YEAR IN REVIEW OCTOBER THRU DECEMBER 2016
High School volleyball Mt. Pleasant ends the year with a 15-16 overall mark and 4-4 in the conference, finishing 3rd in the league race. Ft. Madison won the Southeast Conference title with 8-0 record.
6th ranked Class 1A Holy Trinity Catholic won their 76th consecutive Southern Division match and 9th straight title in the S.E. Iowa Super Conference, beating Burlington Notre Dame on their home court 3 games to 1 last night.
The Southeast Conference Cross Country meet was held at Fairfield. The Mt. Pleasant varsity girls were third with 60 points. Fort Madison was the girls champion with 27 points. Second place was Fairfield with 55 points. Washington was 4th with 72 points. Sierra Howardson of Ft. Madison won individual honors in a time of 18:31.
Individual Panther Results:
5th Abby Ryon 19:40 (first time in the 19’s)
11th Kelsey Notestein
12th Delaney McDowell
14th Taylor Murray
17th Claire Holtkamp
24th Kendall Dascher
25th Aurora Vansickel
MPHS girl’s JV results: 9th Liz Perry, 16th Abby Smith
The #3 ranked MPHS boys’ cross country team won the Southeast Conference title once again. The Panthers just missed a perfect score when they ended up with a 16 score, one off of perfect. #1 ranked Logan Murray led the Panthers to the championship finishing 1st in a time of 15:48, Cody Mertens was 2nd 16:06, Kyle Vanderham 3rd, Ryan Hutchison 4th and Jonathan Ita 6th, Dalton Krum was 7th and Ben Zihlman 12th.
JV boy’s results had Mt. Pleasant dominate also putting up a score of 16.
1st in a time of 18:28 Dalton Moyle, other Panther finishes:
2nd Alec Gardner, 3rd Jacob Alanis, 4th Jacob Holtkamp and 6th Joey Holtkamp
The Iowa Wesleyan men’s golf team won two tournaments during the fall season, they finished 1st at the Waldrof Invitational and the Iowa Wesleyan Invitational.
The Iowa Wesleyan women’s team finished last in all of their fall meets.
The MP Middle School Cross Country teams competed in the Conference meet held at Waterworks Park in Fairfield. Although no team scores were kept, the teams had a super finish to their season! The girls were led by Crisitna Carthey’s 5th place finish in 13:30, followed by Kenna Lamm(11), Anna Ostby(13), Jessi Andrew(19), and Marie Sitar(20).
The Boys were led by Drake Snavely’s 11th place finish in 12:39 for the 2 mile course. The rest of the top 5 consisted of Nathan McWilliams(19), Heath Brooks(22), Logan Lee(28), and Luke Ryon(44).
Mount Pleasant finished 2nd in the State Qualifying cross country meet at Pella. Grinnell won the team title with a 42 score, MPHS had 65 and Pella was 3rd at 66. Those 3 teams and the top 15 individuals advance onto the State Meet in Ft. Dodge October 29th. Here are the Panther results.
1 Logan Murray, Sr 16:15.1
6 Cody Mertens, So 16:41.3
14 Kyle Vanderham, Jr 17:04.5
18 Ryan Hutchinson, Sr 17:20.5
26 Dalton Krum, Sr 17:46.5
30 Adam Bodenham, Sr 17:54.7
35 Jonathan Ita, Jr 18:06.8
The MPHS girl’s cross country team finished 7th with a 177 score, Pella won with 56, Ft. Madison finished 4th with 95 points. Panther freshman Abby Ryon finished 9th and goes to state, Siera Howardson and Bret Schneider of Ft. Madison finished 1st and 2nd.
