![]() Timberwolf boys shut out Clarke 9-0
Southwest Valley’s varsity tennis teams took on Clarke, a program that always produces competitive squads for both boys and girls, on April 25. The boys were able to shut out host Clarke, 9-0, but the visiting Clarke girls were able to earn an 8-1 victory. “Clarke always competes well,” Southwest Valley head coach Steve McGrew said. “Jeff Ehrhardt is a legendary veteran coach who is great with strategy. I respect this coach so much. The boys have won all three times over Clarke in my time at Southwest Valley, but it has always been a battle. We felt like we had a shot to pull off an upset on the girls’ side if everything went perfectly for us. But, in the end, Clarke’s girls had just a little too much offensive capability. They played the no-ad scoring deuce points well. We got some of those games, but they got more. An 8-1 score seems dominant, but we had so many close matches. Unfortunately, we only won one of those matches.” Boys Results for the varsity boys (all Southwest Valley wins) are as follow: Singles: 1) Evan Timmerman beat RJ McCoy, 10-0; 2) Owen Paul over JD Sitzman, 11-9; 3) Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird over Aydan Dinham, 11-10 (7-1); 4) Logan Westlake beat Nathaniel Rowe, 10-2; 5) Parker Boswell defeated Casey Wade, 10-6; 6) Matthew Means over Bryce Johnson, 10-8. Doubles: 1) Timmerman/Paul over McCoy/Sitzman, 10-2; 2) Goodvin-Kinnaird/ Westlake beat Dinham/Rowe, 10-6; 3) Boswell/Means over Wade/Jonathan Galvez, 10-7. “I was so happy to see Paul get a win at two singles,” McGrew said. “He had to play two outstanding number two players from Glenwood and Maryville and played well despite not getting many games. I knew he had a shot in this one since he lost to McCoy, 9-7, last season, and was playing a player one notch below McCoy from last season. Brent Mullen, my assistant coach, said Paul was down early in the match and made a great comeback. Speaking of down early, Mullen said the biggest comeback came from Means who trailed 6-1 after the first seven games.” McGrew said Mullen felt Timmerman and Westlake used sheer consistency to dominate their matches, while Parker Boswell used great angles to notch his singles win. “Coach Mullen said the most dramatic win was by Slate,” McGrew said. “Coach Mullen said Slate was up and down with his level of play in the twenty games that led to the tie-breaker, but was totally zoned in during the tie-breaker, coming up with an increased level of the play at just the right time.” Mullen said he was happy with the team’s doubles play also. “We want to keep being purposeful with our returns of serve in doubles, and Coach Mullen said he saw progress in this area,” said McGrew, who saw the varsity boys improve to 4-3 in duals. Girls Results for the varsity girls (C = Clarke and SWV = Southwest Valley) are as follow: Singles: 1) Maddy McCoy (C) beat Charlee Larsen, 8-6; 2) Ava Hagen (C) over Anjali Kathikar, 8-4; 3) Korynna Olson (C) beat Ryanne Mullen, 8-6; 4) Molly Sickels (C) beat Karissa Richey, 8-5; 5) Maisy McCoy (C) defeated Maddie Bevington, 8-5; 6) Natalia Zimmerman (SWV) beat Marissa Bakley, 8-5. Doubles: 1) Maddy McCoy/Hagen (C) beat Larsen/Mullen, 8-2; 2) Olson/Sickels (C) defeated Kathikar/Bevington, 9-8 (7-3); 3) Maisy McCoy/Bakley (C) over Richey/Zimmerman, 9-8 (9-7). “Two tie-breaker losses in doubles and two 8-6 losses in singles show how close we were,” McGrew said. “Give Clarke credit. They have two seniors and three juniors. Three of them were varsity players last season and two were top JV players, so they have plenty of experience. Clarke went 12-1 last season and moved to 6-1 this year. If you do the math, they have won 90 percent of their last 20 duals. They are tough customers, but we battled them tight, which shows the progress our girls’ program has made.” McGrew said Larsen really put together a great run of four games to erase a 5-2 deficit and take a 6-5 lead in singles. “In the 3-5 game, she made a great closing volley at the net, on a no-ad deuce point, to pull to 4-5,” McGrew said. “She made a nice passing shot, with Maddy McCoy crowding the net, to tie the score at 5-5, and then had some big serves in the next game that gave her the lead. But then give full credit to McCoy in the last three games. I think she had only one unforced error in the last three games.” Zimmerman got the win for Southwest Valley. “Once again, Zimmerman showed her trademark composure and court awareness,” McGrew said. “She moved Bakley around quite a bit and hit the ball past her deep when Bakley got caught in the mid-court area. Natalia really returns well too. She was able to hit a number of second-serve returns right into the baseline corners, including a huge forehand into the corner on a no-ad deuce point that put her up 5-2. Winning that game gave her confidence that she could get to the finish line, so to speak, against a really solid number six player.” McGrew said Richey came up on the short end of multiple deuce games, while Assistant Coach Micayla Taylor said the same was true with Mullen and Bevington in their singles matches. Timberwolves break records at Creston
Southwest Valley boys track and field team took advantage of a pleasant night April 10 at Creston High School to break records. Marshall Knapp set a new school record in the high jump, smashing his record from last season clearing the bar at 6 feet, 6-1/2 inches. That leap set a new school record, set a new PR, earned a first place finish, and qualified him for the Drake relays. "It was a good night," said Marshall. "I set my PR here last year and I just felt good and had lots of confidence jumping here." Gavin Wetzell placed third in the high jump, crossing safely at 5'-8". In the other field events, Theron Mullen earned third in the shot put with a 42'-6" throw. He also placed in the discus throw, measuring 106'-1". Cael Hogan set his PR in the long jump, landing a 16'-10" leap to earn a third place medal. In the running events, the 'Wolves started the night out right with a second place finish in the sprint medley. Cael Hogan, Wyatt Mendenhall, KC Sitzman and Riley Hartman had a season best time of 1:48.52. The 4x800 team, running for the first time this season, crossed the line in 10:07.30. That team consisted of Devin Greenwalt, Evan Fast, Brandon Cox, and Cael Hogan. The shuttle hurdle team of Hartman, Ian Brown, Evan Pearson, and Mendenhall earned a silver medal with their clocking a 1:09.70. KC Sitzman earned a fourth place finish in the 100 meter dash. In the 400 meter dash, Mendenahall ran a season best of 56.33 to earn third place and Greenwalt placed sixth in 59.47. The 4x200 crew (Wetzel, Hartman, Pearson and Hogan) placed third with a time of 1:44.00. Pearson and Brown each earned points for the Timberwolves. Pearson finished third in 18.48 and Brown fifth in 18.76. Sitzman earned a silver medal breaking the barrier in 24.61. Wetzel earned a bronze medal in the 400 meter hurdles. Cox placed fifth in the 1600 meter run. “Once again, I was very happy with the effort the boys put in tonight. Many of them were running in events that they had never participated in,” head coach Jerry Hartman said. “Several stepped up and filled in spots when we had scratches. I am looking forward to seeing where we will end up. We will travel to Clarke (Osceola) on Thursday. A couple days of practice will hopefully raise the bar just a bit more.” It was a tougher night for the Southwest Valley Timberwolves as they traveled April 13 to Clarke Osceola. Competing in the larger class, the points were hard to come by. There were some highlights however. The 4x100 relay team of Theron Mullen, Isaac Currin, KC Stizman and Wyatt Mendenhall earned a silver medal, crossing the tape in a season best time of 48.48. Mullen also earned a fifth place medal with his shot put throw of 42-05.00. Earning points for the T-Wolves were Gavin Wetzel in the high jump, clearing 5-04.00 for a sixth place finish. Ian Brown also contributed a point with his sixth place finish in the 110 meter high hurdles. Finishing with season best measurements in the long jump were Isaac Currin (16-07.00) and Evan Fast (16-00.50). Ashton Boswell also set a personal record in the 1600 meter run with a 6:42.50. “We tried out several different combinations just to see what some kids could do,” Hartman said. “There were some surprises and a few disappointments, but it was a good learning experience for the guys. We will look to bounce back next week with competitions at Lenox and then we will put on a great show for the home crowd on Thursday. With a few injuries tonight, we hope the weekend will let us heal up a bit and come back strong next week. ![]() SWV sophomore breaks shot record
The Timberwolves girls track team travelled April 13 to Shenandoah for the Fillies Relays ay for their third meet of the week. Competing in a 13-team field, the Timberwolves scored 45 points to finish sixth overall. The night started off with a new school record by Mackenzie Richards (SO) in the shot put. “Mackenzie had a monster throw of 36-3.75 to finish second, while breaking the old record of 35-5 set in 2019,” head coach Jason Hults said. “Mack's best throw this season had been 34-8, so this was a huge night for her. Coach Bissell has been doing a great job with all our throwers, and we are both very proud and excited for Mackenzie.” Continuing on the throws, Sam Davies (JR) threw a new PR in discus of 87-0 to take sixth. Julia Means (SR) had a new PR in shot put of 25-8.25 to take third in JV. Richards also threw JV discus and got sixth. In the jumps, Emma Cooper (JR) posted a season best 16-5 to finish third. “Emma had three of her four jumps over 16 foot tonight, so her consistency this season has been a huge improvement,” Hults said. Ada Lund (FR) finished fourth in high jump at 4-6. In the running events, the Timberwolves were led by Cooper with a first place finish in the 100 meter and a third in the 200 meter. The 4x800 relay with Emily Adams (SR), Carly Green (JR), Kya Newton (JR), and Oakley Benge (FR) placed fifth and the 4x400 relay of Adams, Haidyn Top (JR), Lund, and Green both brought home a fourth place medal. Sierra Pearson (JR) earned a sixth place medal in 100 meter hurdles. Other points came from the shuttle hurdle team in sixth place with Paighton Buffington (SR), Alyssa Randall (JR), Alyssa Pearson (FR), and S. Pearson. Also finishing in sixth place was the 4x100 team of Lund, Hailey Randall (FR), A. Pearson, and Cooper and the distance medley team of Lund, A. Pearson, Green, and Top. The Timberwolves travelled April 11 to the Lenox Co-Ed track meet their second meet in as many days. Running a light schedule after competing April 10 in Creston, the girls ended the night in third place overall with 73 points overall. “I was very impressed with the effort tonight from our girls,” Hults said. “We ran hard last night and I tried to take it easy on the girls and try some new events and new relay combinations tonight. The ladies stepped up and ran hard. We saw some great new PRs and some season bests in the events we do consistently, but I also saw some great effort and positive results in other events that were new combinations tonight.” The Timberwolves started the night off with another set of strong performances in the field events, scoring 30 points. Richards won the shot put for the second night in a row with a season best throw of 34-8.5. Cooper won the long jump with a season best leap of 16-4.5. Davies grabbed second place in the discus with a throw of 84-10. Lund took sixth in high jump and A. Pearson added a sixth in long jump. In the running events, the Timberwolves tried a lot of new things, and some were more successful than others. The 4x200 team found gold with Lund, Hailey Randall, A. Pearson, and Cooper with a 2:01.7. The 4x100 got a second place silver with Maddie McCoy, Kenzie Maeder, Katey Lillie, and Buffington. The shuttle hurdle team of Buffington, Alyssa Randall, A. Pearson, and Sierra Pearson won bronze, as did the 4x400 team of Lillie, Copper, Lund, and Benge. S. Pearson in the 100 meter hurdles and H. Randall in the 400 meter hurdles both earned fourth place. The sprint medley team of Lillie, Maeder, Green and Victoria Fletchall won fifth place. Green gained a sixth in the 400 meter and Buffington added a sixth in the 100 meter hurdles. The Timberwolves girls team put up 70 points to finish fifth overall April 10 in the six-team field in Creston. The girls did have a number of season bests and personal records to show continued improvement on the season. Leading the medalists was Richards with a throw of 34-0 to win the shot put. Cooper brought home three medals on the night with second place finishes in long jump and the 100 meter and a third place in the 200 meter. Lund won the third place medal in high jump. The shuttle hurdle team of Buffington, A. Randall, A. Pearson, and S. Pearson ran a season best time to take third. Creston only gave medals up to third place, but other point scoring events for the Timberwolves included fourth place finishes from the 4x100 team of Lund, H. Randall, A. Pearson, and Cooper with a new season best time; the 4x400 team of S. Pearson, Benge, Adams, and Green; and the 4x800 with Adams, Andraya Dimmler (JR), Top, and Green. The Timberwolves also scored fifth place finishes from S. Davies in discus; the distance medley team of McCoy, Lillie, Adams, and Benge; Top in the 400 meter; the 4x200 team of A. Pearson, A. Randall, Maeder, and Benge; and S. Pearson in the 100 meter hurdles. Gaining points for sixth place finishes were Dimmler in high jump; sprint medley team of McCoy, Maeder, H. Randall, and Benge; H. Randall in the 400 meter; and Newton in the 3000 meter. “Overall, I thought the girls competed very well against the bigger schools that were there,” Hults said. “We were in third place overall for the majority of the meet and the level of competition really had the girls going out and working hard. As of this time, a complete and compiled set of results were not provided by the host school.” The Timberwolves will host their first of two co-ed meets on April 20. Timberwolves break records at Creston
Southwest Valley boys track and field team took advantage of a pleasant night April 10 at Creston High School to break records. Marshall Knapp set a new school record in the high jump, smashing his record from last season clearing the bar at 6 feet, 6-1/2 inches. That leap set a new school record, set a new PR, earned a first place finish, and qualified him for the Drake relays. "It was a good night," said Marshall. "I set my PR here last year and I just felt good and had lots of confidence jumping here." Gavin Wetzell placed third in the high jump, crossing safely at 5'-8". In the other field events, Theron Mullen earned third in the shot put with a 42'-6" throw. He also placed in the discus throw, measuring 106'-1". Cael Hogan set his PR in the long jump, landing a 16'-10" leap to earn a third place medal. In the running events, the 'Wolves started the night out right with a second place finish in the sprint medley. Cael Hogan, Wyatt Mendenhall, KC Sitzman and Riley Hartman had a season best time of 1:48.52. The 4x800 team, running for the first time this season, crossed the line in 10:07.30. That team consisted of Devin Greenwalt, Evan Fast, Brandon Cox, and Cael Hogan. The shuttle hurdle team of Hartman, Ian Brown, Evan Pearson, and Mendenhall earned a silver medal with their clocking a 1:09.70. KC Sitzman earned a fourth place finish in the 100 meter dash. In the 400 meter dash, Mendenahall ran a season best of 56.33 to earn third place and Greenwalt placed sixth in 59.47. The 4x200 crew (Wetzel, Hartman, Pearson and Hogan) placed third with a time of 1:44.00. Pearson and Brown each earned points for the Timberwolves. Pearson finished third in 18.48 and Brown fifth in 18.76. Sitzman earned a silver medal breaking the barrier in 24.61. Wetzel earned a bronze medal in the 400 meter hurdles. Cox placed fifth in the 1600 meter run. “Once again, I was very happy with the effort the boys put in tonight. Many of them were running in events that they had never participated in,” head coach Jerry Hartman said. “Several stepped up and filled in spots when we had scratches. I am looking forward to seeing where we will end up. We will travel to Clarke (Osceola) on Thursday. A couple days of practice will hopefully raise the bar just a bit more.” It was a tougher night for the Southwest Valley Timberwolves as they traveled April 13 to Clarke Osceola. Competing in the larger class, the points were hard to come by. There were some highlights however. The 4x100 relay team of Theron Mullen, Isaac Currin, KC Stizman and Wyatt Mendenhall earned a silver medal, crossing the tape in a season best time of 48.48. Mullen also earned a fifth place medal with his shot put throw of 42-05.00. Earning points for the T-Wolves were Gavin Wetzel in the high jump, clearing 5-04.00 for a sixth place finish. Ian Brown also contributed a point with his sixth place finish in the 110 meter high hurdles. Finishing with season best measurements in the long jump were Isaac Currin (16-07.00) and Evan Fast (16-00.50). Ashton Boswell also set a personal record in the 1600 meter run with a 6:42.50. “We tried out several different combinations just to see what some kids could do,” Hartman said. “There were some surprises and a few disappointments, but it was a good learning experience for the guys. We will look to bounce back next week with competitions at Lenox and then we will put on a great show for the home crowd on Thursday. With a few injuries tonight, we hope the weekend will let us heal up a bit and come back strong next week." ![]() Girls golf team
bests Red Oak The golfing Timberwolves traveled April 10 to Red Oak where the Southwest Valley girls won the meet 212-236. “The weather was perfect for us,” head coach Cindy Drake said. Sophomore Miaya Fourez was medalist for the evening, with a 50. Maggie Haer was runner-up with a 52. Grace Bain shot a 54, Sidney Crill 69, and Kensie Fast 75. Miaya, Maggie, and Grace all improved their scores from our previous meet, on a course that is over 250 yards longer and hillier. The boys’ team (206) placed second to Red Oak (188). Isaac Currin was runner-up for the meet, shooting a 47. Jack Kretzinger (49), Beau Johnston (53), and Miller Means (57) all shot their best scores of the year. Ethan Bruce shot 58, and Paul Douglas came in with 61. The girls team traveled April 13 to Sidney. “The sunshine and warm temps were lovely on Thursday when the girls played, but the excessive and unrelenting wind presented a strong challenge for the girls,” Drake said. The Timberwolves played well in spite of that, finishing in second place (445) behind the perpetually strong Sidney team (407). In a field of 82 golfers, Haer placed ninth overall with a score of 104. Fourez (107) and Becca Wetzel (111) finished just out of the medals, but still within the top 20. Rounding out the team were Bain (122), Crill (134), and Fast (139). The boys’ meet was played April 11, again with warm temps and sunshine, but much less wind. They finished with a team score of 414. Currin led the Timberwolves with a score of 91. Bruce shot 95, Kretzinger 109, Douglas 119, Johnston 124, and Means 129. The Timberwolves travel April 20 to Creston to face Creston and Shenandoah and on April 24 compete in Osceola. ![]() Tiger teams take T-Wolves tennis
Southwest Valley head coach Steve McGrew knew that Red Oak’s varsity tennis teams had veteran experience and would likely be tough foes for both Timberwolf squads on April 13. Such was the case as the host Tiger boys edged visiting Southwest Valley, 6-3, while the Red Oak girls earned an 8-1 road victory. “Obviously you want to win, but we always give a great effort, which is something I am very proud of as it relates to my players,” McGrew said. “After watching the Red Oak girls, it won’t surprise me if they wind up being the second toughest team on our schedule, although St. Albert is right in that conversation as well after a 6-3 win over Shenandoah. Red Oak’s boys have done really well this year. This is definitely the best team they have had since I have coached at Southwest Valley.” Boys — Scores on the varsity boys’ side (RO = Red Oak; SWV = Southwest Valley) are as follow: Singles: 1) Evan Timmerman (SWV) beat Max DeVries, 8-2; 2) Brett Erickson (RO) over Owen Paul, 8-1; 3) Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird (SWV) over Joshua LeRette, 8-5; 4) Braden Woods (RO) beat Logan Westlake, 8-3; 5) Jonah Wemhoff (RO) over Parker Boswell, 8-4; 6) Matthew Means (SWV) beat James Gass, 8-4. Doubles: 1) DeVries/Erickson (RO) over Timmerman/Paul, 8-5; 2) Woods/Wemhoff (RO) over Goodvin-Kinnaird/Westlake, 8-6; 3) LeRette/Gass (RO) beat Boswell/Means, 9-8 (7-3). “I am happy for Matthew getting his first win in singles this season,” McGrew said. “He works hard and tries to get better every time he plays, so it is great that he got the victory. My assistant, Brent Mullen, was with the boys and said Slate really worked hard in the last two games of singles to wrap up that match.” McGrew added that coach Mullen said returning serve was up and down with the Timberwolves, at times, having difficulties getting returns away from net people. “We will continue to shore things up in doubles throughout the season, but obviously the scores in doubles indicate we were in every match,” McGrew said. The varsity boys are now 2-1 in duals. Red Oak had one JV player available, Griffin Eubank. Eubank defeated both Southwest Valley competitors. The Tiger defeated Quaid Eddy, 8-5, and Lucas James, 8-2. Girls — Results on the varsity girls’ side (RO = Red Oak; SWV = Southwest Valley) are as follow: Singles: 1) Tessa Rolenc (RO) over Charlee Larsen, 8-3; 2) Merced Ramirez (RO) beat Anjali Kathikar, 8-1; 3) Grace Wingfield (RO) beat Ryanne Mullen, 8-4; 4) Kayden Wingfield (RO) over Karissa Richey, 8-6; 5) Danique Dobbe (RO) defeated Maddie Bevington, 8-3; 6) Natalia Zimmerman (SWV) over Josie Rengstorf, 8-5. Doubles: 1) Rolenc/Ramirez (RO) beat Larsen/Mullen, 8-1; 2) G.Wingfield/K. Wingfield (RO) over Bevington/Kathikar, 8-5; 3) Dobbs/Rengstorf (RO) defeated Richey/Zimmerman, 8-2. “Natalia continues to impress me,” McGrew said. “I felt like six singles would be one of our strongest chances. Natalia used great decision making. She made an effort to attack her opponent with balls in the corners of the court when she had good looks to be aggressive. Other times, she just managed her groundstrokes nicely. This was the first time I have personally seen Richey play since her injury against Shenandoah, and she is moving really well. She served extremely well and was actually dominant in serving with the wind as, sadly, was her opponent. Most of the games won at four were by the player with the wind. Richey was at 4-4 when her opponent reeled off three games, two of which were no-ad scoring deuce games. Down 7-4, Karissa won two lopsided games to get to 7-6, including a serve game at love, but then couldn’t make enough headway against the wind. I didn’t see Mullen and Bevington play singles, but assistant coach Micalya Taylor said both were competitive. These two always dig deep.” Another competitive contest in singles was Larsen’s match, which didn’t look promising at first when the Southwest Valley number one got down 4-0. “But, at that point, she played three fantastic games to pull within a game at 4-3. Rolenc didn’t give her a lot of pace to work with, but Charlee just worked the point, getting a lot of balls in play in the winning games and then finally getting a ball she liked to end points in her favor. Several times, she closed out points with an overhead after long rallies. But then Rolenc really became a backboard. Charlee threw the kitchen sink at her, so to speak, with lobs, drops, and depth, but Rolenc handled it all. She even ran down a great Larsen lob and hit a brilliant groundstroke for a winner in the far corner of the baseline. Ramirez had a different style in her win over Anjali. She hit out, big time, on the serve and groundstrokes. Her power was impressive. She made errors, but the winners were by far more, which means you are going to win a lot with that positive ratio.” In doubles, Rolenc and Ramirez showed why they are returning state qualifiers in Class 1A, but Larsen and Mullen had their moments. “Charlee had a few big serves and volleys, and Ryanne started returning serve very well late, and had some big forehands,” McGrew said. “But it is hard to get games off of two very talented doubles players, who put pressure on you shot after shot.” Two doubles really played well for Southwest Valley, noted McGrew. “Bevington had, as per usual for her, some great moments at the net,” McGrew said. “She had a number of powerful volleys and well-placed overheads. Anjali, for the most part, was solid from the baseline. While the pair won a few no-ad games, they lost several key one’s too. It seemed like, in every game, both teams got to at least 30. It was close all the way through. We just came up a little short.” Due to a track commitment from Ivey Lenz, Southwest Valley’s lone JV performer was Layla Konecne. Red Oak brought 12 JV players, and the host Timberwolves wanted every Tiger to be able to play. “I asked Layla if she would be up for mini best two out of three matches in singles to give everyone a match, and she, with small breaks, was up for it, putting her usual enthusiasm and energy into each match,” McGrew said. “I loved her attitude, and she was able to get one victory, which was her first of the season, which she was very excited about.” Konecne’s results (her score first after each listed opponent) are as follow: Hailey Rydberg (0-2), Sianna Klepinger (1-2), Prashna Bell (1-2), Lauren Dean (0-2), Grace Goldapp (2-0); Marissa Williams (1-2). Audubon is next for Southwest Valley’s teams on April 18. The boys host the Wheelers, while the girls travel to Audubon. Southwest Valley’s varsity tennis teams split with the Clarinda Cardinals in action April 11. The boys traveled to Clarinda and moved to 2-0 in duals with an 8-1 victory, while the host Timberwolves lost to the Cardinals, 9-0, to slip to 2-2 in duals. Southwest Valley’s varsity tennis teams were able to earn a sweep over the Creston Panthers April 10. The boys earned an 8-1 season-opening win at Creston, while the girls improved to 2-1 in duals with a 7-2 home victory. Knapp leads T-Wolves
in Stanton Invitational The Timberwolves boys track team finished strong March 30 in the Stanton Invitational track meet at Griswold. Leading the way for the Timberwolves was Marshall Knapp in the high jump, setting a PR at 6'-4" and taking first place. Gavin Wetzel also scored in the high jump, placing eighth with a 5’-4" clear. Colin Jacobs placed fifth in the discus with a toss of 115-2.5. He also placed seventh in the shot put with a toss of 38-6. Theron Mullen placed fourth in the shot put, topping out at 42-7. In the running events, the sprint medley team of Cael Hogan, Wyatt Mendenhall, KC Sitzman, and Riley Hartman finished in a time of 1:54.65 to place sixth. Sitzman placed sixth in the open 100 meter dash, crossing in 12.82 against a strong southerly wind. The distance medley team of Hogan, Wetzel, Hartman, and Ashton Boswell finished seventh with a time of 4:41.93. The 4x200 relay team of Mendenhall, Evan Fast, Hartman, and Sitzman brought home fifth place, finishing in 1:44.26. The 4x100 garnered a third place medal with its 48.52 timing. “Overall, I was very happy with the effort of all of the boys tonight,” head coach Jerry Hartman said. “I was especially pleased with the long distance guys and their effort against a horribly strong wind. Brandon Cox, Ashton Boswell, and Quaid Eddy were challenged to attack the races more and really stepped up to the challenge. They all had significant reductions in their times and I really feel it is the start of some really good things. I think everyone on the team really stepped up their efforts. It was fun to watch them compete and want to check their split times to see how they had done. Most importantly, they want to be better!” Knapp returned to his winning ways from last season on March 28, besting all those in the high jump, clearing 6’-2” in the Bulldog Relays in Bedford. Once others were eliminated, Knapp went for a Drake Relays qualifying jump of 6'-5", barely missing. “Knapp looks to have a very good season and this start really will help with his confidence,” Hartman said. “Also in the high jump, freshman Gavin Wetzel cleared 5'-6" but lost out on placing due to attempts to clear. With a bit more practice with Coach Kiner, I am confident that he will be scoring in several meets.” Jacobs placed third in the discus with a toss of 118-0. In the shot, Mullen took third with a toss of 41-6 and Jacobs was fifth with a 38-9-1/4 throw. “Coach Jennifer Bissell is doing a great job of working on their mechanics and is showing,” Hartman said. In the running events, the sprint medley team of Devin Greenwalt, Ely Rodriguez, Sitzman, and Hartman placed fifth with a time of 1:50.16. Knapp placed fourth in the 100 meter dash with a 12.46. Greenwalt also finished third place in the 400 meter dash, crossing in 58.70. The 4x200 team of Wetzel, Evan Fast, Rodriguez, and Sitzman took fourth in a time of 1:43.31. Wyatt Mendenhall garnered a sixth place finish in the open 200 with a 25.85 clocking. The 4x100 team of Mullen, Hartman, Isaac Currin, and Stizman placed a respectable third with a 50.92 time. In the last race of the night, SWV's 4x400 team placed fifth with a time of 4:00.71. Evan Fast, Evan Pearson, Cale Hogan, and Mendenhall made up that group. “Overall, I was very pleased with the effort of all the guys,” Hartman said. “They have been working hard in practices and have focused on what needed to be done. Now that we have a meet under our belts, we know what we need to work on to improve. I am very excited to see where this team can go if they continue their efforts.” ![]() Area wrestlers place
in Midwest Classic Several area wrestlers traveled to Kearney, Neb., April 1-2 to participate in the Midwest Classic National wrestling tournament. The tournament included 1,052 wrestlers from several states including Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, and Iowa. The Southwest Scramblers finished in 40th place out of 237 participating teams. All wrestlers battled through very tough brackets against some of the best competition in the Midwest, assistant coach Derek Maeder. Southwest Valley’s Ady Lundquist placed, Lenox’s Dylan Stein placed second, SWV’s Abby Sparks and Wyatt Shires placed third each, Taelyn Gaunt placed four, Brayden Maeder and Tate Haffner placed seventh each, and Sawyer Wilkinson Placed eighth. SWV’s other wrestlers competing but not placing are Wyatt Wiese, Degan Farewell, Carson Cooper, Brody Sparks, Brody Crozier, and Ian Forsythe. SWV golfers contend
with wind March is going out like a lion this year, and March 30 was no exception. Playing in wind that gusted to 25 mph, the Southwest Valley golf team had its first meet of the year, playing at Anita in a triangular meet versus Essex and CAM. “Due to injury, scheduling conflicts, and etc., we were not able to field full teams,” head coach Cindy Drake said. “That did not stop our players from playing hard in challenging conditions. Spring is a time when most golf swings show a bit of rust. It’s to be expected at this time of year. That did not stop our players. With very few outdoor practice sessions under their belts, they went out and played quite well.” Ethan Bruce represented the Timberwolves with a 49. “Ethan is a dual athlete this year, splitting his practice time between track and golf,” Drake said. “Even so, his swing has very little winter rust on it.” SWV was the only school to field a girls’ team. “Last year’s girls’ team was quite strong, and we have even more girls playing this year,” Drake said. Returning standouts senior Maggie Haer, whose 57 was good for runner-up honors, and sophomore Miaya Fourez (58) led the team. Two freshmen, Sidney Crill (60) and Kensie Fast (74), (playing her first full round of golf) rounded out the team with excellent play from both of them. Upcoming meets are April 6 when SWV hosts Bedford and Fremont Mills and April 10 at Red Oak. SWV girls claim 11th
in Stanton Co-Ed On a warm but windy night in Griswold, the Southwest Valley girls track team scored 48 points to finish seventh overall in the 11 team field March 30 in the Stanton Co-Ed. “We tried some new combinations tonight and didn't run a few events due to girls being gone to a school conference and some injuries, but overall I was very happy with the results and look forward to seeing more improvement from these girls as the season moves forward,” head coach Jason Hults said. Individual medalists for the Timberwolves included freshman Ada Lund with a new personal record in the high jump of 4-10 to finish second place. Sophomore Mackenzie Richards took second in the shot put with a throw of 34-3. Junior Emma Cooper finished third in the long jump with a 15-1.5, and followed that with a third in the 100 meter in a time of 15.05 running into the stiff wind. In the relays, the Timberwolves came away with fifth place medals in three events. The 4x800 team of senior Emily Adams, freshman Oakley Benge, junior Kya Newton, and freshman Hailey Randall ran 13:35.7. The shuttle hurdle relay with senior Paighton Buffington, junior Alyssa Randall, freshman Alyssa Pearson, and junior Sierra Pearson ran 1:22.64. Finally the 4x100 team with Lund, A. Pearson, H. Randall, and Cooper ran a 57.14, “one of the fastest times our girls have posted in the last few years,” Hults said. “Even in the windy conditions we saw some great effort,” Hults said. “The shuttle team and 4x100 both took time off their season best. Sprint medley, distance medley, and 4x200 all ran faster times even though they didn't break into the top 5 to medal. Our throwers had some great new PRs with Sam Davies throwing 31-3.5 in shot for sixth and Mackenzie had a new discus PR. So we are seeing a lot of great things from these girls early in the season. “We were missing five girls, and have not run our full squad yet this season, so I am very excited to see what we can do in the upcoming meets next week at Lenox Co-Ed on Tuesday and Red Oak Girls Invitational on Thursday when we run at full strength,” Hults said. The Timberwolves kicked off their outdoor season March 28 at the Bedford Co-Ed Relays. The girls finished the night in sixth place overall with 41 points. Medalists for the Timberwolves were led by Cooper who tied the meet record in the long jump with a first place jump of 15-10 and a third place finish in the 100 meter with a time of 13.88 seconds. Richards took second in the shot put with a throw of 33-10.5. Lund tied for fourth in the high jump, clearing 4-8. Fifth place medalists for the Timberwolves included Davies in the discus with a throw of 85-5 and sophomore Katey Lillie in the 400 meter hurdles in a time of 1:24.53. “The girls were ready to get out and compete after a month of practice, so it was nice to finally have a track meet,” Hults said. “The weather was definitely cold, which is to be expected in late March, but I felt the girls all did a great job of staying motivated and trying their best in the conditions. We have a lot of new girls on our team this year, so there are some big question marks about where they will fit in the best to help the team overall. But I was very excited about what I saw tonight and the potential these girls have this season.” Timberwolves fall
to Stanton Double-digit scoring by three Timberwolves wasn’t enough for Southwest Valley against Stanton in the first round of Class 1A playoffs. Stanton slipped by for a 70-64 win. Roman Keefe set a SWV game record with eight 3-pointers for 26 points total. Alex Morgan had 18 points and nine rebounds. Cael Hogan scored 13. Stanton’s Evan Gettler had 30 points. Hogan scored 17 points while Miller Means added 9 and Wyatt Mendenhall 7 for a 55-48 win Feb. 7 over Fremont-Mills. The Timberwolves fell 78-41 Feb. 6 to Red Oak. Hogan led the team with 14 points while Roman Keefe had 9. Red Oak’s top scorers were Max Devries with 19 points and Brayden Sifford with 11. SWV girls end season
The Southwest Valley Timberwolves ended their season Feb. 11 with a 56-27 loss at I35 Truro. The Timberwolves only trailed 8-7 after the first quarter and played hard all night but struggled on the offensive end throughout the contest while competing well on the defensive end. Ada Lund scored a team high 8 points with four steals to complete a fine freshman season. Lindsay Maurer ended her senior year strong with 7 points in the contest. Maggie Haer finished her fine career with 6 points and six rebounds. Other Timberwolves in the scoring column were Mackenzie Fast with 3, Ryanne Mullen with 2, and Sadie Groszkrueger with 1. Strong defense was added by Rebecca Wetzel. “I am very honored to coach this team this year,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “They are so respectful, they improved and it is a joy to coach them. I appreciate what our four seniors have done and will miss them. Our juniors, Sierra Pearson and Alyssa Randall, are ultimate team players and I look forward to their leadership next year. Our 13 underclassmen have all received valuable experience and made positive contributions. We won seven games and were in so many more. Our future is really bright at Southwest Valley and proud of all the girls.” “I appreciate all the girls hard work and dedication this season. They are very coachable and I really enjoyed this experience,” Coach Kristin Fast said. Fast and Cormack said the look forward to working with the team in the off season when those opportunities come later in the year. “Great job team and let’s keep taking steps forward next season,” Cormack said. “Go Timberwolves!” Pride of Iowa’s Southwest Valley went on the road and defeated Red Oak from the Hawkeye Ten 53-47 in varsity action Feb. 6. Haer poured in 16 points for the Timberwolves with nine rebounds and six steals in a great all-around game. Ada Lund also played well all over the court with 13 points, eight rebounds and seven steals. In all, the Timberwolves had 18 steals in the non-conference contest. Wetzel had nine rebounds and chipped in 5 points for Southwest Valley. Other Timberwolves in the scoring column were Maddie Bevington with 6, Fast with 5, Hailey Randall with 4 as well as a bucket apiece for Alyssa Randall and Lindsay Maurer. Sierra Pearson got two rebounds in her action and Maurer has three straight games where she drew a charge. “We have been in so many close and competitive games. We went 1-2 last week in 12 quarters of basketball and actually outscored our opponents by five,” Cormack said. “It was nice to get a win tonight against an inspired opponent from a larger classification. Proud of how hard our girls compete night after night. I am pleased with our poise down the stretch to get this win.” Coach Fast was also glad to get another win and the improvement the girls show from the start of the season. In junior varsity basketball, the Timberwolves dropped a tight 38-37 game to the Tigers. Natalia Zimmerman had 9 points, Sadie Groszkrueger had 8, Sidney Crill with 7, Hailey Randall with 6, Ashlynn Reser with 4, Ellie Wetzel with 2 and Alyssa Pearson with 1. Both coaches commended the team for playing such a close game. Southwest Valley was no match against an aggressive and hot shooting Fremont-Mills team, losing 67-15 in the regular season finale Feb. 7 at Tabor. Haer scored a team high 9 points in the loss. “We really have been, win or lose, playing good basketball leading into this game,” Cormack said. “We won last night and lost by a point the game before in a well-played game. Credit Fremont-Mills for their intensity in this game and we simply didn’t match it. Fremont-Mills earned this victory. We haven’t looked like this in a long time and fortunately, we have a postseason game to try to turn things around. I believe in our girls and trust we will get their best effort Saturday night against a very good I-35 Roadrunner team.” Coach Fast and Cormack both noted at the end of the season that the team has shown much growth overall, regardless of the result of this individual game. In junior varsity action, the Timberwolves lost to Fremont-Mills 25-12 in a half to end the season with a 7-9 record. Coach Fast was proud of the team’s efforts this season and noted how enjoyable it was to coach this group this season. Coach Cormack thanked Coach Fast for joining the program this year and for her hard work all season, as well as those of the players. Both coaches thanked Junior Varsity parents for all their support of the team this season. ![]() Clarinda slips by SWV 42-41
In a competitive and well-played game by both teams, Clarinda from the Hawkeye 10 edged Southwest Valley from the Pride of Iowa 42-41 in non-conference girls basketball action Feb. 3 in Corning. Clarinda led by 14-9 after the first quarter and 37-34 after the third quarter while Southwest Valley held a 24-22 halftime lead. The teams exchanged the lead several times throughout the contest. Maggie Haer led the Timberwolves with 12 points while Ada Lund chipped in 10 with a team high eight steals. Other Timberwolves in the scoring column were Rebecca Wetzel with 6, Ryanne Mullen and Maddie Bevington with 4 apiece, Lindsay Maurer with 3, and Mackenzie Fast with 2. The Timberwolves stole the ball 18 times in the contest. Hailey Randall contributed with three steals and three rebounds in a solid floor game. "Both teams competed hard tonight and this game could have gone either way. Every player who took the floor tonight for us contributed and we just came a point short,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “I am proud of how we played and it just seems like every time we play Clarinda, it is a hard fought contest. We would have rather won but this game will help both teams going into tournament play. If we keep fighting like this, good results will follow." The two teams had a 2-point Clarinda win two years ago, a 1-point Southwest Valley win last year and most recently, a 1-point Clarinda win. Two points separate the two teams in the past 12 quarters of basketball between the two schools. Coaches Cormack and Kristin Fast both were proud of how the Timberwolves worked in this contest. This was the final home contest for the 2022-2023 Timberwolves. In non-conference action Feb. 2 at Corning, the Timberwolves led for three quarters but a strong fourth quarter by Sidney allowed the visiting Cowgirls to win 60-51. Maggie Haer scored 18 and Mackenzie Fast added 15 in scoring on the night for the Timberwolves. Southwest Valley led 20-15 after the first quarter and 37-30 at the half. After three quarters, the Timberwolves continued to lead 45-42 but got cold in the fourth quarter as Sidney pulled away at the end. Lund contributed 6 points while Maurer, Mullen and Randall all put in 3 points. Bevington added 2 points and Wetzel rounded out the scoring with 1. "I'm sorry that we couldn't get the win tonight on Senior Night for our seniors, Maggie Haer, Ryanne Mullen, Rebecca Wetzel and Lindsay Maurer, but one game doesn't define their careers,” Cormack said. “They have been a very solid senior class and have had many special moments in their careers. I am proud of them and look forward to what they can help the team accomplish in the remainder of this season and the postseason.” First-year coach Kristin Fast has appreciated the opportunity to work with the seniors this year and also looks forward to what they can do in the remaining part of the season. All four seniors will be attending college and have been involved in many student groups throughout their career, Cormack said. They have been very successful Timberwolves on and off of the court. Sidney did not have enough players to play a junior varsity game. Leading 23-22 at half, Southwest Valley went on a 23-5 run in the third quarter and ended up defeating the Bedford Bulldogs 52-37 in a road win Jan. 31. Freshman Ada Lund led the Timberwolves with a career high 17 points and five steals in the win. Haer and Fast both added 9 points for the Timberwolves. Other Timberwolves in the scoring column were Bevington with 6, Maurer with 4, Wetzel with 4, and Mullen with 3. Other Timberwolves who contributed with solid floor play were Alyssa Randall, Hailey Randall and Sierra Pearson. "I am very pleased with the intensity and teamwork we played with in this game. This was a solid win on both sides of the ball. We were able to get the pace of this game in our favor and I am very pleased at the turnovers our defensive effort caused. This is a nice way to end league play," Cormack said. Fast said she was happy by the ball movement of the team and joined Cormack in commending the team for solid all around play. Due to low numbers from Bedford, there was no junior varsity game. The Timberwolves JV remains 7-6. Southwest Valley ends Pride of Iowa action with a 5-8 record and is 6-11 on the season. The team has four non-conference games remaining this season before facing I-35 of Truro in post season play on Feb. 11. Tough shotSWV falls in POI play
In Pride of Iowa Conference action, Central Decatur came Jan. 27 to Corning and defeated the Southwest Valley Timberwolves 59-46. The Timberwolves were led in scoring by Maggie Haer ended the night with a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Mackenzie Fast also scored 13. Ada Lund contributed 10 points as the third Timberwolf to reach double figures. The Timberwolves fell behind by 15 in the first half but went on a good run to cut it to 30-27 at halftime. The third quarter was the difference as Central Decatur built up a 16-point lead before the Timberwolves cut it to a 7-point margin in the fourth before finally ending up with the 59-46 final. "This was a really unusual game where we outscored Central Decatur 19-11 in the second and 15-12 in the fourth but then were not competitive in the first and third quarters,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “We had many unforced errors against their press in those two quarters where Central Decatur won the game. When we played the press well in the other two quarters and forced turnovers on them, we looked good. But, in high school basketball, poor passing and decision making will be punished and hopefully, our players grow from this game, learning both from what they did well and what they need to work on." Coach Kristin Fast said that the team improved in free throw shooting this game, making 12 of 16 at the line. Southwest Valley is now 5-11 on the season with a 4-8 conference record. In junior varsity action, Southwest Valley came up just short against Central Decatur in a very competitive contest, 28-26. Hailey Randall led the Timberwolves with 9 points. The Timberwolves had chances to take the lead in the last minutes of the fourth quarter. Both coaches commended the team for never giving up, fighting to the end, playing quality defense and just coming up short on a cold shooting night. The Timberwolves are now 7-6 on the season. Southwest Valley fought hard and built a 15-point lead in the first half but it wasn't enough as Lenox won a tight 54-50 Pride of Iowa Conference game Jan. 24 in Corning. Both teams held fourth quarter leads but it was the Tigers who prevailed in a fifth place POI standings battle. Three Timberwolves scored in double figures with Lund scoring 15, Haer contributing 12, and Fast with 11. Ryanne Mullen and Maddie Bevington rounded out the scoring with 6 apiece. "We haven't been in that position this year where we have held a large double-digit lead on a really quality opponent. We will learn from this,” Cormack said. “When we were aggressive in this game and attacked, good things happened. Many good things happened in this game but it was a really tough loss because we had a team down and let them back into it. Our girls are improving and learning. This is a tough game to learn from but we need to get back to work and do everything we can to play a talented Central Decatur team next. Next time we are in this situation, we need to be better when we have a chance to put a game away." Coach Fast noted how the girls played hard and had many good spurts of basketball in this game. In the JV contest, the Timberwolves played the Tigers in a half of basketball due to low numbers for the Lenox squad. In that half, the Timberwolves won 22-10, improving to 7-5 on the season. Coach Fast appreciated the good passing and teamwork on the team. Coach Cormack noted that the second quarter defense held the Tigers to 2 points, which was a key to the game. This week for the Timberwolves varsity is a trip Jan. 31 to Bedford to conclude Pride of Iowa Conference play on. The Timberwolves won by 6 in the first contest in Villisca. There will be no junior varsity game due to low numbers from Bedford. ![]() Timberwolves prep
for district wrestling The Southwest Valley wrestling team wrapped up the regular season and will now shift its focus to preparing the district wrestling tournament Feb. 11 in Oakland. On Jan. 26 the wrestlers hosted Nodaway Valley and Southeast Warren for the last dual meet of the season. The Timberwolves pulled out a 34-32 victory over SE Warren and fell to Nodaway Valley by a score of 48-30 in the nightcap. “We are happy how we wrestled tonight, we went 5-3 in head-to-head matches in both duals tonight, pulling off one dual win on the night. We are a little dinged up and had a couple of starters out of our normal line up this week,” said assistant coach Derek Maeder. The Timberwolves end the season with a 16-12 dual record. On Jan. 28 the wrestlers took eight wrestlers to the 12-team East Mills tournament in Malvern. The Timberwolves finished in seventh place as a team. Logan Magnolia took the team title, followed by Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln and Treynor. Junior Brayden Maeder claimed the lone championship for the Timberwolves by pinning Jett Sornson from Treynor in 1:42. Maeder improves his record to 40-4 on the season. Colin Jacobs had another good tournament taking third place by pinning Ashton Kempf of Archbishop Bergan in :19 seconds. Ian Forsythe claimed third when Lenox’s Leo Wardlow forfeited the third place match. Ely Rodriguez took home fourth place, losing to Josh Mace of Archbishop Bergan by fall in the time of 2:51. Sawyer Wilkinson, Gavin Wetzel, Brody Sparks and Ashton Boswell also competed in the tournament but were eliminated from the tournament prior to making the top six. “We only took eight kids to East Mills and four of the eight placed in the top four,” assistant coach Maeder said. “All the boys continue to fight through the entire match, but we gave up a few positions today that costs us a couple of wins on the backside of the brackets. We have to know where we are on the mat and capitalize on our opportunities. We have two weeks of practice before districts. We will keep working on cleaning up issues and make sure we keep up on our conditioning and maintaining our weight. Coach Konence and I like our chances at districts. The boys set a team goal at the beginning of the year to get five individual state qualifiers. So hopefully they can reach that goal.” Wrestler of the Week: The Wrestler of the Week this week goes to freshman Gavin Wetzel. Gavin went 3-3 on the week and continues to work hard and battle at 160 pounds. “Gavin is having himself a good freshman season wrestling at 160 pounds. He hasn’t weighed over 152 pounds all year, but he has stepped up to help the team the second half of the year. Gavin is probably the most physical wrestler we have, he always gives 100 percent effort, whether he is winning or losing. Gavin comes to practice with a good attitude every day and puts in the work to get better. Gavin is mostly wrestling juniors and seniors and is holding his own and battling until the end of the match,” Maeder said. Wetzel takes a 15-15 record into the district tournament. T-Wolves drop two
Despite double digit scoring in each game the Timberwolves basketball team dropped two last week, falling to Central Decatur on Jan. 27 and Lenos on Jan. 24. Southwest Valley’s Cael Hogan and Wyatt Mendenhall led the effort against Central Decatur with 12 points and 10 points respectively. Central Decatur’s Sam Boothe proved unstoppable at the bucket with 21 points. A well-rounded effort by the Timberwolves ended in a 64-49 loss against Lenox. Roman Keefe topped the scoring with 14 points while Miller Means added another 11. Isaac Currin scored 8 points and had four assists. Alex Morgan had 7 points and nine rebounds. Lenox’s Gabe Funk dominated with 30 points while teammate Samson Adams scored 11. This week’s schedule includes Bedford away Jan. 31 and at home with Sidney on Feb. 2 and Clarinda on Feb. 3. Three T-Wolves make podium at John J. Harris
The Timberwolves hosted 28 teams at the 68th Annual John J. Harris Tournament on Jan. 20-21. The team finished in ninth place, only 1.5 points out of being in sixth place, and placed three wrestlers on the podium — Colin Jacobs, Brayden Maeder, and Tate Haffner. Creston won the team title followed by Winterset and Atlantic. Brayden Maeder finished in third place at 113 pounds, Colin Jacobs finished in third at 195 pounds, and Tate Haffner finished in fifth at 182 pounds. Ian Forsythe, Ely Rodriguez, Dillon Inman and Sawyer Wilkinson just missed the podium, falling in the third round of consolation to make the top 6 of the bracket. Freshman Gavin Wetzel competed at 160 pounds and was eliminated in the second round consolation matches. Brody Sparks, Ashton Boswell and Jonathan Weatherly also competed in the tournament. “Overall we had a pretty good tournament,” assistant coach Derek Maeder said. “We had three kids make the podium in a loaded tournament with a lot of 2-A schools. We competed hard all weekend, we made some mistakes that we need to correct, but overall coach [Cody] Konecne and I are very happy. We keep telling these kids to believe in themselves and work hard every day, and the results will come. The last two weeks have shown we are peaking at the right time of the year. We are excited to see them continue to improve over the next few weeks.” The Timberwolf wrestling team traveled Jan. 17 to Van Meter for a quad with Lenox, Mt. Ayr, and Van Meter. The team finished the night with a 3-0 record by defeating Lenox 42-21, Mount Ayr 55-12, and Van Meter 51-18. The Timberwolves improve to 15-11 on the season in dual meets. “We had a great night in Van Meter, we went 3-0 on the night, which has not happened in several years, assistant coach Maeder said. “All the guys did their job, and we’re proud of them all.” Wrestler of the Week: The Wrestler of the Week this week is senior Colin Jacobs. Jacobs went 3-0 at the dual in Van Meter and earned himself third place at the John Harris. “Colin had a great week. 195 pounds is hands down the toughest weight class at every tournament we’ve been to this year and Colin keeps battling match after match. Colin lost his first round match Friday night, came back Saturday morning and rattled off 4 straight pins to take home the bronze medal. Colin showed a lot of guts this weekend and we look forward to more of that from him as we enter the last week of the regular season. Colin holds a 27-16 record on the season,” assistant coach Maeder said. The Timberwolves host Nodaway Valley and Southeast Warren on Jan. 26 and travel to East Mills on Jan. 28. ![]() SWV defeats E. Union 55-44
The Timberwolves moved to 6-8 on the season following a 55-44 win over on the road Jan. 19 with East Union. Southwest Valley’s Isaac Currin led the team with 14 points followed by Roman Keefe with 11 and Wyatt Mendenhall with 7. East Union’s Rason Grail scored 19 points and Seth Hudson added 18. The Timberwolves fell 50-45 Jan. 17 at home with Nodaway Valley. Miller Means led the scoring with 13 points. Cael Hogan and Currin had 8 points each. Nodaway Valley’s top scorers were Dawson Nelson with 22 and Boston Devault with 15. The Timberwolves are home this week, hosting Lenox on Jan. 24 and Central Decatur on Jan. 27. ![]() Mullen, Randall lead
T-Wolves' win Ryanne Mullen and Hailey Randall each poured in 16 points to lead Southwest Valley to a 69-44 road win Jan. 19 over East Union in Pride of Iowa Conference action in Afton. It was a career high for senior Mullen and the first career double figure scoring game for Randall. Southwest Valley improves to 4-6 in the Pride of Iowa standings and 5-9 overall with the win. East Union trailed by 3 at half and took a 2 point lead early in the third quarter. Southwest Valley's defense took over with the Timberwolves ending the game on a 38-9 second half run. Balanced scoring for the team was a key to the win with nine players scoring. Beyond Mullen and Randall, Mackenzie Fast had her third straight double digit game with 10 for Southwest Valley. Others contributing with points were Ada Lund with 7, Maggie Haer and Maddie Bevington with 6, Lindsay Maurer and Sidney Crill with 3, and Natalia Zimmerman scored the final 2 points for the Timberwolves. Others with solid overall floor play were Sierra Pearson, Alyssa Randall, Alyssa Pearson, Rebecca Wetzel, and Sadie Groszkrueger. "What a second half. I have never been part of a game where my team trailed by 2 in the third quarter and led by 28 in the same half. Our defense came alive and we played with an intensity that was beyond what I could hope for. We really got contributions everywhere on the roster and some who scored few or even no points really helped with great team defense in our big 38-9 run," coach Mike Cormack said. Cormack congratulated Ryanne Mullen for a career high in scoring and Hailey Randall for her first double digit scoring effort on the season. Coach Kristin Fast said she appreciated the defensive intensity down the stretch and the great teamwork on the evening. There was no JV game for Southwest Valley as East Union does not have a JV team this year. The Southwest Valley JV remains 6-5 on the year. Conference leader and state ranked Nodaway Valley came to Corning and delivered a solid 81-37 win Jan. 17 over the Southwest Valley. Mackenzie Fast led the Timberwolves with 10 points as she continues a quality freshmen campaign. Haer added 9 points, Wetzel scored 6 points, Bevington had 4 points, Mullen and Maurer both had 3 points, and Randall rounded out the scoring with 2 for Southwest Valley. "Our girls tried hard but we simply have to tip our hat to the better team,” Carmack said. “Nodaway Valley has a superstar in Lindsey Davis, who is averaging over 25 points per game and she played fantastic in getting 33 tonight. We have been playing good basketball lately and I can't fault our effort here. We just completed a 5 game stretch against all winning teams with a combined record of 54-19 and had many good moments doing so. Hopefully, this stretch will help us the remainder of the season. I do have confidence in the potential of our team this season and beyond as we continue to grow." Coach Fast commended the team for continuing to fight throughout the contest and also sees potential moving forward for the rest of the season. In junior varsity action, the Timberwolves improved to 6-5 on the season with an impressive 46-35 win over Nodaway Valley. This was a reversal of earlier this season when Nodaway Valley topped the Timberwolves. Sidney Crill scored 20 and Hailey Randall poured in 15 in leading the way. Natalia Zimmerman had many nice assists while scoring 5 points. Ashlynn Reser had 4 points and Sadie Groszkrueger completed the scoring with 2 free throws. Playing and contributing to the win for the junior varsity included Alyssa Pearson, Ellie Wetzel, Miaya Fourez, Delaney True and Kaya Owen. "We are very pleased with this win and it was our most complete game of the year on both ends of the court," coach Fast said. Coach Cormack noted that the team really showed improvement from the earlier game in handling the press and running the court. This week both Southwest Valley teams are home game doubleheaders (varsity at 6 p.m., JV to follow) with Pride of Iowa Conference member Lenox on Jan. 24 and fellow league member Central Decatur on Jan. 27 in Corning. Court clash![]() CARIE MORALES/Free Press — Southwest Valley’s Isaac Currin and Alex Morgan fight from the floor while Cael Hogan heads toward the ball Jan. 10 against Mt. Ayr. Hogan had 12 points, five assists, and three steals while Roman Keefe had 10 points in the 58-35 loss. The Timberwolves defeated Wayne 68-41 Jan. 13. Keefe had 18 points and Hogan and Miller Means had 12 each. SWV fell 63-57 Jan. 12 to Stanton. Hogan had 27 points and Keefe had 12. This week the team takes on Nodaway Valley at home Jan. 17 and East Union on the road Jan. 19.
SWV wrestlers prep
for Harris tournament The week of Jan. 9 was a busy one for the Southwest Valley wrestlers, with match-ups Monday, Friday, and Saturday. On Jan. 10, the Timberwolves traveled west to Underwood to wrestle in a quad with Underwood, AHSTW, and West Central Valley. The grapplers ended the night with a 1-2 dual record falling to AHSTW by a score of 54-27 and West Central Valley 54-24. The Timberwolves picked up a 48-30 dual win in over Underwood. On Jan. 12, the wrestlers went east to wrestle in a quad at MSM with East Union and Panorama. The Timberwolves saw similar results, finishing 1-2 on the evening, although the dual scores were much closer. SWV lost to MSM 40-39, fell to Panorama 39-39 on criteria, and finished the night with a win against East Union by the score of 56-17. On Jan. 13-14, the wrestlers participated in the Ron Scott duals at Mt. Ayr. The Timberwolves wrestled four duals on Jan. 13 and four duals on Jan. 14 and ended the weekend with a 6-2 record in a three-way tie for second place. On Jan. 13, the Timberwolves fell to Cameron, Mo., by the score of 51-26, beat Durant 40-36, beat East Union 54-18, and beat Harlan 45-30. On Jan. 14, the wrestlers started the day with a thrilling 36-35 dual win over MSM to revenge a loss from Jan. 13. The wrestlers also defeated Mount Ayr 66-18, Central Decatur 57-18, and fell to Shenandoah 38-27. Cameron went 8-0 and was crowned the dual tournament champions. SWV, Shenandoah, and Harlan all ended in a three-way tie with a 6-2 dual record. Tie breaking criteria awarded Shenandoah second place based on total team points scored during the tournament. “The boys had a great week on the mat. We really tested them with this schedule wrestling 14 matches in one week, and their response was excellent. As the week went on, we wrestled better and really came together as a team,” assistant coach Derek Maeder said. “Prior to the MSM and Shenandoah dual coach Konecne and I went through the results from prior duals and produced a game plan to try to figure out a way to win the duals. The plan worked for MSM, and we came up just short in the Shenandoah dual losing one match we didn’t expect to lose.” On an individual wrestler basis, junior Tate Haffner led the way going 14-0 on the week, Brayden Maeder went 13-1, Bradlee Grantz went 12-1, Ian Forsythe and Sawyer Wilkinson finished the week 11-3. Colin Jacobs, Dillon Inman and Ely Rodriguez finished with a 10-4 record. Freshman Gavin Wetzel made his varsity debut at 160 pounds going 7-7 on the week, while fellow freshman Ashton Boswell and Brody Sparks gained a lot of experience and continue to improve as we head towards the end of the season. “Tate wrestled fantastic all week, including a thrilling 12-10 win over a very solid Harlan wrestler. Tate is having a very good year improving his season record to 29-7,” Maeder said. The Timberwolves had another wrestler join the century win club when junior Brayden Maeder pinned Tyle Babe of Shenandoah in 1:24 to record his 100th high school varsity win. “Brayden had a good week on the mat and was able to reach one of his goals of getting to 100 career wins prior to the JJ Harris tournament. It takes a lot of work and dedication to win 100 matches in high school, and Brayden has put in the work to accomplish 100 wins as a junior,” said assistant coach Derek Maeder. Wrestler of the Week: Picking the wrester of week was once again a very tough decision for coach Konecne and coach Maeder. After looking at the results at the individual level sophomore Ian Forsythe is the wrestler of the week. Forsythe went 11-3 on the week losing to Conor Cassady of MSM twice and a solid Shenandoah wrestler. He improves to 26-11 on the season. “Ian did everything we asked him to do this week. At Mt. Ayr on Saturday, we told Ian he had to find a way to close the gap against Cassady as he was pinned by him the night before, close the gap and that would make the difference in the team score. Ian went out and wrestled a great match only losing by a score of 8-3. That was the difference in winning the dual. Ian is one of the hardest workers in the room, is in the best shape of all the wresters, and is just a great kid to be around,” Maeder said. The Timberwolves head to Van Meter on Jan. 17 for a quad with Van Meter, Lenox, and Mt Ayr. The wrestlers host the John J. Harris tournament on Jan. 20-21. ![]() T-Wolves top Falcons 46-37
Mackenzie Fast scored 13 points with four rebounds, three blocks and two steals to help lead the Southwest Valley Timberwolves to a 46-37 win Jan. 13 over the Wayne Falcons in Pride of Iowa action in Corning. Maggie Haer capped off a strong week of basketball with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals in another great all-around game for Southwest Valley, head coach Mike Cormack said. The Timberwolves and Falcons were tied for sixth in the conference heading into the matchup. With the win, Southwest Valley is now 4-8 on the season and 3-5 in conference action and moves ahead of Wayne in the standings. Wayne falls to 7-7 overall and 2-6 in conference play. Southwest Valley jumped to an 11-1 lead in the first quarter and never trailed in the contest. Rebecca Wetzel hit three clutch free throws in the final minute and finished with 6 points as well as eight rebounds. Ada Lund scored 8 points, Maddie Bevington added 5 points, and Lindsay Maurer rounded out the scoring with 3 points. Solid contributions to the team victory came from Ryanne Mullen, Sierra Pearson, and Alyssa Randall for the team, as well. "This was a nice victory and a good defensive effort. Wayne was coming off of a 34-point win and we expended a lot of energy in battling Stanton to a tight game last night. Wayne played hard and is a seven-win team so to get this result after playing close games with tough teams (Mount Ayr and Stanton) in the same week is a real positive. Holding this team to 39 points is a tribute to our girls in playing back to back nights," Cormack said. Coach Kristin Fast also noted that this was a great week of progress for the program and looks forward to what the Timberwolves can accomplish the rest of the season. In junior varsity action, the Timberwolves evened their record at 5-5 with a solid 38-24 win over the Falcons JV. Hailey Randall led a balanced Timberwolves attack where nine players scored with her 14 points. Miaya Fourez scored 6 points, Sadie Groszkrueger added 4 more, and Sydney Crill and Natalia Zimmerman both put in 3 points. Scoring 2 points were Kaya Owen, Ashlynn Reser, Alyssa Pearson, and Ellie Wetzel. Delaney True also played, contributing with strong defense and rebounding. "We really bounced back from last night with a quality win tonight. This was truly a team win with so many solid contributions from throughout our Junior Varsity roster," coach Fast said. Coach Cormack saw improvement in rebounding in this game and good team defense as keys to this result. Back to back strong efforts against top area teams are giving Southwest Valley confidence heading into the remainder of the year. The Timberwolves fought back from a 12-point Stanton Viqueen halftime lead to lead 41-40 with six minutes in the fourth quarter and only trailed by 4 with less than three minutes to go but came up just short in a 56-47 contest Jan. 12. Haer led the way with 15 points while Lund added 8. Fast had 7 points and six rebounds. Bevington and Mullen each had 6 points. Wetzel rounded out the scoring with 5 points and six rebounds. Good floor play was added by Maurer and Randall, too. "We just played a team on their home court that has beaten us the past two years by over 40 points and I believe has won something like 54 of their last 60 games and made this a 32-minute game,” Cormack said. “We were down 12 at half and took a fourth quarter lead and fought to the end. I cannot be more proud of our girls for the heart they have shown in back to back games against Mount Ayr and Stanton, fighting against quality teams and improving every night. We will continue to battle every practice and every game as much as we can." In the JV game, Stanton won 35-11. Falling behind 19-5 after the first quarter, Southwest Valley responded Jan. 10 with a 36-28 run the rest of the game but came up just short against powerful Mount Ayr in a home contest in Corning. The Timberwolves lost 47-41 to the 9-2 visitors but put up a powerful fight in the comeback. Trailing by 11 at half, the team was able to cut the lead to 5 at the end of the third quarter before ending up with that final score. Haer and Mullen each scored 13 for Southwest Valley. Fast added 7 points and seven rebounds. Wetzel added 6 points and Lund contributed 2 points, six rebounds and four steals to finish out the scoring. "We are growing as a program and to battle a quality Mount Ayr team to a 6-point loss after trailing as much as 17 early shows great character on our girls. We are in the midst of a very tough stretch of games in our schedule and we need to keep fighting like this,” Cormack said. “While we want to win, we showed great character in competing all night against a team that is currently second in our conference. Lot of respect for Mount Ayr and to play a game like this for our team can only help for the rest of the season." The JV improved to 4-4 on the season with a come from behind 32-28 victory versus Mount Ayr. Randall had 11 points, Crill scored 8, Lund had 5, Reser had 4, and Zimmerman and Groszkrueger both added 2 more for the scoring. "I am really pleased that we never gave up in this game and kept fighting to the end. We really finished this game well," coach Fast said. Coach Cormack noted that beating a team like Mount Ayr twice in one season is a great accomplishment for the junior varsity. Both coaches added all players on the JV contributed to this victory through their hustle, teamwork, rebounding and good overall play. This week’s schedule includes hosting Nodaway Valley on Jan. 17 and a road game Jan. 19 at East Union. ![]() Timberwolves go 2-1
at home The Timberwolf wrestling team returned to action on Jan. 3, hosting a quad against Red Oak, St. Albert’s, and Clarinda. The Timberwolves finished with a 2-1 dual record on the evening defeating St. Alberts 48-24 and Clarinda 36-35, and falling to Red Oak by a score of 42-36. The Timberwolves improve to a 4-5 dual record on the season. “We had two of our starters out of our lineup tonight and that was the difference in losing the Red Oak dual,” assistant coach Derek Maeder said. “We had to shuffle a couple of kids around to fill weights tonight, but we were able to find a way to win two out of three duals without being at full strength.” On Jan. 7 the Timberwolf wrestling team traveled to Tri-Center High School for the 18-team wrestling tournament in Neola. “We only took 10 kids on Saturday and seven of them made the top eight in their bracket. We ended in 10th place as a team. We had the opportunity to wrestle a lot of Northwest Iowa schools we don’t normally see plus a couple of Nebraska schools,” Maeder said. Junior Brayden Maeder was the lone finalist and champion for the Timberwolves. Maeder had a technical fall and two pins on the day to win the title. Bradlee Grantz finished in third place, Ian Forsythe got fourth place, Ely Rodriquez and Tate Haffner finished in sixth place, Ashton Boswell finished in seventh place, and Collin Jacobs finished in eighth place. Brody Sparks, Beau Johnston and Sawyer Wilkinson competed but didn’t finish in the top eight in their weight class. “We had some ups and downs throughout the day today,” assistant coach Maeder said. “We had Maeder, Grantz and Forsythe make the semis, but only Brayden made the finals. Bradlee lost to a solid wrestler from Harlan and Ian got beat in overtime against a good Missouri Valley kid. In the finals Maeder gave up the first takedown to a scrappy Treynor kid, but quickly got an escape, takedown and some back points to end the first period up 6-2. In the second period Brayden turned the kid again and got the fall. “On the backside we lost some matches we should have won against kids we’ve already beaten this year. Freshman Ashton Boswell had his best day of the season so far, being down to 120 pounds for the first time this year. Ashton got two wins on the backside to finish in seventh place on the day,” Maeder said. “As a team we must keep improving in the practice room over the next three weeks so we’re ready for the post season.” Wrestler of the Week: The Wrestler of the Week this week goes to Brayden Maeder. Maeder went 6-0 this week including winning the Tri-Center Tournament. Brayden improves to 16-2 on the season. “Brayden had a good week after being back down to 113 pounds for the first time since the opening weekend of the season. He has figured out how to maintain his weight for multiple weigh ins in one week and we look for him to continue to improve on the mat as the season goes on. Brayden and Tate Haffner have stepped up in the room as leaders over the last few weeks as well. If Brayden can stay healthy at 113 pounds, he can have a good season and hopefully make a good run at the state tournament again this year.” said assistant coach Derek Maeder. The wrestlers return to action on Jan. 10 with a trip to Underwood for a quad with Underwood, AHSTW and West Central Valley. On Jan. 12 they travel to Martensdale for a quad with MSM, East Union and Panorama. The Timberwolves are wrestling at the Mt Ayr duals on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 13-14. “We are going to have a lot of bus time with week with a potential of 14 matches over the next 4 competition dates. We have to make sure all of our starters are healthy and ready to go all week. It’s going to be a long week, but will be a good test to see how we respond to wresting so many matches in a week,” Maeder said. ![]() CAM shooters prove too tough to contain
In a tale of two halves, the Southwest Valley girls gave visiting CAM a battle in the first half but CAM pulled away in the second to win a non-conference game 89-36 Jan. 5 in Corning. Maggie Haer led the Timberwolves with 13 points while Ada Lund added 7. Lindsay Maurer added 6 points while Mackenzie Fast had 5 points and Ryanne Mullen concluded the scoring with 3. Late in the first half, Southwest Valley cut a 10-point CAM lead to 3 points before CAM ended the half on a late 5-0 run to go up 32-24. CAM exploded behind a 35-point night for Eva Steffensen while Kiera Nichols put in 20. "With the break included, we have played very good basketball for almost a month, outscoring our last four opponents by 43 points. We played a very solid first half with this CAM team,” coach Mike Cormack said. “We are trying to build our program to match what teams like CAM who have won for several years have, a level of expectation of success every time that they take the court and a toughness to back that up. The more we play the elite teams of our area, we will continue to learn what it takes to kick it up to another level and play a mentally tough 32 minutes of quality basketball. That's the next step for our team and we will learn from tonight to do just that. Our effort was there but CAM was to their credit extremely aggressive and played with that confidence in that second half." Coach Kristin Fast noted that the team will get back to work for practice and keep working hard every day to try to continue to improve. The Timberwolves will returned to Pride of Iowa conference action Jan. 10 hosting Mount Ayr in a varsity-junior varsity doubleheader in Corning. The Timberwolves fall to 3-6 on the season and 2-4 in conference play. The junior varsity squad played a competitive game with the CAM JV, coming up short 38-32. The game was tied late at 32 and this was a great improvement from an earlier game this season in playing the CAM JV. The Southwest Valley JV is now 3-4 on the season. Hailey Randall led the JV with 14 points while Sidney Crill joined her in double figures with 11. Sadie Groszkrueger added 4 points while Natalia Zimmerman rounded out the scoring with 3. Coach Fast was extremely pleased by the improvement in facing this CAM JV from the first contest and Coach Cormack complemented the team for competing hard in this rematch. Southwest Valley plays one home game a season at the historic Southwest Valley Middle School gym in Villisca. Playing their first girls basketball game after the break in hosting Bedford, the Timberwolves won a competitive 52-46 game Jan. 3. Three Timberwolves led a balanced attack with 11 points of scoring and they were Mullen, Haer and Lund. Maddie Bevington had a strong game off of the bench with 8 points, Mackenzie Fast had 7 points (including two clutch free throws after Bedford cut the score to a 45-44 score), Lindsay Maurer added 3 points and Rebecca Wetzel scored the last Timberwolves point. Wetzel led the team with 9 rebounds on the night. The Timberwolves did not trail in the contest, holding an 8-point lead after one quarter, a 4-point halftime lead, a 7-point lead after 3 and after the Bedford run, closed out the game on a 7-2 finish for the final score. The Timberwolves moved to 3-5 on the season and 2-4 in the Pride of Iowa Conference following the win over Bedford. The team has played a home game at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, a home game at their Activity Center in Corning and this annual game in Villisca. They have won all of those home games, were on a two-game winning streak and have won three of their last four games, only dropping a close 5 point loss at Lenox. "We kept our composure at the end and did what we needed to do to win this game. Bedford played hard tonight and I commend our girls for finding a way to come out on top when we really were struggling at times in this game. It was a strong finish to this game and we hope to use that momentum as we continue forward in this season," Cormack said. Coach Kristin Fast noted the poise the team had down the stretch at the free throw line as well as handling the ball with control in the closing moments. There was no junior varsity game as Bedford does not have a JV squad this year. ![]() Timberwolves drop two
The Timberwolves returned to the basketball court last week, facing CAM at home Jan. 5 and on the road with Bedford on Jan. 3. Despite double digit scoring by Southwest Valley’s Cael Hogan and Isaac Currin, the Timberwolves fell 60-47 to CAM. Hogan finished the night with 14 points, six steals, and four assists. Currin scored 11 points. Seth Hensley and Chase Jahde led CAM with 20 points and 17 points respectively. Sam Foreman finished with 11. Currin led the Timberwolves Jan.3 with 10 points and four steals in a 47-21 loss to Bedford. Bedford’s Quentin King scored 11 points. SWV is home Jan. 10 with Mount Ayr, on the road Jan. 12 with Stanton, and home again Jan. 13 in varsity/junior varsity action with Wayne. ![]() Haer’s double-double
fuels POI win Maggie Haer had a double-double with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists in leading the Southwest Valley Timberwolves to a 70-44 win Dec. 15 over the Southeast Warren Warhawks in Corning. The Timberwolves led 31-23 at half and exploded with a 39-21 second half to win their home opener and first Pride of Iowa Conference game. Ryanne Mullen and Maddie Bevington both scored 11 points for the Timberwolves. Lindsay Maurer added 7 points, while Sierra Pearson, Rebecca Wetzel, and Ada Lund added 6 apiece. Mackenzie Fast rounded out the scoring with 3 points. “We are making positive steps forward and this was a great team victory. Everyone contributed to this win and what a double-double for Maggie Haer, who was three steals away from a triple. But, every player did terrific,” coach Mike Cormack said. Cormack noted the T-Wolves’ tough opening road schedule and positive attitude throughout that stretch helped prepare the team for this home opener. Coach Kristin Fast said that the team continues to improve and was impressed by their hustle. The team has won two of their last three games, with their only loss coming at the hands at Lenox in a hard fought 5 point loss. Both coaches are excited for the potential growth of this team throughout the season. In a very competitive back and forth game at Lenox, Southwest Valley came up just short Dec. 13 in a Pride of Iowa contest, losing 57-52 on the road. Senior Ryanne Mullen had her first double digit scoring game this season with 13 points. Freshman Ada Lund had her first career varsity double digit scoring effort with 12 and freshman Mackenzie Fast had her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds on the evening for the T-Wolves. “The T-wolves stole the ball 18 times and fought hard on the boards,” Cormack said. “The team held extremely talented Lenox center Sadie Cox to 9 points. It was a great road effort for the improving Timberwolves.” Haer had a great all around floor game and contributed 8 points. Seniors Rebecca Wetzel and Lindsay Wetzel each added 3 points as did sophomore Maddie Bevington to round out the scoring. “We played really well tonight in many facets of the game. Both teams played hard tonight in a quality high school basketball game,” Cormack said. “We followed our nice win at Wells Fargo with a game that truly could have went either way. We are improving every game. Congratulations to Ryanne for her 13, Ada for her first of many double digit scoring games and Mackenzie for a double-double. The whole team played well and we came up just short.” In a one half game of junior varsity, the Timberwolves JV earned a 26-16 victory. Freshman Hailey Randall had a spectacular half with 17 points, making five 3-point shots. Sidney Crill had 4, Miaya Fourez had 3, and Kaya Owen had 2. Also contributing to the victory were Allyssa Pearson, Natalia Zimmerman, Ashlynn Reser, Delaney True, and Sadie Groszkrueger. “I am really proud of our hard work tonight and teamwork. The shots were falling tonight,” Fast said. Next action for the varsity is a home game against conference rival Bedford after the break. ![]() Maeder, Grantz win
POI Tournament The Timberwolf wrestling team made the trip east Dec. 16 to Southeast Warren High School to compete in the Pride of Iowa Conference tournament. The Timberwolves took 11 wrestlers to the 10-team tournament and walked away with a third place finish in the team race. Martensdale St. Mary’s won the team title with 187 points, Nodaway Valley came in second with 166.5, and Southwest Valley took third place with 151 points. The Timberwolves got off to a hot start putting five wrestlers into the finals. Brayden Maeder, Ian Forsythe, Bradlee Grantz, Tate Haffner, and Dillon Inman all pinned their way to the finals. “We won five out of seven semifinal matches, and all five of those wins were by fall so that really helped our team score as each fall is an additional 2 team points,” assistant coach Derek Maeder said. In the final round, 120-pound Brayden Maeder got things started off with a fall over Elijah Wheeldon of MSM in 1:08 to claim his second POI conference title. “Brayden didn’t get a lot of mat time, only wrestling 2:08 in his two matches. He’s going into break with a 10-2 record wrestling,” assistant coach Maeder said. Ashton Boswell claimed 5th place at 126 pounds, Brody Sparks did not place at 132 pounds. “Brody and Ashton are working hard and learning as we go. Both are freshman in the varsity lineup and are improving each time they step on the mat,” said Maeder. The next SWV finalist was Ian Forsythe at 145 pounds. Forsythe lost by fall to Conor Cassady of MSM in the time of 4:36. “Cassady is a solid kid that has been wrestling since a young age and Ian wrestled him tough, putting Cassady into a couple of situations he didn’t want to be in. Ian is a great kid that works hard, and his 10-6 record going into break, shows his hard work,” Maeder said. At 152 pounds, Ely Rodriguez claimed third place after falling to Mason Allen from Central Decatur in the semifinals. “Ely beat Allen the first tournament of the year by one point, but Allen flipped the script this time out. We told Ely the team needs him to get third place for the team race, and he did just that, pinning his last two opponents to get the next best thing, third place,” Maeder said. Rodriguez holds a 14-3 record. At 160 pounds, Beau Johnston claimed sixth place. “Beau was sick earlier in the week and started not feeling well on the bus ride over to Liberty Center. He wrestled one match on the day picking up a 10-3 win over a Nodaway Valley wrestler putting him in the top 6 and earning some important team points,” said Maeder. At 170 pounds, Bradlee Grantz recorded a fall in the time of 4:54 to be SWV’s second POI champion of the day. “Bradlee also got off to a slow start missing the first week of the season, but he is on track now taking an 8-1 record into break. When he stays in a good position and takes the match one move at a time, he is tough to beat. He did exactly that Friday night, dominating a stronger MSM wrestler in the finals,” said Maeder. At 182 pounds, Tate Haffner met up with Logan Montgomery of SEW in the finals. Haffner lost by fall in the time of 4:54 seconds. “Tate wrestled well, making his first appearance in the finals of a high school tournament. Tate has improved to 12-5 on the season,” Maeder said. At 195 pounds, Colin Jacobs, the lone senior on the team, claimed third place in his final POI tournament. “Colin had probably the most balanced weight class in the tournament, no easy matches for him tonight. 195 is by far the deepest and toughest weight we’ve seen so far this year,” Maeder said. At 220 pounds, Dillon Inman faced Tate Dierking of SEW in the finals. Inman lost by fall in the time of 3:26 finishing in second place. “Dillon also made the finals for the first time in a HS tournament. They got into an upper body throw position early that kind of set the tone for the match. Dillon will continue to improve and get a rematch with Dierking after Christmas break,” Maeder said. Inman is 10-6 on the season. At 285, Sawyer Wilkinson claimed fifth place. “Sawyer has had a good start to the season and is probably one of the two most improved kids from this point in the season last year. We have to keep working on taking down taller heavyweight opponents to keep improving,” Maeder said. The Timberwolves traveled Dec. 13 to Maryville, Mo., to compete against Maryville, Stanberry, and Penney High School (Hamilton), all Missouri schools. The Timberwolves went 1-2 on the evening beating Stanberry 54-24, losing to Penney 42-27, and losing to Maryville 48-36. Maeder, Forsythe, Rodriguez, Grantz, and Haffner went 3-0 on night. Wrestler of the Week The wrestler of the week for the week of December 12th goes to Tate Haffner. “Tate had a great week. He went 3-0 at the MO dual and went 2-1 at POI. Tate hadn’t made the finals of a high school tournament before and did so by pinning a good wrestler from MSM in the semifinals. In the finals, he was down by 7 points in the third period, so we told him to go neutral and look for something big. Tate attempted throwing the kid twice and nearly put him on back twice before getting caught on his own back. Tate has proved he can battle at 182 pounds, coming up from 152 pounds last year. Tate has also stepped up as a leader in the room on a daily basis. Tate’s hard work this week earned him the honor of being the SWV Timberwolf Wrestler of the Week,” Maeder said. The Timberwolves return to the mat Jan. 3 in Corning with Clarinda, Red Oak, and St. Albert. ![]() T-Wolves defeat
Lenox 63-55 Southwest Valley’s Cael Hogan and Roman Keefe each scored in double digits Dec. 13 for a 63-55 win over Lenox on the road. Hogan had 21 points and three assists while Keefe scored 15 points. Isaac Currin had 5 points, three assists, and three steals. Lenox’s Keaton England scored 19 points and Gabe Funk had 11 points. The Timberwolves fell 49-43 Dec. 15 at home with Southeast Warren. Hogan and Keefe led SWV with 11 points each. SEW’s Landon Harvey had 15 points and Jamison Ewing had 12. The Timberwolves return to the court Jan. 3 when they host Bedford at Villisca. They’re home again Jan. 5 with CAM and Jan. 10 with Mount Ayr in Corning. ![]() SWV takes fourth at Lenox
The Southwest Valley wrestling team traveled Dec. 10 to Lenox for the Lenox Tiger Invitational. The Timberwolves sent 11 wrestlers to the tournament, battled hard all day, and ended up in fourth place in the team race out of 10 teams. The Timberwolves had eight of the 11 wrestlers make the podium, placing in the top six of their respective weight classes. The Timberwolves were only 5.5 points behind second place West Central Valley, and 3.5 points behind third place Lenox. Nodaway Valley won the team title with 185 points. The Timberwolves sent four wrestlers to the finals. Brayden Maeder finished in second place at 120 pounds losing to Seth Ettleman from Southwest Iowa (Sidney) by the score of 7-5 in OT. Ian Forsythe finished in second place losing by fall at the 5:02 mark to Leo Wardlow of Lenox at 145 pounds. Ely Rodriguez also took the runner-up spot at 152 pounds losing to Bishop Rush of Benton, Mo., by fall in the time of 2:46. The last finalist for SWV was Bradlee Grantz at 170 pounds, also finishing in second place losing to Jordan Martin-England by the score of 8-6. “All four wrestlers competed hard during their finals matches, Maeder and Grantz probably had the two most exciting back and forth matches of the day in their finals matches,” assistant coach Derek Maeder said. “Maeder lost in overtime and Grantz losing in the final seconds of the third period. Maeder was trailing 5-0 in his match early in the second period and was able to throw Ettlemen for a 5 point move to knot the score at 5-5 going into overtime. Grantz and Martin-England had some fantastic scrambles during their match that came down to the final seconds.” Several other wrestlers battled through the backside of their brackets after taking a loss prior to the finals. At 160 pounds, Beau Johnston went 2-2 on the day finishing in fifth place. At 182 pounds, Tate Haffner went 3-1 on the day taking third place in his bracket. Collin Jacobs claimed fourth place at 195 pounds, going 2-2 on the day. Junior Dillon Inman earned a third place finish at 220 pounds, going 4-1 on the day. Ashton Boswell at 126 pounds, Brody Sparks at 132 pounds and Sawyer Wilkinson at 285 pounds all competed but fell short of making the top six at their weight class. “Overall, head coach [Cody] Konecne and I are happy with the results today,” Maeder said. “We were winning the team race by 1 point going into the final round but couldn’t close out a couple of close matches in the finals. The backside wrestlers stepped up by winning three out of four matches, so they did their job. We tell them winning on the backside is just as important as winning on the front side, every team point counts.” The Timberwolves were scheduled to travel Dec. 8 to Audubon for a quad vs Audubon, Griswold, and Oakland Riverside. Mother nature threatened freezing rain, so the meet was cancelled. The week of Dec. 12, the Timberwolf wrestlers head to Maryville on Dec. 13, in a quad with Maryville, Stanberry, and Penney, all Missouri schools. On Dec. 16,, the Timberwolves head to Southeast Warren (Liberty Center) for the Pride of Iowa Conference Tournament. “We will see Nodaway Valley and Lenox again at POI,” Maeder said. “Hopefully we can correct some issues this week and challenge for the conference title going into the Christmas Break.” Wrestler of the week: Coach Konecne and assistant coach Maeder had a tough decision to make this week when picking the Wrestler of the Week. “With four wrestlers making the finals, and three more placing in the top six, there were cases to be made for each of them being the wrestler of the week,” Maeder said. “When we looked at the individual matches each wrestler won and how they did it, the decision became a little more clear.” Junior Dillon Inman is the wrestler of the week for the week of Dec. 5. “Dillon showed a lot of guts in Lenox,” Maeder said. “He lost first round to a wrestler from Lenox that he pinned the prior week. After the match I told Dillon, ‘Forget that match, we need you to come all the way back and get third place.’ Dillon responded by rattling off four pins in a row, including pinning the Lenox wrestler that beat him first round to claim third place. It’s not easy wrestling that many matches on the backside in a double elimination tournament, Maeder said. “There aren’t many 220 pounders out there stronger than Dillon Inman, and when he stays in position and uses his strength against you, he is tough to beat,” Maeder said. Valkyries win three
at Riverside The South West Area Team Valkyrie claimed three titles Dec. 9 in the Riverside Girls Wrestling Tournament. Winning their divisions by fall were Maddie McCoy (115B), Grace Britton (170), and Ellen Gerlock (190). Three other S.W.A.T. wrestlers — Quincy Sorensen (115A), Evy Marlin (135), and Mia South (145A) — placed second. Paige Baier placed third at 155B). Lily Johnson (145B) and Rio Johnson (155) placed fourth. McCoy started her division with a win by fall in 1:06 over Kuemper Catholic’s Ally Sommerfield. McCoy drew a bye in her next round then made quick work of Harmony Holt of Denison-Schlewsig by pinning her in 0:24. Britten pinned all three of her opponents: Adrianna Lupian of Denison-Schlewsig in 1:48, Briana Aragon of Denison-Schleswig in 0:52, and Daynia Werner of Ridge View in 2:27. Gerlock also pinned all of her opponents: Ava Lee of Western Iowa in 0:37, Maddison Staab of Sergeant Bluff-Luton in 0:35, and Alexis Meyer of Ridge View in 6:00. Sorensen placed second after winning by technical fall 21-4 over Lexa Nelson of Pekin. Sorensen then fell by fall to Sadie Smith of Kuemper Catholic in 1:03 before returning to pin Emma Baldwin of Shenandoah in 0:55. Marlin won her first two rounds by fall over Mila Kuhns of Creston in 1:30 and Kehlanee Bengston of Aurora in 2:44 before falling to Haley Glade of Earlham in 1:07 in the title match. South won by fall in her first three rounds by defeating Candace Kanjanabout of Sergeant Bluff Luton in 0:27, Zoey Vandevender of Creston in 1:54, and Ariana Arreola of Ridge View in 1:22 before falling to Briana Onnen of Aurora in 2:53. Baier suffered two losses before fighting back to claim third place. Baier fell to Claire Miller of Denison-Schleswig in 0:37 and Mary Bowman of Long Magnolia in 2:16 but pinned Braelyn Wilson of Southwest Iowa in 2:50. L. Johnson lost by fall in her first two rounds, falling to Sophie Wuebker of South Central Calhoun in 1:22 and Jalon Olson of Clarinda in 0:43. She pinned Gabriela Williams of Denison-Schleswig in 2:36 before losing by fall to Aremay Santos of Denison-Schleswig in 1:02. R. Johnson lost by fall to Emily Kesterson in 0:45 before forfeiting to Tymberlee Bentley of Red Oak and Aaliyah Nimaja-Harbeck of Sergeant Bluff-Luton for fourth place. Up for the shot![]() CARIE MORALES/Free Press — Southwest Valley’s Evan Fast goes in for a layup Dec. 6 against Nodaway Valley. The Timberwolves fell 64-40. Roman Keefe and Cael Hogan led SWV with 15 and 11 points respectively. SWV defeated Martensdale-St. Marys 44-38 on Dec. 8. Hogan scored 18, Keefe scored 9, and Dustin Shuler scored 8 points for the victory.
