stilson’s drive to help out is what makes him such a great volunteer. He says that Stilson is always coming up to him before tournaments asking what his family can do to help.
family attends sporting events in which one of them is participating. When his son is wrestling or playing football, the entire family will attend to support him. Or if one of his daughters is in bowling or has a track meet, the whole family will go to support her. “I’ve seen too many kids in my life, when they’re out for an individual sport and nobody would be there as a family member to share in either the triumphs or the failure of that child,” says Stilson. “So that child can go away not feeling very comfortable about it and they feel just like life has let them down.” Stilson also works with the Youth Sports Foundation in Iowa. He is volunteering his time with that program to help develop a new program for football on the east side of Des Moines. The Youth Sports Foundation helps kids participate in many sports. The organization also focuses on mentoring kids and giving them the tools they need to succeed on the field. Stilson helps out mostly with football. “It’s not about the wins or losses,” says Stilson. “It’s about teaching them the fundamentals of football and having fun, basically getting the kids familiar with what football is and giving them a foundation building block on what they can do going into high school.”
Another key thing for Stilson is that the entire
In each magazine we feature a youth sports team. The team is recognized for their effort on and off the field/court and not solely on their wins and losses. If you would like to nominate a Pee-Wee team for our Qwest Team of the Month, please contact us at isceditor@iowasportsconnection.com.
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Pee -Wee Profiles Presented by:
Qwest Team of the Month: Johnston Vipers Tim Weideman Editor
The dream for the Johnston Vipers is to one day make it to the Little League World Series. It’s a dream that is taken seriously by the coaches and the players. The Vipers’ coaches believe that this dream could become a reality. Currently, the Johnston Vipers are seven years old and under, so they’ve got some time to become a well-oiled machine and make sure the dream of making the world series can actually happen. Most of the players on the team are six or seven years old. Last year, the Vipers were one of the youngest teams to compete in the tournaments they entered. The Vipers compete in coach-pitch baseball, where the coaches pitch to the kids. This isn’t like your regular recreation center league style of play, though. With coach-pitch tournament leagues like the ones the Vipers compete in, there are umpires who call strikes, balls and outs just like any other level of baseball. These kids are getting one heck of a head start on other little league players. The Vipers are comprised of hand-picked kids from Johnston, Iowa. Manager P.J. Caffrey started the team and plans to keep it going as the kids get older. That way, the same kids will play with each other at every level and improve as an entire team. That will also help the team build a strong chemistry, which is a must for any youth tournament team that wants to be successful. The team competes against other teams from
all over the Midwest. However, the Vipers only play locally. They don’t travel to other tournaments. Instead, the Vipers play around the Des Moines metro area. Currently, the Vipers do not host any tournaments, though Caffrey says that would be ideal once the team has a few more seasons under its belt. Caffrey explained that the team is put together by the coaching staff, which watches Johnston little league games and asks the parents of any kids the coaches are interested in having play for the Vipers if they would also be interested. The Vipers will begin their second year this season. Caffrey started the team so he could coach his son. Caffrey says he hopes to take the experience the team gained last year and improve. Last season, the Vipers finished third in the final tournament of the season. Caffrey said it was very rewarding because, just like in previous
Johnston Vipers tournaments the team competed in, it was against teams will all older kids. In some cases, the other players were two years older than the Vipers’ players, who were five and six years old at the time. Caffrey said that’s just another step up these kids have on others because they’re used to facing tougher competition.
In each magazine we feature a youth sports team. The team is recognized for their effort on and off the field/court and not solely on their wins and losses. If you would like to nominate a Pee-Wee team for our Qwest Team of the Month, please contact us at isceditor@iowasportsconnection.com.
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Volume 12 Issue 12
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Pee-Wee Profiles The Good Start Young: Youth Wrestling Tournaments Tim Weideman Editor Wrestling is a sport that requires years of practice, hard work and discipline. Most often than not, the best wrestlers started at a young age. It’s at youth wrestling tournaments around the state of Iowa that you’ll see many of the sport’s up-and-comers. Many Iowa youths even travel to other states just to find the best competition and just to have someone to compete against. Youth wrestling tournaments are held throughout the year. A good resource for finding when youth tournaments are going to be held near you is The Predicament. On its website (www.thepredicament. com), there is a schedule of upcoming youth wrestling tournaments. Most of the tournaments are in Iowa but some are in other Midwest states. Some tournaments are even further away but are nevertheless great opportunites to see the best competition the country has to offer in terms of youth wrestling. Even if your child is already wrestling, it’s good to expose them to new levels of competition. Wrestling, like all sports, is one that you get better at with experience. All the practice time in the world can’t replace time spent on the mat. Here’s a list of youth tournaments to get your young grappler started: Saturday, March 19, 2011 Corn Cob Nationals Divisions: 6 & U; 7-8; 9-10; 11-12; 13-14; High School
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(15-18); Open(19 and older) Contact: Brian Keck at brian@CornCobNationals.com Event website: corncobnationals.com Jacobson Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines
Saturday-Sunday, April 2-3, 2011 11th Annual Midwest Classic Nationals Divisions: Ages 6 & U; 8 & U; 10 & U; 12 & U; 15 & U; 18 & U Event website: www.midwestclassicwrestling.com Viaero Event Center in Kearney, Neb.
Saturday-Sunday, March 19-20, 2011 Rocky Mountain Nationals Divisions: 6 & U; 8 & U; 10 & U; 12 & U; 15 & U Contact: 303-635-1549 Register at www.RMNEvents.com National Western Events Center in Denver, Colo. Sunday, March 20, 2011 12th Annual Iowa USGWA Girls State Wrestling Championships Open Divisions: Elementary (K-5); Middle School (6-8); High School (9-12); Collegiate/Adult Open (Any woman over 18 years old) Contact: Gene Hildreth at 515-289-6380 or gene.hildreth@dmps.k12.ia.us or Jenn Vetterick at 515-681-6584 or vetterick@mchsi.com North High School in Des Moines Saturday-Sunday, March 26-27, 2011 2011 Iowa AAU Kids State Tournament - must qualify at districts Divisions: Grades 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 Contact: Lee Pamulak at 515-961-6116 or Lpamulak@ aol.com Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines
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Pee-Wee Profiles
Pee Wee Pics
St. Theresa v. Holy Family (Des Moines)
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Volume 12 Issue 12
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Prep Connection Muscatine Crowned Boys State Swimming Champions Tony Atzeni Radio Account Manager
The 2011 Iowa High School Boys State Swimming Championships were contested on Saturday afternoon at the YMCA in Marshalltown. Muscatine ended the season on top of the power rankings and after the last event it was the Muskies that prevailed and won the team title, outdistancing Dubuque Senior and Cedar Falls. One of the reasons for the Muscatine title was Travis Greenwald (Muscatine) won the 100 breaststroke in 58.55 and Tyler Calegan who claimed the 100 butterfly in 50.50 along with the 200 individual medley. The Muskies also won the 200 medley relays in an All-American time of 1:35.17. Haden Calegan, Travis Greenwald, Tyler Calegan and Paul Jindrich made up the winning team. Muscatine also gained valuable points with a third place finish in the 200 and fourth place finish in the 400 freestyle relays. Dubuque Senior and their second place finish were aided by the 200 freestyle relay team with Josh Gill, Alex Duster, Connor Huff and Tate Forsyth. The Rams also finished second in the 400 freestyle relay and fourth in the 200 medley relay. Cedar Falls finished third overall and did claim the 400 freestyle title with Austin Abbas, Jon Baker, Gabe Langner and Josh Sund making up the winning team. Abbas also won the 100 backstroke and finished third in the 200 freestyle.
