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Articles by Ryan Northcote
Carter Bailey
Breaking News Knoxville's Carter Bailey pitches against Clarke. Photo by Ryan Northcote/Herald correspondent This Week's Circulars Obituaries Weekly Shoppers
The nervous freshman takes it all in stride while running for KHS
Norah Pearson has the Knoxville High School record in the 5K. She set the new mark twice this year. Quite an accomplishment for a talented Knoxville freshman runner. Norah is the daughter of Troy and Cassi Pearson and Brian and Toni Slykhuis. The Panther freshman was a strong athlete for Knoxville in the middle school ranks, but she didn’t rest on her laurels realizing even more was at stake at the varsity level. Starting back in June, Norah worked out preparing for the 2019 cross country season.
Eagles scorch Trojans in three sets
It is volleyball tournament time and the Pella Christian Eagles are feeling it. The Eagles made the trek across the river to visit Marion County neighbor, Pleasantville, Monday night and blew through the Pleasantville gym with the ferocity of a summer thunderstorm rolling through the county. The Eagles came into the match with a record of 18-20 and needing two more wins just to get to .500.
Dunkin captures Class 1A 7th place
Twin Cedars had only one runner qualify for the 2019 State Cross Country Meet in Fort Dodge. That athlete, is a special little gem, by the name of Rylee Dunkin. The freshman ran in the Class 1A portion of the State Meet over the Lakeside State Course Saturday on a day the weather was in the low 40s with a wind that made the wind chills less than that. Dunkin wasn’t awed by the competition or even the large crowd that gathered for the yearly event.
Pearson grabs 5th place in Fort Dodge
Knoxville cross country freshman sensation, Norah Pearson, is rapidly making a name for herself. She qualified for the State Cross Country Meet in Fort Dodge with a strong effort at the State Qualifying Meet in Pella the week before. Athletes were facing not only a strong field of athletes at the State Meet, but also bitter cold conditions and a brisk wind. The temperature for race time was low 40s. None of that seemed to faze the Panther freshman.
Sage finishes 23rd in 1A
Emery Sage races a the Class 1A State Cross Country Meet in Fort Dodge Saturday for the M-D Saints. photo by Ryan Northcote Emery Sage represented the Melcher-Dallas Saints at the 2019 State Cross Country Meet Saturday in Fort Dodge. The senior was 23rd in the 1A field with a run of 17:12. It marked the second year in a row for Emery to finish at State.
Knutson runs at State Meet
J’Lyn Knutson overcame a season filled with injuries to race at the 2019 State Cross Country Meet in Fort Dodge Saturday. photo by Ryan Northcote Melcher-Dallas junior J’Lyn Knutson battled a hip flexor injury throughout the 2019 cross country season. She still managed to qualify for the Class 1A State Meet in Fort Dodge. Knutson ran 21:10 over the 5K Lakeside Course in Fort Dodge. Her time was good for 55th place overall.
Cram and Culver to swim at State Meet
The Indianola Indians have qualified three events for the State Swim Meet in Marshalltown this weekend. Two members of the Indianola State contingent are from Knoxville. Knoxville’s Kinsli Cram and Jorja Culver both will be headed to State. Kinsli Cram will be competing on the Indians’ 200 medley team that qualified 32nd for state with a clocking of 1:59.02. The 200 free team will be at State with the 28th best qualifying time at 1:44.99 with Culver and Cram, both on the team.
Swimmers from Pella to compete at State
Four Pella High students have qualified for the 2019 Girls’ State Swim Meet from the NCMP Aquagirls squad. Students from Pella, who are moving on to state action include Kenzie Van Maanen, Hannah Nedder, Allison Paulius and Maylei Ruggles. Nedder will compete in the 100 butterfly for the NCMP team. She has the 12th best time at 58.51 entering State. The 200 medley relay will consist of Ruggles, Van Maanen, Nedder and Lillie Ray from Newton.
Lady Dutch 8th in Fort Dodge
The Pella High Lady Dutch found some answers the week leading up to the 2019 State Cross Country Meet Saturday in Fort Dodge. Pella lead runner Caroline McMartin found out early in the week some of the issues she has been dealing with have been due to an iron deficiency. Coach Doug Cutler’s daughter, Abigail Cutler, was cleared to run a week before State after checking out well following an MRI.
Demestri runs at State
After finishing 12th in the Class 2A State Qualifying Meet, Daniel Mora Demestri, got the opportunity to represent the Pella Christian Eagles at the State Meet. Demestri finished in 73rd place overall in the field of 137, who finished the 2A Boys State Meet in Fort Dodge Saturday. The athletes ran in windy and cold conditions at the Lakeside Course. Demestri’s time at state was 17:56 in the 5K event.