T-Wolves win at Wells Fargo
For the second straight year, the Southwest Valley Timberwolves girls basketball team had the honor of playing at Wells Fargo Arena in high school regular season action Dec. 10. These games are preliminary action to the Iowa Wolves G-League contest being played in the evening. Maggie Haer led a balanced Timberwolves attack with 12 points, seven steals, and seven rebounds in a 44-28 win over Griswold on a rare Saturday morning contest. This was the Timberwolves’ first win after a four game stretch of road games. This neutral site game was a great experience for players on both teams to play in Iowa's greatest basketball arena, head coach Mike Cormack said. The two teams played a relatively even first quarter with Griswold holding a 1 point lead. After that, Southwest Valley went on a 38-11 scoring run to open up the contest, before Griswold scored the last 8 points of the game. “We just have fantastic girls in this program, on and off the court. Seven of our 14 players are playing varsity basketball for the first time and they are learning every day,” Cormack said. “We have played four tough teams on the road to start the season and despite losing those contests, our players have kept their heads up and practiced hard with good spirit. This win was needed to reward their hard work and I am so proud that every player for the rest of their lives can say that they won a high school basketball game at the best basketball arena in Iowa, Wells Fargo.” Coach Kristin Fast said that she was also proud of the effort of the team and great results, particularly on the defensive side of the court. In addition to Haer, eight other players scored for the Timberwolves including Ryanne Mullen with 9, Rebecca Wetzel with 8, Lindsay Maurer and Maddie Bevington with 4 apiece, Sidney Crill and Ada Lund and Mackenzie Fast with 2 each, and 1 point for Natalia Zimmerman. Providing good defense and all around floor play were Sadie Groszkrueger, Sierra Pearson, Alyssa Randall, Alyssa Pearson, and Hailey Randall. There was no junior varsity in this contest but both the Timberwolves varsity and JV will play at Lenox in a Pride of Iowa matchup on Dec. 13. The final varsity game before the break will be the first true Timberwolves home game against Southeast Warren. There will be no JV game that night due to low participation numbers from that school. But that group will have JV only games Dec. 17 at CAM followed two days later with an evening contest with East Mills. Freshman Timberwolf Mackenzie Fast earned her first double digit scoring game with 10 points at powerful Martensdale-St. Marys on Dec. 8 but it wasn't enough in a 68-30 loss. She was joined by Haer and Bevington with 6 points each in Pride of Iowa action. Mullen added 4 while Lund scored 3 and Randall chipped in a free throw. "The scoreboard may not show it but we did show improvement tonight,” Cormack said. “There was better overall play and we just need to convert on more shot opportunities. There is a reason the team we played has won 28 of their last 31 games. They are a quality opponent but we competed tonight and our young team will be better for facing this tough early schedule.” The Timberwolves junior varsity made a strong late run to come up just short, losing 42-39. Early in the fourth, they trailed by 15 and with the other team's top players still in, cut it to that final three point margin with ball in hand. “I am proud that we fought hard, never gave up and gave ourselves a chance to win,” coach Fast said. The Timberwolves hit the road Dec. 6 to take on Nodaway Valley in Greenfield. Nodaway Valley won the contest 70-25. The teams will meet again in Corning later this season. “All credit to Nodaway Valley,” Cormack said. “This season, we have faced a very tall team in Shenandoah, a very solid team in Mount Ayr and a quick, intense pressure fueled Nodaway Valley team. With our young team, this will help us down the road facing the remaining teams on the schedule. Our team is hustling and trying while gaining experience. We will get better as this season continues.” Fast led the team in scoring with 8 points while adding six rebounds in a solid, all-around game. Lund, Wetzel, and Bevington each scored 4 points. Haer finished with 3 points, five rebounds and, two steals and blocks. Mullen rounded out the scoring with 2 points. In JV action, Southwest Valley fell to 1-1 on the young season. Nodaway Valley won 57-27 with Sidney Crill having her first double digit scoring effort on the high school level with 14 points. Randall contributed 7 points while 2 points were scored on the night by Ashlynn Reser, Sadie Groszkrueger, and Fast. Coaches Kristin Fast and Cormack congratulate Crill for her scoring effort. They both look forward to continued growth from the team. “We had some good moments in this game and learned some lessons in this contest,” Fast said. “The girls keep working hard and good results will come again. Timberwolves finish
1-2 in home dual The Southwest Valley Timberwolf wrestling team kicked off the season Dec. 1 hosting East Mills, Shenandoah, and Clarke. The Timberwolves went 1-2 on the evening, losing on criteria to Clarke by the score of 43-42, losing to Shenandoah 40-27, and beating East Mills 48-24. Winners against East Mills by fall were Brody Sparks and Ely Rodriguez. Brayden Maeder, Ashton Boswell, Tate Haffner, Colin Jacobs, Dillon Inman, and Sawyer Wilkinson all won by forfeit. Winners against Shenandoah by fall were Wilkinson, Maeder and Jacobs. Inman won by decision and Rodiquez won by forfeit. Winners against Clarke by fall were Ian Forsythe, Rodriguez, Beau Johnston and Haffner. Maeder, Boswell, and Wilkinson won by forfeit. The Timberwolves traveled Dec. 3 to Nodaway Valley for their first tournament of the year. SWV finished in eighth place out of 14 teams. Place winners were Maeder, 113 pounds, sixth; Boswell, 126, sixth; Forsythe, 145, fourth; Rodriguez, 152, third; Haffner, 182, fourth; Jacobs, 195, fourth; Inman, 220, fourth, Wilkinson, 285, sixth. Wrestler of the Week — Each week head coach Cody Konecne and assistant coach Derek Maeder will select a Wrestler of the Week. The coaches will choose one wrestler each week who not only had a successful week at duals and tournaments, but also worked hard in practice and displayed great sportsmanship. The Wrestler of the Week for Nov. 28 through Dec. 3 is Ely Rodriguez. Rodriguez went 3-0 in the Dec. 1 home dual and took home third place at the Nodaway Valley tournament going 3-1 on the day. His hard work in practice and on the mat during competitions resulted in a 6-1 record so far this season. Rodriguez is a junior at SWV. Southwest Valley falls
to Mount Ayr The Southwest Valley Timberwolves girls basketball team lost their non-conference opener 69-42 Dec. 2 at Mount Ayr. The Timberwolves were led by sophomore Maddie Bevington with her first double digits game in her varsity career with 11 points. Maggie Haer added 10 points and seven rebounds. Rounding out the Timberwolves scoring were Ada Lund with 6 points, Mackenzie Fast with 5, Ryanne Mullen with 4, and 2 points apiece for the Randall sisters, Allyssa and Hailey. "We want to win every game but we made huge strides in this game,” head coach Mike Cormack said. ‘Our girls came out of halftime and played a terrific third quarter, cutting their lead and outscoring a good team 18-12 while running the floor well. We are a young team and I look forward to seeing us continue to improve. We have an idea of what we can be moving forward. Proud of our effort tonight and improvement within this game." In the junior varsity game, Southwest Valley won 39-31 to go to 1-0 on the year. Sidney Crill and Ashlynn Reser scored 9 apiece. Hailey Randall got 8 points, Sadie Groszkrueger and Ellie Wetzel added 4, Kenzie Fast had 3, and Natalia Zimmerman scored 2. "This was a nice way to start the season for the JV in a well-rounded game," coach Kristin Fast said. The Timberwolves opened the season with a non-conference loss at Shenandoah on Nov. 29. The Fillies of the Hawkeye 10 Conference defeated the Timberwolves 56-20. Freshman Mackenzie Fast led the team with 6 points. Senior Ryanne Mullen added 5, senior Maggie Haer scored 4 and Lindsay Maurer contributed 3. Freshman Ada Lund rounded out the scoring with 2. "In basketball, you need effort and execution. Our effort was good tonight. Our execution was not,” Cormack said. “Our team has had both in practices and scrimmages. We have seen it. We just have to relax on the court and let our natural ability come forward in future games. When we play our best, I am confident we will show much improvement this season." Coaches Cormack and Fast commended the defensive play of senior Rebecca Wetzel on the evening guarding the talented Shenandoah posts. She was the top rebounder on the night for Southwest Valley with seven. All 14 varsity players played in this game. Junior Sierra Pearson as well as sophomores Maddie Bevington and Sadie Groszkrueger returned to the varsity roster this year and played. Making their varsity debuts for Southwest Valley were Lund, Fast, junior Allyssa Randall, sophomore Natalia Zimmerman, and freshmen Hailey Randall, Alyssa Pearson and Sidney Crill. "The scoreboard won't show it tonight but every player did do one positive thing on the court tonight. Congratulations to so many girls for making their varsity debuts and we look forward to their future growth," Cormack said. This week’s schedule includes Dec. 6 at Nodaway Valley, Dec. 8 at Martensdale-St. Marys, and Dec. 10 at Wells Fargo Arena with Griswold. T-Wolves defeat Shenandoah in opener
Double-digit shooting by Southwest Valley freshman Cael Hogan and junior Roman Keefe helped lead the Timberwolves to a 52-30 victory in their season opener Nov. 29 on the road with Shenandoah. Hogan had 16 points and four steals with Keefe had 15 points and three steals. Junior Miller Means dominated the board with nine rebounds. He also had three steals. Junior Isaac Currin had four assists and five steals. The Mustangs’ Camden Lorimor was their lead scorer with 7 points. SWV fell 58-37 Dec. 2 on the road with Mount Ayr. Keefe led the Timberwolves with 17 points while Hogan had 10 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Jaixen Frost had 27 points for the Raiders and Braydon Pierson had 14. The Timberwolves are on the road again this week, facing Nodaway Valley on Dec. 6, Martensdale-St. Marys on Dec. 8, and Griswold on Dec. 10 at Wells Fargo Arena. Lundquist signs with University of Sioux Falls
![]() DON GROVES/Free Press — Southwest Valley senior Ady Lundquist signs a letter of intent to wrestle at the University of Sioux Falls on Nov. 9 at Southwest Valley High School. With her are SWAT Valkyries head coach Tiffany South, her parents Sarah and Matt Lundquist, and SWV High School principal Anthony Donahoo.
T-Wolves finish cross country on high note
Southwest Valley wrapped up its cross country season when the Timberwolves hosted a 1A state qualifying meet Oct. 20 at Lake Icaria. “With 19 teams in attendance and the chance to run at the state cross country meet on the line, the Timberwolves went out and ran hard,” head coach Jason Hults said. “All eight Timberwolves that ran posted improved course times from the regular season meet a month ago to finish the season on a high note.” In the girls race, Karissa Richey finished in 29:00.5 to finish 55th, improving her time by 2:49. Kya Newton was 56th in 29:59.8, an improvement of 0:57. Victoria Fletchall ran 30:16.6 to finish 58th, an improvement of 2:03. Julia Means finished 63rd in a time of 47:09.2, an improvement of 2:18. “The girls all ran well with the improved times from September's race on the same course, so I am very proud of them for the hard work they have put in since then," Hults said. For the boys, Ashton Boswell ran 22:06.1 to finish 60th, improving his course best time by 1:03. Ethan James ran 23:34.9 to finish 71st, an improvement of 0:56. Matthew Means finished in 24:23.1 in 75th place and an improvement of 2:03. Lucas James ran 30:04.6, an improvement of 2:24, to finish 88th. “All four boys ran very well tonight with the improved times on our home course. They have worked very hard all season and I am very proud of their efforts as well,” Hults said. “The Timberwolves will return all but one runner next season and we are excited to see the continued progress they will make next fall.” Regional run ends
for Timberwolves A tough Missouri Valley volleyball team ended the Timberwolves’ regional run on the road Oct. 24. Southwest Valley fell 25-6, 25-21, 25-11. “We went up against strong Missouri Valley team. They were able to keep us out of systems,” head coach Lisa Sparks said. “We struggled on our serve receive and were not able to run the offense we normally do. We fought back hard in the second set, falling short and ending our season.” Katey Lillie had three kills and three digs. Charlee Larson had two kills and five digs, Maggie Haer had two kills and four digs, and Tierney Dalton had two kills. Haidyn Top had five digs and Ryanne Mullen had a dig. “We lose some amazing seniors who have put a lot of time, sweat, and heart into our program,” Sparks said. “I would like to thank Maggie Haer, Emily Adams, Lindsay Maurer, Ryanne Mullen, Jayley Schlapia, and Delaney Yates for their contributions to the team over the years.” The Timberwolves advanced in regional play with a 25-21, 25-21, 25-17 win Oct. 19 over Mount Ayr in Corning. “We started off the night a bit slow as they were able to push the point game and stick with us,” Sparks said. “We struggled in the back row getting our passes in system but were still successful in the front row. I was very proud of the girls at the service line as we served 93 percent as a team. That is something we have been working towards all season. We were able to stay scrappy and take the win in three sets which was another goal of ours.” Larsen had a solid night in the front row leading the team in kills with 13. Mullen had 20 assists to lead the team in the win. Dalton had six kills and two digs, Haer had three kills and four digs, Jayley Schlapia and Lillie had two kills and three digs each, and Top had a kill and 11 digs. SWV advances
with 21-14 victory The Timberwolves will head into round two of state playoffs after defeating Madrid 21-14 on Oct. 21. Southwest Valley’s ground assault tallied 285 yards from rushers Evan Timmerman, Isaac Currin, and Bradlee Grantz. Timmerman had two touchdowns and 206 yards on 27 carries, Currin had 76 yards on 13 carries, and Grantz had a touchdown and four yards on four carries. Timmerman was 1-2 passing, connecting with Marshall Knapp for a two-yard loss. Knapp led the defense with 10 solo tackles and two assists while Colin Jacobs had six solos and three assists and Grantz had five solos and an assist. Robbie Barnes and Ely Rodriguez each had four solos and an assist. Timmerman and Devin Greenwalt had three solos and an assist each. Dylan Stormer had two solos and an assist while Theron Mullen and Roman Keefe had two solos each. Currin had a solo and an assist and Wyatt Mendenhall and Dillon Inman each had a solo. Greenwalt had a fumble recovery and Knapp had an interception. Rodriguez had two kick returns for 42 yards and Currin had a 23-yard return. Timmerman had 129 yards on four kickoffs and Gavin Wetzel had a 33-yard punt. SWV will face AHSTW (9-0) on Oct. 28 in Avoca ![]() Fillies stop
Timberwolves 3-1 A slow start Oct. 13 at Shenandoah ended in a 3-1 non-conference loss for Timberwolves volleyball. Southwest Valley fell 14-25, 21-25, 26-24, 21-25 to move to 17-8 on the season. “We started slow allowing them to take the first set. We fought and stayed with them the rest of the night. Taking a win in the third set extending the game to four sets,” head coach Lisa Sparks said. “We were unable to stop Shenandoah's runs at the service line and that kept us from opportunities to get the lead and take another set. We came back from a deficit in the fourth set to fight to the finish.” Charlee Larsen had a strong night against a big block with nine kills followed by Tierney Dalton and Maggie Haer with eight each. Ryanne Mullen handed out 23 assists. The Timberwolves fared better Oct. 11 against Nodaway Valley in a 3-0 victory at Leon for the Pride of Iowa Conference Tournament finals night. SWV took the match 25-20, 25-11, 25-21 to advance in the tournament. “We started the night in the semifinals against Nodaway Valley,” Sparks said. “We were able to start fast and finish with a 3-0 win to move us into the championship game.” Dalton and Haer led the way with 10 and nine kills respectively. “Our team hit well at the net with a positive hitting efficiency,” Sparks said. “Ryanne Mullen dished out a solid 23 assists. Haidyn Top led the way with digs (9). Our serving was strong with multiple ace serves from a wide spread of players. The team ended with nine on the match.” SWV then faced Southeast Warren in the championship match but despite a strong first set ended the night 25-21, 16-25, 22-25, 21-25. “We were able to build off our momentum from our previous win in the semifinals and take the first set,” Sparks said. “We fought hard and came out second in the conference with a 1-3 loss to SEW.” Larsen led the way offensively with 13 kills, followed by Dalton and Haer with nine a piece. “Maggie Haer played well on defense against a very strong SEW hitter and ended the set with 14 digs,” Sparks said. “Ryanne Mullen hit a huge career milestone, surpassing 1,000 career assists during the championship set.” The Timberwolves faced Bedford when they hosted the first round of the POI Tournament on Oct. 10. SWV claimed the win 3-1. “We started the night off strong and confident taking the first two sets 25-15, 25-17 then let Bedford get a little momentum on us in the third set. We came back firing in the fourth set taking the win 26-24,” Sparks said. “We had all around solid stats from every aspect. Our serving percentage was effective and consistent which is something we have been working on, while averaging three aces a set as a team.” Larsen and Katey Lillie had great nights offensively with 17 and 16 kills respectively. “The team as a whole had another positive hitting efficiency on the night. Ryanne Mullen had many options from our hitter as she was able to dish out a solid 44 assists,” Sparks said. “Our defense was huge in the back row with four girls being in double digits for digs. Larsen (15), Maggie Haer (15), Tierney Dalton (14) and Haidyn Top (10).” The Timberwolves continue regional play at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 when they host Mount Ayr (9-14) in Corning. SWV falls to Mount Ayr
The Timberwolves moved to 6-2 on the season following a 33-14 Class A District 7 loss Oct. 14 on the road with Mount Ayr (7-1). Southwest Valley had touchdowns in the first and fourth quarters, scoring on a pass from Evan Timmerman to Marshall Knapp and on a rush by Timmerman. The Raiders managed to block the extra point following Knapp’s touchdown then answered with a touchdown of their own on the Timberwolves’ kickoff. Mount Ayr scored a touchdown in the first three quarters then capped the win with two more in the fourth. The Raiders’ defense stymied SWV’s passing game, holding Timmerman to 1-10. Bradlee Grantz had 91 yards on 12 carries followed by Timmerman with 29 yards on 16 carries, Isaac Currin with 22 yards on eight rushes, and Ely Rodriguez with four yards and five rushes. Knapp led the defense with eight solo tackles and two assists while Rodriguez had five solos and three assists. Currin and Colin Jacobs had four solos and two assists each. Grantz had two solos and two assists as well as a 24-yard interception, Dillon Inman and Robbie Barnes had two solos and an assist, and Devin Greenwalt had two solos. Timmerman had a solo and two assists, Theron Mullen had two assists, and Roman Keefe had an assist. Grantz had 30 yards on two kick returns and Knapp had an 18-yard return. Gavin Wetzel punted five times for 156 yards. The Timberwolves had Oct. 21 to Madrid (6-2) for the first round of state playoffs. SWV runners
gear up for POI The SWV Timberwolves ran on Oct. 3 in Greenfield at the Nodaway Valley Invitational. The boys ran five and posted a team score of 299, finishing 11th in the team standings. The girls ran three runners and did not post a team score. For the boys, junior Ethan James finished 66th and freshman Ashton Boswell finished 67th. Sophomore Matthew Means was 87th, freshman Lucas James was 92nd, and senior Sawyer Hensley was 93rd to round out the boys squad. In the girls race, junior Karissa Richey was 68th. Sophomore Victoria Fletchall finished 69th and senior Julia Means finished 80th. “Karissa, Victoria, and Ethan all ran faster course times tonight than last year,” head coach Jason Hults said. “The rest of the team ran well in the cool conditions.” The Timberwolves are scheduled to compete Oct. 11 in the Pride of Iowa Conference meet in Afton. Results from Nodaway Valley include: Boys — E. James, 66th, 24:15.85; Boswell, 67th, 24:16.05; Means, 87th, 31:24.11; L. James, 92nd, 31:43.27; Hensley, 93rd, 33:25.24 Team (average scores) — Intestate 35 20:06.03, Tri-Center 20:18.07, Martensdale-St. Mary’s 20:38.82, Nodaway Valley 21:27.60, Woodward Granger 21:19.72, Van Meter 21:20.65, Pleasantville 22:01.56, Diagonal 24:59.60, West Central Valley 26:13.27, Bedford 25:43.60, SWV 29:00.89 Girls — Richey, 68th, 30:59.96; Fletchall, 69th, 31:32.47; Means, 80th, 44:16.22 ![]() Wins improve
T-Wolf volleyball Wins over Mount Ayr and Martensdale-St. Mary’s helped Southwest Valley improve its record to 15-6 as the Timberwolves enter Pride of Iowa Conference tournament. SWV defeated Mount Ayr 25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 25-19 at home Oct. 4 for Senior Night and Pink Out for breast cancer awareness. “This was our last conference game of the season before heading into our conference tournament next week,” head coach Lisa Sparks said. “We were able to take the win three sets to one. Our passing kept us a little out of system which effected our in system balls and our serving errors gave away too many points. We were able to find some open spots in their defense that we capitalized on to help us in our win.” Charlee Larsen had strong night, leading the team with 14 kills. Tierney Dalton followed with nine and Jayley Schlapia came up strong with seven. Ryanne Mullen added 28 assists. Maggie Haer had another strong night serving with four aces in the win. SWV defeated Martensdale-St. Mary’s 25-17, 25-12, 25-15 on Oct. 3. “I was very pleased as everyone who saw court time had a positive hitting efficiency,” Sparks said. “We still have some work to do at the service line to be aggressive but also consistent. Most of our errors tonight were at the service line while still averaging a little over five aces a set. We had solid nights out of Charlee Larsen (nine kills) and Katey Lillie (seven kills).” Haidyn Top kept running the show out of the back row with 12 digs and Mullen dished out a solid 22 assists on the night. The Timberwolves hosted Bedford Oct. 10 in the first round of POI play. Results were unavailable at press time. ![]() SWV defeats
Riverside 49-21 The Timberwolves fought off Riverside’s fourth quarter attack to claim a 49-21 win Oct. 7 on Senior Night. Southwest Valley scored a touchdown in the first quarter and added two more in the second for a 28-7 lead at the half. The Bulldogs answered with touchdowns in the third and fourth quarter but the Timberwolves rounded out their scoring with two more. SWV’s Evan Timmerman threw two touchdown passes, a 52-yard pass to Isaac Currin and a 15-yard pass to Marshall Knapp. Timmerman was 4-5 passing for 113 yards. Devin Greenwalt and Ely Rodriguez each had a 23-yard reception. Rodriguez rushed eight times for two touchdowns on 45 yards. Timmerman finished the night with a touchdown and 80 yards on 24 rushes. Currin had a touchdown and 97 yards on 16 carries. Bradlee Grantz had a touchdown and 49 yards on three carries as well as a 2-point conversion. Gavin Wetzel rushed once for 26 yards. Colin Jacobs and Knapp had big nights for the Timberwolves with Jacobs making six solo tackles and four assists while Knapp had six solos and an assist. Freshman Wyatt Mendenhall had four solos and an assist. Currin, Rodriguez, and Theron Mullen had three solos and an assist each. Colton Pegg and Greenwalt had two solos and an assist each. Robbie Barnes and Dillon Inman had a solo and an assist each. Timmerman had a solo and Dylan Stormer had an assist. For special teams, Grantz had a 45-yard kick return and Knapp had a 41-yard return. Timmerman had eight kickoffs for 207 yards. The Timberwolves (6-1) will face Mount Ayr (6-1) Oct. 14 at Mount Ayr. ![]() Timberwolves hang
on to defeat Bulldogs Persistence paid off Sept. 27 for the Timberwolves in a hard-fought match against Bedford after Southwest Valley battled back for the winning set over the Bulldogs. “The games went back and forth as we took the first two sets and dropped the third and fourth,” head coach Lisa Sparks said. “We fought back from a deficit in the fifth set to take the win on the night.” The Timberwolves claimed the first two sets 25-28, 25-22 but Bedford came back to take the next two 26-24, 25-19. SWV came back ready to win the final set 16-14. “We had trouble at the serving line and staying in system throughout the night. The girls fought hard against a scrappy Bedford team,” Sparks said. “Our offense produced again tonight with great hitting efficiency for the entire team. We have things to fine tune heading into next week.” Tierney Dalton had a strong night once again with 17 kills and hitting .425 on the night despite a small injury. Charlee Larsen and Katey Lillie also had a strong night with 11 and nine kills for the team. Maggie Haer had an outstanding night of defense with 23 digs to lead the team. She also had five kills. “I am also proud to report that Maggie Haer hit a career milestone of 500 career digs! She has moved positions this year as she was the libero the previous two seasons but even with a new role she continues to be a strong part of our defense,” Sparks said. “She needed nine going into tonight's game to make her 500 tonight and went above and beyond that with 23 on the night! I am proud of Maggie's hard work, she is a huge asset to our team.” Jayley Schlapia had five kills while Haidyn Top had 12 digs. The Timberwolves (13-6) travel Oct. 4 to Martensdale-St. Marys (2-12) and are at home Oct. 4 for Senior Night with Mount Ayr (7-11). SWV defeats Earlham 21-0
The Timberwolves scored a second-quarter touchdown then added two more in the third to take out Earlham 21-0 Sept. 30 in Corning. Junior quarterback Evan Timmerman scored all three touchdowns to finish the night with 208 yards on 30 carries. Isaac Currin had 75 yards on 18 rushes followed by Ely Rodriguez with five yards on four carries and Bradlee Grantz with a three-yard rush. Marshall Knapp and Colin Jacobs led the defense with six solo tackles and two assists and four solos and four assists respectively. Timmerman had two solos and four assists, Robbie Barnes had two solos and two assists, Dillon Inman had a solo and two assists, and Devin Greenwalt had a solo, two assists, and a sack. Theron Mullen had three assists, Isaac Currin and Rodriguez had two assists each, and Grantz and Tate Haffner had an assist each. Greenwalt and Barnes also had fumble recoveries while Currin had a three-yard interception. Haffner had 49 yards on two kickoffs and Timmerman had a 30-yard kickoff. Gavin Wetzel punted once for 39 yards. The Timberwolves (5-1) host Riverside (2-4) Oct. 7 for Senior Night and the Pink Out Game for breast cancer awareness. Timberwolf runners
continue to show improvement Southwest Valley’s cross country team travelled Sept. 29 to Shenandoah to run. Competing in one of the biggest meets of the year with 25 schools in attendance, the Timberwolves posted their fastest times of the season. Sophomore Brandon Cox returned from being sick earlier in the week to lead the boys squad for the first time in 21:52.89 to finish in 90th place. Junior Ethan James ran 22:41.20 to finish 100th, 0:58 faster than last year. Sophomore Matthew Means finished 104th in a time of 23:09.20, 4:09 faster than last season. Freshman Lucas James finished 109th in 29:59.55. Junior Kya Newton finished 66th in 27:50.52 to lead the girls squad. Junior Karissa Richey improved her time from last season by 3:30 to finish in 28:54.32 in 72nd place. Sophomore Victoria Fletchall ran 29:01.43 to finish 73rd, an improvement of 2:43 over last season. Senior Julia Means finished in 42:39.86 to take 82nd. “Every year we run some of our best times in Shenandoah. We kind of feel like the course is a little short overall, which explains some of the fast times,” head coach Jason Hults said. “It's always difficult in cross country to compare one course to the next since they are all different. Which is why we really talk to the kids about comparing your times from last season to this season on each course. When the kids can see the improvement in those times on each course, that's when they know all the hard work they put in at practice is paying off.” The Timberwolves began the week Sept. 27 with meet No. 1 in Osceola at the Clarke Invitational. With only six runners available, no team scores were earned by either the girls or boys. Four of the five veteran runners ran new course best times, continuing the improvement they have shown at each meet all season long. In the girls race, Newton led the girls with a 59th place finish, running her season best time of 29:39.96. Richey finished 62nd in 30:24.81, an improvement of 3:09 over last season. Fletchall finished 64th in 30:45.53, an improvement of 6:25 over last year. “The girls continue to run well and show improvement on each course,” Hults said. “We hope to have all five girls healthy and available for the conference meet in a few weeks, and if the girls can continue to improve we will see some good results.” Ethan James improved his time by 2:41 over last season to lead the boys squad with a 69th place finish in a time of 24:01.89. Means finished 82nd in a time of 26:18.26, an improvement of 3:58 over last season. Lucas James finished 97th in a time of 31:32.35. “The boys continue to show great improvement each meet,” Hults said. “We look forward to seeing a couple boys come back next week from illness to fill a full squad and post a team score.” The Timberwolves competed Oct. 3 in Greenfield at the Nodaway Valley Invitational. Results from the invitational were unavailable at press time. SWV competes again Oct. 11 in a Pride of Iowa Conference Championships at Lakeshore Country Club in Afton. ![]() Timberwolves ground Falcons 43-0
The Timberwolves’ defense kept Wayne off the board Sept. 23 for a 43-0 victory at home. Southwest Valley quarterback Evan Timmerman completed two of three passes for 75 yards and a touchdown, connecting on a 48-yard pass to Roman Keefe. Wyatt Mendenhall completed a seven-yard pass and had a one-yard rush. Timmerman also added two 2-point conversions and Isaac Currin added one. Timmerman also had 110 yards and three touchdowns on 17 rushes. Ely Rodriguez had 41 yards and a touchdown on five carries while Cael Hogan rushed twice for 79 yards and a touchdown. Currin had 112 yards on 17 carries. Bradlee Grantz gained six yards on two rushes. Marshall Knapp had a 27-yard reception and Colton Pegg had a seven-yard reception. Knapp claimed five solo tackles and an assist while Rodriguez had four solos and three assists and Colton Jacobs had four solos and an assist. Evan Pearson made three solo tackles, Dillon Inman had two solos and two assists, and Robbie Barnes had two solos and an assist, as did Currin. Devin Greenwalt had a solo and two assists while Keefe and Timmerman each had a solo. Theron Mullen had three assists and Gavin Wetzel, Tate Haffner, and Dustin Shuler had assists. Mendenhall had a fumble recovery and Hogan and Grantz each had an interception. Jacobs had a two-yard kick return and Knapp had a 12-yard punt return. Haffner had 211 yards on six kickoffs and Grantz had a 25-yard kickoff. Wetzel punted once for 35 yards. The Timberwolves (4-1) are at home Sept. 30 against Earlham (2-3). ![]() Fewer runners
don’t slow SWV Despite having too few runners to field either a boys or girls team, the Timberwolves ran Sept. 22 at ACGC in Guthrie Center. “After not running on Tuesday [Sept. 20] at Creston due to the excessive heat index, we added the ACGC meet to our schedule to ensure we had a competitive race this week,” head coach Jason Hults said. “Injuries and illness caught up to us this week though, and we only were able to field three runners in each of the boys and girls races.” Sophomore Victoria Fletchall led the Timberwolves girls for the first time in her career with a new season best time of 30:05, finishing in 38th place. Junior Karissa Richey was right behind her in 39th place, also with a season best time of 30:23. “This was both girls first run on the ACGC course, as we have not run here since 2019; but both of them have been running very well all year with improved times on every course so far,” Hults said. Rounding out the girls squad was senior Julia Means in 46th place with a time of 37:15.19. Junior Ethan James led the boys in 26:52 with sophomore Matthew Means right on his heels in 26:53 to finish 65th and 66th overall. Freshman Lucas James ran a new career PR of 30:47 to finish 73rd. “Lucas has been making steady progress each meet, and I was happy to see him get a new PR tonight,” Hults said. “Ethan and Matthew ran well in the cool conditions also.” The Timberwolves are back in action with another double meet this week when they head to Clarke in Osceola on Sept. 27 and Shenandoah on Sept. 29. CAM slips by SWV
in tournament The Timberwolves went 3-1 in pool play Sept. 24 to earn a shot at the Southwest Valley Volleyball Tournament title but fell short against CAM, falling 25-19, 22-25, 13-15. “It was a very competitive tournament for all teams involved,” head coach Lisa Sparks said. “We started pool play taking our first two matches 2-0 against E-EHK and Clarke. We fought through our third match, dropping it to Fremont-Mils 1-2. We were consistent in pool play and posted some strong stats. As a team we are playing well together and have a great connection on offense. In tournament play we opened playing Lenox, for the second time this week, and taking the win to move to the championship game. We played CAM in the championship game and just didn't have enough gas to keep our hardware.” SWV defeated E-EHK 21-14, 21-9 and Clarke 21-12, 21-14 before sliding to Fremont-Mills 21-16, 22-20, 15-12. The team had more than 100 kills in the tournament. Tierney Dalton posted 30 kills on the day followed by Charlee Larsen with 26, Katie Lillie with 24, and Maggie Haer with 16. “Being able to have those numbers from multiple hitters helps our team immensely,” Sparks said. “Ryanne Mullen gave out 85 assists on the day. She consistently puts up amazing numbers game after game. I am pleased with our team stats. We are serving aggressively and our serving/hitting efficiency were positive for the day. I am excited to see where the rest of our season will take us.” The Timberwolves defeated Lenox 25-20, 25-8, 22-25, 30-28 at home in a Pride of Iowa Conference matchup. “We took the win three sets to one,” Sparks said. “It was a great win to take us to 2-0 in the conference. Haidyn Top had a stellar night, going 29-29 from the service line and serving seven aces,” Sparks said. “She also led the team in digs having 12 of the teams 21 digs on the night. I am very impressed with her skill and effort on the court.” Dalton and Haer lead the way in kills with 12 and 10 respectively. “I am very proud in our team as they started the night with high energy in the first and second set,” Sparks said. “They lost momentum in the third set but were able to find it again and finish a very close fourth set to take the win at home.” SWV defeated East Union 25-19, 25-13, 2-0 but fell to Stanton 12-25, 13-25, 0-2 at East Union on Sept. 19. “Our night was led offensively by Tierney Dalton and Charlee Larsen, both with nine kills for the night,” Sparks said. “We got into trouble in serve receive as each team was able to get on a run a couple of times during the night. We are still working on consistency from our hitters and keeping the ball in system. Our serving was effective and consistent tonight, keeping us in the game.” The Timberwolves (12-6) travel Sept. 27 to face Bedford (5-10). T-Wolves run to fifth
at Lake Icaria The Timberwolves hosted their home Cross Country Invitational at Lake Icaria on Sept. 15. With seven teams posting boys scores, the Timberwolves placed fifth in the team standings, their first top five team finish of the season. The girls did not post a team score with only four girls running. Freshman Ashton Boswell led the way for the boys with a new career personal record of 23:09.91 in 32nd place overall. Junior Ethan James ran his best course time, 24:30.17 to finish 46th; an improvement of 2:42 over last year. Sophomore Brandon Cox ran a 24:55.93 on his first attempt at the home meet, good for 54th. Sophomore Matthew Means ran 26:26.01 for 58th place; an improvement of 2:06 from last season. Freshman Lucas James finished in 32:28.35 in 70th place overall. “The boys are running very well this early in the season,” head coach Jason Hults said. “Ethan and Matthew have run two minutes or more faster on each course so far this season. Ashton and Brandon are proving to be great additions to our team. Lucas is showing great improvement from meet to meet and his effort tonight in beating Bedford’s No. 5 runner allowed us to beat them by 2 points in the overall team score. I am really excited to see what the boys can do when the conference meet rolls around if they can keep improving and stay healthy.” Junior Kya Newton ran her best time of the season in 30:56.18 to place 30th overall and lead the girls. Junior Karissa Richey ran 1:14 faster than last season to finish 32nd in 31:49.39. Sophomore Victoria Fletchall placed 34th in 32:19.14, 3:01 faster than last season. Senior Julia Means ran her first race of the season to finish 43rd overall. “Karissa and Victoria are putting up some great times, showing improvement from meet to meet over last year,” Hults said. “Kya ran her best time of the year and looked strong tonight. Julia finished her first race of the year after battling some early season injuries, which is promising. The girls have been working hard and their efforts are showing in their times.” Southwest Valley ran Sept. 12 at the Paul Fish Invitational in Red Oak. The Timberwolves ran a full boys squad and finished sixth in the team race with 181 points. The girls ran four for so did not post a team score. The Timberwolves saw four of their six veteran runners post course best times with one new career personal record. On the boys side, Boswell led the way for the Timberwolves with a 36th place finish. Ethan James placed 45th and improved his time by 1:19 from last season. Cox placed 46th and Means placed 50th with a new career PR of 24:54.14 and an impressive 6:40 improvement on his course time from last season. Rounding out the boys squad was Lucas James in 60th place. Newton led the girls in 29th place. Richey finished 31st, improving her course time by 3:10. “Victoria Fletchall finished 32nd with an awesome 7:03 improvement from her time last year,” Hults said. “The times were very impressive tonight. I was very excited to see the progress from last season, and the improvement our runners are showing already this early in the season. If we can continue to stay healthy, we will see some great things from these young Timberwolves as the season moves on.” The Timberwolves are schedule to compete Sept. 20 at the Creston Invitational. Results from Red Oak include: Boys — Boswell, 36th, 23:38.02; E. James, 45th, 24:10.02; Cox, 46th, 24:22.18; Means, 50th, 24:54.14; L. James, 60th, 31:38.75 Team (average times) — Riverside, 19:38.12; Clarinda, 19:15.05; Shenandoah, 21:17.06; East Mills, 23:17.61; SWV, 25:44.63; Bedford, 27:35.96 Girls — Newton, 29th, 31:04.65; Richey, 31st, 31:35.78; Fletchall, 32nd, 32:05.94 Team (average times) — Clarinda, 22:35.86; Riverside, 25:26.78; Creston, 26:57.53; Shenandoah, 31:08.06; Red Oak, 31:35.61 T-Wolves fight back
to defeat Griswold A strong defense helped Southwest Valley overtake Griswold in five sets Sept. 15 at home in Villisca. After taking the first two sets 25-17, 25-18, the Timberwolves gave up the next two sets 19-25, 19-25 before claiming the win with a 15-7 final set. “We started off the night with great energy and focus leading to a 2-0 set lead,” head coach Lisa Sparks said. “We lost that energy and allowed them to come back the and take the third and fourth sets. I was pleased with the way we finished the night with the same focus and energy as the first two sets.” Tierney Dalton had 13 kills and Charlee Larsen had 10 but it was their play on the other side of the ball that helped lead to the win. “Our defense helped us to our win,” Sparks said. “Haidyn Top was the leader for defense as she led the team with 18 digs. Tierney Dalton and Charlee Larsen had team high with 13 and 10.” Katey Lillie had seven kills and nine digs while Maggie Haer had six kills and six digs. Ryan Mullen had two kills and nine digs. Jayley Schlapia had a kill. SWV defeated Nodaway Valley 25-17, 25-11, 25-21 in its first Pride of Iowa Conference match Sept. 13 in Greenfield. “We ended the night well taking the win in three straight sets,” Sparks said. “Our serving was huge tonight. Maggie Haer and Charlee Larsen ended the night with five ace serves each.” Dalton had three aces and six kills, Lillie had two aces and five kills, and Mullen had an ace and a kill. “Defensively we were scrappy and were able to get on the floor and keep the ball alive,” Sparks said. “Haidyn Top had a great night for us in the back row with seven digs. Maggie came in behind her with six digs.” Mullen, Lillie, and Larsen each had three digs. “At the net Charlee had a strong night with 11 kills, following her was Tierney Dalton with six and Katey Lillie with five,” Sparks said. “With those hitters Ryanne Mullen was able to spread the ball out and handed out 18 assists on the night.” The Timberwolves (8-4) host Lenox (6-12) Sept. 20 and the Southwest Valley Volleyball Tournament on Sept. 24. Play begins at 9 a.m. for the tournament. T-Wolves shut out
St. Albert 14-0 The Timberwolves climbed to 3-1 on the season following a 14-0 win Sept. 16 on the road with St. Albert. Freshman quarterback Wyatt Mendenhall was 3-4 passing for 14 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Currin. Mendenhall also had 14 yards on seven carries and a touchdown. Marshall Knapp had two receptions for seven yards. Ely Rodriguez rushed 15 times for 95 yards while Currin had 80 yards on 20 rushes. Bradlee Grantz added 17 yards on six carries and had a 2-point conversion. Knapp led the defense with five solo tackles and an assist. Colin Jacobs had four solos and three assists. Robbie Barnes had three solos and two assists, Theron Mullen had three solos and an assist, and Colton Pegg had three solos. Devin Greenwalt had two solos and three assists, Rodriguez had two solos and an assist, and Grantz had two solos. Currin had a solo and an assist, Roman Keefe had a solo, and Dillon Inman had an assist. Both Currin and Mullen had fumble recoveries. Keefer had a 31-yard interception and Pegg had a three-yard interception. Currin had a three-yard punt return and Rodriguez had a return. Grantz had 74 yards on three kickoffs while Gavin Wetzel punted three times for 96 yards. The Timberwolves are at home Sept. 23 to host Wayne (0-4). Kickoff is at 7 p.m SWV goes 2-2 in tourney
Southwest Valley picked up two wins Sept. 10 in the Griswold Volleyball Tournament. “We went 2-2 on the day, taking wins against AHSTW and Denison-Schleswig,” head coach Lisa Sparks said. “We took our losses from ACGC and Exira-EHK.” Two Timberwolves — Tierney Dalton and Ryanne Mullen, were named to the All-Tournament Team. “Tierney Dalton led the way for attacking with 20 on the day, 10 from our match against AHSTW,” Sparks said. “Maggie Haer had an amazing defensive showing as she posted 21 digs on the day. Ryanne Mullen continues her amazing work as the setter giving out 57 assists to our offensive work.” Charlee Lawson had 10 kills in the tournament with 15 digs. Katey Lillie had nine kills and four digs. Jayley Schlapia had six kills and a dig. Haidyn Top had six digs. This week the Timberwolves face Nodaway Valley on the road Sept. 13 and host Griswold at Villisca on Sept. 15. T-Wolf runners
improve times The Timberwolves ran their second meet of the 2022 season Sept. 6 at the Clarinda Invitational. “The weather was beautiful and the competition stiff, as the Timberwolves set out to improve their times from last season,” head coach Jason Hults said. “The boys and girls squads only ran four runners apiece, so no team scores were earned. But four of the six Timberwolves who ran the course last year posted faster times this season.” For the boys squad, junior Ethan James paced the Timberwolves with a 56th place finish, improving his time from last season by 47 seconds and 18 places. First-year runner sophomore Brandon Cox was 60th in his second varsity race. Sophomore Matthew Means showed the biggest improvement of the night for the Timberwolves, finishing 66th overall, moving up 25 spots and 3:37 faster than last season. Rounding out the boys squad was freshman Lucas James in 85th. The girls squad was led by sophomore Olivia Kathikar and junior Kya Newton in 41st and 42nd place overall. Sophomore Victoria Fletchall shaved off 2:35 from her time last year, moving up two spots to finish 51st. Junior Karissa Richey improved her time by 2:27 and also moved up two spots to finish 53rd. “Overall, I am very excited about the results from these first two meets,” Hults said. “Our returning letter winners are running faster times at each meet than they ran last year. And our first-year runners are pushing themselves and being super competitive. It's still very early in the season, but if we can stay healthy and continue to work hard, we will see some great progress from this team as the season moves on.” The Timberwolves are back in action with their first double meet week when they run at Red Oak on Sept. 12 and host their home invitational Sept. 15. Results from Clarinda are: Boys — Ethan James, 56th, 25:15.90; Cox, 60th, 26:00.41; Means, 66th, 26:51.22; Lucas James, 85th, 35:14.17 Girls — Kathikar, 41st, 32:05.27; Newton, 42nd, 32:15.15; Fletchall, 51st, 34:00.43; Richey, 53rd, 34:36.90 ![]() AHSTW dashes SWV homecoming hopes
Despite the Timberwolves’ 229 yards rushing AHSTW kept Southwest Valley off the scoreboard for a 28-0 homecoming defeat Sept. 9 in Corning. The Vikings all but shut down the Timberwolves’ passing game, allowing just three of five passes and only 23 yards. SWV freshman Wyatt Mendenhall was 1-3 for 12 yards passing while juniors Isaac Currin completed a seven-yard pass and Evan Timmerman completed a four-yard pass. Bradlee Grantz had two receptions for 11 yards and Marshall Knapp had a 12-yard reception. Currin had 29 rushes for 123 yards followed by Grantz with 52 yards on 13 carries, Timmerman with 30 yards on seven carries, Ely Rodriguez with 14 yards on two rushes, and Mendenhall with 10 yards on four rushes. Defensively, Colin Jacobs had four solo tackles, an assist, and a sack. Knapp had three solos and an assist. Timmerman and Theron Mullen had two solos and an assist each. Devin Greenwalt had a solo for a sack. Robbie Barnes had a solo and a sack and Roman Keefe had a solo. Rodriguez had three assists, Dillon Inman had two assists, and Colton Pegg, Currin, and Tate Haffner had single assists. Currin had 54 yards on three kick returns and a seven-yard punt return. Currin had an 11-yard kick return. Timmerman had a 30-yard kickoff. Currin punted twice for 25 yards. SWV (2-1) takes on St. Albert (1-2) for the Falcons’ homecoming Sept. 16. SWV cross country begins
The Timberwolves kicked off their 2022 cross country season Sept. 1 at the West Central Valley Wildcat Invitational in Redfield. The boys team finished seventh overall, while the girls did not post a team score. “Five Timberwolves posted new course PRs, which is a great way to start the season,” head coach Jason Hults said. The boys squad had three first-year runners and two returning letter winners. Freshman Ashton Boswell led the boys with a 44th place finish in his first varsity race. Junior Ethan James was second for the Timberwolves in 51st and newcomer sophomore Brandon Cox finished 55th in his first race. Rounding out the boys squad was sophomore Matthew Means in 63rd and freshman Lucas James in 74th. The girls had three finishers, all returning letter winners, and all three ran new course personal records to kick off their season. Leading the way for the girls was sophomore Olivia Kathikar with a 14th place medal finish. “Olivia ran 1:45 faster than last season and moved up 25 places,” Hults said. Junior Karissa Richey finished 44th and sophomore Victoria Fletchall finished 49th. “Karissa ran 30 seconds faster (+4 spots) and Victoria 58 seconds faster (+15 spots) from last season,” Hults said. The Timberwolves competed Sept. 6 in Clarinda. Results from WCV include: Boys — Boswell, 44th, 23:10.09; E. James, 51st, 23:49.60; Cox, 55th, 24:01.37; Means, 63rd, 26:12.71; L. James, 74th, 30:50.15 Girls — Kathikar, 14th, 26:03.93; Richey, 44th, 30:26.67; Fletchall, 49th, 31:55.37 ![]() SWV stops Central Decatur
Southwest Valley improved its record to 3-1 after defeating Central Decatur 25-11, 25-18, 18-25, 25-16 at home Aug. 30. “We started off the night with great energy. We ended up with the win,” head coach Lisa Sparks said. “We struggled a bit at the service line but were solid attacking the ball. Charlee Larsen led the way with 11 kills followed by Tierney Dalton's 7. We have a break the rest of the week to work on skills in practice.” Larsen also ended the night with five aces, five digs, and a block. Maggie Haer had four kills, three aces, and three digs. Katey Lillie had three kills, an ace, a dig, and a block. Jayley Schlapia had three kills. Haidyn Topp had four aces and four digs. Ryanne Mullen had a block. The Timberwolves compete Sept. 10 in the Griswold Volleyball Tournament with Creston, ACGC, AHSTW, Denison-Schleswig, Exira-EHK, and Riverside. Timberwolves blank
Sidney 35-0 Southwest Valley’s defense allowed only 102 total yards in a 35-0 victory Sept. 2 over Sidney in Corning. The Timberwolves claimed 249 yards rushing and 78 passing in the win to move to 2-0 on the season. SWV’s Evan Timmerman rushed 13 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Isaac Currin had a touchdown and 58 yards on 10 carries while Bradlee Grantz had a touchdown and 22 yards on four carries. Wyatt Mendenhall added an eight-yard rush. Timmerman was 5-6 passing including a touchdown pass to Grantz, who finished the night with 54 yards on three receptions. Marshall Knapp pulled in two passes for 24 yards. Colin Jacobs led the Timberwolves’ offense with six solo tackles and four assists. Ely Rodriquez had three solos and four assists followed by Robbie Barns with two solos and three assists. Timmerman and Currin with had solos and two assists each. Dillion Inman had two solos and an assist. Colton Pegg and Roman Keefe had a solo and an assist followed by Evan Pearson with a solo, Theron Mullen with two assists, and Mendenhall, Devin Greenwalt, Beau Johnston, and Owen Paul with an assist each. Timmerman had a 15-yard kickoff return and a punt return with no yards gained. He also had 142 yards on five kickoffs. Knapp had three punt returns for 29 yards. Currin had a 28-yard punt. The Timberwolves host undefeated AHSTW on Sept. 9 for homecoming. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ![]() Timberwolves defeat Central Decatur 17-11
The Timberwolves’ Evan Timmerman had 18 carries for two touchdowns and 118 yards rushing in a 17-11 win over Central Decatur Aug. 26 in Corning. Isaac Currin had 78 yards on 14 rushes and Bradlee Grantz had six yards on four carries. Timmerman also scored two 2-point conversions and was 5-10 passing for 41 yards. Grantz had 27 yards on three receptions while Roman Keefe and Marshall Knapp each had a seven-yard reception. Colin Jacobs led the defense with six solo tackles and an assist. Robbie Barnes had three solos and a sack while Dillon Inman and Knapp had three solos each. Ely Rodriguez had two solos and an assist. Currin and Theron Mullen had a solo and an assist each. Grantz, Timmerman, Keefe, and Colton Pegg all had assists. Devin Greenwalt had a fumble recovery and Jacobs had an interception. Currin had a 20-year kick return. Knapp had a 17-yard kick return and a three-yard punt return. Timmerman had 62 yards on two kickoffs and 35 yards and three punts. Currin had a 55-yard punt. The Timberwolves (1-0) travel Sept. 2 to Sidney (1-0). SWV stops Creston 3-1
The Timberwolves volleyball team improved to 2-1 on the season Aug. 29 after defeating Creston 25-16, 20-25, 25-11, 25-15 at home. “The girls started the game off with high energy and focus and we were able to use that to help our momentum,” head coach Lisa Sparks said. “Our passing helped our game by keeping us in system and allowing us to run a solid offense. Charlee [Larsen], Tierney [Dalton], and Katey [Lillie] had great offensive nights leading the team in kills (seven, six, five).” Jayley Schlapia had two kills and Maggie Haer had one. Haer also had seven aces. Dalton had three aces, Ryanne Mullen, Larsen, and Haidyn Top had two each, and Lillie had one. “Our serving was very strong and had a huge impact in our win tonight. Maggie Haer served up seven aces while the team had 17 as a whole,” Sparks said. “Serving that aggressively and still maintaining a 90 percent team serving efficiency is something the girls should be proud of.” The team kicked off the season Aug. 25 by hosting a triangular with Essex and East Mills. Southwest Valley defeated Essex 25-15, 26-24 but fell to East Mills 25-8, 25-15. “Katey Lillie had a good showing in her varsity debut as a sophomore leading the team in kills against Essex (four),” Sparks said. Lillie also had three aces and two blocks on the night. Dalton had three kills, two blocks, and eight digs. Larsen had three kills, two aces, and seven digs. Haer had four kills, two aces, and two digs. Mullen had two kills as did Schlapia who also had one dig. “As a team we serve received well and spread the digs out being aggressive on defense. Our unforced errors did give too many points to our opponents,” Sparks said. “We come back in action tomorrow night Aug. 30 against Central Decatur at home.” Timberwolves cap season against Mt. Ayr
Southwest Valley’s softball season came to a close July 6 in a 13-1 loss to Mt. Ayr in the Class 2A Region 4 quarterfinal. The Timberwolves’ Camry Johnston hit a single and was the only score of the night. Morgan Shuler hit a single and Ada Lund hit a double to score Johnston Fillies take SWV 13-3
The Timberwolves fell 13-3 June 29 to the Fillies at Shenandoah. The Fillies scored 2 in the bottom of the first. Southwest Valley tied the game following runs in the second and top of the third but Shenandoah drove home six in the bottom of the third. The Fillies added another run in the fifth. The Timberwolves scored a run in the top of the sixth but the Fillies added 4 more in the bottom half. Ada Lund was 3-3 with three singles for SWV. Maddie Bevington hit a double. The Timberwolves (14-14) are scheduled to face Mount Ayr (14-9) July 6 in the Class 2A Region 4 Quarterfinal at Mount Ayr. ![]() Homer helps lift
SWV over Lenox A walk-off home run by Southwest Valley’s Mackenzie Richards helped give the Timberwolves a 4-3 win June 24 over Lenox in Corning. The Tigers scored their first run in the top of the fourth then added 1 more in both the sixth and seventh inning. SWV had a fourth inning run then followed with 1 more in each of the last three innings for the win. Ada Lund hit two singles. Evy Marlin, Maddie Bevington, Morgan Shuler, and Kenzie Maeder each hit a single. Ryanne Mullen got the win and Haidyn Top got the save in the circle. Camryn Johnston went 5-5 at the plate with two singles, a double, triple and grand slam for an 18-11 win June 23 over Bedford. Mullen, Marlin, and Shuler hit 2 singles. Lund, Top, Maeder and Sadie Groszkrueger hit 1 single each. Bevington hit a double. Mullen got the win and Top had a save in the circle. East Union blanked the Timberwolves 9-0 June 21 in an away game. Marlin went 2-2. Mullen and Richards hit singles. SWV is on the road June 29 with Shenandoah ![]() Timberwolves overpower East Union 18-2
The Timberwolves’ bats unloaded June 21 for an 18-2 blowout over East Union on the road. Brendan Knapp was 4-5 with two doubles, 5 RBIs and eight steals. Beau Johnston and Owen Wilkinson had two hits and 3 RBIs. Blake Thomas struck out five for 0 earned runs and no hits. “This was the night we’ve been waiting for,” head coach Keegan Longabaugh said. “We have always knew what we are capable of and it showed tonight. Guys were putting the ball in play and helping our pitcher out in the mound. We’re hoping this momentum can continue.” Southwest Valley fell 8-2 June 23 in Bedford against the Bulldogs. Knapp and Thomas both had three hits and an RBI. One of those hits for Thomas was a double. “Blake and Brendan came ready to play. They showed their senior leadership at the plate, and unfortunately it didn’t rub off on the rest of the team,” Longabaugh said. “We are back to the drawing board and need to get our kinks out now, so we can move forward with success.” Lenox slipped by the Timberwolves 3-1 June 24 at home in Corning. Dalton Calkins, Robbie Barnes, and Isaac Currin all had a hit. Thomas pitched 6-2/3 innings and allowed only 1 earned run. “It was a clean game on both sides. We had some solid contact but just hit it right to people. Blake once again stepped on the mound and pitched spectacular. It came down to one or maybe two little things that lost it for us. On a normal night, the way our pitching and fielding showed up, we have a chance.” This week’s schedule includes Clarke at home June 27 and away with Shenandoah on June 29. ![]() Timberwolves finish 2-1
at Guthrie Center The Timberwolves softball team finished the June 18 AC/GC Tournament 2-1 at Guthrie City. Southwest Valley overpowered Panorama 12-3, slipped past host AC/GC 6-4, and fell 8-7 to MVAOCOU. Evy Marlin had a single and a double, Sadie Groszkrueger had three singles, and Camryn Johnston and Maddie Bevington had two singles each against MVAOCOU while Ryanne Mullen added a single. Mullen also struck out three. The Timberwolves’ bats opened up against Panorama. Ada Lund hit a triple while Mullen and Mackenzie Maeder each had doubles. Johnston hit two singles. Groszkrueger, Bevington, and Mackenzie Richards all had singles. Maddie Bevington got the win and Haidyn Top with the save in the circle Mullen claimed the win over AC/GC. She also had two singles. Evy Marlin, Top, Morgan Shuler, and Groszkrueger each singled. SWV fell 17-1 June 17 to Mt. Ayr. Mullen scored on a hit by Marlin. Mullen and Lund each singled. Bevington struck out two. SWV scored 6 in the bottom of the seventh June 16 for the walk-off 8-7 win over Nodaway Valley. The inning started with a ground out by Bevington. Shuler singled. Richards reached on an error and Mullen walked. Top hit a single. Marlin was up with bases loaded and hit one to center field to score 2. Johnston hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Marlin for the tying run. Groszkrueger singled and Lund scored for the walk-off win. Mullen got the win in the circle with five strikeouts. The Timberwolves topped Clarinda 7-6 June 25. Mullen got the win and Top claimed the save. Mullen went 2-4 with two singles. Top hit a single and walked twice. Marlin hit two doubles and two singles, going 4-4 on the night. Johnston and Bevington also hit singles. SWV fell 16-4 June 14 against Southeast Warren. Lund went 2-2 at the plate with a single and a double. Groszkrueger, Bevington, and Richards singled. This week’s schedule includes East Union away June 21, AC/GC at home June 22, Bedford away June 23, and Lenox at home June 24. ![]() T-Wolves take on Mt. Ayr
The Timberwolves fell 12-2 June 17 to the Raiders in Mt. Ayr. Brendan Knapp, Beau Johnston, and Dalton Calkins all had a hit. Caleb Pearson added an RBI single. “Our guys finally were able to start hitting the ball. Unfortunately, they went right to guys more than theirs did,” Southwest Valley head coach Keegan Longabaugh said. “We made too many mistakes in the field tonight. Playing a team like Mt Ayr, you can’t give them opportunities to capitalize on mistakes. I was proud of a step in the right direction.” The Timberwolves lost to the Nodaway Valley Wolverines 6-0 on June 16. Brendan Knapp had a hit and so did Blake Thomas. “Our pitching and fielding was consistent,” Longabaugh said. “We need to find it at the plate. If we can do that, things will come together.” SWV fell 10-0 June 15 on the road with Clarinda. The SWV Timberwolves hosted the Southeast Warren Warhawks on June 14 where the Warhawks won 6-4. Dalton Calkins pitched a complete game where he allowed 3 runs. Ethan Bruce had an RBI double and Owen Wilkinson had a 2 RBI double in the bottom of the seventh. “Calkins pitched a great game. He gave us plenty of opportunities, and the defense played solid behind him,” Longabaugh said. “I emphasize that solid defense and pitching can win a game, and that’s what gave us an opportunity against a tough SEW team. I’m beyond proud of what our guys showed tonight and there’s a huge upside for what they did in the field.” The Timberwolves are scheduled to travel June 21 to East Union and June 23 to Bedford then return home June 24 to host Lenox. ![]() Timberwolves overpower Essex 30-2
Southwest Valley’s batters opened with an a 11-run first inning then followed with a 14-run second inning in a 30-2 blowout June 9 over Essex in an away game. The Trojans picked up their only 2 runs in the second inning before the Timberwolves capped the game with 5 more runs in the third. Blake Thomas had two hits with a double and 2 RBI. Robbie Barnes had a 3 RBI triple. Roman Keefe pitched two innings with no earned runs and four strikeouts. “Tonight was a boost for our guys,” head coach Keegan Longabaugh said. “We were focused in from the onset. Everyone had heads up base running and we had timely hits. We have some momentum built our way, and we hope to keep it going against Lenox.” SWV’s 6-run inning came to a 7-6 loss in extra innings against Lenox in a Pride of Iowa Conference matchup June 10. Thomas pitched 4-2/3 innings, allowing no earned runs and throwing six strikeouts. Caleb Pearson had a RBI double at the plate. Keefe, Barnes, Ethan Bruce, and Owen Wilkinson added hits as well. “We had two solid pitching performances from Blake Thomas and Dalton Calkins,” Longabaugh said. “I’ve said it before, but pitch count is a killer. We had our bats going in the fourth when we scored all 6 of our runs. It’s all about the little things in baseball, and it got the best of us tonight. Our guys are sniffing success and are going to be ready to get back at it next week.” The Timberwolves traveled June 8 to Neola to take on the Tri-Center Trojans, where the Trojans won 17-5. Bruce and Thomas both had a double and an RBI. Calkins and Pearson each had a hit as well. “Our bats were singing tonight, but unfortunately, all of the balls we put in play went right to people,” Longabaugh said. “It’s also great as a coach to look at the stat line and see that we only struck out once. This was the No. 2 team in Class 1A and they showed it with their bats. Our guys clawed back and played a good game to get us moving in the right direction.” The Timberwolves are scheduled to host a POI matchup with Southeast Warren on June 14 before traveling to Clarinda on June 15. SWV is home for Senior Night on June 16 with Nodaway Valley and then finishes the week at Mount Ayr on June 17. ![]() SWV makes it
three in a row The Timberwolves claimed three wins in a row, defeating Lenox, Essex, and Tri-Center in a busy week. Southwest Valley topped Lenox 11-6 June 10 on the road. The Timberwolves had 3 runs in the first, 1 in the third, 5 in the fourth, and 2 in the seventh. Camryn Johnston, Evy Marlin, and Ryanne Mullen had two singles each. Sadie Groszkrueger hit a double. Haidyn Top, Morgan Shuler, and Maddie Bevington all had singles. Ryanne Mullen got the win in the circle, striking out three. SWV had a 13-run fifth inning June 9 for a 24-5 victory over Essex. Mullen hit a triple, double and single. Top hit a triple and got the win in the circle with four strikeouts. Marlin hit a single and a double. Ada Lund hit two singles and a double. Shuler hit a single. Camryn Johnston hit a single and a double. Groszkrueger hit two singles. Bevington hit a single. Mackenzie Richards hit a single as well as Kenzie Maeder. The Timberwolves’ Marlin and Groszkrueger went 4-4 at the plate with 3 singles and a double June 8 for a 9-7 win over Tri-Center. Lund hit two singles and Top hit a single. Mullen struck out four. This week’s schedule includes Southeast Warren at home June 14, Clarinda away June 15, Nodaway Valley at home June 16 for Senior Night, Mount Ayr away June 17, and Maple Valley-Anthon Oto Community Schools away June 18. ![]() SWV wins tourney,
stops Red Oak After winning their own tournament June 4 in Corning, the Timberwolves softball team hammered out an 11-1 victory June 6 at home over Red Oak. Ryanne Mullen got the win in the circle against Red Oak. She also hit a double. Ada Lund hit a single and a double. Evy Marlin, Camryn Johnston, and Mackenzie Richards hit singles. In the June 4 Southwest Valley Tournament, the T-Wolves stopped East Mills 13-2 and blanked CAM 7-0 for the title. Haidyn Top struck out six in Game 1 against East Mills. Marlin went 3-4 with a triple and two doubles. Lund, Morgan Shuler, and Maddie Bevington had one hit each. In Game 2, the win went to Mullen, who also hit a double and a single. Marlin singled twice while Top, Johnston, Shuler, and Richards hit a single and Sadie Groszkrueger hit a double. SWV also claimed a 13-3 win May 31 over Bedford. Mullen claimed another win on the mound while going 4-4 at the plate. Top was 3-4 at bat. Johnston, Bevington, and Marlin went 2-4. Lund went 1-3 while Groszkrueger and Shuler went 1-4. The Timberwolves’ only loss last week came June 2 in a 15-1 finish against Mt. Ayr. Lund scored the only run of the night. Mullen, Groszkrueger, Top, and Richards all hit singles. This week’s schedule includes June 9 at Essex and June 10 at Lenox. ![]() SWV edges out Bedford 7-6
The Timberwolves’ Blake Thomas pitched 6-1/3 innings with 2 earned runs and 11 strikeouts for a 7-6 victory May 31 over Bedford in Corning. Dalton Calkins was 2-3 with an RBI. Ethan Bruce was 2-4 with a double and an RBI. “Thomas threw excellent on the mound. We had guys step up to the plate with more confidence and were able to scratch our way through a tough late game rally from Bedford,” head coach Keegan Longabauh said. “If you’re ever going to go to a Bedford or SWV game, these are the ones to go to. Late game rallies, and hard fought games are becoming a theme between these two. It’s big getting our first win under our belt.” SWV had a tougher time June 2 against Mt. Ayr despite scoring 6 runs. The Raiders claimed a 16-6 win in Corning. Owen Wilkinson led the bats with two hits and an RBI. Bruce had a double and RBI as well. “We started off shaky in every aspect of the game for two innings which resulted in being down 8. We settled down and started to put the bat on the ball,” Longabauh said. “Guys showed a lot more confidence at the plate and came to swing the bats. It’s tough to come back on a team like Mt Ayr but we did everything that we could. There’s a lot of good to pull from this game moving forward.” The Timberwolves battled for nine innings June 3 at Wayne before falling 7-6 to the Falcons. Bruce led the bats with three hits and an RBI. Caleb Pearson had two hits and 2 RBI. Wilkinson had two hits. “We were most comfortable at the plate tonight from top to bottom than we have been all season. Guys were making them throw strikes and putting contact on the pitches they wanted,” Longabauh said. “Dalton Calkins stepped into a tough scenario late in the game on the mound and owned it. The leadership and ‘Big Dog’ mentality was incomparable. We’re starting to get the train rolling and hoping it doesn’t stop.” SWV were unable to get the bats rolling in a 12-0 loss June 6 with Red Oak in Villisca. “We weren’t mentally prepared for tonight as players and coaches,” Longabauh said. ‘We’re hoping to get that out of the way so we can play a solid game against a conference opponent tomorrow.” The Timberwolves were set to host Central Decatur on June 7 before road games June 8 with Tri-Center, June 9 with Essex, and June 10 with Lenox. T-Wolves earn
post-season honors KMA announced its end-of-season Conference Golf Awards, and the golfing Timberwolves made an outstanding showing for themselves. All of the varsity players on the girls’ team were honored. Junior Maggie Haer was selected as the Pride of Iowa Conference Girls’ Junior Player of the Year, and was selected to the All POI Conference Team, and to the POI All Junior Team. Haer placed 11th in the POI Conference Tournament, and was in the top seven in all of the scoring categories: sixth in Combined Adjusted Average, sixth in 18 Hole Adjusted Average, fourth in 18 Hole Average, seventh in Nine Hole Adjusted Average, and fifth in Nine Hole Average. Freshman Miaya Fourez was selected as the POI Conference Girls’ Freshman Player of the Year, and was selected to the Pride of Iowa All Freshmen Team. She placed 10th at the POI Conference Tournament, and she led the Pride of Iowa Conference in all of the scoring categories (Combined Average, 18 Hole Adjusted Average, 18 Hole Average, Nine Hole Adjusted Average, and Nine Hole Average) for the entire season. Becca Wetzel was selected for the Pride of Iowa All Junior Team, and Grace Bain was selected for the Pride of Iowa All Freshmen Team. On the boys’ side, seniors Jake Oathoudt and Owen Wilkinson were each selected to the All POI Conference Team and to the POI All Senior Team. Sophomore Isaac Currin was selected to the Pride of Iowa All Sophomore Team. Freshman Jack Kretzinger was selected to the Pride of Iowa All Freshmen Team. “Lastly, I’d like to say what an honor it is to be selected as the Conference Coach of the Year, and I have the team to thank for that,” head coach Cindy Drake said. “ They’re the ones who did all the work, and they’re the ones who make coaching rewarding and fun. Blue Devils edge out Timberwolves
The Southwest Valley Timberwolves traveled May 27 to Martensdale-St. Mary’s where the Blue Devils won 3-2. Owen Wilkinson was 2-3 with an RBI and Robbie Barnes was 2-3 with a double. Dalton Calkins threw a complete game, only allowing 2 earned runs. “Things looked night and day different from the past couple games we played. We played excellent defense and guys were finally able to see the bat hit the ball,” head coach Keagan Longabaugh said. “Playing this kind of ball game against a team like this always feels good. This game was a confidence booster for us and something good to hang our hats on going into the holiday weekend.” The Timberwolves fell 14-2 May 26 against Nodaway Valley in Greenfield. Blake Thomas pitched 2-1/3 innings and threw five strikeouts on the mound. “We are still trying to get our feet under us,” Longabaugh said. “It’s the beginning of the season and we’re trying to get in the groove of baseball. We’re going in the right direction.” SWV opened May 23 with a 5-2 loss at home against Stanton. Thomas led the way on the mound with no earned runs in five innings pitched. He tossed four strikeouts. Owen Wilkinson led the way with the bats with an RBI single. Gavin Wetzel also added a hit in his first career game. “Thomas was phenomenal on the mound. He hit his spots and made them earn it. The pitch count era is a nightmare for small schools like us, and that’s what both squads ran into,” Longabaugh said. “Our bats struggled all game and we finally caught a little life when it was too little too late. This was the first game and we feel we got some rust knocked off, and are looking forward to getting back at it.” The Timberwolves are scheduled to host Mount Ayr on June 2 and face Wayne on the road June 3. SWV softball
opens with win The Timberwolves softball team kicked off the season with 17-0 win May 23 over Stanton. Southwest Valley’s Camryn Johnston and Mackenzie Richards went 2-2. Evy Marlin had two hits. Ryanne Mullen, Ada Lund, and Sadie Groszkrueger all had one hit each. The Timberwolves fell 3-2 May 26 to Nodaway Valley. Marlin had a double and Lund had a single, who also scored 2 runs. Mullen also scored 2 runs. Despite a half dozen singles May 27, Martensdale-St. Mary’s proved too much for SWV in a 14-4 loss for the Timberwolves. Singles came from Johnston, Mullen, Haidyn Top, Groszkrueger, Morgan Shuler, and Maddie Bevington. Top and Groszkrueger scored once and Shuler scored twice. This week’s schedule includes the Timberwolves at home June 1 with West Central Valley and June 2 with Mount Ayr, a road trip June 3 with Wayne, and back home June 4 with CAM, East Mills, and Griswold. Golf season ends
for Timberwolves The Timberwolf golf season came to a close last week as Jake Oathoudt, Hunter Crill, and Maggie Haer each participated in their respective sub-state golf tournaments. “The boys played at Majestic Hills Golf Course in Denison, a very well maintained course that runs to 6,129 very hilly yards, and has the fastest greens in the world,” head coach Cindy Drake said. “Well, perhaps not in the world but certainly the fastest greens that we’ve ever played. Seventy-seven golfers from all over the western one-third of Iowa tested their mettle against those sheets of glass that masqueraded as greens. Jake and Hunter both played well, shooting 102 and 105 but it wasn’t quite enough for them to advance to the state tournament. Both of these boys have been an asset to the team this year, and I wish them the very best as they move on to the next stage in their lives.” The girls’ Regional Final Tournament was played at Crestwood Hills Golf Course in Anita. “The threatened rain never materialized, leaving us with a perfect day for golf,” Drake said. “Maggie’s driver worked well, and she was able to leave herself in good positions for her second shots. Her putter was a little cold, and is what cost her the chance to move on. She finished with a 99, just six strokes away from advancing. Playing at this level of competition was a good learning experience for her. She is a junior this year so she’ll have the opportunity to put that experience to good use next year.” At the Timberwolves’ awards banquet, academic awards went to Isaac Currin, Maggie Haer, and Becca Wetzel, who each received the Pride of Iowa Academic Excellence Award, awarded to juniors and seniors each year. “Congratulations to the girls’ team of Maggie Haer, Becca Wetzel, Grace Bain, and Miaya Fourez, who received the Distinguished Academic Excellence Award given by the Iowa Girls Athletic Union, for having a 3.7 cumulative grade point average,” Drake said. “This is a state-wide award, given to those teams whose cumulative GPA is 3.25 or higher.” Cooper qualifies for state
The Timberwolves girls travelled May 12 to Tabor for the 1A State Qualifying Track Meet. A trip to the state track meet was on the line for the champion in each event, and the next 14 best performances across the state from the 10 district meets. The Timberwolves had one automatic qualifier in the long jump with sophomore Emma Cooper. “Emma advanced to the finals as the 2 seed and on her last attempt jumped a new school record of 16-5.25 to take first place,” head coach Jason Hults said. “Emma has had a great season in the long jump and has made huge progress from the first meet of the year when she jumped 15-1. Emma will compete on Thursday at the state track meet when jumping starts at 10:30 a.m.” With the excitement and adrenaline of the long jump still fresh in her thoughts, Cooper also set a new school record in the 100 meter dash with a third place finish in 13.26. That time also earned her a shot at state in the 100 meter. Freshman Mackenzie Richards set a new personal record in the shot put with a throw of 34-10 to take fifth place. “This is another event that we feel really strongly is on the bubble, and will have to wait to see if it's good enough to get to state,” Hults said. Haidyn Top turned in a pair of third place finishes in the 3000 meter and 1500 meter. “The times were not her best of the season, but could be bubble times good enough to get her a trip to Des Moines as well, we will just have to wait and see,” Hults said. “All the girls put forth some great efforts tonight. Besides the two school records, the girls posted a number of PRs to finish off the season.” Sam Davies had a PR in shot put, Paighton Buffington ran a PR in 100 meter hurdles, and Bailey Weller had a PR in the 100 meter dash. “It was a great effort to end the season from all the girls,” Hults said. “We will know on Saturday if any other events have qualified, since a few meets in Northwest Iowa were postponed due to the weather. Thank you for all the coverage of Southwest Valley sports throughout the season.” Results from the state qualifier include: 100 meter dash — Cooper, third, 13.26; Weller, 19th, 15.28 200 meter dash — Cooper, seventh, 29.11 800 meter run — Kya Newton, 11th, 3:15.26 1500 meter run — Top, third, 6:02.02; Olivia Kathikar, seventh, 6:10.56 3000 meter run — Top, third, 13:41.43 100 meter hurdles — Buffington, 10th, 18.99; Alyssa Randall, 15th, 20.79 400 meter hurdles — Victoria Fletchall, eighth, 1:35.50; Weller, ninth, 1:36.31 4x100 meter relay — Randall, Camryn Johnston, Davies, Buffington, 13th, 1:01.01 4x200 meter relay — Weller, Fletchall, Ivey Lenz, Averyle Butcher, 12th, 2:28.98 4x400 meter relay — Sierra Pearson, Cooper, Karsyn Poston, Christine Andrews, seventh, 4:58.55 800 sprint medley — Johnston, Buffington, Poston, Pearson, 12th, 2:18.70 Distance medley — Johnston, Pearson, Andrews, Kathikar, sixth, 5:17.97 4x100 meter shuttle hurdle — Randall, Pearson, Newton, Buffington, sixth, 1:24.61 Long jump — Cooper, first, 16-5.25 Shot put — Richards, fifth, 34-10.00; Davies, 10th, 30-00.00 Discus — Davies, 11th, 73-00 The Timberwolves travelled May 9 to Tabor for the Fremont-Mills Last Chance meet to close out their regular season. “In the hottest conditions of the season so far, the girls put forth a tremendous effort, with numerous PRs and season bests to finish off the year as they battled to a fourth place team finish overall,” Hults said. “We talked with the girls about how this was going to be a good meet to get a feel for the track, throwing circles, and long jump runway headed into the district meet on Thursday, which will be held at Tabor as well. The heat really did have an effect early on, especially in the distance races, but the girls still did a great job all night with some great efforts.” Leading the way with a four-medal night was sophomore Emma Cooper. “Emma won the long jump with three solid jumps over 15 feet. She then went out and won the 100 meter with a new PR of 13.51, just off the school record of 13.49,” Hults said. “She followed that with a new PR in the 200 meter, good enough for fourth place, and ran on the third place 4x4 team with Sierra Pearson, Karsyn Poston, and Christine Andrews that posted a season best time.” The Timberwolves saw other medal performances with a second place finish from the 4x800 team of Pearson, Victoria Fletchall, Olivia Kathikar, and Andrews. Haidyn Top placed third in the 3000 meter. Kathikar placed fourth and Top placed fifth in the 1500 meter. Mackenzie Richards placed fourth in shot put with a new personal record. The distance medley team placed fourth with a season best time with Top, Pearson, Andrews, and Kathikar. Karsyn Poston placed fifth in the 400 meter with a season best. “Overall it was a great night for the girls to finish off the regular season and gain some confidence headed into the District meet on Thursday,” Hults said. Results from Tabor include: 100 meter dash — Cooper, first, 13.51; Weller, 20th, 15.96; Butcher, 23rd, 17.77; Lenz, 24th, 18.20 200 meter dash — Cooper, fourth, 28.60; Butcher, 17th, 37.80; Lenz, 18th, 38.40 400 meter dash — Poston, fifth, 1:12.30 800 meter run — Newton, 13th, 3:17.60 1500 meter run — Kathikar, fourth, 6:07.60; Top, fifth, 6:09.60 3000 meter run — Top, third, 13:56.41; Newton, sixth, 16:02.59 100 meter hurdles — Buffington, 10th, 19.20; Randall, 13th, 24.50 400 meter hurdles — Fletchall, eighth, 1:37.10; Weller, ninth, 1:37.40 4x100 meter relay — Means, Johnston, Davies, Buffington, ninth, 1:02.60; Randall, Newton, Lenz, Butcher, 10th, 1:03.30 4x200 meter relay — Weller, Fletchall, Lenz, Butcher, 10th, 2:26.20 4x400 meter relay — Pearson, Cooper, Poston, Andrews, third, 4:52.10 4x800 meter relay — Kathikar, Fletchall, Pearson, Andrews, second, 13:10.40 800 sprint medley — Randall, Poston, Johnston, Pearson, seventh, 2:17.47 Distance medley — Johnston, Pearson, Andrews, Kathikar, fourth, 5:05.00 4x100 meter shuttle hurdle — Randall, Davies, Newton, Buffington, sixth, 1:43.45 Long jump — Cooper, first, 15-04.50 Shot put — Richards, fourth, 3405.25; Davies, 11th, 29-11.00; Means, 18th, 2409.25; Jaycie Hutchings, 23rd, 16-03.00 Discus — Davies, sixth, 80-08; Means, 12th, 64-02; Hutchings, 21st, 50-01 ![]() Haer advances
to Regional Final Southwest Valley’s Maggie Haer finished as the runner-up May 13 at the Girls Regional Round 1 Golf Tournament at the Mt. Ayr Golf and Country Club. By virtue of her runner-up finish, she advances to the Regional Final Tournament, which will be played on May 18 at the Crestwood Hills Golf Course in Anita. “The course itself was wet and soggy from previous rain, and the day started with more rain, wind, and a threat of thunderstorms,” head coach Cindy Drake said. “The girls played in rain for the first hour and a half, resulting in first round scores higher than usual. Maggie played very well in spite of the conditions, shooting 52 on her first round and 47 on the second. Maggie and a girl from Sidney who had the winning score of 86, were the only two golfers to break 100.” Others playing for SWV were Becca Wetzel (120), Miaya Fourez (126), and Gracelyn Bain (146), giving the Timberwolves a fourth place finish with a team score of 487. “The girls have played competitively this season, improving their scores in nearly every meet,” Drake said. “We are a young team, with two juniors and two freshmen. I look for good things from this team as we look forward to next season M. Knapp earns
trip to state A jump of 6-feet even in the high jump gave Southwest Valley’s Marshall Knapp a shot at a state medal following his May 12 performance in the district track meet at Freemont-Mills. “It was warm and windy but overall I didn't think that the conditions were too bad,” head coach Allen Naugle said. “The wind was probably tougher than the temperature. The start time of the meet was moved up to 3 p.m. due to possible weather and luckily we were able to run through the meet without any weather or weather delays.” Wind wasn’t the only challenge for the Timberwolves. “We have been battling injuries and various illnesses throughout the season and it kind of caught up to us. We were a little banged up in a lot of areas and unfortunately did not have some key contributors with us,” Naugle said. “The guys overall competed hard and I am very proud of how well they did though. We doubled in a couple of events — discus, 400 — and ran well in most relays. We had a handoff issue in the 4x200, which slowed our time down immensely but overall the guys competed hard.” Although M. Knapp placed fourth in the high jump, he had to wait to find out if he would advance to state. “We did not automatically qualify any events tonight but I do feel confident that Marshall has a very good shot at still qualifying in the high jump,” Naugle said. “We do have to unfortunately say goodbye to a couple of seniors in Brendan Knapp and Owen Wilkinson. I want to thank them for their contributions not only this season but in past seasons as well and wish them the best of luck moving forward.” District results include: Discus — Colin Jacobs, fourth, 111-09; Theron Mullen, fifth, 106-05 Shot put — Mullen, eighth, 41-06.5; Jacobs, 34-07 Long jump — Isaac Currin, 14-08.25; Ely Rodriguez, 14-05 High jump — M. Knapp, fourth, 6-00 Sprint medley — M. Knapp, Bradlee Grantz, KC Sitzman, Evan Timmerman, third, 1:45.39 Shuttle hurdle relay — Tate Haffner, Roman Keefe, Devin Greenwalt, Evan Pearson, seventh, 1:12.47 Distance medley — Rodriguez, Currin, Sitzman, Brandon Cox, sixth, 4:17.47 400 meter dash — Greenwalt, sixth, 101.31; Pearson, seventh, 1:01.95 4x200 meter relay — Grantz, Timmerman, Owen Wilkinson, M. Knapp, 1:49.99 110 meter hurdles — Haffner, 19.39 800 meter run — Cox, 2:27.73; Devyn Fasce, 2:35.83 200 meter dash — Beau Johnston, 30.03 400 meter hurdles — Keefe, 1:18.96 4x100 meter relay — Grantz, Sitzman, O. Wilkinson, M. Knapp, fifth, 47.58 4x400 meter relay — Timmerman, Sitzman, Rodriguez, Greenwalt, eighth, 3:57.75 Team — St. Albert 127, Lenox 106, Riverside 74, Fremont-Mills 61, Tri-Center 56.5, Stanton 56, East Mills 46, AHSTW 41, Sidney 39, SWV 35.5, Bedford 34, Essex 28, Heartland Christian 20, Diagonal 8, ISD 7 The Timberwolves competed May 9 in the Last Chance Meet at Fremont-Mills. “We definitely had some ups and downs throughout the meet,” Naugle said. “Our discus throwers Dillon [Inman] and Colin [Jacobs] both set PRs in the event. Isaac Currin did a nice job setting a season best in the long jump. Our sprint medley team and distance medley team ran good races to place third in both.” Marshall Knapp finished strong in an event that typically isn’t his forte. “Marshall Knapp ran the open 100 for the first time this year and ran a very solid time placing fifth. Our 4x200 team had a tough exchange and we had another tough exchange in the 4x100. These guys faced some adversity tonight and hopefully we will be better for it in the long run,” Naugle said. “Overall it was a hot evening but ended up being a great night to compete. The guys competed hard overall and now we have a few days to prepare for the district track meet on Thursday when we travel back to Tabor.” Results from Fremont-Mills include: Discus — Inman, fourth, 123-09; Jacobs, fifth, 115-02; Mullen, 96-04; Dylan Stormer, 81-07 Shot put — Mullen, sixth, 39-03.75; Stormer, 34-10; Sawyer Wilkinson, 30-03.5 Long jump — Currin, 16-09.5 Sprint medley — Currin, Owen. Wilkinson, Ely Rodriguez, KC Sitzman, third, 1:47.44 Shuttle hurdle — Tate Haffner, Evan Pearson, Roman Keefe, Ian Brown, fifth, 1:10.62 100 meter dash — M. Knapp, fifth, 11.85; Currin, 12.99; Devyn Fasce, 13.3; Beau Johnston, 14.68 Distance medley — Sitzman, Pearson, Devin Greenwalt, Brandon Cox, third, 4:18.90 110 meter hurdles — Brown, fourth, 17.9; Haffner, 18.8 800 meter run — Fasce, 2:35.80 4x100 meter relay — Rodriguez, Iman, O. Wilkinson, M. Knapp, fifth, 49.7; Mullen, Jacobs, Stormer, S. Wilkinson, 1:06.90 4x400 meter relay — Sitzman, Greenwalt, Pearson, Cox, 1:05.27 Team — Woodbine 140, Shenandoah 84, Fremont-Mills 70, East Mills 68, Stanton 66, Sidney 61, SWV 33, Heartland Christian 28, Essex 25, ISD 5 ![]() Two T-Wolf golfers