Presented by: Lynn M. Lindaman, MD, P.L.C. Ben Loeffelholz Iowa’s Premier Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon (Dubuque Hempstead) was crowned the fastest in the pool when 100 Breaststroke he won the 50 freestyle title in 21.07 Travis Greenwald, SO., Muscatine- 58.55 and also added the 100 freestyle title in 46.22. Both winning times were good 100 Butterfly enough to be placed into consideration 1-Tyler Calegan, SR., Muscatine - 50.50 for All-American status. Colin McAllister (Iowa City High) helped 200 Freestyle the Little Hawks to a sixth place finish 1-Colin McAllister, SR., Iowa City High - 1:42.57 with the 200 freestyle title along with Cameron Herting who won the distance event, the 500 freestyle. 200 Individual Medley 1-Haden Calegan, SO., Muscatine - 1:53.06 Team Standings 1. Muscatine - 187.5 500 Freestyle 2. Dubuque Senior - 141 1-Cameron Herting , SR Iowa City High - 4:36.03 3. Cedar Falls - 135 4. Cedar Rapids Washington - 105.5 Relay Results 5. Ames - 102 200 Medley Relay Individual Champions Muscatine - 1:35.17 Athlete/Class/School/Time 1) Haden Calegan, SO., 2) Travis Greenwald, SO., 3) Tyler Calegan, SR., 4) Paul Jindrich, SR. Note: Athletes in bold posted times that are in consideration for All-American status 200 Freestyle Relay Dubuque Senior - 1:25.35 50 Freestyle 1) Josh Gill, SO., 2) Alex Duster, SO., 3) Connor Huff, JR., Ben Loeffelholz, SR., Dubuque Hempstead - 21.07 400 Freestyle Relay 100 Freestyle Cedar Falls - 3:09.85 1-Ben Loeffelholz, SR., Dubuque Hempstead - 46.22 1) Austin Abbas, SR., 2) Jon Baker, SR., 3) Gabe Langner, FR., 4) Josh Sund, SR. 100 Backstroke 3:17.13 Austin Abbas, SR., Cedar Falls - 51.35
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of the Month
High School: Des Moines Lincoln Class: 2011 GPA: 4.10 Sport: Wrestling, Baseball and Football
Zach Cooper
Quick Facts: Favorite Food: Spaghetti Role Model: J Robinson, University of Minnesota wrestling coach Favorite Movie: Stealth Favorite Athlete: Jayson Ness, NCAA Champion: Big Ten Champion, Hodge Trophy Winner, Intermat Wrestler of the Year, Big Ten Wrestler of the Year
Athletic Honors: Football: 3 year letter-winner, 1 year captain, CIML Metro All-Conference Honorable Mention in 2010 and named to CIML Academic All Conference 3 years. Baseball: 3 year letter-winner and named to CIML Academic All Conference 3 years. Wrestling: 4 year letter-winner, 2 year captain, 4 year Lincoln High School Wrestling Iron Man Award Winner, named to CIML Academic All Conference 4 years, 2011 Newton District Wrestling Champion at 140 lbs, 2010 and 2011 Iowa High School State Qualifier Class 3A at 140 lbs and 2011 State Wrestling 6th place.
Academic Honors: 2 year National Honor Society participant, National Council of Youth Leadership
How the Community Views Zach: Extremely courteous, quiet, loyal, hard-working, dependable, dedicated, coachable, appreciative, humble and kind. Plans after High School: Attend Iowa State University and major in Aerospace Engineering Overcoming Adversity: “My freshman record was 3 wins and 24 loses, so I quickly realized I wasn’t the fastest, quickest, or strongest wrestler there was. So I knew I had to work harder than everyone else. I had to lift harder, I had to run further, and I had to listen to my coaches and go to camps and learn from the best.”
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Prep Connection Tony’s High School Wrestling Review Tony Atzeni Radio Account Manager The 2011 Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament provided plenty of history and excitement this season. On Saturday night, February 19th the individual and team champions were crowned in front of the 22nd straight sellout crowd for the event.
Waverly-Shell Rock Remains the King; Claims Class 3A Wrestling Crown When the season began in Class 3A there were ten returning champions which included Levi Peters who won a title at 160 in Class 1A last season with Twin River Valley (Bode). Five of the returning champions reached the championship match, including the battle at 285 with Cody Krumwiede of Waverly-Shell Rock who won a title at 215 last season and defending champion Brodie Berrie of Bettendorf. Waverly Shell Rock had to wait until the final match as expected to win the tight battle for the 3A title. The GoHawks totaled 152 points, with Iowa City West next with 150 and Bettendorf third with 148. One of those champions was Cory Clark of Southeast Polk who set claimed his third straight title, this time at 119 pounds and in the process remained unbeaten in his high school career and completing a 45-0 season with his 5-2 decision over Keegan Wakefield of Iowa City West. John Meeks of Des Moines Roosevelt matched Clark by winning the 130 pound title against Dakota Bauer, 9-4. Meeks won his third straight championship and next season along with Clark will try to join the elite field of fourtime champions, and an even more elite field of unbeaten four-time champions. Brian Warren showed that the Des Moines North/ Hoover program is on rise as he defeated Jordan Rinken from Waverly-Shell Rock, 3-1 in the 140 pound title match. Warren finishes the season with a 35-3 record. Zach Wiite of Cedar Rapids Prairie battled with Gabriel Moreno as expected to win the 145 pound title, 6-5 and remained unbeaten on the season at 38-0. Also winning state titles were Phillip Laux (Iowa City West, 43-2) at 103 pounds; Colby Knight (Urbandale, 402) at 112 pounds; Jack Hathaway (Iowa City West, 50-3) at 125 pounds. Cody Caldwell of Waverly-Shell Rock won a key match in the Go-Hawks fight for a team title with a 9-3 decision over Trey Lewis of West Des Moines Valley at 152 pounds. Caldwell finished at 44-2. Taylor Berger of Carrol finished the season at 40-0 as he recorded only the second fall of the evening against Ethan Lara of Sioux City East. It started slow for Willie Miklus of Southeat Polk with injuries but when it counted he was at his best as Miklus claimed the 171 pound title against Levi Peters of Fort Dodge, 10-6. Brandon Abernathy of Indianola and Jared Bartels of Mason City both came into the 189 pound title match with
39-1 records but it was Abernathy who would prevail with a 3-0 shutout. As expected the final match in Class 3A held team championship implications but Cody Krumwiede of Waverly-Shell Rock left no doubt who the 285 pound champion was to be, and in the end the team title as he posted a 10-0 major decision on Brodie Berrie of Bettendorf. Also winning state titles were Wade Edgington (Indianola, 45-6) at 135 pounds and Connor Herman (Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 38-2) at 215 pounds.
Davenport Assumption Uses Depth to Claim Class 2A Wrestling Championship When the season began there were seven returning champions in Class 2A. Five reached the championship match, including two-time champion Tanner Weatherman of Ballard (Huxley). Davenport Assumption won two individual titles and used their depth to claim the team title with defending champion Denver-Tripoli second just ahead of Ballard (Huxley). Dylan Peters of Denver-Tripoli repeated as a champion with his 13-4 major decision over Colton McCrystal of Sergant Bluff-Luton at 112 pounds. Peters completed a perfect 50-0 season. Topher Carton of Davenport Assumption, leading 4-2 late in the match turned a near head lock into two points late and held off Sawyer Farris of New London/WinfieldMount Union, 6-2 for the 119 pound crown. Jacob Colon of Clear Lake won the 125 pound title against Dakota Simmons of Fairfield, 4-0 and finished the season with a 37-0 record. Brandon Sorensen of Denver-Tripoli also repeated when he claimed the 130 pound title with a major decision win over Josh Perkins of Atlantic, 15-7. Sorensen won the 119 pound title last season. Jake Marlin of Creston-Orient-Macksburg repeated this time up one weight class at 135, defeating Tyler Patten of Webster City for a major decision, 13-4. As expected the 145 pound title match was a good one, and in the end it was unbeaten Brody Grothus of Davenport Assumption (48-0) who defeated Tanner Hiatt of Ballard (Huxley), 4-2. Kyle Lux improved to 4-0 on the season when he won the 160 pound title, 13-7 over Nick Fuller of Independence. Make it three titles for Tanner Weatherman of Ballard (Huxley) in his high school career. Weatherman rolled to a major decision victory over previously unbeaten Colton Van’t Hof of Sioux Center, 17-5. Weatherman improved to 44-1 on the season while Van’t Hof fell to 38-1. Also winning state titles were Doug Miner (Spirit Lake Park, 41-2) at 103 pounds; Kyle Risher (Centerville) and Ryan Valline (East Marshall/GMG, 31-4) at 152 pounds and Ross Larson (Ballard, Huxley, 38-4) at 189 pounds. Until the 215 pound matches, only two falls had been recorded but Kane Seeley of Perry completed a 47-0
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season with a fall of Collin Blevins of Creston/OrientMacksburg.
