PELLA -- Former Atlantic standout Sam Markham was recently named first-team All-Iowa Conference following a record-breaking season for the Central College football team.

TREYNOR -- Opening the season with a young and inexperienced varsity roster, the Harlan Community girls basketball team didn’t just stick their toe in the shallow end of the pool Tuesday night.

 ELK HORN -- The three-point shooting numbers told the story in Tuesday night’s Rolling Valley Conference basketball opener between Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton and Paton-Churdan. Exira-EHK sophomore Josh Pettepier knocked down eight straight treys in the first half alone and finished 10-of-11 from behind the arc.

 AVOCA -- The AHSTW boys basketball team finished just one point shy of the century mark in Tuesday night’s season opener vs. Woodbine, pounding the Tigers 99-20 in non-conference action. The Vikings, who shot 52.6 percent from the field while also grabbing 27 offensive rebounds, led 27-9 after one quarter before extending the margin to 58-14 at the half and 87-18 after three.

 AVOCA -- The AHSTW girls basketball team dropped to 0-2 in non-conference play Monday night, losing a 52-38 home game against CAM, Anita. The Lady Vikes fell behind 30-22 at halftime and were unable to mount a second-half rally. They will open Western Iowa Conference play Friday night at Riverside.

 ELK HORN -- Thirteen Spartan players cracked the scoring column Tuesday night as the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls basketball team opened the season with an 81-18 rout of Paton-Churdan. Ranked third in Class 1-A by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, Exira-EHK was led by Sophia Peppers’ 17 points and 15 apiece from Mara Burmeister and Kealey Nelson.

 HARLAN -- Harlan Community girls basketball head coach Zach Klaassen could not have imagined a much better scenario for his first four years on the job. Since taking over for Tony Vis following a 10-11 season in 2011-2012, Klaassen has directed the Cyclones to a sparkling 95-6 record over the last four winter campaigns. During that time, HCHS has made four trips to the Girls State Basketball Tournament and claimed the last three Hawkeye Ten C

     HARLAN -- The Harlan Community wrestling team will hold an open house on Thursday (December 1) at 6:30 p.m. in the high school gym. The open house will consist of introductions of the wrestlers, cheerleaders and statisticians; an explanation of the rules and scoring in wrestling; and demonstrations by the high school wrestlers.

 COLUMBIA, MO. -- Defiance native Jess Schaben and the Iowa State volleyball team will travel to Columbia, Missouri, for the first round of the 2016 NCAA Volleyball Championships starting Thursday afternoon. Iowa State (18-10 overall) received an at-large selection on Sunday night and will be competing in its 11th straight NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones will face Purdue (18-13) at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in a first-round match at Columbia.

 DES MOINES -- Three area football players have been honored as part of the Iowa Newspaper Association 2016 All-State Football teams released on Tuesday. Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton senior Drew Buckholdt was selected as a first-team linebacker in the 8-Player class for the second straight year after once again leading the Spartans in tackles. In addition, two area players were named to the All-State teams for the first time.

 ELK HORN -- AHSTW outscored Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton 33-29 Tuesday night in a boys basketball jamboree at Elk Horn. The Vikings led 15-12 after one quarter and also won the second quarter 18-17. Each team in the scrimmage played for just one half. Scoring leaders for the Vikings included R.J. Harris with eight points, Jake Martin with seven and Blaine Lees six.

 CRESTON -- The Harlan Community boys basketball team topped Chariton 36-22 on Tuesday night as part of a jamboree held at Southwestern Community College in Creston. HCHS led 13-8 after one quarter before pulling away in the second and final period. Cyclone scoring leaders included Josh Cheek with 10 points and Caleb Rasmussen and Logan Klaassen with eight apiece. Shane Chamberlain scored seven points and Matthew Bjoin added three.

 AVOCA -- It wasn’t the outcome that AHSTW wanted, but the Lady Vike girls basketball team certainly has some positive signs to build on following Tuesday night’s season opener vs.

 FORT MYERS, FL.

 HARLAN -- The IKM-Manning girls basketball team used a big run in each quarter to pull away from Harlan Community 37-24 in the final matchup of Thursday’s eight-team jamboree in Harlan. In other action, Red Oak defeated Griswold, AHSTW beat the HCHS JV 25-10 and Panorama beat Atlantic 34-16.