NCMP Swimmers claim LHC title
The NCMP girls’ swim team won the Little Hawkeye Conference Meet held in Indianola Tuesday, Oct. 22. The Aquagirls totaled 491 points to claim the title followed by Indianola with 399 points, Oskaloos 168 and Grinnell 159. Our medley relay team of Maylei Ruggles, Kenzie Van Mannen, Hannah Nedder, and Lillie Ray continues to swim fast and won the conference title. Senior Erika Van Sickle won the 200 freestyle while teammate Natalie Boll was 3rd in a strong race.
Gravel wins J. Johnson Classic
Jason Johnson had a black book of goals he’d like to accomplish. One was to promote a race. On Saturday night at Lake Ozark Speedway it was checked off Johnson’s list. His widow, Bobbi Johnson, promoted the Jason Johnson Classic with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. The event started with rain but had a storybook ending.
M-D is second at Wayne
Melcher-Dallas played well at the Wayne Volleyball Tournament Saturday. The Saints closed out Essex in the first match of the day 21-14, 24-22. Grace Overgaard had six kills and Kacey Enfield followed with five. Haley Godfrey had three ace serves and Riley Enfield added one. In the digs department, R. Enfield had eight and Kynser Reed six for the Saints. M-D lost to the Wayne Falcons in the championship match 21-16, 17-21, 12-15. Overgaard again had six kills while K. Enfield and Reed both added five. R.
Eagles claim 7th at Centerville
Pella Christian raced at the Centerville Invitational held Oct. 8 at the Honey Creek Golf Course near Moravia. The PC Eagles didn’t have enough runners for a team score in the girls’ division, but the boys were seventh overall with 162 points. Starting with the girls the Eagles were paced by junior Sydney Hooyer with a clocking of 22:10 over the 5K course. Junior Annaliese Admiraal was 13th for PC with a time of 22:10 as well. The third Eagle runner of the night was Tessa Brouwer in 54th at 24:49.
Panthers are sluggish in loss to the Tigers
The Knoxville Panthers were disappointed following their 38-10 setback to the Grinnell Tigers in Class 3A District play in Grinnell. The loss dropped the Panthers to 4-2 overall and to 0-2 in district action. The win moved the Tigers to 4-2 and 1-1 in the district. Panther Head Coach Eric Keller stated, “We came out flat last Friday and didn't tackle well. We had some opportunities on both offense and defense that we just barely missed that could have turned the game around.
Bacon tops the charts at KHS Panther Invite
Many talented teams and athletes gathered at the Pine Knolls Country Club Course to compete in the Knoxville Panther Cross Country Invitational. The meet was held on a day the temperature was low 80s and very humid. Storms were approaching the area from the south and the west, but never became a factor during the middle school or 5K varsity races. Norwalk won the varsity 5K boys’ title with 27 point and Pella was runner-up with 62. The Panthers were 9th overall with 230 points.
M-D Saints win big over the TC Sabers in Bluegrass Volleyball play
The Twin Cedars vs. Melcher-Dallas Bluegrass Conference volleyball match was held in Melcher-Dallas Thursday, Oct. 3. In what was expected to be a competitive match, turned into a one-sided affair as the M-D Saints took care of protecting the home court with a resounding 25-11, 25-9, 25-8 win over the Sabers. The Sabers slipped to 7-10 with the loss while M-D moved to 10-4 with the victory. Twin Cedars led early in game one 4-1 but the Saints bounced back rather fast to tie the match at 7-7.
TC strong at Knoxville
The five young guns from Twin Cedars continue to show strength. The Lady Sabers were 8th in a field of 14 at the Knoxville Panther Invitational Tuesday, Oct. 1. The meet was held at the Pine Knolls Country Club Course. The temperature was in the low 80s and it was rather humid. Nevertheless, the Sabers persevered. The first three TC runners to cross the finish line were all freshman. Rylee Dunkin was 5th overall with a run of 20:48.
Knoxville tops Mount Pleasant for No. 20
The Knoxville Panthers weren’t at full strength when they faced the Mount Pleasant Panthers on the road in non-conference volleyball play Oct. 3. Despite being short-handed the Panthers stepped up and beat the Panthers 25-20, 25-10, 25-15. The win put Coach Mollie Keitges’ squad at 20-1 overall. The No. 9 ranked Panthers were minus the services of two players from their usual rotation on the court, Amy Sullivan and Maggie Wilkins as both were out of the lineup.