Here are the MPHS times and places:
9 Abby Ryon, Fr 19:55.9
32 Taylor Murray, Jr 21:53.9
36 Kelsey Notestein, So 21:59.4
45 Claire Holtkamp, Fr 22:23.9
55 Aurora Vansickel, Fr 23:03.2
58 Kendall Dascher, Fr 23:11.1
59 Delaney McDowell, Jr 23:13.4
Gavin Bencze of Winfield Mt. Union finished 4th in the class 1A qualifier at Cedar Rapids and qualified for state again. Also Danville-New London’s Darien Pidgeon and Alyssa Pfadenhauer qualified for state along with Allison Renfro of Mediapolis.
The Keokuk Chiefs handed the Mt. Pleasant Panthers a 49-28 loss at Keokuk to end the 2016 season for both teams. Mt. Pleasant ends the year 3-6 overall and 2-5 in the district where they finished in a tie for 6th with West Burlington in the standings.
Oskaloosa beat Mt. Pleasant in a 3 set sweep to put an end to their 2016 varsity volleyball season in the semi finals of the Regional. M.P. ended the year 17-15.
Mt. Pleasant has had 3 cheerleaders named to the All State Cheerleading Squad that will perform at the Boys State Basketball Tournament in Des Moines in March. Allison Buckert, Qian Qian Ye and Katie Ensminger were selected for this years squad. Also making the squad was Kilie Akers – Mediapolis. Tryouts were held in October. Candidates are judged on their motions, jumps, dance ability, and gymnastics.. A choreographer is hired and the team practices on 6 different Sundays from January to March. During the IHSAA Boys State Basketball Tournament, the team comes together and performs during half time of three of the Friday games. The last performance is during the 1A final
The 1967 Mediapolis High School State Champion girl’s basketball team is going to be honored at the 2017 Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Basketball Tourney. It has been 50 years since the Bullettes 1967 team defeated South Hamilton 51-35 to win the state title. Each member of the team will be recognized on March 4th at halftime of the Class 4A Championship game that begins at 6 p.m. The team was coached by the late Vernon “Bud” McLearn.
The Mt. Pleasant High School boys cross country team finished 9th in the Class 3A division at the state meet in Ft. Dodge scoring 208 points. Mt. Vernon-Lisbon won the class with an 86 score. Logan Murray finished in 7th place, Cody Mertens was 16th, Kyle Vanderham and Ryan Hutchison finished 75th and 76th, Adam Bodenham was 102nd.
Abby Ryon of the Mt. Pleasant girls team finished 39th.
The Iowa Wesleyan women’s soccer team finished their season 0-16-1 overall and 0-8-1 in SLIAC play. This season, Iowa Wesleyan was led in scoring by Cecily Herby (SR/Bartlett, IL), Cailtin O’Neill ended the season with 202 saves in 14 games in the net for the Tigers.
Iowa Wesleyan men’s soccer team ended the season with an overall record of 5-14-1 and a SLIAC record of 2-7.
Iowa Wesleyan’s five wins this season were the most wins by the team in the last three years. Juan Carlos Franco led the team with 12 points on the year. He finished the season with five goals and two assists. Elijah Perez led the Tiger goalies in saves this season. He finished the year with 70 saves and a 2-7 record.
Iowa Wesleyan’s volleyball team finished their season with two seniors who wrapped up their season in the top of several categories in the SLIAC leader boards. Maggie Earney was fifth in the SLIAC with 6.74 assists per set. Cierra Howard ended the regular season with 6.14 digs per set to lead the SLIAC and tied for first with 639 total digs. The Tigers ended the season with an overall record of 6-25 and a 5-13 conference record.
The Southeast Conference volleyball coaches named the all-conference teams for the 2016 season. Mt. Pleasant had 1 first team all conference selection, senior Abbie Liechty. Ashlee Menke made 2nd team all-conference for the Panthers. Panther players making honorable mention were: Mikayla Beason, Dani Broeker, Sarah Moffett, Jackie Fraise, Kirsten Smith and Lena Henriksen. MPHS players being honored with Academic All-Conference honors: Mikayla Beason, Sopia Situmeang, Dani Broeker, Jackie Fraise, Ashlee Menke, Kirsten Smith, Lena Henriksen, Genna Kristoforo, Sarah Moffett, Emma Overton and Abbie Liechty. Player of the Year honors went to Ft. Madison’s Amber Dilsaver.