Logan-Magnolia Replaces 5-Time Champs Don Bosco as Class 1A State Wrestling Champ Five returning champions began the season in Class 1A, and all five reached the championship match again this season including Jordan Bremer of Woodbury Central (Moville) who was back to defend his 103 pound title, and defend he did with a 6-2 decision over Andrew Foutch of Underwood. Bremer completed a perfect 45-0 season. For the first time in six years we have a new team champion as Logan-Magnolia finished ahead of Don Bosco (Gilbertville) for the team title. Tyler Shulista (48-1) recorded the first fall of the night and repeated as champion, winning the 119 pound title. Shulista won the 112 pound title last season. Christopher Halblom of Alburnett kept his perfect record in tact with a hard-fought 2-1 2 - overtime victory against Kolbi Kohl of Lisbon, and in the process repeated as a state champion. Halblom finsihed with a 45-0 record. Logan Mulnix North Linn (Troy Mills) had hopes of repeating as champ but Drew Proctor of Tipton had a different idea as he won the 135 pound championship, 6-2. Proctor finished the season with a 44-2 record while Mulnix lost for only the second time and finished 40-2. Robert Walker of Martensdale-St. Mary’s was hoping to win a title along with his brother David, but a shoulder injury ended those hopes so he carried the family and Blue Devil torch for him as a repeat winner, this time at 145 pound when he defeated Nolan Oviatt of Logan-Magnolia, 5-1. Walker completed the perfect season at 46-0. Loren Williams of Tri-Center (Neola) came up huge in the 145 pound title match improving to 53-2 when he handed Matt Finch of Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn his first loss of the season, 5-4. Finch completes a 32-1 season. Dallas Houchins of Interstate 35 (Truro) kept his perfect record with a tough 6-4 victory over Austin Kessler of Durant-Bennet, 6-4. Houchins finished the tournament at 36-0. Perfect as well this season was Andrew Nodtvedt of Central Spring (Manly) as he shutout Ethan Calvert of Interstate 35 (Truro), 7-0 to improve to 45-0 and claim the 189 pound championship. Two falls were recorded at the 215 pound weight class as Nate Howard of Graettinger-Terril joined Jordan Seely of Perry in Class 2A with a pin of Zach Salisbury of Sumner-Fredericksburg and like Seeley, remained unbeaten on the season with a 46-0 record. Also winning state titles were Brennan NcNitt (St. Albert, Council Bluffs, 49-1) at 130 pounds; Austin Even, (Jesup, 45-2) at 160 pounds; Jacob Everts (AplingtonParkersburg, 42-1) at 171 pounds and Caleb White (Tri-Center, Neola, 37-0) at 285 pounds.
Good March 1 - 31, 2011.
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Prep Connection Two Wrestlers Try To Land in History Books, Become Four-Time Champs Tim Weideman Editor Even though he has won three state championships in his three-year high school wrestling career, Southeast Polk junior Cory Clark is not fazed by the prospect of making history by becoming a fourtime state champ. Clark set himself up to accomplish a feat that only 18 Iowa wrestlers have done in the past by defeating Iowa City West’s Keegan Wakefield 5-2 to claim the Class 4A 119-pound title. Clark finished his junior season 45-0 and remains undefeated in his high school career. For Clark, this latest championship is just another victory and another title. “I just kind of take it one at a time,” says Clark. “It’s kind of the same as the past two years. I haven’t really looked at it as being a three-time state champ, I kind of look at it as being another state champ.” Aside from facing different competition in the 119-pound division, Clark says there wasn’t much different about winning a state championship this time around than the previous two years. Clark says that he was more nervous during his freshman campaign when he won the state championship at 103 pounds, a weight class mostly filled by freshman. The nerves, Clark says, came mostly from it being a first-time experience. The next year, Clark faced many of the same wrestlers he faced the previous season when he moved up to 112 pounds. But when he made the move to 119 pounds this season, many of his former opponents did not. That meant new competition and an impending battle with the reigning state champ at the time, Eric DeVos of Waverly-Shell Rock.
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Unfortunately for his opponents, Clark had become used to the environment of the State Wrestling Tournament. “This year I really wasn’t even that nervous,” Clark says. “It just felt like I had more pressure on me to win because I won it the past two years, so this year I felt like I had to win.” The matchup between Clark and DeVos eventually came in the semifinals. It was a close match, which Clark is not used to. He’s more accustomed to dominating his opponents. DeVos represented a new challenge. “I knew he was tough and I know his credentials and how he won State at 119 last year,” says Clark. “He was bigger than I was. I wasn’t really cutting much weight and he was cutting pretty hard to get down to weight.” Clark also had to deal with the speculation from many that DeVos was going to upset him and end his chances at becoming a four-timer. DeVos recorded the first takedown of the match. Clark says he remembers hearing the Waverly-Shell Rock crowd erupting, but he remained calm. “I knew that if I let that get to me or started thinking about that it wouldn’t (be) good,” says Clark. “I just kind of wiped it off and continued with the match.” As the seconds ticked down during the final period, DeVos was down 7-6 and nearly had a reversal on Clark that would have won the match. But Clark held on.
“I knew he was going to be tough so winning by a point wasn’t completely unexpected,” says Clark. “I knew if I just kept wrestling and kept my nerves under control and stayed focused, then I’d be fine.” Next year, the goal for Clark is clear: win a state title. It’s not about focusing on becoming a fourtimer or meeting expectations. It’s simply about accomplishing the mission he sets for himself every year. Des Moines Roosevelt’s John Meeks Also in the hunt next year for becoming a four-time state champ is Des Moines Roosevelt’s John Meeks. Like Clark, Meeks is undefeated in his high school career. Though it would be a match to remember, luckily for the two wrestlers, there are no plans for Meeks or Clark to compete in the same weight division. That means Clark and Meeks will both have a shot at winning a state championship again next season. About not having any plans to compete at the same weight division as Clark, Meeks told the Des Moines Register: “We’re never going to wrestle (in a meet). I want him to be a four-time state champ.”
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Prep Connection IGHSAU Likes 5 Classes Proposal Aaron Gernes Staff Writer
As the number of Iowa high schools decreases, there was a mind set that changes would have to be made to the current classification system. Four classes was not going to work for most sports. The Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union agreed with this. “We originally were looking to move down to three classes,” said IHSGAU Executive Director Mike Dick. “The cue to go a different direction came about a year ago from our basketball committee.”
“40 (schools in 5A) is where everyone is landing,” explained Dick. “We had some people that wanted to cut it down to 32, and some wanted to keep it at 48. So 40 is a compromise.” Dick says the biggest reason to increase classes rather than decrease them is to cut down on the disparity between large and small schools, especially in the large-school classes. Norwalk Athletic Director Al Lammars says that’s something he really enjoys about the five-class proposal. Norwalk is tied with Western Dubuque (Epsworth) for the 48th largest school in the state with 564 kids enrolled. Norwalk was placed in 3A while Western Dubuque in 4A because of an alphabet tie-breaker.
What cue was that? The basketball committee didn’t want to cut down to three classes. Instead, they proposed to Dick that most of the sports should actually increase to five classes.
“It would have been tough to compete with the Valleys and Ankenys,” says Lammers. “Valley is over 2000 kids, and were just over 500. A 1500-kid difference is enormous.”
“We are always trying to think outside the box,” said Dick. “When we looked at the numbers they proposed, the board thought there was definite merit to the idea.”
The difference between Valley and the 40th school (Pleasant Valley) in enrollment currently stands at 1185 (2016-831).
Dick says that they looked at about 15-18 different options on how to sculpt the new classification structure. The biggest debate was how many schools should be in the new large-school class, 5A.
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“From our perspective, it works,” says Lammers. “Rural schools continue to see decreasing enrollment, and suburban schools continue to see enrollment rise. This will help create more competitive balance within the classes.”
Lammers also sees a positive impact on the communities. “With basketball, you have eight more teams going, and each team probably has about 15 girls on it. That’s 120 more kids that have opportunities to celebrate, and eight more communities that have reason to be more proud.” Dick says issues about feasibility of state tournaments are addressed in the proposal. “Basketball will be difficult. It’s seven more games. But we’d probably start at around ninethirty in the morning and keep going until the last game tips off at eight at night or so.” With softball and volleyball, Dick says that there’s enough downtime in the schedule where they’re not playing that fitting seven extra games into those schedules won’t be an issue. He says that this move would impact softball, baseball, basketball, and golf. If passed, he says that it probably would get started with softball in 2012. Track and cross country would not be impacted, because those are co-ed events with the Iowa High School Athletic Association. The IHSGAU meets on March 4. Dick says the proposal is on the agenda and that he thinks by that time everyone will be “ready to move on with it and go.”