Thirty three points not enough for the Saints
The Melcher-Dallas Saints put up 33 points on the scoreboard Friday night at home against the AGWSR (Ackley Geneva, Wellsburg, Steamboat Rock) Cougars but it wasn’t enough. The Cougars became the fourth team this year to scorch the Saints for 70 points or more. AGWSR beat the Saints 70-33 Friday in Melcher. AGWSR was about as balanced as a team would ever want to be. The Cougars had two touchdown passes and six rushing scores for touchdowns.
Knoxville is 12th at the Panther Invite
The Knoxville Panthers finished in 12th place at the Knoxville Panther home cross country invitational held Oct. 1 at the Pine Knolls Country Club Course. Norwalk had a daily double as the Warriors won both the varsity boys and girls team titles in the 5K event. Norwalk won a narrow battle over Indianola to claim the varsity girls’ team title with 72 points. The Indianola Indians were runner-up with 79 points. The Panthers had 284 points for the day.
Warhawks trip up M-D Netters in 4 games
The Melcher-Dallas Saints fell to 10-5 overall with a loss to S.E. Warren Monday, Oct. 7 in a match played in Liberty Center. The Warhawks beat the Saints by the final tally of 25-20, 25-17, 15-25, 25-20. “We did an amazing job defensively tonight. We did miss too many serves at key times and lacked communication at times. We played amazing in the third game but just could not pull out the win,” stated M-D Coach Jesyka Nolte.
Strides are made for PC Cross Country
Coach Mike Buchheit is building the Pella Christian Cross Country Team in his second year in charge of the program. At the Knoxville Invitational Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Eagles were 13th in the varsity girls’ team scoring and 10th in the varsity boys’ division. The Eagles have struggled throughout the year to post a team score for varsity girls. The Panther meet was only the third score the team has posted in 2019.
Pella Christian wins 3 of 4 matches at the Eagle Invite
Pella Christian was tested numerous times Saturday at the Pella Christian Volleyball Tournament. The day ended with the Eagles capturing wins in three of four matches. Two of the wins came in third set tie-breakers, one of them was over previously unbeaten Knoxville. It was the Panthers lone loss of the day. The Eagles enter the first full week of October with a season mark of 12 wins and 13 losses. The tournament started with the Eagles knocking off Grand View Christian 21-12, 24-26, 15-7.
Eagles take 3rd at L-S
Pella Christian was third at the Lynnville-Sully Cross Country Invitational with 95 points. Pekin won the boys’ portion of the meet with 34 points followed by Colfax-Mingo with 87. Daniel Mora Demestri was the first PC Eagle to cross the finish line. He was 11th overall at 19:47. Next to finish for Coach Mike Buchheit’s squad was Kaden Van Wyngarden in 14th at 20:25 and Micah DeHaan 18th at 20:54. Rounding out the team total for PC were David Bernhagen 24th at 21:47 and Jack Zula 42nd at 23:59.
Sabers drop a close one to the Warriors 20-18
Twin Cedars dropped a narrow 20-18 decision to the Meskwaki Warriors Friday evening on the road. Each team scored three touchdowns for the evening. When games are this close only a few details make a difference and that was the case in this one. The Sabers turned the ball over five times, four on pass interceptions and one lost fumble. The Warriors turned the ball over three times. One of the Meskwaki takeaways was returned for a touchdown as Jared Davenport scored off a fumble recovery.
Knutson and Sage 2nd at P’ville Invite; PHS girls settle for sixth
Melcher-Dallas runners were the local stars at the Pleasantville Cross Country Invite held Sept. 16. J’Lyn Knutson was second in the varsity girls’ race while Emery Sage was runner-up in the 5k boys’ event. Sage ran 16;49 to take second for the Saints, who competed in the event with only three boys. Along with Sage were Tyler Hartman in 51st and Chase Ripperger 75th overall. The Pleasantville boys were 8th with 190 team points. Their leader was Trenton Major in 5th place at 17:39.
Sabers outlast M-U Eagles 3-2
The Twin Cedars Sabers were stretched to the limit Monday, Sept. 16, as they knocked off the Moulton-Udell Eagles 25-21, 17-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-9 in a match that had more momentum switches than most. In the end the Sabers had a whopping 62 digs by sophomore Ali Mockenhaupt to spearhead the defense. Rylee Dunkin added 20 digs, Kaya DesPlanque 16 and Haley Hoch and Brooke Roby each collected nine. Roby was the offensive star of the night with nine kills along with Chloe Swank.
