MANNING -- The month of January has been very good to the IKM-Manning boys basketball team thus far. The Wolves won their fourth straight game of 2017 on Friday night, avenging an earlier loss at Treynor by defeating the Cardinals 49-39 in Manning. Senior Jon Brandt showcased an outstanding mid-range game - leading IKM-M with 19 points - and the Wolves’ 3-2 zone defense stymied the Cardinals for most of the game. IKM-Manning also beat Missour

 CLARINDA -- Shane Chamberlain led the way with a career-high 28 points and seven rebounds Friday night as the Harlan Community boys basketball team pulled away in the second half for a 79-42 victory at Clarinda. Chamberlain hit 4-of-6 three-pointers and shot 9-of-13 overall, pacing a list of 11 Cyclones in the scoring column in their most lopsided win of the season. Up 28-19 at the half, HCHS outscored the Cardinals 29-10 in the third quarter

 GRISWOLD -- The AHSTW boys basketball team simply continues to roll along as the sole leader of the Western Iowa Conference. With nine regular-season games still remaining, the Vikings surpassed last year’s win total Tuesday night with a one-sided 75-27 victory at Griswold, improving to 11-1 overall and 8-1 in the WIC. They hold a one-game lead over Underwood (7-2) going into Friday’s home game vs.

 CRESTON -- All six Harlan Community varsity bowlers averaged at least 150 during the individual round as the Cyclone boys improved to 3-1 last Saturday with a 2,455-2,118 dual win at Creston. The Cyclone girls, meanwhile, tallied their best team score of the season but dropped to 1-3 overall with a 2,189-2,032 loss to the Panthers. Senior Mitchell Leinen led the HCHS boys with a high game of 210 and a two-game series of 371.

 MANNING -- The IKM-Manning boys pulled away during the second and third quarters Monday night, routing Riverside 85-42 for its third straight January win. Leading 14-11 after the opening period, the Wolves outscored the Bulldogs 28-11 in the second and 24-10 in the third. They improved to 5-4 overall and 3-4 in the Western Iowa Conference as 11 players broke into the scoring column.

 GRISWOLD -- When talking about his basketball team Tuesday night, AHSTW girls head coach Tyler Morris referenced “2017” about four times during the process of answering four questions. And why not? Since flipping the calendar less than two weeks ago, the Lady Vikes are 3-0 in the new year following Tuesday night’s 46-23 win at Griswold.

 ELK HORN -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton senior Cole Bruns notched career win number 100 in the final dual Monday night as the Spartans finished 0-3 in a home quad vs.

 MANNING -- Sparked by a big first quarter, the IKM-Manning girls basketball team cruised past Riverside 76-40 on Monday night, improving to 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the Western Iowa Conference. The Wolves outscored the visiting Bulldogs 21-6 in the opening stanza and continued to pull away throughout the night, shooting 48 percent from the field and making 9-of-21 three-pointers.

 HARLAN -- A strong fourth quarter erased a somewhat forgettable first three Friday night as the Harlan Community boys basketball team rallied for a 54-45 home win over St.

 NEOLA -- Ethan Lemon and Brandon Trevino each won individual championships on Saturday, leading the Harlan Community wrestling team to second place out of 14 schools at the Tri-Center Invitational. Eleven out of 13 HCHS wrestlers placed in the top six as the Cyclones scored 191 points and came in second to Missouri Valley (204), which is ranked second in Class 1-A by The Predicament with six Top 10 individuals.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS -- Down one starter and facing the Hawkeye Ten front runner, Harlan Community hung around for a half Friday night before St. Albert’s three-point shooting and pressure defense proved to be too much. Trailing 32-24 at the break, the Cyclone girls were outscored 31-5 during the first 11 minutes of the second half and suffered a 67-37 loss at the hands of the surging Saintes. St.

 DENISON -- The Harlan Community wrestlers finished with a 1-2 record in Thursday’s quad at Denison, losing decisively to a pair of highly-ranked foes before soundly defeating Denison-Schleswig in the final dual of the night. Atlantic, listed third in the Class 2-A dual rankings by The Predicament, stormed out to a 57-3 lead and beat HCHS 63-12 in the opening round.

 AVOCA -- The AHSTW girls basketball team notched its second victory of the season here Thursday night, easily defeating Earlham 54-32 in non-conference action. The Lady Vikes also beat Tri-Center 53-43 on Friday, improving to 3-8 on the year. AHSTW gradually pulled away from Earlham, holding leads of 10-4 after one quarter, 22-11 at halftime and 37-19 after three quarters.

 AVOCA -- The AHSTW boys basketball team improved its record to 9-1 overall Thursday night with a 69-64 non-conference win over Earlham. Trailing 34-30 at halftime, the Vikings used a 22-13 third quarter to take the lead and were able to hold off the Cardinals (6-3) the rest of the way.

 HARLAN – Mike Nichols described his month of June as phenomenal. The same adjective can be applied to his entire season. Nichols won all 15 of his June starts and 54 times in all en route to his career sixth IMCA Sunoco Stock Car national championship. He joined 2016 Hobby Stock king Shannon Anderson as the first drivers to win six national titles in the same division during the modern era of IMCA.