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Prep Connection
Presented By:
Champions Across Iowa
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Volume 12 Issue 12
13
A quick look at some of the State’s best performances from the Missouri to the Mississippi
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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Cassy Herkelman (Cedar Falls) and Megan Black (Ottumwa): Herkelman (Freshman, 20-13) and Black (Sophomore, 25-13) made history this year by becoming the first girls to qualify for the Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament. South Tama Girls Basketball: For the first time in school history in 5-on5 action, the No. 10 Trojans qualified for the State Tournament with a win over No. 8 Dallas Center-Grimes Feb. 23. Des Moines Oakleafs Hockey: The Oakleafs edged out the rest of the pack to capture a highly-contested Midwest High School Hockey League Regular Season Championship. Monticello Girls Basketball: The Panthers won their first ever conference championship, claiming the Tri-Rivers title when they defeated Springville on Feb. 7. Kalli Richardson (Northeast Hamilton, Blairsburg): Richardson set the school five-player all-time scoring record for a career on Feb. 10 against CAL (Latimer). The old record was held by Trisha Heiden. Austin Halls (Murray): Halls reached a milestone when he scored his 1,000th career point against Twin Cedars (Bussey) on Feb. 5. Halls is just a sophomore. Tim Olejnczak (Ankeny Christian Academy): Olejnczak became only the 30th player in Iowa high school boys basketball history to score 2,000 points in his career. Tim reached that mark with 21 points in a double-overtime loss to Des Moines Christian on Feb. 11. Ryan Tubbs (Morning Star Academy, Bettendorf): Tubbs dished out 20 assists in a single game which places him second on the all-time single game list.
Volume 12 Issue 12
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Brought to you by: The Iowa Sports Connection, Iowa’s #1 high school sports connection from the Missouri to the Mississippi, bring you the most comprehensive radio coverage of Iowa Volume 12 Issue 12 15 Visit us on the web @ www.iowasportsconnection.com high school football and basketball from the state’s foremost team of broadcasters!
2011 State Wrestlin 1A - 103
1A - 135
2A - 135
3A - 135
1A - 140
1A - 145
2A - 160
2A - 103
3A - 103
1A - 112
2A - 112
3A - 112
2A - 119
3A - 1
Weight: 103 1st: Jordan Bremer, Woodbury Central Moville JR 2nd: Andrew Foutch, Underwood SO 3rd: Zach Welter, North Linn Troy Mills JR
Weight: 145 1st: Loren Williams, Tri-Center Neola SO 2nd: Matt Finch, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn SR 3rd: Shay Taylor, Prairie Valley Gowrie SR
Weight: 112 1st: Brance Simms, Twin River Valley Bode JR 2nd: Nathan Ryan, Woodbury Central Moville JR 3rd: Aaron Bartenhagen, Durant-Bennett SO
Weight: 152 1st: Dallas Houchins, Interstate 35 Truro SR 2nd: Austin Kessler, Durant-Bennett SR 3rd: Rilen Carew, West Branch SR
Weight: 119 1st: Tyler Shulista, Alburnett JR 2nd: Jesse Partlow, Manson Northwest Webster JR 3rd: Lincoln Monroe, Valley Community Elgin JR
Weight: 160 1st: Austin Even, Jesup JR 2nd: Brett Roberts, Eddyville-Blakesburg SO 3rd: Marrick Loftus, Logan-Magnolia SR
Weight: 125 1A - 119 1st: Christopher Halblom, Alburnett SR 2nd: Kolbi Kohl, Lisbon JR 3rd: Matt Bertsch, Newman Catholic Mason City SR
Weight: 171 1st: Jake Everts, Aplington-Parkersburg SR 2nd: Tevin Brinson, Newman Catholic Mason City SR 3rd: Jayden DeVilbiss, South Winneshiek Calmar SR
Weight: 130 1st: Brennan McNitt, St. Albert Council Bluffs SR 2nd: Jordan Johnson, Interstate 35 Truro SR 3rd: Austin Demuth, Don Bosco Gilbertville JR
Weight: 189 1st: Andrew Nodtvedt, Central Springs SR 2nd: Ethan Calvert, Interstate 35 Truro SR 3rd: Dalton Peterson, Woodbine SR
Weight: 135 1st: Drew Proctor, Tipton SR 2nd: Logan Mulnix, North Linn Troy Mills JR 3rd: Brandon Welter, Don Bosco Gilbertville SR
Weight: 215 1st: Nate Howard, Graettinger-Terril SR 2nd: Zach Salisbury, Sumner-Fredericksburg SR 3rd: Trent Baker, Westwood Sloan SR
Weight: 140 1st: Robert Walker, Martensdale-St. Marys JR 2nd: Nolan Oviatt, Logan-Magnolia SR 3rd: Skyler Rice, Emmetsburg/RA SR
Weight: 285 1st: Caleb White, Tri-Center Neola SR 2nd: Joe Koehn, Valley Community Elgin JR 3rd: Tanner Johnson, Dike-New Hartford SR
Weight: 103 1st: Phillip Laux, Iowa City West JR 2nd: Jake Koethe, Valley West Des Moines FR 3rd: Alijah Jeffery, Linn-Mar Marion FR
Weight: 125 1st: Jack Hathaway, Iowa City West JR 2nd: Connor Ryan, Bettendorf JR 3rd: Tanner Werner, Waverly-Shell Rock SR
Weight: 112 1st: Colby Knight, Urbandale SO 2nd: Jake Agnitsch, Ames SR 3rd: Jordan Jones, Des Moines North/Hoover SR
Weight: 130 1st: John Meeks, Des Moines Roosevelt JR 2nd: Dakota Bauer, Iowa City West JR 3rd: Adam Perrin, North Scott Eldridge SR
Weight: 140 1st: Brian Warren, 2nd: Jordan Rinken, 3rd: Elijah Sullivan,
Weight: 119 1st: Cory Clark, Southeast Polk JR 2nd: Kegan Wakefield, Iowa City West SO 3rd: Eric DeVos, Waverly-Shell Rock JR
Weight: 135 1st: Wade Edgington, Indianola SR 2nd: Jay Hildreth, Lewis Central SR 3rd: Luke Kremer, Cedar Rapids Kennedy JR
Weight: 145 1st: Zach Witte, 2nd: Gabriel Moreno, 3rd: Chad Ryan,
3A - 160
2A - 171
1A - 171
3A - 171
1A - 189
3A - 140
2A - 189
3A
ng Championships 1A - 125
119
3A - 125
2A - 125
1A - 130
2A - 130
Weight: 103 1st: Doug Miner, Spirit Lake Park SO 2nd: Zach Less, West Delaware Manchester SO 3rd: Derek Miller, Winterset JR
Weight: 145 1st: Brody Grothus, Assumption Davenport SR 2nd: Tanner Hiatt, Ballard SR 3rd: Blake Meling, East Marshall/GMG JR
Weight: 112 1st: Dylan Peters, Denver-Tripoli JR 2nd: Colton McCrystal, Sergeant Bluff-Luton SO 3rd: Zach Skopec, Spirit Lake Park FR
Weight: 152 1st: Ryan Valline, East Marshall/GMG SR 2nd: Chase Skoneczka, Benton Van Horne SR 3rd: Garrett Smith, Denver-Tripoli JR
Weight: 119 1st: Topher Carton, Assumption Davenport JR 2nd: Sawyer Farris, New London/WMU JR 3rd: Chase Flack, JSPCEG SR
Weight: 160 1st: Kyle Lux, South Tama County SR 2nd: Nick Fuller, Independence JR 3rd: Cody Solari, Sergeant Bluff-Luton SR
Weight: 125 1st: Jacob Colon, Clear Lake SR 2nd: Dakota Simmons, Fairfield SR 3rd: Kyle Blocker, East Marshall/GMG SO
Weight: 171 1st: Tanner Weatherman, Ballard SR 2nd: Colton Vant Hof, Sioux Center SR 3rd: Jeff Guttry, Fairfield SR
Weight: 130 1st: Brandon Sorensen, Denver-Tripoli SO 2nd: Josh Perkins, Atlantic SR 3rd: Logan Thomsen, Union LaPorte City SO
Weight: 189 1st: Ross Larson, Ballard JR 2nd: Devin Mitchell, Bondurant-Farrar SR 3rd: Blaize Cabell, Independence SR
Weight: 135 1st: Jake Marlin, Creston/Orient-Macksburg SO 2nd: Tyler Patten, Webster City SR 3rd: Jake Kadel, New London/WMU SR
Weight: 215 1st: Kane Seeley, Perry JR 2nd: Collin Bevins, Creston/Orient-Macksburg JR 3rd: Devin Lemke, Iowa Falls-Alden SR
Weight: 140 1st: Kyler Risher, Centerville SR 2nd: Brad Schwenke, Atlantic SR 3rd: Cory Chapin, Denver-Tripoli JR
Weight: 285 1st: Austin Blythe, Williamsburg SR 2nd: Zach Bauer, Dallas Center-Grimes SR 3rd: Tyler Swope, Assumption Davenport SR
3A - 130
2A - 145 2A - 152
3A - 145
1A - 152
2A - 140
Weight: 152 1st: Cody Caldwell, Waverly-Shell Rock SR 2nd: Trey Lewis, Valley West Des Moines JR 3rd: Zeb Wahle, Lewis Central JR
Weight: 189 1st: Brandon Abernathy, Indianola SR 2nd: Jared Bartel, Mason City JR 3rd: A.J. McBroom, Southeast Polk SR
Des Moines North/Hoover JR Waverly-Shell Rock SR Iowa City West SR
Weight: 160 1st: Taylor Berger, Carroll SR 2nd: Ethan Lara, Sioux City East JR 3rd: Justin Koethe, Iowa City West JR
Weight: 215 1st: Connor Herman, Cedar Rapids Jefferson SR 2nd: Ben Nagle, North Scott Eldridge SR 3rd: Jesse South, Urbandale SR
Prairie Cedar Rapids JR Urbandale JR Sioux City North SR
Weight: 171 1st: Willie Miklus, Southeast Polk JR 2nd: Levi Peters, Fort Dodge SR 3rd: Travis Mallo, Mason City SR
Weight: 285 1st: Cody Krumwiede, Waverly-Shell Rock SR 2nd: Brody Berrie, Bettendorf SR 3rd: Bryan Varisco, Southeast Polk SR
A - 189
1A - 215
2A - 215
3A - 215
1A - 285
2A - 285
3A - 152
1A - 160
3A - 285
Prep Connection High School Golfers on a Mission Take on Operation State Champ Maggie Sutton Staff Writer
Since its start in 1997, Operation State Champ’s Winter session has helped over 2,000 young golfers better their skills. Started by Kevin Beard, Director of Golf at Otter Creek Golf Course in Ankeny, the program was started when the Boy’s Golf team from Ankeny high school came to him with a predicament.
