HARLAN (June 4) -- By his own admission, Brett Sears’ first two starts on the mound this season were not up to par. Sears earned the win in both outings as the Harlan Community baseball team beat Kuemper Catholic 5-2 and Shenandoah 10-4, but he lasted just four innings each time due to an early-season pitch count limit and some command issues. For Sears and HCHS head coach Steve Daeges, Monday night’s performance against Lewis Central was a b

 HARLAN (June 5) -- Sophomore Connor Bruck pitched six innings of three-hit ball and helped his own cause with a pair of singles and three RBI here Tuesday night as the Harlan Community baseball team improved to 6-0 inside the Hawkeye Ten with a 7-1 win over Atlantic. Bruck (2-0), who faced the minimum through three, finished his 78-pitch outing with six strikeouts, one walk and a hit batsman.

 HARLAN (June 5) -- Just one night after losing 8-1 to the number nine-ranked team in Class 4A, the Harlan Community softball team put up a much better fight against the No. 9 team in 3A here Tuesday. Falling behind 4-0 early on, the Cyclones battled back and had the tying runs in scoring position in the sixth inning before coming up short against Atlantic, 4-2, at H.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (June 4) -- Aided by walks and hit batsmen, Lewis Central put together two big innings Monday night to beat the Harlan Community softball team 8-1. The 9th-ranked (4A) Titans scored three runs in the second inning vs. Cyclone pitcher Morgan Schaben, getting two-out RBI singles from Taylor Elam and Haley Bach after a walk and an error set the table.

 AVOCA (June 4) -- Trailing 4-2 at one point, the AHSTW baseball team scored 13 runs in its last three at-bats to down Logan-Magnolia 15-5 in six innings Monday night for its fourth win of the season. Sam Porter (2-1) pitched all six innings for the win, allowing five hits and no earned runs.

 AVOCA (June 5) -- The AHSTW softball team dropped a pair of Western Iowa Conference games earlier this week, falling to ninth-ranked (2A) Logan-Magnolia Monday night, 11-1, and losing at Audubon 14-4 on Tuesday. The Lady Vikes had just three hits vs. Lo-Ma, including an RBI double by Sarah Butcher.

      IOWA FALLS – Former Harlanite Kate Cox was inducted into the Iowa Rugby Fall of Fame here May 5. Kate is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Terry Cox, Harlan. Cox, a 2000 Harlan Community High School graduate, began playing rugby as a freshman at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls where the UNI Panthers went on to win back-to-back national championships in 2001 and 2002 and were the runner-up in 2003.

 HARLAN -- Shane Chamberlain, a 2018 Harlan Community High School graduate, signed a letter of intent this spring to play collegiate basketball at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska. As a senior in 2017-18, Chamberlain helped lead the Cyclones to a 15-8 overall record and a trip to the Class 3A substate finals.

 HARLAN -- Logan Klaassen, a 2018 Harlan Community High School graduate, signed a letter of intent this spring to play collegiate basketball at Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska. As a senior, Klaassen helped the 2017-18 Cyclones finish 15-8 overall and reach the Class 3A substate finals. The 6-foot-2 shooting guard was second on the team with a scoring average of 14.3 points per game while also averaging 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists.