AVOCA -- In a premiere matchup of top-five runners in Class 1-A, Evan Wilson turned a close race into a rout to win the boys half of Tuesday’s AHSTW Cross Country Invite. Wilson, an Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton senior, was locked in a close battle with Treynor junior Jerry Jorgenson for about two miles, then rapidly pulled away down the stretch to win his fourth 2017 meet in as many tries by a margin of 38 seconds - 17:14 to 17:52. Wilson is ran

 HARLAN -- It would be a stretch to say that Harlan Community’s defense is 10 times better than a year ago, but sometimes the simple mathematics are just too much fun to ignore. Last September, HCHS was outscored by Creston/Orient-Macksburg 70-49 in an unforgettable offensive shootout at Creston.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (Sept.

 MANNING (Sept. 8) -- The IKM-Manning football team improved to 2-1 on Friday night with a 21-13 win over OA-BCIG to open district play.

 AVOCA (Sept.

 AVOCA -- All in all, it was a great opening night for AHSTW’s sparkling, newly-remodeled gymnasium. The Lady Vike volleyball team made sure the “new” gym’s maiden voyage was a memorable one Thursday, turning the match around with an incredible 18-0 run and defeating Underwood for the first time since 2006 in a four-setter, 12-25, 25-9, 25-21, 25-10. The Western Iowa Conference opener for both teams saw AHSTW improve to 4-4 overall while the E

 HARLAN (Sept.

 SHENANDOAH (Sept.

 ELK HORN (Sept.

 TREYNOR (Sept. 5) -- AHSTW’s Dalton Fischer and Heidi Hall both placed in the top five and IKM-Manning boasted four total medalists as part of Tuesday’s Treynor Cross Country Invite. Fischer placed third in a boys field of 120 runners for the Vikings, clocking a five-kilometer time of 17:41 at the Treynor Recreation Area.

 JEFFERSON (Sept.

 MANNING (Sept.

 LAWTON (Sept. 1) -- Gage Clay caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from R.J. Harris and also scored on a 34-yard run Friday night, leading AHSTW to a 14-0 non-district win at Lawton-Bronson. The 9th-ranked (1-A) Vikings improved to 2-0 overall entering this week’s District 7 opener vs.

 EXIRA (Sept. 1) -- Josh Pettepier threw three touchdown passes and Cole Madsen scored four TDs overall Friday night as Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton evened its record at 1-1 with a dominating 57-14 non-district win over Bedford. Pettepier completed 7-of-10 passes for 190 yards on the night and Madsen had three catches for 105 yards and two scores. He also had two short TD runs.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (Sept.