The progression of the clinic goes from identifying the correct way to hold a club and executing a proper swing to increasing speed and better putting. Students are videotaped in the first and last weeks to see their improvement. This year there is also a new advanced course for students who have attended at least two previous winter clinics. These clinics focus more specifically on individual’s problem areas and ways to fix them.
They had several young boys on the team with potential, but they never made the state tournament. Beard worked with 12 players in the offseason and they saw improvement. The clinic now has 152 students this winter, and has had students from 28 different area schools. Beard admits his formula has been a mixture of trial and error in what works, but after 13 years of Operation State Champ, he thinks they have it pretty much figured out. He attributes a lot of the student’s success to the “top notch teachers” who help out with the clinic. And the results confirm it. For example, Beth Wagner, a senior at Ankeny High School, has committed to play golf at Iowa State and has been a member of the program. She finished third in the 2010 State tournament. The clinic has students meet twice a week for six weeks to work hands on and in a classroom setting, says teacher and PGA Pro Judd Gibb.
Operation State Champ also has summer sessions available. For more information visit www.ankenyiowa.gov and click on departments.
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Volume 12 Issue 12
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Prep Connection
2011 High School State Wrestling Tournament
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Volume 12 Issue 12
19
Collegiate
Corner
Heart of an Athlete: Sarah Paulson Ashley Lewis Iowa FCA Ashley Lewis of the Iowa Fellowship of Christian Athletes had the chance to talk to Central College junior Sarah Paulson about being involved in FCA and playing basketball and golf while at Central. Chosen attribute: Love What is your personal definition of this word? I like to think about what the Bible says when I think of love, and so I could define love in one word. Love=God. Love is anything good in this world, and love is showing care and respect for others regardless of how they treat you.
passage because it is something that has always stuck with me ever since I heard it for the first time. God is love. But then it goes on to say that whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. And to me, that is the ultimate goal in our lives. When I think of loving something or someone, whether its as significant as my family, or as insignificant as a favorite food, I feel happy, and warm inside. These feelings come from God, and it is the feeling of love for one another and for God that makes me feel more complete inside than anything else. And so it is this passage that has a significance to me because it describes the tangible feelings I have of God, and the mysterious beauty of the connection we have with Him through love.
What are some of your favorite quotes from other people about this word? -Love is such a big word, it really should have more letters. –Kobi Yamada -Love is the single most important aspect of life. –John Robbins -True love is choosing to give another person what they need the most, when they deserve it the least, and at great personal cost.
Give an application/example of this word in your life: I think the most significant one would be the love God has shown me through my family. I think I am one of the luckiest girls in the world to be blessed with my amazing family. I have 4 sisters, one of which is my twin sister, an amazing mother, and a father who went Home a year and a half ago. I have learned the most about love from them, because we are all so different, and we love each other through every diversity within our family in a joyous way.
What is your favorite Biblical passage that deals with this characteristic? And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16
How do you apply this word in your sport? Love is so applicable in my sports, I play basketball and golf for Central College. I realize how important it is to show love to my teammates, to support them in any way possible, so that they can believe in themselves and become the best person and player that they can be, and how important it is for every teammate to do that for one another in order to bond as one. I find that when we are all working together, we not only are happier, but we are
Why did you choose that particular passage? It was difficult to choose because there are so many amazing passages in the Bible about love. I chose this
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more successful, and it all starts with the love we show to one another no matter what we face in competition. I feel it is also important to show the opposing team or players love by respecting them during competition. It is more important than anything else to show God’s love to others whenever we can, and there are plenty of opportunities in my sports or any other to show the love of God to others. How did you become first become involved in FCA? I signed up to be a huddle leader for an FCA retreat the spring of my freshman year of college. It was not something I had in high school, and I loved retreats, my friends told me I should do it with them so I decided to go. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, as I learned so much from fellow huddle leaders at camp as well as the girls I was blessed with in my huddle. How active within FCA where/are you? It has been hard to be as involved as I would like with FCA during the school year, however, I’ve done 2 spring retreats with FCA and have been a summer huddle leader for the week long camp in Pella once. I am now more active with FCA, as I am on the lead team at Central College. What is your athletic experience? I have played sports ever since I can remember. My two favorites have always been golf and basketball. I also ran track and cross country in high school in Ottumwa, Iowa. Now, health permitting, I have played basketball and golf since I got to Central College in Pella, IA. I am a junior now, so this is my third year of playing the two sports I love. For more about Fellowship of Christian Athletes, please visit www. iowafca.org or call 515-7271868.
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Collegiate Corner New AIB Coach is Old School Amy J. Tagliareni AIB Sports Information
For most of us, any given moment we experienced in high school appeared, at the time, to be of no greater significance than any other moment. We lived in the now, not realizing at the time, we were experiencing things that were shaping our lives and leading us to the people we are today. For AIB men’s basketball coach Tony Giannetto, he can remember being in a moment and knowing at the time it was going shape his life forever. In 1966, Giannetto’s Marshalltown High School Bobcats, led by hall of fame coach George Funk, won the Iowa state boys basketball championship, the last in school history. “It was a very exciting time in my life, I still remember as if it was yesterday and I also remember thinking at the time that this was something big,” said Giannetto. On the road to the championship the third-ranked Bobcats avenged their only regular-season loss to top-ranked Des Moines Roosevelt, defeating the Rough Riders, 6760, in a sub-state game. That game in itself was a valuable lesson to Giannetto, “we had lost to Roosevelt earlier in the season and remembering that loss, the only one we had all season, fueled us.”
Entering the state tournament as the number one seed, Marshalltown routed Shenandoah, 100-54, in the quarterfinals and won a close one over Bishop Heelan-Sioux City, 68-67, in the semifinals. With only Cedar Rapids Washington between Marshalltown and their fourth state championship in 11 years, the Bobcats took a 44-37 halftime lead that extended to a 6041 lead by the end of the third quarter. When it was all said and done, in his second-year as head coach, Funk led Marshalltown to a 77-63 win over Cedar Rapids Washington in front of a crowd of 14,000 spectators. “Playing in front of all those people, I remember thinking this is something everyone should get to experience, the electricity and excitement of it all,” remembered Giannetto.
