South Winn’s Noah Tieskoetter pops a corner three-pointer during recent Warrior action. Last week, the Warriors picked up a hard-fought 58-56 win over MFL/MarMac to advance in the postseason. (Zakary Kriener photo)

SW boys stay alive with big win over Bulldogs

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The South Winneshiek boys’ basketball team picked up its fourth straight win in its 2019 postseason debut Thursday. The Warriors came out on the good side of a 58-56 score against the MFL/MarMac Bulldogs in a game played at Cascade.

The Warriors were led by a pair of double-digit scorers as sophomores Jacob Herold (19) and Collin Wiltgen (14) led the charge in the winning effort.

Trenton Clausen displays his high backswing during the recent Senior Day meet at Lilac Lanes in West Union. In Thursday’s state qualifying meet in Dubuque, the NFV senior bowled a 129-176-306 to finish with the team’s third-highest score. (Jerry Wadian photo)

Roulson close at SQM

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

NFV bowlers competed at the Class 1A State Qualifying Meet on Thursday, Feb. 14, at Cherry Lanes in Dubuque. 

  The boys came in with a 6-3 record, but illness drained some energy as they finished fifth with a 1,649. Central DeWitt smoked the field with a 2,084. None of the boys finished high enough to qualify for the State Bowling Meet in Des Moines this week.

  Brian Roulson came the closest to qualifying with his 172-232-404; he needed 13 more pins to qualify. His 202 average was four pins higher than his season average, and the 404 series was seven points higher than his average series for the year.

Gunner Rodgers squares off against West Delaware’s Jayden Peyton in their 138-pound, third-round match at the State Wrestling Tournament last week in Des Moines. Rodgers was eliminated by Peyton with a fall in 3:51. However, the NFV senior did earn a 6-2 victory in round two. (photo by Pete Temple of the Monticello Express)

Rodgers, Fantz each win 1 at State

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

“The State Wrestling Tournament is an amazing atmosphere and the matches are always tough,” noted NFV wrestling head coach Jacob Pedersen after his two grapplers each won a match during last week’s tournament.

Both Gunner Rodgers (138) and Weston Fantz (160) faced ranked opponents in round one, but came back to win in round two.

NFV’s Makenna Koch drives the baseline for two of her team-high 15 points in Thursday’s regional semifinal against Waukon. The senior also led the team with three long-range bombs. (Chris DeBack photo)

Girls fall to Waukon

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

NFV had no answer for Waukon’s height, shooting ability, and experience Thursday night as the Indians’ won the Class 3A Region 4 semifinal, 68-34, in Waukon.

 The TigerHawks missed their opening shots, but Waukon nailed most of theirs in opening a 25-9 first-quarter lead. By halftime, the Indians led, 45-17.

 “We really had no answer for them in the first half,” commented NFV head coach   Jim Calkins. “Waukon is not an easy team to prepare for, and coach Greg Criswell had his team focused and playing at a very high level.”

Paul Hageman blocks the potential game-winning three-pointer by North Fayette Valley in the final seconds of Friday night’s Upper Iowa Conference rivalry game. Hageman had four points and four steals to go along with the block. (Zakary Kriener photo)

Warrior boys go 3-0 to close regular season

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The South Winn boys’ basketball team got back on track last week after losing four of its previous five games. Throughout the week, the Warriors went 3-0 in conference play and closed out the regular season on a positive note.

Monday night, Feb. 4, the Warriors hosted Postville in Calmar. 

Despite a slow start in the first quarter, the Warriors battled back to win 52-43.

South Winn’s Makayla Hageman fires a deep two-pointer during recent Warrior basketball action. The junior guard had 20 points in three games last week and helped the Warriors go 3-0 to close out the regular season. South Winn also won their first-round postseason matchup over Postville on Saturday. (Zakary Kriener photo)

SW girls push win streak to four

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The South Winneshiek girls’ basketball team had a stellar week on the court, winning all three of its matchups and extending its winning streak to four games.

The Warriors began the week Monday, Feb. 4, with an impressive 66-16 win over Upper Iowa Conference foe Postville.

Freshman 106-pounder Ethan Maldonado works his way toward a pin in recent Warrior wrestling action. Maldonado fought his way to a second-place finish at Saturday’s District Tournament in Denver to advance to the State Wrestling Tournament this weekend. Maldonado will be joined by teammate Logan Schnuelle (152 pounds) on the mats in Des Moines. (Jerry Wadian photo)

South Winn sends two to State Wrestling!

Zakary Kriener

News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

South Winneshiek will send a pair of wrestlers to the 2019 State Wrestling Tournament in Des Moines after 106-pounder Ethan Maldonaldo and 152-pounder Logan Schnuelle each placed second at Saturday’s District Tournament at Denver.

“Saturday was a great day of wrestling for us,” commented coach Jacob Elsbernd after the tournament. “All three boys wrestled very well and I couldn’t be more pleased with how they performed. Logan and Ethan both had outstanding opportunities and they took advantage of them.

NFV head bowling coach Leland Ellis (center) is surrounded by All-Conference bowlers. Both Colin Gavin (left) and Brian Roulson earned the distinction Saturday at Maple Lanes in Waterloo. Gavin was named All-Conference for the third consecutive year after placing second overall. Roulson was third overall, giving him All-Conference honors for all four of his years bowling for NFV. (submitted photo)

Gavin, Roulson All-Conference

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

The NFV bowling team wrapped up the regular season with meets Friday and Saturday. 

Friday was Parents’ Night at Lilac Lanes in West Union as the TigerHawks ended the regular season against Independence.

Saturday was the Conference meet at Maple Lanes in Waterloo.

The conference meet saw NFV crown two All-Conference performers. Colin Gavin rolled his way to second place, earning All-Conference honors for the third time. Brian Roulson finished third to garner All-Conference honors for the fourth consecutive year. 

NFV senior Brooks Hovden misses a shot in the paint against the Osage Green Devils on Monday, Feb. 11, in New Hampton. The TigerHawks struggled offensively in the first half of the first round of the Class 2A District 4 playoffs scoring only nine points on their way to a 67-37 loss.  Chris DeBack photo

Osage stuns TigerHawks, 67-37

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

By Chris Deback
cdeback@thefayettecountyunion.com

The NFV boys’ basketball season came to an end at the hands of the Osage Green Devils on Monday, Feb. 11, in New Hampton. 

The TigerHawks fell, 67-37, in the first round of the Class 2A District 4 tournament. 

It was all Osage from the very beginning as the Green Devils hit a pair of 3-pointers to open the first quarter. Trey Darnell answered with a 3-pointer of his own to make the game 6-3. However, the Green Devils ended the first quarter on an 11-2 run and were up 34-9 at halftime. 

Alyssa Bohr leaps by an Anamosa defender during the final quarter of Saturday’s Regional basketball opener in West Union. The NFV freshman was able to get open because of great pass from teammate Emma Ney. The TigerHawks went on to win their first-ever Regional game, 42-37, over the Blue Raiders. (Jerry Wadian photo)

NFV girls win first-ever Regional game

By Jerry Wadian
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

All it took was a   line-drive trey and six free throws for the TigerHawk girl’s to win their first Regional basketball game in NFV history. 

The big win propelled the girls into the Class 3A Regional semifinals in Waukon Wednesday, Feb. 13. There, the 11-10 TigerHawks will face ninth-ranked Waukon, currently 16-3, in a 7 p.m. ballgame. “We look forward to the challenge of playing Waukon,” noted head coach Jim Calkins.