Congratulations to the Mt. Pleasant High School competition cheer squad on a 2nd place team finish and a 1st place in stunt group at the 2016 State Championships held in Des Moines.
Iowa Wesleyan football team wrapped up their year with a 3-6 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference record and 3-7 overall mark.
The Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has announced their women’s soccer All-Conference awards for the 2016 season. The Iowa Wesleyan women’s soccer team and one member of the team received All-Conference awards. The team received the SLIAC Team Sportsmanship Award. This was the second year in a row the Tigers earned the award from the SLIAC. The award was created in 2005 to recognize the team, whose players, coaches, and fans exhibit the principles of good sportsmanship. Cecily Herby (SR/Bartlett, IL) also received an All-Conference award for this season. She was named to the SLIAC All-Sportsmanship team.
The 2016 SLIAC men’s soccer All-Conference honors were announced. This season, Iowa Wesleyan had two players receive awards. Jonathon Amador (JR/Lexington, NE) earned SLIAC Third Team All-Conference Midfielder honors in his debut season with the Tigers. Maxwell Trautmann (JR/Burbank, CA) was the second Tiger to receive All-Conference honors. Trautmann was named to the SLIAC All-Sportsmanship team.
The 2016 SLIAC volleyball All-Conference awards were announced. Iowa Wesleyan had two members receive recognition for their play this season. Cierra Howard (SR/Bellevue, NE) was named Third Team All-Conference after anchoring the Tiger defense this season. Howard led the SLIAC in digs per set with 6.14 and tied for first in total digs with 639 digs on the year. She passed the 2,000 career dig mark to extend her record from last year. Maggie Earney (SR/Whiteny, NE) was the final member of the Iowa Wesleyan volleyball team to receive All-Conference honors. Earney was named to the SLIAC All-Sportsmanship team.
PLEASANT HIGH SCHOOL HAD A NUMBER OF PLAYERS GET ALL DISTRICT RECOGNITION.
Pat Canby 12 Mt. Pleasant RB/LB
Tyler Davis 12 Mt. Pleasant OL/LB
Zac Ebeling 12 Mt.Pleasant RB/LB
2ND TEAM ALL DISTRICT
Dalton Bass 11 Mt. Pleasant OL/DL
Kieran Kohorst 11 Mt. Pleasant TE/DE
Jordan Magnani 11 Mt. Pleasant WR/DB
Brody McGhghy 11 Mt. Pleasant RB/DB
ALL DISTRICT ACADEMIC
Garin Crane 11 Mt. Pleasant OL/DL
Jacob Crooks 12 Mt. Pleasant OL/DL
Tyler Davis 12 Mt. Pleasant OL/LB
Kieran Kohorst 11 Mt. Pleasant WR/DE
Jake Lowe 11 Mt. Pleasant WR/DB
Jordan Magnani 11 Mt. Pleasant WR/DB
Brody McGhghy 11 Mt. Pleasant RB/DB
Colin Mulford 11 Mt. Pleasant WR/LB
Caleb Potts 11 Mt. Pleasant RB/LB
Colby Potts 11 Mt. Pleasant WR/DE
Tanner Ruby 11 Mt. Pleasant WR/DB/K
Nicholas Steffens 11 Mt. Pleasant OL/DL
Luke Van Nyhuis 11 Mt. Pleasant DL/DE
Thad Williams 12 Mt. Pleasant OL/DL
Alex Wilson 12 Mt. Pleasant OL/DL
Brock Wilson 12 Mt. Pleasant OL/DL
The MPHS football team held their awards banquet and special awards were given to: Pat Canby was the team MVP and one thousand yard award winner for rushing to 1007 yards, Tyler Davis was named the Outstanding Lineman and Defensive player, Dalton Bass got the Brother hood award, Reece McNamee the Panther award and Gavin Crane the Sportsmanship award.
