DENISON (Aug. 30) -- When Todd Bladt gives his first pre-game speech as a head football coach tonight, there’s a good chance it will incorporate several elements he’s heard many times in his life. “Let’s hope so,” he said with a laugh.

 GLENWOOD (Aug. 31) -- The Harlan Community cross country team will open the season Saturday morning by competing in the Glenwood Ram Invitational. Schools scheduled to compete at Glenwood Lake Park include: Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, Clarinda Academy, Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson, East Mills, Atlantic, Clarinda, Glenwood, Harlan Community, Lewis Central, Red Oak, Shenandoah, Southwest Valley, St.

 HARLAN (Aug. 31) -- Seven state-ranked teams will be in the field this Saturday when Harlan Community opens the season by hosting the annual Cyclone Volleyball Tournament. The tournament field has increased to 11 teams this year and the format has changed. Pool A will feature six teams playing five best-of-three matches in pool play while Pool B will feature five teams playing four pool matches.

 AVOCA (Aug. 31) -- AHSTW will host seven other teams Saturday for the season-opening Lady Vike Tournament, with pool play starting at 8:30 a.m. AHSTW, the defending tourney champion, will compete in Pool A (high school gym) against Essex, Denison-Schleswig and CAM, playing in the first, third and sixth matches of the day.

 REGIONAL (Aug. 30) -- AHSTW and IKM-Manning will open the 2019 football season with home games while Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton starts on the road Friday night at 7:00 p.m. AHSTW, last year’s Class A state runner-up with a 12-1 record, will host Underwood, which returns a solid nucleus from last year’s 5-4 squad. The Vikings won last year’s meeting 47-14. IKM-Manning (5-4 last year) hosts ACGC (3-6).

 AVOCA (Aug. 30) -- The faces change from year to year, but the winning always seems to continue for the AHSTW football program. Playoff qualifiers in 12 straight seasons under head coaches Cory Faust and Davis Pattee - most recently a Class A state runner-up with a 12-1 record last fall - the Vikings once again find themselves in reload mode going into Friday’s season opener vs.

 SHENANDOAH (Aug. 27) -- In the preseason cross country rankings released last week by the Iowa Association of Track Coaches, the AHSTW girls were listed as a “team to watch” just below Class 1A’s top 15.

 MANNING (Aug.

 HARLAN (Aug.

 HARLAN (Aug. 27) -- The Harlan Community football team will basically have a brand new crew on special teams this year with first-year varsity players filling many roles in the kicking and return games. Senior Matt Kloewer will start 2019 as the team’s placekicker and punter, but there are others in the mix.

 HARLAN -- During the last two football seasons, Harlan Community has compiled an 18-5 record, won three playoff games and ranked among the top five Class 3A teams in total offense with a two-year total of 8,500 yards. Many of the faces who contributed to those potent offenses have moved on, including one of the best all-around football players in program history (Nick Foss) as well as the school record holder for passing yards in a single gam

PATRIOTS CHOICE CONTRACTING SPORT COMPACTSTrack Champion: Scott Brown (Council Bluffs, IA)

 STATE -- Harlan Community senior Brett Sears was named captain of the Class 3A All-State Team while teammates Luke Schaben and Connor Bruck also received all-state recognition from the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association on Sunday, August 11. Sears, who will continue his baseball career at Western Illinois University, had a big weekend for awards after playing four games in the IHSBCA’s All-Star Series August 8-11.

 LA CROSSE, WI. -- Drew Bladt and his father Greg Bladt of Harlan each rode 100 miles in the JDRF Century Ride August 10 to raise awareness and money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Together, they were able to raise $12,800 with the assistance of Hy-Vee and The Lounge. The four-day event was held August 8-11 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

2019 Hawkeye Ten Conference Summer Sports All-Academic Award Winners(Senior letterwinners attaining cumulative 3.5 GPA during high school career)SOFTBALL Atlantic: Karsyn Rush, Baylee Newell; Clarinda: Bryn Morgenstern, Addison Shane, Aliyah St.