advance to district Southwest Valley senior golfers Jake Oathoudt and Hunter Crill both shot a 91 May 11 in the Boys’ Sectional Golf Tournament at Fremont County Country Club to earn a trip to the District Tournament. “Mother Nature continued with her bag of tricks, throwing high temps and high humidity at the golf team as they played in the Sectional Tournament held at the Fremont County Golf Course in Sidney,” head coach Cindy Drake said. “The Timberwolves played well in spite of the weather, advancing two golfers to the next round of sub-state play.” Jake Oathoudt and Crill both improved their scores on the second round of the tournament, in spite of the heat. Jake shot a 49, 42 (91), and Crill shot 46, 45 (91). They were followed by Joey Oathoudt (94), Owen Wilkinson (95), Isaac Currin (109), and Henry Bevington (121). The only underclassman on the tournament team, sophomore Isaac Currin, did not have his A game with him but he fought hard through to the end. “I’m proud of his perseverance, and look for good things from him next year,” Drake said. “We will graduate five varsity seniors this year, and while that leaves us with some mighty big shoes to fill, we have some good talent coming up among the underclassmen,” Drake said. “Sophomores Isaac Currin and Ethan Bruce both played regularly on the varsity team this year, and will be leading contenders for the No. 1 and No. 2 spots next year. We also have current sophomores Tate Haffner, Paul Douglas, and Miller Means, and freshman Jack Kretzinger, all of whom will be contenders for varsity spots.” The District Tournament was held May 16 at Majestic Hills Golf Course in Denison. Results from the tournament were unavailable at press time. Season ends for Timberwolves
tennis teams Lewis Central’s varsity tennis girls ended the season for Southwest Valley by defeating them in the first round of the Class 1A regional team playoffs May 14 at Red Oak, 5-0. Unlike the regular season, team playoff duals end when one team achieves five match wins. Since Lewis Central gained enough wins in singles, doubles was not held. “Lewis Central is an excellent team,” Southwest Valley head coach Steve McGrew said. “I didn’t see Clarinda or Red Oak play our girls this season, since I was with our boys in those duals, so as far as teams I have witnessed personally, they are the best I have seen all season. I would put them ever so slightly ahead of Clarke, who had an undefeated regular season, just based on how strong they were in singles from three to five. The number one player, like most one’s, was excellent. She had a real strong first serve and got it in a lot. The first five players for the Titans could hit the ball hard and accurately. We tried to do some things to get them out of rhythm. We used drop shots and tried to move the ball from side to side, but Lewis Central is so strong that they got us under pressure a lot. They are a heck of a team.” Scores in singles (LC = Lewis Central; SW = Southwest Valley) are as follow: 1) Lanee Olsen (LC) beat Charlee Larsen, 6-1, 6-1; 2) Oasis Opheim (LC) beat Alana Drake, 6-0, 6-1; 3) Addee Murray (LC) defeated Anjali Kathikar, 6-3, 6-1; 4) Mallory Kjeldgaard (LC) over Ryanne Mullen, 6-2, 6-1; 5) Alexis Opheim (LC) beat Lexi Weston, 6-2, 6-0; 6) Karissa Richey (SWV) led Brooklyn Damgaard, 5-5 (30-15 in game 11) when the match was stopped. “Anjali led 2-1 and 3-2 in her match, but then her girl really got her forehand working,” McGrew said. “The four others in our top five all had wonderful moments too, but just couldn’t match up with the consistency and power of their opponents. That’s not a negative statement about my girls. I think they all played well. Mullen actually told me in a timeout that she felt she played as well as she has all season. Lewis Central was just a tremendous team. I truly feel it was all about the Titans being great. It was nothing we did wrong. Lewis Central had two of the four state qualifiers in the individuals in Atlantic. Olsen was second in singles behind a great Kuemper number one player. The Opheims were second in doubles behind St. Albert.” McGrew said there was a dip at number six for Lewis Central, but even that Titan player was still solid. Yet, because there was a dip, the head coach of the Timberwolves figured that number six would be the closest match in singles. Richey made McGrew look prophetic by battling her Titan opponent all the way before the match was stopped due to the first to five rule in the playoffs. “Richey was keeping up with Damgaard in most every long rally,” McGrew said. “No-ad scoring was used, meaning the next point after deuce wins a game, and Richey, down 5-3, won a long deuce point rally to trim the lead to 5-4. I told her at the 5-4 timeout that the momentum was on her side at that point and to really keep the pressure on. Boy, did she ever. She won the next game at love and got out to a 30-15 lead in the next game. Unfortunately, that is when the match was stopped. If it was a regular season affair, it likely would have been another one of the long matches that Richey has become known for playing this season.” Lewis Central was not done winning after the victory over the Timberwolves. The Titans got revenge for a 5-4 loss to Red Oak earlier in the season. Lewis Central beat the host Tigers, 5-3, in regional semifinal action. This means the Titans will take on undefeated Clarinda on May 17 at 1 p.m. in regional final play at Shenandoah. The winner qualifies for state team play. “That will be a battle of two excellent teams as it should be at this stage of the playoffs,” McGrew said. “Lewis Central played a lot of double duals in the regular season, many against Class 2A schools, so they are a whopping 13-4 on the year now. Clarinda is undefeated at 12-0. It should be a fantastic regional final.” Southwest Valley’s girls earned two dual wins this season over Audubon and Atlantic and hope that they can add to that total next season with five of their top seven players returning. “We know we have a tough schedule, but I love how hard these girls battle,” McGrew said. “Someone has to emerge as our six player next season, but I know my players will give every ounce of effort they have in them when the 2023 season comes around. I am proud of my girls. They work hard and have great character. We all look forward to the potential for more progress next year.” In a strong field, Southwest Valley’s varsity tennis girls produced two victories May 11 in the Class 1A individual regional at Shenandoah. In singles, Anjali Kathikar earned a win in the opening round over Grace Watkins of Chariton, 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5). “The format for the individuals was best two of three sets, using no-ad scoring, with only a 10-point super tiebreaker if the players split sets in the first two rounds,” McGrew said. “It was not until the semifinals that the players would play a full third set if needed. That means if you go three sets, like Anjali did, in the opening rounds, the third set is very dramatic.” McGrew said Kathikar raced out quickly, winning the first three games of the match while dropping only a few points. “It was a hot start for Anjali,” McGrew said. “She lost the fourth game, but then won some closer games to wrap up the first set. She and I talked about the fact that the Chariton girl was starting to serve better and hitting her groundstrokes with a little more force. Anjali picked up her game even more too, but the second set was a battle. Five of the games in the second set were no-ad deuce games. Anjali got two of them, including one on an incredible forehand angle passing shot, but the Chariton player squeaked out the second set. Before the super tiebreaker, Anjali and I discussed that the winner of the tiebreaker would be whoever could limit unforced errors and get the ball deep enough during rallies to not get in trouble. She did both things. I was so happy for her, because she lost a super tiebreaker in her first-round match in singles last season. I think she was determined not to let that happen again this year.” Third seeded Paige Gleason ended Kathikar’s day in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-0. “Gleason consistently got first serves in, had a powerful forehand, and didn’t make many errors,” McGrew said. “That is a formula for success.” The other Southwest Valley entry in singles, Alana Drake, was defeated by Caitlyn Bruce of Creston, 6-3, 6-0, in the opening round. “It was a solid first set for Alana,” McGrew said. “She served decently and mixed in some drop shots and some more depthy shots to the baseline, but Bruce is tough. She played three singles for Creston this season and Creston’s top four are all very good. Bruce had a hard serve and she got more serves in during the second set. Plus, she really stepped up her backhand power in the second set. It forced Alana into some errors.” In doubles, Charlee Larsen and Ryanne Mullen put together one of their strongest efforts of the season in round one, cruising to a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over Ari Trowbridge and Cadence Gough of Shenandoah. “I felt like, talent wise we would win this against Shenandoah’s three and five players,” McGrew said. “But to only give up three games total is really awesome. Shenandoah’s top six are all decent players. Assistant Coach Brent Mullen and I felt like this was a signature win for Charlee and Ryanne. Ryanne had a nice serving day and Charlie was really doing a good job of keeping the Shenandoah pair off balance by mixing up groundstrokes and lobs. Ryanne does such a great job of scrambling around the court. She made some unbelievable gets in a Tuesday doubles practice.” In the quarterfinals, the fourth-seeded pair of Ava Hagen and Maddie McCoy from Clarke edged Mullen and Larsen, 6-3, 7-5. “When you give a seed that good of a battle, you have to be happy,” McGrew said. Unfortunately for Southwest Valley’s other entry in doubles, a seeded team came immediately. Lexi Weston and Karissa Richey drew the second seeds, Alivia Bakely and Chailyn Beydler, in the opening round. The Clarke pair beat Weston and Richey, 6-1, 6-1. “Assistant coach Mullen said Lexi had a good serving day,” McGrew said. “Richey has been solid all season for us. It was a tough draw for the two girls, but they didn’t get upset about it. They had a real positive attitude, which speaks to the character that both players possess.” Sometimes the draws don’t always go as planned and that was part of the story May 9 for the Southwest Valley varsity tennis boys at Class 1A individual districts in Red Oak. In doubles, Gabe Fuller and Evan Timmerman of Southwest Valley cruised to an opening round win over Joshua LeRette and Sabastian Vasquez of Red Oak, 6-0, 6-0 before being defeated by Coby Calvert and Cayden Miller of Ballard, 7-5, 6-3, in the quarterfinals. “We got a seed in doubles, but we also knew that Calvert and Miller were the best unseeded entry in doubles,” McGrew said. “We wanted an opportunity to play Glenwood in the semifinals, and Glenwood made it that far with a very comfortable draw. Our draw was rougher. As it turned out, Ballard is very deserving of their number six team rating in the state in Class 1A. Ballward was the unknown quantity in this district event and as it turned out the whole team was every bit as good as advertised.” Calvert and Miller showed their prowess in beating the Glenwood top team in the semifinals by an even worse score than they beat Fuller and Timmerman. The Ballard pair beat Tyler Harger and Carter Kirsch of Glenwood, 6-1, 6-3. “With that win over Glenwood, Gabe and Evan can now say that they lost to a state qualifier,” McGrew said. “What this Ballard team was able to do in the windy conditions was perfectly execute topspin lobs that landed just inside the baseline or right on the baseline and kicked up, which made it almost impossible to lob back. It set up a lot of overhead net shots for them. We played okay but Ballard outplayed us and Glenwood with brilliant shot making. Hats off to these guys. They deserved it. I am proud of Evan and Gabe. I know they are disappointed. But they put so much energy and passion into their performances every time they step on the court.” The other state qualifier was also from Ballard as Jake Ross and Jayden Cattell beat one of the pre-tourney favorites, Josh Shuster and Eli Shuster of Shenandoah in the semifinals, 6-4, 6-2. “Ballard won the district as a team and they have the depth to beat whoever emerges from the sub-state first round match in the Pella district, so there is no doubt in my mind that they will be heading to state as a team.” McGrew said. The other doubles entry for Southwest Valley was Owen Paul and Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird. Clarke’s RJ McCoy and JD Sitzman beat the Timberwolf pair, 6-2, 6-1. “Aside from Ballard and the two Clarinda entries, I would say that Clarke’s team was the next best unseeded floating team in the draw in doubles,” McGrew said. “There were teams in the draw that Slate and Owen could have beaten, but you can’t control draws and you do the best you can. Slate said the windy conditions were tough to adjust to and I’m sure Owen agreed with him. Ultimately, the difference maker was McCoy. He is one heck of a volleyer.” Draws were not kind to Southwest Valley in singles, either. Andrew Lawrence of Shenandoah beat Logan Westlake, 6-0, 6-0. Max DeVries of Red Oak beat Parker Boswell, 6-0, 6-1. “Lawrence was the second seed in singles and DeVries, Red Oak’s number one player, was one of the better unseeded floaters,” McGrew said. “Lawrence held his seed in the tourney. He lost in three sets to top-seeded Nathan Brown of Clarinda in the final. Both Brown and Lawrence are headed to state.” As of late evening, there was no final report from the Red Oak site on the doubles final between the Ballard teams, but since they are guaranteed the top two spots in doubles, they earned 21 points (12 and 9) for the first and second-place finishes. They also won one round in singles (two points) for a total of 23 points. Glenwood and Shenandoah were the other team qualifiers with 15 and 12 points, respectively. “I felt bad for Clarinda,” McGrew said. “Like us, the draws, aside from Brown, who couldn’t really have a bad draw due to his talent, were not kind to them. Lance Regehr, who was probably the best unseeded player in singles, got third-seed Josh Reynoldson of Clarke in round one and Kale Downey and Sant Dow, probably the second best unseeded team behind the players Gabe and Evan lost to, got Shuster and Shuster in round one. Clarinda had four seniors and beat Glenwood and Shenandoah in duals this season. The other team in doubles for the Cardinals won one round and got three points and Brown got eight points for winning in singles for a total of 11 points. Thus, Clarinda was a close fourth. What it shows is that draws mean everything in the system used for boys.” Like Clarinda, Southwest Valley’s boys had a good dual season. “While we were disappointed in this district event, we can be really proud of a winning 6-4 dual mark,” McGrew said. “I am proud of all six varsity guys as well as my two JV guys, Decaon Ganfield and Matthew Means. They made a lot of progress. We will miss Gabe Fuller badly next season, but we also have reason to be optimistic in 2023 as well. ![]() SWV girls lead POI
in all scoring categories Southwest Valley’s girls golf team is No. 1 in the Pride of Iowa Conference in all scoring categories. The team, comprised of juniors Maggie Haer and Becca Wetzel, and freshmen Grace Bain and Miaya Fourez, have played exceptionally well this year, head coach Cindy Drake said. As a team, they lead the POI in the following scoring categories: nine hole low (216), nine hole average (235), nine hole adjusted (244), 18 hold low (500) 18 hold average (500), 18 hold adjusted (531), and combined average (249). Individually, in the 18 hole low score category, Miaya Fourez is in first place for 18 hole low (116), Grace Bain is third, and Becca Wetzel is fifth. In nine hole low score category, Maggie Haer is tied for first place (52). “Congratulations, girls!” Drake said. ![]() Haer, Currin earn
runner-up honors Southwest Valley’s Isaac Currin shot a 41 to finish as runner-up April 28 when the Timberwolves hosted CAM at Happy Hollow Country Club on April 28. “Tee time was moved up to 3:30 in an effort to beat the incoming weather,” head coach Cindy Drake said. “It was a bit windy, but otherwise a comfortable night for golf, resulting in two personal best scores for the Timberwolves.” CAM did not have enough girls to field a team, so SWV won by default. Team score was 216. The Timberwolves were leg by Maggie Haer, runner-up for the meet, whose score of 48 was a personal best. “Maggie was tied with a CAM player but Maggie lost the card-off,” Drake said. “Maggie was followed by Grace Bain and Becca Wetzel who each scored 55, and Miaya Fourez a 58. Congratulations to this hard working team and who lead the Pride of Iowa in all scoring categories.” The boys’ team was led by Currin, who shot a 41. “He was tied with a CAM player but Isaac’s birdie on the seventh handicap hole was enough to give him runner-up honors,” Drake said. “His 41 was just two strokes out of medalist honors, and was a personal best score.” Sophomore Ethan Bruce and freshman Jack Kretzinger each scored a 45. Hunter Crill shot 47, and Jake Oathoudt 51. The Timberwolf team score was 178, with CAM winning the meet with a 167. The Timberwolves hosted Clarke of Osceola on April 25. “Mother Nature gave us yet another chilly windy day for golf,” Drake said. Clarke won both the boys’ and the girls’ matches. For the boys, Clarke scored 163, and had both the medalist and runner-up with scored of 34 and 39. SWV’s 181 was led by Owen Wilkinson and Currin, both with a 43. Joey Oathoudt had 46, Henry Bevington 49, Bruce 51, and Jake Oathoudt 54. For the girls, SWV shot a 235, and Clarke a 206. The medalist was from Clarke, shooting a 50. Haer’s 52 was tied for runner-up but she lost the card off, thus placing her third. Wetzel shot a 58, Fourez a 60, and Bain a 65. ![]() M. Knapp takes high jump at Tiger Relays
A windy evening April 28 in Griswold didn’t stop Southwest Valley’s Marshall Knapp from winning the high jump in the Tiger Relays. M. Knapp won with a leap of 5 feet, 10 inches after posting an even 6-foot jump April 26 at Audubon. His performances this season qualified him for the high jump in the Drake Relays on April 29 in Des Moines but there he couldn’t break the 6-foot mark. “Marshall had some good attempts but did not clear the opening height, which was 6 feet, 1 inch,” head coach Allen Naugle said. M. Knapp wasn’t the only Timberwolf to create excitement at Griswold, though. Theron Mullen notched a personal record in the shot put at 41-08 for seventh place, Evan Timmerman placed second in the 1600 meter run, the 4x100 team of Owen Wilkinson, Bradlee Grantz, M. Knapp, and Brendan Knapp placed third, and the shuttle hurdle team of Tate Haffner, Even Pearson, Devin Greenwalt, and Roman Keefe place eighth. “Overall the guys competed hard and we improved times where we could. We have some guys who are a little banged up and were a little short tonight but overall I thought we did some good things,” Naugle said. “We will continue to work hard to keep improving as we look ahead to next Monday when we travel to Lenox for the POI track championships.” Results from Griswold include: Team — Underwood 180, Riverside 107, Lenox 98.5, Shenandoah 63, Nodaway Valley 58, Missouri Valley 57, AHSTW 35, Fremont-Mills 33, Griswold 28.5, SWV 28, East Mills, 27, Stanton 26 Discus — Mullen, 98-05 Shot put — Mullen, seventh, 41-08; Colin Jacobs, 36-03 Long jump — Evan Pearson, 15-01 High jump — M. Knapp, first, 5-10 Shuttle hurdle — Haffner, Pearson, Greenwalt, Keefe, eighth, 1:12.71 100 meter dash — Wilkinson, 12.71; KC Sitzman, 13.16 400 meter dash — Devyn Fasce, 1:06.81; Alex Morgan, 1:11.02 4x200 meter — Mullen, Pearson, Greenwalt, Sitzman, eighth, 1:47.86 110 meter hurdles — Keefe, 19.33; Haffner, 19.45 800 meter run — Brandon Cox, 2:29.92; Fasce, 2:43.31 200 meter dash — Beau Johnston, 29.72 400 meter hurdles — Keefe, 1:12.17; Haffner, 1:14.04 1600 meter run — Timmerman, second, 5:21.38 4x100 relay — Wilkinson, Grantz, M. Knapp, B. Knapp, third, 46.52 4x400 relay — Sitzman, Pearson, Greenwalt, Cox, 4:08.13 The Timberwolves traveled April 26 to Audubon where they faced plenty of competition. “This meet had a lot of talent on the boys side and it was definitely tough to come by for points. We were a little short-handed with golf and tennis going on and a few injuries but overall the guys competed extremely well,” Naugle said. “Marshall placed third in the high jump with a solid jump. Our 4x100 team and 4x200 team placed fifth in both races improving their season best times. Our shuttle hurdle team ran a nice race to place 8th overall. We had a lot of other events see improved times and overall I thought we made good progress. We will continue to work hard to improve as we get closer to our conference meet and ultimately the district meet.” Results from Audubon include: Team — Clarinda 129, ACGC 128, Underwood 119, Red Oak 66, IKM-Manning 56, Coon Rapids 53, Audubon 50, CAM 49, Ar-We-Va 22, Tri-Center 20, SWV 15, Griswold 10 Exira-EHK 10 Woodward Academy 8, Panorama 6 Discus — Inman, 112-04; Mullen, 81-08 Shot put — Jacobs, 33-09; Mullen, 38.00 Long jump — Ely Rodriguez, 16-01.5; Pearson, 16-01.0 High jump — M. Knapp, 6-00, third Sprint medley — Greenwalt, Keefe, Sitzman, Cox, 1:58.60 Shuttle hurdle — Haffner, Keefe, Greenwalt, Pearson, 1:12.82, eighth 100 meter dash — B. Knapp, 12.46; Grantz, 13.01 Distance medley — Mullen, Pearson, Sitzman, Cox, 4:19.55 400 meter dash — Fasce, 1:07.95; Morgan, 1:09.05 4x200 meter — Grantz, M. Knapp, Rodriguez, B. Knapp, 1:37.75, fifth 110 meter hurdles — Haffner, 19.26; Keefe, 19.85 800 meter run — Cox, 2:36.36; Fasce, 2:57.09 200 meter dash — Sitzman, 25.79; Johnston, 29.81 400 meter hurdles — Greenwalt, 1:07.14; Haffner, 1:11.18 4x100 meter — Grantz, M. Knapp, Rodriguez, B. Knapp, 46.65, fifth SWV girls eye conference, district meets
The Southwest Valley girls track team continued working toward goals for the Pride of Iowa Conference and district meet when they competed April 28 in the Tiger COED Relays in Griswold. The girls had a number of outstanding performance in their final tune-up before the conference meet, and finished the night with 44 points in eighth place, head coach Jason Hults said. “We tried a few different combinations of relays and a few girls ran different events than they normally do to see what kind of times we could post and how that might affect what we want to do on Monday for the POI Conference meet,” Hults said. “Coach Hodapp and I were proud of the effort and the willingness of the girls to try some new events and go out and run hard every race.” Leading the medal winners for SWV was Haidyn Top with a second place finish in the 3000 meter and a fourth place in the 1500 meter. “Haidyn has a great chance in both races at conference and districts in two weeks if she can continue to improve as she has the last two meets,” Hults said. The Timberwolves got another second place finish from Mackenzie Richards in the shot put, her second second-place finish of the week. The highlight of the night for the Timberwolves was Emma Cooper in the long jump. For the third meet in a row, Cooper extended her school record, on two different jumps, with a 16-2.25 jump on her final attempt to take second place. “This puts Emma currently in the top 12 in the state in 1A, and within an inch of Sadie Cox of Lenox going into the conference meet,” Hults said. “It should be an exciting event to watch on Monday.” Rounding out the medal winners was the fifth place sprint medley team of Camryn Johnston, Sierra Pearson, Cooper, and Christine Andrews with a season best time. “The Timberwolves saw a number of other PRs from the girls in numerous events, and did a great job overall,” Hults said. Results for the girls division from the Griswold COED include: Team — Nodaway Valley 129, Shenandoah 115, Underwood 94, Fremont Mills 90, Lenox 80, Griswold 49, East Mills 47, SWV 44, Stanton 42, AHSTW 30 100 meter dash — Bailey Weller, 17th, 16.70; Ivey Lenz, 20th, 18.55 200 meter dash — Averyle Butcher, 17th, 37.70; Lenz, 18th, 38.45 400 meter dash — Butcher, 10th, 1:33.92 800 meter dash — Karsyn Poston, ninth, 3:15.27 100 meter hurdles — Paighton Buffington, 13th, 20.26; Alyssa Randall, 14th, 21.52 1500 meter run — Top, fourth, 5:55.34; Kya Newton, ninth, 6:32.62 3000 meter run — Top, second, 12:54.74; Victoria Fletchall, sixth, 16:16.80 400 meter hurdles — Weller, 10th, 1:35.90; Fletchall, 11th, 1:38.96 Discus — Samantha Davies, seventh, 81-07; Julia Means, 17th, 58-07 Long jump — Cooper, second, 16-02.25 Shot put — Mackenzie Richards, second, 32-08.00; Davies, 11th, 27-05.00 4x100 meter relay — Johnston, Poston, Pearson, Cooper, eighth, 57.97 4x200 meter relay — Johnston, Poston, Pearson, Cooper, eighth, 2:02.60 4x400 meter relay — Weller, Randall, Olivia Kathikar, Andrews, ninth, 5:18.84 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Randall, Davies, Newton, Buffington, sixth, 1:27.22 800 sprint medley — Johnston, Pearson, Cooper, Andrews, fifth, 2:09.49 1600 distance medley — Top, Andrews, Newton, Kathikar, eighth, 5:26.86 The Timberwolves travelled April 26 to Audubon for the Bob Clark Relays. “In a 13-team field filled with some great competition, the girls scored 38 points to finish ninth overall,” Hults said. “We saw quite a few PR's and season bests tonight from the girls, and that's very promising moving toward the conference meet next week.” The Timberwolves brought home medals in three events. Cooper extended her school record in the long jump to 15-9.5 inches with a third place finish, then took second in the 100 meter. Richards set a new PR in the shot put with a second place throw of 33-6. Results from the Bob Clark Relays include: Team — Clarinda 100, Underwood 97.50, Audubon 86, IKM-Manning 86, Panorama 81, Tri-Center 79, CAM 53, ACGCC 50.50, SWV 38, Ar-We-Va 23, Griswold 22, Exira-EHK 12, Coon Rapids 9 100 meter dash — Cooper, second, 14.27 200 meter dash — Butcher, 23rd, 37.39 400 meter dash — Fletchall, 15th, 1:24.33 800 meter run — Andrews, seventh, 2:48.49; Kathikar, ninth, 2:51.46 100 meter hurdles — Buffington, 17th, 20.62; Randall, 18th, 21.80 1500 meter run — Top, seventh, 5:52.99; Newton, 11th, 6:31.45 3000 meter run — Top, sixth, 13:04.56; Fletchall, ninth, 15:42.47 400 meter hurdles — Buffington, 14th, 1:34.18; Weller, 15th, 1:37.65 Discus — Davies, seventh, 79-03; Richards, 15th, 68-09 Long jump — Cooper, third, 15-09.50 Shot put — Richards, second, 33-06.00; Davies, 12th, 25-11.00 4x100 meter relay — Johnston, Poston, Pearson, Cooper, seventh, 57.54 4x200 meter relay — Johnston, Poston, Pearson, Cooper, sixth, 2:03.24 4x800 meter relay — Pearson, Newton, Kathikar, Andrews, seventh, 12:24.19 800 sprint medley — Weller, Randall, Johnston, Poston, 10th, 2:14.86 1600 distance medley — Buffington, Randall, Weller, Newton, 10th, 5:43.80 Clarinda stops
SWV tennis teams Clarinda’s varsity tennis teams have shown their might this season and so the Southwest Valley squads knew they had an incredible challenge on their hands in duals on April 29. In the end, the Cardinals displayed how talented they are in defeating the Southwest Valley girls, 9-0, and the Timberwolf boys, 7-2. “Clarinda’s girls are now 8-0 and the Cardinal boys are 7-2,” Southwest Valley head coach Steve McGrew said, “They have tons of talent all the way down the lineup. Clarinda has three talented junior girls in the top half of their lineup, while the first four boys are all seniors. That’s a lot of experience. The Clarinda girls are coming off an 8-1 win over Red Oak that surprised some tennis experts, while the boys have only lost to Maryville, 6-3, and a strong Lewis Central team, 5-4. The boys beat Glenwood and Shenandoah in 5-4 nail biters and have beaten Red Oak, Creston, and Harlan 9-0. In the win over Harlan, they won all nine matches by an 8-0 score. All this speaks to the talent that both teams have.” Boys Results on the boys’ side (C = Clarinda; SWV = Southwest Valley) are as follow: Singles: 1) Nathan Brown (C) beat Gabe Fuller, 9-8 (7-2); 2) Evan Timmerman (SWV) over Lance Regehr, 8-6; 3) Kale Downey (C) beat Owen Paul, 8-0; 4) Sant Dow (C) over Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird, 8-3; 5) Luke Baker (C) beat Parker Boswell, 8-1; 6) Grant Barr (C) defeated Logan Westlake, 8-6. Doubles: 1) Fuller/Timmerman (SWV) over Brown/Regehr, 9-8 (9-7); 2) Downey/Dow (C) over Paul/Goodvin-Kinnaird, 8-0; 3) Baker/Barr (C) beat Boswell/Westlake, 8-0. “When a dual starts at a little after 4:30 p.m. and doesn’t get done until almost 8:30 p.m. it means somewhere along the line there were some competitive matches,” McGrew said. “Saying that the one singles, two singles, and one doubles matches were competitive is probably the understatement of the season. Brown and Fuller were just making one amazing shot after another at one singles, Evan was really moving the ball all over the court to outlast Regher, and one doubles was an absolute classic. Gabe and Evan got down 3-0 in their match in doubles, rallied to 4-3 up, and then it was a roller-coaster affair from that point on. In all of the matches that the top guys played there was such talent on display. The power, the touch, the lobs, and the quality serving were all there. It was an absolute fabulous display of high school tennis talent. I had parents and fans of both teams tell me after the dual was over that they were glad they witnessed these top matches because the quality of play was so high. I don’t get those kind of comments on a regular basis, but it probably was warranted in this dual. Gabe and Brown each played 34 games in a night. Both guys felt it physically afterwards. For that matter, Evan and Regeher each played 31 games and were pretty worn out themselves. Full credit to all four of these guys. All were exhausted at the end because they gave everything they had on the courts. I was glad I was able to witness this tennis.” The only other close match was Westlake’s match in singles. “Logan really came on strong in that match, trimming a 7-4 deficit to 7-6 with two very well played games in which he really got his forehand working,” McGrew said. “He played a close final game too, but came up just a little short. Gabe came so close in singles as well with the tie-breaker loss. In the one doubles match, we had multiple match points by leading 6-2 in the tiebreaker only to see Clarinda come back and lead 7-6 before we won the last three points to win the match with an overhead put away by Evan set up by a forceful groundstroke by Gabe.” Clarinda had little trouble in three, four, and five singles or two and three doubles. “It was a tough night for Owen, Slate, and Parker,” McGrew said. “They all did some good things, but the players they went up against were so tough. The three and four players were so good about getting to the net against Owen and Slate and putting volleys away on a regular basis. Parker’s opponent had an amazing serve and forehand for a five player.” JV Clarinda squeaked out the JV win, 2-1. Deacon Ganfield and Matthew Means of Southwest Valley beat Ben Miller and Eric Baker in doubles, 6-4, but the Cardinals got the better of things in singles as Miller beat Ganfield, 6-4, and Baker beat Means, 6-5. “The JV used no-ad scoring and Matthew’s singles match went to 5-5 and deuce, so it came down to the last point,” McGrew said. “Between the varsity and JV we had so many nail biters.” Girls Clarinda’s undefeated team would have been tough enough for the Timberwolves at full strength. When you add that the Southwest Valley girls were without two varsity performers, Charlee Larsen and Anjali Kathikar, it made the challenge even more enormous. Results (all Clarinda names first) are as follow: Singles: 1) Mayson Hartley beat Alana Drake, 8-0; 2) Taylor Cole over Ryanne Mullen, 8-0; 3) Avery Walter beat Lexi Weston, 8-0; 4) Brooke Brown over Karissa Richey, 8-1; 5) Riley Nothwehr beat Maddie Bevington, 8-0; 6) Emma Stogdill over Jazmin Weston, 8-0. Doubles: 1) Hartley/Cole over Drake/Mullen, 8-1; 2) Walter/Brown beat L.Weston/Richey, 8-1; 3) Nothwehr/Stogdill beat Bevington/Natalia Zimmerman, 8-2. “It is hard to really analyze the dual closely, considering that we were short-handed and had so many kids that had to move up one or more spots in the lineup,” McGrew said. “My assistant, Brent Mullen, who was with the girls at the meet, said he felt like we would have been much more competitive, particularly at the bottom, had our team been intact. I have no doubt that is true. But, hats off to Clarinda. The top four are very experienced for the Cardinals, but they also have been bolstered by Nothwehr, a freshman, at five. I have had people I know from Red Oak leagues say that Nothwehr has put in a lot of off season time against tough competition. This allows Stogdill to move down to six and give the Cardinals incredible depth.” Despite all the Clarinda talent, the Timberwolves displayed some competitiveness in doubles, noted McGrew. “Coach Mullen told me that Alana and Ryanne were involved in a number of competitive deuce games,” McGrew said. “He also said Zimmeman had some strong baseline shots that set up Bevington and allowed her to bring heat at the net.” In JV play, experience also paid dividends for the host Cardinals. Senior Page Barr got by Zimmerman and Ivey Lenz (both ninth graders) in singles. Both scores were 6-0. “Barr was a varsity player last season, but with the addition of Nothwehr, she is Clarinda’s top JV player,” McGrew said. “The Cardinals are not short on talent.” Southwest Valley’s varsity tennis boys prevailed, 6-3, in a home contest with Clarke on April 26 while the girls lost by the same 6-3 score. Boys The varsity boys moved to 4-2 in duals with the win. Results (SWV = Southwest Valley; C = Clarke) are as follow: Singles: 1) John Reynoldson (C) over Gabe Fuller, 8-6; 2) Evan Timmerman (SWV) beat Dominik Itkis, 8-2; 3) R.J. McCoy (C) beat Owen Paul, 9-7; 4) Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird (SWV) beat JD Sitzman, 8-2; 5) Parker Boswell (SWV) over Aydan Dinham, 8-2; 6) Logan Westlake (SWV) defeated Cooper Bahls, 8-0. Doubles: 1) Fuller/Timmerman (SWV) beat Reynolds/Itkis, 8-4; 2) Sitzman/McCoy (C) beat Paul/Goodvin-Kinnaird, 8-6; 3) Boswell/Westlake (SWV) defeated Dinham/Connor Darby, 8-1. “This was our best dual win of the season,” McGrew said. “Against Red Oak, I challenged our top guys to set the pace. In this one, I challenged the lower half of the lineup to come through, because I knew Clarke was a little stronger at the top than the other three schools we earned victories over. It seemed like the lower half accepted the challenge. Slate played so well in singles. He just seemed like a calm, cool customer on the court. He lobbed well, moved his opponent around the court, and even worked himself to the net when the opportunity presented itself. I remember one point, where he was at the net, and made a half volley at his feet that was placed near his shoe tops. The half volley went into the deep corner of the baseline. It just seemed like Slate had a real vision of what he wanted to accomplish the entire match. Parker is getting more lift over the net with his groundstrokes and is showing more patience by not running through shots. He is really cutting down his unforced errors. Logan just keeps getting better every time I watch him play. His formula is to manage the backhand and try to be aggressive with his forehand. He can also stun opponents with really strong serving when he puts his toss into a nice spot. I am just so proud of where Logan is now in comparison to the first days of practice back in March.” While McGrew said the dual meet was a big one for the lower half, he added that there was still a lot to celebrate among the upper half also. “Gabe’s opponent, Reynoldson, was a real step up in talent,” McGrew said. “Reynoldson has a ton of tools. He can crack the serve and forehand in a big way, but what sets him apart from all of the rest of Gabe’s opponents is how skillful he is at volleying at the net. He got up 3-0 against Gabe, but Gabe raised his level at that point and rallied to lead 6-5. However, Reynoldson, to his credit, found another gear himself and won the last three games. Reynoldson finished third in class 1A district singles last season. Evan really adjusted after his opponent, a foreign-exchange student, won the first game of the match with some real power and strong net play. Evan got balls deeper to the baseline and got the guy moving to negate the power. Evan’s guy was good, but didn’t have Reynoldson’s movement. Once Evan got his opponent moving, he got frustrated, and Evan took firm control of the match.” Paul nearly pulled off a big comeback in his match, said McGrew. “I was impressed with Owen’s opponent, McCoy,” said McGrew. “McCoy had power, was really consistent with his groundstrokes, and had a strong net game. He led 5-2 and 7-4 and then Owen stepped up his aggression a bit and rallied to tie the match at 7 all. McCoy won a comfortable game to go up 8-7 and then a long deuce game to close out the match. I loved Owen’s gutsy effort. McCoy is a real steady player. He is close to Clarke’s two in talent and definitely is stronger than the rest of the Clarke players. He is a quality three guy for this team. Owen’s effort against him was admirable.” Doubles was also strong for the Timberwolves, McGrew said. “Our one team got off to a really strong 4-1 start, got a little off track in the next two games, but then found their mojo the rest of the way with their usual impressive display of aggressiveness and power.” McGrew said. “Several times Gabe delivered some big groundstroke drives that forced weak lobs that Evan turned into impressive overhead put aways. The two match was back and forth all the way. McCoy and Sitzman were impressive at the net, but Owen and Slate had their moments at the net also. Slate also lobbed incredibly well. Owen and Slate kept so many balls in play. Both returned well, but Clarke found ways to dig in and get the returns back. It was one of those fun back and forth matches to watch that saw no team lead by more than a game until Clarke won the match by two games. Parker and Logan got off to a fast 5-0 start and never looked back. They are starting to develop more chemistry with every match they play together.” JV It was a great night for the Southwest Valley JV as well as they earned a 3-0 victory. Deacon Ganfield and Matthew Means teamed together to earn a 6-4 win in doubles over the Clarke pair of Kale Tyler and Cole McCann, 6-4. Ganfield had a conflict and was unable to singles, which meant Means had an opportunity to play Tyler and McCann in singles. Means, the lone ninth grader for the Timberwolves, earned 6-4 wins over both players. “It was, by far, the best I have ever seen Matthew play,” McGrew said. “The thing I have been wanting Matthew to work on is judging ball distance and staying in front of the ball, so he isn’t trying to scramble back for a ball, which makes life really tough for a tennis player. He really is doing that better and he is also playing with more confidence. Just like with any sport, you have to have belief in yourself. Matthew is feeling more comfortable on the tennis court, and that is great to see.” Girls The girls lost 6-3 to a Clarke team that defeated the Timberwolves, 8-1, the first time around. “Congrats to the girls for an improved effort and congrats to my assistant coach, Brent Mullen, for his guidance and positivity,” McGrew said. “I think playing against a tough Shenandoah team the night before got the girls grooved for yet another tough team.” Results (C = Clarke and SWV = Southwest Valley) are as follow: Singles: 1) Alivia Bakley (C) over Charlee Larsen, 8-0; 2) Chailyn Beydler (C) beat Alana Drake, 8-1; 3) Maddy McCoy (C) defeated Anjali Kathikar, 8-1; 4) Ryanne Mullen (SWV) defeated Jadie Bowlsby, 8-3; 5) Molly Sickels (C) over Lexi Weston, 9-7; 6) Karissa Richey (SWV) beat Korynna Olson, 9-7. Doubles: 1) Bakley/Beydler (C) beat Drake/Kathikar, 8-0; 2) McCoy/Ava Hagen (C) beat Larsen/Mullen, 8-1; 3) Richey/Maddie Bevington (SWV) over Bowlsby/Sickels, 8-6. “Doubles was played first and Hagen only played doubles,” McGrew said. “Clarke’s coach held Hagen out of singles due to a nagging injury. This forced Clarke to move their seven, six, five, and four players up a spot in singles, which really gave us a chance to sink our teeth into the lower end of the singles. Ryanne and Karissa got wins, and Lexi came very close to a victory. Coach Mullen said Ryanne’s win was impressive, Lexi really battled all the way to the end, and Richey played hard under the pressure of trying to close out her match. I would agree with Coach Mullen on all counts. Winning 8-3 against Clarke’s normal five is still an impressive win for Ryanne. Lexi is looking good after being out medically, and Richey has shown calmness and composure in many of her wins this season.” Clarke’s top half in singles is so strong and thus you can’t really get a picture of where you are when you play such great players, added McGrew. “Coach Mullen said Alana, like always, got involved in a number of deuce games, while Anjali showed some strong shot making at times,” McGrew said. McGrew said Coach Mullen noted that Larsen didn’t feel well. “I am sure that hurt her,” McGrew said. “Add that to the fact that she needs some time to get her bearings back after playing such a great player from Shenandoah, the fourth-place finisher in singles in class 1A in 2021, Le Yuan Sun. Charlee is a fine player in her own right. She had a big win over Audubon’s No. 1 and that will be a big match again come May 3. Audubon had their three player missing in our 7-2 win, so that return dual will be tougher. Charlee’s match and every other match will be critical. I love the effort we put forth in every match.” Speaking of effort, Richey and Bevington worked hard to gain a sweep over Clarke’s three doubles team as the pair also won on April 18. “They play really well together,” McGrew said. “Winning close matches, in this case 8-6, is always clutch. They seem to find ways to win key games when the finish line is near.” Clarke improved to an impressive 7-0 in duals with the win over the Timberwolves, who slipped to 1-6. “Clarke has done so well,” McGrew said. “Their most impressive wins were over Oskaloosa, Ballard, and Creston. The Creston win was 9-0. The other wins were over Albia and Chariton. In fact, Chariton was also a 9-0 win. We may be 1-6, but I feel like we may be one of the better 1-6 teams in the state when you look at who we have lost to such as the two losses to Clarke along with defeats to Shenandoah and Red Oak. We also gave a class 2A team, Thomas Jefferson of Council Bluffs, a great scare in our 5-4 loss in the season opener.” JV The Timberwolves edged Clarke in JV play, 4-2. Most of the matches were in doubles. Olson and Samantha Cowling of Clarke beat the Weston sisters, Lexi and Jazmin, 4-3, but the Weston sisters bounced back with a 4-2 win over Adi Cline and Marissa Bakley, 4-2. Bevington and Jazmin Weston teamed up for two wins as they defeated Maisey White and Kiersten Smith (4-0) and Hannah Russo and Keira McClain (4-1). In singles, Bevington beat Cline, 3-0, while Bakley defeated Jazmin Weston, 3-0. “I am glad Bevington’s healthy again after some concerns with her eyes against Shenandoah,” McGrew said. The boys were set to host Audubon on May 3, while the girls were to visit the Wheelers. The boys are at Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson on May 5. Each team is at Atlantic on May 6 for a triangular with St. Alberts and Atlantic. ![]() Weather shortens
Girls Invitational On what started out to be the nicest day of the 2022 track season so far, the Southwest Valley Timberwolves hosted their Girls Invitational with 14 teams from Southwest Iowa in attendance April 21. The meet was called after the 4x200 due to a lightning delay and the possibility of further bad weather, with the host Timberwolves sitting in ninth place with 27 points. “The girls posted some great times and had a number of new season bests and personal records in the shortened meet,” head coach Jason Hults said. “Leading the way was a new school record in the long jump for sophomore Emma Cooper. Emma held the record last season for a few weeks with a jump of 15-3, then lost it to state qualifier Auna Bruce by 0.5 inch at the district qualifier meet. Emma popped a great jump on her third attempt to go 15-6 to set the new school record, which held on for third place. Cooper also medaled with a fifth place finish in the 100 meter dash.” Mackenzie Richards placed fourth in the shot put and Samantha Davies got a sixth place finish in the discus. “The throwers have continued to make a lot of progress, with Sam and Mack both throwing season bests in discus tonight to get our first points of the season in that event,” Hults said. In the 3000 meter, Kya Newton placed sixth. “Kya and Victoria Fletchall, who finished ninth, both ran new season best times,” Hults said. The 4x800 relay team of Olivia Kathikar, Haidyn Top, Sierra Pearson, and Christine Andrews medaled with a fourth place finish. The distance medley relay team of Paighton Buffington, Karsyn Poston, Kathikar, and Andrews placed eighth to round out the point scores for the Timberwolves. The girls will be back on the track at the Audubon COED on April 26. Results from the Timberwolves Girls Invitational include: Team — Nodaway Valley 63, Clarinda 55, Shenandoah 48.50, Lenox 42, I-35 40, Riverside 39, Fremont-Mills 35.50, Red Oak 30, SWV 27, Essex 26, Stanton 18, Griswold 18, Bedford 17, E. Mills 9 100 meter dash — Cooper fifth, 14.07; Camryn Johnston, 18th, 15.30; Ivey Lenz, 36th, 18.79 400 meter dash — Newton, 26th, 1:28.50 3000 meter run — Newton, sixth, 13:45.20; Fletchall, ninth, 15:53.40 Discus — Davies, sixth, 78-09; Mackenzie Richards, 16th, 68-06; Julia Means, 30th, 57-06 Long jump — Cooper, third, 15-06.00 Shot put — Richards, fourth, 32-02.00; Davies, 20th, 25-05.00; Means, 30th, 22-11.00 4x200 meter relay — Johnston, Pearson, Top, Cooper, 10th, 2:01.93; Bailey Weller, Fletchall, Lenz, Averyle Butcher, 17th, 2:28.69 4x800 meter relay — Pearson, Kathikar, Andrews, Top, fourth, 11:47.08 400 meter shuttle hurdle — Alyssa Randall, Newton, Davies, Buffington, 10th, 1:30.56 800 sprint medley relay — Weller, Johnston, Randall, Karsyn Poston, 16th, 2:17.38 1600 distance medley relay — Buffington, Poston, Kathikar, Andrews, eighth, 5:12.09 On another cold and windy night for the 2022 track season, the Timberwolves competed at the Lenox COED on April 18. The girls squad finished eighth overall in the 12-team field. “With our home girls meet coming up on Thursday, we decided to run the girls a bit easier, trying to give them a bit of a rest and have fresher, stronger legs for the home meet,” Hults said. “Along with a few girls who were injured or absent, we didn't fill every event; but still saw some great effort from the girls all night long.” The girls saw medal performances from Cooper in the long jump (second), Richards in the shot put (third), Top in the 1500 meter (third), and Newton in the 3000 meter (fifth). The girls also had a fifth place finish in the shuttle hurdle relay from Randall, Pearson, Davies, and Buffington. Results from Lenox include: 100 meter dash — Cooper, seventh, 15.55; Butcher, 21st, 19.59 200 meter dash — Cooper, seventh, 30.62; Butcher, 20th, 37.15 400 meter dash — Pearson, eighth, 1:16.65 1500 meter run — Top, third, 6:08.12 3000 meter run — Newton, fifth, 14:26.42 100 meter hurdles — Randall, 14th, 22.14 400 meter hurdles — Fletchall, 11th, 1:42.86 4x100 meter relay — Weller, Randall, Johnston, Pearson, ninth, 1:03.26 800 sprint medley — Weller, Randall, Johnston, Poston, ninth, 2:17.41 Distance medley — Cooper, Johnston, Poston, Top, seventh, 5:17.75 4x100 meter shuttle hurdle — Randall, Pearson, Davies, Buffington, fifth, 1:37.38 Long jump — Cooper, second, 14-10.50 Shot put — Richards, third, 32-05.00; Davies, ninth, 27-11.50 Discus — Davies, eighth, 73-07; Means, 15th, 60-03 Team — Riverside 128, Shenandoah 115, Mount Ayr 95, Lenox 59, Griswold 48, Bedford 35, East Mills 35, SWV 24, SE Warren 21, East Union 19, Orient-Macksburg 4, Diagonal 2 T-Wolves second
in class at Griswold The Southwest Valley boys track team traveled April 21 to Griswold to compete in a two-class competition in the Tiger Relays. “Southwest Valley competed in the smaller class and finished very well,” head coach Allen Naugle said. “They finished runner up to Riverside in the team standings and competed very well overall. I was not able to attend due to hosting a girls track meet but my assistant coach Jerry Hartman was there. He says that the guys competed hard and did a great job throughout.” Although posted results from the Tiger Relays do not separate each class, Naugle said the Timberwolves finished strong in their class. “We did a great job in the field events winning three of the four events,” Naugle said. “Our relays ran well and posted solid times. Evan Timmerman and Brendan Knapp both won individual races on the night” [in the smaller class]. Results from Griswold include: Team — Riverside 188, SWV 116, Bedford 103, Griswold 84, Heartland Christian 42, ISD 36 100 meter dash — Brendan Knapp, fourth, 12.27; Owen Wilkinson, sixth, 12.53 200 meter dash — B. Knapp, first, 24.61; Beau Johnston, 21st, 30.61 400 meter dash — Evan Timmerman, first, 56.29 800 meter run — Brandon Cox, sixth, 2:33.73 3200 meter run — Timmerman, fifth, 12:098.15 110 meter hurdles — Devin Greenwalt, fifth, 19.94; Roman Keefe 20.87 1600 meter run — Timmerman, third, 5:28.59 400 meter hurdles — Greenwalt, fifth, 1:09.54; Keefe, 16th, 1:11.37 Discus — Dillon Inman, first, 118-06; Theron Mullen, fifth, 101-06 High jump — Marshall Knapp, first, 6-04.00 Long jump — Ely Rodriguez, 15-08.50; Evan Pearson, 15-02.50 Shot put — Mullen, first, 41-03.50; Colin Jacobs, second, 41-02.50 4x100 meter relay — Bradlee Grantz, M. Knapp, Inman, B. Knapp, sixth, 47.06 4x200 meter relay — Grantz, Wilkinson, Inman, M. Knapp, second, 1:39.67 4x400 meter relay — Rodriguez, KC SItzman, Pearson, Brandon Cox, second, 4:06.63 440 meter shuttle hurdle — Keefe, Greenwalt, Sitzman, Pearson, fourth, 1:16.72 800 sprint medley relay — Grantz, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, Rodriguez, third, 1:49.64 1600 distance medley relay — Mullen, Rodriguez, Sitzman, Cox, fourth, 4:27.03 The Timberwolves competed April 18 in a cold and windy Lenox COED meet. “Overall I thought our guys competed well. We had a few guys out for various reasons and ran into some adversity but I thought that we competed well,” Naugle said. “Marshall [Knapp] won the high jump in tough conditions. Evan Timmerman finally was able to get his first meet in placing fourth in the 3200 and 1600. He also plays tennis so the other meets he was able to compete at so far have all been cancelled. Our shuttle hurdle team did a great job placing third. We had to make a quick change and Isaac Currin, who has not practiced hurdling before, was thrown into the mix. Our 4x200 composed of younger guys ran a nice race to place third as well. Overall it was nice to get a meet in and continue to take steps forward to improve." Results from Lenox include: Discus — Inman, sixth, 102-04; Pearson 89-07 Shot put — Jacobs, fifth, 39-03.25; Mullen, 37-07 Long jump — Rodrigeuz, 15-01; Currin, 14-05 High jump — M. Knapp, first, 6-0 Sprint medley — Wilkinson, Rodriguez, B. Knapp, Sitzman, 1:59.12 3200 meter run — Timmerman, fourth, 11:56.08 Shuttle hurdle — Keefe, Greenwalt, Currin, Pearson, third, 1:17.11 100 meter dash — Mullen, 13.48 Distance medley — Wilkinson, Inman, B. Knapp, Timmernan, fifth, 2:26.45 400 meter dash — Cox, 1:03.47; Alex Morgan, 1:10.84 4x200 meter relay — Rodriguez, Sitzman, Pearson, Wilkinson, third, 1:42.72 110 meter hurdles — Keefe, 19.82; Greenwalt, 20.94 800 meter run — Devyn Fasce, 2:49.60 200 meter dash — Johnston, 30.69 400 meter hurdles — Greenwalt, 1:12.18; Keefe, 1:15.80 1600 meter run — Timmerman, fourth, 5:26.62; Cox, 6:03.19 4x100 meter relay — Wilkinson, Currin, Inman, B. Knapp, fifth, 48.18 Team — Lenox 100, Shenandoah 89, Mount Ayr 83, Riverside 80, Griswold 60, East Mills 38, SWV 37, SE Warren 37, Bedford 31, ACGC 20, Orient-Macksburg 11, Diagonal 2 Timberwolves outshoot Creston, Shenandoah
The Timberwolves hosted Shenandoah and Creston in a triangular meet on April 21. “It was such a lovely day — until it wasn’t,” Southwest Valley head coach Cindy Drake said. “The kids were not quite finished when the lightning moved in and the meet was called.” The boys won the triangular with a score of 188. Creston placed second with a 200, and Shenandoah was third with a 206. The Timberwolves outdid themselves with two sophomores leading the way for the team. Isaac Currin shot 45, and Ethan Bruce 46. They were followed by Joey Oathoudt’s 48, freshman Jack Kretzinger’s 49, and Jake Oathoudt’s 61. On the girls’ side, the Timberwolves’ team score of 216 was good for second place, and put them only 9 strokes behind Shenandoah’s 207. Creston scored 221 to take third. Becca Wetzel led the Timberwolves with a 52, followed by Maggie Haer and Miaya Fourez who each shot a 53, and Grace Bain who shot 58. “The girls have been putting in some hard practice, and the results of that practice certainly showed in their score,” Drake said. “Although we did retain any medals, I am very well pleased with the way both the boys and the girls played. We have not had many opportunities this Spring to be able to practice outside, and if we did practice outside it was in winds of 20-plus mph. It’s quite rewarding to see the teams coming together so well.” The golf team traveled April 19 to Bedford for a triangular meet with Bedford and Lamoni. Neither Bedford nor Lamoni fielded a girls’ team. Wetzel finished third overall, and led the way for the Timberwolves with a 59. Fourez was close behind with a 60. Haer had a 65, and Bain a 70. Lamoni did not field a boys’ team, so the meet was a battle between Bedford and SWV. Bedford won the meet with a 165 to SWV’s 196. Wilkinson finished third overall. “Although his score of 40 was second best of the night, he was tied with a Bedford player who also scored 40,” Drake said. “Owen lost the card off, thus placing him third.” This week’s schedule includes Clarke at home April 25, on the road April 26 to Mount Ayr, and back home with CAM on April 28. Tee off will be at 4 p.m. ![]() SWV tennis teams
top Audubon Southwest Valley’s varsity tennis teams were able to sweep the Audubon Wheelers in home and away tilts on April 19. The girls won a home battle, 7-2, while the boys were able to pull off a 9-0 victory in a road contest. Girls The varsity girls picked up their first dual win of the season. Results are as follow (SWV = Southwest Valley; A = Aud: Singles: 1) Charlee Larsen (SWV) over Audrey Jensen, 9-7; 2) Kya Petersen (A) beat Alana Drake, 8-3; 3) Anjali Kathikar (SWV) over Joss Chambers, 8-2; 4) Ryanne Mullen (SWV) over Ava Slater, 8-1; 5) Karissa Richey (SWV) beat Gery Anderson, 8-6; 6) Madeline Bevington (SWV) over Joselynn Moreno, 8-0. Doubles: 1) Jensen/Petersen (A) over Drake/Kathikar, 8-3; 2) Larsen/Mullen (SWV) beat Chambers/Slater, 2-0 (injury default); 3) Richey/Bevington (SWV) over Anderson/Moreno, 8-3. “I am so happy for the varsity girls.” Southwest Valley head coach Steve McGrew said. “They knocked on the door early in the season in duals with close losses, 5-4 and 6-3, to Thomas Jefferson and Creston. Then they played, in my estimation, a top 10 team in Class 1A in Red Oak and a top 15 team in Class 1A in Clarke. They were on the verge of a dual victory early on and battled so well against two fantastic teams. They work hard all the time, and getting this dual win has to feel good for them.” Larsen got her first win at No. 1 singles and it was in dramatic fashion. “Charlee was up 5-4 midway into the match and then her opponent played two solid games to go up 6-5 and remained ahead by a game against Larsen, 7-6, when Charlee found the extra gear she needed to pull off the win,” McGrew said. “She had to dig deep and really concentrate on finding a way to respond to some low line-drive groundstrokes that her opponent was giving her that were hard to retrieve. I think a big key was that she was able to get more depth to the baseline during rallies so her opponent couldn’t lean into her shots and deliver the line drives as consistently. Charlee had some big serves and really started getting into the groove on her groundstrokes in the last three games. It was a classic nail-biter match, because so many games in the late stages of the match were close until the last game. Charlee only lost one point in that one.” McGrew said Kathikar and Mullen used their forehands so wisely in wins at three and four. “Anjali really pounded some forehands into the corners,” McGrew said. “Mullen’s depth on her groundstrokes has always been a strength of her game in singles.” Richey trailed 3-0 early on at five singles, but showed composure in getting right back into the match with two straight games. She eventually led 5-4 and then the contest went back and forth the rest of the way. “At the 0-3 timeout, Karissa and I just talked about getting back to her strengths,” McGrew said. “She can hit a deep forehand. It is actually a strength she possesses. However, her shots were landing short in the opening games and her opponent was blasting away on them. Karissa just got back to what makes her a solid player and that is hitting forehands close to the baseline.” Bevington was dominant at six singles. “She never let her opponent get her teeth into the match.” McGrew said. “She moved around the court gracefully. With Lexi Weston out with health issues, we needed Madeline to step into varsity action, and she has really handled things so nicely.” Drake’s loss was against a solid two player. “Alana won a deuce game to start the match, and was competitive in all the games, but Petersen’s forehand was really tough,” McGrew said. “Petersen had our number last season too. She won at No. 1 singles and doubles against us twice last season. I give her major credit. She is a strong performer.” In doubles, McGrew was pleased with Drake and Kathikar. “They really came on strong at the end,” said the head coach of the Timberwolves. “From 7-1 down, they got to 7-3 with dominant games. Kathikar was blasting some return of serves and groundstrokes and Alana delivered some really impressive put away volleys. It looked like they might make a major rally when they got up 30 love in the 11th game, but Audubon won the game at deuce. Our girls like no-ad scoring, which means the next point at deuce wins a game. If we had gotten the 11th game and trimmed the lead to 7-4, things could have gotten very interesting.” Richey and Bevington followed up their win over Clarke with another strong performance at three doubles. “Richey is getting a lot of first serves in and Bevington is really giving her strong support at the net,” McGrew said. JV The Wheelers edged Southwest Valley’s JV girls, 3-2, Results (A = Audubon and SWV = Southwest Valley), using the format of first to 6 by 1, are as follow: Doubles: Jazmin Weston/Natalia Zimmerman (SWV) over Rachel Rynearson/Grace Zaiger, 6-4. Singles: Rynearson (A) over Weston, 6-1; Zaiger (A) over Zimmerman, 6-5; Ivey Lenz (SWV) over Ellen Rath, 6-2; Rynearson (A) beat Lenz, 6-0. “Zimmerman versus Zaiger was a heck of a singles match,” McGrew said. “Every game was close and the last game went to deuce, which meant that the final point of the match decided who won. The sportsmanship both girls displayed was great. I wish the result would have gone Natalia’s way, but it was a wonderful match.” Boys McGrew’s assistant Brent Mullen took the boys to Audubon and said the Timberwolves turned in a strong performance in their 9-0 victory. Audubon had only six boys available, so there was no JV action. The varsity Timberwolves improved to 3-1 in duals. Results (all Southwest Valley names first) are as follow: Singles: 1) Gabe Fuller over Eli Deist, 8-0; 2) Evan Timmerman beat Connor Christensen, 8-0; 3) Owen Paul defeated Sawyer McClain, 8-1; 4) Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird beat Isaac Jackson, 8-2; 5) Parker Boswell defeated Aiden Griffith, 8-1; 6) Logan Westlake beat Jake Lauritsen, 8-2. Doubles: 1) Fuller/Timmerman over Deist/Christensen, 8-1; 2) Paul/Goodvin-Kinnaird over McClain/Jackson, 8-6; 3) Boswell/Westlake defeated Griffith/Lauritsen, 8-1. “Coach Mullen told me that both Fuller and Timmerman showed their usual aggressiveness, which is great to hear,” McGrew said. “Mullen said both made a few errors, but would respond right back with a series of excellent points. Mullen was happy with the consistency of the other players also.” McGrew said Deacon Ganfield deserves praise as well. “Even though Audubon didn’t have any JV players available, I wanted Deacon to make the trip in case we had to sub in for doubles should there be an injury, which thankfully there wasn’t,” McGrew said. “Coach Mullen said Deacon really watched the matches intently and asked him a lot of good questions. I loved that Deacon was willing to soak in knowledge.” Timberwolf team
claims golf win Mother Nature finally decided to cooperate with the Timberwolf golf team as Southwest Valley hosted the Essex Trojans and the Red Oak Tigers on April 11. “Our first three meets had been postponed due to bad weather so this was our first chance to show what we could do,” head coach Cindy Drake said. “Temperatures were in the mid-60s, with little to no wind — a perfect afternoon for golf.” Both Timberwolf teams took full advantage of the good weather. Of the four medals awarded at the meet, three of them went to Timberwolf golfers. The Red Oak girls had a team score of 248, with their Brynn Knaus taking medalist honors with her score of 49. The Timberwolves had a team score of 259. Junior Becca Wetzel was the runner-up medalist, taking the lead for the Timberwolves with a 54. Freshman Miaya Fourez, who was playing in her first ever high school golf meet, followed closely with 57. Maggie Haer and Grace Bane completed the team for the girls, scoring 68 and 80, respectively. The boys team won the triangular meet, outscoring Red Oak (214) and Essex (237). “Seniors scored very well,” Drake said. The teams was led by Owen Wilkinson, who was medalist for the meet with a score of 41. Runner-up was Jake Oathoudt, scoring 44. He was followed by seniors Henry Bevington (53) and Joey Oathoudt (54). Sophomores Ethan Bruce shot 55, and Isaac Currin, 61. “This was an excellent first outing for the Timberwolves, especially considering the lack of outdoor practice that we’ve been able to get in,” Drake said. “Not only has the weather caused postponement of our first three meets, it also denied us many days of practicing at the golf course. Indoor practice is a poor substitute for the real thing!” ![]() SWV boys top Tigers 8-1
Southwest Valley’s tennis teams completed their third dual meet before the Easter holiday against Red Oak, a school historically known for strong tennis. The Southwest Valley varsity boys hosted the Tigers on April 14 and emerged victorious, 8-1, to improve to 2-1 in duals. The Red Oak varsity girls, state qualifiers in Class 1A a season ago, showed their talents in a 9-0 victory over the Timberwolves. Boys Results in the varsity boys meet are as follow (SWV = Southwest Valley; RO = Red Oak): Singles: 1) Gabe Fuller (SWV) over Max DeVries, 8-1; 2) Evan Timmerman (SWV) neat Brett Erickson, 8-0; 3) Braden Woods (RO) over Owen Paul, 8-1; 4) Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird (SWV) defeated Joshua LeRette, 8-3; 5) Parker Boswell (SWV) over Jonah Wemhoff, 9-8 (8-4); 6) Logan Westlake (SWV) beat Nolan Perrien, 8-4. Doubles: 1) Fuller/Timmerman (SWV) defeated DeVries/Erickson, 8-0; 2) Paul/Goodvin-Kinnaird (SWV) over Woods/Wemhoff, 8-4; 3) Boswell/Westlake (SWV) beat Perrien/Landon Gigstad, 8-5. The win by the boys over the Tigers had a Top Gun movie feel to it, SWV head coach Steve McGrew said. “Red Oak beat Creston, 7-2 with Creston’s No. 1 guy available, and we beat Creston, 8-1 without Creston’s No. 1 playing,” McGrew said. “Both teams lost to Glenwood and the match scores down the line were pretty similar. I anticipated this would be a closely-contested meet so I challenged my top two boys to set the tone for this dual. In the spirit of Tom Cruise, I wanted to give more of my time to Gabe and Evan, my Top Guns, during Wednesday’s practice, since I hadn’t worked with them much over the last week or so. As a coach, you have to work in time for everyone through the course of the season, but my gut told me it needed to be their day during Wednesday’s practice. We did some singles drilling, played some doubles with Coach Mullen, and then Gabe and I got some singles in. I felt like if those guys were sharp and really nailed down their matches, it would really set the tone for the rest of the guys. We got up early, 2-0, before any of the other singles matches finished and the energy trickled down. Slate, Parker, and Logan all played their best matches to date.” McGrew said all of the winners in singles each drew on their strengths. “Gabe and Evan continued to show their excellent court coverage and their ability to come to the net when appropriate,” McGrew said. “Slate had the slice backhand really working. And when that weapon is working for him, he can really be a handful to deal with. I asked Slate if he thought it was his best career singles effort and she said yes. Parker is working on driving balls to the corners to try to expose the backhand of his opponent. The depth and accuracy for Parker is really improving. Logan is just showing the variety of his game. His service motion may be the best on the team aside from the top two guys. He is getting depth on the forehand as well. Logan’s big improvement in just the last week, though, is his backhand. He struggled with it in the first week of practice and is now real steady with it. He is getting out in front of it and directing it without making many errors. I love his progress.” Paul ran into what McGrew likes to call a power spot. Woods wasn’t far below Red Oak’s top two players and simply wasn’t missing balls. “It was an impressive singles effort for Woods,” McGrew said. “Paul played decently, but Woods was getting deep balls to Owen consistently to minimize his forehand and simply being a backboard. Owen had to risk more. Woods got him out of his comfort zone. Three singles should be Red Oak’s power spot over the course of their season.” Paul kept positive, though, and cruised to an early 6-1 lead with Goodvin-Kinnaird in doubles before Red Oak’s No. 2 team rallied back to within 7-4. Then Paul and Goodvin-Kinnaird wrapped up the match. “I loved Owen’s response in doubles after running into a buzzsaw in singles,” McGrew said. “Parker and Logan are looking to be more aggressive at three doubles and they both had real strong moments at the net.” No. 1 doubles was a thing of beauty, McGrew said. “The Top Guns absolutely kept the heat on their opponents,” he said. “I am not sure who I am going to call Maverick and who gets to be Ice Man for the rest of the season, but Gabe and Evan earned their tennis wings against Red Oak, so to speak. It was a pretty flawless performance.” In junior varsity action, Southwest Valley split singles matches with the Tigers. In the first to six by 1 format, Deacon Ganfield of Southwest Valley beat Gigstad, 6-5, while Gigstad beat Matthew Means, 6-0. “Ganfield has never looked better,” McGrew said. “He moved so well to the ball and really set his feet. His serve looks so much better.” Girls It is no secret that when most teams play the Red Oak girls, they are likely to say, when they are finished, that the Tigers are the best team that they will face. Such was the case for the Timberwolf varsity girls in the 9-0 loss on April 14. Scores (all Red Oak names first) are as follow: Singles: 1) Merced Ramirez beat Charlee Larsen, 8-1; 2) Jessica Lukehart over Alana Drake, 8-1; 3) Tessa Rolenc over Anjali Kathikar, 8-1; 4) Anna Grizzard defeated Ryanne Mullen, 8-1; 5) Grace Wingfield beat Lexi Weston, 8-2; 6) Stephany Ramos defeated Karissa Richey, 8-0. Doubles: 1) Ramirez/Rolenc over Drake/Kathikar, 8-0; 2) Lukehart/Grizzard beat Larsen/Mullen, 8-2; 3) Wingfield/Ramos defeated Weston/Richey, 8-3. “Assistant coach Brent Mullen, who traveled to the meet with the girls, said Red Oak got off to really good starts and that the games Southwest Valley won in singles came in the later stages of the match, which is a positive in the sense that our girls started to make progress against an extremely talented team,” McGrew said. “The crazy part for us is that the team, in our region, that might have the best chance at making a run at Red Oak, is next on our schedule, and that is Clarke on April 18 in a rescheduled dual at home. It is a brutal stretch in the schedule for the girls. The positive is that it might help us raise our level for the remaining contests.” The Southwest Valley JV girls notched another victory, which both coaches felt was their best one yet. The format was first to 6 by 1 with no-ad scoring and a tie-break if necessary. Maddie Bevington and Natalia Zimmernan beat Abigail Johnson and Josie Rengstorf, 7-6 (14-12), Kayden Wingfield and Lindsay Porter, 6-3, and Aedynn Graham and Prashna Bell, 6-3. “Many times the JV doesn’t play tie-breakers as it is hard enough for many varsity players to remember how it all works, but I am glad Maddie and Natalia got the opportunity,” McGrew said. “A tie-breaker is first to seven points by two, so this tie-breaker went, to use a baseball expression, into extra innings. Coach Mullen told me it was exciting to watch. I can imagine it was. With Parker winning one on the varsity boys’ side in singles, it proved to be a great night for tie-breakers for Southwest Valley.” April 19 is the day when both teams will be in action at the same time as the girls will host Audubon, while the boys will travel to Audubon. Southwest Valley’s varsity tennis teams split with Creston on April 11 as the Southwest Valley boys claimed an 8-1 victory, while the girls dropped a well fought 6-3 decision. Ironically, the opposite results took place at the JV level as the Creston boys defeated the Timberwolves, 8-1, while the Southwest Valley girls won 3-0. Boys Results for the varsity boys are as follow (C = Creston and SWV = Southwest Valley): Singles: 1) Gabe Fuller (SWV) over Connor Wiley, 8-3; 2) Evan Timmerman (SWV) beat Braeton Rinner, 8-0; 3) Owen Paul (SWV) over Isaac Shields, 8-1; 4) Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird (SWV) over Lucas Rushing, 8-6; 5) Damion Meyer (C) defeated Parker Boswell, 8-1; 6) Logan Westlake (SWV) over Luke McElwain, 8-4. Doubles: 1) Fuller/Timmerman (SWV) beat Wiley/Rinner, 8-1; 2) Paul/Goodvin-Kinnaird (SWV) over Shields/Rushing, 8-4; 3) Boswell/Westlake (SWV) beat Meyer/Thayer Rooney, 9-8 (7-3). “Our top two were dominant in singles and doubles, and Owen really took complete control in his three singles match as well,” McGrew said. “Gabe, Evan, and Owen all used the power they possess to dictate play in their wins. All the other matches were pretty closely contested. Even in losing, Parker played a lot of close games, according to my volunteer assistant Andy Timmerman. Slate had a heck of a match with Rushing in singles. I was really impressed with Rushing. He was a super nice kid who was really consistent, getting so many balls back in play. Slate had to really throw everything he had at the guy to outlast him. The match went back and forth in terms of who won games. Finally, Slate won two games in a row to increase a 5-4 lead to a 7-4 lead. But then Rushing rallied back to 7-6 before Slate closed out the match with a strong game that included several well executed slice backhands. Slate’s match was a really great high school match to watch. Both guys were really crediting each other with nice shots, but showing a lot of competitive fight at the same time. I loved the mentality both guys had.” McGrew noted Logan Westlake made his varsity debut for Southwest Valley. It went well for him, according to the head coach of the Timberwolves. “I was really happy with Logan,” McGrew said. “His serving is coming along nicely, which is a big plus at the six spot. Perhaps the biggest positive is how well he is moving around the court. HIs speed to the ball is one thing, but he is really understanding that you have to not only get to the ball, but then set and hit under control. He did it in singles, but it was even more on display in doubles. He really tracked down a lot of balls. Parker had some nice service returns and some touch around the net to complement Logan.” Creston’s JV won comfortably over the Timberwolves. “They earned the 8-1 victory.” McGrew said. “There were a number of Creston players in the top part of the JV that didn’t drop off much from the lower end of the varsity. They were also a nice bunch of guys who were appreciative of the amount of matches played.” Results in the first to 4 by 1 no-ad scoring format (C = Creston and SWV = Southwest Valley) are as follow: Doubles: Rooney/Gavin Millslagle (C) beat Deacon Ganfield/Matthew Means, 4-2; Ben Hill/Millslagle (C) over Ganfield/Means, 4-1; Steven Bell/Chasin Luther (C) over Ganfield/Means, 4-0. Singles: Hill (C) over Ganfield, 4-0; Bell (C) over Means, 4-2; Millslagle (C) beat Ganfield, 4-2; Luther (C) over Means, 4-3; Ganfield (SWV) over Bell, 4-1; Millslagle (C) beat Means, 4-2. “Ganfield worked his forehand nicely in his lone win,” McGrew said. “Means nearly got the win over Luther. The match came down to the very last point since it was deuce in the last game and we played no ad in JV.” Girls Results in varsity girls’ play are as follow (C = Creston and SWV = Southwest Valley) are as follows: Singles: 1) Morgan Driskell (C) beat Charlee Larsen, 8-5; 2) Halle Evans (C) over Alana Drake, 8-3; 3) Jenny Li (C) over Anjali Kathikar, 8-3; 4) Ryanne Mullen (SWV) over Josie Mahan, 8-1; 5) Ava Adamson (C) beat Lexi Weston, 8-3; 6) Karissa Richey (SWV) over Mila Kuhns, 8-1. Doubles: 1) Driskell/Evans (C) over Drake/Kathikar, 8-3; 2) Larsen/Mullen (SWV) over Li/Mahan, 8-2; 3) Adamson/Kuhns (C) beat Weston/Richey, 8-2. “Driskell is a heck of a player,” McGrew said. “She was a state doubles qualifier last season and a steady No. 2 behind state singles qualifier Maddie Frey last year. Driskell gave an outstanding No. 1 girl from Red Oak all she could handle before losing 9-8 in a tie-breaker in Creston’s season opener. My assistant coach, Brent Mullen, who was at the girls’ meet said Charlee was very competitive with multiple deuce games. Brent said there were many deuce games in the matches played by Drake and Kathikar as well.” Coach Mullen said Ryanne Mullen was dominant in an 8-1 win, which McGrew didn’t feel was shocking. “Four is a power spot for us,” McGrew said. “I said it after Thomas Jefferson, and it will be true all season. With FCCLA and FBLA state events combined with indoor practices because of weather, small bouts of sickness, and a few other conflicts, we haven’t had a chance to complete challenges in singles yet much less doubles. Charlee has the lone win among the challenges we have played so far among the top three. I honestly feel she clearly passes the eye test better than anyone else. The result against Driskell also shows that she deserves the one spot as of now. The girls want to complete the challenges among the top three and I hope we can after we have more practice time after April 19 when we have a gap in meets. Eventually, I would like to give Mullen a challenge opportunity as well. Honestly, I think we are so close in talent from two to four. That is why I have been so adamant about four being a power spot.” Richey joins Mullen among the undefeated varsity singles players. “I didn’t see Karissa’s match since I was with the boys this time, but I have seen her in two other events and regularly in practice,” McGrew said. “Her level of consistency has been impressive.” In doubles, McGrew said Coach Mullen noted that Drake and Kathikar really worked together nicely as a pair. Coach Mullen added that Larsen and Ryanne Mullen also played a strong match. Speaking of strong play, Maddie Bevington continued to shine at the JV level. Bevington, who was part of all three JV wins for Southwest Valley in their opener with Thomas Jefferson, cruised in singles with a dominant win over Sophia Short, 6-0. She also combined with Jazmin Weston for a 6-0 win in doubles over Short and Elsa Synacek. Weston also won in singles, 6-3, over Kaylee Harper. “I am happy for those two JV girls,” McGrew said. “The varsity girls were very competitive. Coach Mullen added that Creston had a senior night ceremony during the contest and he credited Creston’s seniors, Driskell, Evans, and Li, who were one, two, and three respectively in singles, with strong performances.” ![]() Timberwolves show strengths at Creston
Southwest Valley saw several personal and season bests April 11 in the Panther COED Relay in Creston. “There were only three boys teams who competed tonight but overall our guys competed well,” head coach Allen Naugle said. “The conditions were incredible most of the evening and we were able to put together some great times, heights and distances.” Marshall [Knapp] improved his personal best and school record in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 4 inches. “He had a couple of great attempts at 6 feet, 5 inches but just clipped it on his last jump,” Naugle said. Dillon Inman won the discus with a season best throw. Colin Jacobs improved his season best throw in the discus. Brendan Knapp won both the 100 meter and 200 meter dash with season best times. “We competed well in the relays with our shuttle hurdle improving their time drastically and our 4x100 running a nice time getting into the 46s,” Naugle said. “Overall I was very proud of how hard the guys competed and much improvement we showed considering we haven't run in a long time due to cancelled meets.” Results from the Panther COED Relay include: Team — Creston 151, SWV 150, Stanton 110 100 meter dash — B. Knapp, first, 12:18; Bradlee Grantz, third, 12.62; Beau Johnston, sixth, 14.52; Alex Morgan, seventh, 14.57 200 meter dash — B. Knapp, first, 24.47; Grantz, fourth, 25.45; Johnston, 11th, 30.23; Morgan, 14th, 31.94 400 meter dash — M. Knapp, third, 55.55; Devyn Fasce, fifth, 1:09.17 800 meter run — Brandon Cox, fifth, 2:34.55; Fasce, sixth, 2:44.75 110 meter hurdles — Tate Haffner, second, ,18.44; Roman Keefe, fourth, 20,21 400 meter hurdles — Haffner, first, 1:08.56 Discus — Dillon Inman, first, 117-06; Evan Pearson, sixth, 94-08; Theron Mullen, ninth, 87-00; Colin Jacobs, 10th, 83-03; Sawyer Wilkinson, 13th, 65-08 High jump — M. Knapp, first, 6-04.00 Long jump — Ely Rodriguez, third, 15-11.50 Shot put — Jacobs, second, 40-04.00; Mullen, fourth, 39-00.00; Wilkinson, 10th, 27-07.00 4x100 meter relay — Grantz, Mullen, Johnston, B. Knapp, first, 46.90 4x200 meter relay — KC Sitzman, Rodriguez, Pearson, Inman, first, 1:41.26 4x400 meter relay — Rodriguez, Sitzman, Devin Greenwalt, Pearson, second, 4:08.18 400 meter shuttle hurdle — Haffner, Keefe, Greenwalt, first, 1:12.24 800 sprint medley relay — Sitzman, Grantz, B. Knapp, Rodriguez, second, 1:48.16 1600 distance medley relay — Mullen, Keefe, Greenwalt, Cox, second, 4:27.41 ![]() SWV sets new PRs
in Fillies Relays The Southwest Valley Timberwolves travelled April 14 to Shenandoah for the Fillies Relays. The Timberwolves saw six new personal records in the windy and cool conditions, and finished the night overall in 10th place in the team standings. Emma Cooper led the medalists for the Timberwolves with a second place finish in the long jump. The distance medley relay with Cooper, Camryn Johnston, Haidyn Top, and Olivia Kathikar finished third. The Timberwolves got fourth place finishes from the shuttle hurdle team of Alyssa Randall, Sierra Pearson, Samantha Davies, and Paighton Buffington and from Top in the 800 meter. Kya Newton brought home a fifth place medal in the 3000 meter. Sixth place medals came from Mackensie Richards in shot put and Cooper in the 200 meter. Results from Shenandoah include: Team — Riverside 128, Shenandoah 101, Fremont-Mills 76, Bedford 48, Red Oak 44, Essex 44, East Mills 44, Sidney 28, SWV 27 100 meter dash — Averyle Butcher, 13th, 17.33; Ivey Lenz, 15th, 18.93 200 meter dash — Cooper, sixth, 30.27; Camryn Johnston, 13th, 32.96 800 meter run — Top, fourth, 2:56.25; Victoria Fletchall, 11th, 3:34.25 100 meter hurdles — Randall, 14th, 21.63 1500 meter run — Newton, 10th, 6:48.45 3000 meter run — Newton, fifth, 14:25.22; Fletchall, eighth, 16:05.68 400 meter hurdles — Pearson, ninth, 1:33.58 Discus — Davies, 11th, 65-08; Julia Means, 14th, 59-04.50 Long jump — Cooper, second, 14-09.25 Shot put — Richards, sixth, 30-06.50; Davies, seventh, 29-07.50 4x100 meter relay — Bailey Weller, Randall, Johnston, Pearson, 10th, 1:01.49 4x200 meter relay — Weller, Pearson, Lenz, Butcher, 10th, 2:22.58 4x400 meter relay — Kathikar, Cooper, Karsyn Poston, Top, sixth, 5:03.82 400 meter shuttle hurdle — Randall, Pearson, Davies, Buffington, fourth, 1:31.92 800 sprint medley relay — Weller, Randall, Johnston, Poston, 10th, 2:16.02 1600 distance medley relay — Cooper, Johnston, Top, Kathikar, third, 5:11.38 The Timberwolves travelled April 11 to Creston for the inaugural Panther COED Invitational. In the eight-team girls division, the Timberwolves competed with a number of larger schools, and held their own in a number of events, finishing the night in seventh place overall with 56 points. Medalists for the Timberwolves included the 4x800 team of Pearson, Kathikar, Andrews, and Top with a new SB time and a third place finish. Top followed that up with a third place medal in the 1500 meter and Cooper brought home third in the long jump. “They only medaled the top three places in relays and individual events, but the girls competed hard all not long,” head coach Jason Hults said. “Six of the seven relays posted season best times, with 17 new season best performances in the open events as well. The weather was beautiful for the first time this season, and the girls took advantage of that and performed well all night.” Results from Creston include: Team — Wayne 167, Atlantic 148, Clarke 101, Martendsale-St. Mary’s 85, Creston 59, Stanton 57, SWV 65, Thomas Jefferson 46 100 meter dash — Butcher, 25th, 17.57; Lenz, 27th, 18.68 200 meter dash — Cooper, fourth, 29.74 400 meter dash — Kathikar, seventh, 1:14.29 800 meter run — Kathikar, fourth, 2:53.25 100 meter hurdles — Buffington, 11th, 20.60 1500 meter run — Top, third, 6:00.27 3000 meter run — Fletchall, seventh, 16:01.63 400 meter hurdles — Andrews, 10th, 1:27:00 Discus — Means, 16th, 61-08; Richards, 17th, 61-04; Davies, 20th, 54-06; Jaycie Hutchings, 24th, 41-07 Long jump — Cooper, third, 15-00.50; Weller, 13th, 10-05.50 Shot put — Richards, fourth, 32-02.50; Davies, ninth, 27-06.50; Means, 21st, 22-00.00; Hutchings, 24th, 15-03.50 4x100 meter relay — Weller, Buffington, Johnston, Cooper, seventh, 59.81 4x200 meter relay — Randall, Hutchings, Lenz, Butcher, eighth, 2:43.87 4x400 meter relay — Kathikar, Pearson, Poston, Andrews, sixth, 5:03.70 4x800 meter relay — Pearson, Kathikar, Andrews, Top, third, 11:55.49 400 meter shuttle hurdle — Randall, Pearson, Davies, Buffington, fifth, 1:27.06 800 sprint medley relay — Weller, Randall, Johnston, Poston, seventh, 2:15.51 1600 distance medley relay — Cooper, Johnston, Andrews, Top, fourth, 5:11.01 The Timberwolves head to the Lenox COED on April 18 before hosting their Girls Invitational on April 21. SWV duo claim Saydel win