2015 Boys Cross Country Awards
MVP – Logan Murray
Most Improved – Cody Mertens
Panther – Ben Zihlman
Most Potential – Dalton Moyle
Most Potential – Alec Gardner
A Mt. Pleasant Panther cross country runner has made academic all-state for boy’s cross country. Adam Bodenham a two time state meet qualifier for MPHS was selected for the honor after meeting some stiff criteria. Must be a senior, 3.8 or higher cumulative grade point average, A cumulative score of 28 or higher on the ACT, A State Coed Meet qualifier or finish in the top thirty(30) at a State Qualifying Meet during the year of application.
Mt. Pleasant High School senior softball standout Bailey Johnson signed a national letter of intent to attend Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall, Minnesota Wednesday afternoon. Bailey had a phenomenal junior season. The Panthers had a 28-10 record overall. Bailey had a record setting year at the plate, 500 batting average, 14 doubles, 2 triples, 15 homeruns and 69 RBI’s. Her pitching stats were strong also, 16-2 record, 2.45 ERA and struck out 97 batters.
The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference released their 2016 Football All-Conference awards. Iowa Wesleyan had four members earning All-Conference.
Jeremy Gomez was the lone Tiger to be named to the UMAC First Team All-Conference Offense. Gomez led the conference with 910 yards receiving and 56 receptions. He averaged 91.0 yards per game and finished the season with 13 touchdown receptions, which was fourth in the UMAC in scoring.
Raul Alvarez earned UMAC Second Team All-Conference Offense honors in his debut season with the Tigers. Alvarez led the UMAC with 190 completions for 2,223 total yards. This season, he averaged 222.3 yards per game and threw for 19 touchdowns.
Andrew Terrell-Rodriguez was recognized for his play at the linebacker position this season. He was fourth in the conference with 78 tackles, with an average of 8.7 tackles per game. Terrell-Rodriguez also had five sacks for the Tigers this season.
Darryl Smith was the final member of the Tigers to receive All-Conference honors. He was named UMAC Second Team All-Conference Defense at the defensive back position. He finished fifth in the UMAC leader boards with four interceptions on the year. Smith also recorded 47 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for a loss of 26 yards. On special teams for the Tigers, Smith led the team with four blocked kicks.
The Tigers finished the year with a 3-7 overall record and went 3-6 in UMAC play this year.
The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has released their Fall All-Academic Team honors for 2016. There were a total of 181 student-athletes from the ten SLIAC schools who earned All-Academic Team honors, which was an increase from last year’s total. Iowa Wesleyan had 13 student-athletes receive the award this season.
In order to receive SLIAC All-Academic honors, student-athletes must have a 3.5 cumulative grade point average, be at least a sophomore in academic standing, and must have been enrolled at the institution for at least one year.
Iowa Wesleyan had seven members from the volleyball team and six members from the women’s soccer team that were represented on the SLIAC All-Academic Team. Below, you can find the list of student-athletes that were recognized from Iowa Wesleyan.
Player
Sport
Yr.
Hometown
Major
McKenzie Bollock
Volleyball
So.
Rockford, Ill.
Exercise Science
Allegra Collette
Volleyball
So.
Thornton, Col.
Exercise Science/Business
Maggie Earney
Volleyball
Sr.
Whitney, Neb.
Exercise Science
Kara Gillis
Volleyball
So.
Lampasas, Texas
Pre-Medical
Cecily Herby
Women’s Soccer
Sr.
Bartlett, Ill.
Psychology
Andrianna Howard
Volleyball
So.
Whiting, Ind.
Business Administration
Nijole Laverd
Women’s Soccer
So.
Arlington Heights, Ill.
Nursing
Caitlin O’Neill
Women’s Soccer
Sr.