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“You really don’t get something for nothing,” said Giannetto. “You have to work hard, do things right and commit and if you do all that, there is a good chance that success will follow.” Recently the 1966 Marshalltown boys basketball team celebrated the 45th anniversary of their state championship with coach Giannetto. He was no doubt thankful of how that moment so long ago brought him to where he is now – making history yet again as the AIB Eagles take the court for the first time in October.
As the only junior on that state championship team, Giannetto remembers very dedicated and hard-working teammates who were committed to their head coach. An environment he plans on building at AIB.
your earnhelor’s bac
DEGREE
3
in
ATHLETICS
Those values are something that Giannetto has never forgotten, from his years playing basketball at Marshalltown Community College and University of Northern Iowa to the time he spent as an assistant coach to Funk at Marshalltown High School.
At the helm of the first AIB men’s basketball team in school history, Giannetto will have the opportunity to bring Eagle recruits that same feeling of electricity and excitement. Said Giannetto, “We are going to strive for the top from the beginning, just because we are a first-year program does not mean we can’t set high goals and do our very best to achieve them”
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“It was a requirement of coach Funk to put everything we had into the program,” said Giannetto. “He was a great coach, who demanded a lot from his players, who knew the value of hard work and the success it would breed.”
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21
Collegiate Corner Vikings Win NAIA Regional
Grinnell Swimmers Do It Again
Molly Brown Grand View Univeristy Sports Information Director
Ted Schultz Grinnell College Sports Information Director
The Grand View wrestling team made history in Marshall, Missouri, on Saturday. The Vikings won the NAIA Central Regional Qualifying Tournament for the first time in the program’s short three-year existence. No. 2 Grand View edged last year’s winner No. 7 Missouri Valley by one point, scoring 167.5 team points. Missouri Valley finished with 166.5 points, followed by Baker in third with 98.5 points. Six Vikings earned individual titles and head coach Nick Mitchell was named ‘Central Regional Coach of the Year’ for the second straight year. No. 5 Travis Evans (Ankeny, Iowa) scored a tournament high of 21-team points on his way to the 133 pound title. The top-seeded Evans went 3-0 throughout the tournament, pinning each opponent he faced. No. 9 Ty Knowler (Altoona, Iowa) racked up 17.5 team points on his way to the 165 pound title. Knowler recorded two technical falls in the tournament, out-scoring opponents 48-12. Returning national champion and No. 3 Glenn Rhees (Atascadero, California) won his second regional title, in as many tries, after going 3-0 at 174 pounds. Rhees recorded a fall in the quarterfinal round and shut out Oklahoma City’s No. 5 Derek Peperas with a 1-0 decision. Returning national champion and No. 3 Matt Burns (Urbandale, Iowa) outscored opponents 26-3 on his way to the 149 pound title. Burns recorded one technical fall and accumulated 16.5 team points. No. 5 Tommy Perez (Miami Gardens, Florida) earned his first regional title after going 3-0 at 184 pounds. Perez avoided all takedown attempts from opponents, beating Missouri Valley’s No. 6 Jesse Alter in overtime for the second time this season. No. 6 Nick Coffman (Huxley, Iowa) went 2-0 to reach the finals at 141 pounds. Coffman received a medical forfeit in the finals from fellow teammate, No. 11 Jeff Rau (Council Bluffs, Iowa). Both Coffman and Rau scored bonus points in their quarterfinal matches, winning by major decision and technical fall. No. 2 Bojan Djukic (Des Moines, Iowa) won three matches to reach the finals at heavyweight before falling to Missouri Valley’s No. 4 Travis Ewart. Bojan recorded one fall along the way, scoring 15 team points. No. 7 Alex Peitz (Perry, Iowa) and No. 10 Derek Nightser (Council Bluffs, Iowa) each went 3-1 to place 3rd at 125 and 197 pounds. No. 12 Adam Kurimski (Fairfield, Iowa) went 2-2, placing 5th at 149 pounds.
Grinnell College athletes and the coach claimed four of the six individual awards at the conclusion of the 2011 Midwest Conference Swimming and Diving Championships Sunday at Russell K. Osgood Pool. Imelda Wistey ’14 (West Des Moines, Valley HS) and Michael Brus ’14 (Davenport, North HS) were named the Women’s and Men’s Swimmers of the Year, Kelly Bruce ’12 earned Women’s Diver of the Year honors and Erin Hurley was tabbed Men’s Coach of the Year. Rounding out the award winners were Carroll University’s Alex Mishun as Men’s Diver of the Year and Lake Forest College’s Vadim Tashlitsky as Women’s Coach of the Year. Brus earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships in the 200 backstroke during the meet. He won all seven of his events (three individual and four relays), earning an NCAA “B” cut in three events, and set school and MWC records in every event in which he competed. Wistey earned automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes Imelda Wistey during the meet, while earning a “B” cut in another event. (Grinnell, She posted five wins (two individual and three relays) and WDM Valley) set five school and MWC records. Bruce was named Women’s Diver of the Year for the third time in as many seasons while increasing her league title total to six. During the 2011 Championships, Bruce broke school records with wins in both one- and three-meter diving while earning NCAA B qualifying standards in both events. Hurley guided the Grinnell men’s team to its 10th MWC crown in a row as the Pioneers beat their nearest competitor by nearly 200 points. It’s the third time she’s been MWC Men’s Coach of the Year, also earning the honor in 2005 and 2009. She also coached Grinnell’s women’s team to its 13th MWC title in a row Sunday. Michael Brus
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(Grinnell, Davenport North)
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Collegiate Corner Upper Iowa Wrestling Coach Heath Grimm Reaches Victory No. 100 Howie Thompson Upper Iowa University Sports Information Director Heath Grimm, Upper Iowa’s Head Wrestling Coach, earned his 100th victory at the helm of the Peacock wrestling program with a 34-12 win over Waldorf College on Tuesday night. The Osage, Iowa native is in his eleventh season as the head coach of UIU’s most successful athletic program. Following last season’s third place finish at the NCAA Division II Championships, Grimm was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year. The award marked the sixth Coach of the Year honor bestowed to the Grimm. This season Grimm and the Peacocks are 5-3 in dual meets and 3-1 against NSIC teams. Upper Iowa has three tough opponents left in conference action including #2 Augustana on the road, #3 St. Cloud State at home and #20 MSU Moorhead on the road to end the regular season. The Peacocks are currently ranked #11 in the country and have five individuals ranked in the national poll as well. They include Kyle Pedretti (#1, 133), Trevor Franklin (#2, 125), Zach Rosol (#4, 285), Mitch Schultz (#8, 184) and Carl Broghammer (#8, 197). In Grimm’s eleven seasons at the helm, the UIU wrestling program has an overall dual meet record of 100-35-2 including an NSIC record of 27-3, now in their fifth season. Peacock wrestlers have qualified for the NCAA Championships 42 times and have earned All American honors 25 times. Last season, Grimm’s squad qualified six for the national championship and saw four earn All American honors. Four Peacocks
have won National Titles including two since Upper Iowa’s move up to NCAA Division II. The wrestling program’s best finish came at the 2002 NCAA Division III Championships when the Peacocks finished as the National Runner Up. Upper Iowa has finished inside the top 20 at the National Championships eight times in Grimm’s ten years and they have placed in the top 8 of the NWCA National Duals five times. Grimm also emphasizes his wrestlers effort in the classroom. In more than a decade of coaching at Upper Iowa, Peacock wrestlers have been named NWCA Academic All Americans 23 times. Since the Peacocks moved to NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the team has claimed the conference championships; 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2009-10. The team has won 13 duals in a season three different times and in each of the last two seasons.
Grimm’s Coach of the Year Awards
Grimm was a 4 year starter at Luther College (1991-94). During his career, he qualified for the NCAA Championships three times, earning All American honors twice. Grimm was inducted into the Luther College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.
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The Osage, Iowa native earned his Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Luther College in 1994. He and his wife, Angela, have two daughters, Emma and Leah.
