HARLAN -- The Harlan Community girls soccer team started out well in each half Tuesday night but could not land the finishing punch in a seesaw battle against Kuemper Catholic. The result was a 4-3 overtime loss to the Knights in a Class 1-A, Region 2 quarterfinal match at Merrill Field, ending the Cyclones’ season with a record of 5-13. HCHS, which trailed 2-1 at halftime, scored twice in the first nine minutes of the second half and maintai

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community baseball team improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in Hawkeye Ten Conference play Tuesday night (May 30), beating Denison-Schleswig 11-1 in five innings. Brett Sears (2-0) pitched an abbreviated three-hitter with 10 strikeouts for the win and Nick Foss ended the game by the rule with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth - the team’s first long ball of the year. Foss also doubled on the night, finishing 2-for-2

 WINTERSET -- The AHSTW girls golf team finished its season by placing fourth in the Class 2-A Regional Final Tournament held May 22 at the Winterset Country Club.

 ANITA -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton freshman Jacey Anthofer placed 13th with an 18-hole score of 102 at the Class 1-A, Region 2 girls golf tournament final held May 22 at Crestwood Hills Golf Course in Anita. Anthofer qualified for the regional final by placing fourth at the first-round regional meet in Mount Ayr on May 15. Anthofer’s 102 at the regional final left her six strokes out of medalist contention.

 DENISON -- The Harlan Community girls golf team finished just one spot below state meet contention on Monday, May 22, placing third in the Class 4-A, Region 1 Tournament at Denison’s Majestic Hills Golf Course. Led by Maggie Langenfeld’s 18-hole round of 96, which put her just two shots away from qualifying for state as an individual, the Cyclones posted a score of 408 to come in third out of 12 teams. Humboldt, which went on to win the 4-A s

 HARLAN -- Considering the quality of teams it faces annually during the first week of the prep baseball season, 4-0 starts for Harlan Community have been rare. Generally, the Cyclones suffer at least one loss - maybe a rainout or two - during their opening week stretch against opposition from Carroll and Sioux City. It wasn’t easy, but on Friday night HCHS made 4-0 a reality at Jim Goeser Field, outlasting Sioux City Bishop Heelan 8-7 courtes

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community baseball team survived six errors and a three-run seventh-inning rally by Sioux City North here Thursday night (May 25) to beat the Stars 6-5 at Jim Goeser Field. Cyclone freshman Connor Bruck, who relieved Joshua Cheek with a four-run lead in the seventh, surrendered three unearned runs in his one inning of work before striking out cleanup batter Noah Weeter with the tying run at first base. Bruck hit the first

 SIOUX CITY -- Bishop Heelan senior Lexi Ricke pitched a three-hit shutout and struck out 10 Wednesday night (May 24) as the sixth-rated (Class 4-A) Crusader softball team blanked Harlan Community 5-0. HCHS dropped to 1-1 on the season. Heelan (2-0) put together a two-run first inning and a two-run fourth against Cyclone eighth-grader Emily Brouse, who made her varsity pitching debut.

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community girls soccer team will take a 5-12 record into regional play following last Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime loss vs. Nodaway Valley/AC/WCV. HCHS led 2-0 by the 23rd minute as Haley Arkfeld scored on a deflection off a defender and Kylee Hinz also capitalized on a good look at the net. The Wolverines would rally, however, as Josi Ocheltree’s hat trick proved to be the difference in the game.

 AVOCA -- Sarah True scored a pair of goals and Olivia Kock and Hailey Haynes both scored once as the AHSTW girls soccer team blanked Riverside 4-0 in its regular-season finale on May 22. The game was halted by thunderstorms in the 45th minute. The Lady Vikes did all of their scoring in the first half, capped by Katie Anzalone’s assist to Haynes in the 32nd minute. Morgan Eckmann finished with four saves.

 TREYNOR -- A perfectly-placed 40-yard bomb in the first minute of sudden-death overtime brought a heartbreaking end to AHSTW’s undefeated season last Wednesday night (May 24) as Treynor stunned the 10th-ranked Vikings 2-1 in a Class 1-A, Substate 8 boys soccer semifinal. Following a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation, Treynor’s Connor Wiggins launched a long shot that found the top-left corner of the net just 27 seconds into O.T. Wiggins’ score

 EARLHAM -- A season full of highlights ended two wins shy of a state tournament berth last Wednesday (May 24) when Harlan Community lost to Winterset, 5-1, in a Class 2-A, Substate 8 boys soccer semifinal at Earlham. The 8th-ranked Huskies (15-1), who advanced to state with a 1-0 win over No. 2 Sioux City Bishop Heelan on Saturday, led HCHS 3-0 at halftime and pulled away with two goals in the final six minutes, four seconds.

 REGIONAL -- The Harlan Community boys tennis team wrapped up its 2017 season with a pair of strong showings earlier this month, placing third at the Hawkeye Ten Conference Tournament in Atlantic (May 8) and placing fourth at the Class 1-A District Tournament in Carroll (May 11). The Cyclones’ fourth-place district finish left them just three points shy of advancing to Preliminary Substate team competition.

 CARROLL -- So far, so good, for the 2017 Harlan Community baseball team. Sophomore Brett Sears and freshman Connor Bruck combined on a four-hit shutout Tuesday night (May 23) and HCHS pulled away in its final two at-bats to shut out Kuemper Catholic, 8-0, in a battle of preseason state-ranked teams. Taking advantage of five Kuemper errors and mixing in some timely hits, the top-ranked and defending Class 3-A champion Cyclones (2-0) scored all

 CARROLL -- Harlan Community opened defense of its Class 3-A state baseball title with an 11-run first inning on Monday night (May 22), eventually finishing off a young Carroll team 14-0 in five innings. Connor Bruck went 3-for-3 at the plate for HCHS while Dillon Sears, Brett Sears and Kyle Schmitz all had two-hit games, including a double by Schmitz and a Dillon Sears triple.