AVOCA -- The IKM-Manning girls used an 18-4 second-quarter advantage to pull away from AHSTW and win Tuesday’s Western Iowa Conference game, 62-34. Kia Rasmussen paced a balanced Wolves’ scoring attack with 15 points, followed by Peyton Gross with 12, Shauna Reitan 10 and Caitlin Muhlbauer seven. Madi Lingle distributed six of the team’s 19 assists for IKM-M, which improved to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the WIC. 

 ATLANTIC -- The merit of a strong start cannot be overstated when evaluating the Harlan Community boys basketball team’s last two games. In its only loss of the season just before Christmas break, HCHS spent nearly the entire night battling from behind in an eventual seven-point home loss to unbeaten Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln. Flash forward two weeks and the Cyclones basically led the whole way Tuesday night in an impressive seven-point

 HARLAN -- Scoring the game’s first 16 points wasn’t necessarily a sign of things to come Tuesday night, but it was a key difference-maker in the Harlan Community girls’ 57-44 win over Atlantic. The 3rd-ranked (Class 4-A) Cyclones were never seriously threatened by the Trojans, but never quite pulled away as they shook off the rust from a two-week holiday break and improved to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Hawkeye Ten Conference - all alone in fi

 ELK HORN -- Kealey Nelson paced three Spartan girls in double figures Tuesday night as Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Adair-Casey 49-36 in a battle of ‘Top 10’ unbeatens in Class 1-A. The 2nd-ranked Spartans led just 26-24 after three quarters before outscoring the 9th-ranked Bombers 23-12 the rest of the way. 

 AVOCA -- IKM-Manning took control of the game with a 23-8 first-quarter start and stayed undefeated Tuesday night with a 66-53 win over AHSTW. One night after taking down fellow unbeaten Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto on the road, the Wolves showed up ready to play in Avoca, getting 27 points and six rebounds from senior Kyle Wagner in improving to 9-0 overall and 7-0 in the Western Iowa Conference. The Vikings (3-4, 3-4) actually outscored IKM-M af

 ELK HORN -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton heated up from the three-point line in the third quarter and outscored Adair-Casey 32-16 after halftime to win Tuesday’s Rolling Valley Conference game, 56-34. The Spartans improved to 6-3 overall and 6-2 in league play with the victory, getting 15 points from Brady Hansen, 12 from Drew Buckholdt and nine from Noah Pettepier, who hit 3-of-6 three-point shots. Exira-EHK led the winless Bombers 24-18 at the

 HARLAN -- There was a strange feeling in the air last February when the Harlan Community wrestling season came to a close at the district meet in Atlantic. The 2014-15 Cyclones had improved their dual win total by three - going 18-8 - placed sixth in the rugged Hawkeye Ten dual standings and conference tournament for the second straight season and advanced five wrestlers from sectionals to districts for the sixth year in a row.

 AREA -- Following a two-week break for the holidays, area high school sports teams resume their seasons this week with several intriguing basketball games highlighting the schedule. On Tuesday night, the 7th-ranked Harlan Community boys (5-1) will play at No. 6 Atlantic (8-0) in a key matchup for Hawkeye Ten Conference supremacy. The varsity game will tip off at approximately 7:30 p.m., following the JV game at 6:00.

Eleven students from Harlan Community Middle School participated in the Southwest District Iowa Special Olympics Bowling Qualifier held October 13 at Thunderbowl in Council Bluffs. There were approximately 180 total bowlers at the event, which saw blue-ribbon winners in each division advance to the West Region’s state competition November 21 in Sioux City.

 SIOUX CITY -- Former Harlan Community Cyclone Joe Brummer capped an outstanding collegiate football career at Morningside College this past fall, earning second-team All-America NAIA honors from the American Football Coaches Association following the Mustangs’ 12-2 campaign. Brummer, a 2012 HCHS graduate and the son of Tony and Laurie Brummer, Harlan, played offensive left guard for Morningside, starting all 54 of the team’s games during the

 TREYNOR -- The AHSTW wrestling team placed fifth out of nine schools at the Western Iowa Conference Dual Tournament held Friday-Saturday, December 18-19, at Treynor.

 MANNING -- One night after losing a tough three-point decision at Underwood, the IKM-Manning girls crushed Riverside, 79-18, on Friday, December 18, in their final game before Christmas break. The Wolves blew the game open using a 25-2 second-quarter run and also outscored the Lady Dawgs 23-3 in the fourth, making 32-of-53 field goals while swiping 24 steals. Eleven players scored at least one basket for IKM-M, led by Shauna Reitan with 12 po

 MONDAMIN -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton recovered from an awful second quarter by finishing the game on an 11-1 run and winning at West Harrison, 48-39, in boys basketball action last Tuesday. The Spartans entered the holiday break with a 5-3 overall record and 5-2 Rolling Valley Conference mark. They will return to action Tuesday, January 5, for a home game vs.

DENISON -- The Harlan Community boys bowling team accomplished two feats in one night last Thursday, posting a school-record team score of 2,988 pins to beat Denison-Schleswig (2,651) for the first time in seven head-to-head matchups since the Cyclone program began in 2012. Three Cyclones averaged better than 200 pins per game as junior Mitchell Leinen set individual school records with a high game of 263 and a two-game series of 473. Senior M

 ELK HORN -- Even as his team glides into Christmas break unbeaten, Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls basketball coach Tom Petersen sees vast room for improvement in many key areas. The 2nd-ranked (Class 1-A) Spartans improved to 7-0 last Friday night with a 58-35 win over Ar-We-Va - their second victory against a team over .500 - but everything from poor outside shooting to a lack of communication left Petersen frustrated with the girls’ progre