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• • •
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2009-2010 Division II National Coach of the Year 2007-2008 NSIC Coach of the Year 2006-2007 NSIC Coach of the Year 2002-2003 NWCA Bob Bubb Division III National Coach of the Year 2001-2002 Division III National Coach of the Year 2000-2001 Division III Rookie Coach of the Year
Upper Iowa UnIversIty has a lot to brag aboUt “ I transferred to UIU because it has a more personal environment than many other schools and I can be more one-on-one with professors and my advisor. The two-at-a-time class schedule gives me a healthy balance of class, athletics, and other extracurriculars.” Kirby Hovden, ‘12 West Union, IA
stUdent FocUsed – graduating students with less debt than any other private institution in Iowa excellent FacIlItIes – completing $75 million in Phase I construction of classrooms, residence halls, and a student center globally avaIlable – offering degrees through 17 U.S. educational centers and 3 international locations onlIne excellence – nationally ranked among top online degree-granting universities by Online Education Database and repeatedly rated for “best buy” programs by GetEducated.com
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Collegiate Corner Jorgensen Excited to Lead Grand View Back to Success Tim Weideman Editor It’s not easy for Grand View University sports teams to get noticed, as the school must compete with Iowa, Iowa State, Drake and even Northern Iowa for media coverage. But something is brewing at the small private university in Des Moines. A star has emerged on the Grand View Vikings women’s basketball team, and not just on the local level, but the national level, too. Sophomore 5’10” guard Jennifer Jorgensen has proven that last season, in which she was named an NAIA third-team all-American, was only the start of a tremendous career for the Vikings. Jorgensen was named NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Player of the Week Jan. 18 and 25 but her success has lasted all season. Jorgensen is among the top in the country in scoring, having averaged 23.68 points per game, and also in rebounding with 10.3 rebounds per game. She leads the team in those categories. She’s a likely selection for first team all-American this season. Jorgensen is a leader in every aspect for the Vikings. “I try to lead by example,” says Jorgensen. “With us being such a young group we need a leader and it’s kind of hard sometimes with all of us being so young, but that’s what I try to do and I try to help people out when I can.” One might think that with a player like Jorgensen, the team that advanced to the NAIA Elite Eight last season would be unstoppable again this time around. One would be wrong. The Vikings, although entering the season ranked No. 8 in the NAIA Preseason Coaches’ Poll, fell to No. 16 Iowa Wesleyan in the opening round of the Midwest Collegiate Conference tournament. Grand View finished with a record of 14-17 (9-7 in MCC games). Grand View fell off the stage of national players early in the season. “It’s not like we were out of games,” says Jorgensen of the team’s early struggles. “We were always in the games, and had chances to win in all but one so it was just a matter of we couldn’t get on that winning end.
People don’t really care how hard night,” says Jorgensen. “I kind of just your schedule is. If you lose, you got used to that and pressure didn’t lose.” really bother me at all. I guess I was Jorgensen, says she felt like just used to having different defenses the team had to “pull a little extra” thrown at me. That definitely at times this season, especially prepared me for college.” after the team realized it probably After high school, Jorgensen wasn’t going to have the success signed a letter of intent to play for it enjoyed last season. “It just NCAA Division I University of the got harder and our goals kind of Pacific, California. She was unhappy shifted,” says Jorgensen. “We with certain parts of the program still wanted to win conference and so she decided to transfer to but when we knew we were Grand View, while retaining her four going to be a lower seed (in the years of athletic eligibility. conference tournament), you Grand View now has one heck of know, it shifted to: ‘What can we an athlete in Jorgensen. Even though do as a team? What can each this season may not have gone as individual do? How can we set planned for the Vikings, Jorgensen ourselves up for the est chance of says the team has made it a goal to winning each game?’” return to the national tournament She says she personally tried next season. She says she hopes to always pull harder for the team. her individual success can help the But that’s how she’s always been. whole team. “It’s kind of something I’m “Hopefully it kind of carries over used to,” says Jorgensen about to the team and we can all strive being a team leader. “It was kind Picture by Doug Wells, Grand View University for that and can all get back to of that way in high school. It fits (success),” says Jorgensen. She adds my personality and, you know, the way I’ve always played that should everybody’s goal. “It takes more than just me basketball so I think that was a good fit at Grand View, to and hopefully everyone can work hard over the off-season be able to have that opportunity and step right into that and we can get back there.” role. That definitely prepared me for college.” Plus, the seasons are more fun, according to Originally from Dayton, Iowa, Jorgensen ended her prep Jorgensen, when more people turn out for games. career at Southeast Webster-Grand High School second Because Grand View struggled this year, the seats in in Iowa high school girls’ basketball history with 2,708 Sisam Arena, where the Vikings play, were much emptier. points, fourth in rebounds with 1,184 and fifth in assists With some hard work put in during spring and summer, with 621. though, that environment could change quickly. The Vikings “Obviously, I had supporting help, but there was a lot of certainly have a solid foundation in Jorgensen, whom they pressure on my shoulders to produce big numbers every can build around very easily.
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Collegiate Corner
From
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Former Central College soccer player Nate Weir, an assistant athletic trainer with the Green Bay Packers, celebrates a Super Bowl win with offensive guard Josh Sitton.
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Weir and Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the Packers’ locker room following Green Bay’s NFC title game victory at Chicago Jan. 23.
Volume 12 Issue 12
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Minor But Major Zach Johnson Receives Double D Award from Drake Lauren P Smith Staff Writer
Drake alumnus and 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson was presented with the Double D Award on Tuesday Jan. 25, the highest award Drake has to offer it’s former student athletes. Many people showed up in support for Johnson, including 2008 gold medalist Shawn Johnson. Also receiving the award was alumna Lisa Behlmann Cannon. A graduate from 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in finance, Behlmann Cannon was a 4-year letter winner for Drake volleyball during the 1977-1980 season. The Double D Award is given to former letter winners who have shown outstanding achievements and contributions to their profession and community. A Cedar Rapids native, Zach Johnson graduated with degrees in business management and marketing in 1998. He was a member of the Bulldog men’s golf team from 1995-1998. Upon graduating Drake, Johnson went pro, playing in the now-defunct Prairie Golf Tour, the Nationwide Tour (then the Buy.com tour) and the Hooters Tour. In 2003 he was promoted into the PGA Tour. Currently, Johnson is in his eight full-time season on the PGA Tour, has recorded 34 Top 10 finishes, and has won about $20 million. As member of the 2010 Ryder Cup team, Johnson has been able to give back to Drake University in a big
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way. The Iowa Section PGA presented a $50,000 check, on behalf on Johnson to support Drake’s Play Golf America University program. The program, part of the 2010 Ryder Cup Outreach, has been in place since 1999.
“The talent coming out … these kids are athletes now,” Johnson said. “Everybody hits it hard. Everybody has good fundamentals. Everybody is mentally tough. Kids attach themselves to golf at a young age. It’s great for the game. There’s a lot of depth
Lisa Murphy is the program supervisor for this golf outreach program at Drake, dubbed Golf for Business and Life in the curricula. The program, which encourages new students to play golf, teaches them both through a technical and business aspect. Students learn to play from professional golfers, and guest speakers are brought in to teach as well. “I think it’s a really unique program,” Murphy states, “its more than just reading out of a book, it teaches [these students] real life skills.” Programs like the one set up at Drake have a profound impact on the golfing world, something which professional golfers like Johnson are taking note of. In a quote to the Des Moines Register, he reflected on the rising talent of young golfers.
and parity. I know kids you haven’t even heard of who I’m going to be battling against. Unfortunately.’’ Whatever the future holds for Johnson, there’s no denying he has had a successful career. Aside from his Masters win, Johnson has totaled 7 PGA Tour wins, and has earned over $19 million. Not too bad for a Cedar Rapids boy.
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Minor But Major Where Are They Now? The Big 4 Jackson Teeling Staff Writer
As the college basketball post-season possibilities begin take the forefront for the Big 4 universities in the state of Iowa, lets take a look and see what some former standouts are doing these days.
University of Iowa – Current: (10-14, 3-9) Greg Brunner (2002- 2006) Benetton Treviso (Italy)/ Serie A College Career: PPG 11.9…RBG 7.8 Reggie Evans (2000-2002) Toronto Raptors/NBA College Career: PPG: 15.3…RPG: 11.5
The season is winding down to the home stretch and all of the Big 4 teams have a lot of work left to do. Iowa and Iowa State are going through similar rebuilding seasons with first year head coaches. The Hawks have shown improvement under Coach McCaffery, with big wins against conference rivals Michigan State and Indiana. Iowa State has been experiencing a lot up in downs this season under Coach Hoiberg struggling as of late in conference play.