KHS Netters win a wild one at home
The record is still unblemished as the Knoxville Panthers moved to 9-0 for the season in volleyball. Knoxville was challenged by a team of Albia Lady Dees, who were looking for the upset of the two-time defending South Central Conference Champions. It wasn’t to be Tuesday, Sept. 10 with the Panthers playing at home. Albia trailed the Panthers 21-14 in game one, but they rallied to steal the win 30-28.
Owens repeats as Late Model Champion holding off Brandon Sheppard at the end
KNOXVILLE – Jimmy Owens came from the 18th starting position to win an electrifying edition of the Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals at the Knoxville Raceway Saturday night. The win was the Newport, Tennessee driver’s second in a row, and earned him $40,000. The Malvern Bank Late Model Series supported the event and saw Farley Iowa’s Jason Rauen emerge victorious.
Bolts spoil M-D Homecoming
The Baxter Bolts came to Melcher-Dallas Friday night smarting from a pair of lop sided losses to 8-Player powerhouse teams from Coon Rapids-Bayard and Gilbertville Don Bosco. To say that they took out some of their frustrations on the Saints would be an understatement. The Bolts pretty much scored at will, led by a dynamic duo of Cole Damman and Rory Heer, in a 74-30 Baxter victory. The Saints got off to a great start as they took the opening kickoff 70 yards in 11 plays to grab an 8-0 lead.
Indianola rallies to trip up Dutch Netters
Teams from Pella and Indianola were hooked up in quite a battle on the court Tuesday, Sept. 10. The Dutch playing at home won the first two games of the night, but the Indians fought back to eventually win the match three games to two. The final score saw the Dutch fall short, 25-23, 25-22, 15-25, 19-25, 12-15. Pella is ranked No. 14 in Class 4A and the Indians No. 13 in the 5A polls. Bailey Van Voorst had a splendid all-around game for the Dutch.
Norwalk sweeps PC
Pella Christian faced No. 9 Norwalk on the road Tuesday, Sept. 10. The Warriors flexed their muscles as they beat the Eagles on the volleyball court 25-12, 25-19, 25-12. Norwalk used a balanced attack as they collected 36 kills in the match. Four of the Warriors had six or seven kills for the night. PC countered with 24 kills, but it wasn’t enough to topple Norwalk. Avey Amelse led the Eagles with six kills followed by Molly Bolt and Sarah Gritters each with four.
Sabers pick up first win in a very big way
After dropping the first two games to open the football season, the Twin Cedars Sabers found a trip to Seymour last Friday evening to their liking. The Sabers raced out to a big 30-0 advantage at halftime and they literally coasted home from there to beat the Seymour/Moulton-Udell squad 46-20. Coach Cam Parker’s Sabers was successful by land and in the air. The passing game netted two touchdowns while the running game added four more scores.
Panthers stun Saydel with a 56-0 shutout
Knoxville moved to 2-0 for the season with a resounding 56-0 whitewashing of the Saydel Eagles Friday night on the road. Panther Head Coach Eric Kellar replied, “We executed the game plan in all three phases really well. Kids did their jobs, communicated on stunts, blocking schemes, etc. We played fast and very physical. It was nice to get all of the kids in the game.” To tell you how efficient the KHS offense was take a look at the statistics put up by junior quarterback Kieren Nichols.
Sheppard and Richards on tap at HoF Friday
KNOXVILLE – Brandon Sheppard of Springfield, Illinois, and Mark Richards of Rocket Chassis will be this year’s subject of our Q&A interview at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum during the running of the 16th Annual Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals. The interview will be conducted by 2014 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Dave Argabright of MavTV and Lucas Oil TV, at 11:00 a.m. on the museum’s second floor, Friday, September 13.
PHS Netters sweep past Madrid
The Pleasantville Trojans are off to a quick 2-1 start for the volleyball season following a 25-17, 25-22, 25-10 three game sweep over league foe Madrid Sept. 3 on the road. Through three games the Trojans are halfway to their win total of 2018, when they were 4-19 overall. The Trojan offense displayed balance with Sam Entinger finished with 12 kills and Amber McKinney next in line with 10. Adi Adreon, a sophomore, ran the offense with 22 assists as the setter.
Lady Dutch rally to nip PC 3-2
Pella rallied from a 2-0 deficit to trip up the Pella Christian Eagles 3-2 in a wild and exciting varsity volleyball meeting Tuesday, Sept. 3. The Eagles hosted the match and led 2-0 by winning games one and two 25-22, 25-22 respectively. The Dutch showed some fight and grit as they rallied back to win the match taking games three through five, 25-19, 25-22, 15-8.