On April 9, Southwest Valley’s varsity girls competed in the first ever Saydel Girls Tennis Invitational Tournament. Along with the Timberwolves, host Saydel, Knoxville, and Centerville took part in the inaugural event that featured a regional individual format rather than a dual format, meaning that the coaches for each team had to designate two entries in doubles and two entries in singles. Southwest Valley’s doubles pair of Charlee Larsen and Ryanne Mullen, who were seeded second in the tourney, emerged as the champions. The duo opened with a win, 10-2, over Knoxville’s No. 2 doubles entry of Kate Schneieder and Riley Dailey. In the semifinals, the Timberwolf tandem beat Alyssa Neddermeyer and McKayla Wood, the No. 1 entry for Saydel and the overall 3 seed, 10-5. In the final, Larsen and Mullen defeated the No. 1 Knoxville pair of Jadyn Streigle and Janie Maasdam, 10-3. Streigle and Maasdam were seeded No. 1 overall. “I am really thrilled for Charlee and Ryanne,” SWV head coach Steve McGrew said. “When championship is associated with an accomplishment in sports, it is always a pretty neat thing. Seeding is tough enough come playoff time when most teams, in the geographical area they are assigned, have played each other. Trying to seed a tourney like this early in the season, when only Saydel played Centerville, is tough. Knoxville’s coach mentioned Streigle’s success in regional doubles play in past years and, therefore, it was certainly fair that Streigle and her partner got the one seed. I felt confident that as long as Charlee and Ryanne got a 2 or 3 seed, that would put them in the opposite end of the bracket, they would make it to the championship match and get their chance against the 1 seed. And boy did they take advantage of their opportunity.” McGrew said Larsen and Mullen played decent tennis in the first two matches, but added that the championship match was their best performance of the tournament. “They absolutely stepped up their level of play in the final,” McGrew said. “The biggest improvement was return of serve. Their returns were sharper. They didn’t let their opponents poach at the net too often, because they didn’t float many returns. Their angles, placement wise, were better, their depth was better, and their lobs were deeper. The games were no ad and both girls really stepped up their serving in the latter stages of many games. In two different games, it was really evident. Mullen had two big serves in a row in a 30-30 game. In one other game, Charlee was down 30-40 on her serve, and cranked out an ace and then a service winner on the no-ad deuce point. Add the fact that they really took advantage of attackable volleys when they were at the net. The level of aggression that they showed, while still making very few unforced errors, speaks to the quality of the final match. I think it was the best match they have played together in their two seasons together as a doubles’ team.” While Mullen and Larsen have experience together, the No. 2 entry in doubles for the Timberwolves, Karissa Richey and Madeline Bevington, played in a varsity event together for the first time ever. Bevington, a freshman, filled in for Lexi Weston, who had a conflict. Luck of the draw was not on the side of the Southwest Valley pair. They drew the top-seeded Knoxville team that Larsen and Mullen played in the final in their opening match. The duo’s start was rough, losing the first seven games before rallying a bit in a 10-3 loss. This put the tandem in the consolation bracket. In the first round of consolation, the duo defeated the fourth-seeded team of Gwyn Beltrame and Jaden Tennant of Saydel, 10-4. “I loved the positivity of Bevington and Richey,” McGrew said. “They drew the 1 seed to open the tourney, and didn’t sulk about it. They saw it as a learning experience. Then they learned that the 4 seed was upset in round one, which meant they had to deal with another seed in consolation play. They fed off the fact that they split the last six games with the 1 seed, and felt like it could be a springboard to a win. It was.” In the fifth-place match in doubles, the unseed Knoxville No. 2 team that was upended by Mullen and Larsen in round one edged Bevington and Richey, 10-7. “All the games were close,” McGrew said. “Maddie and Karissa fought back from 8-5 down to 8-7, and then lost a no-ad deuce game that was a huge swing. If they would have won that game, it would have been 8-8 rather than 9-7. It shows how close the two were in pursuit of a victory. I am proud of both girls. This is only Karissa’s second varsity event ever and Maddie’s first. It is a heck of an effort when you reflect on how little varsity experience they had going in.” Proud is also a good word, said McGrew, when it comes to his players in singles, Alana Drake and Anjali Kathikar. While Knoxville split up their top entries in singles and doubles, going with their No. 1 player in singles, and their No. 2 and 3 players in doubles, Saydel and Centerville chose to front load in singles. Both schools played their No. 1 and 2 players in singles. “Singles was tough from the get go,” McGrew said. “Even though Alana and Anjali didn’t record a win, they both had wonderful moments of play. Alana had some nice serving moments, and got aggressive with her strong backhand when she could. Anjali had nice forehand drives in groundstroke rallies. She punished short balls and moved around the court nicely. Both Alana and Anjali gave maximum effort just like all the kids did in doubles. They fight to make every shot. As a coach, that is a wonderful thing to observe.” Kathikar had a real tough opening round draw, losing to second seed Grace Peck of Saydel, 10-6. Peck actually won her semifinal in much easier fashion over third-seeded Laura Tiller of Knoxville, 10-2. Drake lost to fourth seed Jenna Schnell of Saydel, 10-5, in the opening round. In opening round consolation play, Centerville’s No. 1 entry Zoie Sconzic beat Drake, 10-2, while Kathikar lost to Centerville’s No. 2 entry, Olexia Williams, 10-8. “I think Sconzic merited the 4 seed based on how she played. She got as many games off the top seed as anyone did,” McGrew said. “But, it is so hard to seed the kids this early in the season, particularly after the top 2 seeds. The top 2 seeds were the right one’s in each category. Beyond that, there were a lot of players close in talent to each other. Anjali actually rallied from 9-4 down to 9-8 against Williams before losing a close game that ended the match.” The top seed that McGrew referred to was Olivia Maasdam of Knoxville. Maasdam cruised to the title in singles. She started off with wins over Sconzic (10-4) and Schnell (10-3). In the championship match, she beat Peck, 10-4. “It was a heck of a tournament,” McGrew said. “The weather was excellent, which was badly needed since all the coaches expressed the frustration of not being able to get outside regularly as of late. Certainly the title for Charlee and Ryanne in doubles was a special moment.” The Class 1A Southwest Valley varsity tennis girls opened up the season April 4 against a Class 2A opponent and gave their foe all they could handle before coming up just a little short. The host Timberwolves fell 5-4 to the Yellow Jackets of Thomas Jefferson Council Bluffs. Results are as follow (TJ = Thomas Jefferson; SWV = Southwest Valley): Singles: 1) Faith Christensen (TJ) over Larsen, 8-1; 2) Rok Muidinuzoda (TJ) over Drake, 8-6; 3) Kathikar (SWV) over Nehirin Lemus, 8-5; 4) Mullen (SWV) beat Angela Racquel, 8-1; 5) Cara Ronk (TJ) beat Weston, 8-4; 6) Richey (SWV) beat Andrea Morales, 8-1. Doubles: 1) Christensen/Muidinuzoda (TJ) over Drake/Kathikar, 8-0; 2) Larsen/Mullen (SWV) beat Lemus/Ronk, 8-6; 3) Racquel/Morales (TJ) over Richey/Weston, 8-2. “I felt good about our opener,” McGrew said. “Singles went a little better than doubles. Our partners didn’t have as much time to play with each other as they would like. We had players gone due to state academic activities, music, illness, and family situations, all of which are completely understandable and important. In light of those situations it was easier to practice singles. The upside is, with more time, we will get better in doubles when our partners have more time to play together.” Mullen was the most dominant winner in singles. McGrew said he wasn’t completely shocked. “She has been practicing well, and honestly four singles is a power spot for us,” McGrew said. “We haven’t had time to do all the challenges we wanted to get accomplished, since we didn’t always have everyone in practice at the same time, and we were indoors for multiple practices. No matter who winds up at four permanently, it should be a power spot for us. Mullen has been serving so well, and has really been asking a lot of good questions, including how to attack mid-court balls. I love not only her skill set but her mind set.” Kathikar is what McGrew calls his Heinz variety player. “She can throw a lot of different things at you,” said the head coach. “She can drive you a little crazy with some loop groundstrokes for a while, and then drive forehands to the corners. She has some nice tricks up her sleeve. She is really trying to set her feet on all her shots. When she does that well, she can be very dangerous.” Richey, in her varsity debut, played a highly-intelligent match, said McGrew. “Like Anjali, she loops her forehand and, whenever she could hit forehands, she was able to move her girl around the court by hitting those groundies on the sideline areas,” McGrew said. “As much as I liked that, I was even more impressed with how few unforced errors she had on her backhand. She managed the backhand extremely well, even when the ball was hit right into her body. Adding to all the great things was that she won all three deuce games. For never playing varsity singles before, I loved how calm and composed she was.” Drake came dangerously close to winning in singles. ”Alana told me after the match that all but two of the 14 games in her match in singles went to deuce,” McGrew said. “Alana is a warrior. She fights for every shot. She is going to make a player earn points. I love that about her.” Weston was competitive, and even Larsen, who lost by a wider margin, had moments to be pleased. “Charlee won a challenge match handily in an early practice for us, and has just been hitting a lot of balls hard and accurate,” McGrew said. “Eye-test wise, I can see how far she has come. This is a reflection of how much time she put in over the summer with myself, Evan Timmerman, and Andy Timmerman. The reward is she moves to one, which means she plays against the cream of the crop. Faith Christensen is an extremely talented player. She will play others like Faith, but should also play a few that aren’t quite that strong. I told Charlee to keep playing the way she is. She’s got a lot of positives to draw on.” Those positives showed up at two doubles, particularly at 7-6 when Larsen and Mullen hoped to end the match. Mullen had several unreturned serves and Larsen hit a forceful volley at the net to close out the win for the tandem. “Two doubles won the close out game in real style,” McGrew said “Mullen’s serving in singles carried over to her doubles. Larsen’s instincts at net are great.” Three doubles lost a number of deuce games in an 8-2 defeat, including a tough deuce game loss at 1-1. “Game three at two doubles was controversial,” McGrew said. “A member of the TJ team had a clear racquet touch when Lexi and Karissa were up 40-30 in game three. The team has to call it on themselves, which they didn’t. They won the point and then won the deuce point that followed to win the game. That took the wind out of our sails a bit as we would have had an early 2-1 lead. To be fair, though, the four player, Racquel, took charge of the match eventually. TJ did prove to be the better team. They deserved the win. Having said that, both of our girls did some nice things. Richey had several winning service returns and Weston had some nice net put aways.” TJ’s Christensen was the difference maker at one doubles, looking every bit as good as she did at one singles. “When you have a player like Christensen, you are going to get two match wins a lot of times,” McGrew said. “That put the burden on us to win five of the other seven matches. We nearly did it, getting four of the other matches.” Thomas Jefferson won the junior varsity meet, 8-3. Doubles was played first to make sure all players got playing time before varsity play ended. However, many singles matches were able to be played as well. Results (TJ = Thomas Jefferson and SWV = Southwest Valley) are as follow: Doubles: Madeline Bevington/Natalia Zimmerman (SWV) over Hannah Morris/Angelica Rodriquez, 4-3; Anna Rueter/McKenna Sorensen (TJ) over Jazmin Weston/Layla Konence, 4-1; Rylie Tierney/Olivia Van Soelen (TJ) beat Ivey Lenz/Evelyn Rice, 4-0. Singles: Bevington (SWV) over Morris, 4-1; Bevington (SWV) over Rodriquez, 4-0; Rodriquez (TJ) over J.Weston, 4-1; Rueter (TJ) beat Zimmerman, 4-2; Sorensen (TJ) over Zimmerman, 4-2; Sorensen (TJ) beat Konence, 4-2; Tierney (TJ) over Lenz, 4-0; Van Soelen (TJ) over Lenz, 4-0. “I am proud of all the JV girls for their efforts, but special recognition has to go to Bevington,” McGrew said. “As a team, TJ’s JV was stronger, but Bevington showed she was the strongest overall player. One of our players will be gone for a tournament in Saydel on Saturday. Bevington is a clear No. 1 JV player for us. She will get a chance to play varsity at Saydel. This is a nice opportunity for her.” It is back to dual action now for the girls and the boys. A busy week of duals, weather permitting, features Creston on April 11, Clarinda on April 12, and Red Oak on April 14. All the meets for the boys are at home, meaning the girls will be on the road. The following week, the girls will be at home on April 18 against Clarke with April 19 being a doubleheader against Audubon. The girls will host Audubon, while the boys are away T-Wolf girls place third
On a cold, wet evening in Clarinda, the Southwest Timberwolves battled to a third place team finish behind a number of gutsy performances April 4. “The girls medaled in 16 of the 19 events, doubling up in four of them,” SWV head coach Jason Hults said. “Overall it was a great effort by all the girls to go out and perform as well as they did in the rainy and cold weather.” Leading the Timberwolves efforts was sophomore Emma Cooper with four medals from third place finishes in the long jump, 100 meter and 200 meter dashes, as well as anchoring the 4x100 to a fourth place finish with teammates Bailey Weller, Paighton Buffington, and Camryn Johnston. Other top three performances for the Timberwolves came from Mackesie Richards with third in shot put and Haidyn Top with a third in the 3000 meter. The Timberwolves saw their best finish of the night with a second place finish from the 4x800 team of Olivia Kathikar, Sierra Pearson, Victoria Fletchall, and Christine Andrews. Results from the Girls Cardinal Relays are: Team — St. Albert 170, Essex 105, SWV 102, Bedford 100, Lenox 86, Stanton 72 100 meter dash — Cooper, third, 14.59; Johnston, sixth, 14.79 200 meter dash — Cooper, third, 30.22; Johnston, eighth, 32.78 400 meter dash — Andrews, fourth, 1:12.93; Top, fifth, 1:15.09 800 meter run — Andrews, fifth, 3:00.42; Top, seventh, 3:13.64 100 meter hurdles — Buffington, sixth, 21.52; Lindsay Maurer, eighth, 25.37 1500 meter run — Top, sixth, 6:30.22; Kya Newton, seventh, 6:43.20 3000 meter run — Top, third, 13:32.00; Newton, fifth, 14:10.00 400 meter hurdles — Pearson, fourth, 1:35.90; Fletchall, fifth, 1:55.535 Discus — Julia Means, eighth, 55-06; Samantha Davies, 11th, 42-05 Long jump — Cooper, third, 14-10.50; Bailey Weller, 10th, 10-07.50 Shot put — Richards, third, 32-08.50; Davies, seventh, 26-04.00 4x100 meter relay — Weller, Buffington, Johnston, Cooper, fourth, 1:00.65 4x200 meter relay — Newton, Alyssa Randall, Ivey Lenz, Averyle Butcher, sixth, 2:03.32 4x400 meter relay — Kathikar, Fletchall, Karsyn Poston, Andrews, fourth, 5:20.62 4x800 meter relay — Pearson, Kathikar, Fletchall, Andrews, second, 12:30.00 400 shuttle hurdle relay — Randall, Pearson, Maurer, Buffington, fourth, 1:27.56 800 sprint medley relay — Weller, Randall, Johnston, Poston, fifth, 2:20.00 1600 distance medley relay — Maurer, Poston, Pearson, Kathikar, fourth, 5:12.3 ![]() Area wrestlers compete
in Midwest Classic Several area wrestlers traveled to Kearney, Neb., to participate in the Midwest Classic National Wrestling Tournament on April 2-3. The tournament included 1,154 wrestlers from several states including Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, and Iowa. The Scramblers finished in 39th place out of 222 participating teams. “All wrestlers battled through very tough brackets against some of the best competition in the Midwest,” coach Derek Maeder said. Individual results are as follow: Ady Lundquist (SWV) second place Kenzie Maeder (SWV) second place Kaden Street (Creston) fourth place Dylan Stein (Lenox) sixth place Sawyer Wilkenson (SWV) sixth place Chase England (Lenox) seventh place Brayden Maeder (SWV) seventh place Ely Rodriguez (SWV) seventh place Trenton Beck (Lenox) DNP Wyatt Wiese (SWV) DNP SWV boys tennis opens with Glenwood
In an early March tilt, host Glenwood defeated the Southwest Valley varsity tennis boys 7-2 March 29. Scores (SWV = Southwest Valley and G = Glenwood) are as follow: Singles: 1) Gabe Fuller (SWV) over Tyler Harger, 8-2; 2) Evan Timmerman (SWV) beat Carter Kirsch, 8-3; 3) Ben Batten (G) beat Owen Paul, 8-3; 4) Brody Taylor (G) over Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird, 8-4; 5) Liam Hays (G) over Parker Boswell, 8-4; 6) Kaydon Anderson (G) over Deacon Ganfield, 8-1. Doubles: 1) Harger/Kirsch (G) over Fuller/Timmerman, 8-5; 2) Batten/Taylor (G) beat Paul/Goodvin-Kinnaird, 8-6; 3) Hays/Anderson (G) over Boswell/Ganfield, 8-1. Junior varsity singles: Will Getter (G) over Matthew Means, 6-0. “Glenwood is always solid,” Southwest Valley head coach Steve McGrew said. “I knew our top guys would fare well. They have really shown their talents in early practices. Both Gabe and Evan played textbook singles. They moved really well around the court. They were planted and ready to hit their groundstrokes and volleys. I expected that from these guys. Slate and Owen, who were constantly battling for the six spot last season, were aware that the three and four spots were going to be much tougher, but they looked as though they were ready for the challenge. Slate started off serving and won game one at love. The power quotient of his opponent, mixed in with some touch, kept Slate a little off balance. Having said that, Slate was also able to worry his opponent at times with slice on his groundstrokes and good location around the court with his volleys and groundies. Owen tracked a lot of tough groundstrokes down. His speed around the court looks better and his increased tempo on the forehand has really allowed him to hit with more pace consistently. Sure, he missed a few aggressive groundstrokes deep, but I am okay with that. At number three, he has to play with more aggression than he did at six singles. His score was a bit deceiving as well. He had a lot of close deuce games.” McGrew thinks Paul and Goodvin-Kinnaird are capable of winning some matches at the higher spots before the season is over. “I’m really proud of both of them,” McGrew said. “I know they put some off season time in. Both look a lot better than last season.” Boswell, Ganfield, and Means played in their first ever high school matches. The entire season will be a learning curve for them, noted the head coach of the Timberwolves. “Parker has a forehand that can do some damage, so that is his big upside,” McGrew said. “I think the key for him will be developing all the other parts of his game. Parker has played some with friends. so he is further along than Deacon and Matthew. Both of those guys are still raw, but they are coachable. not to mention likeable and willing to learn. Honestly, likeability is what is great about the Timberwolf tennis culture. The players, both boys and girls, are really good people and the assistant coaches are supportive also. I always get great effort from everyone in the tennis program. That is gratifying.” McGrew said the effort was clear in doubles also. “Man, we had two games in the middle of the No. 1 match that really seemed to go on forever,” McGrew said. “One was nine or 10 deuces. We didn’t get either game, and it was probably the difference in the match. Harger is a really tough volleyer. Truthfully, if the same schools are in the individual districts again this season, I don’t think it is a stretch to say we may have lost to the one seed. They are that good, and we were close to them. Losing 8-6 at two doubles shows that Slate and Owen played well. Three doubles gave a lot of effort as well. but inexperience was a factor.” The boys are off, meet wise, until Monday, April 11, when they host Creston. “I am glad we got a meet in before Creston,” McGrew said. “We started the Glenwood meet an hour earlier, which allowed us to get it in before any adverse weather took place.” Girls track team
places fourth The Southwest Valley Timberwolves girls team kicked off their track season March 29 at the Bedford Co-ed. In a meet that was called after the 4x200 due to the weather, the Timberwolves finished fourth in the team standings. “Our girls are young, with 16 of our 22 girls being freshman or sophomores, so we are looking forward to seeing a lot of growth and progress as the season continues,” head coach Jason Hults said. “But we did see a lot of positives tonight, and have a lot to look forward to as the season progresses.” In the field events, sophomore Emma Cooper took third with a jump of 15-1, putting her right back to where she finished the season last year. Freshman Mackensie Richards started her high school career with a fifth place throw of 32-11.5 in the shot put. All the other girls in the field events also had great jumps and throws for the first meet of the year and the windy conditions,” Hults said. The Timberwolves picked up three second place finishes in the running events with the strength of their distance girls. Sophomore Kya Newton in the 3000 meter, the 4x800 team of Christine Andrews (SR), Olivia Kathikar (FR), Victoria Fletchall (FR) and Haidyn Top (SO); and the distance medley team of Lindsay Maurer (JR), Camryn Johnston (SR), Sierra Pearson (SO), and Top (SO) all brought home silver. “The wind was really blowing and made any race over a 200 difficult, so I have to give our distance runners a lot of credit for dealing with those conditions and posting some great times for the start of the year,” Hults said. Rounding out the points for the Timberwolves were Cooper when she picked up her second medal of the night with a fourth place finish in the 100 meter, and the shuttle hurdle team of Alyssa Randall (SO), Pearson (SO), Maurer (JR), and Samantha Davies (SO) with a fifth place finish. “All in all, it was a good first night for the Timberwolves girls squad, and I was very happy with the effort and the excitement to get the competitive part of our season started from all the girls,” Hults said. Results include: Team — Wayne 112, Fremont-Mills 51, Lenox 48, SWV 38, Griswold 30, CAM 29, Bedford 26, East Union 14, Orient-Macksburg 10, Southeast Warren 6 100 meter dash — Cooper, fourth, 14.38; Ivey Lenz, 25th, 19.00 400 meter dash — Karsyn Poston, eighth, 1:13.10 3000 meter run — Kya Newton, second, 15:22.23 Discus — Samantha Davies, 10th, 76-05; Julia Means 11th, 69-02; Mackenzie Richards, 20th, 46-05.05 High jump — Alyssa Randall, eighth, 4-02.00 Long jump — Cooper, third, 15-01.00 Shot put — Richards, fifth, 31-11.50; Davies, ninth, 27-09.50; Means, 18th, 22-08.00 4x200 meter relay — Randall, Bailey Weller, Lenz, Averyle Butcher, eighth, 2:27.33 4x800 meter relay — Christine Andrews, Olivia Kathikar, Victoria Fletchall, Haidyn Top, second, 12:17.26 400 meter shuttle hurdle — Lindsay Maurer, Randall, Sierra Pearson, Paighton Buffington, fifth, 1:33.54 800 sprint medley — Maurer, Buffington, Camryn Johnston, Pearson, ninth, 2:20.46 1600 distance medley — Maurer, Johnston, Pearson, Top, second, 5:19.67 SWV places
fourth at Bedford The Timberwolves won two events and placed fourth as a team March 29 in a shortened co-ed track meet in Bedford. Southwest Valley’s Marshall Knapp won the high jump, Theron Mullen won the shot put, and the 4x200 team of Bradlee Grantz, Marshall Knapp, Dillon Inman, and Brendan Knapp placed first to help the team earn 42 points for fourth place. “Overall we competed very well. We have a very young team with only five senior/juniors and it was the first high school meet for a lot of guys,” head coach Allen Naugle said. “We still competed well and placed fourth as a team in a shortened meet. Due to impending weather we only ran through the 4x200 tonight.” Marshall Knapp set a personal best and school record in the high jump tonight with a jump of 6 feet, 3 inches. “We then moved the bar up to 6 feet, 5 inches with hopes of qualifying for Drake and Marshall had some great attempts," Naugle said. "Definitely had the height, just need to clean up the form at that height.” Mullen won the shot put in his first high school meet with a distance of 41-6.75. “He had a few great throws,” Naugle said. “Dillon Inman placed fifth with a solid toss in the discus and Brendan Knapp had a fourth place finish in the 100 with a solid run. We placed well in the distance medley with a young group as well as the shuttle hurdle. We finished the night with a win in the 4x200 with Bradlee Grantz, Marshall Knapp, Dillon Inman and Brendan Knapp running the event.” The shuttle hurdle team of Tate Haffner, Roman Keefe, Evan Pearson, and Ian Brown finished in 1:18.80 for fourth place. “Overall I was happy with how we started and look to keep working hard to improve,” Naugle said. Other results include: Discuss — Inman, fifth, 113-5; Mullen, 92-1; Colin Jacobs, 81-3; Pearson, 77-6 Shot put — Jacobs, 36-5; Dylan Stormer, 28-1; Sawyer Wilkinson, 27-.5 Long jump — Isaac Currin, 16.75; Ely Rodriguez, 13-5.25 100 meter dash — B. Knapp, fourth, 12.56; Owen Wilkinson, 13.4; Devin Greenwalt, 13.52 Distance medley, KC Sitzman, Currin, Rodriguez, Brandon Cos, fifth, 4:28.77 400 meter dash — Alex Morgan, 1:13.68 4x200 — Grantz, M. Knapp, Inman, B. Knapp, first, 1:39.42 Team — Lenox 78, CAM 71, Fremont-Mills 44, SWV 42, Bedford 40, Southeast Warren 33, Wayne 26, East Union 17, Griswold 12, Orient-Macksburg 5, Clarinda JV Lundquist, Maeder earn state wrestling medals
Two Southwest Valley wrestlers earned medals and a third Timberwolf just missed the podium Feb. 27 at the 2022 Iowa AAU Girls State Championships at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Junior Adyson Lundquist placed third at 114 pounds and eighth-grader Kenzie Maeder placed fourth at 145. Freshman Madelyn McCoy competed at 120 pounds. A total of 625 female wrestlers participated in the event. Lundquist and Maeder advanced to the semi-finals of their weight class, but both fell short of an appearance in the state finals, putting them into the consolation rounds. Lundquist bounced back, pinning her way to a third place finish. Maeder won her first consolation match but lost the third place match, finishing the tournament in fourth place. McCoy put in a strong effort but missed the podium by falling to the eventual second and fifth place finishers in her bracket. Maeder claims state wrestling medal
The Timberwolves welcomed home another Iowa High School Athletic Association State Wrestling medalist following the Feb. 17-19 tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Sophomore wrestler Brayden Maeder placed eighth at 113 pounds in the 1A tournament while fellow sophomore state-qualifier Bradlee Grantz faced a tougher time on the mat at 170 pounds. Maeder lost his first match 5-1 against 32-1 senior Cael Judish from Sumner/Fredericksburg. Maeder then went on to pin his next opponent, sophomore Lincoln Wilcoxon from Emmetsburg, in 1:34. That led him to his elimination match against Easton Schlaubaugh of Highland, Riverside. Schlaubaugh placed fifth last year at the state tournament. “Brayden was down 11-2 in the third period. He kept his pace high and never gave up,” Southwest Valley coach Cody Konecne said. “He eventually got a takedown and locked up a near side cradle and put his opponent on his back. He wasn’t able to pin him right away, but he made small adjustments and turned him again and that led to a fall to advance Brayden to the medal round.” Maeder battled to the 3:06 mark in his fourth match before losing by fall. “He was pinned by a very talented Corbin Reisz from Logan/Magnolia to send him to the seventh place match where he lost a 5-3 decision to [Hayden] Helgeson from Lake Mills,” Konecne said. “He had a pretty fantastic run in the tournament to put himself on the podium.” Konecne said Grantz faced a rough draw in the first round. “He was pitted against [Cade] Tenold from Don Bosco, who was a finalist two years ago, champion last year and also won it this year,” Konecne said. “Bradlee came out and gave him a pretty good go in the first period only being down 4-1. He was turned and pinned in the second period, however.” The pin pitted Grantz against Kaden Shirk in his second match. “His elimination came after a 9-4 defeat to Shirk from Wilton. He was only losing 6-4 late in the third period when he tried to release him so he could try to make up the point deficit on his feet,” Konecne said. “He was unable to do so and allowed the final takedown to conclude the final score. Bradlee wrestled tough and gained a lot experience to hopefully return to state next year and make the podium.” State qualifiersCARIE MORALES/Free Press — Two Southwest Valley sophomore wrestlers have qualified for the Iowa High School Athletic Association State Wrestling Tournament Feb. 17-19 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Brayden Maeder, above, qualified for state after placing second at 113 pounds at district Feb. 12 while Bradlee Grantz, below, placed second at 170. The two are pictured following the Jan. 21-22 John J. Harris Wrestling Tournament in Corning. Two other Timberwolves just missed the state cut. Ian Forsythe place third at 132 at district while Colin Jacobs placed fourth at 195.
![]() Timberwolf girls
complete season Southwest Valley Timberwolves girls basketball concluded their season with a 73-30 loss Feb. 12 at Kuemper Catholic of Carroll in first round action of the 2A IGHSAU girls basketball playoffs. Norah Lund finished a fine high school career by scoring 8 points to join Ryanne Mullen in leading the team in scoring with that total. Maggie Haer had 6 points and seven rebounds in a nice overall game. Lindsay Maurer added 5 points in her second game back in action from injury. Charlee Larsen rounded out the scoring with a point for the Wolves. Also seeing floor action for Southwest Valley were Haidyn Top, Kayla Mitchell, Rebecca Wetzel, Katey Lillie, Maddie Bevington, and Alana Drake. Kya Newton, Jezzi Wynn, Piper Govig, Morgan Shuler, and Ada Lund assisted with managing duties all season with the team, all assisting the team this week. “I want to thank all 21 players we had go out for basketball this winter and our managers who worked hard to assist them. It was an honor to work with all of them, their families, Coach Hartman and Coach Taylor,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “We thank our seniors for all their contributions on and off the court. For our returning players, we will provide every opportunity to continue to improve in the off season and welcome the chance to do so.” Cormack said it takes many people to support a basketball team and all are appreciated. “Special Timberwolves thanks go out to Beth Waddle for scorekeeping, the pep band, cheer squad, athletic director Allen Naugle, our custodians, trainers, bus drivers, ticket takers, public address announcer Burton Heaton and our school administration for all their support of the team,” he said. And although this season has ended for the Timberwolves, Cormack said the team has grown tremendously since its first game back in November. “This is not how we wanted our season to end but it does not eliminate the many good things our players did. Every player improved and contributed to our team,” said Cormack, who has now served two seasons as head coach. “We did play good basketball down the stretch. We gained valuable experience and bring back all but those three great seniors. There are brighter days ahead and the growth in our players is what I will take away from this season.” The Timberwolves headed into the playoffs after defeating claiming their second home game win in a row. The found themselves in an early deficit but fought back Feb. 7 to defeat Red Oak 52-40. Haer and Lund each tied for the team lead in points with 13 while Maurer came back after missing several weeks with injury with an inspired 10 points to help the cause. Mullen added 6 points while Larsen and Wetzel added 4. Drake, one of the most improved free throw shooters on the team, made two free throws to complete the Timberwolves scoring. “We are playing our best basketball of the year down the stretch,” Cormack said following the game. “I am glad that we could win our last two home games for our seniors. This was not an easy game as we ended the first quarter down double figures. From that point forward, we doubled the score on Red Oak. Credit Red Oak for coming and fighting for this game. I am proud that we fought back. We locked down and built up our intensity. This is good practice for our postseason matchup on Saturday where we will have to keep our composure if things don’t always go our way.” Cormack said he was thrilled by the effort of Maurer, who has kept a positive attitude while missing the majority of games in January and February. The entire team worked hard after the early struggles and found a way to win with Maurer giving the team a boost in her return. Red Oak led the game 17-6 after one quarter and 26-23 after halftime. The Timberwolves picked up the defensive intensity in the second half, holding Red Oak to 15 points while scoring 29. The Timberwolves grabbed a 37-33 lead at the end of the third quarter and closed with a 15-7 fourth quarter for the final margin. This is the third game in the last four where Southwest Valley has scored in the 50s or 60s on offense. The Southwest Valley junior varsity completed their season with a 25-12 loss to Red Oak. “Every Southwest Valley junior varsity player entered the game and they really had a strong second quarter effort. The game was limited to one half as Red Oak is short on numbers and had to play some of their varsity players in this matchup,” Cormack said. “Micayla Taylor was a great help coaching tonight, as she has been all season. The coaches believe this group, with hard offseason work, has potential to improve and will grow as players. They already are terrific student-athletes of character and the basketball talent is coming with them. They were very nice to coach this year.” ![]() Diagonal edges out SWV
Southwest Valley’s boys basketball team’s season came to an end Feb. 11 with a 50-45 loss to Diagonal the first round of Class 1A playoffs. The Timberwolves opened with a 17-12 first quarter and held onto their 5-point lead at the half after matching Diagonal 11-11 in the second quarter. The third quarter became a defensive battle with Diagonal outpacing SWV 9-5. The T-Wolves were unable to keep up in the final period, however, with Diagonal finishing 18-12 for the win. Gabe Fuller and Owen Wilkinson scored 11 points each. Diagonal was led by Caleb Hubbard with 15 points. SWV fell 64-47 Feb. 7 to Red Oak at home despite double-digit scoring from Fuller and Sawyer Hensley. Fuller had 20 points and five rebounds while Hensley had 14 points and four rebounds. Red Oak’s Hunter Johnson scored 24 points ![]() Mullen, Haer fuel 64-33 win
The Timberwolves’ Ryanne Mullen scored 17 points and Maggie Haer did the same in leading Southwest Valley to a 64-33 win Feb. 1 over Bedford in Corning. Southwest Valley led 29-19 at half and used a 35 point second half to get their first Pride of Iowa Conference win on the season. Seniors Norah Lund, Alana Drake, and Kayla Mitchell were honored before the game with all playing in the contest. It was the first action for Mitchell since early December after working herself back from a knee injury while Lund and Drake both played great floor games for the Timberwolves. “I’m really proud of our three seniors who have worked with three coaches in their four years here in the program,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “Norah, Alana, and Kayla stuck with basketball even with all of that change. Each is a good basketball player and an even better person off of the court. They have bright futures beyond high school.” Charlee Larsen continued a strong sophomore season with 14 points for Southwest Valley. Also contributing in the scoring column were Drake with 6, Rebecca Wetzel with 4, Lund with 3, Maddie Bevington with 2, and Mitchell with 1 to complete the scoring. “We have really had some strong moments in games against top teams in the conference lately and have seen improvement in the girls, even when it doesn’t always show on the scoreboard. This was a complete team victory with contributions from everyone on our squad,” Cormack said. Bedford won the initial contest between the teams 42-33 earlier in January and this was a strong indication in the improvement in the team as the season continues. After a strong Senior Night performance in their last game, Southwest Valley went Feb. 3 to Sidney to face the Cowgirls in nonconference action. The Cowgirls improved to 13-6 with a 48-32 win. Mullen had her second career-high scoring game in her last two games with 18 points to lead the Wolves. Haer had 6 points, eight rebounds and six assists in a strong all-around floor game. Lund and Larsen both finished with 4 points to complete the scoring. “Holding Sidney to below their scoring average in their home gym was a positive tonight,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “We were competitive in this game and had many good individual plays but just couldn’t get that big scoring run we had the last few games. I still am encouraged by the competitive fire I’m seeing in our group.” In a terrific comeback, the Southwest Valley Timberwolves Girls basketball team cut a 15-point Wayne Falcons third quarter lead to 4 with 20 seconds to go, coming up just short in a 61-55 loss Jan. 31 at Corydon. “Maggie Haer had a wonderful game scoring 26 for the Wolves while Norah Lund poured in 18,” Cormack said. “Ryanne Mullen added her third double figures game of the year with 11 to complete the Wolves’ scoring.” Haidyn Top, Alana Drake, Sierra Pearson, Rebecca Wetzel, Maddie Bevington, and Charlee Larsen all saw floor time for SWV and contributed on the boards as well as defense. “Oh my goodness am I proud of our group,” Cormack said. “We were down by 15 points on the road against a good team. We dug deep and made so many good plays down the stretch. We never gave up and are showing progress as a team.” The Timberwolves’ junior varsity played one half of basketball since Wayne only had six players. They ended dropping a close 13-10 game. SWV wrapped up its regular season at home Feb. 7 against Red Oak. Results from that game were unavailable at press time. Post season play for the Timberwolves starts Feb. 12. SWV has been moved up to the 2A playoffs where they will go on the road to face Carroll Kuemper in first round action. The winner of that contest will face Treynor in the next round of the IGHSAU tournament. SWV vs. BedfordTimberwolves test
Central Decatur Central Decatur earned a victory on Senior Night over a scrappy Southwest Valley squad 51-34 in Leon on Jan. 28. The final score was the largest lead of the game in a contest where the Timberwolves led by 3 after the first quarter and trailed 24-20 at half. Norah Lund scored 14 to lead the Timberwolves. Charlee Larsen fought for a team-high nine rebounds and added 3 points. Ryanne Mullen had 7 points, Maggie Haer scored 6, Alana Drake contributed 3 while Rebecca Wetzel made a free throw to round out the scoring. "This was a much closer game than the final score indicates. Each team played hard and well with the Cardinals pulling away at the end,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “I saw growth in my team and every player made a positive contribution when they played. Our depth with players out and foul trouble hurt us late but I couldn't be prouder of the fight in our team against a quality team full of seniors.” The junior varsity played hard and had an early lead but came up short against Central Decatur 31-19. Lenox and Southwest Valley played another hard fought game Jan. 25 in the series, with Lenox coming out on top 54-31 in Pride of Iowa action in Lenox. Both teams fought hard on defense with Sadie Cox earning 21 for the Tigers. Mullen led the Timberwolves with 10 points with her second double figures scoring game in her last three games. Haer was solid all night on both ends of the court with 8 points. Wetzel added 5 points, Larsen had 4 while Lund and Sierra Pearson contributed 2 apiece. "I cannot fault the efforts of the girls tonight at all,” Cormack said. “Every player did something positive tonight. We limited their second leading scorer to 2 points and another player who got 6 points tonight for them got 16 in our first game. We just missed open shots tonight and couldn't compete on the boards with a talented rebounder like Cox. We tried hard and can't ask for more from our players.” This week for Southwest Valley includes a road trip Jan. 31 to Wayne to make up a postponed game. That will be followed by a Senior Night game Feb. 1 against Bedford honoring three great members of the Timberwolves program: Kayla Mitchell, Drake and Lund. Both nights feature varsity games followed by the junior varsity. Lenox slips past SWV 48-47
A second half effort came up just short for the Timberwolves in a 48-47 loss Jan. 25 to Lenox. Trailing 29-16 at the half, Southwest Valley outpaced Lenox 15-11 in the third quarter and 16-8 in the fourth. The Timberwolves’ Roman Keefe hit five treys to lead the team with 17 points. Gabe Fuller and Blake Thomas added 7 each. Keaton England scored 15 points for Lenox. SWV faced a tougher time Jan. 28 in a 72-35 loss to Central Decatur. The Cardinals opened with a 23-10 first quarter and never looked back. Keefe finished the night in double digits again with 17 points while Isaac Currin added 9. Central Decatur’s Trey Hullinger scored 19 points. This week’s schedule includes Wayne on Jan. 31, Bedford on Feb. 1, and Sidney on Feb. 3. Two SWV girls compete
in state wrestling tourney Two Southwest Valley Timberwolves represented their school at the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Girls State Wrestling Tournament in Coralville on Jan. 21-22. Adyson Lundquist is junior who wrestled in the 110 weight class division. Madelyn McCoy is a freshman who wrestled the 120 weight class division. There were 695 wrestlers wrestling for a state title. Lundquist began with a first round bye before warming up with a second round pin of Noemi Vital Bettendorf in 53 seconds. Lundquist had a third round pin of Gracie Wage of Dallas Center Grimes before a fourth round victory over Jada Daly of Davenport, which placed Lundquist in the semifinals against Jaylen Goodale, where she fell to the backside of the bracket with a loss by pin to Goodale. Lundquist then rebounded in the constellation semifinals with Kaitlynn Schuler of Pocahontas to set her up for a rematch with Daly for third place. In the rematch Lundquist made some adjustments over Daly to secure a pin in the first period. Lundquist ended the tournament as a third place finisher. McCoy began her quest in the talent laden 120-pound bracket with a first period pin of Kayla McGee of Mediapolis before next facing fourth place finisher Destiny Krum of East Buchanan in a match in which she fell by fall in 3:29 before rebounding with back to back wins over Kennedy Suhr of Elkader and a highlight 24-second pin against Preslee Dickman, who’s record was 17-5, of West Fork. McCoy’s next match up was against state ranked Krystal Luna-Rosales of Spencer. This match was back and forth matchup in which McCoy had Luna-Rosales on her back where Rosales was saved by the end of the period. Then Rosales used a second period advantage to end McCoy’s tournament with a pin at 2:40. The 2022 IWCOA Girls State Wrestling Tournament is the fourth annual state tournament being held by this association because Iowa was still an unsanctioned sport. The Iowa High School Girls Athletic Association announced Jan. 22 before the finals that Iowa has officially sanctioned girls wrestling for the 2022-2023 wrestling season. Iowa is the 34th state to sanction girls high school wrestling. Women’s wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the United States. ACGC stops SWV
ACGC (Adair-Casey-Guthrie Center) Chargers came to Southwest Valley and played a very solid game Jan. 24 in defeating Southwest Valley 69-31. ACGC improves to 10-7 on the season with a balanced team attack, having 11 players score in the contest. Southwest Valley was led by Maggie Haer with 12 points and Norah Lund with 10. Charlee Larsen scored 4 for the Timberwolves, Alana Drake and Rebecca Wetzel added 2 apiece and Ryanne Mullen added a free throw to complete the scorebook for Southwest Valley. Also playing for Southwest Valley in the contest were Haidyn Top, Katey Lillie, Sierra Pearson and Maddie Bevington. "Coming off a close loss to East Union, we knew the style of game would be completely different in this one,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “ACGC is very quick and very aggressive. We were very close in rebounding but had no answer to their quickness tonight on both ends of the floor. Our girls were trying and I am proud we were still diving on the floor or chasing down players on fast breaks late in the game but they are a difficult matchup for our team. We just have to keep trying every day to get better." In the annual alternate site home game, SWV hosted East Union in Villisca at the middle school Jan. 20 and came up just short in a 50-48 loss to the Eagles. Southwest Valley led by as much as 12 points in the first half and went to half up 26-16. East Union came back to take a brief lead in the fourth quarter and the Timberwolves came back to go up 48-44 with 45 seconds to play only to see a 6-0 run by East Union seal the win. Sophomore Charlee Larsen had a career high 16 points for the Timberwolves and Mullen reached double figures for the first time in her varsity career with 12. Haer and Lund each added 9 points while Wetzel added 2. Others who played were Drake, Top, Lillie, and Kyra Simmons. "We were in a position to win this game, which is a positive step after struggling recently. I am proud that Charlee Larsen had her highest scoring game and Ryanne Mullen got into double figures for the first time in varsity,” Cormack said. “Overall, we did a lot of things right in this game as a team but the little things, like 0-7 at the line and committing too many fouls compared to other games, came back to haunt us. This game probably hurts everyone involved more than any other this year but we give our credit to East Union and have to move on to our next opponent.” Nodaway Valley improved to 12-3 on the season when they defeated the Timberwolves 75-35 Jan .18 in Greenfield. SWV was led by Larsen who reached double figures in scoring for the second time in her career with 10 points. Lund scored 9 points and Mullen had 7. Haer had a great floor game and was effective breaking the press, adding 3 points. Rounding out the scoring were Pearson with 3, Bevington with 2 and Simmons with 1. "Our girls played hard tonight and we simply give our credit to Nodaway Valley, a fine team,” Cormack said. “Maddax DeVault scored 26 for them and often with great defense on her. They have scored 68 or more points nine times this year and will continue to do so in future games. We dressed one senior tonight so our goal is to keep working on getting better as our players get more and more experience to try to get to their level." Coaches Jerry Hartman, Micayla Taylor and Cormack were pleased with the performance of the junior varsity that got its first win of the year. They defeated the Nodaway Valley JV 31-20. Every Timberwolf who was able to come and play scored in a true team victory. Haidyn Top was the leading scorer with 6, Katey Lillie had 5, Sierra Pearson and Kyra Simmons scored 4, and adding a bucket were Maddie Bevington, Alyssa Randall and Delaney True. The Timberwolves led from start to finish. Southwest Valley returned to Pride of Iowa action Jan. 25 at Lenox in a rematch from an earlier game in Corning. The Timberwolves conclude the week Jan. 28 with a game at another Pride of Iowa school, Central Decatur. ACGC overpowers Timberwolves
Two double-digit scorers for Southwest Valley weren’t enough Jan. 24 in a 83-49 loss to ACGC in a home game. The Timberwolves Gabe Fuller scored 14 points while Owen Wilkinson had 10. Brock Littler scored 18 for ACGC. Fuller had 21 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists Jan. 20 in a 64-49 win over East Union. Wilkinson followed with 14 points and Sawyer Hensley added 10. Eats Union’s Seth Hudson scored 19 points. Nodaway Valley posted a 53-42 win Jan. 18 over the Timberwolves. Hensley had 8 points and six assists. Mathew Webber led Nodaway Valley with 21 points. The Timberwolves’ schedule include road games with Lenox on Jan. 25 and Central Decatur on Jan. 28. Stanton stops Timberwolves
The undefeated Stanton Viqueens came to Southwest Valley and delivered a 63-20 victory Jan. 14 over the Timberwolves in non-conference action in Corning. Southwest Valley falls to 2-10 on the season with the loss while Stanton is now 11-0. Maggie Haer led the Timberwolves with 7 points. Ryanne Mullen added 5 while Charlee Larsen scored 3, and 2 points came from Rebecca Wetzel as well as Norah Lund. Sadie Groszkrueger rounded out the scoring with a free throw to add a point to the total. "Credit goes to Stanton who has a solid core of players who complement each other so well. We did a great job in the first quarter limiting their outstanding inside player Jenna Stephens but then Abby Burke steps up to make four three point shots in the quarter,” SWV coach Mike Cormack said. “We limit Burke to 1 point the rest of the way but by guarding the outside closer it opens it up for Stephens to score 17 and Marleigh Johnson to get 16. This is a well-balanced team and there is a reason they are undefeated." The game was the first varsity start for Haidyn Top and Kyra Simmons played many minutes, too. They are sophomores who have played more junior varsity minutes this season, Cormack said. Upperclassmen Ryanne Mullen and Alana Drake contributed with strong play off of the bench, too. Cormack said that all four played hard and will continue to improve throughout the year. Cormack also noted that the starters also gave good effort but just ran into a talented, determined foe. Once again, the players who came at the end of the game were spirited and worked hard in their opportunity. The Timberwolves fell 59-33 Jan. 10 to Mt. Ayr on the road. Lund scored 10 points for the Timberwolves to lead the team in scoring. "We played really hard tonight and really showed improvement on guarding their inside players who hurt us in the first game,” Cormack said. “We just couldn't make shots in the second half and had no answers for their outstanding senior Maddie Stewart who had 29 points. Our effort was there but we just got cold while a star player made her shots." Haer added 8 points, Larsen had 5, Wetzel had 4, and Mullen and Drake chipped in 2 apiece. Lindsay Maurer added 2 points. “Maurer took a great charge in the third quarter but was hurt on the play and had to leave the game,” Cormack said. “The Timberwolves coaches commend Maurer for her hard play all year as she is leading the team on crashes and has had tough luck on such plays this year. The coaches wish her a speedy recovery.” The Timberwolves trailed by 1 point after a quarter and 8 at halftime but struggled offensively in the second half. The Timberwolves were scheduled to play Jan. 14 at Wayne. That game has been postponed due to weather. This week includes the Timberwolves at Nodaway Valley on Jan. 18. Stanton slips past SWV
A back and forth battle against Stanton ended in a 41-40 loss for Southwest Valley at home Jan. 13. The Timberwolves came out with a 22-18 first half but the Vikings’ defense allowed just 2 points from SWV in third quarter. The Timberwolves answered with a 16-11 fourth quarter before the clock ended. Isaac Currin led SWV with 10 points. Joey Oathoudt had 9 points and 11 rebounds and Blake Thomas had 9 points. Nolan Greblin scored 14 points to lead Stanton. SWV fell 41-31 to Mt. Ayr on the road Jan. 10 despite a promising 16-10 first quarter lead. Mt. Ayr stormed back in the third quarter 20-8 en route to the win. Owen Wilkinson scored 10 points for the Timberwolves while Thomas had 5 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Jaixsen Frost has 17 points for Mt Ayr. SWV (5-7) is scheduled to travel Jan. 18 to Nodaway Valley (3-9) and then host East Union (2-10) on Jan. 20. T-Wolves try
to tame Cougars Playing their third road game this week, the Southwest Valley Timberwolves played a talented 8-2 CAM Cougars team to a competitive 61-51 loss Jan. 6 in Anita. The Cougars have lost to two undefeated teams and otherwise averaged nearly 35 point wins in their seven previous victories. CAM led by 1 point after one quarter and held a 9 point halftime lead. The Timberwolves and Cougars battled evenly in the second half with CAM winning that half by a single point. Maggie Haer returned to double figures as the Timberwolves leading scorer for the night with 16 points. Charlee Larsen had her first double figures scoring night as a Timberwolf with 14. Norah Lund added 9, Lindsay Maurer had 8 and Becca Wetzel rounded out the scoring with 4. “What great fight tonight for the Timberwolves. While we always play to win, never quitting against a team like CAM on their court will help our young team continue to improve this year,” said assistant coach Jerry Hartman. Southwest Valley went Jan. 4 to Bedford and lost 42-33 in Pride of Iowa conference action against the Bulldogs. Lund scored 10 to lead the Timberwolves in scoring. Other Timberwolves who scored were Larsen with 8, Maurer and Ryanne Mullen with 3 each, while adding 2 points each were Haer, Haidyn Top, Maddie Bevington, and Alana Drake. The Timberwolves fell behind 20-7 at half and while outscoring Bedford 26-22 in the second half could get no closer in the ballgame than the final score. “Our defense held Bedford to 42 which is an overall good night. We just couldn't get anything done on offense tonight and just weren't making shots. We had a great game the night before and just couldn't follow it up. We will be better the next time we are in this situation,” said coach Mike Cormack. Haer got fouled driving the lane and calmly made two free throws with 4.8 on the clock to lead Southwest Valley to a thrilling 50-49 nonconference win Jan. 3 at Clarinda. Haer led all scorers with 21 points while Lund poured in 17. Mullen had a strong floor game and added 7. Larsen scored 3 and Maurer made a pair of free throws to round out the scoring. Southwest Valley stormed out to a 29-17 halftime lead but Clarinda had a strong third quarter to tie the game. Clarinda got the lead up to 5 points in the fourth quarter but Southwest Valley kept fighting and recovered to win at the end. “Really, really proud of our girls who could have folded and quit after we fell behind in the fourth quarter,” Cormack said. “This was a loud crowd and intense team we played. Win or lose, proud of our team with the spirit we showed but glad we could find a way to come out on top.” Top, Wetzel, and Drake all played well with key rebounds and defense, Cormack said. “Those who did not play were encouraging on the bench and provided great spirit throughout the game,” he said. Southwest Valley, now 2-8 on the season, returned to action Jan. 10 against Mt. Ayr, a team they lost by 9 to earlier this year in Corning. Complete results from that game were unavailable at press time. The Timberwolves host Stanton on Jan. 13 and travel to Wayne on Jan. 14. T-Wolves slip past Bedford
Three Timberwolves scored in double-digits Jan. 4 to help Southwest Valley edge out Bedford 54-50 on the road. SWV’s Blake Thomas had 16 points and seven rebounds, Gabe Fuller had 15 points and six rebounds, and Owen Wilkinson scored 10. Bedford’ Owen Lucas had 12 points. The T-Wolves fell 46-29 Jan. 6 to CAM. Fuller had 8 points and Joey Oathoudt had 12 rebounds. CAM’s Seth Hensley, Colby Rich, and Sam Foreman had 12 points each. Clarinda defeated SWV 48-30 Jan. 3. Wilkinson had 7 points and six rebounds while Oathoudt had eight blocks. Clarinda’s Grant Jobe scored 13 points. This week has the Timberwolves at Mt. Ayr on Jan. 10, at home with Stanton on Jan. 13, and on the road Jan. 14 at Wayne Long shot![]() Photo by Raymond Harris — Southwest Valley’s Owen Wilkinson throws up a long shot at the buzzer Dec. 14 against Lenox. Wilkinson led the Timberwolves with 20 points Dec. 16 in a 57-44 win over Southeast Warren. Gabe Fuller had 15 points. SWV fell 62-39 to Lenox. Blake Thomas had 14 points and seven rebounds while Wilkinson had 9 points.
![]() Haer’s double-digit scoring not enough for T-Wolves
Maggie Haer returned to double figures in scoring with 15 points but it wasn’t enough as Southwest Valley came up short Dec. 16 at Southeast Warren 65-36. Southeast Warren was led by Josie Hartman with 23 points. SWV falls to 1-6 on the season and remains winless in the Pride of Iowa conference. Southeast Warren improves to 5-3 overall and 1-3 in conference. Others scoring for Southwest Valley were Rebecca Wetzel with 6, Norah Lund with 5, Haidyn Top and Charlee Larsen with 3 each, Kyra Simmons with 2, with Ryanne Mullen and Katey Lillie with 1 apiece. “We credit Southeast Warren for earning this win. Obviously we had higher expectations after battling Lenox well on Tuesday. That being said we have great girls who I know will work hard over the break and I remain confident that the future of this program remains bright,” said coach Mike Cormack. Cormack said it was encouraging to see solid floor play out of Simmons in her first extensive varsity play and the team looks forward to the return to health of Lindsay Maurer, who had to miss the game but played really well against Lenox. The Timberwolves’ junior varsity came up short with a spirited effort losing 37-30. They lost in overtime to Lenox on Dec. 14 as the JV squad continues to show improvement. The undefeated Lenox Tigers came Dec. 14 to Corning to play the Timberwolves and came from behind to win 57-46. Southwest Valley grabbed a 37-36 lead after three quarters but Lenox was able to come out on top at the end. Maurer and Wetzel both scored double figures for the first time this season with 10 apiece for the Timberwolves. Larsen added 8 while Mullen chipped in 7. Lund added six points while Haer had 3 and Alana Drake had 2. “We got back to Timberwolves basketball where we fought hard in this game. It was unfortunate we just went cold in the fourth quarter and couldn’t hit shots down the stretch. We played really well and made Lenox earn this victory. It was good to see contributions throughout the lineup and great to see Lindsay and Rebecca reach double figures for the first time in their varsity careers. We just came up a little short at the end,” Cormack said. T-Wolves hit the mat
SWV falls in Des Moines
Southwest Valley competed Dec. 11 at Wells Fargo Arena, coming up short to undefeated Martensdale St. Mary's 66-21. Carolyn Amfahr and Sophia Shannon led the Blue Devils with 14 each in a balanced attack. Maggie Haer scored 8 and Norah Lund scored 6 to pace the Wolves. Ryanne Mullen had 3 points while Lindsay Maurer and Rebecca Wetzel added a bucket apiece. Southwest Valley falls to 1-4 on the season with a Pride of Iowa record of 0-3. Next action for Southwest Valley is Dec. 14 against undefeated Lenox in Corning. “We want to thank all the Timberwolves fans, cheerleaders, scorekeeper, announcer and dance team for coming to Des Moines to support us,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “It was great for our girls to experience this environment. While we did not play our best game, the girls are trying and it was special for them to play at Wells Fargo. I am glad they could do so.” Maddax DeVault and Lindsey Davis scored 30 and 28 points in leading Nodaway Valley to a 82-39 road win Dec. 7 at Southwest Valley. Norah Lund scored 15, including four 3-pointers for the Timberwolves. Maggie Haer added 9 points, Lindsay Maurer had 6, Charlee Larsen had 4, Ryanne Mullen had 3 and Rebecca Wetzel added 2 to complete the scoring. The Timberwolves had a strong first quarter and established a 4-point lead with 3:38 to go in the first and only trailed 13-12 after one quarter. It was decisive second and fourth quarters that helped the Wolverines to pull away from the Timberwolves. “Our effort continues to be fantastic. Our execution of the game plan was outstanding in the first quarter,” Cormack said. “Every game so far shows us glimpses of what our program is going to be. DeVault and Davis are outstanding players for them who each have state tournament experience. In our locker room, up and down our roster we pointed out how the vast majority of our girls are in their fourth game of major varsity action. We get confidence out of how we played in the first and then will learn the mental focus that is needed over 32 minutes to play a team of this caliber who has that experience.” The Timberwolves Junior Varsity came up short, losing 28-22 to the Wolverines in that contest. T-Wolves top Nodaway Valley
Southwest Valley climbed to 3-1 overall with a 52-39 win Dec. 7 over Nodaway Valley. The Timberwolves’ Owen Wilkinson led the team with 16 points and four steals. Sawyer Hensley had 11 points, four assists, and five steals. Gabe fuller has 8 points and four rebounds. Nodaway Valley was led by Avery Philippi with 17 points. SWV fell 52-21 Dec. 11 to Martensdale-St. Marys at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Wilkinson and Blake Thomas had 10 points each while Joey Oathoudt had 8 and Fuller had 7. This week’s schedule includes Lenox on the road Dec. 14 and Southeast Warren in Corning on Dec. 16. ![]() Timberwolves fall
to Fillies in opener The Southwest Valley Timberwolves Basketball Team had their home opener Nov. 30 and fought hard in a game against Shenandoah from the Hawkeye Ten Conference. The scrappy Timberwolves fell behind by 14 in the first half and went to halftime down 32-21. An 11-4 third quarter got the Wolves to a 36-32 deficit at the end of the quarter. The Wolves cut it to 3 points on two occasions in the fourth quarter until late free throws and solid play from the Fillies resulted in a 54-46 Shenandoah victory. Southwest Valley falls to 1-1 on the season while Shenandoah improves to 2-1 on the young campaign. Norah Lund poured in 18 points for the Timberwolves while Maggie Haer added 12 for the team. Charlee Larsen, Rebecca Wetzel, and Ryanne Mullen had 4 for the Timberwolves while Kayla Mitchell and Lindsay Maurer each added 2. "While we compete each night to win, I can't be any prouder of our girls. We were down 14 points to a team that had a tremendous size advantage over us and one of the top rebounders in the state. We fought our hearts out and made a contest out of the game, cutting it to 3 points twice in the fourth quarter,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “We give our respect to Shenandoah for their win but feel confident that we can build off of the positive things we did in this game. Many teams would have lost by 30 when they were down against a bigger opponent and again, proud of the fight our players showed in this one.” SWV fell 53-44 Dec. 3 to Pride of Iowa Conference league foe Mount Ayr at home. The Timberwolves were led by Lund and Haer who each continued their success throughout the week with 14 points apiece. The Timberwolves, who trailed by 15 at half and fell behind by 20 in the contest, closed the game with a strong comeback in the end of the third and fourth quarters, with the final result coming up 9 points short. Others who contributed to the Timberwolves cause were Charlee Larsen and Haidyn Top had strong contributions all around the court, scoring 8 and 3 points respectively. Ryanne Mullen and Rebecca Wetzel each added 2 points with a 1-point contribution from Lindsay Maurer. Alana Drake, Kayla Mitchell, and Katey Lillie all saw action for the Wolves. "This week we played three very different styles of teams in Griswold, Shenandoah and Mount Ayr,” Cormack said. “There were good moments in each game and we played hard in all of the games. We are an inexperienced team overall and have shown no quit in games. As the experience comes, I fully expect us to continue to improve and again, commend my girls for never giving up with a strong comeback on their first team unit.” The Timberwolves fall to 1-2 on the young season with an 0-1 record in Pride of Iowa action. The Wolves next host No. 7 ranked Nodaway Valley on Dec. 7 and follow that with a game at 6 p.m. Dec. 11 at Wells Fargo Arena. “Please come out and support the Timberwolves and fill the Well with proud Timberwolves fans in Des Moines,” Cormack said ![]() Timberwolves defeat Shenandoah
Southwest Valley’s Gabe Fuller had 14 points and three steals while Owen Wilkinson had 13 points and five steals Nov. 30 in a 56-27 blowout over Shenandoah. The Timberwolves’ Sawyer Hensley had 4 points, four assists, and six steals. Camden Lorimor led Shenandoah with 7 points. SWV fell 61-40 Dec. 3 to Mount Ayr. Joey Oathoudt led the T-Wolves with 13 points and eight rebounds. Wilkinson scored 8 points while Hensley had 4 points and six assists. The Raiders were led by Braydon Pierson with 20 points. This week’s schedule includes Nodaway Valley on Dec. 7 at home and Martensdale-St. Marys at 8 p.m. Dec. 11 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. SWV defeats Griswold 58-38
Timberwolves defeat Griswold 52-22
Southwest Valley girls basketball got off to a strong start in winning their season opener 52-22 Nov. 29 at Griswold. Maggie Haer led a balanced Timberwolves attack with 16 points. Norah Lund scored 8, Charlee Larsen added 7, Rebecca Wetzel and Ryanne Mullen both had 6, Lindsay Maurer had 5, and Sadie Groszkrueger and Kayla Mitchell rounded out the scoring with a bucket apiece. Sierra Pearson, Alana Drake, Haidyn Top and Katey Lillie all saw action for the Wolves. “I am very pleased with our teamwork and effort tonight,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “We were unselfish with the basketball. Our defensive and rebounding intensity were terrific. As an undersized club, we have to give that effort to be successful. Just proud of the girls.” The Timberwolves, 1-0 on the season, faced Hawkeye 10 Conference foe Shenandoah on Nov. 30 in Corning. T-Wolves earn
All-District honors Eleven Timberwolves and one of their coaches have been named to the 2021 Class A District 7 All-District team. Brendan Knapp received a unanimous vote for First Team Offense Running Back and Robbie Barnes received a unanimous vote for First Team Offensive Line. Barnes also was a unanimous choice for Second Team Defensive Line. Receiving unanimous votes for First Team Defense were Marshall Knapp for Defensive Back and Cade Myers for Linebacker. Hunter Crill was named to the First Team Defensive Line. Receiving unanimous votes for Second Team Offense were Dalton Calkins for Offensive Line and Evan Timmerman for Kicker. Along with Barnes, receiving unanimous votes for Second Team Defense were Blake Thomas for Defensive Back and Colin Jacobs for Linebacker. Dillon Inman and Isaac Currin received All-District Honorable Mention. Kyle Chafa was named All-District Assistant Coach. Timberwolves blow out Ogden 53-22
Southwest Valley racked up 409 yards rushing and another 77 yards passing to defeat Ogden 53-22 to advance in Class A state playoffs Oct. 22 in Corning. The Timberwolves’ Brendan Knapp was 4-6 passing for two touchdowns on 77 yards and scored two more rushing with 188 yards on 22 carries. He also scored a 2-point conversion. Blake Thomas scored on a 13-yard reception while Marshall Knapp had a touchdown and 64 yards on three receptions. Cade Myers had two touchdowns and 120 yards on 18 carries and three 2-point conversions. Bradlee Grantz had a touchdown and 42 yards on five carries. Isaac Currin rushed nine times for 59 yards and had a 2-point conversion. Defensively, Brendan Knapp had five solo tackles and an assist, Thomas had four solos and an assist, Marshall Knapp had three solos and two assists, and Hunter Crill had three solos and an assist. Evan Timmerman had two solos and three assists, and Currin and Owen Wilkinson had two solos and an assist. Myers had a solo and seven assists while Ely Rodriguez and Dillon Inman had a solo and an assist. Collin Jacobs had three assists, Robbie Barnes had two assists, and Joey Oathoudt, Kale Haffner, and Theron Mullen had assists. Brendan Knapp had 25 yards on two kick returns. Mullen had 94 yards on four kickoffs while Currin had 70 yards on three punts. The Timberwolves (7-2) travel Oct. 29 to Woodbury Central (8-1) for round 2 of Class A state playoffs. Timberwolves fall to ACGC
A 25-15 first set Oct. 25 against ACGC ended in a 3-1 loss for the Timberwolves in Class 2A Region 3 playoffs. The Chargers claimed the next three sets 25-21, 25-12, 25-18 to end Southwest Valley’s volleyball season. “We came out very strong in set 1 with lots of energy and were doing a great job getting touches on [Chloe] Largent and slowing her down. We also dug her up several times and were producing with our offense,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “In the rest of the sets we didn't have near the production we had out of the middle or opposite side as far as offense goes. We were still getting touches and blocks on Chloe, but made some unforced errors on our side of the net and dug several holes in the point differential that we just couldn't overcome.” Haidyn Top was 13-14 serving with five aces and seven digs. Norah Lund was 14-14 with two aces, two kills, and 13 digs. Samantha Larsen was 9-11 with two aces, eight kills, and two digs. Charlee Larsen was 12-14 with two aces and three digs. Ryanne Mullen was 18-18 serving with a kill and eight digs. Maggie Haer was 6-6 with six digs. Aldrich had two kills. Tierney Dalton had a kill. “Overall, I thought we played well, but we didn't exploit their open spots in defense enough. I am proud of the girls for showing grit and they didn't quit at any point during tonight's match,” Wetzel said. “Those four seniors (Norah Lund, Sam Larsen, Karsyn Poston, and Kyli Aldrich) have a lot to be proud of for a great season.” The Timberwolves defeated Panorama 25-13, 25-20, 25-12 Oct. 20 in Class 2A Region 3 Quarterfinal. “I thought we did an exceptional job with our serve tonight, 92 percent as a team with 18 aces. I thought Norah has an all-around good night for us with six kills, 10 digs, 100 percent serve efficiency with five aces,” Wetzel said. “I was also impressed with Tierney's net play. Over the last couple of weeks she has really stepped up her front row game and is aggressive with any balls that are tight on the net or overpassed. She has been doing a great job of moving with the ball along the front line. Haidyn had six ace serves on the night out of 17 attempts. It was a solid team win for us, the girls brought a lot of energy, which we had been missing the last week of the regular season. I know these girls want to keep playing and extend their season as long as possible and that showed tonight.” Mullen was 12-12 serving with two aces, a kill, and three digs. Haer was 11-12 with two aces and six digs. Samantha Larsen was 6-9 with two aces, four kills, and a dig. Charlee Larsen was 7-7 with six kills and six digs. Katey Lillie was 1-1 with an ace. Cross country season
ends for T-Wolves The Timberwolves hosted a 1A state qualifier meet Oct. 21 at Lake Icaria. With 17 schools from across Southwest Iowa in attendance, 10 individuals and two teams in boys and girls races earned a trip to the state meet in Fort Dodge. “The weather was cool and windy, but the course proved to be fast as Central Decatur won the boys with St. Albert second, and the two schools switched places in the girls race,” head coach Jason Hults said. The Timberwolves’ girls team ran a full squad and placed fifth in the team standings, while three boys ran for Southwest Valley. “Running on our home course, nine of the 10 Timberwolves posted personal course bests tonight to finish their season,” Hults said. Leading the girls team was Kya Newton in 28th place while Olivia Kathikar (32nd), Victoria Fletchall (36th), and Sierra Pearson (37th) each ran a course best time. Rounding out the top five for SWV was Karissa Richey (40th). Averyle Butcher (41st) ran a course best and senior Alice Williams (42nd) finished her career for SWV with a new personal record. For the boys, Ethan James (58th) ran a course best time and his second fastest time of the season. Deacon Ganfield (74th) ran a season best time, and Devyn Fasce (76th) ran a course best time. “Our kids ran well all year. They continued to improve and push themselves each week. Most ran new PRs or season best times in the last few meets of the season, which is what we work for, to run our best times at the end of the year,” Hults said. “Our team overall is young, with 12 freshman or sophomore runners, and only two seniors leaving us. Gabe Fuller and Alice Williams were both first-year seniors on the squad, and ran well throughout the year. We will miss them for sure, but look forward to seeing what the rest of the team can do next season.” Results from the state qualifier include: Girls — Newton, 28th, 26:11; Kathikar, 32nd, 26:59; Fletchall, 36th, 29:35; Pearson, 37th, 29:56; Richey, 40th, 31:22; Butcher, 41st, 35:30; Williams, 42nd, 35:58 Boys — James, 58th, 23:20; Ganfield, 74th, 27:35; Fasce, 76th, 35:00 ![]() T-Wolves fall to Mount Ayr
A 21-19 halftime lead Oct. 15 over Mount Ayr, ended in a 41-33 loss for the Timberwolves for Senior Night. Both Southwest Valley and the Raiders and scored third quarter touchdowns but Mount Ayr’s 16-6 fourth quarter frustrated the Timberwolves. Brendan Knapp was 4-8 passing for 139 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. Owen Wilkinson had a 62-yard reception for a touchdown, Isaac Currin had a 45-yard reception and a touchdown, and Joey Oathoudt had a 12-yard reception and a touchdown. Marshall Knapp had a 20-yard reception. Cade Myers had two touchdowns and 65 yards on 15 carries. He also had a 2-point conversion. Brendan Knapp had 94 yards on 23 rushes. Currin had 10 yards on three carries and Evan Timmerman had seven yards on two carries. Colin Jacobs had three solo tackles and three assists. Brendan Knapp had four solos and an assist. Blake Thomas and Robbie Barnes had three solos and two assists each. Marshall Knapp had three solos and an assist. Currin had two solos and two assists. Myers had a solo and four assists, Hunter Crill had a solo and two assist, and Timmerman had a solo and an assist. Ely Rodriguez, Kale Haffner, and Dillon Inman each had an assist. Brendan Knapp had 80 yards on four kick returns. Theron Mullen had 90 yards on three kickoffs. Currin punted twice for 62 yards. SWV (6-2) hosts Ogden (4-4) on SWV runners end
regular season The Timberwolves finished their regular season Oct. 14 at the Ron Landphair Invitational in Mount Ayr. In a meet filled with talent from both Iowa and Missouri, the Timberwolves girls finished seventh and boys 15th in team standings. “We had a great meet on Tuesday at the POI with lots of the kids getting new PRs, but our legs looked a little tired tonight on only one day rest,” Southwest Valley head coach Jason Hults said. “We ran well, with many of the Timberwolves getting times in their top three or four for the season.” Leading the girls team was Olivia Kathikar (30th) and Kya Newton (42nd). Rounding out the top five for the girls were Sierra Pearson (57th), Victoria Fletchall (60th), and Karissa Richey (61st). “Our top five girls (two freshman and three sophomores) have gained a lot of experience this season while making great progress as runners,” Hults said. “They will form a great nucleus and be leaders for our girls squad over the next few years.” Gabe Fuller (71st) and Zac TenEyck (78th) paced each other for most of the race, with fuller pulling away in the last stretch to the finish. Ethan James (97th), Matthew Means (116th), and Devyn Fasce (124th) rounded out the boys squad. “Gabe was a great addition to the team this season and as a senior we will miss him next year,” Hults said. “But Zach, Ethan, and Matthew as underclassmen will give us a great foundation to start build around for our boys squad in the next few season.” Results from the meet include: Girls — Kathikar, 30th, 24:53.94; Newton, 42nd, 25:59.19; Pearson, 57th, 29:50.69; Fletchall, 60th, 29:54.03; Richey, 61st, 30:00.60; Butcher, 70th, 34:54.87; Williams, 71st, 37:03.08; Means, 73rd, 43:16.69 Team — (Average times) Grandview Christian 24:17.59, Martensdal St. Marys 24:13.65, Mount Ayr 25:12.78, Nodaway Valley 25:41.14, Wayne 25:48.65, Clarke 27:18.91, SWV 28:07.69, CAN 29:27.60 Boys — Fuller, 71st, 21:57.28; TenEyck, 78th, 22:09.89; James, 97th, 23:28.69; Means, 116th, 26:54.08; Fasce, 124th, 30:55.26 Team — Maryville 17:59.59, Nodaway Valley 19:36.11, Ankeny Christian Academy 20:08.12, Wayne 20:26.27, Sidney 21:10.03, Savannah 21:13.97, Lamoni 22:04.37, Martensdale St. Marys 21:23.37, CAM 21:50.57, Diagonal 23:08.16, Central Decatur JV 23:43.45, SWV 25:05.04 SWV travelled Oct. 12 to Leon to compete in the Pride of Iowa Conference Cross Country Meet. Central Decatur swept the team championships for both boys and girls varsity divisions, while the Timberwolves finished sixth in boys and seventh in girls team standings. “Even though the team standings didn't come out as we had hoped, the Timberwolves had a great night with 10 out of 13 runners setting new career PRs,” Hults said. “This was a new course for us, so we didn't really know what to expect as we don't come down to CDs regular season meet. But the kids really felt good after walking it and felt like it was going to be a good course to run. As coaches, we always want to see our kids running their best times near the end of the season and the conference meet is a great time to do that. With only one more regular season meet before state qualifying, the kids are running extremely well right now.” In the girls race, six of the girls had new personal records and the other two were within 9 seconds of setting new PRs. “All the girls ran very well,” Hults said. Leading the girls squad, Kathikar earned All-Conference honors with a 20th place medal finish and a new PR of 23:55. Newton (28th) had a new PR while Pearson (36th) was 1 second off her PR. Fletchall (37th), Richey (38th), Butcher (44th), and Williams (45th) all ran new PRs. Means (46th) was 9 seconds off her PR. “The top four boys ran new PRs and the fifth ran a season best time, so the boys had a great night,” Hults said. Fuller led the boys team with a 27th place finish followed by TenEyck (41st), James (46th), and Means (55th). “Deacon Ganfield battled through a hip injury and showed a lot of heart to finish 57th overall with a season best time,” Hults said. “Without Deacon fighting through that injury, the boys would not have been able to field a team score, so I am really proud of him for competing and not giving up.” The Timberwolves will host a 1A state qualifier Oct. 21 at Lake Icaria. Results from the POI meet include: Girls — Kathikar, 20th, 23:55; Newton, 28th, 25:29; Pearson, 36th, 28:35; Fletchall, 37th, 28:37; Richey, 38th, 28:40; Butcher, 44th, 33:44; Williams, 45th, 36:23; Means, 46th, 38:30 Team — (Average times) Central Decatur 22:26, Martensdale St. Mary’s 23:00, Mount Ayr 23:30, Nodaway Valley 24:00, Wayne 24:27, East Union 31:27, SWV 27:03 Middle school girls — Zoey Mullen, 29th, 14:46; Akina Crawford, 31st, 18:26 Boys — Fuller, 27th, 20:21; TenEyck, 41st, 21:49; James, 46th, 22:35; Ganfield, 57th, 28:22 Middle school boys — Ashton Boswell, fifth, 11:01; Brody Sparks, sixth, 11:04; Lucas James, 23rd, 14:36 Team — Central Decatur 17:35, Nodaway Valley 18:41, Wayne 19:03, SE Warren 19:55, Martensdale St. Marys 20:21, SWV 23:40 Senior NightTimberwolves
defeat Mt. Ayr 3-0 Southwest Valley’s volleyball team picked up a 25-20, 25-15, 25-21 win Oct. 5 on the road at Mt. Ayr. “I am really proud of how the team came out fired up and ready to play. We had a goal in mind to finish as the No. 1 seed on our half of the conference going into the conference tourney and we accomplished that goal tonight,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “I thought the girls really played some great volleyball tonight. We had a pretty strong block up, we passed well in serve receive and had six girls with five or more digs each. They played as one cohesive unit tonight, we were scrappy, we were aggressive with our offense and above 90 percent serving. We are looking forward to getting back in the gym and getting some practice in to work on some things before the POI tourney starts on Monday [Oct. 11]. We are playing really good volleyball right now which is great as we head into our last week of regular season play.” Maggie Haer was 8-8 serving with six aces and eight digs. Norah Lund was 9-9 serving with a kill and 10 digs. Charlee Larsen was 13-14 serving with eight kills and six digs. Samantha Larsen was 9-10 with an ace, seven kills, and seven digs. Ryanne Mullen was 9-10 with an ace, a kill, and eight digs. Haidyn Top was 4-6 serving with six digs. Kyli Aldrich had four kills. Tierney Dalton had four kills. The Timberwolves claimed a 25-13, 25-23, 25-21 Senior Night win Oct. 4 over Martensdale-St. Marys. “We came out in set 1 hitting the ball very efficiently, .333 as a team. I thought we were also aggressive on the serve and had 14 aces as a team tonight,” Wetzel said. “Our passers did a nice job of getting the ball to our setter and Ryanne did a good job of spreading that ball around to all the hitters and making good decisions when MSM was still in transition. Ryanne had 16 digs, Norah had 10, Haidyn had seven, Maggie six, Sam three, and Charlee twp. I thought Norah had a good, all around match. Norah isn't a flashy hitter, but has a very high volleyball IQ and see's the other side of the court very well and can place the ball in the holes. She is a very consistent full rotation player for us, she passes, digs, serves, hits and blocks. She is usually flying all over the back court. I thought it was a nice win for us on senior night and I see us playing well and being more consistent as we are nearing the end of the regular season.” SWV advanced in the Pride of Iowa playoffs Oct. 11 with a 3-0 win over Lenox (complete results unavailable at press time). The Timberwolves were scheduled to face Mt. Ayr again Oct. 12. Timberwolves top Riverside 15-12
Second quarter touchdowns by Southwest Valley’s Brendan Knapp and a second-half defensive effort gave the Timberwolves a 15-12 victory Oct. 8 over Riverside. The Bulldogs scored two third-quarter touchdowns but the Timberwolves defense stopped Riverside’s point-after attempts. Knapp had 126 yards on 28 carries and was 2-8 for 31 yards passing. Evan Timmerman had 32 yards on eight carries and Cade Myers had a five-yard rush. Owen Wilkinson had a 16-yard reception and Blake Thomas had a 15-yard receptions. Brendan Knapp and Thomas had five solo tackles and an assist each. Colin Jacobs had four solo tackles and four assists while Hunter Crill had four solos and three assists. Isaac Currin had three solos and two assists, Marshall Knapp had two solos, Cade Myers had a solo and five assists, Wilkinson had a solo and two assists, Robbie Barnes and Dillon Inman had a solo and an assist each, and Ely Rodriguez had an assist. Thomas had a 25-yard interception. Timmerman had 123 yards on three kickoffs and 64 yards on two punts. This week the Timberwolves host Mt. Ayr on Oct. 15 for Senior Night. SWV runners
improve times The Timberwolves cross country teams competed Oct. 4 in Greenfield at the Nodaway Valley Invitational. “Running on tired legs from their third meet in seven days, the kids put forth a great effort and ran competitively throughout the night,” head coach Jason Hults said. Both boys and girls teams finished in ninth place overall. For the girls, freshman Olivia Kathikar led the team for the first time this season with a 36th place overall finish and her second best time of the season. Sophomores Kya Newton and Sierra Pearson shaved 1 and 2.5 minutes respectively off their course times from last season to place 45th and 69th. “The rest of the girls did well, with Victoria Fletchall (74th), Karissa Richey (75th), Averyle Butcher (81st) and Alice Williams (84th),” Hults said. In the boys race, senior Gabe Fuller had a late charge, moving up from 27th with about 400 meters to go to finish 22nd overall. Sophomore's Ethan James (61st) and Zach TenEyck (63rd) ran close to each other the entire race and helped push each other to finish with top three personal times for the season. Freshman Matthew Means (81st) was within 11 seconds of his best time of the season. Junior Devyn Fasce (88th) also ran his third best time of the year to round out the boys squad. “The middle school runners also competed, with medalist Ashton Boswell finishing second in the MS boys race,” Hults said. “We will be excited for Ashton and the other eighth-graders to join us next fall.” The Timberwolves used the rest of last week to prepare for the Pride of Iowa conference meet Oct. 12 in Leon. Results from the Nodaway Valley Invitational include: Girls — Kathikar, 36th, 26:25; Newton, 45th, 27:30; Pearson, 69th, 31:33; Fletchall, 74th, 32:51; Richey, 75th, 32:55; Butcher, 81st, 37:41; Williams, 84th, 38.11 Boys — Fuller, 22nd, 21:25; James, 61st, 24:29; TenEyck, 63rd, 24:41; Means, 81st, 27:27; Fasce, 88th, 30:34 Middle school — Boswell, third, 13:24; Brody Sparks, 26th, 14:49; Quaid Eddy, 34th, 15:17; Lucas James, 93rd, 17:49; Zoey Mullen, 104th, 19:15; Justice Cross, 113th, 20:42; Akina Crawford, 123rd, 24:31 Confusion plays role
at Shenandoah race The Timberwolves cross country teams headed Sept. 30 to Shenandoah. In a stacked field full of some of the best runners in Southwest Iowa, and teams representing all four classes, the girls team placed 12th overall and the boys team placed 14th. “The weather forecast had been for rain and thunderstorms, so the hosts decided to change the schedule of events to ensure the best chance for the varsity races to be completed,” head coach Jason Hults said. “This unfortunately led to some confusion in the first race of the night, varsity girls, as the lead cart started out on the middle school course and had to make a change during the race to try to get the correct distance for the runners. This led to some confusion, especially for the runners at the back of the pack who did not know where changes had been made to the course. I honestly don't know the length of the race for the varsity girls, but I do know it caused some confusion, resulting in our girls finishing in an unexpected order.” The girls were led by Kya Newton (54th) and Olivia Kathikar (59th) for the entire race. At the mile mark Karissa Richey, Victoria Fletchall, and Sierra Pearson were battling for the third spot, with Averyle Butcher and Alice Williams rounding out the pack. “But somewhere in mile 2, the girls got mixed up and took a wrong turn,” Hults said. “The trail cart did not know the correct way, so instructed the girls to follow the marked route of the original course. This led to Averyle and Alice moving ahead of the other three due to the course guides instructions.” The final 3-7 finish order for the girls was Butcher (82nd), Fletchall (85th), Williams (86th), Richey (87th) and Pearson (88th). “The course guides got everything figured out for the varsity boys race, and the rest of the night went on as scheduled,” Hults said. Gabe Fuller paced the boys squad with one of his best times of the year, but with the stacked field finished in 69th place overall. Ethan James (88th) and Zach TenEyck (100th) had solid times. Matthew Means (102nd), Deacon Ganfield (104th) and Devyn Fasce (105th) rounded out the squad. Results from Shenandoah include: Girls — Newton, 54th, 26:38.67; Kathikar, 59th, 27:02.73; Butcher, 82nd, 30:56.25; Fletchall, 85th, 31:44.41; Williams, 86th, 31:49.75; Richey, 87th, 32:14.71; Pearson, 88th, 33:30.55 Boys — Fuller, 69th, 21:11.43; James, 88th, 23:39.80; Wieland, 99th, 26:25.09; TenEyck, 100th, 26:25.09; Means, 102nd, 27:10.09; Ganfield, 104th, 30:01.40; Fasce, 105th, 30:01.80 The Timberwolves ran Sept. 28 at the Clarke Invitational in Osceola. The girls varsity team finished in sixth place overall and the boys varsity finished ninth. “The unseasonably high temp's did affect the Timberwolves throughout the night,” Hults said. “We posted some great times last week with 11 runners posting new PRs at Creston; but the heat tonight was a factor, and the kids’ times were overall slower than expected. But looking ahead to Thursday in Shenandoah, we should see some more good times with the cooler temperatures in the forecast. Despite the heat, I did see some great effort from the kids; especially late in the race with passing kids in the last 300 meter and finishing hard all the way through the finish line.” For the girls squad, Andrews finished 27th overall to lead the team. Newton (32nd) and Kathikar (33rd) both had strong finishes only 9 seconds apart. Richey (50th) and Pearson (57th) rounded out the top 5 for the Timberwolves. For the boys squad, Fuller finished 26th overall to lead the boys. TenEyck (61st) and James (62nd) finished strong, and Means (82nd) and Fasce (87th) completed the boys squad. Results from Clarke include: Girls — Andrews, 27th, 27:47; Newton, 32nd, 29:23; Kathikar, 33rd, 29:32; Richey, 50th, 33:34; Pearson, 57th, 36:17; Butcher, 71st, 41:31; Williams, 72nd, 41:43 Boys — Fuller, 26th, 22:17; TenEyck, 61st, 26:13; James, 62nd, 26:45; Means, 82nd, 30:17; Fasce, 87th, 36:16 The Timberwolves competed Oct. 4 in the Wolverines Invitational in Greenfield. Results were unavailable at press time. Timberwolves defeat Bedford 3-0
Southwest Valley’s volleyball team blanked Bedford 25-16, 25-13, 25-23 at home Sept. 28. “I thought we did a nice job of staying aggressive offensively in sets 1 and 2. Our serve received was good and our passers had good ups which allowed us to stay in system more often than not,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “In set 3 I just felt like we were going through the motions and mentally lost focus. We also missed six serves in set 3 which didn't help matters. We kind of played from behind the entire set, but were able to string some points together in the end to win the set. Tonight was a good team win for us and keeps us in the driver's seat going into the POI Tourney. We are nearing the end of the regular season, with only two and a half weeks left and I feel like we are playing well and improving on some aspects of our game that are weak.” Samantha Larsen was 15-17 serving with four aces, eight kills, and four digs. Maggie Haer was 14-16 with two aces and 12 digs. Ryanne Mullen was 11-11 with three aces and four digs. Charlee Larsen was 13-14 with an ace, four kills, and six digs. Haidyn Top was 6-8 serving and had two digs. Norah Lund was 4-5 with an ace, five kills, and 10 digs. Tierney Dalton had six kills and a block. Kyli Aldrich had three kills and two blocks. The Timberwolves faced Martensdale-St. Marys on Oct. 4 and Mount Ayr on Oct. 5. Results from this week’s matches were unavailable at press time. Timberwolves stop Earlham 15-13