University of Northern Iowa – Current: (18-8, 9-5) Jordan Egleseder (2006-2010) Houston Rockets / NBA College Career: PPG: 9.0…RPG: 5.6…BPG: 1.0 Adam Koch (2006-2010) Bakersfield Jam / NBA Development League College Career: PPG: 9.0…RPG: 4.5…APG: 1.4
Iowa State University – Current: (14-10, 1-8) Craig Brackins (2007-2010) Philadelphia 76er’s / NBA College Career: PPG: 16.0…FG%: 44.5…RPG: 7.7
Ali Farokhmanesh (2008-2010) SAM Massagno (Switzerland) / LNA College Career: PPG: 9.7…3FG%: 37.5…FT%: 80.9
Curtis Stinson (2003-2006) Iowa Energy/ NBA Development League College Career: PPG: 16.5…APG: 4.8…RPG: 5.6
Northern Iowa has been playing good basketball but are looking at a lot of work to do to make it back to the Big Dance. The Panthers might have lost their chance to get an at large berth with back to back conference losses. Drake has had a very up and down season but have played well as of late. They are looking to play their best ball in the conference tourney and try and make a Cinderella run for the NCAAs.
Drake University – Current: (11-14, 6-8) Josh Young (2006-2010) Bayer Giants Leverkusen (Germany) / ProB College Career: PPG 14.1…APG 3.1…3P%: 36.1
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Minor But Major QB Brad Banks to Join AFL’s Barnstormers Greg Boyd Barnstormers News Release
Former Heisman runner-up, Hawkeye All-American returns to Iowa In the franchise’s most high-profile off-season signing, the Iowa Barnstormers today announced that former University of Iowa All-American quarterback, Brad Banks, will join the Arena Football League team for the 2011 season. Banks, who led the Hawkeyes to a share of the 2002 Big Ten title, finished his collegiate career as one of the most decorated players in Iowa history. He won the Davey O’Brien Award
as the nation’s best quarterback, was named the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year, and received All-American recognition from numerous media organizations. Banks also finished second in the 2002 Heisman Trophy balloting to Southern California’s Carson Palmer. Following his tenure at Iowa, Banks signed a free agent contract with the NFL’s Washington Redskins. More recently, Banks comes to the Barnstormers following a five-year career in the Canadian Football League. “Brad is a great addition to the Barnstormers,” said Head Coach John Gregory. “His athleticism, accuracy and touch on the ball, are well-suited to arena football. I know a lot of Iowa fans will be excited to see him back on the field.” Gregory noted the Barnstormers starting quarterback position remains open following the departure of 2010 starter, Ryan Vena, to the Philadelphia
sday Wedneime L t 1s rita is MargaEE! FR
Soul. Gregory expects Banks to compete for the starting nod with arena football veterans BJ Hall and Matt Bassuener, as well as 6’4 newcomer Bryan Lee-Lauduski. The 2011 Barnstormers’ 35-man roster reports for training camp on Sunday, February 20. The ‘Stormers begin the 2011 regular season, Saturday, March 19 at Pittsburgh and return to Des Moines for a Friday, March 25 match-up against defending AFL champ Spokane Shock.
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Health & Fitness Will They Grow Out of It? Lynn M. Lindaman, MD, P.L.C. Lindaman Orthopaedics Originally Published: Volume. 11 Issue 2
Exercise related pain around the knees and heels in the adolescent athlete is pretty much epidemic. One question that the parents always have it, “Will they grown out of it?” The answer to that question is “Yes - and - No.” As with any “overuse” type pain, these pains are due to the muscle and tendon having more stress placed on them then they are able to tolerate. During adolescents, the bones are rapidly converting from the cartilage model into mature one. This is particularly true at the locations that the tendons attach to the bones - the apophysis. During this rapid transition from cartilage to bone, the area of the insertion of the tendon goes through a very weak stage. This makes it easy to “overuse” the tendon. In some instances it is so easy to do this that merely normal activities of daily living are too much strain on the tendon and apophysis. Significant pain can then develop with merely walking up and down stairs, sitting with knees bent and otherwise gentle activities. For this reason these painful conditions were initially labelled “diseases” such as Osgood-Schlat-
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ter’s Disease and Sever’s Disease. We now realize that virtually any child can get these “diseases” if they are active enough. These conditions are now generally classified as an “apophysis.” That is, inflammation of the apophysis. This leads to the “Yes” part of the initial answer. Once the athlete stops growing and the apophyses have “Closed,” that is, they have converted completely into the bone, they are much stronger. Therefore, the insertion of the tendon can tolerate the stresses placed on it. YES -- The athlete will have outgrown these conditions! Now to the “No” part of the answer. Now that the athlete has reached skeletal maturity the insertion point of the tendon can tolerate the stresses of athletics. The athlete can now push themselves harder to reach that “next level” of competition. Now the tendon itself becomes the weak link in the chain. The athlete now will develop true “tendonitis.” So as the athlete continues to push their conditioning and activity, these pains may persist or return, only now not as an apophysitis, but as a tendonitis. So from the standpoint of the athlete outgrowing these pains, NO, they won’t if they continue to push the limits of their body.
We can use ice, rest and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories to deal with the pain after it develops. The ultimate treatment is to reduce the stresses to the point that the apophysis or tendon can tolerate. In the majority of the patients I see with overuse injuries, the abnormal stresses are being placed on the tendons and apophyses due to errors in technique. This is particularly true with knee pain in hurdlers. Muscles exert forces in two manners. The first is with a concentric contraction, where the muscles contract and shorten, such as when the quadriceps contract when one jumps up. The eccentric contraction puts significantly more stress on the tendon and bone than a concentric contraction. All the knee pain that I’ve seen in hurdlers (with the exception of that from actually striking the hurdle with the knee or falling over a hurdle and landing on a knee) comes from poor technique where hurdler is eccentrically loading the knee. This usually happens if the hurdler is landing with the foot out ahead of the knee. The quadriceps and patella tendon then have to absorb the energy of landing. This not only places excessive force on the knee, but also slows the hurdler down. Correcting this technique error not only alleviates the hurdlers knee pain, but also speeds them up.
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Health & Fitness DMOs offers Sports Injury Assessment Clinic Barron R.B. Bremner, D.O. Des Moines Orthopaedic Surgeons
After practice, your son says his knee is throbbing and swollen. He needs medical advice, but how can you as a parent fit that in your schedule—and safely get him back on the field or court? Des Moines Orthopaedic Surgeons in partnership with Iowa Health – Des Moines offers a free Sports Injury Clinic for middle school, high school and college athletes who have an acute injury. With appointments available from 7:15 to 8 a.m. on weekdays, your child can receive care and limit the amount of time away from school—and sports. This clinic is located at DMOS - West, Suite 205, at 6001 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines. “A physical therapist or athletic trainer will evaluate the injury and make initial recommendations for home treatment” says Dan Sweet, MPT, Physical Therapist at Iowa Health. “Depending on the sever-
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ity of the injury, patients may require x-rays and further evaluation by a DMOS physician. The initial visit and x-rays are at no cost; however, there will be a charge for further braces, crutches, diagnostic tests, etc.” “The clinic allows parents to identify whether their child suffers from a basic ache or a more extensive injury. This helps to put a parent’s mind at ease and determine if their child can safely return to competition” comments Amy Noble, Director of Marketing for DMOS.
“By getting immediate recommendations about how to treat the injury, physical therapists and physicians can help athletes prevent chronic conditions.” Appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome. Call (515) 224-5225 today to schedule your appointment.
Additional information is also available at “http://www.dmos.com” www.dmos.com
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UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY HAS A LOT TO BRAG ABOUT “ I chose Upper Iowa University to develop and broaden my education, play competitive collegiate sports, and meet new people. UIU offers opportunities to young minds everyday.” Shaina Marnell, ‘12 Hanover Park, IL
STUDENT FOCUSED – graduating students with less debt than any other private institution in Iowa EXCELLENT FACILITIES – completing $75 million in Phase I construction of classrooms, residence halls, and a student center GLOBALLY AVAILABLE – offering degrees through 17 U.S. educational centers and 3 international locations ONLINE EXCELLENCE – nationally ranked among top online degree-granting universities by Online Education Database and repeatedly rated for “best buy” programs by GetEducated.com
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“ I transferred to UIU because it has a more personal environment than many other schools and I can be more one-onone with professors and my advisor. The two-at-a-time class schedule gives me a healthy balance of class, athletics, and other extracurriculars.”
1/5/2011 9:13:01 AM
stUdent FocUsed – graduating students with less debt than any other private institution in Iowa excellent FacIlItIes – completing $75 million in Phase I construction of classrooms, residence halls, and a student center globally avaIlable – offering degrees through 16 U.S. educational centers and 3 international locations onlIne excellence – nationally ranked among top online degree-granting universities by Online Education Database and repeatedly rated for “best buy” programs by GetEducated.com
Kirby Hovden, ‘12 West Union, IA
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