HARLAN -- Harlan Community senior Alyssa Wyman signed a letter of intent on March 2 to continue her academics and basketball career at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls. Alyssa is the daughter of Marty and Amy Wyman. Wyman played in 18 games for the Cyclone girls this past season, averaging 3.8 points per game in a reserve role as HCHS finished with an 11-11 record.

    CARROLL -- The Harlan Community girls and boys track teams both won nine events at Thursday’s Carroll Early Bird Co-Ed Invite (March 23).    No team scoring was kept at the outdoor season opener and all times were hand held. Teams who competed included HCHS, Carroll, Boone, Kuemper Catholic and Earlham.    The HCHS girls won four out of seven relays on the day, placing first in the shuttle hurdle, 4x200, 4x100 and 4x400.

 REGIONAL -- There was no shortage of local representation this past season when it comes to women’s collegiate basketball. Eight former area standouts - ranging from seniors to freshmen; NAIA to NCAA Division I - played women’s college hoops at one of six Midwest institutions during the 2016-17 campaign.

    OMAHA, NEB. -- Harlan Community baseball coach Steve Daeges was inducted into the Nebraska-Iowa Old-Timers Baseball Club Hall of Fame last Saturday, March 18, in a banquet held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Omaha. Daeges was one of five honorees on the night, joining the Hall of Fame along with Frank Pecha, Jim Thomas, the late Merl Eberly and the late Loren Babe.

    REGIONAL -- Six Harlan Community senior bowlers, including two first-teamers, have been named to the 2016-2017 Hawkeye Ten All-Conference bowling teams. HCHS girls who were recognized include Jessie Phipps on the first team, Molly Wingert (second team) and Nicole Willcoxon (honorable mention). Phipps posted a team-high 151.1 game average as the Cyclone girls finished 5-6 in duals and placed fourth at the Hawkeye Ten Tournament.

 MANNING -- IKM-Manning senior Rylie Muhlbauer signed a letter of intent earlier this month to play volleyball at Morningside College in Sioux City. Rylie is the daughter of Steve and Nancy Muhlbauer of Manning. Muhlbauer was a four-year volleyball letter winner for the Wolves and earned first or second-team all-conference honors as a sophomore, junior and senior.

 MANNING -- IKM-Manning senior Hunter Behrens signed a letter of intent in February to play football at Morningside College in Sioux City. Hunter is the son of Chris and Jenni Behrens, Manning, and plans to major in Business Management/Marketing with a minor in Agronomy. Behrens was a four-year football letter winner at IKM-Manning, named All-District three times and twice selected to the Omaha World-Herald’s All-Western Iowa teams.

 STORM LAKE -- Led by Allison Bruck’s gold in the 60-meter hurdles, area athletes combined to earn top-three medals in nine events at the BVU High School Elite track meets held Friday and Saturday on the Dennis Young Indoor Track. The two-day event saw Harlan Community and AHSTW compete on Friday while IKM-Manning attended Saturday’s portion of the meet. Bruck, an HCHS senior, won the girls’ 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.70 and also helped

 IOWA CITY -- A total of 14 student-athletes from the Harlan Community Schools competed in the Special Olympics Mid-Winter Games on March 10-11 in Iowa City.

Hawkeye Ten All-Conf. Boys Basketball
FIRST TEAMChad Moran, Lewis Central, sr., GKyle Arrington, Lewis Central, sr., C*Matt Dentlinger, Kuemper, sr., F*Garrett Franken, Atlantic, sr., F*Nate Mohr, Glenwood, jr., G*Andrew Blum, Glenwood, jr., F*Caleb Rasmussen, HCHS, sr., GKylan Smallwood, Creston, so., G* Unanimous Selection

DES MOINES -- AHSTW junior R.J. Harris was named third-team All-State by the Iowa Newspaper Association earlier this week after leading the Vikings to one of their best basketball seasons in school history. The INA announced its 2017 All-State Boys Basketball selections on Tuesday, choosing three teams per class and naming Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s Joe Smoldt as this year’s Mr.

VERMILLION, S.D.

DES MOINES -- Harlan Community senior Joshua Cheek was one of just 21 senior boys basketball players statewide named to the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association’s 2017 Boys Academic All-State Team. Josh is the son of Kevin Cheek and Janell Leinen. Selected from more than 170 nominations, this elite group combined to average an ACT composite test score of 29.6, a cumulative GPA of 3.98 and 15.7 points per game on the basketball floor.

 IOWA CITY -- Moving up one spot on the podium from last year, IKM-Manning senior Taylor Gross finished as a state champion last Saturday (March 11) in the Special Olympics Basketball Skills competition for ages 16-21. The event was held at Iowa City High. The daughter of Paul and Joy Gross, rural Manilla, Taylor has been competing in Special Olympics state competitions for many years.

 The following story was originally published by the University of Nebraska-Kearney website on February 13. It is being republished in the Harlan Tribune with persmission from UNK. KEARNEY, NEB.