Panthers knock off Fairfield 16-9
The Knoxville Panthers started strong and they closed out well in topping Fairfield 16-9 in non-district football action at Ken Locke Stadium in Knoxville Friday night to open the 2019 season. Lane Bach, the move-in from Gladbrook-Reinbeck, made his presence felt early on as a linebacker. Bach forced a Fairfield fumble that was recovered by Blaise Hubler at the Trojan 27 less than a minute into the game.
Three in top 10 at Early Bird Invite
Knoxville placed three runners among the top 10 in the Knoxville Early Bird Cross Country Meet held at the Knoxville High School Monday, August 26. Despite the strong performance by the top of the KHS varsity lineup, the Panthers settled for third place in a hotly contested season opening meet. Pekin won the team title with 39 points with Fairfield at 43 and Knoxville with 46 points. The Eddyville-Blakesburg Rockets were fourth with 103 points.
Pearson sets the pace in Panther home opener
Knoxville freshman Norah Pearson had a very impressive start for the Knoxville Panther cross country team in their season opener August 26. The freshman won the Knoxville Early Bird four-team meet held at the Knoxville High School. Her time was 18:56, as she won the 5k race by over 1:30 ahead of the second place runner from Pekin High School. Pekin won the varsity girls’ team title with 24 points followed by Fairfield with 58 points and Knoxville in third with 62.
KHS wins two tie-breakers and go 3-0
It was a beautiful opening night of the 2019 volleyball season for the Knoxville Panthers Monday night on the home court. The Panthers took on Class 4-A and 5-A competition and didn’t flinch as they picked up three wins for their nights work. The first opponent would be the Wildcats from Carlisle and Knoxville had a battle on their hands in the first set. But the Panthers would prevail 25-22.
Turnovers hamper the TC Sabers in home loss
Twin Cedars had an early start to the 2019 football season. The Sabers faced English Valleys at home Friday, while most other teams in the state open this weekend. The Sabers were troubled with turnovers in a game they eventually lost 47-8. In the first half alone TC turned the ball over five times. Despite that, the Saber defense kept the Bears out of the end zone for the most part. The Bears led the Sabers 6-0 at halftime.
Two first-teamers back
The Twin Cedars Sabers return only three starters from the 2018 varsity football squad that went 4-6 overall. The squad does have seven letter winners on the team to lean on. The starters returning are seniors Trenton Reed and Austin Test along with junior Kade Dunkin. Reed was first-team all-district as an offensive lineman a year ago. He will play on both sides of the line in 2019. Also back is lineman Austin Test as a starter. Kade Dunkin started at wide receiver and defensive back.
M-D has 4 starters back
Four starters return to the Melcher-Dallas Saints’s varsity football lineup this year. The four are seniors Lance Clark and Joe Branson, junior Steven Krpan and sophomore Cole Metz. Krpan is the quarterback, Branson is the tailback and Clark is a offensive lineman. Metz is back as at the fullback and at linebacker. All are ready to play the 8-Man football game under the direction of a new head coach in 2019. Taking over the team will be Pat Ferguson.
Saints trending upward
Jesyka Nolte is hopeful the improvement the Melcher-Dallas Saints have made over the past three years continues into 2019. “I am hoping for a winning season. I took a couple years off when my girls were little. So when I came back 4 years ago I had 10 girls out for volleyball grades 9-12. We didn’t win a game that season. The next year we won 4, and last year we won 9. So a winning season would be awesome.” The Saints were 9-14 a year ago and they return nine letter winners from that squad.
Dancer hopes 'Nutcracker' role inspires young audience
KNOXVILLE — A little boy inspired by a field trip to see “The Nutcracker” has grown up to dance the ballet’s title role next week in Des Moines. Knoxville High School student Lane Franck recalls how the classic Christmastime ballet moved him at an early age. “I remember being flabbergasted, wanting so badly to be up there dancing with them,” Franck says.
Pella Christian honors graduates at homecoming game
Pella Christian High School honored their 1,000th, 2,000th, 3,000th and 4,000th graduate Friday evening during the homecoming boys' basketball game. Marla (Menninga) VanderWaal, class of 1968; Keith Groenendyk, class of 1980; Amy (Veldhuizen) Van Wyk, class of 1993; and Jenna (Boot) Vos, class of 2005 were all honored during the Pella Christian boys' basketball halftime ceremonies.
Redettes fall to conference champions
KNOXVILLE — The Redettes faced a team on a mission. Knoxville was able to clinch the SCC title with their 71-51 win over Centerville.Knoxville jumped on Centerville right from the start and didn’t let up until the fourth quarter when the game was already decided. By halftime, Knoxville was already up 39-18.
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