Touchdowns in the first and third quarters and a field goal by Southwest Valley’s Evan Timmerman in the fourth gave the Timberwolves a 15-13 win Oct. 1 over Earlham. The win came after Earlham quarterback Darrell Matchem was ejected from the game after claiming a SWV player used a racial slur against him. Both schools investigated the incident and on Oct. 4 SWV superintendent Chris Fenster issued the following statement on the school district’s Facebook page: “The Southwest Valley School District has conducted multiple interviews with people closest to the situation. We did not discover any more evidence to report to Earlham Administration or the Iowa High School Athletic Association. The Southwest Valley District would like everyone to know that we have good, positive students, and this type of behavior is never tolerated. We are a proud school district that will never condone treating people because of race, gender, sexual orientation with anything but respect, dignity, and kindness. We will continue to work with Earlham and investigate any new information that would surface. We are proud of our student-athletes, fans, and communities for allowing the administration to investigate the incident and reach our conclusion.” Timberwolves senior quarterback Brendan Knapp was 7-9 passing for 143 yard and had 50 yards and a touchdown on 16 rushes. Sophomore Bradlee Grantz had 12 yards and a touchdown on four carries. Timmerman rushed seven times for 43 yards followed by Cade Myers with 26 yards on seven rushes and Isaac Currin with a two-yard carry. Blake Thomas had three receptions for 85 yards, Marshall Knapp had two receptions for 50 yards, and Owen Wilkinson had two receptions for eight yards. Defensively, Myers had four solo touchdowns and six assists followed by Colin Jacobs with five solos and three assists, Brendan Knapp with three solos and four assists, Dillon Iman with three solos and two assists, Thomas with two solos and three assists, Marshall Knapp with two solos and two assists, Hunter Crill with a solo and three assists, Timmerman with a solo and two assists, Robbie Barnes with three assists, Currin with a solo and two assists, and Kale Haffner with two assists. Timmerman had 54 yards on two kickoffs and 59 yards on two punts. The Timberwolves (5-1) head to Riverside (5-1) on Oct. 8. Timberwolves finish
home tourney 4-2 The Timberwolves volleyball team capped Southwest Valley’s homecoming week with a 4-2 finish Sept. 25 in the SWV Tournament in Corning. “Overall I was very pleased with our play at our home tourney. Going 4-2 on the day was great,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “We played a really tight set 1 with AHSTW and almost won that set. We were playing very scrappy defense and there were quite a few long volleys especially at the end of that first set. It was a strong showing by our team at the end of a long homecoming week!” The Timberwolves defeated Lenox 2-1 and Clarke, Exira-EHK, and Panorama 2-0. SWV’s losses came to CAM 21-17, 21-19, 2-0 and to AHSTW 29-27, 21-10, 2-0. Maggie Haer had seven aces, 28 digs, and a kill in the tournament while Haidyn Top had seven aces and 15 digs. Norah Lund had three aces, eight kills, and 17 digs. Charlee Larsen had five aces, 19 kills, and 14 digs. Ryanne Mullen had two aces, a kill, and 12 digs. Samantha Larsen had three aces, 20 kills, a block, and four digs. Kyli Aldrich had 21 kills and three digs. Tierney Dalton had eight kills, four blocks, and a dig. SWV defeated Lenox 25-20, 25-12, 17-25, 25-11 on the road Sept. 21. “I thought we played a pretty solid match tonight. I felt like we were a little lax in set 3 and quit moving our feet on serve receive and made some untimely offensive errors at the net,” Wetzel said. “Maggie and Norah had a great passing and digging night for us. Norah had 12 digs, and an overall pass rate of 2.19. Maggie had 14 digs and an overall pass rate of 2.26. Ryanne had 32 assists on 96 attempts and was making really good decisions on where to set the ball, especially in transition. Our serve percentage was a little low at 88 percent for the night. In set 1 we were 100 percent and then just faltered in the remaining sets, missing 11 serves. Charlee again had a good night at the net with 12 kills, Kyli and Sam both chipped in nine a piece, and Tierney had six of her own. It was a very balanced night for us offensively.” The Timberwolves take on Bedford on Sept. 28 are at home Oct. 4 with Martensdale for Senior Night. T-Wolf teams place
fifth at Creston Southwest Valley’s boys and girls varsity teams both finished fifth overall in team standings Sept. 21 in the Class B section of the Creston Invitational. “The team ran exceptionally well, with 11 of the 13 runners posting new career PRs,” head coach Jason Hults said. All seven girls who ran posted new career personal records, Hults said. The girls were led by medalist Christine Andrews who finished seventh. “Kya Newton (23rd) and Olivia Kathikar (25th) had amazing performances, running their first sub 26s of their careers,” Hults said. Sierra Pearson (34th) and Karissa Richey (35th) broke the 30-minute mark for their first times. Victoria Fletchall (39th) and Averyl Butcher (43rd) both took over 3 minutes off their previous PRs . “I was so impressed by the girls squad tonight. All seven girls ran very well and I saw some strong competitive running late in the race,” Hults said. “Many of them were passing going up the last hill and in the last 100 meters on the straight away to the finish. I was super proud of that competitiveness and seeing them fight for those spots.” In the boys race, four of the six Timberwolves posted new personal records and another ran his second fastest time of the season. Senior Gabe Fuller continued to lead the boys squad with an 18th place finish and a new PR. Zach TenEyck (40th) and Ethan James (41st) both posted new PRs. Matthew Means (52nd) ran his second fastest time of the season, and Devyn Fasce (53rd) ran a new PR. Deacon Ganfield (54th) battled an injury but finished the race to round out the boys squad. “The boys ran a great race tonight as well. Being a two-class meet, with a lot of 3A schools in the bigger class, there was some great competition that pushed our boys to go out and run hard,” Hults said. “Just like in the girls race, I saw some competitive spirit come out late in the race as the boys battled other runners for position. That will be a positive for both squads as we move on in the season.” This week the Timberwolves face Clarke in Osceola on Sept. 28 and Shenandoah on Sept 30. Results from Creston include: Girls — Andrews, seventh, 23:10.2; Newton, 23rd, 25:45.7; Kathikar, 25th, 25:54.7; Pearson, 34th, 28:34.0; Richey, 35th, 29:01.0; Fletchall, 39th, 31:17.7; Butcher, 43rd, 35:57.3 Team — Earlham 46, Martensdale-St. Marys 53, Nodaway Valley 67, Mount Ayr 87, SWV 99, CAM 133 Boys — Fuller, 18th, 21:00.7; TenEyck, 40th, 23:40.06; James, 41st, 23:45.4; Means, 52nd, 28:05.9; Fasce, 53rd, 29:54.5; Ganfield, 54th, 33:10.0 Team — Earlham 19, Nodaway Valley 48, Martensdale-St. Marys 89, CAM 107, SWV 125 ![]() SWV runners finish strong at Lake Icaria
The Timberwolves hosted their home cross country invitational Sept. 16 on a warm and humid afternoon at Lake Icaria with 18 schools in attendance. The varsity girls finished fifth overall while the varsity boys finished seventh in the team standings. “There was definitely some great competition here today, with Winterset winning the girls and Central Decatur winning the boys divisions,” head coach Jason Hults said. “We feel like we have a very challenging course for a meet early in the season as it was only our fourth meet. And coming off another hilly and challenging course at Red Oak, this was going to be a very good indicator of how our kids were progressing.” Running in their second meet of the week for only the first time this season, the Timberwolves used the home course to their advantage. Thirteen Timberwolves posted their second fastest times of the season and one posted a new career personal record. For the girls team, all nine runners posted their second best times of the season and averaged 1:30 faster than their times at Red Oak earlier in the week, Hults said. Leading the girls team were Christine Andrews (22nd), Kya Newton (24th) and Olivia Kathikar (29th), Sierra Pearson (40th), and Karissa Richey (48th). On the boys team, three posted their second fastest times of the season and one posted a new career PR. The top five for the boys were Gabe Fuller (25th), Ryder Petry (PR) (60th), Zach TenEyck (62nd), Ethan James (69th), and Matthew Means (75th). “All the kids are making great strides, and they have been working very hard,” Hults said. “Seeing the times they posted tonight, considering the difficulty of our course and running for the second time this week, I think we are headed in the right direction and will see some great things as the season moves forward. We have some flatter courses coming up in the next few meets, so we should see some great results from the Timberwolves moving forward.” The Timberwolves are in action Sept. 21 this week at Creston. Results from the Timberwolves Invitational include: Girls — Andrews, 22nd, 26:27; Newton, 24th, 27:17; Kathikar, 29th, 28:50; Pearson, 40th, 32:02; Richey, 48th, 33:03; Victoria Fetchall, 51st, 35:20; Averyle Butcher, 53rd, 39:30; Alice Williams, 54th, 40:08; Julia Means, 56th, 42:35 Team — Winterset, first; Central Decatur, second; Martensdale-St. Marys, third; Red Oak, fourth; SWV, fifth MS girls — Zoey Mullen, 22nd, 23:05 Boys — Fuller, 22nd, 21:59; Petry, 39th, 26:01; TenEyck, 40th, 26:14; James, 69th, 27:12; Means, 75th, 28:30; Ganfield, 81st, 31:37; Devyn Fasce, 86th, 42:22 Team — Central Decatur, first; Winterset, second; Red Oak, third, Lamoni, fourth; Sidney, fifth; Martensdale-St. Marys, sixth; SWV, seventh; East Mills, eighth MS boys — Ashton Boswell, 11th, 14:51; Lucas James, 34th, 19:31 SWV defeats East Union 2-0
The Timberwolves defeated East Union 2-0 but fell to Stanton 0-2 Sept. 20 in Corning. Southwest Valley topped East Union 25-18, 25-19. “We played well against East Union. We still need to cut down our unforced errors and stay aggressive with our attacking and serving,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “We had three girls with six, five, and five kills, which is great! It allows our setter to spread the ball out and gives us some much needed production out of several hitters instead of just one or two.” Samantha Larsen had six kills and a dig. Charlee Larsen had five kills and seven digs while Tierney Dalton had five kills, a block, and an ace. Katie Lillie had three kills, Norah Lund had two kills, three digs, and an ace, and Maggie Haer had a kill, six digs, and an ace. The Timberwolves fell 26-24, 25-19 to Stanton. “I was pleased with the way we came out against Stanton. We were being aggressive, getting some good blocks and our serving was 96 percent,” Wetzel said. “We kind of struggled on our side of the net during set 2. We started making some unforced errors and tipped too much. We let Stanton go on some serving runs late in the set. I see lots of positives in our play. We have become a lot scrappier as a team and continue to go after the ball, we are improving in our front line blocking and defensively we are staying in position and getting better at reading our opponents hitters.” Kyli Aldrich had five kills and two blocks. Charlee Larsen had four kills, six digs, and an ace. Samantha Larsen had three kills and two blocks. Lund had two kills, seven digs, and an ace. Dalton had two kills and two blocks. Haer had nine digs and an ace, Ryanne Mullen had four digs and ace, and Haidyn Top had six digs. SWV’s schedule this week includes Sept. 21 at Lenox and the SWV Tournament Sept. 25. ![]() T-Wolves blank
St. Albert 30-0 Southwest Valley’s defense shut down St. Albert for a 30-0 victory Sept. 17 in Corning. Brendan Knapp led the Timberwolves’ offense with 204 yards and two touchdowns on 15 rushes. Evan Timmerman had 113 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Isaac Currin had a touchdown and 42 yards on nine rushes as well as a 2-point conversion. Bradlee Grantz rushed seven times for 47 yards, Ely Rodriguez had 24 yards on four carries, and Cade Myers had 10 yards on three carries. Brendan Knapp was 1-4 passing with a four-yard pass to Marshall Knapp. Collin Jacobs finished the evening with six solo tackles and two and a half assists followed by B. Knapp with three solos and one and a half assists, Timmerman with two solos and two assists, Robbie Barnes with two solos, an assist, and a sack, Blake Thomas and M. Knapp with two solos each, Cade Myers with a solo and one and half assists, Hunter Crill with a solo and an assist, Rodriguez with a solo, Dillon Inman with two assists, and Joey Oathoudt and Currin with an assist each. M. Knapp also had a 37-yard interception. Timmerman had 120 yards on five kickoffs and 98 yards on four punts ![]() SWV fights off
Nodaway Valley The Timberwolves fought off a tough Nodaway Valley volleyball team for a 3-2 win Sept. 13. Southwest Valley opened with 25-17, 25-16 wins in in the first two sets but Nodaway Valley answered with a 25-17 third set. The T-Wolves held on though, coming back for a 27-25 fourth set before sealing the match 15-10 in a fifth set. “That was one heck of a match,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “In the first two sets it felt like we were playing well to 16 points and then once we hit 16 we started to self-destruct and make a lot of unforced errors. In the last three sets of the match we finally started exploiting the holes in their defense and were scoring points.” Ryanne Mullen, Norah Lund, and Charlee Larson were all 100 percent serving with Mullen notching 34 assists, Charlee Larsen with 12 kills, and Lund with eight kills. Tierney Dalton had nine kills, Samantha Larsen had eight, Katey Lillie had two, and Haidyn Top had one. Maggie Haer had 14 digs, Lund had nine, Charlee Larsen had six, Mullen and Top had five each, and Dalton had two. “Our blocking game was 100 percent improved tonight compared to Saturday at the tournament. We had 14 blocks (four solo and 10 assisted) in this match, and I bet we didn't have 14 total blocks in our first 10 matches of the season,” Wetzel said. “We had multiple girls with more than five kills each and that is a huge difference maker. It allows Ryanne to spread the ball out and go across the front line and not have to rely on just one or two hitters. Our serve percent was 94 percent and that was a much needed boost. Tonight was a team win. Everyone contributed in multiple ways and I felt like the girls started to play the way we know they can. They showed a lot of fight and grit to be down 0-2 and come back and beat them the next three sets.” The Timberwolves finished the day 2-4 Sept. 11 in the Griswold Tournament, picking up wins over ACGC and IKM-Manning but falling to AHSTW, Riverside, Griswold, and Denison-Schleswig. “Going to 2-4 on the day was disappointing. I felt like there were at least two other matches we should have won,” Wetzel said. “We have to cut down our unforced errors. Our unforced errors totaled more than our earned points total and that has to be turned around for us to be more successful. We also need more production and execution from our front row hitters and execute our block more successfully. Our serving was only 87 percent on the day and that needs to be at least 90 percent or above if we want to win matches.” Despite the losses, SWV’s Maggie Haer was named to the Griswold Tourney All-Tournament Team. “Maggie finished the tournament with 38 digs, which was 2.92 digs per set, an overall pass rate of 2.10 out of 3 (2.05 on service receive, 2.67 on free balls),” Wetzel said. “Maggie had a stellar day with her back row play! She touched the ball 84 times in serve receive and free ball passing, which means she is getting her hands on a ton of balls. Maggie is a great libero and reads the hitters and where they are taking the attack really well.” The Timberwolves (5-6) travel Sept. 16 to Griswold (9-10). SWV teams see
six medalists Southwest Valley travelled Sept. 13 to Red Oak for the Third Annual Paul Fish Invitational. “The Timberwolves went out and ran hard on the hilly course, posting good times and finishing the night with six medalists overall,” head coach Jason Hults said. The girls varsity team finished fourth in the team standings with two medalists — Christine Andrews finishing 13th and Kya Newton 17th overall. Rounding out the varsity girls were Olivia Kathikar (22nd), Sierra Pearson (26th), and Victoria Fletchall (31st). The Timberwolves tried to run five girls in the junior varsity race to win a team medal, but had to settle for four individual medalists, Hults said. Karissa Richey led the JV girls with a fourth place finish followed by Alice Williams (fifth), Averyle Butcher (sixth), and Julia Means (seventh). “We thought going into the race that we would try to split the squad and run a full varsity and JV team to compete for team scores,” Hults said. “This was a smaller meet in terms of overall runners, but Red Oak does a great job with the number of kids getting medals; and it would give the JV girls a chance to earn a medal for all the hard work they do pushing the varsity girls to be better every day. Unfortunately, one of the girls was not able to finish the race due to illness and we were unable to field the full team score.” For the boys, Gabe Fuller finished 21st overall, just missing out on his first medal of the season while leading the boys team to a seventh place overall team finish. Ethan James finished 35th and continued to show improvement in his sophomore season, improving his course record time by 4 minutes and 11 places from last season. The rest of the varsity boys were Ryder Petry (40th), Matthew Means (42nd), and Deacon Ganfield (43rd). Running in his first meet in the JV boys race, Devyn Fasce finished 31st. “The boys went out and posted some really good times on this course and continue to show a lot of improvement each meet,” Hults said. Results from Red Oak include: Girls — Andrews, 13th, 27:21.44; Newton, 17th, 28:54.72; Kathikar, 22nd, 31:24.10; Sierra Pearson, 26th, 33:09.19; Fletchall, 31st, 39:08.72 Junior varsity girls — Karissa Richey, fourth, 34:45.12; Alice Williams, fifth, 40.38.06; Averyle Butcher, sixth, 40:39.19; Julia Means, seventh, 44:13.94 Boys — Fuller, 21st, 22:12.40; James, 35th, 25:29.52; Ryder Petry, 40th, 29>07.09; Matthew Means, 42nd, 31:34.78; Deacon Ganfield, 43rd, 33:20.15 JV boys — Devyn Fasce, 31st, 40:24.34 The Timberwolves competed in their second meet of the season Sept. 8 in Clarinda. “The team went out hard and ran well, posting a number of solid times on the course,” Hults said. The varsity girls finished sixth overall and the varsity boys seventh. The middle school Timberwolves competed in their first meet of the season, with the boys team finishing fourth, led by eighth-grader Ashton Boswell with a fifth place individual finish. “The high school team has 11 first year runners out of 16, so every meet will post some challenges for the new runners,” Hults said. “The Clarinda course was quite a bit hillier than the course at WCV, so that posed some new challenges for the Timberwolves. But overall we saw many of the runners post similar times to the first meet, so overall I was very pleased with the results.” Leading the Timberwolves girls team were Andrews (28th), Newton (36th), and Kathikar (37th) as the top 3 for the second straight meet. The rest of the varsity squad included Pearson (49th), Fletchall (53rd), Richey (54th), and Layla Konecne (56th). “Kya was the only returning runner for the Timberwolves to set a new personal course record, and Layla set a new career PR time by 1:44,” Hults said. The Timberwolves boys squad finished in the same order 1-5 for the second meet in a row. Fuller led the boys with a 36th place finish followed by James (74th), TenEyck (77th), Petry (80th), and Means (91st). “All five boys were running the course for the first time, and their times were very close to what they ran last week,” Hults said. “Overall, it was a good night and the Timberwolves are continuing to improve each meet. They will run again next week on Monday at Red Oak and then at their home meet on Thursday at Lake Icaria.” Results from Clarinda include: Girls — Andrews, 28th, 27:26.38; Newton, 36th, 28:41.32; Kathikar, 37th, 29:42.96; Pearson, 49th, 34:26.13; ; Fletchall, 53rd, 36:35.97; Richey, 54th, 37:03.75; Williams, 60th, 41:30.33; Butcher, 61st, 42:12.94; Means, 62nd, 42:54.67 MS girls — Zoey Mullen, 25th, 22:10.89 Boys — Fuller, 36th, 21:41.16; James, 74th, 26:01.73; TenEyck, 77th, 26:23.39; Petry, 80th, 26:56.34; Means, 91st, 30:28.00 MS boys — Ashton Boswell, fifth, 13:10.42; Brody Sparks, 20th, 15:12.57; Quaid Eddy, 34th, 17:13.90; Cayden Franson, 35th, 17:14.76; Lucas James, 41st; 19:47.08 The Timberwolves are back in action Sept. 16 when they host their home meet at Lake Icaria. T-Wolves hold off AHSTW
The Timberwolves’ defense stopped two point-after attempts Sept. 10 to defeat AHSTW 14-12. Southwest Valley senior Brendan Knapp rushed for touchdowns in the first and third quarters for 156 yards on 22 carries. He was also 3-6 passing for 21 yards, connecting with Blake Thomas for a 13-yard reception and Owen Wilkinson for an eight-yard reception. Cade Myers had 81 yards on eight carries while Isaac Currin had 51 yards on 13 rushes and Ely Rodriguez rushed four times for 13 yards. AHSTW scored in the second and fourth quarters. Rodriguez and Myers led the T-Wolves’ defense with five and a half tackles each. Rodriguez had four solos and Myers had two. Thomas also had four solos as did Marshall Knapp. Collin Jacobs had two solos in four and a half tackles followed by Brendan Knapp with two solos and two assists, Joey Oathoudt with two solos and an assist, Hunter Crill with two solos and an assist, Dillon Inman with two solos, Kale Haffner with two assists, Currin and Robbie Barnes with a solo and an assist each, Owen Wilkinson with a solo, and Bradlee Grantz and Theron Mullen with an assist each. Mullen also had 55 yards on two kickoffs while Currin had 21 yards on two punt returns. SWV (2-1) hosts St. Albert (0-3) on Sept. 17. ![]() SWV blanks Sidney 29-0
The Timberwolves moved to 1-1 on the season with a 29-0 shutout Sept. 3 over Sidney in Corning. Southwest Valley scored a first quarter touchdown, two more in the second, and another in the third quarter. Senior Brendan Knapp had three touchdowns on 16 carries for 185 yards. Senior Blake Thomas scored on a 22-yard reception. Sophomore Evan Timmerman led the defense with six tackles. Complete game statistics were unavailable at press time. The Timberwolves (1-1) are on the road Sept. 10 with AHSTW (1-1). Kickoff is at 7 p.m. T-Wolves kick off
cross country season The Timberwolves cross country teams started their competitive season Sept. 2 at the Wildcat Classic hosted by West Central Valley in Redfield. “After the heat and humidity of last week, the cool and cloudy conditions made it a great night to run and the Timberwolves posted some fast times,” head coach Jason Hults said. Hults said overall both boys and girls teams finished ninth in the team standings, but there were lots of things to be positive about. “We have 11 first-year high school runners on the squad of 16 overall, so Coach [Dan] Ahrens and I were excited to see what the kids would do in their first meet,” Hults said. “Of our five returning runners from last season, only four had competed in this race, so we had a lot of inexperience going in. But all the kids have been working hard this season and we really felt they were ready to get after it. The hard work showed in the results, with all four of the returning runners setting new course records by 2 minutes or more. So we feel we're off to a great start to the season.” For the girls, first-year senior Christine Andrews went out early and was second at the 1 mile mark, eventually medaling in seventh place with a time of 23:15. Sophomore Kya Newton came in 32nd overall in 27:01, over 7 minutes faster than she ran the course last year. Rounding out the top five for the Timberwolves girls were freshman Olivia Kathikar (39th), sophomore Karissa Richey (47th), and sophomore Sierra Pearson (51st). In the boys race, first-year senior Gabe Fuller posted an impressive 21:08 in his first race and finished 31st. Sophomore Ethan James finished 60th in 23:55, over 3 minutes faster than last season. Rounding out the boys top five were sophomore Zach TenEyck (63rd), sophomore Ryder Petry, and freshman Matthew Means. “I’m not sure what place Ryder and Matthew were overall, as the results were cut off when posted online,” Hults said. The Timberwolves competed Sept. 7 in Clarinda. SWV tops Central Decatur
After a tough first set Aug. 31, the Timberwolves defeated Central Decatur 25-25, 25-8, 25-14. “We didn't come out very aggressively against Central Decatur. We started out set 1 kind of sluggish and made quite a few unforced errors,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “We did a much better job of being aggressive in sets 2 and 3 along with maintaining control on our side of the net. I was disappointed in our serving tonight, we were 88 percent as a team and we missed a lot of serves deep out of bounds. “Maggie [Haer] continues to be a defensive force for us, having 17 digs and her pass rate was 2.43/3.0 overall, a 2.41 in serve receive and 2.50 on free balls. She is all over the back court for us on defense,” Wetzel said. “Ryanne [Mullen] had 22 assists, four kills was 21/21 for serving. Norah [Lund] had a good night all around for us as well. She was 13/13 in serving, had four kills and four digs. We are continuing to improve in our weak areas and will continue to work on starting out in set 1 more efficiently and not dig a hole to start off the match.” SWV fell 19-25, 20-25, 19-25 Aug. 30 to Creston. “I felt like we played a lot harder tonight than we did last Thursday against Essex and East Mills,” Wetzel said. “We saw some really positive things that we have been working on and need to continue working our serve receive and cutting down our unforced errors.” Haer had another strong performance for the Timberwolves. “Maggie Haer had a stellar night passing the ball. Her pass rate of 2.73 out of 3 was great and efficient, she also led the team with 14 digs tonight as well,” Wetzel said. Charlee Larsen and Delaney Dalton led the way in kills with seven and six respectively. “Both of those sophomores are working hard and learning a lot about the varsity level of play very quickly,” Wetzel said. “Charlee is very smart with the ball and does a nice job of reading our opponents defense and sending it in their holes. I also thought Sam Larsen did a nice job out of the middle using her cut shot to garner five kills. For some reason our team likes to dig themselves into a hole at the beginning or throughout the middle of the match and then we fight hard to get back in it and usually do, but if we can cut down those errors from the start it would give us momentum to push points and pull away.” SWV is on the road Sept. 11 for the Griswold Tournament. The Timberwolves are home Sept. 13 with Nodaway Valley. ![]() Timberwolves kick off volleyball season
Southwest Valley got its 2021 volleyball season under way Aug. 26 against Essex and East Mills. The Timberwolves defeated Essex 25-12, 25-22 but fell to East Mills 25-23, 26-28, 11-15. “We came out a little sluggish against Essex,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “You could tell it was our first match of the season. We served aggressively, which we have been pushing in practice. Both Charlee Larsen and Tierney Dalton had four aces apiece. Ryanne Mullen was doing a nice job with setting and spreading the ball out across the front line. She finished the night with 14 assists.” SWV edged out East Mills in the opening set but fell short in the next sets. “We have already learned that we need to improve on how we start sets and do a better job of siding out on the first ball instead of giving teams several points in a row,” Wetzel said. “We dug holes in all three sets with East Mills, especially in set 3 and that was the difference in that set. We did fight back, which was good to see out the girls, but in a race to 15 we ran out of points. I really thought the girls did a nice job of being scrappy and continued to go after balls and get on the floor. We need to continue to improve our serve receive game, staying offensive, and controlling our side of the net.” This week’s schedule includes Creston on Aug. 30 and Central Decatur on Aug. 31 (results unavailable at press time) 24-0![]() Submitted photo — Members of the 1986 undefeated Corning High School baseball team pose for a photo July 22 at a ceremony honoring their 35th anniversary. Members of the 1986 team played a few innings of slow pitch softball against some of the current Southwest Valley baseball players. The 1986 team finished its regular season with a 24-0 record. Front row from left are 1986 team members Marc Curry, Corey Barton, Bill Capaldo, Kurt Wildin, and Paul England. Second row from left are head coach Pat Miller, Jason Hunter, Todd King, Jeff Skelton, Doug Frederick, Marr Miller, and assistant coach Dennis Redel. Back row from left are Chris McCarty, Curt Pearson, Scot Perrin, Kirk Bemis, Rob Wheeler, Mike Davidson, Aaron Grundman, and Ed Davidson.
![]() T-Wolves bow out
to Bulldogs The Southwest Valley Timberwolves traveled July 10 to Anita to take on the Bedford Bulldogs for the first round of Class 1A districts. The Bulldogs came out on top 7-6. Owen Wilkinson led the bats with four hits and 4 RBI. Blake Thomas pitched six and one-third innings and allowed 3 runs. “Thomas threw strikes on the mound and gave us a shot with his pitching. Owen Wilkinson came out of the woods tonight with a huge night at the plate with four hits and 4 RBI,” head coach Keegan Longabaugh said. “It was a tough top of the seventh when we went in tied 3-3 and Bedford left the top half up 7-3. The story of our season happened making a rally with 2 outs and no one on. Guys did what they could to get on and we came up just short. This was a great group of young men to have in my first season. We’ll get after it with off-season workouts and be back better next year.” The Timberwolves fell 19-2 July 6 to the Panorama Panthers for SWV’s last game of the regular season. Kade Hutchings led the bats with a 2 RBI single. Brendan Knapp, Gage Barton, Brad Grantz, and Dom Nicolas tagged a hit as well. “This is the No. 3 team in Class 2A. You very well can see these guys playing in Carroll later this month. We did a great job of putting the ball in play,” Longabaugh said. “This is a game where the other team beat us and we didn’t beat ourselves. There’s a lot of positives to take from this game to get ready to districts this weekend.” The Timberwolves end the season with a 6-21 record. T-Wolves down Eagles 18-3
The Southwest Valley Timberwolves hosted the East Union Eagles in the final home game July 2 for the Wolves. The Timberwolves came out on top 18-3. Gage Barton led the bats going 3-3 with 2 RBI. Brendan Knapp and Blake Thomas came out with two hits and two stolen bases apiece. Knapp also tallied 3 RBI. “We finally had our breakout night,” head coach Keegan Longabaugh said. “Thomas pitched an excellent game, and our defense backed him up everywhere. Isaac Currin found his home at shortstop and Knapp found his home at second. This is the game we have been waiting on for weeks. A night where we have solid pitching, defense, and hitting. I’m hoping this momentum can carry us into districts.” The Timberwolves hosted the Shenandoah Mustangs on June 30. The Mustangs came out on top 12-5. Kade Hutchings led the way with the bats with three hits. Currin, Thomas, and Ethan Bruce all chimed in with two hits apiece. “We gave them too many freebies. We had good pitching from starter Owen Wilkinson,” Longabaugh said. “We did a great job of giving ourselves opportunities on the offensive end of it, but we need to clean up some defensive errors.” On June 29 the Timberwolves took on the Lenox Tigers where the Tigers won 5-4. Knapp, Thomas, and Hutchings all led the way with a couple hits apiece. “We had a huge rally that brought us back in the seventh but we fell short,” Longabaugh said. “We need to put together a full seven inning game like we did in the seventh. Our time is coming.” The Timberwolves traveled June 28 to Osceola to take on the Clarke Indians. The Indians came out on top 11-1. Hutchings led the way with the bats going 1-1 with a walk. Knapp, Dom Nicolas, and Thomas chimed in a hit and Thomas had an RBI. “We’re still waiting for that break through game. Our defense was the struggle tonight,” Longabaugh said. “We continue to have mental errors defensively and that’s what kills us off. I’m really hoping we can find it this week to get us prepared for the postseason.” The T-Wolves traveled July 6 to Panora to take on the Panorama Panthers for the final game of the regular season. T-Wolves fall to Warhawks
The Southwest Valley Timberwolves traveled July 25 to Milo to play the Southeast Warren Warhawks where the Warhawks won 12-3. Isaac Currin led the bats with two hits. Brad Grantz, Caleb Pearson, and Blake Thomas all chimed in a hit. “We jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first and couldn’t capitalize,” head coach Keegan Longabaugh said. “We had solid pitching, but our bats faded and we had our snowball inning. We’re right on the edge of breaking out to have an all-around solid game. If we can break through and have solid defense, offense, and pitching, we’ll be a dangerous team.” The Timberwolves traveled June 22 to Bedford where the Bulldogs took a 3-1 victory. Currin and Grantz led the hitting with two hits apiece. Owen Wilkinson, Thomas, and Kade Hutchings all had a hit as well. “We had solid pitching from Kade Hutchings and Blake Thomas,” Longabaugh said. “They worked out of a couple real tight situations. We left 16 runners on base. We did everything right to get in solid situations but we couldn’t finish. That’s something we need to clean up soon.” The SWV fell 10-4 June 21 to Nodaway Valley at Greenfield. Pearson led the bats with a couple of hits including a home run. Brendan Knapp, Dom Nicolas, and Gage Barton all had key hits. “We played one of our more clean games in the field tonight,” Longabaugh said. “There were certain momentum killers for us that were tough to bounce back from. It was a close game up until the bottom of the sixth. We did things right and we’re happy with the direction we are moving in.” Close call![]() SWV falls to Cardinals
The Southwest Valley Timberwolves traveled June 18 to Leon to take on the Central Decatur Cardinals in a Pride of Iowa matchup where the Cardinals took the victory 12-7. Caleb Pearson led the way with the bat with three hits and an RBI. Owen Wilkinson and Kade Hutchings chimed in with two hits and both with an RBI. Brendan Knapp had a three-hit night. Blake Thomas and Brad Grantz had two hits as well. “We had solid pitching from Isaac Currin. Our defense lines up best when he takes the mound, and it showed tonight,” head coach Keegan Longabaugh said. “We had the bats working and it was a tight game. It sounds like a broken record, but once again the same thing happened to us. One error happens late, then everything snowballs and the opponent takes advantage. Our time is coming for us to play a solid game defensively.” SWV fell 18-9 June 16 to the Clarinda Cardinals. Knapp had two hits with 4 RBI. Gage Barton also had a hit with an RBI. “Our guys did a great job getting on base. We had a big problem bringing guys in,” Longabaugh said. “In the first two innings, we left bases loaded out there stranded. We were up 9-7 going in to the 5th and had our chances. We left a total of 12 base runners stranded. Not being able to execute by bringing those guys in is what hurt us the most. We saw a lot more out of our team tonight than we did last night, so we’re on the right tracks again.” The Raiders topped the Timberwolves 18-0 in a POI matchup at Mt. Ayr. This week’s scheduled includes Nodaway Valley on June 21 and Bedford on June 22, a rematch with Mt. Ayr on June 24 at home, a road game June 25 with Southeast Warren, and Southeast Valley on June 26 at Fort Dodge. ![]() T-Wolves drop two
at Carroll The Southwest Valley Timberwolves traveled to Carroll for a four-team tournament on June 12. The Wolves fell short in both games, losing to Carroll 14-1 and Saydel 20-10. Dominic Nicolas had a big day with the bat, going 3-5 with two doubles and 4 RBI. Owen Wilkinson was 2-3 with 2 RBI. “Overall, we played much better than the final scores indicate,” head coach Keegan Longabaugh said. “We had to pitch a variety of guys today since pitch counts hurt us during the week. Freshman Roman Keefe came in against a 3A team and pitched excellent. His pitching and our solid defense behind him kept it a closer game for quite a while. Dom Nicolas worked the bat for us today and kept us rolling. We gave up 20 total runs in two innings between the two games. If we can clean that up, we’ll be in tighter games. I’m happy with our efforts in both games. In the end, we played two 3A schools that really know how to play baseball. This tournament was full of teams with good fundamentals and a history of success.” The Timberwolves hosted the Martensdale St Mary’s Blue Devils on June 11. The Timberwolves fell short with a final of 8-4. Nicolas led the way at the plate going 3-4 with an RBI. Kade Hutchings was 2-3 with an RBI. Blake Thomas and Hutchings had solid nights on the mound as well. “Our guys were down, but never out. For some reason, we like to make a run late in games,” Longabaugh said. “Being down 8-1 to a state ranked team, you’d think we were on the verge of getting 10 runned. Our pitching and defense definitely gave us a shot, and we’re very proud that we put up a close game against this solid team.” The Southwest Valley Timberwolves hosted the Tri-Center Trojans in Villisca on June 9. The Trojans came out on top 12-2. Thomas and Wilkinson had a hit for the Timberwolves. Thomas had a double. Freshman Isaac Currin got his first start on the mound and pitched well. “We played a solid game defensively and pitching. We threw two freshman at them on the mound,” Longabaugh said. “Tri-Center is going to be one of the best hitting teams we will see all season, and Isaac Currin stepped up to face the music. We were consistently getting guys on base, but left way too many stranded. Leaving too many guys on is what killed us. Everything else was working, but that’s something we have to get better at for the future.” SWV hosted the Griswold Tigers in a non-conference matchup June 8. The Timberwolves came out on top 18-8. Robbie Barnes and Wilkinson led the way at the plate with a hit and a walk each. Barnes had an RBI triple. “We couldn’t throw strikes for the first 3-4 innings, so we struggled,” Longabaugh said. “The bats were pretty quiet those innings as well. We did enough to keep ourselves in the game until we finally found the way we can hit. It was an 8-8 game, then the bats woke up. Guys started to get on base and were solid at base running. We’ve started the week slow, and need to bring it all together from the start against Tri-Center.” The Southwest Valley Timberwolves traveled June 7 to Red Oak to take on the Tigers in a non-conference matchup. The Tigers came out on top 11-1. Brendan Knapp was 1-2 with a HBP and a SB. Kade Hutchings was 1-1 with a double and a BB. Wilkinson and Gage Barton also tallied a hit. “We weren’t as focused as players and coaches coming in to the game,” Longabaugh said. “Red Oak has had a tough stretch to start the season and we knew their bats were hot coming in. Every guy they had swing a bat had a pure swing. Top to bottom in the lineup, this team was putting the ball deep in gaps. It’s a night that brought us back down to reality, and we’re going to bounce back and gather our focus for tomorrow night.” The Timberwolves traveled June 15 to Mt. Ayr for a west side Pride of Iowa matchup Pitch perfect![]() SWV tops Falcons 6-3
The Southwest Valley Timberwolves hosted a Pride of Iowa Conference game June 4 against the Wayne Falcons. The Timberwolves edged out a 6-3 victory. Blake Thomas had a strong performance on the mound and at the plate. Thomas pitched a complete game, allowing 2 earned runs and striking out nine. At the plate he was 1-3 with an RBI and a walk. Caleb Pearson went 3-4 with an RBI, Gage Barton went 2-4 with an RBI and a double to get the Wolves bats rolling. Owen Wilkinson also found his bat with a 2-2 performance with a walk and an RBI. “Wayne had a good pitching performance that our guys struggled with early,” head coach Keegan Longabaugh said. “We were fortunate that Thomas was on at the mound, and our defense was making plays. When you have good pitching and defense, the bats will eventually come. It took us until the fifth inning to figure out the bats as a team. Once bats were singing, everything else came in to play. Our guys finished a game that we had to scrap our way back in to. It was a solid performance to end the week. Our efforts this week got us back to a .500 record and our guys seem hungry for more. We need to regroup and get ready for a tough upcoming week.” The Timberwolves traveled June 3 to Malvern to take on the East Mills Wolverines. The Timberwolves came out on top with a 23-9 victory in six innings. In a hit parade, the top hitters were Thomas going 4-5 with 3 RBI, 4 runs, and two stolen bases and Brendan Knapp 4-6 with 3 RBI, 3 runs, and a stolen base. Pearson, Isaac Currin, and Kade Hutchings all put up a 2-4 night at the plate as well. “We started off hot with the bats but struggled with our defense,” Longabaugh said. “Things really came together later when the bats really started singing in the fifth when we put up 11. We had a great night from everyone at the plate with Thomas, Knapp, and Pearson kept up their hot streaks at the plate. Young Zach TenEyck got a late plate and mound appearance where he did a great job for two innings pitching, then getting a 2 RBI single. I’m very excited with how we bounced back, and we’re getting ready for the next.” SWV hosted the Grandview Christian Thunder in a non-conference battle June 2. The Timberwolves got back on the winning track with an 11-1 victory in five innings. Brendan Knapp led the way on the mound with five innings pitched and no earned runs. Knapp had a big night at the plate as well going 2-3 with three stolen bases. Pearson had a big night at the plate going 2-3 with two doubles and an RBI. Robbie Barnes also had a huge bat going 2-3 with two doubles and 2 RBI. “The guys really had a bounce back night. We were throwing strikes, fielding the ball well, and hitting like we’ve shown we’ve been able to do,” Longabaugh said. “We lost that the last two games, but brought it back tonight. Brendan Knapp did big things offensively and defensively. I was very impressed with our eight hole hitter Robbie Barnes coming out and ripping two doubles. All around as a team, guys were doing things right and got a big confidence boost going into our next two games in a four straight day span.” The Timberwolves hosted conference foe Nodaway Valley on June 1. Wolverines came out on top with a score of 7-3. Hutchings was 1-3 with an RBI, Thomas was 1-3 with an RBI, and Knapp was 1-3 with a stolen base. On the mound, Hutchings led the way with 3 earned runs and four strikeouts in five innings pitched. Thomas came in relief for two innings, allowing 1 earned run and fanning three. “Our pitching and defense were pretty solid for the most part,” Longabaugh said. “We had one inning we self-destructed and committed a three errors. They took advantage and that’s what sprung them to victory. They are a well-coached, fundamentally sound team. It’s tough to beat a team when we hit it to them, and they don’t make any mistakes. They had solid pitching and defense. It’s tough to beat anyone when they are on in those categories. Great thing about baseball, is we get to play tomorrow.” The Timberwolves start this week off with a non-conference game June 7 at Red Oak. Results were unavailable at press time. State trackWilkinson competes
in district golf Southwest Valley was represented in the boys’ District Golf Tournament by junior Owen Wilkinson. The tournament, held on Friday, May 21, was played at Crestwood Hills Golf Course in Anita. Teams participating were Kingsley-Pierson, Westwood, St. Albert, CAM, Bedford, Wayne, Fremont Mills, and Sidney, as well as individual qualifiers. Competition was fierce at this district meet, with the two individuals who moved on to state bringing in scores of 75 and 80, and the winning teams scoring 326 (St. Albert) and 332 (Sidney). “Owen carded a 100, playing on a day when Mother Nature was uncooperative the entire day, sending wind, rain, sunny skies, heat, humidity, more wind and more rain,” head coach Cindy Drake said. “Owen kept his head in spite of the conditions, and although he did not move on to state competition, the tournament experience gives him a broader, more extensive foundation for next season. Regardless of the final outcome, playing in sub-state competition is always a good thing.” Girls Round 1 Tournament Round 1 of the girls’ Regional Golf Tournament was played May 17 at Crestwood Hills Golf course in Anita. Representative SWV were sophomores Becca Wetzel and Maggie Haer, and senior Aubrey Boswell. “It rained the entire first nine holes, resulting in greens that sloshed, and fairways that resembled koi ponds,” Drake said. “The girls persevered, though, and played some very good golf in spite of weather better suited for a duck. Aubrey led the way for the Timberwolves, shooting 115. Maggie came in with 130, and Becca 132. Crestwood Hills is a long course with several significant elevation changes, and is a tough course even in good conditions.” Drake said both Wetzel and Haer gained some valuable experience, which will give them a head start for next season. “As a senior, this tournament concluded Aubrey’s golfing career for SWV,” Drake said. “Aubrey has been a mainstay for the golf team throughout all four years. We’ll miss her leadership but wish her the best of luck as she heads to Illinois in the fall.” With both the boys’ and the girls’ seasons concluded, SWV has a lot to look forward to for next year’s golf season Tennis ends for SWV girls
The Southwest Valley varsity tennis girls concluded the season May 19 by participating in the Class 1A individual regional singles and doubles tourney in Red Oak. Eight teams participated with two entrants each in singles and doubles, meaning there was a field of 16 entries in each category. The top two players in singles and the top two pairs in doubles knew that they would be qualifying for the individual state tournament in early June. Such was not the fate for the Southwest Valley entrants as all of the entries suffered first-round defeats. However, Steve McGrew, head coach of the Timberwolves, said he and his assistants, Brent Mullen and Andy Timmerman, were quite pleased with the effort given by the Southwest Valley players. “They had many great moments of play,” McGrew said. “Our two seniors, Tonna Damewood and Kendi Graham, really had spectacular moments of play, and, quite frankly, were consistently solid throughout their match. All of our contestants played their hearts as well.” Damewood and Graham got the worst luck of all the Timberwolves in terms of the draw as they drew the third-seed pair in doubles, seniors Tessa Grooms and Nellie Grooms of Atlantic. The sister pair defeated Damewood and Graham, 6-2, 6-3. The sisters had a much easier time in their quarterfinal round, winning 6-2, 6-1, over the Clarinda pair of Emma Stogdill and Ellison Lovett. “Tonna and Kendi threw everything they had at these two excellent players,” McGrew said. “Kendi, many times, bothered the sisters with some powerful forehand groundstrokes. Kendi also had a number of service winners. Tonna frustrated the sisters with some lobs over their reach, some defensive plays off low balls that appeared to be winners, and some volley winners. There were a number of close deuce games, some of which went in favor of Kendi and Tonna. It was extremely competitive. I asked Tonna, Kendi, and my assistants if they felt it was the best doubles match of the season for these seniors. All four said yes. I honestly felt like there were a number of teams in the bracket that Kendi and Tonna could have beaten based on their play against the three seed. Neither complained about the draw and were super positive about the challenge. I liked seeing that.” The other doubles pair for Southwest Valley was Charlee Larsen and Ryanne Mullen. After a slow start, the pair nearly rallied to win their first set over the Glenwood duo of Coryl Matheny and Riley Wiese of Glenwood. Ultimately, though, the Ram pair beat Larsen and Mullen, 6-4, 6-1. “It was a good effort for two players who I honestly feel will really be impact players for us in seasons to come,” McGrew said. “Both are excellent athletes who have a big upside in their tennis futures.” In singles, Malena Woodward of Atlantic edged Southwest Valley’s Anjali Kathikar, 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8). “Because the tournament was indoors in the YMCA, due to rain, a full third set was not played,” McGrew said. “A super tie-breaker was played as the third set if players split the first two sets. Instead of first to seven by two, it was first to 10 by two. Anjali got down 5-1 in that super tie-break and really fought back. She came so close to pulling off a win. She fought all the way to the end.” Alana Drake also played singles for Southwest Valley. Madeline Becker defeated her in the opening round, 6-0, 6-1. “The 6-0 first set was honestly the closer one,” McGrew said. “Another indoor change was no-ad scoring in which the next point wins at deuce. Alana had four of those go against her in the first set, including two in the first three games. I love how much she has improved from the beginning of the season to the end, particularly in terms of her serving and her backhand.” McGrew said he is already looking ahead to what the future looks like for the girls. “The dual season was tough this year, although we were in so many of the duals,” McGrew said. “Nobody had an easy time against us, which is a real credit to our girls. We are going to really miss Tonna and Kendi, but we have five of the other seven girls back who played both singles and doubles regularly or at least one of the two aspects regularly. All five will do both parts regularly next season. All but one of our JV kids are back, and we are likely to get some newcomers as well, so I feel there is reason for optimism in the next few years.” In the doubles final, Rhenn Rolenc and Merced Ramirez of Red Oak beat the Creston pair of Morgan Driskell and Sam Dunphy, 6-4, 6-1. As of the time of the article being submitted, there were no results known regarding the singles final. No. 1 seed Jessica Sun of Shenandoah and No. 2 seed Maddie Frey of Creston were the two expected finalists. Bruce heads to state
in long jump The Southwest Valley Timberwolves competed May 13 in the 1A District track meet at Mount Ayr with the opportunity to go to state on the line. “Lots of great effort from the girls resulted in a fifth place team finish, tied with Essex, and an automatic state qualifier in Aunalee Bruce in the long jump,” SWV head coach Jason Hults said. The Timberwolves finished 1-2 in the long jump with Bruce setting a new school record on her last attempt of the night with a jump of 15-3.75 to punch her ticket to Des Moines. “Freshman Emma Cooper took second with a jump of 15-2, and we are anxiously waiting to see if that will get her qualified in the at-large field of 14 from across the state,” Hults said. Other top finishes included a third place 4x400 relay with Haidyn Top, Aubrey Boswell, Halle Pearson, and Christine Andrews. The 4x200 relay ran their season best time of 1:59.13 to place fourth with Bruce, Maggie Haer, Pearson, and Cooper. The 4x800 ran their second best time of the season and got fourth with Top, Boswell, Pearson, and Andrews. The distance medley relay team of Haer, Cooper, Top, and Sydney Davies ran their third best time of the season and got fourth. Bruce got a new personal record in the 100 meter with a time of 13.78 and brought home fourth as well. “The girls brought home medals in 13 of the 19 events, and had some great times overall,” Hults said. “We always ask them to go out and do your best; run faster and jump and throw farther than last meet is our mantra, and the girls did. Every event had either a new PR, a new SB relay time, or a top 3 time for the season. So as coaches we could not be prouder of this group of girls. “We will miss our five seniors, and thank them greatly for all they have done for our program,” Hults said. “But we have a lot of young talent that will be exciting to watch over the next few years.” The girls long jump for Class 1A is slotted for 6 p.m. May 20 at the state meet. State track shirts are available and can be ordered through the school. Results from 1A District 7 include: 100 meters — Aunalee Bruce, fourth, 13.78; Triana Gabriel, 14th, 15.44 200 meters — Gabriel, 15th, 34.69; Alyssa Randall, 16th, 34.83 400 meters — Sierra Pearson, 10th, 1:16.69 800 meters — Christine Andrews, sixth, 2:42.48 1500 meters — Kyla Newton, 12th, 6:28.78 3000 meters — Newton, fifth, 14:01.22 100 meter hurdles — Paighton Buffington, 14th, 21.42; Lindsay Maurer, 15th, 21.46 400 meter hurdles — Maurer, eighth, 1:25.47 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, Maggie Haer, Emma DeVore, Emma Cooper, seventh, 56.61 4x200 meter relay — Bruce, Haer, Halle Pearson, Cooper, fourth, 1:59.13 4x400 meter relay — Haidyn Top, Aubrey Boswell, H. Pearson, Andrews, third, 4:44.52 4x800 meter relay — Top, Boswell, H. Pearson, Andrews, fourth, 11:01.21 SMR 100-100-200-400 — DeVore, S. Pearson, Trinity Schroeder, Sydney Davies, eighth, 2:13.49 SMR 200-200-400-800 — Haer, Cooper, Top, Sydney Davies, fourth, 5:00.65 Shot put — Tierney Dalton, 12th, 26-10.75; Samantha Davies, 13th, 24-11.00 Discus — Samantha Davies, sixth, 82-01; Dalton, ninth, 75-00 Long jump — Bruce, first, 15-03.75; Cooper, second, 15-02.00 The SWV Timberwolves travelled May 10 to Tabor for the Last Chance Co-Ed meet hosted by Fremont Mills. “The girls team went out hard and performed well all night, bringing home fifth place overall with 78 points,” Hults said. Leading the way for the Timberwolves was the 4x800 relay team of Top, Boswell, H. Pearson, and Andrews with a first place finish, taking 17 seconds off the school record the week before with a new time of 10:50.67. “We have a strong group of 800 runners who are running very well right now,” Hults said. “Looking ahead to Thursday, the time they ran last night gives them a great opportunity to compete for a chance to go to Des Moines next week.” The distance medley relay team also set a new school record with a time of 4:54.29 and a second place finish. Haer, Cooper, Andrews, and Top took 1 second off the record they set a few weeks ago. The Timberwolves also had second place finishes from Cooper in the long jump, Andrews in the 800 meter, the 4x200 relay with Bruce, Haer, H. Pearson, and Cooper; and the 4x400 relay with Top, Davies, H. Pearson, and Andrews. Other medalists included third place from Bruce in the 100 meter, Davies in the 3000 meter; fourth place finishes from Lindsay Maurer in the 400 meter hurdles and the 4x100 relay with Bruce, Haer, DeVore, and Cooper; and fifth place finishes from Kya Newton in the 3000 meter, Bruce in the long jump, and the shuttle hurdle relay with Buffington, Randall, Schroeder, and Maurer. “Overall, the girls ran very well with a number of PRs and the two new school records,” Hults said. “We are running extremely well as the season is winding down, and the 4x800 has put themselves into position to have a competitive chance to qualify for the state meet. We have to continue to clean up some handoffs in our sprints and go out Thursday and try our best.” Results from Fremont-Mills include: Team — Shenandoah 127, Woodbine 115.50, Fremont Mills 82.50, Essex 80, SWV 78, Sidney 42, East Mills 35, Stanton 25, Heartland Christian 4 100 meter dash — Bruce, third, 13.98; DeVore, 10th, 15.48 200 meter dash — S. Pearson, seventh, 32.72; Randall, 11th, 35.87 400 meter dash — Boswell, sixth, 1:12.79; Sydney Davies, ninth, 1:15.03 800 meter run — Andrews, second, 2:47.37; Boswell, ninth, 3:15.53 100 meter hurdles — Maurer, eighth, 21.22; Buffington, ninth, 21.82 1500 meter run — Newton, seventh, 6:30.34; Boswell, 10th, 6:42.81 3000 meter run — Sydney Davies, third, 13:46.94 400 meter hurdles — Maurer, fourth, 1:28.69 Discus — Samantha Davies, ninth, 80-09; Dalton, 10th, 78-03; Alice Williams, 54.04 High jump — Schroeder, eighth, 4-04.00 Long jump — Cooper, second, 14-05.50; Bruce, fifth,14-04.00 Shot put — Dalton, ninth, 28-02.00; Samantha Davies, 14th, 26-11.50; Julie Means, 16th, 24-04.25 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, Haer, Devore, Cooper, fourth, 56.82; Buffington, S. Pearson, Maurer, Schroeder, 10th, 1:03.04 4x200 meter relay — Bruce, Haer, H. Pearson. Cooper, second, 2:00.21 4x400 meter relay — Top, Sydney Davies, H. Pearson, Andrews, second, 4:49.54 4x800 meter relay — Top, Boswell, H. Pearson, Andrews, first, 10:50.67 400 meter shuttle hurdle — Buffington, Randall, Schroeder, Maurer, fifth, 1:26.53 800 sprint medley relay — S. Pearson, DeVore, Schroeder, Haer, sixth, 2:11.69 1600 distance medley relay — Haer, Cooper, Andrews, Top, second, 4:54.2 B. Knapp qualifies
for state in high jump When it comes to track and field events its best to finish strong. That’s what Southwest Valley’s Brendan Knapp did May 13 in the high jump in the state qualifying track meet in Mount Ayr. “Overall I was extremely proud of how well our guys competed,” SWV head coach Allen Naugle said. “Marshall Knapp was our lone automatic qualifier this year. He won the high jump with a nice jump of 6 feet, 0 inches. We then pushed the bar up to 6 feet, 3 inches and he had some great attempts. If he is going to get 6 feet, 3 inches I really hope it happens next Friday! “We had a lot of guys who ran hard and competed well,” Naugle said. “Dillon Inman did a great job as a freshman thrower and placed 4th overall with a nice toss of 115 feet. I am very excited to see where he will head over the next few years.” The Timberwolves sprint medley team of Owen Wilkinson, Brock Bowden, B. Knapp, Ely Rodriguez placed fifth. “Our shuttle hurdle was so close to drastically improving our season best time but a fall over the last hurdle put us right about our fastest time of the year,” Naugle said. “Ian Brown, Tate Haffner, Roman Keefe, and Brock Bowden worked so hard this year that they cut over 12 seconds off this year in that event from the first meet we ran!” The 4x200 and 4x100 team of Inman, Marshall Knapp, Wilkinson, and B. Knapp both improved their season best times. “They improved a ton throughout the season and the best part is that they all come back next year,” Naugle said. “I am very excited to see their improvement and where we can be at next year at this time. “Our distance medley team also improved their season best time,” Naugle said. “We really didn't have much for distance runners starting the season but Roman stepped up and decided he could run some 800's for us and did a great job.” Rodriguez also placed eighth in the open 200. “I was very proud of how much Ely improved and how hard he constantly works,” Naugle said. The Timberwolves lose only one senior this year. “We do have one senior that we will have to say good-bye to unless we are able to sneak a relay in later today,” Naugle said. “Brock Bowden did a great job and I really wish he had one more year. He improved a ton in his hurdle events and got faster as the year went along. I was very proud of his progress and for him sticking it out all year.” District results include: 100 meters — Brendan Knapp, sixth, 12.21; Brock Bowden, 12th, 12.59 200 meters — Ely Rodriguez, eighth, 25.59; Isaac Currin, 15th, 27.24 400 meters — Deacon Ganfield, 15th, 1:06.00 110 meter hurdles — Bowden, 11th, 19.34; Tate Haffner, 14th, 21.62 400 meter hurdles — Haffner, 12th, 1:20.75 4x100 meter relay — Dillon Inman, M. Knapp, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, fourth, 47.01 4x200 relay — Inman, M. Knapp, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, fourth, 1:37.88 SMR 100-100-200-400 — Wilkinson, Bowden, B. Knapp, Rodriguez, fifth, 1:46.68 SMR 200-200-400-800 — Currin, Rodriguez, Evan Pearson, Roman Keefe, seventh, 4:32.37 4x110 shuttle hurdles — Ian Brown, Haffner, Keefe, Bowden, fifth, 1:14.96 Shot put — Ganfield, 16th, 27-06.00 Discus — Inman, fourth, 115.01; Pearson, 10th, 87-01 High jump — M. Knapp, first, 6.-00.00 Long jump — Currin, 11th, 16-05.00 On May 10 the Timberwolves traveled to Tabor to compete in the Last Chance Co-Ed Track meet hosted by Fremont-Mills. “We showed up a little thin with a few guys golfing at a home meet but the guys we did have show up did a great job competing,” Naugle said. “Overall we improved some times and the guys had fun running a few different events last night. Our sprint medley ran a nice time to place fourth. Our shuttle competed well to place fifth. Brendan and Dillon ran nice times in the 100 to place fifth and sixth. Marshall jumped well in the high jump to place fourth. Ely Rodriguez continues to improve and run hard in the 400 events placing in the open 400. Brendan and Marshall both ran the open 200 last night and doubled up in points. Our 4x100 ran a nice time also.” Naugle said despite fewer SWV competitors than usual, Naugle said the Timberwolves finished strong. “Overall I thought our guys did some nice things, competed well and ran hard to finish off the regular season,” Naugle said. “We will now have two practices to prepare and get our events ready for Thursday night's district meet at Mount Ayr. We are excited for the opportunity to compete and look forward to seeing how much we have improved throughout the year.” Results from Fremont-Mills include: Team — Woodbine 162, Shenandoah 101, Stanton 78, Sidney 68, East Mills 53, Fremont Mills 52 SWV 30, Heartland Christian 12, Iowa School for the Deaf 10, Essex 8 100 meter dash — B. Knapp, fifth, 12.45; Inman, sixth, 12.46 200 meter dash — B. Knapp, third, 24.64; M. Knapp, 25.01 400 meter dash — Rodriguez, fifth, 59.80 110 meter hurdles — Bowden, sixth, 19.99 Discus — Inman, seventh, 1010-01.50; Pearson, 14th, 89-00; Boswell, 20th, 66-06 High jump — M. Knapp, fourth, 5-10.00 Long jump — Rodriguez, seventh, 15-09-00 Shot put — Ganfield, 16th, 28-06.00; Boswell, 18th, 25-06.00 4x100 meter relay — Inman, M. Knapp, Rodriguez, B. Knapp, fourth, 47.55 4x200 meter relay — Keefe, Brown, Pearson, Ganfield, eighth, 1:52.80 440 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Brown, Keefe, Pearson, Bowden, fifth, 1:17.77 800 sprint medley relay — Rodriguez, Bowden, Inman, B. Knapp, fourth, 1:45.34 ![]() Wilkinson qualifies
for district tourney The Southwest Valley boys golf team played their sectional tournament on May 14 at the Three Lakes Golf Course in Lenox. “The team played saved their best golf of the year, with each of them scoring either their best nine-hole or best 18-hole score of the year,” head coach Cindy Drake said. Owen Wilkinson led the Timberwolves with an 87, followed by Jake Oathoudt 92, Isaac Currin 93, Joey Oathoudt 94, Ethan Bruce 94, and Henry Bevington 108. The teams moving on to district play were Fremont-Mills (339) and Sidney (341). Other teams playing were Essex-Stanton (356), SWV (366) and Lenox (431). Individuals moving on to district play were Phillip Franks of Essex-Stanton, who shot 87, and Owen Wilkinson of SWV, also with 87. “Congratulations, Owen,” Drake said. The Timberwolf golf team hosted East Union and Nodaway Valley in an 18-hole tournament May 10. East Union won the boys meet with a score of 378. SWV was second with 388. Medalist for the boys was Owen Wilkinson with an 88. Runner-up was Gus McNeill of East Union with a 92. “The Timberwolves made an impressive showing for themselves, shooting their best scores of the season,” Drake said. Isaac Currin shot 96, Jake Oathoudt 99, Joey Oathoudt 105, Ethan Bruce 107, and Henry Bevington 112. Neither Nodaway Valley nor Southwest Valley had enough girls to yield team scores. Playing for the Timberwolves were Becca Wetzel and Megan Ramsey. Nodaway Valley also played two girls. East Union had a full team and finished with a team score of 441. Both the medalist and runner-up were from EU, with scores of 103 and 104. “This has been a rebuilding year for the golf team,” Drake said. “Missing a full year of competition in 2020 left a lot of ground to be made up but the kids did not let that stop them. They jumped right in this year, full steam ahead. We had 10 new golfers this year, some of whom had some prior golf experience, and some of whom had never swung a golf club. As a result of their hard work and dedication, every golfer on the team has improved their skills during the season, leaving them with a solid foundation to build upon for 2022.” The girls play Round 1 of their regional golf tournament on May 17 in Anita. Other teams competing are be CAM, Earlham, East Union, Lamoni, Lenox, Mt. Ayr, Nodaway Valley, and Westwood. The district tournament will be played May 21 at Anita. Tee time will be 10 a.m. Red Oak tops Timberwolves 5-0
To say Southwest Valley’s varsity tennis girls had a tough task on May 15 may have been an understatement. Not only did they have to play Red Oak in the first round of Class 1A regional team tennis play, they had to do it at Red Oak. Red Oak was undefeated in duals heading into the encounter. They still are. The Tigers earned a 5-0 win over the Timberwolves. In playoff duals, the meet stops when a team gets to five wins. This is in contrast to the regular season when all nine matches (six singles and three doubles) are still played even after the winner of the meet has been determined. “Red Oak is the team to beat to get to state in our region,” Southwest Valley head coach Steve McGrew said. “There are some teams that have some individuals at the top that are really good, but from top to bottom, the Tigers are so solid.” McGrew turned the coaching reigns over to assistant coach Brent Mullen due to the boys’ meet at Atlantic, which was a Class 1A preliminary sub state dual. “Coach Mullen told me the girls played hard and were competitive in so many of the games they lost,” McGrew said. Results (RO = Red Oak; SWV = Southwest Valley) are as follow: Singles: 1) Rhenn Rolenc (RO) over Tonna Damewood, 6-0, 6-1; 2) Brooklyn Johnson (RO) beat Kendi Graham, 6-0, 6-3; 3) Tessa Rolenc (RO) beat Alana Drake, 6-0, 6-0; 4) Anna Grizzard (RO) over Anjali Kathikar, 6-0, 6-1; 5) Charlee Larsen (SWV) led Jessica Lukehart, 7-6 (7-4) before the match was stopped per rule of the playoffs — the meet is stopped when a team gets five wins; 6) Merced Ramirez (RO) beat Lexi Weston, 6-1, 6-0. Doubles: Not held. “Coach Mullen said Charlee, understandably, was disappointed that she could not finish her match,” McGrew said. “She and Anjali Kathikar practiced until 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Red Oak is so solid all the way down to the four spot, and while they are also very good at five and six, there is obviously going to be somewhat of a dip. We are pretty close all the way down the lineup, and don’t dip much at all even at five and six, so Charlee has been doing well all season. It is too bad she couldn’t finish her match after the mammoth practice she had the night before, but the five-win rule in the playoffs is understandable. The teams that win have more playoff contests to play and sometimes you have a narrow window to get the duals completed, particularly if inclement weather creeps into the picture.” McGrew said it will be really interesting to see what the Tigers do in the regional Class 1A singles and doubles tourney that they host on Wednesday. Along with Red Oak, Southwest Valley and six other squads will be part of the all-day event. “I have this sneaking feeling that Red Oak will go doubles with their top two teams,” McGrew said. “Shenandoah and Creston have some strong individuals who will likely go singles. It should be an intriguing tournament. Ultimately, you don’t know what the schools will do until the day of the event.” Wednesday’s event will start at 9 a.m., weather permitting, following a seeding meeting, done by the coaches, at 8 a.m. The top two players in singles and top two pairs in doubles qualify for the state individual tourney. What was suspected to be a thriller of a dual meet in tennis was, as the expression goes, “as advertised” at Atlantic. Atlantic’s varsity boys edged visiting Southwest Valley 5-4 in a Class 1A sub-state preliminary dual that was full of momentum swings and quality play, said McGrew, who had predicted that the margin of victory would likely be just one match. Such was the case. “Certainly, we are sad we lost, but this was one heck of a high school dual meet,” McGrew said. “Play was at a high level, there was great support from family and friends for the players, and things were civil, meaning that there was a high degree of sportsmanship among the players and fans. This was a refreshing feeling compared to the tense atmosphere at district play. I couldn’t ask for anything more, effort wise, from my kids. In the end, Atlantic found a way to edge us. For that, they deserve a lot of credit. Congrats to the Trojans. When you think about the fact that a 10 a.m. dual lasted until around 2:10 p.m. with no-ad scoring, which means you can’t have extended deuce games, it shows how much of a grueling hard-fought dual it was.” Results are as follow (A = Atlantic; SWV = Southwest Valley): Singles: 1) Grant Sturm (A) over Kade Hutchings, 6-3, 6-2; 2) Ethan Sturm (A) beat Gabe Fuller, 6-1, 6-1; 3) Adam Timmerman (SWV) beat Bodie Johnson, 6-3, 6-1; 4) Evan Timmerman (SWV) over Dayton Templeton, 6-3, 6-2; 5) Dominic Nicolas (SWV) over Bryan York, 7-6 (7-0), 1-6, 7-5; 6) Hunter Weppler (A) beat Owen Paul, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4. Doubles: 1) G.Sturm/E. Sturm (A) defeated Hutchings/Fuller, 6-3, 6-2; 2) A. Timmerman/E. Timmerman (SWV) beat Johnson/Templeton, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5); 3) York/Weppler (A) over Nicolas/Paul, 6-4, 6-4. “Adam’s win over Bodie Johnson was huge,” McGrew said. “Johnson had 10-0 wins in duals this season over quality players from Clarinda and St. Alberts. He also had big wins over Lewis Central, Harlan, Glenwood, and Creston. Johnson has a heck of a singles resume. I knew Adam was an excellent three also, and I felt he could beat Johnson, but to beat Bodie by the margin Adam did was a great effort. Evan’s player also had a 10-0 win over Clarinda and a few other wins. So Evan came up big for us also. Bigger yet, may have been the two doubles win. Johnson and Templeton had 11 wins on the season, and were considered the best non-seeded doubles team at the district meet. Evan and Adam really came out strong in the doubles match, Atlantic responded in set two, but in the end, the Timmermans wrapped it up in straight sets with a tie-breaker victory in the second set, which reflected the kind of consistency they have shown all year. Evan’s put away volley at 6-5 in the tie-breaker sealed the win.” While Nicolas didn’t win as many overall games in singles as his opponent did at number five, he shined in the big moments, noted McGrew. “Down 6-5, he won a no-ad deuce point to get to a tie-breaker in set one, and then shined in the tie-breaker with a few big serves and forehands,” McGrew said. “After a tough second set, he trailed 5-2 in the third set, and then really buckled down. He cut down on errors, got early leads in the ensuing games, and reeled off five games in a row for the win.” Paul had a grinder also. “What a roller-coaster match,” McGrew said. “Owen completely turned the match around in the second set with some really steady play, but then York got his game back and squeaked out a close one. There were so many ups and downs for each player, but both played so hard. Owen gave all he had. I can’t be prouder of Owen’s effort.” McGrew said Nicolas and Paul’s straight set loss at three doubles was highly contested. “There were many deuce games and good shot making by all four players,” McGrew said. McGrew said he has certainly been proud of all the big wins that Hutchings and Fuller have given the Timberwolves this season. “Unfortunately, they ran into a buzz saw in this meet,” McGrew said. “That buzz saw, of course, was the Sturm brothers. Those two are the real deal. They move unbelievably well on the court. They are so fluid and graceful. Honestly, Kade and Gabe had their moments of brilliance. Both produced a lot of good shots. But it was just too much of a chore to match the consistency of the Strums.” Southwest Valley finishes the dual season at 9-2. Atlantic moves on to a sub-state final against host Pella on May 22. The winner of that match advances to the state quarterfinals, which will also be played in Pella on that same day. Shenandoah could be the opponent should they win their sub-state final contest. “It was a great season for the boys,” McGrew said. “I would like to extend a thanks to the family members and friends of the team that came out to support us in this high-quality dual.” Southwest Valley’s varsity tennis girls concluded the regular season on May 13 with a road trip that featured a Class 2A opponent. The Class 2A foe was the Yellow Jackets of Thomas Jefferson Council Bluffs. The hosts defeated the Timberwolves, 6-3, in what was a microcosm of the season for Southwest Valley. “It was a result similar to what we have had all season,” McGrew said. “We weren’t quite able to pull out enough match wins to win the dual, but we didn’t get overwhelmed. Such was the case all season. We were very competitive and did positive things. I think that is something you can honestly look at as very rewarding. With the possible exception of Red Oak, in which we lost 9-0, we had our teeth into every meet, so to speak. Red Oak went undefeated in the regular season in duals, so it took a team of that kind of quality to do something special against us.” Results (TJ = Thomas Jefferson Council Bluffs; SWV = Southwest Valley) are as follow: Singles: 1) Chloe Alley (TJ) over Tonna Damewood, 8-2; 2) Faith Christensen (TJ) beat Kendi Graham, 8-2; 3) Aaliyah Neve (TJ) over Alana Drake, 8-0; 4) Anjali Kathikar (SWV) beat Audrey VanSoelen, 9-8 (7-3); 5) Charlee Larsen (SWV) defeated Rukshana Muidinoza, 9-7; 6) Nikira Lemus (TJ) beat Lexi Weston, 8-3. Doubles: 1) Christensen/Neve (TJ) beat Damewood/Graham, 8-1; 2) Alley/VanSoelen (TJ) beat Drake/Kathikar, 8-4; 3) Larsen/Ryanne Mullen (SWV) beat Muidonoza/Cara Ronk, 8-3. “I continue to be so pleased with the grit and effort all the girls put forth in every meet,” McGrew said. “Kathikar got her first singles win, and played the best I have seen her play all season. She started out so strong, going up 5-1, and had game points in the next two games, but ultimately dropped them. This turn of events gave her opponent a momentum boost and she eventually moved ahead of Anjail, 6-5. Anjali and I talked at the next timeout about how well she was playing, and that there was no reason she still couldn’t pull out the win. She stayed determined, and both players kept battling in long games before it fittingly went to a tie-break at 8-8. Anjali lost the first point in the tie-break after her opponent hit a big forehand that she couldn’t deal with, but it didn’t faze her. Instead, she responded with some real determined play. She had a service winner, and then won a long rally to go up 2-1. She extended the lead to 5-1, lost the next two points, and then really came up big in the final two points of the tie-break. She became a backboard in the last two points, fending off a few big hits by her opponent in each of the points before ultimately winning both points on solidly hit passing shots when her opponent attempted to come to the net.. One was right up the line, and the match winner was a perfect cross-court pass. I am so happy for Anjali. She is such a wonderful kid and plays with a lot of determination. She had to miss a few meets and has been working hard in practice to re-groove her game. This win was a reward for that work.” Larsen once again showed that she has a flair for the dramatics, rallying from 6-7 down to win her singles match. “She has found a way to win from behind before, and we discussed this at the 6-7 timeout,” McGrew said. “She agreed that knowing that you have come back in the past helps you believe you can do it again. She drew on that experience and notched another singles win.” Larsen and Mullen also notched another win at three doubles. McGrew said the 8-3 victory didn’t shock him. “We have seen a lot of teams that dip a little bit at three doubles,” McGrew said. “This is where our depth at the bottom has kicked in. Three doubles has been a power spot for us all season.” McGrew said that all the lost matches were competitive. “There were a lot of games lost at deuce,” McGrew said. “Drake’s match at three singles, despite being 8-0, was competitive. The first game had at least five deuces or more, and most of the first seven games had a lot of deuces. Number one, two, and six singles had numerous close games. Drake and Kathikar’s doubles match went back and forth. It was a matter of a one-game deficit all the way until the 4-5 mark when the Yellow Jacket pair finally pulled away. Drake and Kathikar are rediscovering their chemistry again. This was their best match since their close loss to Clarinda earlier in the season. I was happy with the serving abilities of Weston, Graham, and Damewood.” There was one junior varsity singles match played. Thomas Jefferson’s Sydney Masick beat Mullen, 7-6 (7-5). The Southwest Valley varsity tennis boys earned two semifinal berths at the Class 1A individual boys district tennis event May 12 at Red Oak but ultimately came up just short of earning spots at the individual state tourney to be held at the end of the month in Waterloo. The top two entries in singles and doubles advanced to state, and the Timberwolves got a third-place finish in doubles from Adam Timmerman and Evan Timmerman. Kade Hutchings finished fourth in singles. The other entries were Gabe Fuller, who was a quarterfinalist in singles, and the doubles team of Dom Nicolas and Owen Paul who dropped their opening-round match. The Timmermans, seeded fourth, defeated Quentin Slater and Dylan Gray of Shenandoah, 6-1, 6-2, in their opening match. Next, they beat Ben Batten and Carter Kirsch of Glenwood, 6-2, 6-0. Then, in the semifinal match, for the right to go to state, the top seeds, Grant Sturm and Ethan Sturm of Atlantic, beat the Timmermans, 6-2, 6-2. In the third-place match, the Timmermans earned a default over Teagan Matheny and Tyler Harger of Glenwood, the third seeds. “The Glenwood coach, who I really feel is a class act, personally let me know that one of his guys cramped up at the end of their semifinal loss,” McGrew said. “I felt bad for those guys. On a more positive note, it was an excellent tournament for Adam and Evan. The Sturm brothers beat each of their first two opponents, 6-0, 6-0. I had a chance to visit with the Sturms right after their win in the final against Shenandoah, and they had good things to say about Adam and Evan. They said the two battled them as well as anyone throughout the whole day.” In the final in doubles, the top-seeded Sturms beat the second-seeded Shenandoah pair of Reed Finnegan and Josh Schuster by the same score as they defeated the Timmermans, 6-2, 6-2. “It was a solid day for the Timmermans,” McGrew said. “Ultimately, the Sturms proved to be too good with their net play and pin-point passing shots. But Adam and Evan played quite well.” In singles, Hutchings, the top seed, beat Tyler Strunk of Red Oak, 6-1, 6-0, in his opening match. He then beat Lance Regehr of Clarinda, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, fourth-seeded Andrew Lawrence of Shenandoah beat Hutchings, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5. “Kade showed a ton of guts in the match,” McGrew said. “He was dealing with some frustrations with numerous line calls and bounced back from 4-1 down in the second set to take the match to three sets. He then experienced some cramps in the third set, and, after a medical timeout, bounced back from a 5-2 deficit to tie the set up at 5-5. He had another tough call at 30 all in the 11th game, but kept fighting down 5-6. However, Lawrence made a couple of big shots in the last two points to prevail. I know Kade was disappointed, but I couldn’t be prouder of how he dealt with a lot of adversity in the match.” McGrew said he was not going to jeopardize the physical well being of Hutchings in the third-place match. Josh Reynoldson of Clarke was given a default. Fuller won his opener in singles over Creston’s James Kunz, 6-2, 6-2, but then lost to third-seeded Nathan Brown of Clarinda, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarterfinals. “In my way of thinking, Gabe lost to the player who should have been the second seed,” McGrew said. “His tennis resume, so to speak, of results this season merited a two seed. He proved it in the semifinals when he beat second seed Reynoldson, 6-0, 6-4. Gabe played well. Brown just had one of those great days. He was playing like a backboard. Everything seemed to be going in, and getting to Brown’s backhand was a chore. He is such a big guy with big reach that he planted himself in the left corner of the baseline and hit tons of forehands, not only against Gabe, but the other players as well. Gabe got the most games against him up until the singles final, and wore him down a bit at the end, but Brown played a really great game at 5-4 in the second set to wrap up the match in straight sets.” In the singles final, Lawrence beat Brown. Nicolas and Paul lost to Atlantic’s Bodie Johnson and Dayton Templeton in their doubles opener, 6-0, 6-0. “It was a tough draw,” McGrew said. “Aside from getting the second or third seed in the bottom half of the draw, the draw couldn’t have been worse. Johnson and Templeton were the best non-seeded entry in the draw.” There were some lingering questions as the Southwest Valley tennis teams took on Audubon on May 10. Would the boys put in a strong performance to get prepared for their district event on May 12? Would the girls improve on their previous 6-3 loss to the Wheelers with their full line-up back? The answers to both questions were yes. The host boys rolled easily to a 6-0 win, losing only one game in six matches. The visiting girls suffered a loss, but the result was closer this time as they were edged 5-4. The boys wrapped up their regular season with a 9-1 dual mark. Results (all wins by Southwest Valley) are as follow: Singles: 1) Kade Hutchings over Tyler Rugaard, 8-0; 2) Gabe Fuller over Eli Deist, 8-0; 3) Adam Timmerman beat Connor Christensen, 8-0; 4) Evan Timmerman defeated Jake Lauritsen, 8-0. Doubles: 1) Hutchings/Fuller beat Rugaard/Deist, 8-1; 2) A.Timmernan/E. Timmerman defeated Christensen/Lauritsen, 8-0. In an exhibition match, Owen Paul of SWV beat Lauritsen, 3-0. “Every boy did some good things,” McGrew said. “We needed our top four boys to play to prep them for districts. I wish there would have been time to get both Dom Nicolas and Owen Paul an exhibition match, but there wasn’t. But Dom will be ready. He got some warm up time in before the matches and was watching and absorbing the play. Gabe and Kade were ball striking well throughout most of their matches. It was so great to have Adam back from sickness. He had a fantastic practice the previous Friday and is 100 percent now. His consistent play is his trademark. Evan served well and really hit some shots in small windows in passing net players off returns of serves and groundstrokes. His accuracy of shot, which was pretty good already, looked excellent in this meet.” Results on the girls side were as follow (A = Audubon; SWV = Southwest Valley): Singles: 1) Kya Petersen (A) over Tonna Damewood, 8-1; 2) Aleah Hermansen (A) beat Kendi Graham, 8-1; 3) Alana Drake (SWV) over Rachel Heuss, 8-3; 4) Jill Denny (A) beat Anjali Kathikar, 8-1; 5) Charlee Larsen (SWV) beat Sophia Sebetka, 8-2; 6) Lexi Weston (SWV) over Kennedy Rohe, 8-4. Doubles: 1) Petersen/Hermansen (A) beat Graham/Damewood, 8-1; 2) Heuss/Sebetka (A) defeated Drake/Kathikar, 8-2; 3) Larsen/Ryanne Mullen (SWV) over Denny/Rohe, 8-0. In JV singles, Mullen beat Joss Chambers, 8-4. “I knew we would be closer against Audubon with our full lineup,” McGrew said. “Audubon just came off a 6-3 win over Clarinda, so we competed really well against a team that is on a bit of a roll. I am so pleased for Alana Drake, getting her first singles win of the season. She came to the boys meet with Thomas Jefferson the previous Thursday and told me that she felt she could break through and win her match in singles after coming so close in an 8-6 loss last time. Alana, like everyone on this team, puts so much hustle and effort into practice sessions. She has improved a lot all season, but particularly over the last few weeks. Her singles result shows it. I am so proud of how all the girls compete so hard against very good teams.” With the regular season over for the boys and winding down for the girls, McGrew wanted to give his hard-working assistants the credit they deserve. “Brent Mullen, who splits home and away meet duties with me, and Andy Timmerman, a volunteer assistant, are both class acts and do such a solid job,” McGrew said. “It is nice to have such quality assistants who I can bounce ideas off. All three of us care about these kids so much and the assistants help create a family atmosphere on both squads. I can’t thank them enough.” ![]() Timberwolves host
15-team meet The Timberwolves hosted 15 teams May 6 for its boys Southwest Valley Invitational. “Overall our guys competed well and were able to improve times throughout the night,” head coach Allen Naugle said. “Our sprint medley, shuttle hurdle, 4x200 and 4x100 all improved their season best times. Brendan [Knapp] improved his personal best time in the open 100 to place sixth overall in a tough field. Ely [Rodriguez] ran a great open 400 and placed sixth overall. “It was a great night for a meet and overall I was very happy with how well we improved and competed,” Naugle said. “We will look to tweak and fix a few things next Monday when we travel to Tabor to compete in one more meet before the district meet next Thursday.” Results from the SWV meet include: Team — CAM 127, Central Decatur 83.50, Lenox 79, East Union 75, Nodaway Valley 54, Interstate 35 48, Bedford 45, AHSTW 44, Mount Ayr 42, Sidney 34, Stanton 34, SWV 33, East Mills 30.50, Griswold 3 100 meter dash — Brendan Knapp, sixth, 11.84; Owen Wilkinson, 19th, 12.60; Parker Boswell, 37th, 15.58 200 meter dash — Isaac Currin, 18th, 26.90; Deacon Ganfield, 24th, 28.30; Roman Keefe, 29th, 30.90 400 meter dash — Ely Rodriguez, sixth, 58.05 110 meter hurdles — Brock Bowden, 13th, 18.66; Tate Haffner, 14th, 18.94 400 meter hurdles — Haffner, 10th, 1:15.59 Discus — Evan Pearson, 12th, 87-06; Dillon Inman, 25th, 69-06; Parker Boswell, 26th, 68-01 High jump — Marshall Knapp, second, 5-10.00 Long jump — Currin, 10th, 16-01.75; Rodriguez, 13th, 15-06.75 Shot put — Ganfield, 27th, 27-02.25; Boswell, 33rd, 24-08.00 4x100 meter relay — Inman, M. Knapp, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, fourth, 47.36; Rodriguez, Bowden, Currin, Pearson, 11th, 50.18 4x200 meter relay — Inman, ,M. Knapp, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, third, 1:38.39 440 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Ian Brown, Haffner, Keefe, Bowden, eighth, 1:14.76 800 sprint medley relay — Wilkinson, Bowden, Inman, B. Knapp, third, 1:44.80 1600 distance medley relay — Currin, Pearson, Ganfield, Keefe, eighth, 4:36.66 The SWV boys track team traveled May 3 to Leon (Central Decatur) to participate in the POI Conference Track Championships. “Overall I thought our guys competed extremely well,” Naugle said. “We had two POI Conference Champions with Marshall Knapp winning the high jump with a personal best jump of 6 feet, 2 inches and Dillon Inman winning the discus with a personal best throw of 120 feet, 2 inches. We had multiple relays run their best times of the year — sprint medley, shuttle, d-med and 4x400 — and were able to place top five in four relays events. “We finished eighth overall but we scored in over half of the events we filled,” Naugle said. “I am very proud of how hard our guys competed last night and look forward to continuing to work on improving our times and distances over the next week and a half.” Results from the Championships include: Team — Central Decatur 150, Mount Ayr 147, Lenox 88, East Union 75, MSTM 65, Bedford 59, Nodaway Valley 52, SWV 45, Southeast Warren 34, Wayne 6 100 meter dash — B. Knapp, fifth, 11.99; Wilkinson, 11th, 12.56 200 meter dash — Currin, 15th, 27.21 400 meter dash — Haffner, 14th, 1:08.75 110 meter hurdles — Bowden, eighth, 19.30 400 meter hurdles — Bowden, ninth, 1:01.22; Haffner, 11th, 1:15.77 Discus — Inman, first, 120-02; Pearson, 14th, 77-10 High jump — M. Knapp, first, 6-02.00 Long jump — Currin, ninth, 16-03.75; Rodriguez, 12th, 14-08.25 Shot put — Boswell, 17th, 25-00.50 4x100 meter relay — Inman, M. Knapp, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, fifth, 48.02 4x200 meter relay — B. Knapp, M. Knapp, Wilkinson, Inman, fifth, 1:40.82 4x400 meter relay — Rodriguez, Pearson, Ganfield, Brown, seventh, 4:14.19 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Brown, Haffner, Keefe, Bowden, fourth, 1:15.86 800 sprint medley relay — Wilkinson, Bowden, Inman, B. Knapp, fifth, 1:44.98 1600 distance medley relay — Rodriguez, Currin, Pearson, Keefe, eighth, 4:36.88 SWV girls earn medals
