Sharp shooter Kaelyn Elsbernd eyes up a three-pointer during North Fayette Valley’s UIC opener against West Central on Tuesday night, Nov. 21. Through two games, Elsbernd leads the TigerHawks in scoring with 28 points. (photo by Gidal Kaiser/Oelwein Daily Register)

NFV girls start basketball season a perfect 2-0

by Zakary Kriener

zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The TigerHawk girls’ basketball season got underway last week as North Fayette Valley picked up wins in both of their matchups, including an Upper Iowa Conference game against West Central.

For the fourth straight year, the South Winneshiek girls stood atop the patio at the State Cross Country Meet in Fort Dodge! The Warrior girls took runner-up honors in Class 1A on Friday with a strong performance by runners (l-r) Lauren Ondrashek, Annie Hageman, Izzy Kuboushek, Josie Tieskoetter, Karissa Wenthold, Maddy Jansen, Ava Franzen, and coaches Kevin Kearney and Scott Conway. (photo by Marie Conway)

SW girls finish in top-2 at State for 4th straight year!

by Zakary Kriener

zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The Warrior girls’ cross country program is doing big things! On Friday afternoon, the South Winneshiek girls closed out their 2023 season at the top of the State Meet patio with another trophy, making it four straight years that the team has finished in the top two of the Class 1A results.

“The fact that our girls were able to accomplish what they did this year really was amazing,” said co-coach Kevin Kearney, who helped lead the team to its third runner-up finish since 2020 and a championship in 2021. “We graduated several outstanding seniors last year and we were going to have our work cut out for us coming into the season.”

South Winn’s Eric Greve (34) and Kyle Kuboushek (8) work together to bring down an East Buchanan ball carrier during Friday night’s first round playoff game in Winthrop. (Zakary Kriener photo)

Warriors fall to Bucs in Class A playoffs

by Zakary Kriener

zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

It was a tough matchup for the South Winn football team as it traveled to Winthrop on Friday night to take on the preseason No. 2-ranked East Buchanan Buccaneers. The high-powered Buc rushing attack flexed its muscle in the season-ending loss for the Warriors, gaining 379 rushing yards while holding South Winn to just 132 yards of total offense.

Warrior runners Izzy Kuboushek (left runner) and Karissa Wenthold (right runner) are cheered on by a group of fellow teammates as they compete at Thursday’s State Qualifying Meet at Central Springs. The two runners helped propel the No. 3-ranked South Winn girls to a first place finish at the meet. (photo by Marie Conway)

Warrior girls and Abe Conway are State-bound!

by Zakary Kriener

zkriener@fayettepublishing.com
 

The Warrior cross country teams continued to impress last week as the No. 3-ranked SW girls and boys’ runner Abe Conway are State-bound!

At Thursday afternoon’s State Qualifying Meet at Central Springs, the South Winn girls were on top of their game with a first-place finish, while Conway made the cut to qualify as an individual.

The South Winn volleyball program had three seniors play their final match last week at Dyersville Beckman, including (third-from-left to right) Rachel Meyer, Avery Humpal, and Katrina Hageman. The three are joined by the Warrior volleyball coaching staff, including (l-r) Ethan Adams, Alex Smith, Glenna Munuswamy, and Darcy Einck. (Zakary Kriener photo)

Warrior VB season comes to end at hands of #11 Beckman

by Zakary Kriener

zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

It wasn’t the way they wanted it to end, but the Warrior volleyball team went down swinging last week in Wednesday night’s (Oct. 18) Regional quarterfinal match against No. 11-ranked Dyersville Beckman.

The Trailblzers proved to be too much for South Winn to handle, taking the match by a score of 3-0 and moving on in the bracket while sending the Warriors back home with a final 2023 record of 17-13.

TigerHawk junior Jayla Cowley puts away a kill for NFV during last week’s Regional Semifinal match against No. 9-ranked Dubuque Wahlert. (photo by Emma Kovarik)

NFV netters fall to #9 Wahlert in Regional semis

by Zakary Kriener

zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

After winning its first round playoff game earlier in the week, the TigerHawk volleyball team was tasked with taking on No. 9-ranked Dubuque Wahlert on Thursday evening. The Golden Eagles showed why they are worthy of that No. 9 ranking, defeating North Fayette Valley, 3-0.

“Wahlert is a good team and took care of the ball offensively,” said NFV coach Billie Cowley. “We are very proud of our team for last night’s efforts and the season. We won with dignity and lost with dignity – not every team is able to do this. The girls have grown as athletes and as young women throughout the season and we are extremely proud of their efforts.”

Like they have done for much of the season, North Fayette Valley runners Ava Bilden and Braelyn Meyer (l-r) paced the TigerHawks at the State Qualifying Meet on Thursday afternoon in Monticello. Unfortunately, the two missed out on continuing their seasons as Meyer crossed the finish line at the 21:00.5 mark and Bilden finished in 21:11.5. (Zakary Kriener photo)

NFV runners come up short at State Qualifying Meet

By Zakary Kriener

zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

North Fayette Valley runners had their work cut out for them last week as they traveled to Monticello for their State Qualifying Meet.

With five ranked girls’ teams and three ranked boys’ teams competing and only three able to qualify for State, the TigerHawks would have to be on top of their game to continue their season.

While NFV had strong individual and team performances, they were unable to advance any athletes to Fort Dodge.

NFV running back Ayden Turner slices between a group of Panther defenders during the first quarter of Friday night’s playoff loss to Monticello. Turner led the TigerHawks in rushing with 72 yards on the night. (Zakary Kriener photo)

NFV season ends with tough loss to #4 Monticello