Three Vikings take home awards
Juniors Graycen Partlow and Rylie Knop and Freshman Halle Goodman recently made the Western Iowa All Conference list for their efforts in softball. Partlow made 1st Team, while Knop and Goodman made 2nd Team.
“It was really great,” Partlow said. “It came out and it was just good to see that my hard work had paid off and that I was able to get the job done. It’s really good to see and it made me feel good.”
During their 2023 campaign, Partlow batted .382 with 39 hits, 19 runs batted in, and scored 35 runs during a 14-win season.
“I was seeing the ball really well,” Partlow added. “I would just go up to the plate looking either to get on base, or if my runners were in scoring position, I wanted to get them in.”
During their 14-win season, the Vikings beat their Western Iowa rival the IKM-Manning Wolves, in the Class 2A – Region 2 First Round Tournament game, but then lost their second round game to the Missouri Valley Lady Reds.
Despite coming up short in tournament play, Partlow spoke on behalf of how proud she was of the team’s effort to get that far.
“It was a season with negatives and positives,” she said. “It was very up and down, but it was a growth year. We had many things I could look back on and say we did a great job with. Winning that first round was really good. That was my first time under coach [Trevor] Gipple winning the first round of Regionals.”
Partlow credited Gipple for all the help he’s given her along the way that’s led to her success she’s had throughout the season.
“He coached me when I was little with travel ball, and when he stepped into the program that was just great to have him there because he is a great person,” Partlow said. “He knows how to work hard and he knows how to connect to players and be there for us.”
Partlow’s family has supported her throughout her career.
“My dad is an assistant coach, so he’s always been there for me, encouraging me, lifting me up, helping me out whenever I need it,” Partlow added. “My family is a big softball family. My younger sisters play. My middle sister will play next year. We’ll have one year together and see how that goes.”