The Timberwolves girls track team travelled May 6 to Mount Ayr for the Raiderette Relays. Competing in the nine-team Class A division, the Timberwolves finished seventh overall with 25 points. Leading the medal performances for the Timberwolves was the 4x800 team with Christine Andrews, Sydney Davies, Halle Pearson, and Haidyn Top, which continued to improve, resetting their school record for the third time this season with a third place finish in a time of 11:07.67. The Timberwolves brought home fourth place medals from Aunalee Bruce in the 100 meter, Emma Cooper in the long jump, the shuttle hurdle team of Paighton Buffington, Trinity Schroeder, Alyssa Randall, and Kyra Simmons, and the 4x200 meter relay with Bruce, Schroeder, Emma DeVore, and Cooper. Rounding out the point scoring events for the Timberwolves was the 4x100 relay with Bruce, Simmons, DeVore, and Cooper with a fifth place finish and the 4x400 relay with Pearson, Davies, Top, and Andrews in sixth place. “Looking ahead to districts on Thursday, we have a pretty good idea which events we will be competitive running, so we will use Monday's Fremont-Mills meet as a last tune-up for those relays,” head coach Jason Hults said. “We took the opportunity last night to try a few girls in events they may not have done in a few weeks and different combinations in relays just to see what options we have. But overall it was a good night and lots of girls ran new PRs.” Results from Mount Ayr include: Team — Wayne 140.50, Mount Ayr 138.50, Nodaway Valley 97, Central Decatur 71, East Union 43, Griswold 34, SWV 25, East Mills 20, Sidney 19 100 meter dash — Bruce, fourth, 14.06; Cooper, seventh, 14.17; Triana Gabriel, 18th, 15.90 200 meter dash — Sierra Pearson, 12th, 32.45; Gabriel, 23rd, 35.67 1500 meter run — Kya Newton, eighth, 6:29.28 100 meter hurdles — Kyra Simmons, 13th, 20.69; Paighton Buffington, 14th, 21.65 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, Simmons, Emma DeVore, Cooper, fifth, 56.25 4x100.25 meter relay — Alice Williams, Samantha Davies, Julia Means, Tierney Dalton, second, 1:08.30 4x200 meter relay — Bruce, Trinity Schroeder, DeVore, Cooper, fourth, 2:00.91; Halle Pearson, Sydney Davies, Haidyn Top, Andrews, fifth, 2:04.16 4x400 meter relay — H. Pearson, Sydney Davies, Top, Andrews, sixth, 4:42.23 4x800 meter relay — H. Pearson, Sydney Davies, Top, Andrews, third, 11:07.67 800 sprint medley relay — Buffington, Simmons, DeVore, Sierra Pearson, 11th, 2:24.92 Distance medley — S. Pearson, Alyssa Randall, DeVore, Newton, ninth, 5:34.60 4x100 meter shuttle hurdle — Buffington, Schroeder, Randall, Simmons, fourth, 1:25.00 Long jump — Cooper, fourth, 14-05.50; Bruce, 10th, 13-04.00 Shot put — Samantha Davies, 14th, 26-03.50; Dalton, 16th, 26-02.00; Means, 19th, 24-04.00; Williams, 24th, 18-02.00 Discus — Samantha Davies, 13th, 73-02; Dalton, 14th, 71-06; Means, 25th, 52-07; Williams, 26th, 52-01 The Pride of Iowa Conference Championships for track and field were hosted May 3 by Central Decatur in Leon. The Timberwolves finished the day seventh in the overall team standings with 33 points. Individual medalists for the girls included senior Bruce in the 100 meter dash with a fifth place finish. Freshman Haidyn Top took fifth in the 800 meter and freshman Emma Cooper was sixth in the long jump. The Timberwolves only relay medal came with their highest place finish on the night when the 4x800 team lowered its own school record by another 4 seconds and finished fourth overall. The girls on that 4x800 were Halle Pearson (SR), Aubrey Boswell (SR), Top (FR), and Christine Andrews (JR). The girls scored additional points with sixth place finishes in the distance medley relay with Maggie Haer, Cooper, Top, and Andrews; the 4x400 relay with Top, Sydney Davies, Pearson, and Andrews; and the 4x200 relay with Bruce, Haer, Emma DeVore, and Cooper. Seventh place finishes included Pearson in the 400 meter, and the 4x100 team of Bruce, Haer, DeVore, and Cooper. Eighth place finishes included the sprint medley team of Bruce, Sierra Pearson, DeVore, and Haer; Samantha Davies in discus; Trinity Schroeder in high jump; and Sydney Davies in the 3000 meter. “It was a tough night with some great competition from our conference,” Hults said. “There are a lot of outstanding athletes in the POI and that pushed our girls to do their best in every event. We had five seniors running in their last conference meet, so overall we are young and gained a lot of experience that will help us move forward into the last few meets of the season.” Pride of Iowa results include: Team — Wayne 165.50, Mount Ayr 140.50, Nodaway Valley 105, Central Decatur 82, Lenox 69, Martensdale-St. Marys 64, SWV 33, East Union 31, Bedford 31, Southeast Warren 9 100 meter dash — Bruce, fifth, 13.82; Gabriel, 13th, 15.46 200 meter dash — Schroeder, 13th, 31.86; Randall, 16th, 33.96 400 meter dash — H. Pearson, seventh, 1:12.97; S. Pearson, 10th, 1:16.72 800 meter run — Top, fifth, 2:48.55; Aubrey Boswell, 10th, 2:58.82 100 meter hurdles — Simmons, 15th, 20.71; Buffington, 13th, 20.31 1500 meter run — Newton, 13th, 6:41.04; Megan Ramsey, 14th, 7:29.47 3000 meter run — Sydney Davies, eighth, 13:54.38; Newton, ninth, 14:11.98 400 meter hurdles — Lindsay Maurer, 10th, 1:27.20 Discus — Samantha Davies, eighth, 77-01; Williams, 16th, 51-02 High jump — Schroeder, eighth, 4-04.00 Long jump — Cooper, sixth, 15-00.00 Shot put — Samantha Davies, ninth, 26-02.75; Means, 16th, 22-03.00 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, Maggie Haer, DeVore, Cooper, seventh, 56.69 4x200 meter relay — Bruce, Haer, DeVore, Cooper, sixth, 2:04.10 4x400 meter relay — Top, Sydney Davies, H. Pearson, Andrews, sixth, 4:49.68 4x800 meter relay — H. Pearson, Boswell, Top, Andrews, fourth, 11:12.22 800 sprint medley relay — Bruce, S. Pearson, DeVore, Haer, eighth, 2:13.50 1600 distance medley relay — Haer, Cooper, Top, Andrews, sixth, 5:04.50 Boys tennis team tops Council Bluffs 9-0
Southwest Valley's varsity boys tennis team hosted Class 2A opponent Thomas Jefferson Council Bluffs on May 6. The Timberwolves were aware of two things. One was that the meet would be good preparation for Cass 1A district play the following week. Second, with an ill Adam Timmerman, the squad knew it was an opportunity to see how the lower half of the lineup could handle moving up a spot in singles and how two freshmen, Owen Paul and Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird, could handle playing varsity doubles together for the first time. In educational terms, the Timberwolves turned in a good report card as they earned a 9-0 victory. "We anticipated in Wednesday's practice that Adam would likely miss the meet, and we got a chance to practice with newly-formulated teams at two and three doubles," said Southwest Valley Head Coach Steve McGrew. "It helped to get a practice day in before this meet." Results (all Southwest Valley players listed first) are as follow: Singles: 1) Kade Hutchings over Ryan Smith, 8-1; 2) Gabe Fuller defeated Jaiden Belt, 8-0; 3) Evan Timmerman beat Derek Runions, 8-1; 4) Dominic Nicolas over James Collins, 8-0; 5) Owen Paul over Gavin Belt, 8-2; 6) Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird defeated Caleb Hunt, 8-1. Doubles: 1) Hutchings/Fuller beat J. Belt/Runions, 8-1; 2) Timmerman/Nicolas defeated Smith/G. Belt, 8-1; 3) Paul/Goodvin-Kinnaird over Collins/Hunt, 8-4. "Everyone in singles looked pretty solid," McGrew said. "We stagger singles court time between the boys and girls and the boys had the stagger on Wednesday. It helped. They were sharp and ready to go. If I had to pick one guy to discuss, I would say it would be Dom this time. His first-serve percentage was the best I've seen whenever I have been with the boys in meets. He had very few groundstroke errors, and made smart decisions as to when to hit power shots and when to use the spin he likes to use at times. He simply played really clean tennis." In doubles, only one usual team, Fuller and Hutchings, played together. They handled business comfortably, but so did the new pairing of Evan Timmerman and Nicolas at two doubles. "Sides wise, I knew they would be fine since Evan likes the ad side and Dom likes the deuce side, but they hadn't played together all season, so I didn't know how well things would go in match play." McGrew said. "As it turned out, things went very well. They got off to a fast start and kept cruising." Also new was the three doubles pair of ninth graders Paul and Goodvin-Kinnaird. "They got a chance to practice together on Wednesday also, and, while it helped, they still looked like they weren't quite in sync at the beginning of their match," McGrew said. "But after three games, things really started clicking. After trailing 2-1, they really started hitting returns of serve better and covering court better as a tandem. I really liked Slate's work at the net over the course of the match, and Owen's well-placed groundstrokes at important times in longer rallies." Paul won an exhibition singles match over Lane Starmer, 4-0. McGrew praised the Jackets of Thomas Jefferson for their character. "The team had very cordial kids," McGrew said. "Their friendliness and sense of sportsmanship was evident. That is a reflection of their coach, who was very gracious to us as well. I was really impressed with the coach of the Jackets, and am happy to see that they have a bright future ahead. The number one, three, and four players are ninth graders. The five and six players are sophomores. Two years down the road, they are definitely going to make strides." The Timberwolves improved to 8-1 heading into a home match with Audubon on Monday. "We hope to have Adam back for that one and Class 1A district play on Wednesday, May 12," McGrew said. In meets with Audubon in which Southwest Valley's varsity tennis teams had players missing, the Timberwolves continued to step up and give maximum effort, according to their head coach. McGrew said Adam Timmerman was gone on the boys side, but the boys didn't miss a beat in a 6-0 road victory on May 4 while the girls, who were missing Anjali Kathikar for a second straight meet, were right in the thick of things before dropping a 6-3 decision. "We continue to play hard," McGrew said. "That is all you can ask." Results on the boys side (all Southwest Valley victories) are as follow: Singles: 1) Kade Hutchings over Tyler Ruggard, 8-0; 2) Gabe Fuller beat Eli Deist, 8-0; 3) Evan Timmerman beat Connor Christensen, 8-1; 4) Dom Nicolas over Jake Lauritsen, 8-0. Doubles: 1) Hutchings/Fuller beat Ruggard/Deist, 8-2; 2) Nicolas/Owen Paul defeated Christensen/Lauritsen, 8-0. "The boys remained undefeated in Iowa," McGrew said, referring to the fact that the Timberwolves improved to 7-1 heading into a home match on Thursday, May 6 with Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson with the only loss being a 5-4 decision to powerhouse Maryville Missouri. McGrew said Evan Timmerman and Nicolas had a chance to move up a spot and responded in the absence of Adam Timmerman. "I knew they would do well," McGrew said. "They have been looking good in practice. "It was nice to see Dom and Owen get a chance to play at a higher doubles spot as well. Kade and Gabe continued what has been a phenomenal season for them. Thomas Jefferson will be a real good match for us. Hopefully Adam is back for that one. Thomas Jefferson doesn't fall down too much at the bottom spots and every team has decent players at the top, so it will be a test for us." Results on the girls side (SWV = Southwest Valley; A = Audubon) are as follow: Singles; 1) Kya Petersen (A) over Tonna Damewood, 8-5; 2) Aleah Hermansen (A) beat Kendi Graham, 8-4; 3) Rachel Heuss (A) beat Alana Drake, 8-6; 4) Charlee Larsen (SWV) over Jill Denny, 8-1; 5) Sophia Sebetka (A) defeated Lexi Weston, 8-3; 6) Ryanne Mullen (SWV) over Kennedy Rohe, 8-3. Doubles: 1) Petersen/Hermansen (A) over Damewood/Graham, 9-7; 2) Larsen/Mullen (SWV) over Heuss/Sebetka, 8-3; 3) Denny/Rohe (A) beat Drake/Weston, 8-5. "With Anjali out of the lineup, we knew it would be a challenge to play a competitive Audubon team that had some momentum coming off a close 5-4 loss to Harlan," McGrew said. "Anjali had a good practice on Monday, but was unable to play. We responded. Charlie moved up to four and won in dominant fashion. Tonna, Kendi, and Alana all had decent efforts in singles. Westin started slow, but looked good at the end of her match. Mullen also started slow, trailing 3-0, and told me at a timeout that she was off her game. But I knew she had the athleticism and smarts to self-diagnose her concerns. I simply told her relax, see the ball, widen her margins on groundstrokes, and use her athleticism. She also did a good job of just getting into rallies and then finding the right time to hit an attacking shot. She has a lot of presence of mind on the court, which I think she draws from her softball experience. Along with the win at number two doubles from Charlee and Ryanne, we got an outstanding effort from Tonna and Kendi at one doubles. They served well and looked better with their groundstrokes in doubles than they have all season. They really fought for a lot of hard-earned points. Drake and Weston have only played together twice in doubles, but they were right in their match also. A couple of lost deuce games hurt their chances, but they kept fighting all the way to the end." In JV action, Audubon defeated the Timberwolves, 5-1. Karissa Richey got the lone win for the Timberwolves with a 4-1 win in singles over Joss Chambers. Chambers and Ava Slater defeated Richey and Carlita McCoy as well as Jazmin Weston and Hannah Baker in doubles by scores of 4-0 and 4-2. Chambers beat Baker in singles, 4-1, while Slater beat Weston in singles, 4-1. SWV golfers compete
in Lenox, POI The Southwest Valley boys golf team traveled May 3 to Lenox to play in a triangular meet with Lenox and Fremont Mills. FM won the meet with 170, followed by SWV at 208, and Lenox at 213. Ethan Bruce led the Timberwolves with a 46, his best score of the year. Joey Oathoudt shot 50, Jake Oathoudt 53, Henry Bevington 59, and Vicente Butcher, playing his first ever varsity match, a 63. On May 4, the boys played in the Pride of Iowa Conference Tournament. All 10 schools in the POI were represented. SWV finished with a team score of 420, with Bedford winning the tournament at 366. Isaac Currin shot a 99, his best of the year, which placed him 15th overall. Other scores for the Timberwolves were Ethan Bruce 104, Jake Oathoudt 106, Joey Oathoudt 111, Owen Wilkinson 111, and Henry Bevington 121. ![]() SWV boys win 7-2
Southwest Valley’s varsity teams hosted a double dual under a great weather day for tennis April 29 with St. Alberts of Council Bluffs. After the contests were over, Steve McGrew, head coach of the Timberwolves, felt like the weather wasn’t the only thing to feel good about. He said he continues to see positive things after the boys won 7-2 and the girls were defeated 8-1. “The boys know St. Albert’s tradition and I thought they came out ready for the challenge,” McGrew said. “We were aided by the fact that only five of their seven boys were available due to injury and illness, which gave us two forfeit wins, but we still knew we had to win three more matches and everyone came out with energy because St. Albert’s has talented players. We had one player missing on the girls side, Anjali Kathikar, who plays four singles and two doubles. We had to move girls up spots in the lineup and they stepped up and played the best I have seen them play in duals against a team that beat Shenandoah, 5-4. I think the girls played much better than the previous dual against Clarke even though we had one less match win.” Results on the boys side (SWV = Southwest Valley; SA= St. Albert’s) are as follow: Singles: 1) Jeff Miller (SA) over Kade Hutchings, 6-3; 2) Gabe Fuller (SWV) over Carter White, 6-4; 3) Adam Timmerman (SWV) beat Cole Pekny, 7-5; 4) Evan Timmerman (SWV) over Reese Pekny, 6-1; 5) Dominic Nicolas (SWV) defeated Owen Galus, 6-0; 6) Owen Paul (SWV) won by forfeit. Doubles: 1) Miller/White (SA) over Hutchings/Fuller, 6-0; 2) A.Timmerman/E. Timmerman (SWV) beat C.Pekny/R. Pekny, 6-0; 3) Nicolas/Paul (SWV) won by forfeit. “I coached for over two decades at Waverly-Shell Rock and Charles City before beginning my first season at Southwest Valley and have been really fortunate to see some highly-entertaining matches. Gabe’s singles match was in that same vein,” McGrew said. “I told Gabe that he was like a carpenter or the Mr. Fix It Man. He absolutely used every tool he had in his tool box to get the job done. He had some hard line-drive passes, some angle approaches to get to the net and put the ball away. He brought out the lob at the right times and won big points with some timely serves. Up 5-4 with the score tied at deuce, using no-ad scoring, he won the match on a stretch up the line forehand pass, with his opponent at the net, that was a thing of beauty. I told Gabe after the match that I was so impressed with the win. His shot selection over the entire match was absolutely outstanding.” McGrew said that Fuller’s win may have been the highlight of the dual, but the team’s depth compared to St. Albert was certainly a big story also. “Adam had a clutch win against a solid player, Evan kept the pressure on his guy from the get go, and Dom used his power and athleticism to win in dominant fashion,” McGrew said. “Hutchings was up 3-2 in singles, but then Miller, who finished fifth in the state in class 1A in singles in 2019, stepped up his serving game a lot and eliminated errors that cost him in the first few games. Miller’s groundstrokes really sharpened up. You could tell he is a player with a lot of experience. He beat a really strong player from powerhouse Denison-Schleswig. His resume of wins is quite impressive.” In an exhibition match (not counted as part of the team score), Paul won over Galus, 6-0. Results on the girls side (SWV = Southwest Valley and SA = St. Alberts) are as follow: Singles: 1) Landry Miller (SA) over Tonna Damewood, 6-1; 2) Allison Narmi (SA) beat Kendi Graham, 6-1; 3) Alexis Narmi (SA) beat Alana Drake, 6-2; 4) Anna Schewe (SA) over Charlee Larsen, 7-5; 5) Lily Barnes (SA) beat Lexi Weston. 6-2; 6) Ryanne Mullen (SWV) defeated Brianna Kiley, 6-3. Doubles: 1) Miller/Allison Narmi (SA) beat Damewood/Graham, 6-3; 2) Alexis Narmi/Schewe (SA) beat Larsen/Mullen, 6-1; 3) Barnes/Kiley (SA) defeated Drake/Weston, 6-2. “Mullen had a little more power than the six singles girl for St. Albert’s, and used placement off the second serve return and good side-to-side groundstrokes to prevail,” McGrew said. “I also liked her composure. She was so calm and focused in her varsity singles debut. I thought Graham and Damewood played their best doubles match of the season. They were up 3-2 early and were competitive in the remaining four games they dropped. Charlee had to step up to the four spot, with Anjali gone, and got down 5-1, but reeled off four games to tie the score at 5-5 before Schewe responded with two games in a row. Schewe really hit some big forehands to close out the match. Drake and Weston really had some great moments, particularly in singles. Considering that they hadn’t played together this season, they did a pretty decent job in doubles too. Honestly, Damewood looked good in singles as well against a highly-touted player in Miller. Tonna said five of the seven games went to deuce. Tonna only got one, which speaks to Miller’s ability to win clutch points, but also Tonna’s ability to do some good things. It would have been interesting to see what the final dual score would have been with Anjali in the lineup, but I was proud of how the girls responded in her absence.” McGrew said the two forfeit wins on the boys side did speed up the process a little bit in terms of putting matches on court. It allowed both singles and doubles to be played using six-game sets and still get done by 7:30 p.m. in available light. “The meet went really smoothly in terms of scheduling,” said McGrew. “That was a great thing, and the level of tennis I saw was also great. Both the boys and girls can hopefully build off this effort.” The Southwest Valley varsity tennis teams took on two Clarke teams April 27 that they knew they had to be sharp against based on their traditions. The varsity boys knew that even though Clarke has struggled in the win column this season, they would put up a challenge, while the girls knew they had their hands full against a team that had not lost a meet since a season-opening loss to a powerful Norwalk squad. In the end, however, the teams favored to win were able to pick up victories. The Southwest Valley boys earned an 8-1 win at home while the girls lost a 7-2 road contest to the Lady Indians. “Clarke is well coached,” McGrew said. “I am told that Jeff Erhardt, Clarke’s head coach, is a bit of a legendary figure who has established a heck of tradition with the Indian boys and girls. I was with the girls at the Clarke meet, and I saw a sign showing league titles and state qualifiers on the boys side. I also know when I coached in Charles City that Clarke had a few girls state qualifiers in the late 2000s as well as in the early part of the next decade. You know when you play Clarke, you will be in for some battles.” Results on the boys side are as follow (SWV = Southwest Valley and C = Clarke): Singles: 1) Kade Hutchings (SWV) over John Reynoldson, 10-2; 2) Gabe Fuller (SWV) beat Chris Carson, 10-1; 3) Adam Timmerman (SWV) beat McCormick Evink, 10-0; 4) Evan Timmerman (SWV) beat Clayton Abbas, 10-0; 5) Dom Nicolas (SWV) over Andrew Johnson, 10-0; 6) RJ McCoy (C) beat Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird, 10-2. Doubles: 1) Hutchings/Fuller (SWV) beat Reynoldson/Carson, 10-6; 2) A. Timmerman/E. Timmerman (SWV) over Evink/Abbas, 10-0; 3) Nicolas/Owen Paul (SWV) beat Johnson/McCoy, 10-6. “My assistant coach, Brent Mullen said we got off to a slow start at number one doubles and then really came on strong after that,” McGrew said. “Brent also mentioned that Kade needed a few games to figure out his opponent and then pulled away. Brent also said there was a dip after the one and two spots and that the Timmermans were able to win in dominant fashion in both singles and doubles. Coach Mullen also said Dom cruised and that Fuller got strong in the end in singles.” Along with Evan Timmerman, Paul and Goodvin-Kinnaird are all ninth graders. “Evan came in with more tennis experience, but I have to give the other two guys credit,” said McGrew. “They are still raw, but work real hard and are getting better. They enjoy playing each other and pushing each other.” In JV singles, J.D. Sitzman of Clarke edged Paul, 6-4. Results on the girls side are as follow (C = Clarke and SWV = Southwest Valley): Singles: 1) Alivia Bakely (C) over Tonna Damewood, 8-1; 2) Chailyn Beydler (C) beat Kendi Graham, 8-1; 3) Ava Hagan (C) over Alana Drake, 8-1; 4) Madisyn McCoy (C) beat Anjali Kathikar, 8-1; 5) Charlee Larsen (SWV) defeated Jadie Bowlsby, 8-4; 6) Molly Sickels (C) over Lexi Weston, 8-5. Doubles: 1) Bakely/Beydler (C) beat Damewood/Graham, 8-3; 2) Hagen/McCoy (C) defeated Drake/Kathikar, 8-1; 3) Larsen/Ryanne Mullen (SWV) defeated Bowlsby/Sickels, 8-4. “Larsen was down 4-3 in singles and then rattled off five straight games for her victory in singles,” McGrew said. “She maintained her great intensity which always serves her well, but also relaxed in the sense that she stopped rushing shots. We struggled a bit in singles at the top spots. The girls hadn’t played a meet since April 15 and the girls in the top half of our lineup had to get reacclimated to the kind of groundstroke power that you have to deal with in meets. We are looking more solid in doubles. Graham and Damewood were up 3-2 early on against an excellent one doubles team and even though they dropped the last six games, they were competitive in them. Drake and Kathikar’s 8-1 loss was deceptive. Many of those games were deuce games or one’s in which they got to 30 points.” Larsen and Mullen won again. Just like Larsen in singles, the only loss the No. 3 pair had suffered heading into the Clarke contest was against powerhouse Red Oak. “The two just seem to enjoy each other and have different strengths that make them a great pair,” McGrew said. “They really complement each other.” Weston lost a close match in singles. McGrew said he was pleased with her effort. “She was down 6-3 and played two excellent games to pull with 6-5,” said McGrew. “Then Sickels turned it up a notch. However, Lexi is a scrapper. She tries all kinds of tactics to see if she can turn the tide and really likes to analyze the game. I enjoy timeout conversations with her.” In JV action, Mullen lost a pair of 4-1 matches in singles to Samantha Cowling and Karynna Olson. “Doubles was played first, so I think Mullen was a little tired, particularly in the first match against a fresh opponent,” McGrew said. “Sometimes after a big win, like she had in doubles, you need some time to bounce back. She is stronger in doubles, but I see progress in her singles game also." ![]() T-Wolf golfers
slip to Clarke The Southwest Valley golf team played back-to-back meets the week of April 26-30. “On Monday, [April 26], we traveled to Clarke of Osceola, for a dual meet,” head coach Cindy Drake said. “We didn’t have enough girls for a team score but Aubrey Boswell and Becca Wetzel did a fine job of representing SWV, scoring a 59 and 63 respectively. This was the first time we’d seen the Osceola course, which was extremely hilly with water in play on nearly every hole.” The boys’ team did not play as well as they had hoped, scoring a 208 to Clarke’s 169. “Clarke has a very strong team, giving us an opportunity to learn by playing alongside more skilled players,” Drake said. For SWV, Owen Wilkinson led the way with 49. Joey Oathoudt had 51, Isaac Currin 52, Ethan Bruce 56, Jake Oathoudt 59, and Henry Bevington 66. Both the medalist and the runner-up were from the Clarke team, with scores of 37 and 41, respectively. “On Tuesday, [April 27], we hosted a triangular meet with Mt. Ayr and Essex, and had a total of 40 golfers in competition,” Drake said. “All three teams are to be commended for their pace of play, as we finished in right at 2.5 hours.” Again, the girls did not have a team score. Wetzel was low score for SWV with a 55, with Boswell and Maggie Haer right on her heels, scoring a 56 and 57 respectively. The medalist was from Essex, with a 45, and runner-up from Mt. Ayr with a 51. Mt. Ayr and Essex tied as teams, each scoring 218. The tie breaker went in Essex’s favor. Essex also took top honors for the boys, with a team score of 202. SWV placed second with 205, followed by Mt. Ayr with 239. Medalist was SWV’s Wilkinson with a 48. Runner-up was Nash English of Essex with a 49. Currin shot 51, Bruce 52, Jake Oathoudt 54, Joey Oathoudt 47, and Bevington 62. “Both the girls’ and the boys’ teams are improving their play in each meet,” Drake said. “They’ve been working on special skills during practice and it’s producing results on the scorecards. “During our practice time on Friday, April 23, the golfers worked on two service projects at Happy Hollow Country Club,” Drake said. “They did landscaping work on a memorial being placed on hole No. 5, and also stained the wood on the new bridge between holes No. 1 and 2.” This week includes a full schedule with golf May 3 at Lenox, May 4 with the boys in the Pride Of Iowa Conference meet in Greenfield, May 5 with the girls in their Pride of Iowa Conference meet at the Shady Oaks Golf Course in Ackworth (tee time is 9 a.m.), and May 5 with the girls hosting Griswold at Happy Hollow County Club in Corning (tee time is 4 p.m.). On may 7, the golf team will help with the junior high track meet. SWV boys show
strengths at Griswold The Timberwolves boys track team made a strong showing April 29 in the Griswold Tigers Co-Ed Meet. “Overall I was very pleased with how well we competed,” head coach Allen Naugle said. “Marshall [Knapp] had a nice night in the high jump placing second. Isaac Currin jumped well in the long jump to place seventh. Our shuttle hurdle team cut almost 2 seconds off their season best to place fifth Brendan Knapp placed sixth in the 100 in a very tough field of runners. Our 4x100 cut over half a second on their season best time to place fifth.” The Timberwolves’ 4x200 had a poor first exchange, which resulted in a disqualification, otherwise they would have placed as well, Naugle said. Brock Bowden ran a personal best in the 110 hurdles to place fifth as well. “Overall it was a little windy at the beginning of the meet but it was a beautiful night for a track meet,” Naugle said. “The guys keep improving, although we need to continue to improve our hand-offs to continue to cut times and they keep working hard to improve.” Results from the Griswold Tigers Co-Ed Meet include: Team — Underwood 165, Shenandoah 106, Lenox 80, Riverside 76, Nodaway Valley 72, Missouri Valley 66, Stanton 52, East Mills 40, AHSTW 38, SWV 27, Fremont Mills 17 100 meter dash — B. Knapp, sixth, 11.95; Owen Wilkinson, 11th 12.402 200 meter dash — Ely Rodriguez, ninth, 26.14; Isaac Currin, 13th 26.79 400 meter dash — Tate Haffner, 17th, 1:08.66 800 meter run — Roman Keefe, 18th, 2:41.26 110 meter hurdles — Brock Bowden, fifth, 18.45; Ian Brown, 12th, 20.42 Discus — Dillon Inman, ninth 105-11; Evan Pearson, 14th, 86-08 High jump — Marshall Knapp, second, 5-10.00 Long jump — Currin, seventh, 17-02.50; Rodriguez, 10th, 16-02.00 Shot put — Deacon Ganfield, 21st, 28-03.00; Parker Boswell, 23rd, 24-06.50 4x100 meter relay — Inman, M. Knapp, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, fifth, 47.4 4x400 meter relay — Rodriguez, Keefe, Haffner, Ganfield, 11th, 4:38.27 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Brown Haffner, Keefe, Bowden, fifth, 1:16.06 800 sprint medley relay — Inman, Bowden, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, seventh, 1:46.68 1600 distance medley relay — Currin, Rodriguez, Pearson, Ganfield, 10th, 4:58.96 The boys competed April 27 in the Bob Clark Relays at Audubon. “There was some very good competition and some very good track athletes competing,” Naugle said. “Even though we were a little short-handed with three of our guys golfing I thought that overall we ran and competed well. Marshall [Knapp] was our lone point scorer placing second in the high jump in a strong field. We placed seventh in three relays and just missed placing but improved our season times in the sprint medley and the shuttle hurdle team. We ran very well in the 4x200 and 4x100. Brendan was shooting to get under 12.0 seconds in the 100 this season and was able to achieve that. We had a few guys PR in the shot and discus as well.” Results from the Bob Clark Relays include: Team — Underwood 123, Clarinda 119, CAM 85, ACGC 81, IKM-Manning 64, Audubon 54, Coon Rapids 31, Tri-Center 17, SWV 8, AR-WE_VA 6, AHSTW 1 100 meter dash — B. Knapp, ninth, 11.95; Boswell, 26th, 15.56 200 meter dash — Pearson, 23rd, 28.79; Keefe, 24th, 29.25 400 meter dash — Ganfield, 22nd, 1:07.90; Keefe, 23rd, 1:07.94 110 meter hurdles — Brown, 13th, 20.46; Bowden, 14th, 22.09 Discus — Inman, ninth, 108-06; Pearson, 14th, 89-02 High jump — M. Knapp, second, 6-01.00 Long jump — Rodriguez, 17th, 16-03.50; Pearson 20th, 15-04.50 Shot put — Ganfield, 22nd, 26-11.00; Boswell, 234td, 26-06.00 4x100 meter relay — B. Knapp, Bowden, Rodriguez, Inman, eighth, 48.56 4x200 meter relay — B. Knapp, Inman, Rodriguez, M. Knapp, seventh, 1:39.91 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Bowden, Keefe, Pearson, Brown, seventh, 1:18.75 800 sprint medley relay — Rodriguez, Bowden, Inman, B. Knapp, seventh, 1:45.91 SWV girls break
school records The Southwest Valley girls track team travelled April 29 to the Griswold Tiger CO-ED meet. Competing in the 10 team field, the Timberwolves finished sixth overall with 48 points. “The tough competition helped the girls to two new school records, one additional season best relay time, and 15 individual PRs,” head coach Jason Hults said. “Overall, what a great night for these young ladies. We are a young team with 17 first year competitors, and every night they go out and work hard to improve. Yes, we wanted to score more points and bring home a few more medals, but at the end of the day, the results show progress and hard work pays off. I am extremely proud of them every night.” Starting off the night, freshman Emma Cooper took third place and set the new school record on her last attempt in the long jump, with a leap of 15-3, breaking the old record from 2018 of 15-0.75. Cooper followed that up with another school record by leading off the distance medley relay with Maggie Haer, Haidyn Top, and Christine Andrews with a time of 4:55.58, breaking the record from 2019, and taking fourth place. Other medalists for the girls included the 4x800 relay in third place with Aubrey Boswell, Andrews, Top, and Halle Pearson. Aunalee Bruce set a new personal record of 13.86 in the 100 meter and got fourth place. The shuttle hurdle team of Paighton Buffington, Alyssa Randall, Kyra Simmons, and Lindsay Maurer were fourth; the 4x400 team of Boswell, H. Pearson, Top, and Andrews ran a season best time to bring home fourth; and the 4x200 of Bruce, Maggie Haer, Emma DeVore, and Emma Cooper also placed fourth. The Timberwolves added points with sixth place finishes from Sydney Davies in the 3000 meter; the 4x100 team of Bruce, Haer, DeVore, and Cooper; seventh place finishes from the sprint medley relay of Simmons, Trinity Schroeder, DeVore, and Sierra Pearson, and Boswell in the 800 meter; and an eighth place finish from H. Pearson in the 800 meter. Results from Griswold include: Team — Underwood 144.50, AHSTW 117, Nodaway Valley 114, Shenandoah 103, Lenox 71, SWV 48, Griswold 41, Fremont Mills 40.50, Stanton 38, East Mills 20 100 meter dash — Bruce, fourth, 13.86; Triana Gabriel, 16th, 16.14 200 meter dash — Sierra Pearson, 13th, 31.73; Gabriel, 18th, 35.60 400 meter dash — Sydney Davies, ninth, 1:15.74; Alyssa Randall, 10th, 1:16.58 800 meter run — Aubrey Boswell, seventh, 2:56.72; Halle Pearson, eighth, 2:57..52 100 meter hurdles — Kyra Simmons, 14th, 20.26; Paighton Buffington, 15th 20.59 1500 meter run — Kya Newton, 10th, 6:32.90; Megan Ramsey, 11th, 7:01.26 3000 meter run — Sydney Davies, sixth, 13:58.71; Newton, 10th, 14:46.09 400 meter hurdles — Lindsay Maurer, 10th, 1:27.94 Discus — Samantha Davies, ninth, 76-03; Tierney Dalton, 13th, 65-05 Long jump — Emma Cooper, third, 15-03.00; Bruce, ninth, 13-10.00 Shot put — Dalton, 11th, 26-10.50; Julia Means, 13th, 24-05.05 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, Haer, DeVore, Cooper, sixth, 56.52 4x200 meter relay — Bruce, Haer, DeVore, Cooper, fourth, 2:04.91 4x400 meter relay — Boswell, H. Pearson, Top, Christine Andrews, fourth, 4:41.40 4x800 meter relay — Boswell, Andrews, Top, H. Pearson, third, 11:38.97 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Buffington, Randall, Simmons, Mauer, fourth, 1:25.14 800 sprint medley relay — Simmons, Trinity Schroeder, DeVore, S. Pearson, seventh, 2:17.0 1600 distance medley relay — Cooper, Haer, Top, Andrews, fourth, 4:55.58 The Timberwolves travelled April 27 to Audubon to compete in the Bob Clark Relays. In the girls division, the Timberwolves medaled in five events and placed 12th overall with 7 points. “We saw some great competition tonight from a number of schools that we haven't seen all year, but that's good because it pushes our girls to get better,” Hults said. Medalist for the Timberwolves included fifth place finishes from Newton in the 3000 meter and the 4x800 relay with Andrews, Top, Sydney Davies, and H. Pearson. Sixth place medalists included Top in the 1500 meter; the distance medley relay with Bruce, Cooper, Top, and Andrews; and the 4x100 relay of Bruce, Simmons. DeVore, and Cooper. Results from Audubon include: Team — Underwood 100, Audubon 84, Panorama 72, Clarinda 71, ACGC 61, Tri-Center 54, IKM-Manning 45, AR-WW-VA 37, CAM 33, Griswold 14, Grandview Christian 11, SWV 7, Exira-EHK 3 100 meter dash — Schroeder, 12th, 14.77; Gabriel 22nd, 15.56 200 meter dash — Schroeder, 18th, 32.22; Gabriel, 22nd, 35.28 400 meter dash — H. Pearson, 11th, 1:14.05 800 meter run — Sydney Davies, 15th, 3:01.81; Ramsey, 18th, 3:42.91 100 meter hurdles — Simmons, 20th, 2025; Buffington, 23rd, 21.85 1500 meter run — Top, sixth, 6:02.40; Newton, 11th, 6:38.62 3000 meter run — Newton, fifth, 14:09.73; Ramsey, ninth, 16:53.80 400 meter hurdle — Maurer, 13th, 1:29.23 Discus — Samantha Davies, 11th, 85-02 Long jump — Cooper, eighth, 14-06.5; Bruce, ninth, 14-03.50 Shot put — Dalton, 17th, 26-04.044; Means, 20th, 22-09.00 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, Simmons, DeVore, Cooper, sixth, 57.53 4x200 meter relay — Schroeder, Randall, DeVore, S. Pearson, 11th, 2:11.73 4x400 meter relay — S. Pearson, Sydney Davies, Cooper, H. Pearson, eighth, 5:07.00 4x800 meter relay — Andrews, Top, Sydney Davies, H. Pearson, fifth, 11:30.02 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Buffington, Simmons, Randall, Maurer, seventh, 1:27.16 800 sprint medley relay — Buffington, S. Pearson, DeVore, Maurer, 14th, 2:24.63 1600 distance medley relay — Bruce, Cooper, Top, Andrews, sixth, 5:00.97 ![]() T-Wolves take fourth
in Invitational The Southwest Valley Timberwolves hosted their Girls Invitational on April 22. With 12 teams in attendance, the Timberwolves placed fourth overall with a number of outstanding performances on the night. The top highlight of the night was the 4x800 team of Aubrey Boswell, Christine Andrews, Haidyn Top, and Halle Pearson who set a new school record in 11:16.3 and finished third. That time also moved them into 24th overall in the state in Class 1A for that event, and currently the top time for schools assigned to our state qualifying meet. “With hard work over the next three weeks, they stand a great chance to qualify for the state track meet,” head coach Jason Hults said. The 4x400 of H. Pearson, Top, Maggie Haer, and Andrews finished the night with a first place medal. “In a great competitive race, Andrews anchored and brought the team from third to first with a gutsy leg,” Hults said. New season best times earned second place finishes from the 4x200 relay of Bruce, Emma DeVore, Haer, and Emma Cooper and the shuttle hurdle of Buffington, Kyra Simmons, Randall, and Maurer. A season best time for the 4x100 of Bruce, Simmons, DeVore, and Cooper earned a third place medal. “Our relays are really improving here in the middle of the season,” Hults said. “Looking ahead to state qualifying we are in a good position with three weeks to go. If we can keep improving our times and keep cleaning up our handoffs, we will have a few relays that have a chance to earn a spot at state.” Medalists in the individual events included Cooper third and Bruce fifth in the long jump. Sydney Davies took fifth and Kya Newton sixth in the 3000 meter. Top was third in the 400 meter and Bruce was third in the 100 meter. “We also recognized our five senior girls who have meant a lot to our program,” Hults said. “This year especially, their experience and leadership has been so important to help our underclassman throughout the season. So I want to thank our seniors, Aubrey, Aunalee, Sydney, Triana, and Halle, for everything they have done and will continue to do this year.” Results from the Timberwolves Girls Invitational include: Team — Shenandoah 129, Clarinda 113, Lenox 75, SWV 73, Red Oak 70, Essex 67, East Mills 51, Griswold 43, Nodaway Valley 37, Bedford 36, Stanton 34, Interstate 35 2 100 meter dash — Bruce, third, 14.13; Haer, 15th, 15.49 200 meter dash — DeVore, 13th, 31.71; Trinity Schroeder, 17th, 32.47; Triana Gabriel, 25th, 35.46 400 meter dash — Top, third, 1:08.62; H. Pearson, seventh, 1:13.20 800 meter run — Sydney Davies, 12th, 3:03.42; Sierra Pearson, 20th, 3:41.65 100 meter hurdles — Simmons, 12th, 20.51; Paighton Buffington, 13th, 20.82 1500 meter run — Newton, 13th, 6:43.41; Megan Ramsey, 15th, 7:13.29 3000 meter run — Sydney Davies, fifth, 13:42.03; Newton, sixth, 14:00.18; Ramsey, 11th, 16:07.45 400 meter hurdles — Lindsay Maurer, ninth, 1:28.06; Buffington, 11th, 1:29.66 Discus — Tierney Dalton, 21st, 59-09; Alice Williams, 25th, 50-07; Julie Means, 27th, 48-00 Long jump — Cooper, third, 14-04.00; Bruce, fifth, 13-10.50 Shot put — Means, 17th, 23-05.00; Dalton, 19th, 23-03.00; Samantha Davies, 23rd, 21-06.00; Williams, 27th, 19-04.50 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, Simmons, DeVore, Cooper, third, 56.11 4x200 meter relay — Bruce, DeVore, Haer, Cooper, second, 2:00.08 100 meter hurdles — SWV, second, 1:24.26 4x400 meter relay — H. Pearson, Top, Haer, Andrews, first, 4:41.56 4x800 meter relay — Boswell, Andrews, Top, H. Pearson, third, 11:16.30 800 sprint medley relay — DeVore, Mauer, Cooper, Haer, seventh, 2:08.95 1600 distance medley relay — Gabriel, Schroeder, S. Pearson, Boswell, seventh, 5:21.85 This week’s schedule includes the Audubon Co-Ed on April 27. SWV places third
at Griswold Southwest Valley’s boys track team placed third April 22 in the Class A section at Griswold. “I stayed in Corning to run our home girls track meet so assistant coach Jerry Hartman took the boys,” head coach Allen Naugle said. “We tried out a lot of different things last night to try to score as many points as we could. This was the first time this year we were placed in the smaller school division so we wanted to give our guys a chance to score some points, get some medals and have some fun. After talking with Coach Hartman and looking at the results I am very proud of the guys and how they competed.” Naugle said the Timberwolves scored 94 points, the most so far this season. “This was Dillon Inman's first meet of the year due to transfer eligibility with his first meet he had a huge throw in the discus. I am very excited to see where he can take this event! He also was a big contributor in a few relays,” Naugle said. “Owen [Wilkinson] and Brendan [Knapp] ran a nice race in the 100 to go second and third. Isaac [Currin] had a personal best in the long jump to place third. Our 4x200 team ran their season best shaving 3 seconds off. I believe this team can and will keep cutting time. Our 4x100 team ran a nice race. Our distance medley, which we don't run often, shaved about 20 seconds off their season best to place third. Brock Bowden and Tate Haffner ran a nice race in the 110 hurdles to place third and fourth.” Naugle said the best part of the night were the results are from those who stepped in races they have never run. “Roman Keefe ran his first ever 800 and placed fourth. Tate Haffner ran his first ever 1600 and placed fifth,” Naugle said. “Personally I think that the best part was Parker Boswell. Parker threw a personal best in the discus, as an unscored JV participant, and a personal best in the shot put. He also stepped up and ran his first race of the year. We had some sore legs and injuries near the end of the race so Coach Hartman made some changes to our 4x400 and Parker stepped up and filled a spot. By doing so we got some points and placed fourth in the event. Roman Keefe and Ely Rodriguez also stepped up to fill spots on that relay. “We are continuing to improve day by day with a young group. It is a fun group to work with and it sounds like they had a lot of fun last night,” Naugle said. “We compete again next Tuesday when we travel to Audubon to compete in a co-ed relay. We will be a little shorthanded as we have three guys golfing that night but we will focus on what we can do and improve the times we can.” Results from Griswold include: Team — Riverside 202, Bedford 136, SWV 94, Heartland Christian 49, Iowa School for the Deaf 32, Griswold 19 100 meter dash — B. Knapp, second, 12.46; Wilkinson, fourth, 12.81 200 meter dash — Ely Rodriquez, sixth, 26.92; Isaac Currin, 10th, 27.57 400 meter dash — Evan Pearson, sixth, 1:05.27 800 meter run — Roman Keef, fourth, 2:42.59 110 meter hurdles — Brock Bowden, third, 19:09; Tate Haffner, fourth, 21.21 1600 meter run — Haffner, fifth, 6:25.38 400 meter hurdles — Ian Brown, fourth, 1:15.75 Discus — Inman, second, 111-08; Pearson, sixth, 80-10 High jump — Marshall Knapp, second, 5-08.00 Long jump — Currin, third, 17-06.25; Rodriguez, eighth, 14-06.50 Shot put — Deacon Ganfield, sixth, 27-05.05; Parker Boswell, seventh, 26-06.25 4x100 meter relay — Rodriguez, Bowden, Currin, Inman, second, 48.31 4x200 meter relay — B. Knapp, Wilkinson, Inman, M. Knapp, first, 1:39.22 4x400 meter relay — B. Kapp, M. Knapp, Pearson, Wilkinson, fourth, 4:43.07 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Brown, Haffner, Keefe, Bowden, second, 1:18.65 1600 distance medley relay — Rodriguez, Currin, Brown, Ganfield, third, 4:49.9 Timberwolves golfers compete at Shenandoah
The Southwest Valley golf team traveled April 22 to Shenandoah for a triangular meet with Shenandoah and Creston. Becca Wetzel was the lone golfer on the girls’ team. Playing on the front 9, she carded a 61. “She had hoped to better her score from last Thursday when the girls played in Shenandoah’s Invitational Tournament,” head coach Cindy Drake said. “While that did not happen, Thursday’s round gave her valuable insight into how a golf course can play differently from day to day depending on weather, the strength and direction of the wind, and how recently the greens have been mown.” For the boys, Creston won the triangular with a 176, followed by Shenandoah at 191, and SWV at 231. Joey Oathoudt was low score for SWV with a 47, followed by Ethan Bruce’s 51 and Jake Oathoudt’s 58. Rounding out the team was Henry Bevington with a 75. “The junior varsity players were offered the opportunity to experience playing on a long course with bunkers and large greens,” Drake said. “On Friday, April 23, we’ll use our practice time to help with spring clean-up at Happy Hollow Country Club,” Drake said. The schedule includes at Osceola on April 26, at home April 27 with Mt. Ayr and Essex, and at Lenox on May 3. Tee time is 4 p.m. for all of these meets Maryville edges
out SWV 5-4 A strong Maryville, Mo., squad handed the Southwest Valley varsity boys their first tennis loss of the season in a home contest April 20. However, the 5-4 defeat to the Missouri school was not anything that has Steve McGrew, head coach of the Timberwolves, concerned. “This was a great team, and we played solid tennis against them,” McGrew said. “I have to give Maryville praise for the talent they have all the way through their lineup. This was the best team we have faced in terms of depth as it relates to the second half of their order in singles. Four through six were excellent players. Four was a backboard at the baseline, five could hit with pace and consistency, and six could slice, keep the ball deep, and come to the net effectively. Glenwood was a close second, but this team has the most depth of all the squads we have faced.” Results (M=Maryville; SWV = Southwest Valley) are as follow: Singles: 1) Kade Hutchings (SWV) over Mitchell Myers, 6-3; 2) Gabe Fuller (SWV) beat Matthew Goodrigde, 6-0; 3) Adam Timmerman (SWV) defeated Carson Kempf, 6-1; 4) Kason Teale (M) beat Evan Timmerman, 6-2; 5) James DiStefano (M) beat Dom Nicolas, 6-1; 6) Justin Staples (M) defeated Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird, 6-0. Doubles: 1) Myers/Kempf (M) beat Hutchings/Fuller, 7-6 (7-1); 2) A. Timmerman/ E. Timmerman (SWV) beat Goodridge/DiStefano, 6-4; 3) Teale/Staples (M) beat Nicolas/Owen Paul, 6-1. “Myers was a great player and Kade took a few games to process his game, but after the first three games, he really kept Myers pinned to the baseline much more and made some big passing shots when Myers got to the net, and the passing shots had to be precise, because Myers is a heck of a player at the net,” McGrew said. “Gabe really made his player work in singles, tracking down a lot of balls. Adam keeps using the formula that works for him in singles and that is moving players around with great placement.” In doubles, the Timmermans won a huge eighth game to tie the match at 4-4 and “really locked down their play in the last two games,” McGrew said. “They served, returned serve, and volleyed great in those final games.” Fuller and Hutchings gave everything they had in doubles in their tie-break loss. “We played no-ad scoring where the deuce point wins the game and they won the deuce game that they had to have when they were down 5-6 overall,” McGrew said. “But then Maryville played an incredibly awesome tie-break and you have to give them praise for that. Kade and Gabe didn’t play badly and there were some long points, but Maryville just kept making some incredible shots. Myers is so tough and Kempf is definitely better in doubles compared to singles. Kempf made some strong volleys in the match, and upped his serve game in the tie-break.” McGrew said Maryville was a great team with a very classy coach, kind players, and gracious fans who had good things to say about the Timberwolves as well. “I appreciate how well both teams got along and treated each other,” McGrew said. “We were sad to lose, but we lost to a talented squad with lots of character.” Playing only a regular set was a decision both teams felt good about in order to end the meet in 40-degree weather by 6:30 p.m. “Everyone felt it was a good move,” McGrew said. In JV action, Jaxson Staples of Maryville defeated Paul in singles, 6-2. Golf teams compete
in 18-hole tourneys The golfing Timberwolves played 18-hole tournaments in Shenandoah last week, the boys on April 13 and the girls on April. For the boys, the schools are divided into two divisions: large school (six schools) and small school (seven schools). Fremont-Mills won the small school division, scoring a 373. “SWV boys came in with 387, playing on a course that runs nearly a thousand yards longer than what they’re used to,” head coach Cindy Drake said. “In spite of that length distance, all four scoring cards came in under 100.” Owen Wilkinson led the T-Wolves with a 94, barely squeaking out Joey Oathoudt’s 95. Jake Oathoudt and Isaac Currin were right behind, both carding 99s. Ethan Bruce and Tate Hafner, both freshmen playing in their first 18-hole tournament, scored 102 and 120, respectively. “The weather was quite chilly with a north wind on Tuesday, necessitating layers of clothing that did nothing to help a free flowing golf swing,” Drake said. The girls played on April 15, with 13 schools, large and small, competing in one group against one another. The winning team was Shenandoah with a 383. In golf, there can be a maximum of six players on a team, with the four lowest scores counting towards the team score. “On Thursday, we had only four players — just enough to get a team score, but putting extra pressure on the girls,” Drake said. “They played well, with three of the four of them playing in their first 18-hole tournament.” Senior Aubrey Boswell let the way with 110 followed by sophomores Becca Wetzel 115, Maggie Haer 125, and Lindsey Maurer 150, giving a team score of 500. The Timberwolves traveled to April 12 to Red Oak. The girls, playing on the front nine, posted a team score of 283, not quite enough to beat the Tigers’ 273, but still a strong showing. Wetzel’s 60 took runner-up honors, and was close on the heels of the medalist’s 56. Boswell followed with 63, Haer 68, Maurer 92, and Megan Ramsey 104. The boys’ team, on the back nine, won their meet 225 to Red Oak’s 230. Currin, playing in his first meet of the year, was medalist with 47. Bruce shot 57, Jake Oathoudt 59, Joey Oathoudt 62, and Henry Bevington a 75. “Both Timberwolf teams showed improvement over their prior meet,” Drake said. “We need more practice in the area of course management but that’s something that comes with experience. We have four meets this week which will give us ample opportunity to polish those skills.” T-Wolves take sixth in Goos
Southwest Valley’s boys track team placed sixth as a team in the large class April 15 in the Clarke High School Goos Invitational in Osceola. “We competed well and did some really nice things,” head coach Allen Naugle said. Marshall Knapp won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 8 inches. “He was the last jumper so we moved the bar up to 6 feet, 2 inches to continue to work on improving his best height,” Naugle said. “He had three great attempts but was unable to clear 6-2 last night but is very close to doing so.” Naugle said he continues to see improvement in his relay teams. “Our shuttle and 4x200 both improved their season best times. Brendan Knapp ran a great open 100 as well to place third. Our two discus throwers, Parker Boswell and Evan Pearson, did not score but both improved their personal bests last night,” Naugle said. “The guys keep working hard and improving each meet. We will continue to work on the fixable things as we continue to improve our times and distances.” Results from the Goos Invitational include: Team — Central Decatur 125, I-35 113, Clarke 110, Albia 97, Nodaway Valley 68, SWV 34, Chariton 30, Wayne 7 100 meter dash — B. Knapp, third, 12.16; Evan Pearson, 10th, 13.76 200 meter dash — Pearson, 11th, 28.03; Roman Keefe, 15th, 30.19 110 meter hurdles — Ian Brown, ninth, 20.47; Tate Haffner, 10th, 22.02 Discus — Pearson, eighth, 80-02; Parker Boswell, 12th, 63-10 High jump — M. Knapp, first, 5-08.00 Long jump — Isaac Currin, seventh, 15-09.50; Brock Bowden, eighth, 15-08.75; Ely Rodriguez, ninth, 15-04.044 Shot put — Boswell, 15th, 23-00.00 4x100 meter relay — Rodriguez, Owen Wilkinson, Currin, B. Knapp, fourth, 49.42 4x200 meter relay — B. Knapp, Wilkinson, Bowden, M. Knapp, third, 1:42.72 440 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Brown, Haffner, Keefe, Bowden, fourth, 1:19.93 800 sprint medley relay — Rodriguez, Currin, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, fourth, 1:47.24 The team competed April 12 in Shenandoah where the Timberwolves improved their season best times in all four relays they competed in. “Brendan and Owen both improved their open 100 time. Evan Pearson had a personal best in the long jump. Marshall Knapp jumped 6 feet to place fifth in a very good field of high jumpers,” Naugle said. “It was a great night to compete and the guys continue to work hard and improve. We will keep working hard on our hand-offs, block starts and the little things to help improve our times so that we are competing at our highest level by the end of the season.” Results from Shenandoah include: Team — Glenwood 214, Clarinda 160, Shenandoah 122, Red Oak 87, East Mills 46, Sidney 35, SWV 29, Essex 16 100 meter dash — B. Knapp, ninth, 12.07; Wilkinson, 13th, 12.59 200 meter dash — B. Knapp, sixth, 24.62 400 meter dash — Pearson, 10th, 1:04.86; Ganfield, 13th, 1:08.44 110 meter hurdles — Haffner, seventh, 22.17; Keefe, eighth, 24.04 Discus — Pearson, 15th, 68-10; Boswell, 16th, 63-07 High jump — M. Knapp, fifth, 6-00.00 Long jump — Rodriguez, seventh, 15-11.50; Pearson, eighth, 15-06.24 Shot put — Ganfield, 14th, 27-03.25; Boswell, 15th, 22-09.25 4x100 meter relay — Rodriguez, Bowden, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, sixth, 48.21 4x200 meter relay — Wilkinson, Bowden, Rodriguez, M. Knapp, fourth, 1:44.30 440 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Bowden, Haffner, Keefe, Brown, fifth, 1:21.42 800 sprint medley relay — Rodriguez, Bowden, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, fifth, 1:46.18 SWV girls shine
at Shenandoah The Timberwolves girls track team travelled April 15 to Shenandoah for the Fillies Relays. In a meet dominated by Shenandoah and Riverside, the Timberwolves struggled to find points and finished eighth in the 10-team standings. “But the tough competition brought out the best in the girls, with four new season best relay times and 11 individual PRs,” head coach Jason Hults said. Medal winners for the Timberwolves included second place finishes from Kya Newton in the 3000 meter and the 4x200 relay of Aunalee Bruce, Emma DeVore, Christine Andrews, and Emma Cooper. The 4x800 team continued to get closer to the school record with a third place finish with Sydney Davies, Andrews, Haidyn Top, and Halle Pearson. Fourth place finishes came from Bruce in the long jump, Top in the 1500 meter, the shuttle hurdle relay team of Paighton Buffington, Krya Simmons, Alyssa Randall, and Trinity Schroeder; and the 4x100 relay with Bruce, Simmons, DeVore, and Cooper. The 4x400 relay finished up the medal performances with a fifth place from H. Pearson, Davies, Sierra Pearson, and Andrews. “It was really a great night for the girls. We saw a lot of new PRs and some great times from our relays,” Hults said. “The throwers had a great night with four new PRs from three girls, even though the competition was tough and they didn't place, they are improving and getting better every week. We ran a new combination in the 4x200 and went out strong with the second place, so that's a relay we look at as the season moves forward. The 4x8 girls took another five seconds off their time and brings them within 14 seconds of the school record which is definitely doable for those girls. So it was a great night overall.” Results from Shenandoah include: Team — Shenandoah 124, Riverside 121, Red Oak 80, Essex 56, Fremont Mills 49, Stanton 45, Bedford 43, SWV 41, Sidney 18, East Mills 12 100 meter dash — Bruce, seventh, 13.97; Cooper ninth, 14.31 200 meter dash — Maggie Haer, 18th, 36.11; Lindsay Maurer, 17th, 35.33 400 meter dash — Haidyn Top, seventh, 1:09.31 800 meter run — Halle Pearson, eighth, 2:53.24 100 meter hurdles — Kyra Simmons, 10th 20.47; Paighton Buffington, 11th, 20.83 1500 meter run — Top, fourth, 6:03.81; Kya Newton, ninth, 6:41.87 3000 meter run — Newton, second, 14:04.74; Megan Ramsey, ninth, 16:33.34 Discus — Tierney Dalton, 11th, 71-08; Samantha Davies, 12th, 69-00.50 Long jump — Bruce, fourth, 14-01.50; Cooper, seventh, 13-07.00 Shot put — Dalton, eighth, 29-01.75; Julia Means, 15th, 23-06.06 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, Simmons, Emma DeVore, Cooper, fourth, 57.17 4x200 meter relay — Bruce, DeVore, Christine Andrews, Cooper, second, 2:02.25 4x400 meter relay — Pearson, Maurer, Haer, Andrews, fifth, 5:00.39 4x800 meter relay — Sydney Davies, Andrews, Top, Pearson, third, 11:32.12 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Buffington, Simmons, Alyssa Randall, Trinity Schroeder, fourth, 1:26.19 800 sprint medley relay — Buffington, Simmons, DeVore, H. Pearson, ninth, 2:14.72 1600 meter distance relay — DeVore, Triana Gabriel, Sierra Pearson, Sydney Davies, sixth, 5:26.48 The girls competed April 13 in Class 2A of the Griswold Tiger Relays. “The Timberwolves ran not only into a stiff wind on the cold night, but some great competition from across Southwest Iowa,” Hults said. The Timberwolves ended the night in seventh place in the team standings. Medalists on the night included three relays and three individual events. The 4x800 and the 4x400 relays with Boswell, H. Pearson, Top, and Andrews finished third in both races. The shuttle hurdle team brought home a fourth place medal with Buffington, Simmons, Randall, and Schroeder. Individually, Schroeder tied for fifth in the high jump, Sydney Davies was fifth in the 1500 meter, and Cooper was fifth in the long jump. “The girls had some tough competition to run against which pushed them to five new PRs and one relay with a new SB time,” Hults said. “So even though the team finish was not what we wanted, we can take away the progress and build on that going forward into the middle of the season. We're still trying out new relay combinations and trying some girls in different open events to find those best times as we look to our home meet next week and the conference meet in a few weeks.” Results from Griswold include: Team — Underwood 153, AHSTW 124, Riverside 111, Red Oak 69, Kuemper 68, Sidney 31, SWV 25.50 100 meter dash — Bruce, seventh, 14.31; Cooper, 10th, 14.57 200 meter dash — Cooper, sixth, 30.74; Bruce, ninth, 31.48 400 meter dash — Andrews, sixth, 1:10.00 800 meter run — Boswell, eighth, 3:05.50 100 meter hurdles — Buffington, ninth, 21.12; Simmons, 10th, 21.75 1500 meter run — Sydney Davies, fifth, 6:27.96; Newton, sixth, 6:38.74 3000 meter run — Newton, seventh, 14:34.48; Ramsey, eighth, 17:09.58 400 meter hurdles — Andrews, sixth, 1:23.16; Schroeder, seventh, 1:28.16 Discus — Dalton, eighth, 69-00; Samantha Davies, 10th, 52-08.50; Alice Williams, 12th, 45-11.50 High jump — Schroeder, fifth, 4-00.00 Long jump — Cooper, fifth, 13-10.50; Bruce, seventh, 13-03.50 Shot put — Dalton, eighth, 25-05.00; Means, ninth, 24-03.03; Williams, 14th, 19-00.00 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, Simmons, DeVore, Cooper, sixth, 58.33 4x200 meter relay — Gabriel, Randall, S. Pearson, DeVore, seventh, 2:18.90 4x400 meter relay — H. Pearson, Boswell, Top, Andrews, third, 4:53.83 4x800 meter relay — Boswell, Andrews, Top, H. Pearson, third, 11:59.18 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Buffington, Simmons, Randall, Schroeder, fourth, 1:26.69 800 sprint medley relay — Buffington, Simmons, DeVore, H. Pearson, sixth, 2:15.96 Boys tennis wins 9-0
The Southwest Valley tennis teams took on their third opponent in four days when they clashed April 15 with Red Oak. The boys earned a 9-0 road victory, while the girls lost 9-0 to a traditional powerhouse that came into the meet undefeated. The Southwest Valley boys, just like the Red Oak girls, came into their meet undefeated. The Timberwolves stayed that way with the win over the Tigers. Results (all Southwest Valley players listed first) are as follow: Singles: 1) Kade Hutchings over Max DeVries, 8-0; 2) Gabe Fuller defeated Joshua LaRette, 8-0; 3) Adam Timmerman beat Tyler Strunk, 8-1; 4) Evan Timmerman over Corbin Wolfe, 8-3; 5) Dom Nicolas beat Jonah Wemhoff, 8-1; 6) Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird defeated Nate Ernst, 8-2. Doubles: 1) Hutchings/Fuller defeated DeVries/Tyler Beeson, 8-1; 2) Adam Timmerman/Evan Timmerman defeated LaRette/Strunk, 8-0; 3) Nicolas/Owen Paul over Wolfe/Wemhoff, 8-5. “Kade keeps showing great movement and shot selection in both of his matches,” said head coach Steve McGrew. “I really liked how Gabe transitioned from defense to offense in his match in singles. The Timmermans were really showing off their return of serve abilities in doubles. Dom is crushing his forehands in both singles and doubles. He's got some real zip on his shots and while he made some errors in this meet, he made a lot more great shots. We don't do stat lines in high school tennis, but his winner to unforced ratio on the forehand side had to be off the charts in his favor in this meet. Owen is looking steadier, which is great to see, and what a varsity debut for Slate.” Paul won the lone JV match, defeating Xavier Ross in singles, 6-2. McGrew said the Red Oak boys have a bright future. “Five of the players are seniors, but three of them, DeVries, LaRette, and Beeson, are only ninth graders,” said McGrew. “Kade and I were talking about the fact that they all have tons of potential. Beeson is the usual number three player in singles, but had a golf conflict and just played doubles. Having your three top singles player back for three more years gives the Tigers reason to be very optimistic in years to come.” The Red Oak girls came into the meet with a 6-3 win over Creston and a 5-4 victory over class 2A squad Kuemper Catholic to go along with a 9-0 sweep over Audubon. “This is a team that could easily get to the state team tournament in Class 1A,” McGrew said. “It is a place this program is very familiar with as they have been there many times.” Scores (all Red Oak players listed first) are as follow: Singles: 1) Rhenn Rolenc over Tonna Damewood, 8-2; 2) Tessa Rolenc over Kendi Graham, 8-1; 3) Jessica Lukehart beat Alana Drake, 8-1; 4) Brooklyn Johnson over Anjali Kathikar, 8-4; 5) Anna Grizzard beat Charlee Larsen, 8-2; 6) Merced Ramirez defeated Lexi Weston, 8-1. Doubles: 1) R. Rolenc/Ramirez defeated Damewood/Graham, 8-1; 2) T. Rolenc/Lukehart over Drake/Kathikar, 8-4; 3) Johnson/Grizzard beat Larsen/Ryanne Mullen, 8-4. “My assistant coach, Brent Mullen, said Drake and Kathikar were down 7-2 and really looked good in the final three games of their match,” McGrew said. “I saw real improvement from that pair against Clarinda, so it shows that it was no fluke, They are really beginning to gel with each other.” In JV action, coach Mullen said that Red Oak was a cut above the other squads the Timberwolves have played, which was evident in the 10-0 win by the Tigers. “That didn't surprise me,” said McGrew. “With the varsity being so strong, and their history of success being so well known, it is not unusual for their JV to also be strong.” Results (all Red Oak players listed first) are as follow: Singles: 1) Madison Bruce over Mullen, 4-0; Lexy Fridolph beat Karissa Richey, 4-2; Abigail Johnson beat Carlita McCoy, 4-2; Taylor Bennett over Hannah Baker, 4-1; Aedynn Graham over Jazmin Weston, 4-0. Doubles: Fridolph/Grace Wingfield beat Richey/McCoy, 4-1; Johnson/Josie Rengstorf over Richey/McCoy, 4-1; Wingfield/Prashana Bell over Richey/McCoy, 4-3; Bruce/Kayden Wingfield over Baker/Weston, 4-0; Graham/Bennett beat Baker/Weston, 4-1. Progress is what a coach wants to see evidence of progress was apparent as the Southwest Valley varsity teams took on Clarinda on April 13. McGrew said it was apparent in an 8-1 win achieved by the boys at Clarinda. He also said it was true in a 7-2 home loss to the Cardinal girls. McGrew said the boys knew they had to respect the results that Clarinda had put forth heading into their encounter. The Cardinals beat Council Bluffs Lewis Central, 5-4, and only lost to Glenwood and Shenandoah by 5-4 scores. “My advice to the team and assistant coach Brent Mullen as they headed off to Clarinda was to be ready for a challenge as we knew that since we only beat Glenwood, 5-4, we would face a team that wouldn't be easy to deal with,” McGrew said. “Progress is being ready in the moment against a solid team and Mullen shared with me that the guys really came out ready to play.” Results (SWV = Southwest Valley; C = Clarinda) are as follow: Singles: 1) Kade Hutchings (SWV) over Nathan Brown, 10-7; 2) Gabe Fuller (SWV) over Lance Regehr, 10-3; 3) Adam Timmermam (SWV) over Kale Downey, 10-3; 4) Evan Timmerman (SWV) over Cyrus Lawrence, 10-1; 5) Dom Nicolas (SWV) over Connor Pullen, 10-0; 6) Lance Baker (C) beat Owen Paul. 10-0. Doubles: 1) Hutchings/Fuller (SWV) beat Brown/Regehr, 10-7; 2) A. Timmerman/ E. Timmerman (SWV) beat Downey/Baker, 10-8; 3) Nicolas/Paul (SWV) over Lawrence/Pullen, 10-3. “Progress is building off previous big efforts. so I was thrilled to see Dom followed up on his tie-breaker singles win against Creston in such an impressive 10-0 fashion,” McGrew said. “It was great to see three doubles grab a win and certainly it was pleasing to see our first four guys keep rolling along. This a quality win over a team that has put together some decent results.” In JV action, Clarinda's Sant Dow defeated Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird, 10-3. McGrew continues to see progress and great desire from the girls as well. Results (SWV= Southwest Valley; C = Clarinda) are as follow: Singles: 1) Mayson Hartley (C) beat Tonna Damewood, 8-1; 2) Taylor Cole (C) over Kendi Graham, 8-1; 3) Brooke Brown (C) over Alana Drake, 8-1; 4) Paige Barr (C) beat Anjali Kathikar, 8-5; 5) Charlee Larsen (SWV) defeated Emma Stogdill, 8-6; 6) Ellison Lovett (C) over Lexi Weston, 8-2. Doubles: 1) Hartley/Cole (C) beat Damewood/Graham, 8-1; 2) Brown/Barr (C) defeated Drake/Kathikar, 9-7; 3) Larsen/Ryanne Mullen (SWV) defeated Lovett/ Taylor Wagoner, 9-7. “I am proud of all these girls because they are playing some really strong squads and they keep battling,” McGrew said. “I was so impressed with the improvement I saw in the doubles pair of Drake and Kathikar. They played far better than anything I have seen in previous matches or practices. That truly is progress. Clarinda was throwing up a lot of lobs against them and Alana and Anjail really responded to the tactics. Alana made some great overheads and volleys and Anali was tracking down all kinds of balls on the baseline.” McGrew said Drake and Kathikar weren't the only ones that caught his eye. All of the Timberwolves did good things. “Charlie Larsen was down 6-5 in singles and I said to her in a timeout that it is winning time now Charlee,” McGrew said. “It may have been a comment to relax her, but honestly it has been true so far. Charlee is kind of like a good magician. She seems to conjure up some of her best tennis when the spotlight is on in the late stages of her performance. She and Mullen also seem to be able come up with late-stage heroics in doubles too. They were down 6-3 and then dug deep and made real progress with their serving, volleys, and groundstrokes to win six of the last seven games.” McGrew added that it is really important not to overshadow Damewood and Graham despite 8-1 scores in singles and doubles. “I see some great things from them, particularly in doubles where I saw some solid returning and use of lobs,” McGrew said. “In fact. they started off their match in doubles with a couple of clean winners off passing shots. The problem is that they have to play so close to perfection against some really outstanding top players that opponents have. Hartley and Cole are examples. They delivered tremendous heat off their groundstrokes to go with really strong volleying. It is hard to stay with a team like that when you have to be close to flawless for such an extended period of time. I told Tonna and Kendi how proud I am off them to keep battling players of such quality. They never stop scrapping. Lexi Weston keeps fighting also. She got down 6-0 early in singles, battled back to 6-2 and played some close games the rest of the way.” The JV also fought hard and was able to claim another victory, winning 7-2. Results (SWV = Southwest Valley; C = Clarinda) are as follow: Singles: Mullen (SWV) over Waggoner, 4-3; Chanda Sunderman (C) beat Karissa Richey, 4-2; Carlita McCoy (SWV) beat Kami Beal, 4-2; Hannah Baker (SWV) beat Giorgia Masciovecchio, 2-1; Jazmin Weston (SWV) beat Beal, 2-1. Doubles: Richey/McCoy (SWV) beat Masciovecchio/Sunderman, 4-1; Weston/Baker (SWV) over Sunderman/Beal, 4-0; Richey/McCoy (SWV) beat Masciovecchio/Beal, 4-3; Masciovecchio/Beal (C) beat Weston/Baker, 4-1. “I am so happy the JV girls are getting matches at home, because we will travel with less kids,” McGrew said. “In the 4-3 win that Richey and McCoy had, the last game went to deuce and since we play no-ad scoring at home, the match came down to one final point. They were so excited to pull off the win by winning that last point. I love that the JV girls are having so much fun.” The first doubleheader of the season for the Southwest Valley varsity tennis teams took place April 12 with the girls hosting Creston and the boys traveling to Panther country. The boys prevailed, 7-2, while the girls were defeated by the same 7-2 score. Varsity boys results are as follow (SWV = Southwest Valley; C = Creston): Singles: 1) Kade Hutchings (SWV) over James Kuntz, 10-5; 2) Gabe Fuller (SWV) over Jeremy Rutz, 10-7; 3) Adam Timmerman (SWV) beat Daniel Merritt, 10-1; 4) Evan Timmerman (SWV) over Avery Fuller, 10-4; 5) Dominic Nicolas (SWV) beat Nate Wells, 11-10 (7-5); 6) Foster McCutchon (C) beat Owen Paul, 10-2. Doubles: 1) Hutchings/Fuller (SWV) beat Kunz/Merritt, 10-5; 2) A. Timmerman/E. Timmerman (SWV) over Rutz/Wells, 10-3; 3) Fuller/McCutchon (C) defeated Nicolas/Paul, 10-1. “The thriller of the night was Dom's win in a tie-breaker,” McGrew said. “Creston wanted to play regular scoring and many of the games involved multiple deuces. Dom went up 9-6, but Wells rallied to 9-9. After the two split the next two games, Dom got down 2-0 in the tie-breaker, but then really played solid to squeak out the win. The match lasted an hour and a half. The Timmermans controlled their matches in singles and doubles from the start. Fuller really finished strong in singles. It was back and forth until Gabe separated himself from his opponent with a string of games at the end. Kade picked up right where he left off after his win against Glenwood. He is hitting clean, penetrating groundstrokes and picking good times to approach the net. Paul started off slow in singles and trailed 6-1, but then played better in the final five games. He only got one of them, but the games were competitive.” McGrew said he liked the progress in doubles also. “Kade and Gabe turned in another strong performance and the Timmerman brothers are starting to look more cohesive,” he said. In JV action, Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird split two matches in singles, beating Isaac Shields, 6-4, and losing to Connor Wiley, 6-1. Results on the girls side (SWV = Southwest Valley and C = Creston).are as follow: Singles: 1) Maddie Frey (C) over Tonna Damewood, 8-0; 2) Morgan Driskell (C) beat Kendi Graham, 8-3; 3) Karly Calvin (C) over Alana Drake, 8-2; 4) Sara Dunphy (C) beat Anjali Kathikar, 8-6; 5) Charlee Larsen (SWV) defeated Jess Ubben, 9-7; 6) Halle Evans (C) beat Lexi Weston, 8-2. Doubles: 1) Driskell/Dunphy (C) beat Damewood/Graham. 8-3; 2) Frey/Calvin (C) beat Drake/Kathikar, 8-0; 3) Larsen/Ryanne Mullen (SWV) defeated Ebben/Evans, 9-7. “I have heard great things about Frey and my assistant coach, Brent Mullen, said she is an excellent player,” McGrew said. “Mullen said in addition to the two wins, many of the other matches were competitive and included some close no-ad deuce games. We liked to play no-ad matches at home in which the next point after deuce wins the game.” There was a lot of JV action on the girls side and Southwest Valley squeaked out a 7-5 win. Mullen won in singles, 4-1. Karissa Richey split two matches in singles (2-0. 1-2). Carlita McCoy won her lone match in singles (2-0) and Hannah Baker won her only singles match (2-1). In doubles, Richey/McCoy won two matches in doubles (4-2 and 2-0) and dropped one (1-2), while Baker paired up with Jazmin Weston four times, winning 2-1, while being edged in three other battles (1-2 twice and 1-3) T-Wolves take
Rams in opener Southwest Valley’s varsity tennis boys had a mission in mind when they hosted the Glenwood Rams on April 9 in their season opener. After a 9-0 loss in 2018 and a 5-4 defeat in 2019, the mission was to take the next step and secure a victory. Mission accomplished as the Timberwolves edged the Rams, 5-4. “What an exciting season opener,” said Southwest Valley head coach Steve McGrew. “I am happy for the guys. They have been working so hard in practice and it showed in this meet. The season is early and they have to keep pushing forward, but this is a great start against a quality program that finished fourth in the state in class 1A in 2018. The Glenwood kids were nothing but class acts, on and off the court, when they arrived and I told the head coach he can be really proud of his kids. He expressed those same sentiments toward us. You love to see that kind of sportsmanship and character in high school sports.” Results (SWV = Southwest Valley; G = Glenwood) are as follow: Singles: 1) Kade Hutchings (SWV) over Teagan Matheny, 8-1; 2) Gabe Fuller (SWV) beat Logen Clark, 8-1; 3) Adam Timmerman (SWV) over Tyler Harger, 8-2; 4) Evan Timmerman (SWV) beat Trice Buchanan, 8-1; 5) Ben Batten (G) over Dominic Nicolas, 8-4; 6) Brody Taylor (G) beat Owen Paul, 8-3. Doubles: 1) Hutchings/Fuller (SWV) over Matheny/Clark, 8-2; 2) Harger/Buchanan (G) beat Timmerman/Timmerman, 8-5; 3) Batten/Taylor (G) defeated Nicolas/Paul, 8-5. “There were a lot of positives in singles.” McGrew said. “I really liked the footwork and movement I saw from Hutchings. He was in position to make quality shots in long rallies and when his opponent came to the net. His passing shots were precise and he made a point, after getting passed on his first approach to the net, to really come in to the net on the right approaches. Fuller has a lot of variety and used lobs, touch shots, and some power shots at the right times. The Timmerman boys both used strong side to side groundstrokes in their victories in singles. Placement is such a valuable quality in singles.” McGrew said he could also draw positives from the results put forth by Nicolas and Paul in singles. “Nicolas was down 5-1 and really kept fighting,” McGrew said. “He rallied to within one game at 5-4 and then lost a couple close deuce games. Dom’s a scrapper. I love that about him. Paul began to put more balls in play in the last four or five games. I saw improvement at the end of his match, which is encouraging for the future. Owen needs to increase his groundstroke speed and understand positioning on the court a little better, but there is potential in his game. Plus, he is a good-hearted kid that is willing to listen. You have to love that as a coach.” McGrew said doubles will be an area where the Timberwolves will make more strides as the season progresses. “I made a decision on the Monday before the meet to put the Timmerman boys and Owen and Dom together in doubles after originally thinking the two freshman, Evan and Owen, would play together. I could see both pairs beginning to gel together more near the end of their matches, so I know we will improve down the road in doubles. Give a lot of credit to the Glenwood No. 2 to team as well. Volley wise, both players were really solid.” Fuller and Hutchings got the win at No. 1 doubles that the Timberwolves needed to secure the team victory. “Gabe and Kade were red hot at the start and led 6-0, but Glenwood’s No. 1 pair responded,” McGrew said. “They started being a little more aggressive at the net and trimmed the lead to 6-2 and played Gabe and Kade tough in the final two games as well. I respect Glenwood a lot. It was a fantastic season-opening meet for us against a solid team that came off a 5-4 win over Clarinda in their opener.” Southwest Valley’s girls’ tennis team started off the season with a home opener April 6 against a solid Clarke squad. Clarke’s top four proved to be strong enough to guide the Lady Indians past Southwest Valley, 6-3. Despite the loss, McGrew said he couldn’t be prouder of the Timberwolves. “The girls have an excellent attitude and scrapped the entire night,” McGrew said. “Ultimately, Clarke’s first four players proved to be tough. Their top four really took advantage of strong serving and forced errors with solid groundstrokes. We struggled most with returning first serves, and we will work on that in future practices. However, we did some good things also. We were in many rallies and we lobbed well when Clarke put us on the defensive in the top portion of the singles and doubles matches.” Results (C = Clarke; SW = Southwest Valley) are as follow: Singles: 1) Alivia Bakley (C) over Tonna Damewood, 8-3; 2) Chailyn Beydler (C) over Kendi Graham, 8-5; 3) Ava Hansen (C) over Alana Drake, 8-2; 4) Madisyn McCoy (C) beat Anjali Kathikar, 8-2; 5) Charlee Larsen (SW) beat Ryleigh Luce, 8-6; 6) Lexi Weston (SW) over Jadie Bowlsby, 8-1. Doubles: 1) Bakley/Beydler (C) over Damewood/Graham, 8-2; 2) Hansen/McCoy (C) over Drake/Kathikar, 8-0; 3) Larsen/Ryanne Mullen (SW) over Luce/Bowlsby, 8-6. “What a debut for Larsen,” McGrew said. “She is a freshman who played her first varsity matches ever and won them. That is pretty exciting. Charlee’s strength is consistency. She gets a lot of balls in play and has some power and placement ability. Weston was so composed at six singles. She got ahead 3-0 early and never let up. She was so calm and steady. However, I was proud of the whole team. We battled well on groundstrokes, but do need to work on dealing with short balls that land below the net and make sure we get underneath those shots. We also need to work on placing the ball away from people more. Graham had a solid night. She was competitive in singles and she and Damewood had good chemistry in doubles. I liked the hustle and effort Drake and Kathikar showed. Clarke didn’t fall off at three or four singles or two doubles. Those spots will be strong for them all season.” McGrew said Mullen had a good night as well. “She was dominant in her JV singles match and served and returned well in varsity doubles,” said the head coach. The JV tied Clarke, 5-5. Results (some matches were first to four by one and some were first to two by one) are as follows: Singles: Mullen (SW) over Molly Sickels, 4-0; Samantha Cowling (C) over Karissa Richey, 2-0; Carlita McCoy (SW) over Korynna Olson, 2-1; Alicia Glenn (C) over Jazmin Weston, 2-0; Jessica Guerrero (C) over Hannah Baker, 2-1; Audrey Pontier (C) over Baker, 2-0. Doubles: Sickels/Cowling (C) over Richey/McCoy, 4-1; Richey/McCoy (SW) over Olson/Guerrero, 4-0; Weston/Baker (SW) over Glenn/Pontier, 4-2; Weston/Baker (SW) over Maisey White/Hannah Russo, 4-3. “I am so happy that Clarke brought a bus and we could get all the JV players some matches,” McGrew said. “The total program is important. Getting everyone a chance to play is a wonderful thing.” M. Knapp takes
second in high jump The Timberwolves’ Marshall Knapp showed a strong performance April 9 in the high jump, placing second with a personal best jump of 6 feet, 1 inch while the 4x200 team of Owen Wilkinson, Brock Bowden, Isaac Currin, and Brendan Knapp ran a season best. “It was originally a 2 Class meet with a JV but due to some teams not being able to attend it became a 1 Class meet,” Southwest Valley head coach Allen Naugle said. “I was extremely proud of how our guys went up and competed with some much larger schools. We improved some times, put in some great effort, and continued to improve overall.” “Marshall Knapp had a great night in the high jump … ,” Naugle said. “He was extremely close to clearing 6 feet, 2 inches on a couple of his attempts so we are very excited about his progress.” Naugle said SWV’s relay teams continue to show improvement in times and hand-offs. “We have a very young team so the more experience we get the smoother we become,” he said. “Our 4x200 team ran their season best last night to place sixth in a loaded field. “I was very happy with the attitude our boys brought knowing we were competing against a lot of larger schools,” Naugle said. “It will continue to help us in the long run.” Results from the relays include: Team — Lewis Central 172, Clarinda 147, Glenwood 145, Red Oak 63, Shenandoah 61, CB Abraham Lincoln 32, Council Bluffs 30, St. Albert 28, Creston 27, Bedford 19, SWV 13 100 meter dash — Brendan Knapp, 16th, 12.94; Owen Wilkinson, 18th, 13.01 200 meter dash — Roman Keefe, 44th, 32.16 110 meter hurdles — Keefe, 16th, 23.23; Tate Haffner, 17th, 23.65 400 meter hurdles — Marshall Knapp, 15th, 1:10.73 Discus — Evan Pearson, 47th, 65-06; Parker Boswell, 52nd, 62-08 High jump — Marshall Knapp, second, 6-01.00 Long jump — Isaac Currin, 24th, 14-10.25; Ely Rodriguez, 25th, 13-09.00 Shot put — Deacon Ganfield, 50th, 26-07.50; Boswell, 56th, 22-08.00 4x100 meter relay — Rodriguez, Wilkinson, Currin, B. Knapp, 11th, 49.34 4x200 meter relay — Wilkinson, Brock Bowden, Currin, B. Knapp, seventh, 1:43.61 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Ian Brown, Keefe, Haffner, Bowden, ninth, 1:24.10 800 sprint medley relay — Currin, Rodriguez, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, 11th, 1:48.73 1600 distance medley relay — Rodriguez, Pearson, Ganfield, Brown, 10th, 5:11.02 The SWV boys track team traveled April 6 to Afton to compete. “Overall we did very well improving on a lot of times and distances,” Naugle said. “Marshall Knapp was injured in his first race, at our first meet and he was able to give it a go tonight. He started off his season with a great jump and won the high jump. He almost cleared 6 feet on his second attempt so we are looking forward to continuing to improve in that event.” The sprint medley, 4x100, and 4x200 teams all improved their season best times. “We were shorthanded again with a few guys going to a golf meet last night but the guys really ran hard and improved their relays times,” Naugle said. “Marshall ran a great open 400 time to start his year off but his leg was a little sore afterward so we scratched him from the 400 hurdles. I am very anxious to see what he can do in that event so hopefully he can keep getting healthier and back to 100 percent. “Overall I thought our guys competed hard and did a great job,” Naugle said. “We will continue to focus on taking it one meet at a time and improving our times so that we are at our peak by the end of the season.” Results from the Mustang relays include: Team — Glenwood 214, Clarinda 160, Shenandoah 122, Red Oak 87, East Mills 46, Sidney 35, SWV 29, Essex 16 100 meter dash — B. Knapp, ninth, 12.07; Wilkinson, 13th, 12:59 200 meter dash — B. Knapp, sixth, 24.62 400 meter dash — Pearson, 10th, 1:04.86; Ganfield, 13th, 1:08.44 110 meter hurdles — Haffner, seventh, 22.17; Keefe, eighth, 24.04 Discus — Pearson, 15th, 68-10; Boswell, 16th, 63-07 High jump — M. Knapp, fifth, 6-00.00 Long jump — Rodriguez, seventh, 15-11.50; Pearson, eighth, 15-06.25 Shot put — Ganfield, 14th, 27-03.25; Boswell, 15th, 22-09.25 4x100 meter relay — Rodriguez, Bowden, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, sixth, 48.21 4x200 meter relay — Wilkinson, Bowden, Rodriguez, M. Knapp, fourth, 1:44.30 440 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Bowden, Haffner, Keefer, Brown, fifth, 1:21.42 800 sprint medley relay — Rodriguez, Bowden, Wilkinson, B. Knapp, fifth, 1:46.18 This week’s schedule includes Shenandoah on April 12 and Clarke on April 15. SWV girls place third
at Red Oak The Southwest Valley girls track team travelled April 9 to Red Oak for the Girls Invitational. With high expectations and hopes of a third straight championship at the Red Oak meet, the Timberwolves ran into some stiff competition from Audubon and Essex, and settled for a third place team finish. “Overall, the girls ran very well and we continue to see progress with improved times and effort in every event,” SWV head coach Jason Hults said. “Yes, we were hoping to ‘threepeat’ this meet, especially our seniors who had never lost this meet. But we can look at the positives and build on those two relays with season best times, 11 new PRs, and a third place team finish that is our best this season, are all great things to build on and move forward looking at the next meets coming up.” Top finishers for the Timberwolves included the 4x800 champions of Aubrey Boswell, Halle Pearson, Christine Andrews and Haidyn Top. “These four girls ran an awesome race, taking a full minute off their overall time this year and bringing them even closer to breaking the school record in that event,” Hults said. The Timberwolves had three second place finishes coming from Sydney Davies in the 3000 meter; the shuttle hurdle relay of Paighton Buffington, Kyra Simmons, Alyssa Randall, and Trinity Schroeder; and the 4x100 team of Aunulee Bruce, Simmons, Emma DeVore, and Emma Cooper. The Timberwolves also had five third place finishes from Kya Newton in the 3000 meter; the sprint medley of Buffington, Simmons, DeVore, and Haidyn Top; Bruce in the 100 meter; Christine Andrews in the 400 meter; and the 4x400 team of Top, Davies, Boswell, and Andrews. Results from the Red Oak Invitational include: Team — Audubon 183, Essex 102, SWV 85, Lenox 73, Bedford 64, Sidney 63 100 meter dash — Aunalee Bruce, third, 14.16; Emma Cooper, seventh, 14.47 200 meter dash — Cooper, eighth, 30.07; Bruce, ninth, 30.69 400 meter dash — Christine Andrews, third, 1:10.06; Halle Pearson, fifth, 1:11.76 800 meter dash — Haidyn Top, sixth, 2:51.40; Megan Ramsey, ninth, 3:30.85 100 meter hurdles — Kyra Simmons, seventh, 21.77; Paighton Buffington, eighth, 22.06 1500 meter run — H. Pearson, fourth, 6:11.02; Kya Newton, sixth, 6:38.84 3000 meter run — Sydney Davies, second, 13:44.90; Newton, third, 14:10.78 400 meter hurdles — Andrews, fourth, 1:22.01; Trinity Schroeder, fifth, 1:27.04 Discus — Tierney Dalton, eighth, 61-11.50; Samantha Davies, 10th, 58-11.50 Long jump — Cooper, fourth, 14-03.25; Bruce, eighth, 12-07.25 Shot put — Dalton, eighth, 25-00.00; Julia Means, 22-11.00 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, Simmons, Emma DeVore, Cooper, second, 57.99 4x200 meter relay — Triana Gabriel, Alyssa Randall, S. Pearson, DeVore, sixth, 2:17.52 4x400 meter relay — Top, Sydney Davies, Boswell, Andrews, third, 5:10.87 4x800 meter relay — Boswell, Andrews. H. Pearson, Top, first, 11:38.56 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Buffington, Simmons, Randall, Schroeder, second, 1:27.81 800 sprint medley relay — Buffington, Simmons, DeVore, Top, third, 2:14.12 1600 distance medley really — DeVore, S. Pearson, Sydney Davies, Boswell, fifth, 5:27.18 The Timberwolves competed April 6 in the Cardinal Girls Relays. Competing in the six-team Class A Division, the Timberwolves finished in fourth place with a season high 99 points, 4 points behind Lenox and St. Alberts who tied for second with 103 points. “We saw some great performances from the girls tonight,” Hults said. “We tried out some new relay combinations and put some girls in new events to see how they could do, and were very happy with the results. It’s still early in the season, being only the third meet on our schedule, but the girls keep improving and the hard work they have put in so far is showing. With 13 individual new PRs and two relays running season best times, we're seeing a lot of progress from this young team and the future looks promising for these girls. We were able to double up in five events, saw our first points of the season in shot and discus, and scored in 17 of the 19 events overall, so it was a great night for the girls.” Top three finishes for the Timberwolves included a 1-2 sweep in the 100 meter from Bruce with a new PR of 13.88 and Cooper with a new PR of 14.04. In the 400 meter, the Timberwolves went 2-3 with Andrews and Top. Andrews followed that up with a third place finish in the 400 meter hurdles and anchored the 4x400 team with Top, Sydney Davies, and Halle Pearson to a third place finish. The 4x100 team of Bruce, Simmons, DeVore, and Cooper finished second in a season best time of 57.2. and the shuttle hurdle team of Simmons, Gabriel, Randall, and Schroeder also placed second. Running the 3000 meter for the first time in her career, Halle Pearson finished third. Results from the Clarinda Girls Relays include: Team — Shenandoah 142, St. Albert 103, Lenox 103, SWV 99, Bedford 71, Essex 54 100 meter dash — Bruce, first, 13.88; Cooper, second, 14.04 200 meter dash — Bruce, fourth, 29.41; Cooper, fifth, 29.42 400 meter dash — Andrews, second, 1:09.74; Top, third, 1:10.81 800 meter run — Top, fourth, 2:59.82; Sydney Davies, fifth, 3:01.74 100 meter hurdles — Simmons, sixth, 21.17 1500 meter run — Newton, eighth, 6:36.87 3000 meter run — H. Pearson, 13:26.52 400 meter hurdles — Andrews, third, 1:23.13; Schroeder, fourth, 1:26.47 Discus — Dalton, sixth, 71-05 Long jump — Cooper, fourth, 14-06.50; Bruce, seventh, 13-04.25 Shot put — Dalton, fifth, 26-06.00; Means, eighth, 23-03.00 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, Simmons, Devore, Cooper, second, 57.20 4x200 meter relay — Randall, Gabriel, S. Pearson, DeVore, fifth, 2:17.88 4x400 meter relay — Top, Sydney Davies, H. Pearson, Andrews, third, 4:45.32 4x800 meter relay — Newton, Sydney Davies, S. Pearson, Ramsey, fourth, 13:18.33 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Simmons, Gabriel, Randall, Schroeder, second, 1:36.00 800 sprint medley relay — S. Pearson, Simmons, DeVore, Top, fifth, 2:13.49 1600 distance medley relay — Randall, Gabriel, Schroeder, Ramsey, sixth, 6:15.94 SWV boys earn top spots
The golfing Timberwolves traveled April 6 to Afton to play against the East Union Eagles in their second meet of the year. “The team has spent two days in practice concentrating on chipping and putting, and their hard work paid off for them,” SWV head coach Cindy Drake said. The boys team improved its score by 15 strokes over its first meet, shooting a 202 to East Union’s 211. Joey Oathoudt was medalist with 46, and Owen Wilkinson, playing in his first high-school golf meet, was runner-up with 49. Jake Oathoudt was close behind with 51, Ethan Bruce 56, Tate Haffner 57, Treyton Top 70, Vicente Butcher 71, and Kaleb Dodge 72. The girls team also improved its team score, playing on a golf course filled with difficult lies. “Their team score of 260 was not enough to beat East Union’s 245, but each of the girls improved their individual scores over our previous meet,” Drake said. Medalist for the girls was Abby Harper of EU, with a 54. Runner-up was Timberwolf Maggie Haer with a 60. Aubrey Boswell and Becca Wetzel both carded a 62, and Lindsey Maurer a 76. The Timberwolves’ next meets are April 8 at home against Bedford (tee time 4 p.m.), and April 12 at Red Oak (tee time 4:30 p.m.). SWV girls track team finishes strong
The Southwest Valley Timberwolves girls track team ran in the Stanton Co-Ed meet hosted April 1 by Griswold. The young Timberwolves team ran against some strong competition in the nine-team field to finish in fourth place overall with 74 points, 2 points behind the host team Stanton. The Timberwolves improved greatly from their first meet earlier in the week. The girls medaled in 14 total events, all seven relays and seven individual events. The top three performances on the night included the first champion of the season in Aunalee Bruce with a jump of 14 feet, 8.5 inches in the long jump. Two relay teams posted second place finishes: the 4x800 team of Aubrey Boswell, Christine Andrews, Sierra Pearson, and Halle Pearson and the distance medley team of Paighton Buffington, Emma DeVore, Boswell, and Haiden Top. Three relays took third place finishes: the sprint medley with Bruce, DeVore, Emma Cooper, and Top; the 4x100 with Bruce, Kyra Simmons, DeVore, and Cooper; and the 4x400 team of Top, S. Pearson, H. Pearson, and Andrews. Also placing third were Sydney Davies in the 3000 meter and Andrews in the 400 meter hurdles. “Overall it was very good night for the girls,” head coach Jason Hults said. “We same some gutsy performances in the relays with third and fourth leg girls fighting for positions and gaining spots late in the races for those top finishes. Auna winning the long jump will really help boost her confidence in that event as the season progresses. We saw a lot of improvement overall in all the events, and I feel we are off to a great start for the season.” Results from the Stanton Co-ed meet include: Team — Shenandoah 139, ACGC 135, Stanton 76, SWV 74, East Mills 64, Essex 37, Griswold 32, Sidney 21, Heartland Christian 4 100 meter dash — Emma Cooper, fourth, 15.42; Aunalee Bruce, 10th, 17.38 200 meter dash — Triana Gabriel, ninth, 35.54; Alyssa Randall, 10th, 36.50 400 meter dash — Halle Pearson, fifth, 1:12.08; Cooper, sixth, 1:13.50 800 meter run — Halle Pearson, fifth, 2:51.78; Sydney Davies, eighth, 3:07.95 100 meter hurdles — Kyra Simmons, 12th 21.71; Paighton Buffington, 14th, 22.12 1500 meter run — Aubrey Boswell, fifth, 6:44.15; Kya Newton, sixth, 6:44.32 3000 meter run — Sydney Davies, third, 13:36.66; Newton, seventh, 14:12.70 400 meter hurdles — Christine Andrews, third, 1:22.87; Trinity Schroeder, seventh, 1:32.09 Discus — Samantha Davies, 13th, 65-07; Tierney Dalton, 14th, 65-02 Long jump — Bruce, first, 14-08.50 Shot put — Julia Means, 14th, 23-03.00; Dalton, 15th, 22-06.00 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, Simmons, Emma DeVore, Cooper, third, 59.50 4x200 meter relay — DeVore, Randall, Gabriel, Sierra Pearson, fifth, 2:16.51 4x400 meter relay — Haidyn Top, S. Pearson, Schroeder, Andrews, third, 5:00.59 4x800 meter relay — Boswell, Andrews, S. Pearson, H. Pearson, second, 12:28.37 400 meter shuttle hurdle — Buffington, Simmons, Randall, Schroeder, fourth, 1:28.66 800 sprint medley relay — Bruce, DeVore, Cooper, Top, third, 2:07.52 1600 distance medley relay — Buffington, DeVore, Boswell, Top, second, 5:13.30 The Timberwolves made their first appearance of the season March 29 at the Bedford Co-Ed meet. The girl team was young and hungry with 14 of 21 runners competing in their first high school meet, resulting in a fourth place team finish. “We have 11 freshman, two sophomores, and a junior who were competing in their first track meets of their high school career, so nerves were running high; but Coach Hodapp and I saw some great effort and a lot of potential to build on from the new girls, and the experience of the five seniors helped tremendously,” Hults said. Top finishers for the Timberwolves were Haidyn Top (ninth) with a second place finish in the 400 meter and a third place in the 800 meter. Top also anchored the 4x800 with Boswell (12th), H. Pearson (12th), and Newton (ninth) to a second place finish. Bruce (12th) finished third and Cooper (ninth) fifth in the 100 meter. Schroeder (ninth) and Andrews (11th) finished third and fourth respectively in the 400 meter. H. Pearson took fifth in the 400 meter and Davies (12th) sixth in the 800 meter. Bruce also finished sixth in the long jump. The shuttle hurdle relay team finished third with Buffington (10th), Randall (ninth), Schroeder, and Simmons (ninth). The 4x400 team of Boswell, Davies, Andrews, and H. Pearson finished third. The 4x200 team with Randall, Gabriel (12), Devore (ninth), and S. Pearson (ninth) finished fourth. The 4x100 team with Bruce, DeVore, Simmons, and Cooper finished fifth. Both medley relay teams finished sixth for the Timberwolves with Bruce, DeVore, Cooper, and Andrews in the sprint medley and Simmons, Schroeder, S. Pearson, and Boswell in the distance medley. Results from Bedford include: Team — Wayne 171, CAM 94, Lenox 66, SWV 64, Griswold 63, East Union 60, Bedford 39, O-M 12 100 meter dash — Bruce, third, 14.14; Cooper, fifth, 14.67; Gabriel, 13th, 16.12 200 meter dash — Cooper, eighth, 32.02; DeVore, 10th, 32.56 400 meter dash — Top, second, 1:10.41; H. Pearson, fifth, 1:11.72 800 meter run — Top, third, 2:56.93; Davies, sixth, 2:58.31 100 meter hurdles — Buffington, ninth, 22.59; Simmons, 10th, 22.79 1500 meter run — Newton, eighth, 6:43.79; Megan Ramsey, 13th, 7:26.63 400 meter hurdles — Schroeder, third, 1:25.21; Andrews, fourth, 1:26.39 Discus — Dalton, ninth, 75-03; Davies, 16th, 52-07; Means, 19th, 47-00; Alice Williams, 21st, 38-03 High jump — Randall, seventh, 4.02.00 Long jump — Bruce, sixth, 13-10.25 Shot put — Dalton, 10th, 25-01.00; Means, 14th, 23-08.00; Davies, 18th, 20-11.00; Williams, 19-01.25 4x100 meter relay — Bruce, DeVore, Simmons, Cooper, fifth, 58.67 4x200 meter relay — Randall, Gabriel, DeVore, S. Pearson, fourth, 2:17.84 4x400 meter relay — Boswell, Davies, Andrews, H. Pearson, third, 5:01.62 4x800 meter relay — Boswell, H. Pearson, Newton, Top, second 12:29.19 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Buffington, Randall, Schroeder, Simmons, third, 1:29.91 800 sprint medley relay — Bruce, DeVore, Cooper, Andrews, sixth, 2:15.43 1600 distance medley relay — Simmons, Schroeder, S. Pearson, Boswell, sixth, 5:30.94 The Timberwolves are in action this week on April 6 in Clarinda and April 8 in Red Oak. Timberwolves tee off
for first meet The golfing Timberwolves played their first meet of the year on April 1 in Anita against CAM and Bedford. “Due to unavoidable circumstances, the girls’ team was without our No. 1 and No. 2 players,” head coach Cindy Drake said. “The remaining four girls were all playing in their very first high school golf meet.” Sophomores Maggie Haer and Becca Wetzel led the way with a 62 and 63, followed by sophomore Lindsey Mauer 79, and freshman Megan Ramsey 87. CAM had both the medalist and runner-up, and won the meet with a 225 vs. SWV 291. Bedford did not have enough players to yield a team score. The boys team was led by junior Joey Oathoudt and freshman Ethan Bruce, each scoring a 51. Junior Jake Oathoudt had a 57, junior Henry Bevington a 58, freshman Tate Haffner a 71, and senior Treyton Top a 73. CAM won the meet with a 184, Bedford 206, and SWV 217. “Due to uncooperative weather this spring, our outdoor practice has been quite limited,” Drake said. “In spite of that, I’m well pleased with the way the teams played. It was a good opening effort, one in which the kids could pinpoint the areas where they need more practice.” Southwest Valley’s meets this week are April 6 in Afton and April 8 at Happy Hollow Country Club in Corning against Bedford. Tee time for both meets is 4 p.m. Timberwolves take
to track and field On an extremely cold night in Griswold the Southwest Valley Timeberwolf boys track team competed April 1 at the Stanton Co-Ed Relays hosted by Griswold. “Overall we improved a lot of times and distances from our previous meet earlier in the week,” head coach Allen Naugle said. “We just ran into some very good competition. ACGC has a very good track team along with Shenandoah.” ACGC dominated the relays with a team score of 185 while second place Shenandoah had 106 points. “Overall I was very happy with how we competed and improved,” Naugle said. “We are still a very young and inexperienced team with only three non-freshman competing last night. We will continue to focus on improving each and every meet. I am very confident that with the talent we have that we will be a much improved team by the end of the season.” Results from the relays include: Team — ACGC 185, Shenandoah 106, Lewis Central 93, East Mills 39, Sidney 35, Tri-Center 33, Stanton girls 31, West Harrison 27, CAM 20, AHSTW 13, Essex 4, SWV 2 100 meter dash — Brendan Knapp, ninth, 12.95; Owen Wilkinson, 16th, 13.49 200 meter dash — Wilkinson, 13th, 27.18; Evan Pearson, 18th, 28.71 400 meter dash — Wilkinson, 12th, 1:02.04; Deacon Ganfield, 15th, 1:08.17 110 meter hurdles — Roman Keefe, 14th, 22.95 400 meter hurdles — Ian Brown, 13th, 1:17.21 Discus — Parker Boswell, 21st, 62-11 Long jump — Ely Rodriguez, 11th, 16-08.25; Isaac Currin, 14th, 15-09.00 Shot put — Ganfield, 19th, 26-06.50; Parker Boswell, 22nd, 23-05.00 4x100 meter relay — Rodriguez, Brock Bowden, Currin, Brendan Knapp, eighth, 50.51 4x200 meter relay — Rodriguez, Currin, Bowden, Knapp, seventh, 1:46.92 400 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Bowden, Keefe, Pearson, Brown, fifth, 1:22.50 800 sprint medley relay — Rodriguez, Bowden, Currin, Knapp, seventh, 1:48.94 SWV competed March 29 in the Bedford Bulldogs Co-Ed Invitational. “We ran into some adversity early with one of our sprinters staying home sick and then again with one of our competitors getting hurt in the first relay but our guys responded as well as we could,” Naugle said. “Overall I thought our guys competed hard and did a good job for their first meet of the year. We are young team and at times it showed last night. It was a great night to get out running besides the extremely strong wind gusts. We are happy to get some times put in and some distances on the mark. Now we have a base to improve on for the rest of the season.” Results from the invitational include: Team — CAM 155, Lenox 118, East Union 108, Bedford 76, O-M 34, Wayne 22, SWV 20, Griswold 13 100 meter dash — Wilkinson, fifth, 12.57; B. Knapp, seventh, 12.95 200 meter dash — Pearson, 14th, 29.48; Keefe, 18th, 30.61; Tate Haffner, 21st, 32.19 400 meter dash — Ganfield, ninth, 1:05.93 110 meter hurdles — Brown, eighth, 20.36; Keefe, ninth, 22.79 400 meter hurdles — Brown, fourth, 1:14.07 Discus — Pearson, 13th, 71-11; Boswell, 20th, 47-11 Long jump — Bowden, seventh, 15-00.25; Currin, ninth, 14-09.00; Pearson, 14th, 13-07.50 Shot put — Ganfield, 15th, 26-08.50; Boswell, 19th, 22-02.00 4x100 meter relay — Wilkinson, Currin, Bowden, B. Knapp, fifth, 49.96 4x200 meter relay — Wilkinson, Currin, Marshall Knapp, B. Knapp, third, 1:45.04 440 meter shuttle hurdle relay — Keefe, Brown, Haffner, Bowden, fourth, 1:22.02 800 sprint medley relay — Wilkinson, Currin, M. Knapp, B. Knapp, fifth, 1:51.37 This week the Timberwolves compete April 6 at East Union and April 9 at Clarinda. ![]() Lundquist claims
state title Southwest Valley sophomore Ady Lundquist finished 4-0 Feb. 28 at the AAU Girls State Championship at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines to claim the 106-pound weight class title. Lundquist, who placed second in the Jan. 22-23 in the Iowa Amateur Athletic Union Girls State Wrestling Tournament in Coralville, dominated her opponents at AAU, pinning three of her four opponents. Lundquist began by pinning Vivian Bauer of Chariton in 0:55. Next up, Lundquist she pinned Danielle Kron of Ridge View in 1:50. Lundquist faced Hannah Davis of Council Bluffs in her next round. Lundquist picked up 2 points on a reversal in the second period and 2 more on another reversal in the third for the 4-0 victory. In the title match, Lundquist pinned Emmersen Thomas of West Branch in 1:42. SWV’s Madeline McCoy finished the day 2-2 and fell just short of the podium. Myers place fourth at state
Southwest Valley senior wrestler Tallen Myers placed fourth for the second straight season in the Iowa High School Athletic Association 1A Championship Feb. 18-20 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Myers, who competed at 220 pounds, also notched his 100th win Feb. 18 in state quarterfinals. “What a fun year we had at the state tournament this year,” head coach Cody Konecne said. “The hopes and aspirations were very high. And the emotions of every match were on edge the whole time. Tallen gave it a run like none other.” Myers pinned West Monona junior Megaeska Kalskett in 5:21 in the first round and then claimed a 7-2 decision over East Buchanan senior Luke Recker. Myers then lost a close 1-0 decision to Hinton senior Derek Anderson but came back by pinning South Winneshiek senior Damon Meyer in 5:35. The win moved Myers into the third place match where he lost a 3-2 decision to senior West Hancock’s Cole Kelly. “He came up just short in the semifinals. That could have defined him. But he gathered himself, went out and won his next match, and gave himself a chance for third,” Konecne said. “That match also came up short, but it also didn’t define him. He did everything right in this tournament. He did more than enough to give himself a chance to be in the finals. Sometimes it just doesn’t end the way you want it to. But how you handle yourself in the face of adversity might just speak louder volumes than how you react to winning. I’m going to miss Tallen and Kaden [Jacobs] a great deal. They were so much fun to be around. And one day, I hope they decide to come around and give back to others. It’s always a great day to be a Timberwolf!” Myers qualifies
for state tourney Southwest Valley senior Tallen Myers captured the 220-pound class title Feb. 13 district wrestling tournament in Underwood. The win earns him a trip to the Iowa High School Athletic Association 1A Championship Feb. 18-20 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Three other Timberwolf wrestlers — Brayden Maeder, Colin Jacobs, and Kaden Jacobs — fell short despite hard-fought matches at district. “Chances and opportunities were there for the taking,” head coach Cody Konecne said. “We had a champion in Tallen Myers. He wrestled great today but we fell short in wrestle-backs in two weight classes.” Konecne said Maeder “gave it a great run in the hardest 106 district in the state. [He] fell a little short, but gained a world of experience." Jacobs competed in a “very tough district at 195.” Konecne said. “He never gave up shooting his shot, but ultimately came up short in both matches,” Konecne said. “And Kaden Jacobs ran the mill today. [He] wrestled an absolute hammer in the first round [and] showed up ready, even though he fell short. [He] avenged a sectional loss in the consolation round to move into wrestle-backs. Then he took that match deep into the wee moments only to suffer a last second takedown to fall just short, although I still think he had that kid pinned in the first.” Konecne said despite the losses the Timberwolves never gave up. “We didn’t lay down for anyone today. We fought like champions today. And we can’t hang our heads from the results of today,” he said. “Today made me proud to continually state that it is a great day to be a Timberwolf! Onward!” Myers (16-1) faces West Monona junior Megaeksa Kalskett (39-9) in the first round of the 1A state tournament Feb. 18. ![]() T-Wolves unable
to stop Lenox After posting a solid 14-point win over Southeast Warren to conclude the regular season Feb. 9, the Southwest Valley Timberwolves varsity girls basketball team fought hard but lost 58-45 Feb. 11 to the Lenox Tigers. The post season loss concludes the T-Wolves season and the careers of six seniors: Hailey Mendenhall, Halle Pearson, Marah Larsen, Makayla Houck, Tonna Damewood and Joslynn Moore. Trailing 27-20 at halftime, the T-Wolves had their smallest halftime deficit against Lenox this season. The T-Wolves fell behind by 15 on the road in the second half but clawed back into the game on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 7 in the fourth quarter. Lenox drained some late free throws to earn a hard fought win over a never say quit Wolves team. Norah Lund and Marah Larsen paced the Timberwolves with 12 points each. Maggie Haer added 9 points, Makayla Houck contributed 5, Hailey Mendenhall chipped in 4, and Halle Pearson rounded out the scoring with 3. Tonna Damewood and Joslynn Moore both played hard on the court in their time, too. “Coach [Jerry] Hartman and I are so proud of our team,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “They played their hearts out and never quit in this game. A talented Lenox team had to earn their win and our team showed much character to cut this lead in the fourth quarter like they did. We are sad to lose our seniors and thank them for their contributions this year. We are excited for our younger players and think they have a bright future, too. Thank you Southwest Valley players, families and fans for all you did this year.” Other Varsity members who were on the Varsity roster at Lenox and contributed throughout the year were Charlee Larsen, Kayla Mitchell, Rebecca Wetzel, Lindsay Maurer, Alana Drake. and Ryanne Mullen. Cormack and Hartman said they are very pleased by each of these players and believe they, along with the players who exclusively played junior varsity, provide a strong foundation for future success in the program. The coaches thanked Beth Waddle for her extensive volunteer work with keeping the scorebook this year. They also thanked the Timberwolves band, livestream crew, cheerleaders, parent volunteers, school administration, and school custodial crew for all their support this year. “We look forward to coming back strong next season and remaining, One Pack, All In! Go Wolves!,” Cormack said. Ending the regular season in style, the Timberwolves defeated a strong Southeast Warren team 48-34 to conclude Pride of Iowa and regular season play for the season Feb. 9. The Timberwolves led from start to finish, leading by 13 at halftime. The win snapped a three-game winning streak by the 12-7 Warhawks and sent the Timberwolves into postseason play with some positive momentum. Southwest Valley was led by sophomore Maggie Haer who had 16 points on the night. “Norah Lund has a really solid game and scored 11 points,” Cormack said. “Hailey Mendenhall had her second double figure game in her career and did it on back to back nights, putting in 10 for the T-Wolves.” Halle Pearson added 5, Marah Larsen chipped in 4, and Makayla Houck made a bucket to round out the scoring. Tonna Damewood led the team with seven rebounds while Lindsay Maurer provided relief to the team with hustling play off the bench. Southwest Valley improved to 4-16 on the regular season and 4-9 in conference. "We are proud to end the season on a high note and put it together on both ends of the floor,” Cormack said. “We have recently had very good offensive nights and struggled on defense while doing the reverse on other nights. Tonight we put it all together. This is a quality 12-win team that has won games by margins as large as 48 points this year. We held them to 34. Just a really nice team victory that had contributions from throughout the team.” ![]() SWV falls to Lenox
Double-digit scoring by two of Southwest Valley’s four seniors — Tucker TePoel, Blaine Venteicher, Blake Venteicher, and Gage Barton — the Timberwolves were unable to stop Lenox in a Feb. 15 74-62 loss. Senior Tucker TePoel led the team with 17 points and 14 rebounds while fellow senior Blaine Venteicher scored 12. Junior Gabe Fuller had 14 points. The Timberwolves notched a 34-30 halftime lead but Lenox held SWV to only 10 third quarter points to move ahead 51-40 before finishing with a 23-18 fourth quarter. The T-Wolves claimed a 54-46 win Feb. 9 over Southeast Warren. TePoel had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the win while Blaine Venteicher had 11 points and five assists and Blake Venteicher had 8 points. SEW’s Austin Clendenend had 15 points. Four Timberwolves advance to district
Four Southwest Valley wrestlers will compete in the Feb. 13 district wrestling tournament in Underwood after earning spots in the Feb. 6 regional duals in Corning. “Brayden Maeder and Tallen Myers were your winners today and Kaden and Colin Jacobs got second,” head coach Cody Konecne said. “The other four guys went out and had pretty good days of their own. We aren’t done yet, we have merely just begun. What a great day to be a Timberwolf!” Maeder finished the day 2-0 while Myers was also undefeated at 1-0 for first place. Kaden Jacobs and Colin Jacobs both finished 1-1 for second place. Robbie Barnes also finished 1-1 for third place, just shy of district qualification. Ely Rodriguez placed fourth after going 1-2 and Tate Haffner placed fifth by finishing 1-1. Evan Timmerman was 0-2 Timberwolves fall short against Red Oak
After building a 7 point lead in the second quarter, the Southwest Valley Timberwolves couldn't keep the momentum going, falling short 66-52 in non-conference action Feb. 8 in Red Oak. Marah Larsen scored a team high 13 points to lead the Timberwolves in scoring. Hailey Mendenhall had a career high 12 points by sinking four 3-point shots in the game. Mendenhall is the sixth Timberwolf to reach double figures in scoring this season and was her first in her career. Halle Pearson scored 8 points, Maggie Haer had 7, while Norah Lund and Makayla Houck rounded out the scoring at 6 apiece. Tonna Damewood rebounded and defended with good effort in her time on the floor. "We played much better offensively tonight and want to build on that,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “Really proud that Hailey Mendenhall became our sixth varsity player this year to reach double figures in scoring. Our girls have had many solid individual achievements this season and we will keep fighting for team success.” The Timberwolves turn around and face Southeast Warren to conclude the regular season in Pride of Iowa play. District play takes the T-Wolves to Lenox on Feb. 11 for postseason play. In junior varsity action, the Timberwolves concluded their season with a 32-23 loss to Red Oak and snap a three game winning streak. Due to weather and other schools’ inability to field a JV squad, the team had an 11 day layoff between games. Charlee Larsen and Ryanne Mullen led the T-Wolves with 6 points each. Other T-Wolves scoring included Rebecca Wetzel with 4, Alyssa Randall with 3, and 2 points for both Kayla Mitchell and Lindsay Maurer. Other Timberwolves who played were Anjali Kathikar, Haidyn Top, Joslynn Moore, Sierra Pearson, Delaney Yates, Kyra Simmons, and Alana Drake. "I loved every minute of coaching this group and the improvement this team made was terrific. Their future is bright," JV coach Jerry Hartman said. Both Hartman and Cormack praised senior Joslynn Moore for coming out for basketball after several years off and being a positive role model for the younger members of the team. They wish her the best moving forward. The coaches also thanked the parents for their help throughout the season and the players for their very positive attitudes this season. “Great things lie ahead for these Wolves in future years,” they said. On a snowy Saturday in Villisca, the Southwest Valley Timberwolves hosted Lenox in an afternoon girls basketball game Feb. 6. The visiting Tigers were able to prevail 47-25 in Pride of Iowa Conference play. Larsen led the Timberwolves with 9 points. Scoring for the team were Houck with 5 points, Haer with 4, Mendenhall with 3 and scoring 2 points each were Halle Pearson and Wetzel. Other Timberwolves who played were Lund, Charlee Larsen, Mitchell, Maurer, Moore, Damewood, Drake and Mullen. This is the roster the team will bring to the game on Feb. 11. "We played a solid game defensively in this contest, holding a talented Lenox team in the 40s,” Cormack said. “We just were cold everywhere shooting tonight, both from the field and at the line. I was pleased with our effort but to get the job done later this week, we have to make our foul shots and open opportunities.” Bedford was able to come from behind to defeat the Southwest Valley Timberwolves 55-51 Feb. 2 in Pride of Iowa Conference play in Bedford. Haer had a season high 19 points in the game and was joined in double figures by Halle Pearson with 13 and Lund with 12. Larsen contributed 5 points and Damewood rounded out the scoring with 2. “Maggie Haer had a fantastic night with her scoring and great overall play,” Cormack said. “Norah and Halle both got into double figures and we had contributions from many players. Bedford got hot in the second half from the field and we came up just short. We'll keep fighting in our remaining schedule and tournament play.” SWV stops Bedford
Southwest Valley’s Tucker TePoel had 15 points and 16 rebounds while Blake Venteicher kicked in 10 points to lead the Timberwolves to a 44-41 win Feb. 2 over Bedford. Gabe Fuller had 6 points and six rebounds and Blake Thomas also had 6 points. Bedford’s Owen Lucas scored 12. The Timberwolves fell 53-48 Feb. 6 to Lenox despite double digit scoring by TePoel, Blaine Venteicher, and Owen Wilkinson. TePoel had 12 points and 15 rebounds, Blaine Venteicher had 11 points and four steals, and Wilkinson had 10 points. Keaton England, Jamason Adams, and Walton Cook scored 11 points each for Lenox. Red Oak’s Max Devries’ 21 points Feb. 8 made it tough for the T-Wolves in a 70-37 loss. TePoel scored 11 pts while Blaine Venteicher and Gabe Fuller had 7 points each. ![]() Central Decatur
edges out SWV Despite a double-double by Southwest Valley senior Tucker TePoel, the Timberwolves fell 65-62 to Central Decatur Jan. 29 on Senior Night. “On Senior Night all five seniors contributed in a closely contested game,” head coach Kyle Bashor said. “We fell short against a good team but the seniors have a lot to be proud of.” TePoel ended the evening with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Blaine Venteicher also finished in double digits with 15 points and three steals. Gage Barton had 6 points and six rebounds and Aiden Toogood had 6 points. “Blaine Venteicher played a great defensive game,” Bashor said. Central Decatur’s Trey Hullinger scored 24 points. This week’s schedule includes a road game Feb. 2 with Bedford and the Timberwolves hosting Sidney on Feb. 4 and Lenox on Feb. 6. ![]() T-Wolves fall to ACGC
The Southwest Valley Timberwolves went Jan. 30 to Adair to make up a recently postponed game with ACGC. The Timberwolves lost 55-42 in non-conference play to fall to 3-13 on the season. They remain 3-7 in the Pride of Iowa Conference. Maggie Haer led the T-Wolves in scoring with 11 points. Marah Larsen nearly had a double-double with 10 rebounds and 9 points. Halle Pearson had 7 points and six steals. Norah Lund and Hailey Mendenhall each had 5 points. Makayla Houck scored 3 points and Rebecca Wetzel made a late bucket to round out the scoring at 2. Head coach Mike Cormack said all Timberwolves did get into the game, including Tonna Damewood with some improved ball handling and rebounds. Others to play included Alana Drake, Kayla Mitchell, Ryanne Mullen, Kayla Mitchell, Charlee Larsen and Lindsey Maurer. “ACGC dominated the first and third quarters of this game,” Cormack said. “We did the same in the second quarter and we held a slight edge in the fourth. We are having good stretches of play in our recent games but need to be more consistent as a team to be successful overall.” Coming off an eight-day delay due to inclement weather, Southwest Valley varsity had a solid first half of action, building a 26-19 halftime lead but couldn't sustain the momentum in the second half, falling to conference foe Central Decatur 55-48 Jan. 29 on Senior Night. The Timberwolves Varsity falls to 3-12 on the season and 3-7 in the Pride of Iowa Conference. Lund and Houck each scored 14 points in impressive fashion to lead the Timberwolves in scoring. Halle Pearson contributed 9 points, Haer added 6, Mendenhall hit a 3-point shot, and Larsen rounded out the scoring with 2. Damewood, Maurer, and Wetzel also saw playing time in the game for the Timberwolves. “Our seniors played an outstanding first half on Senior Night with contributions from all of those players, as well as our underclassmen,” Cormack said. “We had a good team on the ropes at halftime and weren't able to keep it going in the second half. We must, and believe will, learn how to win a game like this the next time we are in this situation.” Cormack thanked all of the parents for their support and sacrifice throughout the season on behalf of the players on the team after the Senior Night game. In junior varsity play, the Timberwolves won their third game in a row in dramatic fashion, 44-40 in overtime over Central Decatur. The game was tied at 36-36 after regulation but the team outscored the Cardinals 8-4 to keep their winning streak going. Eleven Timberwolves scored in the JV contest. Ryanne Mullen scored 11 points to lead the team. Kyra Simmons, Haidyn Top, and Charlee Larsen all had 5 points in the contest. Maurer scored 4 points while Sierra Pearson and Delaney Yates each made 3 points. Adding 2 points were Alyssa Randall, Wetzel, Kayla Mitchell, and Alana Drake. Anjali Kathikar had solid floor play on both ends of the court, as well. The Timberwolves’ JV, now 5-7 on the season, have two games remaining with their next game against Sidney on Feb. 4. T-Wolf wrestlers
win three duals The Southwest Valley wrestling had a good night Jan. 28 at Southeast Warren, winning all three of its duals and posting several individual wins. “It was nice to go out and finish our dual season on a high note,” head coach Cody Konecne said. “We finished with a dual record of 10-15. We fell short of a goal of winning over half our duals, but we improved greatly over the last two seasons. And we hope to finish our individual season with the same momentum. It’s a great day to be a Timberwolf!” The Timberwolves defeated Nodaway Valley 54-12, Wayne of Corydon 54-18, and Southeast Warren 54-30. Individual results are Brayden Maeder 3-0, Ady Lundquist 3-0, Camryn Johnston 3-0, Tate Haffner 2-1, Ely Rodriguez 1-2, Evan Timmerman 3-0, Deacon Ganfield 0-3, Bradlee Grantz 3-0, Kaden Jacobs 3-0, Colin Jacobs 3-0, Dillon Inman 0-1, and Tallen Myers 3-0. Results from the Jan. 30 tournament at East Mills were unavailable at press time. Sectionals are scheduled for Feb. 6 ![]() Lundquist takes second
at state tourney Southwest Valley’s Camryn Johnston and Adyson Lundquist competed Jan. 22-23 in the Iowa Amateur Athletic Union Girls State Wrestling Tournament in Coralville, with Lundquist bringing home a second place medal. Lundquist came into the tournament as the No. 2 seed in the 64-person bracket. She placed fifth last year as a freshman and had a giant target on her back. She let none of those factors get in her way of making it to the finals. Lundquist had a bye to get into the round of 32. After that, she earned a first round pin in the round of 16 and a first round pin in the round of eight to come in strong to the quarterfinals. Lundquist showed her dominance again in the quarterfinals by winning 12-0. She advanced to a familiar opponent, Jaylynn Goodale, in the semifinals. Lundquist got up early with an advantage of 8-0 before committing a technical error that had her on her back and fighting to not get pinned but escaped to a score of 8-5. After collecting herself and finishing strong, Lundquist went on to finish the match 12-7, earning a way to the finals where she was ultimately pinned in the first period by the No. 1 seed. Johnston entered tournament having only won one match in girls competition. She took to her 64-person bracket with an open attitude that anything was possible but lost her first round match. On the consolation side, Johnston had a bye in the first round. She was then pitted against the only local girl, Jaycee Fitzgerald, who she had seen previous to the tournament. She defeated Fitzgerald with hopes to keep her advancement alive but Those hopes were thwarted in the next round. Johnston finished her tournament with a 1-2 record. She said she will look to her off-season program to grow and develop in order to try and reach the podium next year 66th Annual John J. Harris Wrestling Tournament ![]() SWV girls claim road win
The Southwest Valley girls basketball team earned its first road victory of the season, defeating the East Union Eagles 51-37 in Pride of Iowa action Jan. 21 in Afton. The Timberwolves built a 21-point lead in the contest and played a complete game on both ends of the floor. Marah Larsen was one of four Timberwolves in double figures on the night for the Timberwolves, who improve to 3-6 in the Pride of Iowa Conference and 3-11 on the season. Ten points were scored by Norah Lund, Makayla Houck, and Maggie Haer. Halle Pearson and Hailey Mendenhall each had 3 points for the T-Wolves while Lindsay Maurer completed the scoring with a bucket. “Tonna Damewood and Pearson both received a tough defensive assignment and rose to the occasion,” head coach Mike Cormack said. It was the first basketball action of the season for two Timberwolves, junior Kayla Mitchell and sophomore Ryanne Mullen, who have both worked hard to return to health this year, Cormack said. "We played a very solid game tonight with good team defense, taking care of the ball and good team play on offense,” he said. “We are pleased with this team win.” In junior varsity play, the Southwest Valley Timberwolves won their second game of the week, winning 28-24 to improve to 4-6 on the year. The Timberwolves trailed by 3 heading into the final quarter but a 12-5 run at the end captured the victory. Rebecca Wetzel led the T-Wolves scoring with 10 points. Haidyn Top scored 5 points, Delaney Yates and Ryanne Mullen added 4, Charlee Larsen had 3, and Kyra Simmons had 2 points to round out the scoring. Joslynn Moore, Maurer, Sierra Pearson, Alyssa Randall, Anjali Kathikar, Alana Drake. and Mitchell all contributed to the win with solid floor play. Coming off a win against Wayne, the Timberwolves faced Class 2A fourth-rated and undefeated Nodaway Valley on Jan. 19 in Corning. Nodaway Valley prevailed 79-42 in a fast-paced game. Larsen led the Timberwolves with 11 points and Houck also reached double figures with 10. Haer contributed 8 points, Halle Pearson scored 6, Mendenhall hit a 3-pointer for her points, while Damewood and Lund each scored 2. The Timberwolves scored 19 more points than the first time they faced Nodaway Valley. "Nodaway Valley has a tremendous opportunity to be a state tournament team,” Cormack said. “They have beaten teams in a similar manner throughout the year. While we are not happy with the score, we did improve in many areas compared to the first time we played this team. This game will help us against the rest of our teams on the schedule.” In JV action, the Timberwolves improved to 3-6 on the season with an exciting 34-33 win over the Nodaway Valley JV. The Timberwolves trailed 19-11 at halftime but outscored their opponents 23-14 in the second half. Leading the way for the Timberwolves JV in scoring was Larsen with 11 points. Top had 6 points while Maurer, Wetzel, and Simmons had 4 points each. Randall hit a 3-pointer and Drake added 2 points to complete the scoring. Coach Jerry Hartman noted the contributions of Sierra Pearson, Joslynn Moore, Delaney Yates, and Anjali Kathikar with their hustle and overall good floor play in the win. ![]() SWV edges out East Union
Double-digit shooting and a strong night on the boards gave Southwest Valley a 69-68 win Jan. 21 over East Union. Tucker TePoel led the shooters with 12 points and eight rebounds while Blake Venteicher scored 13 points and Gabe Fuller had eight points and 10 rebounds. East Union’s Cale Eklund led his team with 18 points. The Timberwolves fell 72-49 Jan. 19 to Nodaway Valley. Fuller had 12 points as did TePoel who also had eight rebounds. Nodaway Valley’s Boston Devault had 20 points. SWV suffered a 82-34 loss Jan. 18 against MTSM. TePoel had 14 points while Fuller finished with 8. Carson Elbert scored 28 points for MTSM. ![]() Timberwolves finish strong in Griswold Tournament
Five Southwest Valley wrestlers went undefeated Jan. 16 in the Griswold Tournament and another suffered just one loss to help give the Timberwolves a third place finish. Collin Jacobs, Camryn Johnston, Ady Lundquist, Brayden Maeder, and Tallen Myers were named all-tournament champions while Kaden Jacobs finished the day 4-1. “We had a pretty good day at Griswold today,” head coach Cody Konecne said. “We went 3-2 in our duals and had five all-tournament champions. We had one come just short. Lots of long matches that we needed heading into the last stretch of the year. I was a great day to be a Timberwolf!” Maeder and Myers finished 5-0, Johnston and Colin Jacobs finished 4-0, Lundquist finished 3-0, and Kaden Jacobs finished 4-1. Evan Timmerman ended the tournament 3-2. Tate Haffner, Ely Rodriquez, Deacon Ganfield, and Robbie Barnes all finished 2-3. As a team, the Timberwolves defeated Griswold 60-12, Nodaway Valley 42-36, and Tri-Center 51-21. SWV fell 58-24 to Bedford/Lenox and 44-33 to St. Albert. The Timberwolves’ boys will compete again Jan. 22-23 in the 66th Annual John J. Harris Wrestling Tournament in Corning while Johnston and Lundquist will compete in the Iowa Amateur Athletic Union Girls State Wrestling Tournament in Coralville. ![]() T-Wolves upset
Wayne 37-33 The Southwest Valley Timberwolves girls basketball team pulled off a huge 37-33 win over the Wayne Falcons in varsity basketball action Jan. 16 in Corning. The Timberwolves held one of the top Pride of Iowa Conference scoring teams to their lowest point total on the season. The Timberwolves, who trailed at halftime 16-13, cut the lead to one at the end of the third quarter and used a 13-8 fourth quarter to pull out the win. The Timberwolves, now 2-10 on the season and 2-5 in conference play, had a balanced scoring attack with Maggie Haer and Norah Lund each leading the way with 9 points. Makayla Houck added 8, Halle Pearson chipped in 6, Marah Larsen had 4, and Alana Drake contributed a key free throw at the end of the third quarter to complete the scoring. “Tonna Damewood was a key player in providing steady defense all night long against Emily Jones, one of the top scorers in the conference,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “Joining Damewood with strong defensive play in the stifling 33 point defensive effort that did not score but helped greatly on the court were Joslynn Moore, Hailey Mendenhall, Rebecca Wetzel, and Lindsay Maurer.” The Wayne Falcons fall to 10-4 on the season and 4-4 in the Pride of Iowa Conference. “This was a total team victory. We had contributions all over the place in this game and particularly on the defensive end,” Cormack said. “While attention should be given to our scorers, who all had fine defensive nights, our players who were in the game and did not score contributed big time with rebounds, taking care of the basketball and strong defensive play. It says something about the character of our players to bounce back after two tough games and beat an outstanding, high scoring team like Wayne in the manner that they did. All credit to our girls for competing at a high level today.” Cormack thanked assistant coach Jerry Hartman for his help throughout the night in helping to achieve this upset win. The Timberwolves went to Stanton on a wintry Jan. 14 to play at Corner Conference leading Viqueens. Stanton led from start to finish in defeating the Timberwolves 54-22. The Timberwolves were paced by Marah Larsen with 7 points and eight rebounds. Makayla Houck added 4 points. Maggie Haer and Lindsay Wetzel each had 3 points while Halle Pearson and Rebecca Wetzel both had 2. “Alana Drake scored her first varsity point with a free throw late in the game, which brought a nice cheer from the crowd and teammates for the hard working junior,” Cormack said. It was also the first varsity game where sisters Charlee and Marah Larsen shared the floor at the same time. “Charlee is a promising freshman while Marah is a senior co-captain along with Pearson,” Cormack said. Other Timberwolves who played in the contest were Norah Lund, Hailey Mendenhall, Tonna Damewood, and Joslynn Moore. “Stanton played very well tonight and we credit them for the win,” Cormack said. “It was encouraging to see some nice moments at the end of the contest from some of our players who haven’t played as much this year. We look forward to what these younger players can do in the future.” SWV lost 58-28 on the road Jan. 12 at Mount Ayr. Haer led the T-Wolves with 7 points. Marah Larsen added 6 points, Lund had 5, and Houck did the same, as well as adding five rebounds. Lindsay Maurer, Mendenhall, and Damewood added 2 points to round out the scoring. “The girls played hard and I am proud of their effort. We did break a quality press much better than the first time we faced them and competed better on the boards,” Cormack said. “We simply were cold in shooting and the scoreboard indicated that. This is a very good team we faced and I am confident we will shoot the ball better in future games.” Traveling to Malvern, Iowa, the Southwest Valley girls JV basketball team won their second game of the season by defeating the East Mills Wolverines 28-20 in non-conference action on Jan. 11. Sophomore Rebecca Wetzel led the team in scoring with 12 points. Freshman Kyra Simmons also scored in double figures by adding 10 of her own. Sophomore Lindsay Maurer chipped in 3 points as did freshman Charlee Larsen. Others who played and contributed to the win were Haidyn Top, Joslynn Moore, Sierra Pearson, Alyssa Randall, Delaney Yates, Anjali Kathikar, and Alana Drake. “We are pleased for this group to get their first road win of the season and for some of our freshmen, their first high school basketball road victory,” said Coach Jerry Hartman. Hartman said he is proud of the JV and how they bring a positive attitude every day to practice and the games that they play. The Timberwolves are back in action with two conference games this week. They host conference leading undefeated Nodaway Valley on Jan. 19 in a varsity/junior varsity doubleheader. Then they go on the road to face East Union in varsity only action Jan. 21 ![]() SWV defeats Wayne 53-33
Southwest Valley’s Gabe Fuller and Tucker TePoel scored a total of 35 points Jan. 16 for a 52-33 win over Wayne. Fuller ended the night with 18 points and three steals while TePoel had 17 points, 12 rebounds, and four steals. Blaine Venteicher had 3 points, five rebounds, and four steals. Royce Synder scored 12 points for Wayne. The Timberwolves fell 62-33 Jan. 12 to Mount Ayr. Blake Thomas led SWV with 10 points and seven rebounds. Mount Ayr’s Jaixen Frost had 17 points. The Timberwolves are scheduled to make up a Dec. 11 road game with Martensdale-St. Mary’s on Jan. 18 and are set to host Nodaway Valley on Jan. 19 before taking to the road again Jan. 21 at East Union. State bound![]() Timberwolves take Bedford 39-37
Southwest Valley’s Blaine Venteicher scored 16 points and had seven steals to lead the Timberwolves to a 39-37 victory Jan. 5 over Bedford. Gabe Fuller added 9 points while Tucker TePoel and Blake Thomas had 5 points and seven rebounds each. “It was a close game with good defense from both sides,” head coach Kyle Bashor said. :Blaine Venteicher came up with four big 3-pointers in second half.” Owen Lucas led the Bedford shooters with 10 points. The Timberwolves fell 78-34 Jan. 4 to Clarinda. Blaine Venteicher had 12 points while Owen Wilkinson and Blake Venteicher scored 6 points each. Clarinda’s Tadyn Brown led his team with 15 point. This week’s schedule includes road games Jan. 12 with Mount Ayr and Jan. 14 with Stanton before the Timberwolves return home Jan. 15 to host Wayne. SWV is on the road again Jan. 18 with Martensdale-St. Mary’s. ![]() SWV girls post first win
Despite trailing by 12 points in the first half and playing in the second of back to back nights, the Southwest Valley girls basketball team roared back to capture their first win of the season Jan. 5, defeating the Bedford Bulldogs 55-52. With relentless pressure defense, the game swung in favor of the T-Wolves who came back to capture their first Pride of Iowa Conference win. Despite trailing by a 33-27 halftime score, the T-Wolves outscored Bedford 28-19 in the second half for the win. Maggie Haer and Marah Larsen led a balanced attack with 12 points each. Norah Lund added 9 points while Makayla Houck and Halle Pearson both tallied 8. Hailey Mendenhall rounded out the scoring with 6. “Tonna Damewood blocked a shot and made a key rebound down the stretch to help with the victory, too,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “Lindsay Maurer contributed on defense when called upon in the win, too. "Our girls have come up just short many times this year. To be down 12 points in the first half, it showed great character for them to fight back for this victory,” Cormack said. “They do what they are supposed to do on a daily basis and while the scoreboard finally agreed tonight, they have been winners to me well before this final result." The Timberwolves’ junior varsity played a hard fought game against the Bedford. They came up short 34-26. Coaches Jerry Hartman and Cormack said they were pleased by how hard the team played, noting just a few shots here and there in the game that could have dropped was the difference against a quality Bedford junior varsity team. Haidyn Top, Rebecca Wetzel, and Maurer each scored 6 points each to lead the squad. Alyssa Randall and Charlee Larsen both added 4 to complete the scoring. “Everyone on the team played and contributed with their floor play,” Cormack said. Other players playing JV were Joslynn Moore, Sierra Pearson, Delaney Yates, Kyra Simmons, Anjali Kathikar, and Alana Drake. The Southwest Valley Timberwolves battled the 2A Clarinda Cardinals from the Hawkeye Ten Conference in non-conference action Jan. 4 in Villisca. After leading by one at halftime and trailing by the same at the end of the third quarter, the Timberwolves came up short 47-42 in a competitive ball game that had several lead changes throughout. Makayla Houck had a career-high 17 points for the Timberwolves, including three makes from the 3-point line. “Maggie Haer played a solid all-around game and contributed 11 points to join Houck in double figures,” Cormack said. “Other scoring came from Hailey Mendenhall who added 5 points and caused a key turnover with solid defense.” Marah Larsen led the team with seven rebounds and added 3 points. Norah Lund with 4 points and Halle Pearson with 2 rounded out the scoring. "First, it was great to see a fine individual game for one of our seniors, Makayla Houck with 17 points,” Cormack said. “We now have four players with double figure scoring in games this year with her joining Marah Larsen, Maggie Haer and Norah Lund in doing so. Our players played well as a group tonight as did Clarinda. The game came down to a few shots and a few free throws at the end. Both teams played well enough to win and we came up just short." The Clarinda Cardinals JV team defeated the Southwest Valley squad 29-22. Charlee Larsen scored 6 points to lead the Timberwolves JV in scoring. Lindsay Maurer and Rebecca Wetzel each had 5 points. Delaney Yates and Haidyn Top both contributed 3 points to finish up the Timberwolves’ scoring. “The Wolves started slow but came on throughout the game to make a contest of it,” Cormack said. The Timberwolves are now 1-8 on the season and 1-4 in conference. Their next action was set for Jan. 12 on the road at Mount Ayr day. Cormack said there is a tough stretch of games coming up for the T-Wolves but that the team is improving every day and looking forward to showing improvement against top area teams. ![]() SWV falls 45-38 to Lenox
Southwest Valley came up short in a 45-38 loss Dec. 15 to Lenox in Pride of Iowa action in Lenox. Marah Larsen had a season high 15 points for the Timberwolves in the contest. SWV fell behind by 11 early in the second quarter but did mount a comeback, cutting the lead to 3 at the end of the third quarter and twice to that same margin in the fourth quarter. Lenox was able to hold on for the 7 point victory. Maggie Haer scored 8 points, Makayla Houck had a season high seven 7 points while Norah Lund and Halle Pearson scored 3. Tonna Damewood rounded out the scoring with 2 points. "We dug ourselves a hole in the first half and I did challenge our players at halftime,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “To their credit, we bounced back with a solid second half and it was good to see us respond with a nice run of good play to get us back in the game.” The Timberwolves fall to 0-4 in the conference and 0-7 on the season. Dec. 17 games with conference foe Southeast Warren at Corning were postponed. The Timberwolves are scheduled to return to the court on Jan. 4 when they host Clarinda. ![]() Lenox tops T-Wolves 54-49
Despite three shooters scoring in double digits Dec. 15, the Timberwolves fell 54-49 to Lenox. Tucker TePoel led Southwest Valley with 17 points followed by Blaine Venteicher with 12, Blake Venteicher with 10, Gabe Fuller and Blake Thomas with 4 each, and Joey Oathoudt and Gage Barton with 1 each. Keaton England was the top scorer for Lenox with 27 points. Dec. 17 games with conference foe Southeast Warren at Corning were postponed. The Timberwolves are scheduled to return to the court on Jan. 4 when they host Clarinda Hitting the mat![]() Timberwolves
drop two games Southwest Valley posted losses in its last two outings, dropping games Dec. 14 to CAM and Dec. 8 to Nodaway Valley. The Timberwolves fell 63-42 to CAM at home. Blaine Venteicher ended the night with 14 points and four steals while Gabe Fuller had 8 points and two steals. CAM’s Cade Ticknor had 17 points and Conner McFee had 16. SWV fell 70-46 to Nodaway Valley. Blaine Venteicher had 16 points followed by Blake Venteicher with 10 points and Tucker TePoel with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Nodaway Valley’s Boston Devault was his team’s top scorer with 17 points. The Timberwolves are scheduled to travel Dec. 15 to Lenox and to host Southeast Warren on Dec. 17. A Dec. 11 game with Martensdale-St. Marys has been rescheduled for Jan. 18. ![]() Cougars stop Timberwolves 64-45
The undefeated CAM Cougars of the Rolling Valley Conference came Dec. 14 to Corning and defeated the Southwest Valley Timberwolves girls basketball team 65-45 in a hard fought game. CAM, coming off 56, 30 and 27 point wins, had to earn it against a scrappy Timberwolves squad. The Cougars led 30-17 at half and at the end of the third, the Cougars cut it to a single digit lead at 37-28 before the Cougars pulled away in the fourth for the final score. Norah Lund continued a string of double figure games with 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Eight other Timberwolves scored including Maggie Haer with 8, Marah Larsen with 7, Rebecca Wetzel with 6, Hailey Mendenhall with 5, and 2 points each from Halle Pearson, Makayla Houck, Charlee Larsen, and Lindsay Maurer. Tonna Damewood contributed with four rebounds, two steals, and a block. Houck had a season high six rebounds in a solid all-around game. "We have been playing an incredibly tough stretch of basketball games against quality opponents,” head coach Mike Cormack said. “Those teams are 25-9 on the season. The team we faced tonight is as good as any we have played. Our girls competed all night long and made CAM earn it. We cut this lead to 9 and then we saw a team with stars with state tournament experience show that down the stretch. We are improving and our girls showed great fight in this game with some areas we need to continue to work on to beat teams of this caliber." The junior varsity lost 49-37 to CAM to fall to 1-4 on the season. Coaches Cormack and Jerry Hartman were pleased by a strong fourth quarter from the team and positive attitudes throughout the roster. Lindsay Maurer and Charlee Larsen both scored 11 points for the T-Wolves. Haidyn Top added 8, Delaney Yates had 3 points while Joslynn Moore and Rebecca Wetzel contributed 2. Other players who made solid contributions were Sierra Pearson, Alyssa Randall, Anjali Kathikar, Kyra Simmons, and Alana Drake. Southwest Valley went on the road to play a talented Martensdale-St. Mary's on Dec. 11 and came up short 64-52. After leading 10-8 in the first quarter and trailing 26-21 at half, a cold shooting third quarter put the T-Wolves down by 14 going into the fourth. Despite winning the fourth quarter 20-18, the T-Wolves fell to 0-3 in the Pride of Iowa Conference and 0-5 on the season. There were positives in this contest with three Timberwolves scoring in double figures for the first time this season. Norah Lund poured in 16 points with Marah Larsen adding 12 and Maggie Haer 10. Halle Pearson almost made it four with 8 points and a solid all-around game. Makayla Houck had 3 points, Tonna Damewood added 2 and Lindsay Mauer had 1. Hailey Mendenhall had a good floor game in her minutes, too. "This was a competitive game against a good team on the road,” Cormack said. “We scored more points than at any point in the season and could have added many more with some missed opportunities at the hoop. This game could have went either way but we had one scoring drought that hurt us in the third. We play to win but each player had good minutes on the floor and this was a step forward for where we want to get as a team." The Southwest Valley Timberwolves lost a road contest 66-23 Dec. 8 at Nodaway Valley. The undefeated Nodaway Valley squad came out firing from the start and scored the first 15 points of the contest on the way to a strong performance. Norah Lund led the Timberwolves in scoring for a second straight game with 8 points. Marah Larsen scored 5, Hailey Mendenhall had 4, Maggie Haer 3, Rebecca Wetzel 2, and Joslynn Moore 1. "Nodaway Valley is a quality team that is one of the best in the area. We are disappointed in the result but understand this will make us a better team to face great competition. We will bounce back," Cormack said. The Timberwolves remain at 0-3 in Rolling Hills Conference play and are now 0-6 on the season overall. Their next action is Dec. 15 in a Varsity only contest at Lenox. Both the junior varsity and varsity will conclude pre-Christmas break play Dec. 17 by hosting Southeast Warren. ![]() T-Wolves fall to Mount Ayr
The Southwest Valley Timberwolves girls basketball team fell in varsity action Dec. 4 to Pride of Iowa Conference rival Mount Ayr 55-35 on Friday night. In the home contest, the Timberwolves were not able to get on track and suffered their largest loss of the season. Norah Lund had a season high 15 points in the contest, cracking double figures for the first time this season, in leading the Timberwolves in scoring. Lund was helped by Maggie Haer, who had her third straight game with double figure scoring with 10 points, including shooting 2-2 from the 3-point line. Senior co-captains Halle Pearson and Marah Larsen rounded out the scoring for the Timberwolves by adding 5 points each. Larsen had seven rebounds to lead the team in rebounding for the third straight game. "We continue to believe strongly in this team as coaches,” head coach Mike Cormack said “These are outstanding girls who have better days ahead. Tonight, we struggled in turning the ball over and we just haven't seen that in practices or games to this point. Hats off to Mount Ayr for playing a solid game and we will do everything we can to give them a better one when we face them later in the season." The Southwest Valley Timberwolves are now 0-3 overall and 0-1 in conference. Conference play continues Dec. 8 at Nodaway Valley with a varsity only contest and Dec. 11 at Martensdale-St. Mary's in a junior varsity-varsity doubleheader. After leading at halftime, the Timberwolves junior varsity girls dropped a close game against Mount Ayr 37-32. The Timberwolves are 1-2 on the season. Haidyn Top was the leading scorer with 10 points with strong rebounding games from Alana Drake and Rebecca Wetzel. Coaches Jerry Hartman and Cormack said they were pleased how hard the team worked and that there were positive contributions from all players on the squad. Playing back to back nights, the Southwest Valley Timberwolves fought hard but dropped a close 55-49 contest Dec. 1 at Shenandoah. The Timberwolves led by 1 entering the fourth 37-36 but the team lost two starters to fouls early in the quarter and the Fillies were able to pull away at the end. Haer led the T-wolves in scoring with 13 points. Marah Larsen nearly had a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Pearson and Lund contributed 7 points. Hailey Mendenhall played a solid all around floor game and put in 6 points. Makayla Houck got 4 points and Tonna Damewood rounded out the scoring with 2. "I am extremely proud of the fight our girls showed tonight,” Cormack said. “Our pressure was effective at causing turnovers and every player made positive contributions on the court. We have lost two close games and I believe we will continue to get better as this season moves forward.” Timberwolves junior varsity dropped a 46-18 contest to a hot shooting Fillies JV squad to fall to 1-1 on the year. ![]() SWV defeats
Shenandoah 60-56 The Timberwolves’ Tucker TePoel, Gabe Fuller, and Blake Venteicher scored 14 points each for a 60-56 victory Dec. 1 over Shenandoah. TePoel also had 15 rebounds while Blane Venteicher had 9 points, nine rebounds, and five steals. “Southwest Valley did a great job staying aggressive on offense while being locked in and working hard on the defensive side,” head coach Kyle Bashor said. Shenandoah’s top scorers were Braden Knight with 21 points and Nolan Mount with 11. The Timberwolves fell 64-44 Dec. 4 at home with Mount Ayr. Owen Wilkinson led the scoring for SWV with 12 points followed by Blake Venteicher with 9 points with three first half 3-pointers, Blaine Venteicher with 8 points, and TePoel with 8 points and 10 rebounds. “Southwest Valley was able to shoot well in the first half but wasn’t able to overcome the turnovers Mount Ayr was able to create,” Bashor said. This week the Timberwolves are on the road Dec. 8 at Nodaway Valley and Dec. 11 at Martensdale-St. Marys. ![]() Timberwolves
claim big win The Timberwolves kicked off the 2020-2021 basketball season by dominating Griswold 81-37 Nov. 30 in Corning. “Southwest Valley did a great job pushing the ball and getting transition points with point guard Blaine Venteicher leading the breaks,” SWV head coach Kyle Bashor said. “Tucker TePoel did a great job on the boards and inside scoring. Gabe Fuller was able to attack the basket to pitch in 13 points.” Venteicher finished the night with 25 points and five steals and TePoel had 18 points and 20 rebounds. Griswold’s Kam Brownlee led the Tigers with 15 points including four 3-pointers in the second half. Adam Houser added 11. The Timberwolves travel Dec. 1 to Shenandoah and will host Mount Ary on Dec. 4. ![]() SWV girls fall in opener
The Southwest Valley girls basketball team dropped their opener in non-conference action Nov. 30. In a home loss to Griswold, the Timberwolves lost 45-41 in a hard fought game in Corning. Maggie Haer led the Timberwolves with 14 points with Halle Pearson adding 7, Marah Larsen scoring 6, Makayla Houck and Tonna Damewood contributing 5 apiece, and Norah Lund rounding out the scoring with 4. Larsen was the leading rebounder with 11 and the Timberwolves’ pressure defense forced 15 steals on the night. The Timberwolves opened up a 7 point first half lead and led by 3 points at halftime. Then, they fell behind by 10 points in the fourth quarter. After mounting a furious comeback to cut the lead to one point, 42-41, Griswold closed the game out at the free throw line and won by the final 45-41 margin. "Our girls fought hard and played with heart in the closing minutes, cutting the game to a one possession game after trailing by double digits,” SWV head coach Mike Cormack said. “I am proud of their effort. We simply ran into two long scoring droughts that hurt us. We have shot much better at practice and I believe we will improve in that area in games throughout the year. Sometimes, the ball just doesn't want to fall into the bucket and we had one of those nights.” The Timberwolves (0-1) continue with a non-conference game at Shenandoah on Dec. 1 and start their Pride of Iowa Conference games Dec. 4 at home against Red Oak. In the junior varsity game, a well-balanced T-Wolves attack defeated Griswold 36-29. The junior varsity Timberwolves are now 1-0 on the season. ‘One Pack, All In’
for SWV girls basketball Girls basketball is off and running at Southwest Valley High School for the 2020-2021 season. New head coach Mike Cormack and assistant coach Jerry Hartman are working with a talented group of student-athletes to prepare for the upcoming season. Eighteen players are out for the season and have been practicing since the opening date of practice on Nov. 9. “Coach Hartman and I are really pleased with the players we are working with,” Cormack said. “The attitude of the girls has just been fantastic and they are working hard on a daily basis to be the best that they can be. They are very coachable and it is our job to do our best to support them. Truly, one through eighteen, these are wonderful young student-athletes to work with and we look forward to seeing what they can accomplish this year.” Seniors Halle Pearson and Marah Larsen were selected by their teammates as co-captains for the upcoming season. Six seniors are on the roster, including Tonna Damewood, Makayla Houck, Joslynn Moore, Hailey Mendenhall, and the two captains. Along with the six seniors, other Varsity members this season are Lindsay Maurer, Alana Drake, Norah Lund, Maggie Haer, Charlee Larsen, and Rebecca Wetzel. Coach Hartman will work extensively with the junior varsity, who are Haidyn Top, Anjali Kathikar, Delaney Yates, Alyssa Randall, Kyra Simmons, and Sierra Pearson. Some varsity players will also play junior varsity as the season continues for additional playing time. Currently helping as a manager is Ryanne Mullen, who hopes to return to action later in the season. Other managers include Abbi Petersen and Kayla Mitchell. “Our managers and players alike are all part of our Timberwolves ‘One Pack, All In’ team and every one of them is important to our program,” Cormack said. He said he is fortunate to have supportive parents and considers it an honor to serve as a head coach. His belief is that the team will positively reflect on the school district and the residents within the district. “One Pack, All In” is the motto of this hard working, tight knit team. “We are just so fortunate to have great families and players in our Timberwolves basketball family,” Cormack said. “I am glad to work with a supportive administration and am very excited to see what this team can do now, as well in future years.” The Timberwolves were scheduled to participate in a Nov. 19 jamboree in Red Oak but that was cancelled by them due to concerns there with COVID-19. The Timberwolves will play at home in their opener on Nov. 30 with a varsity/JV doubleheader against Griswold. T-Wolves cap
cross country season The Southwest Valley Timberwolves cross country team finished their season with a strong performance Oct. 22 at the state qualifying meet in Mount Ayr. “The team ran competitively and each runner worked hard throughout the race to try to earn a coveted spot at the State meet,” head coach Jason Hults said. “At the end of the day, the Timberwolves did not qualify any runners, but capped off a great season filled with improvement and gutsy performances all season long.” The girls team finished with 110 points, tied with Wayne, but lost the tie breaker to finish fifth overall, which is an excellent finish at the state qualifying meet with almost 20 schools present. “The senior girls went out and ran their last race of their high school career with heart and guts, and passed multiple runners in the last 400 meters of the race to earn those points,” Hults said. Aubrey Boswell led the Timberwolves, as she has the majority of the season, with a 20th place overall finish. Halle Pearson finished 25th, Sydney Davies 29th, and Sydney Westlake 31st. “These four senior girls have been the nucleus of our squad, and they will be missed tremendously next season,” Hults said. Rounding out the girls squad was freshman Sierra Pearson in 44th place with a gutsy last 200 meter to catch and pass another runner and create the tie with Wayne. For the boys, senior Blake Venteicher finished 45th, his best finish at a SQM of his career. Coming off a new personal record last week, Venteicher was hoping to push his limits again and finish with another new PR, but it was not to be and finished with one of his top five times of the season. Freshman Ethan James (68th) and Deacon Ganfield (76th) earned some valuable experience in their first state qualifier that will help them progress as runners next season, Hults said. Throughout the season, the Timberwolves had 11 medal finishes. The girls placed fourth at the conference meet, a strong improvement from seventh place last year. “Six of the 10 runners set new PRs at least once this season, and most of them were late in the season when we wanted to be running our best,” Hults said. “Overall it was a great season for the #RunninTwolves, and Coach [Dan] Ahrends and I could not have been prouder of the effort and teamwork we saw from these student athletes all season long. The five seniors will be missed next year, but we wish them the best of luck and know they will be successful in everything they do in the future.” Timberwolves
fall to Warhawks Southwest Valley’s volleyball season came to an end Oct. 26 when the Timberwolves fell 25-14, 25-10, 25-14 to Southeast Warren. “We really struggled at the start of each set tonight. Our serve receive numbers weren't great and we were making Isabelle [Inman] run all over the court and that hampered our offense to stay in system,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “We only had two hitters with a positive hitting efficiency so we struggled offensively to find the lines and attack the ball in bounds. Tonight was tough because you want to end your season playing the best volleyball and we just didn't do that tonight. I am proud of the girls and the season they had. A lot of people counted us out at the beginning of the season because we lost a large senior class and these girls proved them wrong. With COVID and facing adversity with that throughout the year, we are blessed we were able to play all season long and not have to cancel or postpone any matches. We were fortunate to be able to play the entire season.” Norah Lund was 12-12 serving with two aces, a kill, and two digs. Samantha Larsen was 8-9 with an ace, two kills, and two digs. Inman was 4-5 with a kill and four digs. Tonna Damewood was 4-5 with a kill and two digs. Marah Larsen was 4-4 with three kills. Ryanne Mullen was 3-4. Kyli Aldrich had seven kills. The Timberwolves will lose four seniors. “The four seniors we have — Tonna Damewood, Isabelle Inman, Marah Larsen and Brooklyn Sonntag, manager — will be missed next season,” Wetzel said. “They have put is so much time and commitment to the sport of volleyball since they were in junior high. That dedication and willingness to get better and do things in the off-season and during the summer is what makes SWV volleyball successful from year to year. They are great students, great athletes and showed a lot of leadership to our underclassmen throughout the entire season.” SWV advanced Oct. 21 in Class 1A Region 5 playoffs with a 20-25, 25-17, 25-12, 25-21 win over Lenox. “The girls really came out ready to play and battle tonight at Lenox. Sam Larsen had a great night hitting, with 10 kills, a .226 kill efficiency, and went on a heck of a service run (11-0) and was 100 percent on 29-29 serves,” Wetzel said. “Marah chipped in 11 kills, one solo block, four assisted blocks, only missed one serve, and had 11 digs. Isabelle put the ball right where our hitters needed it and had 33 assists on the night, with 14 digs, and was 100 percent serving as well. Maggie had 13 digs and did a stellar job in coverage. Ryanne and Norah were also critical for us in the back row on serve receive and defense as well! Norah also had eight kills. It was a total team effort for this win tonight. Tonna had one kill and only missed one serve on 19 attempts. I thought we did so well hitting the ball in the holes of the Lenox defense and really cut down our unforced errors. We played hard, stayed aggressive, minimized our unforced errors and stayed in-system a majority of the match. I am proud of the girls for taking it to Lenox after having lost to them twice before.” The Timberwolves defeated Murray 25-23, 16-25, 25-19, 17-25, 16-14 Oct. 19 in the first round of playoffs. “It seemed like we were hesitating all night and not going after the ball 100 percent, 100 percent of the time. We made some critical unforced errors, and then we would make three, four, five in a row and let Murray back in the set,” Wetzel said. “We really worked hard for every point and we will need to step up our serve receive game before Wednesday's match against Lenox. We had two freshmen come in to the match and be productive and do what we needed them to do — Charlee Larsen came in off the bench and served 100 percent for us and Tiereny Dalton went in and played outside hitter in a couple of different sets and was productive as well. I was proud of the girls for continuing to fight for each and every point throughout the whole match and get the win. Regardless of how ugly the match may have been, if you win your season stays alive and you keep playing.” SWV defeats Council Bluffs
The Timberwolves posted a 25-17, 25-15 win Oct. 15 over Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson in Corning. “We had some nice service runs in the match against TJ,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “All of our hitters had at least two kills in this match which is good because it means we are able to move the ball around to all of our hitters and get good production out of them.” Marah Larsen was 18-18 serving with three aces, two kills, and three digs. Norah Lund was 9-9 with three kills and 10 digs. Tonna Damewood was 6-6 with four kills and two digs. Samantha Larsen was 6-7 with four kills and two digs. Ryanne Mullen was 5-6 with four digs. Isabelle Inman was 3-3 with two kills and six digs. Kyli Aldrich had two kills. Maggie Haer had four digs. Tierney Dalton had a dig. Southwest Valley had a tougher time Oct. 15 against Shenandoah, falling 25-19, 27-25 to the Fillies. “I felt like we came out and played not to lose and ended up losing. It felt like we were just going through the motions and not playing sound volleyball like we know how to play,” Wetzel said. “We struggled to cover our hitters and our hitters struggled to find the floor. I think we really could have won that match, but we just didn't play to win.” Samantha Larsen was 11-11 serving with two aces, two kills, and two digs. Lund was 9-9 with two aces, two kills, and three digs. Marah Larsen was 8-8 with an ace, two kills, and two digs. Damewood was 7-7 with four kills. Mullen was 5-6 with a dig. Inman was 4-4 with three kills and five digs. Aldrich had a kill. The Timberwolves slugged it out with Nodaway Valley for a 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 25-23 loss Oct. 13 in the Pride of Iowa semifinals for fourth place. “The girls came out with so much energy, fire and drive against NV. NV was the No. 1 seed on our side and we played extremely well,” Wetzel said. “It was a well-played match and I was proud of the girls for their fight, determination and game play. We just fell a little short on a few key plays towards the end of each set. They worked hard, never quit and showed a lot a grit against a good NV team. It wasn't the outcome the girls had wanted, but I felt like we played hard and we played well. Achieving fourth place out of 10 teams in the conference is nothing to hang your head about! The girls should be proud of their conference play and finishing fourth place.” Lund was 20-20 serving with three aces, four kills, and 17 digs. Samantha Larsen was 24-25 with six aces, five kills, and three digs. Damewood was 15-17 with two aces, six kills, and three digs. Inman was 12-12 with an ace, three kills, and eight digs. Marah Larsen was 8-9 with seven kills and nine digs. Aldrich was 6-8 with six kills. Dalton was 3-3 with seven digs. SWV fell 25-18, 25-21, 25-21 Oct. 13 to Lenox in POI consolation play. “We had a huge breakdown mentally against Lenox. We did not come out fired up or ready to play like we did against NV in the first match of the night,” Wetzel said. “We weren't communicating or playing with any energy. That match against Lenox is probably the worst we have played all season. The girls have to increase their mental toughness and learn how to let previous matches stay in the past and move forward with who you are playing in the moment. I was disappointed in the way we played against Lenox. especially after a great match with NV.” Samantha Larsen was 13-13 serving with three aces, three kills, and two digs. Lund was also 13-13 with an ace, three kills, and 11 digs. Damewood was 11-13 with an ace, a kill, and three digs. Marah Larsen was 9-10 with three kills and seven digs. Inman was 6-6 with a dig. Dalton was 5-6 with five digs. The Timberwolves begin play off this week, facing Murray on Oct. 19 and Lenox again on Oct. 21. Wolves defeat SWV 34-20
After trailing 27-0 at halftime, the Timberwolves scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and another in the fourth but still fell short in a 34-20 loss Oct. 17 to IKM-Manning. Brendan Knapp scored twice with 114 yards on 14 carries and Hunter Crill added a touchdown with 42 yards on seven rushes. Blaine Venteicher rushed six times for 54 yards and Cade Myers had nine yards on three carries. Kade Hutchings was 2-2 on point-after attempts. Knapp was 4-10 passing for 34 yards. Myers had 17 yards on two receptions while Venteicher had a 10-yard reception and Tucker TePoel had a seven-yard reception. Statistics for the defense were unavailable at press time. SWV girls place fourth
at Mount Ayr The Timberwolves cross country teams travelled Oct. 15 to Mount Ayr for the Ron Landphair Invitational. “Coming off a successful night at the Pride of Iowa meet Oct. 13 and running in their last regular season meet of the year, the Timberwolves were excited and ready to go,” head coach Jason Hults said. In a meet full of teams that the Timberwolves will see Oct. 22 back in Mount Ayr for the state qualifying meet, the Southwest Valley girls placed fourth in the team standings behind medal performances from Aubrey Boswell in 17th and Halle Pearson in 19th place. Sydney Davies finished 25th, Sidney Westlake 40th, and Sierra Pearson 56th to help the girls post that fourth place team finish out of eight teams. On the boys side, Blake Venteicher finished 57th with his third best time of the season. Ethan James finished 98th with his second best time of the season, and Deacon Ganfield set a new personal record for the second straight meet to finish 101st overall. “Working on one day rest after posting new PRs and SBs at the conference meet, all the kids did a great job tonight,” Hults said. “This is one of the largest meets we run at each season, with 23 schools participating and some great competition from Southwest Iowa and Missouri. It’s also a great meet for us to look at some of the schools we will see at the state qualifier next Thursday, and gives our kids an idea of what to expect next week. Overall, the kids have had a great season, and are running at or near their best times as the season is winding down, which is exactly where we want them to be.” The Timberwolves will be back in Mount Ayr on Oct. 22 for a chance to earn a spot at the state cross country meet. The girls race will start at 4 p.m. followed by the boys race. Results from the Ron Landphair Invitational include: Girls — Boswell, 17th, 23:44.17; Halle Pearson, 19th, 23:55.26; Davies, 25th, 24:40.05; Westlake, 40th, 26:29.49; Sierra Pearson, 56th, 30:33.39 Team (average times) — Mount Ayr 23:33.32, Twin Cedars 23:39.78, CAM 25:02.03, SWV 25:54.46, Wayne 25:53.92, Central Decatur 27:01.20, Grandview Christian 26:19.74, East Union 27:10.18 Boys — Venteicher, 57th, 21:38.06; James 98th, 25:31.76; Ganfield, 101st, 27:08.74 Team — Maryville 18:08.98, Nodaway Valley 18:36.70, Grandview Christian 19:34.41, Southeast Warren 19:37.50, Wayne 20:16.22, Ankeny Christian Academy 20:36.25, CAM 20:40.00, Central Decatur 20:44.90, Clarke 21:28.36, Orient-Macksburg 21:35.03, East Union 22:02.91, Martensdale-St. Mary’s 25:09.49 Bedford hosted the Pride of Iowa Cross Country Championship on Oct. 13 at Lake of Three Fires. “It was a beautiful afternoon to run in a beautiful setting, and the Timberwolves took full advantage by posting four new PRs, three more season bests, and a second best career performance,” Hults said. The girls team finished fourth in the team standings with three medalists. Senior Aubrey Boswell set a new PR to lead the Timberwolves girls with a 12th place medal. Seniors Sydney Davies and Halle Pearson ran season best times with 15th and 16th place medals also. Rounding out the girls team were senior Sydney Westlake with a SB time in 29th place and freshman Sierra Pearson in 39th place with her second best career time. “The girls ran very well tonight. After a fifth place team finish with one medalist last season, it was a great effort by Aubrey, Sydney and Halle to go out and medal tonight and lead the girls to fourth overall,” Hults said. “The four senior girls ran their best times of the year, with Aubrey getting a new PR and Sierra ran her second best time of her career as a freshman. As the season is winding down, it’s really great to see the girls running their best times.” The boys squad saw all three Timberwolves posting personal records. Senior Blake Venteicher finished 30th and took 4 seconds off his previous best time. Freshman Ethan James finished 53rd and set a new PR by over 1:30. Freshman Deacon Ganfield shaved 39 seconds off his PR and finished in 56th place. “All three boys are running their best times as we move into the last regular season meet on Thursday and then state qualifying next week,” Hults said. “Coach [Dan] Ahrens and I have been telling the kids all season our team goal was to see them run their best times at the conference meet. When seven of the eight runners ran either personal bests or season bests, I think we can agree that they hit that goal. On Thursday, we will travel to Mount Ayr to finish out the regular season on a course our kids enjoy and have a lot of experience on, so we will aim to finish the season with fast times and then prepare for the state qualifying meet next week.” Results from the POI Championships include: Girls — Boswell, 12th, 23:31.02; Davies, 15th, 23:36.96; Halle Pearson, 16th, 23:54.73; Westlake, 29th, 26:36.26; Sierra Pearson, 39th, 30:47.81 Team — Nodaway Valley 22:52.51, Mount Ayr 23:13.46, Central Decatur 25:39.36, SWV 25:39.36, East Union 26:38.77 Boys — Venteicher, 30th, 21:05.86; James, 53rd, 25:12.19; Ganfield, 56th, 27:51.59 Team — Central Decatur 17:47.69, Nodaway Valley 18:04.47, Southeast Warren 19:06.67, Wayne 19:46.08, Bedford 21:50.12, East Union 22:20.66 Middle school girls — Ashlyn Reser, 10th, 15:16.80; Hailey Randall, 17th, 16:03.83; Olivia Kathikar, 19th, 16:15.80; Tegan Hoyt, 29th, 18:11.12; Zoey Mullen, 35th, 21:40.45; Mariah Sparks, 38th, 22:27.88; Natalie True, 39th, 22:28.33 Team — Martensdale-St. Mary’s 14:35.63, Central Decatur 15:34.52, Mount Ayr 16:43.90, Nodaway Valley 16:32.61, SWV 17:29.60 Middle school boys — Ashton Boswell, third, 13:46.74; Matthew Means, 13th, 17:27.25; JP Jones, 15th, 17:50.01; Lucas James, 17th, 18:01.49 Team — Martensdale-St .Mary’s 16:43.01 ![]() SWV tops Central Decatur
Southwest Valley kicked off the first round of the Pride of Iowa Conference Tournament with a 3-0 victory Oct. 12 over Central Decatur. The Timberwolves won 25-18, 25-21, 25-21 thanks in part to a strong defense. “I thought Maggie [Haer] and Norah [Lund] really played really well defensively. They both were all over that back row digging up balls,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “Norah had 12 digs and Maggie had 11. Maggie's overall pass rate was 2.23/3 and Norah's was 2.35/3. We finally have our two starters back so it was good to see things going well and they kind of just picked up where they left off. They had missed quite a few matches (eight) and practices so I was a little nervous on how ready they would be to jump right back in. All of our hitters each had a handful of kills, including Isabelle [Inman] with five of her own, so it was good for Isabelle to be able to spread the ball around to all of our hitters.” Inman was 17-17 serving with three aces and Norah Lund was 20-20 with four aces, four kills, and 12 digs. Tonna Damewood was 9-9 with an ace, three kills, and a dig. Ryanne Mullen was 10-10 with seven digs. Marah Larsen was 8-10 with an ace, seven kills, and four digs. Samantha Larsen was 2-4 with four kills and a dig. Kyli Aldrich was 1-2 with five kills and a dig. “We look forward to heading to the semi-finals for the POI tourney tomorrow night,” Wetzel said. The Timberwolves defeated Mount Ayr 25-19, 25-10, 25-14 Oct. 6 for SWV’s Pink Out game. “We had a good serving night with 94 percent. Kyli was aggressive at the net and playing middle, which is not her usual position, and had 12 kills on 24 attempts which is .333 hitting efficiency,” Wetzel said. “Tierney Dalton, a freshman, has also stepped up to starting middle and playing full rotation while we have a couple of girls still in quarantine and has done an outstanding job. She had three kills, two solo blocks, and two assisted blocks. It was a good win for us against a conference opponent and the girls solidified a third place seed on our half of the conference going into the conference tourney on Monday [Oct. 12].” Mullen was 16-17 serving with five digs. Damewood was 14-14 with an ace, two kills, and a dig. Lund was 10-10 with an ace, four kills, and a dig. Inman was 4-4 with an ace, three kills, and two digs Timberwolves see season best, personal record