Princeton, Iowa
Nursing
Skylar Rodgers
Women’s Soccer
Sr.
Maryland Heights, Mo.
Elementary Education
Cassandra Schwamborn
Volleyball
So.
Montebello, Calif.
Nursing
Ariel Smale
Volleyball
So.
Guntersville, Ala.
Exercise Science
Kassie Vazquez
Women’s Soccer
Sr.
Ainsworth, Iowa
Nursing
Aagust Watkins
Women’s Soccer
Sr.
Sedalia, Mo.
Nursing
Central College of Pella hosted the Dutch Holiday Preview Indoor Track meet. Logan Mulford former Mt. Pleasant Panther placed 1st in the high jump with a 6′ 11.5″ jump, setting a new meet record! Mulford is in his senior year.
The United States Collegiate Athletic Association released the 2016 All-USCAA Football Team. Iowa Wesleyan Tiger football team had ten members make the list. IW had three players earn first team honors and seven players received second team honors.
Name Class Position Hometown USCAA Team Honors
Raul Alvarez Senior Quarterback Visalia, CA First Team
Jeremy Gomez Senior Wide Receiver Dinuba, CA Second Team
Rudy Amezcua Junior Wide Receiver Greenfield, CA Second Team
Aaron Wynn Senior Offensive Line Sun City, CA Second Team
Steven Gipson Senior Offensive Line New Boston, IL Second Team
Larry (Tre) Torbert Freshman Defensive Line Opelika, AL Second Team
Undra Coverson Freshman Defensive Line Macon, GA Second Team
Andrew Terrell-Rodriguez Senior Linebacker Jonesboro, GA First Team
Jaiya Garcia Junior Defensive Back Brentwood, CA First Team
Darryl Smith Senior Defensive Back Florissant, MO Second Team
The following area coaches were presented awards at the Iowa Association of Track Coaches fall banquet:
Corey Lamm – West Burlington-Notre Dame(former Mount Pleasant grad. and coach) – 2A Track Coach of the Year(only recipient – top honor)
Denny White – Mount Pleasant – Officials Hall of Fame
Mitch Anderson – Mount Pleasant – 3A Track Coach of the Year (At Large – 1 of 5 recipients)
Daryl Shy – Mount Pleasant – Track Assistant of the Year
WACO Head Boys Track Coach Shannon
Rugg was named as one of the 2016 Class 1A At-Large Coaches of the Year. Rugg, a WACO alumni finished his 20th year leading the Boys Track team. In those 20 years Coach Rugg has led many Boys teams and athletes to Iowa State Track Meet competitions.
Alijah Beatty (Washington, Iowa) signed on as a new student-athlete with Marian University Cycling over the weekend. Beatty will study nursing as she represents the Knights racing road, track, and cyclocross. Beatty will join the team in the fall of 2017, as she is graduating from Iowa Mennonite School in the spring.
The Iowa Wesleyan men’s basketball team is 7-4 overall as they take the holiday break. They will return to action on January 4, 2017. The Tigers will host Webster University in a SLIAC matchup at Ruble Arena. The game is set to tipoff at 8 pm following the women’s game. The Tiger men are in a 3 way tie for 1st place in the SLIAC heading into the 2nd half of the season.
Iowa Wesleyan’s women’s team is 3-7 overall and 2-1 in the SLIAC tied for 3rd place at the holiday break, their next game will be on December 31, 2016. They will travel to Kirksville, Missouri to take on Truman State University in an exhibition contest at 1:30 pm.
The Mt. Pleasant High School girl’s basketball team has an overall record of 3-4 and are 0-2 in the conference. They will open up the 2017 part of their schedule with a game at Solon on Monday January 2nd.
The MPHS boys are 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference, their next game is January 3rd at home against Iowa city High.
The MPHS wrestling team has an impressive 12-1 dual meet record at the holiday break. At this time no Panthers are ranked at their respective weight classes.