HARLAN (Oct.

 FORT DODGE (Oct. 29) -- The emotions will be strong Friday afternoon when the Harlan Community girls toe the start line for the 2021 State Cross Country Championships. In 25 years as the head coach at HCHS, Doug Renkly has guided 18 teams to Lakeside Municipal Golf Course for this event, including 15 girls squads in the last 18 years. The 2005 Cyclone girls, led by Regina Reinig’s individual title, claimed the 3A team championship.

 HARLAN (Oct. 29) -- Trip number 40 to the Iowa high school football playoffs begins in earnest Friday night when Harlan Community hosts Ballard in a Class 3A first round playoff game. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. as the top-ranked Cyclones (9-0) face the Bombers (5-4) for the first time ever on the gridiron. The winner will play No. 8 Nevada (8-1) or No.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (Oct. 26) -- Juniors Aurora Miller and Elaina Vrchoticky each won an individual gold medal for Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln Tuesday night as the Lynx lost to Lewis Central 243-173 in the Council Bluffs City Meet held at Titan Hill Intermediate School. Miller and Vrchoticky are among four Harlan Community High School students competing for the Abraham Lincoln girls swimming team, also known as the CB Swim Team.

 PAULLINA (Oct.

 MOVILLE (Oct. 22) -- Woodbury Central standout quarterback Dallas Kluender fired six touchdown passes last Friday night, leading the sixth-ranked Wildcats past AHSTW 46-12 in the opening round of the Class A football playoffs. The Vikings fell behind 26-0 by halftime and were unable to mount a second-half comeback, finishing the season with an overall record of 4-5.

 KNOXVILLE (Oct.

 WINTERSET (Oct. 20) -- The Harlan Community girls cross country team clinched a fourth consecutive state meet appearance last Wednesday, placing third out of 12 schools in the Class 3A State Qualifying Meet held at Winterset’s Lakeview Country Club. The girls’ field was headlined by three teams ranked in 3A’s top five by the IATC: No. 2 North Polk, No. 4 Dallas Center-Grimes and No.

 PANORA (Oct. 21) -- Caden Keller and Emily Albertsen of IKM-Manning, along with AHSTW’s Rylie Knop, have qualified for the 2021 State Cross Country Meet. All three area runners advanced by placing in the top 10 of last Thursday’s Class 1A State Qualifying Meet at Panorama West Golf Course. They will now compete in Saturday’s (Oct. 30) 1A State Meet at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course north of Fort Dodge.

 KNOXVILLE (Oct.

 WINTERSET (Oct. 20) -- The Harlan Community girls cross country team will make its fourth straight state meet appearance following last Wednesday’s third-place performance at the Class 3A State Qualifying Meet held at Lakeview Country Club. The Cyclone girls scored a 70 to place third behind Dallas Center-Grimes (56) and North Polk (65).

 SERGEANT BLUFF (Oct.

 AVOCA (Oct. 18) -- The AHSTW volleyball team opened Class 2A regional tournament play on Monday night with a four-set victory over Logan-Magnolia. The Lady Vikes dropped the first set 21-25 before winning the next three, 25-17, 25-8, 26-24. Halle Hall led AHSTW with 13 kills on the night and had an efficiency of .216. Natalie Hagadon totaled 11 kills (.128), Ally Meyers had seven (.583) and Megan Wise added six (.158).

Regional volleyball tournaments across Iowa opened competition on Monday, October 18. Below are early-round results and pairings for those regions involving area teams.

 REGIONAL (Oct. 20-21) -- Cross country runners from across Iowa will compete in state qualifying meets later this week to determine this year’s qualifiers for the state meet in Fort Dodge (Oct. 29-30). The Harlan Community girls and boys harriers will compete against a 13-team Class 3A field Wednesday (Oct. 20) at Lakeview Country Club north of Winterset. The meet will start at 4:00 p.m.