The Southwest Timberwolves ran Oct. 5 in Greenfield at the Nodaway Valley Invitational with a season best from senior Sydney Davies and a personal record from Ethan James. “Running in their third meet in seven days, the Timberwolves posted some very good times, including a season best and a new PR,” head coach Jason Hults said. In the girls race, which had numerous ranked runners including the No. 1 ranked runner in 1A, senior Sydney Davies ran a season best time of 24:08.69 to medal in 19th place. Seniors Aubrey Boswell in 24th and Halle Pearson in 36th finished with times in their top three efforts for the season. Freshman Kya Newton and senior Sydney Westlake finished 64th and 67th to round out the top five and help the Timberwolves finish eighth in the 11 team field. Freshman Sierra Pearson (83rd) and sophomore Julia Means (89th) completed the girls varsity squad for the night. In the boys race, which also had a number of ranked runners, senior Blake Venteicher finished 40th. Freshman Ethan James posted a new personal record in 25:54.92 and finished 87th. Freshman Deacon James finished 100th. “All the kids ran well tonight, especially taking into account the schedule we've had over the last week with meets at Clarke and Shenandoah,” Hults said “The PR from Ethan tonight and the season best form Sydney really should be confidence boosters moving into the last two weeks of the regular season. We have the rest of the week to prepare for the POI Conference meet next Tuesday [Oct. 13] in Bedford, and then finish the regular season at Mount Ayr on Thursday [Oct. 15].” Results from the Nodaway Valley Invitational include: Girls — Davies, 19th, 24:08.69; Boswell, 24th, 24:44.38; Halle Pearson, 36th, 25:25.92; Newton, 64th, 28:28.01; Westlake, 67th, 28:46.35; Sierra Pearson, 83rd, 33:53.24; Means, 89th, 42:05.055 Team — Panorama, 22:53.07 (average times); Van Meter, 23:06.83; Nodaway Valley, 24:31.00; Mount Ayr, 24:57.83; Tri-Center CAD, 25:08.67; Pleasantville, 25:26.36; AHSTW, 26:38.50; SWV, 26:1867; West Central Valley, 26:18.67; East Union, 29:37.77; Woodward Granger, 28:24.69 Boys — Venteicher, 40th, 22:11.56; James, 87th, 25:54.25; Ganfield, 100th, 28:54.57 Team — Nodaway Valley, 18:57.65; Tri-Center, 20:08.78; Interstate 35, 20:41.53; Southeast Warren, 20:27.96; Van Meter, 21:13.19; West Central Valley, 22:21.37; Pleasantville, 22:23.09; East Union, 23:18.56; Orient-Macksburg, 23:13.80; Woodward Granger, 22:58.99 Middle school girls — Tegan Hoyt, 25th, 15:43.07; Olivia Kathikar, 50th, 17:51.14; Zoey Mullen, 62nd, 19:02.42; Hailey Randall, 63rd, 19:12.36; Mariah Sparks, 69th, 21:00.34; Natalie True, 72nd, 22:58.36 Team — Matensdale-St. Mary’s, 14:46.45; Earlham, 14:49.70; Van Meter, 15:22.98; Woodward Granger, 15:43.69; Pleasantville, 16:04.05; AHSTW, 16:22.10; Tri-Center, 16:39.66; Mount Ayr, 16:43.75; SWV, 18:33.87 Middle school boys — Ashton Boswell, ninth, 13:50.00; Matthew Means, 47th, 17:06.97; Quaid Eddy, 49th, 17:28.90; JP Jones, 589th, 18:37.04; Lucas James, 61st, 20:34.31 Team — Pleasantville, 13:53.68; Earlham, 14:07.71; Van Meter, 14:49.75; Tri-Center, 16:52.36; Woodward Granger, 17:33.13; SWV, 17:31.45; Martensdale-St. Mary’s, 19:16.71 Bulldogs blank Timberwolves
Despite outrushing Riverside 171 yards to 136 yards, Southwest Valley come up scoreless in a 15-0 loss Oct. 9 to Bulldogs. The Riverside defense shut down the Timberwolves’ passing game, allowing quarterback Brendan Knapp just one of nine pass attempts for an eight-yard reception by Tucker TePoel. Brendan Knapp led SWV’s rushing, gaining 112 yards on 28 carries. Hunter Crill rushed 12 times for 61 yards and Cade Myers had a one-yard carry. Blaine Venteicher was thrown for a three-yard loss in his two rushing attempts. The Timberwolves’ Tallen Myers led the defense with five solo tackles and three assists. Dayton Cobb had two solos and two assists. Crill and TePoel combined for a sack. TePoel had a solo and two assists while Crill had an assist. Blake Thomas had two solos and an assist, Cade Myers and Robbie Barnes had a solo and two assists each followed by Brendan Knapp, Kaden Jacobs, and Venteicher with a solo and two assists each, Evan Timmerman, Brock Bowden, and Marshall Knapp with a solo each, and Crill and Adam Timmerman with an assist each. Joey Oathoudt had a 25-yard kickoff and TePoel had 192 yards on five punts. The Timberwolves (6-2) host IKM-Manning (2-5) Oct. 16. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ![]() Inman hits career
assists milestone Southwest Valley’s Isabelle Inman helped lead the Timberwolves to a 3-0 win Sept. 29 over Bedford while at the same time finishing the night with 1,510 career assists. “That is pretty amazing number for only three years of varsity setting,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. The team also had a strong night serving at 97 percent in the 25-21, 26-24, 25-13 victory. “Norah [Lund] and Maggie [Haer] led the way on defense with 15 and eight digs,” Wetzel said. “Tierney [Dalton] has stepped up and played with no fear on varsity as a freshman. She had an overall pass rate of 2.38/3, four kills and was 5-5 serving. I was proud of the team tonight for going out and battling each and every point. Everyone contributed in some way to the win tonight.” Inman had 17 assists, two kills, a block, five digs, and was 9-10 serving. Lund was 15-15 serving with five kills and 15 digs. Ryanne Mullen was 18-18 serving with an ace and seven digs. Tonna Damewood was 12-12 with three kills and five digs. Dalton was 5-5 with four kills and six digs. Kyli Aldrich was 13-14 with three aces, seven kills, and a dig. SWV defeated Martensdale-St. Mary’s 25-16, 25-13, 25-19 Oct. 5. “I was pleased with the way the girls played tonight,” Wetzel said. “At the start of set 3 I felt like we let up a little bit and weren't moving our feet on our passing game or being aggressive with our offense, but the girls were able to adjust and get some momentum in that third set and take care of the sweep. Maggie did a great job on the night with 13 digs, a serve receive pass rating of 2.43/3 and a 2.5/3 on free ball passes for an overall total of 2.44. Maggie has been strong for us all season with her passing and defense and is an integral part of our success as a team.” Inman was 11-11 serving with five kills, 17 assists, and three digs. Lund was 23-23 with three aces, four kills, and six digs. “Isabelle had some key kills for us tonight in the setter position as well. Isabelle is so good this year dealing with passes that are pushing her tight on the net and nearly overpassed! She jumps high and uses her left hand to her advantage, she had five kills,” Wetzel said. “Isabelle and Norah were perfect from the service line and we were 95 percent as a team; which is where we have wanted that to be at all season! It was a good, long road trip win for us on a Monday night.” Damewood was 14-15 with an ace, three kills, and a dig. Mullen was 10-11 with four aces and six digs. Dalton was 6-7 with three aces, six kills, and four digs. Aldrich was 6-7 with three kills and a dig. The Timberwolves host Mount Ayr for their Pink Out Game on Oct. 6 ![]() Timberwolves
defeat Sidney The Timberwolves allowed just two touchdowns Oct. 2 in a 51-14 victory over Sidney. Southwest Valley’s Brendan Knapp had two touchdowns and 155 yards on 17 rushes. He was also 3-4 passing for 67 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with Tucker TePoel for two touchdowns and 47 yards and Brock Bowden for a 20-yard touchdown. Blaine Venteicher had 47 yards on three carries followed by Hunter Crill with 18 yards on four rushes, Cade Myers with 15 yards on five rushes, Dayton Cobb with 13 yards on five rushes, and Blake Thomas and Isaac Currin with one-yard rushing each. Myers led the defense with six solo tackles, three assists, and three sacks. Owen Wilkinson had three solos and an assist followed by Tallen Myers with two solos and two assists, and Venteicher, Kade Hutchings, and Dalton Calkins with two solos each. Thomas and Robbie Barnes had a solo and an assist each, TePoel, Brendan Knapp, and Kaden Jacobs with a solo and an assist each, Currin with a solo, and Evan Timmerman, Ely Rodriguez, Joey Oathoudt, Hunter Crill, Bradlee Grantz, Colin Jacobs, and Marshall Knapp with an assist each. Timmerman picked up a 50-yard interception, Brendan Knapp had a 21-yard interception, and Venteicher had an interception. Venteicher had a 33-yard kick return. Timmerman punted twice for 26 yards. Hutchings had 178 yards on six kickoffs. TePoel punted three times for 65 yards. The Timberwolves (6-1) travel Oct. 9 to Riverside (5-1) ![]() Cross country
girls place 11th The Southwest Valley Timberwolves cross country teams travelled Oct. 1 to Shenandoah. Facing off against 18 of the best schools from all four classes in Southwest Iowa, the Timberwolves finished 11th in the girls team standings, as one of only two Class 1A schools to field a team score. Seniors Aubrey Boswell, with a career course best time of 23:01.37 (31st), and Halle Pearson (35th) paced the Timberwolves girls team, followed by senior Sydney Davies (52nd), freshman Kya Newton (65th), senior Sydney Westlake (75th), and freshman Sierra Pearson (83rd). “The girls ran very well overall against some great competition,” head coach Jason Hults said. “There were only seven other Class 1A girls in front of Aubrey and Halle tonight, so even though they were in the middle of the pack overall, I still feel that they and the team as a whole ran very well.” In the boys race, senior Blake Venteicher also ran a career course best time of 21:13.82 to finish 85th overall. Freshmen Ethan James (103rd) and Deacon Ganfield (105th) gained some valuable experience racing against the competition tonight. “Our seniors have been having a great season so far, and it showed again tonight as Aubrey and Blake had their best times of their careers on the Shenandoah course and Halle was only a few seconds off from her best time on this course as well,” Hults said. “The freshmen continue to get better every week, and ran very well tonight with some of their best times of the season. This is really the toughest part of our season, with three meets in seven days, so it was good to see the kids go out tonight and run some strong times.” Results from Shenandoah include: Girls — Boswell, 31st, 23:01.37; Halle Pearson, 35th, 23:21.20; Davies, 52nd, 24:31.39; Newton, 65th, 25:35.37; Westlake, 75th, 27:21.64; Sierra Pearson, 83rd, 29:48.28 Team (average times) — Glenwood 20:31.92, Treynor 22:30.53, Clarinda 22:36.01, Shenandoah 23:00.97, CB Abraham Lincoln 23:18.65r, CBTJ 23:16.25, Underwood 23:22.24, Red Oak 23:34.23, Lewis Central 23:37.01, Audubon 24:43.72, SWV 24:46.18 Boys — Venteicher, 85th, 21:13.82; James, 103rd, 24:44.09; Ganfield, 105th, 27:04.69 Team (average times)— Lewis Central 17:17.89, Glenwood 17:42.34, CBJT 17:47.14, Clarinda 18:18.11, Shenandoah 18:32.31, Underwood 18:37.67, St. Albert 18:57.16, Treynor 18:54.49, Red Oak 19:09.59, Abraham Lincoln 19:16.82, Riverside 19:34.98, Tarkio 21:18.27, East Mills 20:53.50 Middle school girls — Hailey Randall, 22nd, 14:27.83; Olivia Kathikar, 29th, 14:55.95; Tegan Hoyt, 44th, 16:40.64; Zoey Mullen, 45th, 16:47.64; Mariah Sparks, 55th, 19:28.48; Natalie True, 59th, 20:02.54 Team — Glenwood 12:54.35, LCMS 13:55.09, Treynor 14:58.79, SWV 16:28.11, Shenandoah 18:08.55 Middle school boys — Ashton Boswell, 15th, 12:41.45; Matthew Means, 51st, 14:48.35; JP Jones, 56th, 15:20.34; Quaid Eddy, 58th, 15:39.17; Lucas James 72nd, 16:50.60 Team — Glenwood 11:12.15, LCMS 12:26.50, Shenandoah 13:27.09, Red Oak 15:01.98, Treynor 14:50.37, SWV 15:03.99 The Timberwolves cross country team traveled Sept. 29 to East Lake Park in Osceola to compete in the 2020 Clarke Invitational. In a field filled with some of the best runners in southern Iowa, the Timberwolves continued to show improvement and posted some impressive times. In the girls race, Boswell earned her third medal of the season with a 20th place finish, running 24:37, over 3:30 minutes faster than last year. Davies (28th) and Halle Pearson (33rd) also both ran times between two and three minutes faster than last season. Westlake (52nd), Newton (54th), and Sierra Pearson (63rd) rounded out the girls fifth place overall team finish. “All the girls are really pushing themselves every meet and posting these great times when compared to last season,” Hults said. “They continue to go out and work hard and have been pushing each other and it's showing in the progress and the times we are seeing at the meets.” Venteicher continued to lead the boys squad with a 49th place overall finish in 22:43. “Blake did not run in Clarke last season, but ran almost a minute faster than his sophomore season,” Hults said. James (84th) and Ganfield (89th) continue to improve and ran their second best times of the season. “For the boys, Blake has consistently been one to two minutes faster at each meet this season and his experience and guidance has helped the freshman boys continue to get better each meet,” Hults said. Results from the Clarke Invitational include: Girls — Boswell, 20th, 24:37; Davies, 28th, 25:29; Halle Pearson, 33rd, 25:59; Westlake, 52nd, 29:22; Sierra Pearson, 63rd, 33:06 Team — Davis County 29, Van Meter 29, Central Decatur 82, Mount Ayr 100, SWV 126 Boys — Venteicher, 49th, 22:43; James, 84th, 27:11; Ganfield, 89th, 28:57 Team — Davis County 38, Central Decatur 46, Interstate 35 114, Southeast Warren 116, Van Meter 126, Wayne 142, Clarke 155, Moravia 233 The Timberwolves were back in action for their third race in the seven days on Oct. 5 when they traveled to Nodaway Valley in Greenfield. Results from the meet will appear in the Oct. 15 Free Press. SWV edges out
Tri-Center 19-14 The Timberwolves moved to 5-1 on the season by edging out Tri-Center 19-14 Sept. 25 on the road. SWV junior Brendan Knapp rushed for two touchdowns and completed a pass to sophomore Marshall Knapp for another touchdown. Brendan Knapp was 13-26 passing for 197 yards and two interceptions. He rushed 26 times for 71 yards. Marshall Knapp had 55 yards on two carries. Blaine Venteicher was 1-1 for 68 yards passing. He also had a 33-yard reception and eight yards on four carries. Tucker TePoel had seven receptions for 162 yards. Blake Thomas had 11 yards on three receptions while Cade Myers had a four-yard reception and nine yards on two rushes. Hunter Crill gained 17 yards on five carries. Defensively, Tallen Myers led the Timberwolves with five solo tackles and four assists. Venteicher had four solos and an assist while Myers had three solos and three assists. Dayton Cobb had four solos followed by Marshall Knapp with three solos and an assist, Brendan Knapp TePoel with two solos each, Robbie Barns and Colin Jacobs with a solo and an assist each, Crill and Kaden Jacobs with two assists each, Thomas with a solo, and Bradlee Grantz with an assist. Jacobs had a fumble recovery while Brendan Knapp had an interception. Even Timmerman had 80 yards on three kickoffs and Kade Hutchings had a 30-yard kickoff. TePoel had 214 yards on seven punts. SWV is set to host Sidney (0-5) Oct. 2. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ![]() T-Wolves go 4-1
in SWV Tournament The Timberwolves completed a successful tournament at Sept. 26, finishing 4-1 against Exira-EHK, Wayne, and Clarke in the Southwest Valley Tournament. “I was super proud of the girls today for their resilience, endurance, leadership, and ability to make the best out of the situation we were in,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “To go 4-1 on the day was awesome.” SWV’s only loss came to Exira-EHK 6-21 in the first set before the Timberwolves followed with 21-15, 15-9 wins — and this after the loss of three starters Sept. 25 due to COVID-19. “We found out Friday that two of our varsity starters and an additional varsity player had to go into quarantine for 14 days and that was after we had already had Friday's practice, so we didn't even have time to run through a practice to replace those two starters,” Wetzel said. “Our first set out against E/EHK was not pretty, but I think we were just playing flat, with little energy and unsure mentally how things were going to go. But after that first set, the girls really got after it and found their groove and did a great job with the change in lineup and players on the floor.” Freshman Tierney Dalton along with sophomores Jayley Schlapia and Ryanne Mullen came off the bench to fill the gaps. “Tierney and Jayley stepped up and played well and were up to the challenge. Jayley sprained her ankle in the first match, so Ryanne stepped up and played a full rotation and did a great job,” Wetzel said. “She is not tall, by any means, but played that front row big and aggressive. I also think my veteran varsity starters did a nice job of stepping up and showing leadership on the floor to help those that were new in the lineup feel comfortable. We weren't too sure how things would play out since we didn't have the opportunity to prepare for not having two starters and a third varsity member and the girls played well.” Dalton finished the day 12-17 serving with an ace, 15 kills, three blocks, an assist, and nine digs while Mullen was 12-33 with two aces, two kills, an assist, and 11 digs. Schlapia was 2-5 with an ace and assist before being sidelined. Kyli Aldrich was 12-49 with seven aces, 21 kills, three blocks, and three digs. Norah Lund was 12-37 with three aces, 16 kills, two assists, and 24 digs. Tonna Damewood was 12-37 with two aces, eight kills, two assist, and seven digs. Maggie Haer had 15 digs. The Timberwolves fell 2-3 Sept. 22 against Lenox. “Our struggles with serving and unforced errors continue to make us work twice as hard in a match. We had too many unforced errors to win the match and our serving was just a mere 86 percent,” Wetzel said. “When you are playing a team that is evenly matched with your team, we have to have less unforced errors. Isabelle [Inman] was strong tonight with setting and running our offense. Her and Marah [Larsen] connected for 18 kills. Isabelle finished the night with 26 assists on 123 setting attempts. We need our hitters to step up and be more efficient and allow Isabelle the ability to spread the ball out across the front line. Maggie was good on defense with 13 digs, a serve receive pass rate of 2.07-3 and a free ball pass rate of 2.89-3.” Lund had 10 digs and five kills while Damewood had 10 digs and three kills and Aldrich had four digs and three kills. Mullen had seven digs, Dalton had four digs, and Samantha Larsen had two kills and two digs. SWV finished 1-1 Sept. 21 in a triangular with East Union and Stanton. The Timberwolves defeated East Union 25-10, 21-25, 15-11. “We came out and played well in the first set against East Union and really didn't have too many issues or unforced errors,” Wetzel said. “We came out in set 2 and missed two serves right away and shanked two passes on serve receive and had already dug a 4-point deficit. We just didn't play well in set 2, we weren't moving on our feet on defense and we were constantly pushing Isabelle tight on the net. Glad we were able to put it together in set 3 for the win.” Marah Larsen had eight kills, four digs, and a block. Lund and Iman had three kills and two digs each. Aldrich had two kills. Mullen and Haer had three digs and Samantha Larsen had two digs. SWV fell 25-21, 25-14 to Stanton. “We played with them point for point in the first set. We seemed energized, we were moving our feet and eliminating unforced errors on our side of the net,” Wetzel said. “We have to continue to improve our defensive game and be able to stay down, be at base and not transition into defense early. Norah Lund did a nice job in both sets leaving her feet and going after the ball. She kept many balls in play for us.” Lund had seven digs and two kills and Haer had six digs. Marah Larsen had three kills and two digs while Aldrich had three kills, a dig, and a block. Inman had a kill and two digs, Mullen had three digs, Samantha Larsen had two digs and a block, and Damewood had dig. This week the Timberwolves (8-10) travel to Bedford (7-10) Sept. 29. Two Timberwolves
medal at Creston Southwest Valley senior cross country runners Aubrey Boswell and Halle Pearson medaled Sept. 22 in Class B and the Creston Invitational. Boswell led the team with 16th place medal overall, finishing 1:25 faster and moving up seven places from last year’s race with a time of 24:33.9. Pearson finished 24th overall with run 0:23 seconds faster and three spots better than last year’s race with a time of 25:55.9. Senior Sydney Davies (30th, 27:24.1), freshman Kya Newton (34th, 27:57.0) with a new personal record, and senior Sydney Westlake (37th, 29:14.1) rounded out the team scoring for the Timberwolves. Freshman Sierra Pearson finished 41st with a time of 32:33.2. The team finished sixth with 127 points, 8 points behind fifth place East Union. In the boys race, senior Blake Venteicher finished with a 33rd place overall finish, seven spots and 1:09 better than last year with his time of 21:57.3. Freshman Ethan James (57th, 27:14.1) and Deacon Ganfield (62nd, 29:01.3) continued to gain experience for the boys squad and continue to improve. “Coming off some great performances last week at our home meet, the kids had high expectations coming into the race tonight. Aubrey, Halle, and Blake all ran well with times (faster) and placings (better) than last year at Creston, and Kya posted a new PR and continues to run stronger every time out,” head coach Jason Hults said. “A couple of the kids are battling some injuries, which showed in their times; but continue to work hard and have really good attitudes about their results. Coach [Dan} Ahrens and I have seen a lot of growth this season so far, and look forward to more great things as the season continues.” This week the Timberwolves are in action Sept. 29 at East Lake Park in Osceola and again Oct. 1 at Shenandoah. Timberwolf runners
post PRs at home The Timberwolves hosted 20 schools Sept. 17 at Lake Icaria for their invitational cross country meet. “On a beautiful day with excellent running conditions, the Timberwolves ran very well against some excellent competition en route to posting two new personal records and four more season best times,” head coach Jason Hults said. The girls squad finished fifth in the team race with 125 points, 15 points ahead of conference rival East Union. Leading the way for the Timberwolves was senior Aubrey Boswell with a season best time of 24:40 in 19th place. Senior classmates Halle Pearson (24th), Sydney Davies (27th), and Sydney Westlake (35th) who also ran a season best time and freshman Kya Newton (39th) with a personal record of 28:49 rounded out the team score for the Timberwolves. Sophomore Julia Means also ran a season best time, finishing 51st. For the boys, senior Blake Venteicher ran a season best time of 21:31 and finished 37th overall. Freshman Ethan James (62nd) ran a new personal record and freshman Deacon Ganfield finished 65th. “Overall, the team bounced back and ran very well after running a tough course at Red Oak on Monday,” Hults said. “This is the first time this season where we ran two meets in the same week, and to come out and post those SBs and new PRs was pretty awesome considering the difficulty of our home course. I really think that will boost the confidence of our team as we move forward and look down the road to the conference and state qualifying meets.” Results include: Girls — Boswell, 19th, 24:40.4; Pearson, 24th, 25:20.2; Davies, 27th, 25:56.1; Westlake, 35th, 27:45.4; Newton, 39th, 28:49.9; Means, 51st, 40:27.6 Team — Winterset 32, Creston 51, Central Decatur 84, Red Oak 103, SWV 125, East Union 140 Boys — Venteicher, 38th, 21:31.4; James, 63rd, 26:54.4; Ganfield, 66th, 28:25.8 Team — Winterset 45, Central Decatur 57, Red Oak 87, West Nodaway 87, Riverside 100, East Mills 164, East Union 178, Essex 209 Junior high girls — Ashlynn Reser, seventh, 15:45.2; Hailey Randall, 11th, 16:29.5; Olivia Kathikar, 13th, 17:14.2; Zoey Mullen, 20th, 21:12.3; Tegan Hoyt, 21st, 21:21.8; Mariah Sparks, 22nd, 21:32.8; Natalie True, 25th, 23:07.4 Junior high boys — Ashton Boswell, fifth, 14:05.4; Matthew Means, 22nd, 17:17.6; Quaid Eddy, 30th, 18:26.3; Cayden Franson, 31st, 19:02.3; Lucas James, 37th, 19:22.3; JP Jones, 41st, 20:51.6 Team — Creston 55, Shenandoah 58, CRB 86, Red Oak 92, MSM 92, SWV 104 The Timberwolves travelled Sept. 14 to Red Oak for the Second Annual Paul Fish Invitational. The girls team finished in fourth place overall, led by senior Aubrey Boswell with an 11th place medal. Seniors Sydney Davis (23rd) and Halle Pearson (24th) finished 2 seconds apart, pushing each other during the last half mile of the race to each move up a few positions. Freshman Kya Newton (30th) and senior Sydney Westlake (31st) rounded out the top five for the Timberwolves. On the boys side, senior Blake Venteicher finished 39th while freshman Ethan James finished 46th. “Overall, it was a good night to run against some great competition,” Hults said. “Red Oak is a tough course with lots of rolling hills. Our times were a little off from where we wanted to be after the first 2 meets, but the kids have great attitudes and will keep working hard as we prepare for our home meet on Thursday at Lake Icaria.” Results include: Girls — Boswell, 11th, 26:40.68; Davies, 23rd, 28:12.56; Pearson, 24th, 28:14.11; Newton, 30th, 30:37.84; Westlake, 31st, 32:34.34; Means, 34th, 43:01.18 Team — Shenandoah 38, Clarinda 42, Red Oak 51, SWV 92 Boys — Venteicher, 39th, 25:11.50; James, 46th, 29:17.49 Team — Shenandoah 45, Clarinda 46, Red Oak 73, Riverside 93, CAM 112, East Mills 142 Junior high girls — Reser, ninth, 17:08.28; Randall Hailey, 17th, 19:08.58; Kathikar, 20th, 19:47.93; Mullen, 35th, 24:49.28; Sparks, 37th, 24:54.28; True, 43rd, 27:55.28 Team — Clarinda 36, Harlan 42, Fremont Mills 67, SWV 74 Junior high boys — Boswell, fourth, 15:15.87; Means, 19th, 20:35.56; Quaid, 30th, 22:45.80; Jones 32nd, 24:36.55; Franson, 33rd, 24:46.37; James 34th, 24:51.81 Team — Shenandoah 35, Red Oak 44, Harlan 60, SWV 74 This week the Timberwolves run Sept. 22 in Creston. Timberwolves
fall to St. Albert Despite 157 yards passing and 134 yards rushing Sept. 18, the Timberwolves scored just a single touchdown in a 31-7 loss to St. Albert. Southwest Valley’s Blaine Venteicher scored on a pass from Brendan Knapp. Venteicher had 41 yards on three receptions while Knapp was 8-20 passing for 92 yards. Venteicher was 1-1 with a 65-yard pass. Tucker TePoel had 100 yards on three receptions followed by Cade Myers with 11 yards on two receptions and Brock Bowden with a five-yard reception. Brendan Knapp had 83 yards on 21 carries. Hunter Crill had 28 yards on nine rushes. Cade Myers had 15 yards on three rushes, Venteicher had six yards on four carries, and Bradlee Grantz had a two-yard rush. Tallen Myers led the defense with seven solo tackles and two assists. Cade Myers, Brendan Knapp, and Marshall Knapp had three solos and an assist each. Kaden Jacobs had a sack, two solos, and an assist. Dayton Cobb had two solo and an assist while TePoel had two solos. Crill had a solo and an assist and Gage Barton had two assists. Jacobs and Marshall Knapp each recovered fumbles. On special teams, Evan Timmerman had 25 yards on two kickoffs and TePoel had 126 yards on five punts. The Timberwolves (4-1) travel Sept. 25 to Tri-Center (2-2). Timberwolves fall 1-3
to Nodaway Valley The Timberwolves fell 1-3 Sept. 15 to Nodaway Valley. After dropping the first two sets 13-25 and 17-25, Southwest Valley won 25-16 before falling 14-25 in the last set. “Kyli Aldrich had a really good night for us. She had 12 kills off of 22 attempts, with a .409 hitting efficiency. She was being very productive for us tonight,” head coach Lindsay Wetzell said. “Isabelle [Inman] had 28 assists on the night and worked her tail off. Our passing wasn't the greatest tonight and she was having to run all over the court. Isabelle is good at knowing who the hot hand is in each set and getting them the ball as much as she can, she is also a very smart setter and knows to move the ball around in transition. Our serving was good tonight at 93 percent. Our struggles seem to be getting stuck in a serve receive set and letting teams string a run of points together on us and our unforced errors are still high. We will continue to work in practice on those struggles and improve our overall game play.” Samantha Larsen was 11-13 serving with two aces, four kills, two assists, a block, and a dig. Marah Larsen was 9-9 with two aces, six kills, and eight digs. Tonna Damewood was 8-10 with an ace, five kills, and four digs. Ryanne Mullen was 13-14 with an ace and two digs. Norah Lund was 15-15 with three kills and 13 digs. Inman was 7-7 with 12 digs and two blocks. Maggie Haer had seven digs. This week the Timberwolves face East Union and Stanton on Sept. 21 (results unavailable at press time), Lenox on Sept. 22, and AHSTW on Sept. 26. ![]() Ground game
pays off for SWV The Timberwolves rushed for 338 yards and four touchdowns Sept. 11 for a 28-14 homecoming victory over AHSTW. Brendan Knapp had 140 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries while Hunter Crill had two touchdowns and 67 yards on 12 carries and Bradlee Grantz had a touchdown and 26 yards on two carries. Cade Myers rushed nine times for 77 yards and Blaine Venteicher rushed seven times for 28 yards. Brendan Knapp was 0-2 passing. Brendan Knapp and Tucker TePoel led the defense with five solo tackles and an assist each. Dayton Cobb had three solos followed by Tallen Myers with two solos and an assist, Myers and Venteicher with two solos each, and Adam Timmerman with a solo and an assist. Owen Wilkinson, Kale Haffner, Kaden Jacobs, and Marshall Knapp each had a single solo tackle. Isaac Currin and Collin Jacobs each had an assist. Evan Timmerman had 161 yards on five kickoffs and TePoel had 126 yards on four punts. Southwest Valley (4-0) takes on St. Albert (1-2) on the road Sept. 18 ![]() T-Wolves compete
in Griswold tourney Southwest Valley’s volleyball team faced a tough lineup Sept. 12 in pool play in the Griswold Tourney, winning just one set (23-21, 16-21, 11-15) against Riverside. SWV also fell to ACGC, Denison-Schlewsig, and Heartland Christian. “Even though some of the match scores don't look great, I did feel like we were playing well overall. We were playing good defense, getting touches on blocks and not giving up on balls. We struggled off and on all day with getting our serves on and with unforced errors on our own side of the net,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “Overall, I was pleased with how we played, we were most definitely in the stronger pool based on scores from Pool A, but that gives us good data on what we are still struggling with and what we need to focus our practices on.” The Timberwolves’ assist leader, senior Isabelle Inman, earned honors in the tourney. “Isabelle Inman had a great day and was named to the Griswold All-Tournament Team,” Wetzel said. Inman was 94.7 percent serving with three aces, six kills, 36 assists, and 11 digs. Kyli Aldrich was 95 percent serving with five aces, five kills, two assists, and four digs. Norah Lund was 96.8 percent serving with two aces, five kills, and nine digs. Samantha Larsen was 87 percent serving with two aces, nine kills, three assists, and 11 digs while Marah Larsen was 63.2 percent serving with four aces, 20 kills, three blocks, an assist, and 11 digs. Tierney Dalton was 100 percent serving with an ace. Tonna Damewood was 75 percent serving with an ace, eight kills, and three digs. Ryanne Mullen was 63.6 percent serving with an ace, a kill, and two digs. Maggie Haer had 12 digs and Lindsay Maurer had one dig. SWV hosted Maryville for a 3-0 loss (25-13, 25-19, 25-8) Sept. 8. “We made too many unforced errors on our side of the net to really get anything going. We had some bright spots on defensive and with our blocking game, but then we would shoot ourselves in the foot with unforced errors and poor serve receive,” Wetzel said. “If we can just control our side of the net and cut down those unforced errors we will be in better shape. We will continue working on our defense, serve receive and being more aggressive at the service line.” Mullen was 7-7 serving with an ace and three digs. Inman was 5-6 with an ace, 15 assists, a kill, and a dig. Lund was also 5-6 with a kill, and four digs. Samantha Larsen was 9-11 with an ace, and a kill. Marah Larsen was 5-7 with 10 kills, an assist, and five digs. Damewood was 4-5 with three digs. Aldrich had two kills and two blocks while Haer had three digs. This week the Timberwolves travel Sept. 15 to Nodaway Valley. SWV runners post PRs, season best
In cold, windy, and rainy conditions, the Southwest Valley Timberwolves cross country teams posted two new personal records and another season best Sept. 8 at the Clarinda Co-Ed Meet. The girls team finished sixth overall behind top 30 performances from Sydney Davies (26th) and Aubrey Boswell (28th). Freshman Kya Newton (43rd overall, fourth on team) and Sierra Pearson (45th overall, sixth on team) both ran new personal records. Senior Blake Venteicher was the lone runner for the Timberwolves boys squad, cutting over a minute off his time from the week before for a new season best en route to a 38th place finish. “Blake is running extremely well this early in the season, already running times comparable to the late season races from last year. He's off to a great start and will have a lot of success this year,” head coach Jason Hults said. “The girls team is making progress and looking better each week. The conditions tonight were not favorable, but all the kids went out and ran well. I was really impressed with the freshman girls, Kya and Sierra, running their second varsity races and each setting new PRs by three to four minutes. The girls team is running well, and has a great chance to repeat next week with a team medal at the Red Oak meet on Monday [Sept. 14].” Results from the Clarinda Co-Ed Meet include: Girls — Daviess, 26th, 25:22.82; Boswell, 28th, 25:33.26; Halle Pearson, 35th, 26:39.17; Newton, 43rd, 29:22.95; Sydney Westlake, 44th, 29:44.59; Sierra Pearson, 45th, 30:21.76; Julia Means, 50th, 41:16.98 Boys — Venteicher, 38th, 21:54.16 SWV cross country girls take seventh
The Timberwolves cross country teams kicked off their 2020 season Sept. 3 in Redfield at the West Central Valley Invitational. Led by four experienced seniors, the Timberwolves girls team finished seventh overall in the 10-team field. Sydney Davies (SR) was the lone medalist for the Timberwolves with a 15th place finish. “Seniors Halle Pearson and Aubrey Boswell also had great nights to kick off their seasons with 20th and 21st places finishes respectively,” head coach Jason Hults said. “Senior Sydney Westlake fought through some nagging injuries to finish 42nd overall. Rounding out the girls squad was Seirra Pearson (freshman 62nd), Kya Newton (freshman 63rd), and Julia Means (sophomore 70th).” The boys only had two runners for the meet. “Blake Venteicher kicked off his senior season with an impressive time of 22:59, good for 52nd place,” Hults said. Freshman Ethan James finished his debut varsity race with an 89th place finish. “Overall, the kids ran great for the first meet of the season. They've been putting in some great work at practice the last few weeks and it showed,” Hults said. “We saw some strong competitive running, especially at the end of the race; with Halle moving up two places to break the top 20 in the last 150 meters and Sydney Davies moving into the medals. Blake, Sydney D., Halle, and Aubrey all ran from one to three minutes faster than their times last season at this meet, so that is really encouraging and will motivate them to continue to improve as the season progresses.” The Timberwolves are in action Sept. 8 at Clarinda. ![]() SWV downs
Central Decatur 3-0 The Timberwolves defeated Central Decatur 25-7, 25-11, 25-23 Sept. 1 for Senior Night. “I thought we came out ready to play tonight. Our energy level was much higher,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “We were really focusing on our energy level, minimizing our unforced errors and improving out serving from last night's match against Creston.” Strong defense, particularly from Maggie Haer and Norah Lund, was key to Southwest Valley’s win. “Maggie and Norah were all over the back row on defense with nine and eight digs respectively,” Wetzel said. “Maggie averaged 2.14/3 on serve receive and Norah averaged 2.60/3. Isabelle [Inman] was doing a great job moving the ball around to our hitters and even getting some swings in of her own when our passing pushed her tight on the net. Isabelle has great court awareness. It was a nice home win on Senior Night for our three senior players, Tonna [Damewood], Isabelle and Marah [Larsen] and our senior manager Brooklyn [Sonntag].” Samantha Larsen was 22-24 serving with four aces, three kills, and a dig. Lund was 16-16 with two aces and two kills. Marah Larsen was 10-10 with three aces, seven kills, and two blocks. Ryanne Mullen was 12-14 with three aces and a dig. Damewood was 5-5 with an ace, three kills, and a dig. Inman was 4-5 with two kills and four digs. Kyli Aldrich had five kills and a dig. The Timberwolves host Maryville on Sept. 8 and will compete in the Griswold Tournament on Sept. 12. Timberwolves hammer
Red Oak 46-7 Southwest Valley moved to 3-0 Sept. 4 following a 46-7 road victory over Red Oak. Brendan Knapp had scored three touchdowns on the ground and threw another to Tucker TePoel. Blaine Venteicher and Isaac Currin also rushed for touchdowns. Branden Knapp had 98 yards rushing on nine carries and 40 yards rushing on five of eight attempts. Venteicher had 97 yards rushing on 13 carries and five yards passing on one of two attempts. Hunter Crill rushed five times for 28 yards. Bradlee Grantz had 21 yards on four carries. Currin had 17 yards on three carries. Marshall Knapp had a six-yard rush and Dayton Cobb had a four-yard rush. Ventiecher had a 30-yard reception. TePoel had two receptions for seven yards. Brock Bowden had a five-yard reception and Cade Myers had a three-yard reception. Defensively, Tallen Myers had four solo tackles, two assists, and sack. TePoel had three solo tackles, two assists, and two sacks. Caden Jacobs had two solos, and assist, and a sack. Cade Myers had a solo, four assists, and a sack. Robbie Barnes had a solo, four assists, and a sack. Kale Haffner had a solo, two assists, and two sacks. Hunter Crill had a solo, two assists, and two sacks. Brendan Knapp had a solo and an assist. Venteicher and Owen Wilkinson had a solo and two assists each. Joey Oathoudt, Brock Bowden, and Adam Timmerman each had a solo. Marshall Knapp and Evan Timmerman had two assists each while Grantz, Gage Barton, and Currin had one assist each. Ventiecher also had a 26-yard interception. Homecoming is Sept. 11 with the Timberwolves hosting AHSTW at 7 p.m. ![]() SWV claims 14-7
Senior Night victory Southwest Valley’s Brendan Knapp rushed for a touchdown and Cade Myers scored on an interception Aug. 28 to give the Timberwolves a 14-7 Senior Night victory over the Cardinal Comets. Knapp ended the night with 66 yards on 16 carries and was 7-15 passing for 56 yards. Isaac Currin gained 34 yards on 10 rushes, Dayton Cobb had 24 yards on six carries, Cade Myers had 20 yards on five rushes, Blaine Venteicher had six yards on two carries, and Evan Timmerman had a four-yard rush. Tucker TePoel was the leading receiver for the Timberwolves with four receptions for 40 yards. Cade Myers had a nine-yard reception, Brock Bowden had a four-yard reception, and Owen Wilkinson had a three-yard reception. TePoel led the defense with three solo tackles, five assists, and four sacks. Tallen Myers had three solos and four assists. Gage Barton had two solos and four assists followed by Brendan Knapp with two solos and three assists, Wilkinson with two solos and two assists, Robbie Barnes with a solo, three assists, and a sack, Marshall Knapp with a solo and two assists, Kaden Jacobs with two assists and a sack, and Dayton Cobb, Venteicher, Bradlee Grantz, and Kale Haffner with an assist each. Barnes and Jacobs each had a fumble recovery. Timmerman had 75 yards on two kickoffs. The Timberwolves (2-0) are scheduled to travel Sept. 4 to Red Oak (0-1) ![]() SWV goes 1-3
against Creston The Timberwolves moved to 1-2 on the season after falling 1-3 Aug. 31 to Creston. The Panthers won the first two sets 25-15, 25-28 before Southwest Valley held on for a 29-27 win in the third set and falling 25-21 in the fourth set. “I thought we played well in sets 3 and 4, we started playing with more energy and hustle. Sets 1 and 2 were just complacent and not a whole lot of energy. Right now we are making too many unforced errors on our own side,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “Serving is definitely something that needs improved. I am seeing good things out of the girls, but we are still adjusting to playing with different faces than a season ago and are still working on team chemistry and understanding each other's habits on the court.” Tonna Damewood was 16-16 serving with an ace and a kill. Marah Larsen was 15-18 with three aces, three kills, five digs, and a block. Samantha Larsen was 12-14 with two aces, four kills, five digs, and two blocks. Norah Lund was 7-8 with three kills and six digs. Ryanne Mullen was 9-14 with an ace, a kill, and five digs. Isabelle Inman was 11-12 with a kill, a block, and five digs. Kyli Aldrich had three kills and a block. Maggie Haer had a kill and six digs. SWV defeated Essex 25-13, 25-17 Aug. 27. Samantha Larsen was 14-14 serving with six aces, a kill, and a dig. Lund was 12-13 with four aces, four kills, and a dig. Mullen was 6-8 with an ace and three digs. Inman was 7-7 with two kills and six digs. Tierney Dalton was 2-2 with an ace and two digs. Damewood was 2-2 and Marah Larsen was 2-2 with five kills. The Timberwolves fell 25-11, 25-19 Aug. 27 to East Mills. Samantha Larsen was 5-7 serving with an ace, three kills, two blocks, and a dig. Marah Larsen was 6-6 with a kill and a dig. Lund was 6-7 with a kill and eight digs. Damewood was 5-5 with three kills and a dig. Mullen was 4-4 with an ace and three digs. Inman was 1-2 with a kill, a block, and a dig. The Timberwolves are home Sept. 1 with Central Decatur and Sept. 8 with Maryville. Timberwolves open
season with 22-15 win The Timberwolves kicked off the 2020 football season with a 22-15 win Aug. 21 over Nodaway Valley. Southwest Valley quarterback Brendan Knapp was 5-10 passing for 76 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions. Freshman Isaac Currin had 51 yards and a touchdown on two receptions. Owen Wilkinson had a 15-yard reception while Tucker TePoel had a 6-yard reception and Brock Bowden had a 4-yard reception. Knapp was the Timberwolves leading rusher, gaining a 158 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Cade Myers rushed for a one-yard touchdown. Freshmen Bradlee Grantz had 29 yards on five carries and Harley Crill had 13 yards on six carries. Defensively, TePoel had five solo tackles and an assist, Brendan Knapp had four solos and two assists, Kaden Jacobs had four solos and two assists, Tallen Myers had three solos and four assists, Dayton Cobb and Marshall Knapp had three solos and an assist each, and Cade Myers had a solo and two assists. Gage Barton, Robbie Barnes, and Grantz had a solo and an assist each, Collin Jacobs had a solo, and Wilkinson, Currin, Ely Rodriguez, and Hunter Crill had an assist each. On special teams, Marshall Knapp had a 15-yard kick return and Wilkinson had a three-yard return. Adam Timmerman had 35 yards on two kickoffs and TePoel had a 35-yard punt. The Timberwolves are set to host the Cardinal Comets for Senior Night on Aug. 28. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Road win![]() SWV finishes 5-6
in eight innings The Timberwolves dropped a 6-5 game in eight innings July 6 against Stanton. “Overall the Timberwolves had strong pitching performances from Tyler Pearson, Brendan Pearson, and Owen Wilkinson that kept us close and competitive with a really good Stanton team,” head coach Josh Lucken said. The Timberwolves were paced offensively by Tyler Pearson (2-4 with 2 RBI) and Brendan Pearson (1-3 2B, 2 RBI). “This was one of our best defensive games all year and we competed and never gave in no matter how much adversity hit,” Lucken said. “We feel we can come out again tomorrow and put up a similar effort against Panorama.” Southwest Valley fell 16-6 June 30 against Lenox. The Timberwolves led 4-2 heading into the fifth inning before giving up two consecutive 7 run innings to lose the lead. Brendan Knapp (2-2 with 2 SB) and Gage Barton (2-3 2 RBI) led the team. “Overall this brings our record to 1-10,” Lucken said. “Our lack of experience at the varsity level has put us in some very difficult situations but we believe we are still improving and preparing for district play and believe we can make a run in our district with our talent.” SWV fell 17-2 in four innings June 29 against Martensdale-St. Marys. “The Blue Devils were extremely stout offensively and when we give a very good team walks and errors they take advantage,” Lucken said. “Overall from day one of games until now we have been improving every single day and looked much more rested on Monday than the previous week. We hope to pick up a few wins before district play to build some confidence in our players.” The Timberwolves lost to the Southeast Valley Jaguars 12-2 June 27 at Patterson field. “We are still pleased with our efforts but have just been fatigued from the nine games in 13 days,” Lucken said. “We are playing the heart of our schedule towards the beginning of the season but we have looked better every game we have played.” Kade Hutchings went 2-3 with a double to lead the offense. SWV begins Class 1A District 13 playoffs July 11 when the Timberwolves host Bedford at 7 p.m. Stanton will face East Union prior to the game in Corning. The winners will face off in the next round at 7 p.m. July 14 in Corning. SWV’s girls taken on Lamoni at 7 p.m. July 13 in Class 1A Region 3 playoffs at Foreman City Park in Lamoni. Bedford edges
out SWV 13-11 The Southwest Valley Timberwolves fell 13-11 June 23 to Bedford. “We were leading 9-2 late in the game and could not finish the job,” head coach Josh Lucken said. “We did battle back once they took the lead 10-9 and managed to tie the game on an RBI single from Matt Johnston to force extra innings. In extra innings we did manage to get runners on and put ourselves in a spot to tie the game and could not get the one key base hit that we needed. We still think that we have been competitive with most teams we have faced so far and have to continue to improve and get better throughout the season.” The Timberwolves lost a hard-fought game June 25 to Mount Ayr 5-2. “After the first inning Brenden Pearson turned in a fantastic complete game performance,” Lucken said. “To only lose by a few runs to a team that 10 runned us last week is tremendous improvement. We are not happy that we lost but the strides we have been making are putting us in a chance to compete and win games. Overall, we are now trying to perfect the little things taking our team to the next level and turning those losses into wins.” The Timberwolves hosted the Southeast Warren Warhawks on June 26. After playing three competitive games last week against tough competition, the team lost 13-0 on their home field in five innings. Kade Hutchings started for the Timberwolves and was relieved by Brendon Knapp, Blake Thomas, and Dominic Nicolas. The T-Wolves fall to 1-7 on the season and were scheduled to end last week’s play June 27 on the road at historic Patterson Field in Fort Dodge in non-conference action against competition from Northwest Iowa. “We are playing as many games as possible to get game experience for our team. We have had a positive week overall but this game did not meet the expectations of our program,” Lucken said. SWV defeats Nodaway Valley
The Timberwolves finished 1-3 in their last four outings, picking up a win over Nodaway Valley but dropping games to Mount Ayr, Clarinda, and Central Decatur. Southwest Valley beat Nodaway Valley 12-9 June 22. “The offense exploded for 12 runs tonight behind Blake Thomas (3-4 3 RBIs) and Kade Hutchings (3-3 1 RBI),” head coach Josh Lucken said. “With various other players contributing as well. We are very excited about we performed offensively and hopefully jumpstart our offense moving forward for the rest of the week.” The Timberwolves took an 8-1 loss June 19 against Central Decatur. “Even though we gave up 8 runs only a couple of those were earned. We felt that we had a strong pitching performance from Brendan Pearson,” Lucken said. “Tyler Pearson chipped in two hits and a walk, reaching base every time. We still feel like we have been competitive just that we have continually hurt ourselves and need to improve defensively.” SWV fell 12-2 June 17 to Clarinda. “We had a better offensive night but could not get the hits to drive runners in. We left 10 men on base tonight and could not convert with runners in scoring position,” Lucken said. “Dalton Calkins had a good 2-1/3 innings of relief. We are going to build on the positives from this game and put the rest behind us.” The Timberwolves suffered an 11-1 loss June 16 against Mount Ayr. “The score does not tell the entire story, we were down 2-1 going into the sixth inning,” Lucken said. “We fell apart a little bit in the sixth and had some few hits that were snuck by our fielders. We had a fantastic pitching performance by Kade Hutchings tonight and put us in a great spot to win. We have felt both times out we have put ourselves in a position to win the game.” SWV is scheduled to host Bedford on June 23 and Southeast Warren on June 26. The eighth- and ninth-grade Timberwolves are on tap to host Clarinda at 11 a.m. July 1 SWV opens with 18-17 win over Stanton
Southwest Valley’s softball team defeated Stanton in a heavy-hitting season opener June 15. Isabelle Inman picked up the win for the Timberwolves with eight strikeouts and four walks. She also was 3-4 at the plate with 3 RBI. Kayley Myers was 2-2 with three walks, 3 RBI, 4 runs and two steals. Norah Lund was 4-4 with 5 runs and six steals. Kyli Aldrich was 2-3 with 3 RBI. Jordyn Figgins also had 3 RBI and was 2-4 at bat. Maggie Haer was 1-4 with an RBI. Camryn Johnston was 1-4 with 2 runs. Abbie Petersen went 2-4 while Anna Inman was 1-4. Both the boys and the girls are scheduled to host Mt. Ayr on June 16. The boys will travel June 17 to Clarinda. The Timberwolves are scheduled to host Central Decatur on June 19, Nodaway Valley on June 22, and Bedford on June 23 for both softball and baseball SWV falls in opener
The Southwest Valley Timberwolves fell June 15 to Bedford 7-2 in their first baseball game of the season. “We really made some strides defensively throughout the game and played much better as the game went on,” SWV coach Josh Lucken said. “We felt we competed well our first time out. We still need to clean up a few minor details but overall we are feeling confident that we can compete on high level this season.” Both the boys and the girls are scheduled to host Mt. Ayr on June 16. The boys will travel June 17 to Clarinda. The Timberwolves are scheduled to host Central Decatur on June 19, Nodaway Valley on June 22, and Bedford on June 23 for both softball and baseball Timberwolves end season
The Timberwolves’ basketball season came to an end Feb. 20 in an 80-46 loss to Martensdale-St. Marys. MSTM outscored Southwest Valley 54-24 in the first half. The Timberwolves’ Blaine Venteicher scored 13 points while Adam Harris, Trevor Abraham, and Garrett Marn scored 7 points each. Isaac Gavin has 24 for MSTM. Complete stats from the game were unavailable at press time. Timberwolf basketball![]() Schafer scores
1,000th career point Southwest Valley senior Jentry Schafer hit a milestone Feb. 6 only a few high school basketball players hit. Schafer scored her 1,000th career point. While the game didn’t end as the Timberwolves had hoped — Sidney won 47-35 — Schafer finished with 8 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and a night to remember. SWV got off to a slow start, scoring just 2 to Sidney’s 11 in the first quarter. The Timberwolves outpaced Sidney 16-15 in the second then went 8-11 in the third to trail just 40-35 in the fourth before Sidney pulled away. “Maggie Haer had 10 points and three steals while holding a lethal Maddy Duncan to only 2 points in the second half until the final free throws of the game,” head coach Michael Webb said. Rylee Jacobs finished with 5 points, three steals and two assists while Marah Larsen had 5 points and four rebounds and Abbie Wetzel had 5 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Norah Lund added 2 points, two rebounds, and three steals. SWV suffered a 44-41 loss Feb. 4 against Bedford. The Timberwolves opened with a 21-11 first half and finished the third up 33-25 before Bedford finished with a 19-8 fourth quarter. Schafer had 18 points and 12 rebounds followed by Wetzel had 7 points and four rebounds, Lund with 7 points and three rebounds, Jacobs with 6 points and a rebound, Marah Larsen with 2 points and four rebounds, and Maggie Haer with 1 point and three rebounds. SWV fell 72-31 Feb. 10 to Red Oak. Complete stats were unavailable at press time. The Timberwolves take on East Mills on Feb. 13 in regional play. Three SWV wrestlers qualify for district
Adyson Lundquist, Kaden Jacobs, and Tallen Myers will represent the Timberwolves in district wrestling after qualifying Feb. 8 in sectionals. Jacobs won his weight class while Lundquist and Myers placed second. Kolton Schutt, Dalton Calkins, and Anthony Daffer placed third, Marshall Knapp and Mathew Johnston placed fourth, and Steve Rodriguez placed fifth. “What a day. A day full of big wins and some big losses,” head coach Cody Konecne said. “Some were the last of a career, some were just there to use as motivation for later. Also, we would like to thank Raymond Harris, Mathew Johnston and Kolton Schutt as they leave us this year as seniors. Good luck in all your future endeavors.” ![]() SWV falls to Red Oak
The Timberwolves fell 72-47 Feb. 10 to Red Oak. Southwest Valley’s Tucker TePoel scored 11 points. Ryan Johnson had 20 for Red Oak. Complete stats were unavailable at press time. Despite three shooters in double digits Feb. 6, the Timberwolves suffered a 63-59 loss to Sidney. Blaine Venteicher had 15 points and five rebounds, Adam Harris had 13 points and a rebound, and TePoel had 12 points and 15 rebounds. Tyler Hoover had 8 points and five rebounds, Gabe Fuller had 6 points, Brendan Pearson had 3 points and two rebounds, and Trevor Abraham had 2 points and three rebounds. SWV fell 62-36 Feb. 4 at home Bedford. Harris had 10 points and four rebounds followed by Venteicher with 8 points and two rebounds, Abraham and Fuller with 5 points and four rebounds each, Garrett Marn with 3 points and three rebounds, Hoover and Brendan Pearson with 2 points and two rebounds each, and Tyler Pearson with a point and a rebound. District play begins Feb. 17. Timberwolf takedownsTimberwolves
defeat Lenox Fueled by double-digit scoring from Garrett Marn, Tucker TePoel, and Gabe Fuller, the Timberwolves claimed a 58-32 win Jan. 28 against Lenox. Marn finished the night with 19 points, TePoel had 16, and Fuller scored 10. Also scoring for Southwest Valley were Tyler Pearson with 5, Brendan Pearson and Adam Harris with 3 each, and Tyler Hoover with 2. Rex Hoffman had 11 points and Colton Vieux had 10 for Lenox. The Timberwolves fell 70-45 to ACGC Jan. 27. SWV trailed 13-10 following the first quarter but ACGC pulled away with a 23-11 second quarter and a 19-14 third. TePoel led SWV with 14 points followed by Blaine Venteicher with 11, Marn with 7, Harris and Hoover with 6 each, and Gabe Fuller with 1. Quynton Younker had 17 points for ACGC. Wayne slipped by the Timberwolves 36-34 Jan. 30. TePoel had 16 points, Marn had 6, Harris had 5, Tyler Pearson had 3, and Hoover and Fuller had 2 each. Zayden Mitchell had 13 points for Wayne. TePoel scored 10 points Jan. 31 in a 63-46 loss to Central Decatur. Harris finished with 8 followed by Trevor Abraham with 7, and Hoover with 5. Venteicher, Brendan Pearson, and Tyler Pearson had 3 points each while Fuller and Joey Oathoudt had 2 each. Central Decatur’s Cole Pedersen had 22 points. SWV wraps up regular play at home Feb. 4 with Bedford, on the road Feb. 6 with Sidney, and home again Feb. 10 with Red Oak. SWV girls stop
Lenox, Wayne The Lady Timberwolves finished 2-2 last week, picking wins over Lenox and Wayne but falling to ACGC and Central Decatur. Southwest Valley began the week with a 57-49 loss Jan. 27 to ACGC. The Timberwolves started strong, claiming a 14-8 first quarter to end the half up 25-21 but ACGC came back with a 20-9 third quarter and 16-15 fourth. Maggie Haer led the Timberwolves with 15 points followed by Jentry Schafer with 12, MaKayla Houck with 6, Norah Lund with 5, Marah Larsen and Abbie Wetzel with 4 each and Rylee Jacobs with 3. SWV stopped Lenox 50-46 Jan. 28. The Timberwolves finished the first half up 23-20. Lenox outscored SWV 13-12 in the third but the Timberwolves held on with a 15-13 finish. Schafer was the top scorer with 18 followed by Lund with 10, Houck and Jacobs with 6 each, Jillian Simmons and Halle Pearson with 4 each and Jordyn Figgins with 2. The Timberwolves easily handled Wayne with three double-digit shooters — Schafer, Wetzel and Haer — for a 67-44 win Jan. 30. Schafer had 15 while Haer and Wetzel had 10 each. Lund finished with 8 points followed by Houck with 6, Simmons with 5, Pearson and Allison Marshall with 4 each, Jacobs with 3, and Figgins with 2. SWV ended the week with a 45-22 loss Jan. 31 to Central Decatur. Schafer was the Timberwolves’ top scorer with 10 points followed by Simmons with 3, Lund, Jacobs, Houck, and Tonna Damewood with 2 each, and Larsen with 1. SWV has just three regular games on the schedule — Bedford at home Feb. 4, at Sidney on Feb. 6, and home again Feb. 10 with Red Oak Lundquist takes
fifth at state Southwest Valley’s Ady Lundquist placed fifth in the Iowa High School Girls Wrestling Championship Jan. 24-25 at Waverly-Shell Rock High School. While Lundquist was wrestling in Waverly, her fellow Timberwolves faced tough competition at home in the 65th John J. Harris Wrestling Tournament in Corning where Tallen Myers finished as runner-up in his weight class. “What a great weekend for wrestling,” head coach Cody Konecne said. “Adyson Lundquist went to the girls state tournament in Waverly and fought back through many matches to get fifth. Fantastic job Ady.” Myers went 3-0 with a hard fought victory in his semifinal match to make it to the finals. “He fought hard against an opponent that has beaten him once this year and again today,” Konecne said. “He'll get the chance to see him again Thursday at home. He finished runner-up. Great job Tallen.” While Myers was the only Timberwolf to reach the podium in the John J. Harris, Konecne said his team put forth a strong effort. “All the guys fought hard this weekend, but came up on the losing end in most matches. But nobody threw in the towel and gave up. Everyone got better and we will start making our push for post season. That is the real goal,” Konecne said. “And we all gave Jim Christiansen one last standing ovation as he came back to work his 35th and final John J. Harris Invitational.” Konecne said the tournament, which included 22 teams, went smoothly. “A special thank you needs to go out to all the hard work the Southwest Valley staff and countless volunteers did to put together such a well-ran and special tournament,” he said. “You all need a standing ovation of your own. It's a great day to be a Timberwolf.” ![]() SWV stops E. Union
The Timberwolves’ Adam Harris scored 25 points and Tucker TePoel had 12 points and 15 rebounds for a 64-54 win Jan. 23 over East Union. After trailing 17-9 in the first quarter, Southwest Valley bounced back with an 18-8 second quarter to enter the second half with a slim 27-25 lead. The Timberwolves finished out the game with a 20-16 third quarter and a 17-13 fourth. Other SWV scorers were Gabe Fuller with 9 points and four rebounds, Garrett Marn with 7 points and eight rebounds, Blaine Venteicher with 7 points and three rebounds, Tyler Hoover with 3 points and two rebounds, and Tyler Pearson with 1 and two rebounds. East Union’s Kaden Kirkland had 13 points. The Timberwolves fell 60-25 Jan. 21 to Nodaway Valley. After keeping pace in the first half to trail just 17-14, SWV was unable to contain Nodaway Valley in 25-7, 18-4 second half. Marn had 6 points and four rebounds followed by TePoel with 4 points and nine rebounds, Fuller with 4 points, Pearson and Blaine Venteicher with 3 points and six rebounds each, Harris with 3 points and three rebounds, and Trevor Abraham with 2 points and two rebounds. The Timberwolves are in action Jan. 27 at home with ACGC, Jan. 28 at Lenox, Jan. 30 at Wayne, Jan. 31 at Central Decatur, and Feb. 4 at home with Bedford. ![]() Timberwolves
defeat E. Union 67-37 Four Southwest Valley shooters scored in double digits Jan. 23 for a 67-37 win over East Union. The Timberwolves Jentry Schafer led the team with 19 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. Marah Larsen also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Rylee Jacobs had 11 points and five rebounds and MaKayla Houk had 10 points and three rebounds. SWV jumped to a 23-13 first quarter lead and all but shut down East Union in a 21-5 second quarter. Other Timberwolf scorers include Norah Lund with 6 points and a rebound, Abbie Wetzel with 3 points and seven rebounds, Maggie Haer with 3 points and two rebounds, and Jillian Simmons with 2 points and two rebounds. SWV fell 67-29 Jan. 21 to Nodaway Valley. The Timberwolves struggled to score despite 13 points from Schafer. Larsen had 7 points, Larsen had 7, Haer had 3, and Lund, Jacobs, and Houck had 2 each. The Timberwolves upcoming games include Jan. 27 at home with ACGC, Jan. 28 at Lenox, Jan. 30 at Wayne, Jan. 31 at Central Decatur, and Feb. 4 at home with Bedford. Schafer signs with Indian Hills
![]() DON GROVES/Free Press — Southwest Valley senior Jentry Schafer signs a letter of intent Jan. 15 to play volleyball at Indian Hills Community College. With her are her parents, Shyla Schafer and Jordan Walter, and Indian Hills head volleyball coach Lyndsey Michel, left, and assistant coach Carly Wehling.
![]() SWV falls to Stanton, Mt. Ayr
The Timberwolves dropped their last two games, falling to Stanton and Mt. Ayr. Despite 12 points from Blaine Venteicher 11 from Tyler Pearson, and 9 from Adam Harris, Southwest Valley suffered a 68-49 loss Jan. 16 to Stanton. Stanton opened with a 19-6 first quarter to control the game. Led by Carter Johnson with 14 points, Stanton would follow 16-13, 21-16, 12-14 in the final three quarters. Helping out the Timberwolves were Tucker TePoel with 6 points, Trevor Abraham with 4, Blake Venteicher with 3, and Tyler Hoover and Garrett Marn with 2 each. Mt. Ayr pressured SWV Jan. 14 to stop the Timberwolves in a 67-31 game. Garrett Marn led the team with 13 points followed by TePoel with 6, Tyler Pearson with 4, and Blaine Venteicher, Adam Harris, Gabe Fuller, and Gage Barton with 2 each. Jaixen Frost was the leading scorer for Mt. Ayr with 17 points. The Timberwolves are scheduled to travel Jan. 21 to Nodaway Valley and then host East Union on Jan. 23. SWV vs. Mt. Ayr
![]() CARIE MORALES/Free Press — Southwest Valley’s Marah Larsen reaches for a loose ball Jan. 14 against Mt. Ayr as teammates Jillian Simmons, Jentry Schafer, Halle Pearson, and Kayley Myers look to help. The Timberwolves fell 64-37 to Mt. Ayr and 48-34 Jan. 16 to Stanton. Complete statistics were unavailable at press time.
SWV wrestlers go 1-2
The Timberwolves went 1-2 in dual action Jan. 14 at Avoca, losing 45-33 to West Central Valley, winning 48-18 against Audubon and losing 57-18 to AHSTW. “We are getting closer to where we want to be as a team and achieving some of our goals,” SWV head coach Cody Konecne said. “But there is still work to be done. So tomorrow, we get back to work.” This week’s schedule includes Van Meter and Mt. Ayr at Van Meter on Jan. 18 and the John J. Harris Tournament Jan. 24-25. ![]() Myers places third
Tallen Myers was the Timberwolves’ lone medalist Jan. 11 in the Rollin Dyer Wrestling Invitational at Atlantic. “This is a rough one, and it got even tougher with some of the teams they added this year,” head coach Cody Konecne said. “Tallen Myers was our only medalist today taking third. Kaden Jacobs was our only other competing place winner by fighting back and getting seventh. We may have finished last today but we learned what it feels like to be in a high caliber tournament. And the more we learn, the more we grow. I was proud of how we fought, even if we didn’t’ win as many as we would have hoped. Bring on tomorrow. We’re getting better every day.” Southwest Valley finished 1-2 Jan. 7 in duals at Red Oak. “We lost our first two duals against Red Oak and Clarinda, then came from behind to snag the last dual against St. Albert by 1 point,” Konecne said. “We were out-manned most of the night by sheer numbers, but we refused to stop fighting. We sent several matches the full six minutes and scored some key wins along the way. We aren't where we can potentially be yet, but we are miles ahead of where we were last year. And our drive to the finish line will be ever vigilant. Nobody is going to give us anything. We have to earn everything we get. And that is what we intend to do.” The Timberwolves have a full schedule this week, traveling Jan. 14 to AHSTW, Jan. 16 to Panorama, and Jan. 18 to Griswold. On Jan. 21, SWV heads to Van Meter then hosts the John J. Harris Tournament on Jan. 24-25. SWV takes Bedford 51-31
The Lady Timberwolves defeated Bedford 51-31 Jan. 7 in an away game. Tied 8-all in the first quarter, Southwest Valley outpaced the Bulldogs 13-6 in the second quarter and 20-6 in the third. Bedford answered with an 11-8 fourth quarter. Kayley Myers was the top scorer for the Timberwolves, picking up 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Abbie Wetzel had 9 points. Marah Larsen had 8 points and nine rebounds. Jentry Schafer had 5 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Rylee Jacobs had 4 points, two rebounds, two assist, and three steals. Tonna Damewood had 1 point and a rebound. SWV hosts Mt. Ayr on Jan. 14 and Stanton on Jan. 16. The Timberwolves take on Wayne on Jan. 17 on the road. Timberwolves
fall to Bedford Southwest Valley suffered a 71-43 loss Jan. 7 to Bedford on the road. Tucker TePoel led the Timberwolves with 10 points and six rebounds. Adam Harris had 8 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals while Tyler Hoover had 8 points and two assists. Trevor Abraham had 6 points, two steals, a rebound, and an assist. Sean McCormick had 4 points, three rebounds, and an assist. Blaine Venteicher had 3 points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal while Blake Venteicher had 3 points, a rebound, and a steal. Tyler Pearson added a free throw and an assist. SWV hosts Mt. Ayr on Jan. 14 and Stanton on Jan. 16. The Timberwolves take on Wayne on Jan. 17 on the road. SWV defeats Warhawks
Southwest Valley’s Jentry Schafer and Rylee Jacobs scored 19 points each for a 69-50 win Jan. 3. over Southeast Warren. The Timberwolves’ starters scored 57 points. After edging out a 13-12 first quarter lead, SWV went on a 22-12 second quarter run to surge to a 35-24 halftime lead. “We got off to a slow start in the first quarter. We were having miss communications within our defense. We switched to man defense to start the second quarter,” head coach Michael Webb said. “It was nice to see our girls able adjust to our changes during the game.” Schafer also had 11 rebounds, five blocks, four steals and was 8-19 in shot attempts while Jacobs had three rebounds and three steals. She was 2-3 in 3-point attempts and was 7-11 in total shot attempts. Maggie Haer had 7 points, five assist, three steals, and three rebounds. Kayley Myers had 7 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Marah Larsen had 5 points, six rebounds, two blocks, and three steals. Marah Larsen had 5 points, Abbie Wetzel had 4, and Jillian Simmons, Norah Lund, Halle Pearson, and Allison Marshall had 2 each. The Timberwolves defeated Clarinda 56-31 Jan. 6. Stats from the game were unavailable at press time. SWV faced Bedford on Jan 7. The Timberwolves are home again Jan. 14 with Mount Ayr. Timberwolves
take SE Warren The Timberwolves returned from Christmas break for a 59-45 win Jan. 3. over Southeast Warren. Tucker TePoel led Southwest Valley with 16 points followed by Adam Harris with 15, Blaine Venteicher with 12, Tyler Hoover with 8, Trevor Abraham with 6, and Garrett Marn with 4. On the boards it was TePoel, Abraham and Marn with five rebounds each, Harris with four, Hoover and Brendan Pearson with three each, and Tyler Pearson with one. For Southeast Warren, Cade Nelson scored 13 and Mason Merfeld had 11 points. The Timberwolves fell 73-33 Jan. 6 against Clarinda. Venteicher and Harris had 8 points each and Hoover had 6. Kory Rogers had 13 for Clarinda. Complete stats were unavailable at press time. SWV traveled Jan. 7 to Bedford. The Timberwolves are home next week with Mount Ayr on Jan. 14. ![]() SWV defeats Lenox 64-54
Four Timberwolves scored in double digits Dec. 17 for a 64-54 win over Lenox at home. Blaine Venteicher finished with 18 points and four rebounds and Tucker TePoel had 14 points and nine rebounds while Garrett Marn and Tyler Hoover ended the night with double-doubles — 15 points and 11 rebounds for Marn and 10 points and 10 rebounds for Hoover. SWV opened with a 13-12 first quarter but by the half Lenox had claimed a 31-30 lead. The Timberwolves returned to contain Tigers, outpacing Lenox 11-6 in the third and 23-17 in the fourth. Adam Harris added 4 points and five rebounds while Blake Venteicher claimed 3 points and two rebounds. Colton Vieux and Chase Johnston had 16 each for Lenox. SWV fell 54-36 against CAM Dec. 16. The Timberwolves took a 7-4 first quarter lead to end the half tied 18 all. CAM answered with a 22-9 third quarter run that proved too much for SWV to overcome. Harris led the scoring for the Timberwolves with 10 points and a rebound followed by TePoel with 7 points and nine rebounds, Hoover with 7 points and three rebounds, Blaine Venteicher with 6 points and two rebounds, Marn with 2 points and four rebounds, Trevor Abraham with 2 points and two rebounds, and Tyler Pearson with 2 points. Gabe Fuller had three rebounds. SWV returns to the court Jan. 3 at Southeast Warren. ![]() T-Wolves dominate
Lenox for 63-31 win Southwest Valley’s Abbie Wetzel and Jentry Schafer scored 11 points each while Norah Lund scored 10 in a 63-31 victory Dec. 17 at home over Lenox. The Timberwolves jumped to a 13-8 first quarter lead to end the half up 30-17. SWV finished the game 20-6 in the third and 13-8 in the fourth. Schafer controlled the boards with 10 rebounds while Marah Larsen had eight and 2 points. Jillian Simmons finished with 6 points and three rebounds, as did Kayley Myers. Rylee Jacobs also had 6 points. Hailey Mendenhall and MaKayla Houck had 3 points and three rebounds each while Jordyn Figgins had 3 points. Halle Pearson had three rebounds and Allison Marshall had two. SWV fell 69-64 Dec. 16 to CAM despite double-digit scoring from Maggie Haer, Larsen, Schafer, and Jacobs. CAM claimed an 18-11 first quarter lead that left the Timberwolves trailing 36-30 at the half. SWV struggled again in the third, scoring only 10 points to CAM’s 19 before surging for a 24-14 fourth quarter finish. Schafer had 17 points and seven rebounds followed by Haer with 16 points and two rebounds, Larsen with 11 points and eight rebounds, Jacobs with 10 points, Simmons with 3 points and a rebounds, Lund with 3 points, and Myers with 2 points and 2 rebounds. The Timberwolves are back in play Jan. 3 at Southeast Warren Lenox Tournament![]() T-Wolves fall to MTSM
The Timberwolves fell at home to Martensdale-St. Marys and Nodaway Valley at home last week. Southwest Valley suffered a 59-35 loss to MTSM on Dec. 13. The Timberwolves started strong, outpacing MTSM 17-13 in the first quarter but the Blue Devils stepped up their defense, holding SWV to just 8 points in the next two periods while scoring 35 of their own. Marah Larsen finished with 10 points, four rebounds, four steals and a block. Abbie Wetzel had 6 points, two rebounds and an assist. Maggie Haer had 5 points, four rebounds and three assists while Jentry Schafer had 5 points, five rebounds, two steals and a block. Kayley Myers had 4 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal. Rylee Jacobs had 3 points and a rebound while Halle Pearson had 2 points, a rebound and a steal. The Timberwolves fell 62-40 Dec. 10 to Nodaway Valley. The Wolverines dominated the first half, outscoring SWV 33-13. Second half adjustments helped the Timberwolves go 27-29. Schafer led the scoring with 12 points. She also had five blocks, three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Haer had 9 points with four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Jacobs had 8 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal. Myers had 6 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks. Marah Larsen had 3 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. MaKayla Houck had 2 points and a rebound. This week the Timberwolves are scheduled to travel Dec. 16 to face CAM and host Lenox on Dec. 17. ![]() SWV drops two at home
The Timberwolves suffered losses to Martensdale-St. Marys and Nodaway Valley at home in last week’s competition. Southwest Valley fell 68-37 Dec. 13 to Martensdale-St. Marys. The Timberwolves trailed 17-11 at the end of the first quarter and 41-20 at the half. SWV’s Adam Harris and Trevor Abraham led the T-Wolves with 8 points each. Harris also had four rebounds and three assists while Abraham had two rebounds. Garrett Marn finished the night with 7 points, three rebounds, and a steal. Blaine Venteicher had 5 points, two rebounds, and two assist. Tucker TePoel had 4 points, six rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Tyler Hoover added 3 points with three rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block. Hogan Franey had 17 points for the Blue Devils. The Timberwolves suffered a similar fate Dec. 10 in an 87-34 loss to Nodaway Valley despite double digit scoring from Harris and TePoel. Nodaway Valley claimed a 26-14 first quarter lead, making it 59-21 by the half. Harris scored 17 points with two rebounds, two assists, and a steal while TePoel finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Marn scored 6 points and Tyler Pearson added a free throw. Hohertz Clay had 32 points for Nodaway Valley. This week the Timberwolves are scheduled to travel Dec. 16 to face CAM and host Lenox on Dec. 17. ![]() SWV holds off Fillies
The Timberwolves held off a fourth-quarter attack by Shenandoah for a 47-42 win Dec. 3 at home. Southwest Valley claimed a 24-17 halftime lead but the Fillies outscored the Timberwolves 25-23 in the second half for a tight finish. “We learned a lot here. We had some high and lows in this game, but we were able to finish out the last few minutes of the game with stellar defense to hold on to the victory,” head coach Michael Webb said. “We had a steady lead the until the fourth quarter. Shenandoah started pressing and we felt it, and Shenandoah worked their way into great position to take the game from us. It was great to see all the stress Shenandoah put on us, we were still able to find a way to win.” Rylee Jacobs and Marah Larsen both scored double digits with 15 and 10 respectively. Jentry Schafer had three steals and two blocks. “Kayley Myers 4 for 4 on free throws, two of them to ice the game,” Webb said. Myers finished with 6 points as did Maggie Haer. Norah Lund and Abbie Wetzel had 4 each and Jillian Simmons added 2. SWV fell 59-44 Dec. 6 to Mt. Ayr in a Pride of Iowa Conference contest. “This was our early test in the season to see if we belong as potential contenders in the Pride of Iowa Conference,” Webb said. “We may not have won but I believe we show we are for real.” The Timberwolves trailed just 33-28 at the half but defense became a major factor in third quarter for both teams. Mt. Ayr outpaced SWV 7-5 in the third then closed with a 19-12 fourth quarter run. “My Ayr played a good game, they are well coached, they get after it, and don't make many mistakes. With that said, I believe we could and can beat them tonight. We had many turnovers that lead to Sam Stewart taking advantage of in transition,” Webb said. “We have gotten better and will continue to get better ball control as the season goes on. Kayley Myers was also in foul trouble very early tonight, she played less than half of what she normally would. If we take care of the ball and Kayley wasn't in foul trouble I believe we could have shocked Mt Ayr. Unfortunately it didn't happen, but I'm excited to play them again.” Jacobs led the scoring for the Timberwolves with 16 on 10 shots and two assists. Schafer finished with 8 points, 13 rebounds, seven blocks, three assists, and two steals. Haer had 7 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Simmons had 6 points and two rebounds. Myers had 5 points and five rebounds. Wetzel had 2 points and three rebounds. “We are hard to score against in the half court. Our defense is exactly where we want it to be, we move, rotate, contest every shot, and don't allow much offensive rebounds,” Webb said. “Offensively we score efficiently, seven 3s tonight, with 13 offensive rebounds.” The Timberwolves are home Dec. 10 with Nodaway Valley and again Dec. 13 with Martensdale. They take on CAM on the road Dec. 16 and then host Lenox on Dec. 17. ![]() SWV falls to Mt. Ayr
The Timberwolves fell 75-42 Dec. 6 on the road with Mt. Ayr. Mt. Ayr ran up a 29-17 first half lead to control the game. Adam Harris led Southwest Valley with 11 points followed by Blaine Venteicher with 10, Garrett Marn with 9, Tucker TePoel with 6, Trevor Abraham with 4, and Tyler Hoover with 2. Payton Weehler scored 22 for Mt. Ayr and Dawson Frost had 20. SWV suffered a 70-53 loss Dec. 3 at home with Shenandoah despite double digit scoring by Venteicher and TePoel. The Timberwolves trailed just 14-11 at the end of the first but the Mustangs opened up in the second for a 39-23 lead at the half. Venteicher finished with 15 points and seven rebounds while TePoel had 13 points and six rebounds. Marn had 7 points and four rebounds, Tyler Pearson had 6 points and a rebound, Abraham had 4 points and two rebounds, Harris had 3 points and two rebounds, Brendan Pearson had 3 points, Tyler Hoover had a point and three rebounds, and Gabe Fuller had a point and a rebound. Anthony Stogdill had 16 points for Shenandoah. The Timberwolves take on Nodaway Valley at home Dec. 10 and Martensdale on Dec. 13. SWV travels Dec. 16 to face CAM then host Lenox on Dec. 17. SWV opens with win
SWV girls defeat Griswold
The Lady Timberwolves opened their season with a 64-28 win Dec. 2 in a road game with Griswold. “We played well as a team tonight, getting 12 players minutes,” coach Michael Webb said. “We had three scorers in double digits, Rylee Jacobs (17), Kayley Myers (15), and Maggie Haer (13).” Also scoring for Southwest Valley were Marah Larsen with 6, Abbie Wetzel with 4, Norah Lund 3, and Jillian Simmons, Halle Pearson, and MaKayla Houck with 2 each. The Timberwolves host Shenandoah on Dec. 3, travel Dec. 6 to Mt. Ayr, then are home again Dec. 10 with Nodaway Valley. ![]() SWV volleyball ends
record-breaking season After winning 25 matches and breaking school records, the Timberwolves’ volleyball season came to a close Oct. 31 in a 0-3 loss to East Mills in regional playoffs. Southwest Valley fell 25-21, 25-22, 25-15 at East Mills. “We really just struggled with our serve receive pass tonight and that really hampered our offensive efforts. We started off every set a little slow and dug some holes that we had to dig out of pointwise,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “I thought the girls really showed a lot of fight and keep playing point for point and had some big runs to get back in each set. It is really tough to get in any type of offensive rhythm when our passes aren’t where we need them.” Norah Lund was 15-16 serving with four aces, three kills, and eight digs. Isabelle Inman was 11-12 with three aces, three digs, and 19 assists. Jentry Schafer was 8-9 with three aces, seven kills, four digs, and three blocks. Kayley Myers was 9-11 with five kills, six digs, and a block. Delaney Dalton was 6-7 with three kills, seven digs, and a block. Olivia Jacobs was 3-4 with seven digs. Marah Larsen had two kills and two digs. Despite the loss, the Timberwolves capped a successful season. With the leadership of seniors Delaney Dalton, Olivia Jacobs, Kayley Myers, Jentry Schafer, and Allison Marshall, this year’s team can boast several accomplishments. “The five graduating seniors are leaving quite a legacy for Southwest Valley volleyball,” Wetzel said. “They have accomplished so much this season to be proud of, a 25-6 record, which breaks the previous school record in 2013 of 21 wins in a season, went undefeated on the west half of the POI Conference, POI Conference Tourney champions, Iz [Inman] and Jentry’s broken school records and being state-ranked through many weeks of the regular season. Those five seniors and all of our players put in a lot of work and time in the offseason to get where we were this season and that is what it takes to be a good, competitive volleyball team. I am proud of our entire team for a great season! They have a lot of be proud of and can walk away from this season with their heads held high.” ![]() Timberwolves volleyball advances
The Timberwolves notched another win Oct. 28 in front of a home crowd to advance in regional volleyball playoffs. Southwest Valley defeated Stanton 25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 25-16. “Tonight's win was a total team effort, not just from the seven girls who play, but also from our bench kids and our student body! They were all fired up and came out ready to yell and scream and get the win,” head coach Lindsay Wetzel said. “Our students were up cheering and yelling during all four sets and that really helps the girls get fired up!” The Timberwolves put on a strong performance at the net, staying on attack throughout the match. “All of our hitters (Jentry Schafer, Kayley Myers, Norah Lund, Marah Larsen, and Delaney Dalton) had multiple kills and as a team, our hitting efficiency was .212. Anytime all of our hitters are hitting with a positive hitting efficiency, we usually win,” Wetzel said. “I thought we were doing a nice job digging the ball tonight and keeping the ball alive if it was going to land in. Delaney led the way with 14 digs, Norah 11, Kayley nine, Jentry eight, Marah six, Olivia [Jacobs] seven, and Isabelle [Inman] five. We have some things that we still need to clean up and refine before Thursday's match against East Mills, but I think the girls are focused, intense and will be ready to play. Our mentality is 1 point at a time and staying focused on the moment.” Dalton was 17-18 serving with three aces and three kills. Lund was 16-17 with two aces and four kills. Myers was 17-18 with an ace and 14 kills while Inman was 13-14 with an ace and a kill. Schafer was 15-17 with eight kills and Jacobs was 9-9. Larsen had 10 kills. SWV defeated Murray 25-22, 25-12, 25-19 in regional play Oct. 22. “We definitely didn't play our best volleyball tonight. I felt like our hitters weren't aggressive in set 1 and it took us a while to get going,” Wetzel said. “We also missed five serves in the first set, which is uncharacteristic of our team. We will need to pick up our play in the next round for sure if we want to keep winning. Set 2 we pretty much took control of the match because we were serving the ball inbounds and our hitters were more aggressive. Kayley had a nice run at the beginning of set 2 from the service line. I felt like in set 3 we just weren't being aggressive and we weren't getting to our defensive spots.” Dalton was 15-16 serving with four aces, four kills, and five digs. Lund was 15-16 with three aces, three kills, and seven digs. Jacobs was 7-8 with two aces and four digs and Inman was 6-7 with two aces and a dig. Myers was 13-15 with an ace, nine kills, and three digs. Schafer was 9-11 with an ace, 13 kills, and six digs. Larsen had two kills. Regional playoffs continue Oct. 31 for the Timberwolves at East Mills High School. Timberwolves round out cross country season
The Southwest Valley Timberwolves cross country team ran Oct. 24 in Mount Ayr at the 1A State Qualifier. Twenty-eight schools from around Southwest Iowa competed for a chance to run again next week at the state meet. “The kids ran well, and finished the season on a high note with four new PRs and three other SB times,” head coach Jason Hults said. “The girls team finished the day in 11th, while the boys team finished in 18th.” Aubrey Boswell (50th) and Halle Pearson (52nd) led the girls time. Sydney Westlake (62nd), Abbie Wetzel (97th), Bella Johnson (101st), and Anjali Kathikar (105th) rounded out the girls runners. “Aubrey, Abbie, and Bella all ran season best times, and Anjali set a new PR,” Hults said. “Halle was only 4 seconds off her season best, and Sydney was within 25 seconds of her PR, so the girls ran extremely well and finished the season running at or near their best times.” For the boys, Adam Harris (63rd) and Blake Venteicher (78th) led the team by both setting new personal records to finish the season. Garrett Marn (118th), Firuz Kholov (119th), and Raymond Harris (124th) ran well, each posting their second or third best times of the season. Sean McCormick (128th) posted a new PR, and Jay Khositanon (141st) ran his fourth best time of the season. “The boys team overall improved so much this season and really ran well at the end of the year,” Hults said. “All seven of the boys who ran set new PRs, some of them multiple times, in the last four meets of the year. “Coach [Dan] Ahrens and I were extremely proud of the effort of all the #RunninTwolves this season. Over the course of the year, the Timberwolves had 15 medalists and one team medalist finish, the first team medal since the 2015 season,” Hults said. “Twelve of the 20 runners set new PRs at least once throughout the season. Every meet and every practice the kids ran hard and rose to the expectations we set for them.” The Timberwolves will lose eight cross country runners to graduation. “We will miss our eight seniors greatly. Four-year runners Abbie Wetzel, Bella Johnson, Sean McCormick, and Trent Newton have had a huge impact on our program and will be greatly missed. Three-year runner Raymond Harris also was instrumental in the success the program had this year,” Hults said. “Newcomers Adam Harris, Garrett Marn, and Firuz Kholov were great additions this season and we wish we had them longer. We wish them all the best of luck in all their future endeavors.” Results of the State Qualifier include: Girls — Boswell, 50th, 24:23.41; Pearson, 52nd, 24:44.79; Westlake, 62nd, 25:35.17; Wetzel, 97th, 28:47.18; Johnson, 101st, 30:01.77; Kathikar, 105st, 33:28.71 Team — AHSTW 55, Van Meter 56, Nodaway Valley 70, Earlham 71, Mount Ayr 152, IKM-Manning 196, Audubon 221, Martensdale-St. Marys 236, CAM 262, Wayne 264, SWV 278, Exira-EHK 280, Sidney 317 Boys — Adam Harris, 63rd, 20:15.13; Venteicher, 78th, 21:09.25; Marn, 118th, 23:13.89; Kholov, 119th, 23:16.31; Raymond Harris, 124th, 23:27.96; McCormick, 128th, 23:54.40; Khositanon, 141st, 25:51.57 Team — Nodaway Valley 43, Earlham 61, Ogden 96, IKM-Manning 158, Riverside 175, Mount Ayr 200, Van Meter 201, Bedford 240, Sidney 259, Interstate 35 287, Ankeny Christian Academy 290, Wayne 294, Martensdale-St. Marys 364, East Union 380, East Mills 396, CAM 398, Orient-Macksburg 418, SWV 443, Essex 57 ![]() |