SHENANDOAH (Aug. 31) -- It was a great meet for team newcomers Tuesday as the Harlan Community girls placed first and the boys took third at the Shenandoah Early Bird Cross Country Invite. The Cyclone girls placed five runners in the top 10 (seven in the top 14) for a winning score of 32, followed by Atlantic with a 48 and Clarinda (49). The top three boys teams were bunched even closer.

 GRINNELL (Sept.

 AVOCA (Aug. 31) -- The AHSTW volleyball team defeated both Nodaway Valley and Griswold in non-conference triangular action Tuesday night as head coach Kelsey Muxfeldt surpassed the 100-win mark for her career. The Lady Vikes, now 4-2 overall, outlasted Nodaway Valley in three sets to start the night, winning 25-16, 18-25, 15-7.

 DENISON (Aug. 31) -- The Harlan Community volleyball team won its conference opener in straight sets Tuesday night, sweeping an error-prone Denison-Schleswig team by scores of 25-16, 25-17, 25-19. HCHS improved to 6-4 overall and 1-0 inside the Hawkeye Ten while Denison dropped to 1-4 and 0-1. Senior outside hitter Zophi Hendricks led the Cyclones at the net with 28 successful attacks and 13 kills and had an efficiency of .281.

 GRISWOLD (Aug. 27) -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton opened the football season last Friday night with a dominating 59-8 non-district win at Griswold. The Spartans led just 16-8 after one quarter before outscoring the host Tigers 35-0 over the next two periods. Junior quarterback Trey Petersen had an outstanding game overall, completing 9-of-18 passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 107 yards and three more scores.

 HARLAN (Aug.

 MANNING (Aug.

 GLENWOOD (Aug. 28) -- Three Harlan Community runners placed in the top 10 Saturday morning as the Cyclone girls placed second and the boys took seventh at the season-opening Glenwood Cross Country Invite. Top HCHS runners were Lindsey Sonderman (2nd place), Kaia Bieker (3rd) and Tyler Shelton (9th).
Glenwood Cross Country Invite • Aug. 28

 ADEL (Aug. 26) -- The Harlan Community volleyball team opened the season with a sweep of the ADM Quad on Thursday night, defeating Newton, ADM and Algona in straight sets. HCHS beat the Cardinals 21-3, 21-18, then swept the host Tigers 21-19, 21-8 and topped the Bulldogs 21-11, 21-10. Zophi Hendricks led the Cyclones with 24 kills in the tournament and was 67-of-75 on attacks.

 HARLAN (Aug. 27) -- It remains to be seen how a season of high hopes and unfinished business will end for the Harlan Community football team later this fall. But this much is certain: the start was unforgettable. Harlan Community and Lewis Central renewed their rivalry at Merrill Field Friday night and waged a Week 1 battle for the ages. HCHS trailed 14-0 after the first quarter, 22-7 at halftime and 29-14 with 11:18 left in the game.

 MANNING (Aug. 27) -- One of the first big goals for the IKM-Manning football team this fall will be getting off to a better start. In 2019 the Wolves lost their first three games, then closed the regular season with six straight wins to make the playoffs. In 2020, they started 0-4 and finished 2-5 in a COVID-shortened regular season.

 HARLAN (Aug.

 AREA -- Harlan Community and AHSTW will both host their annual volleyball tournaments on Saturday (Aug. 28) starting at 8:00 a.m. The 11-team Cyclone Tournament includes three preseason state-ranked teams in Glenwood (Class 4A, No. 4), Indianola (4A, No. 10) and St. Albert (1A, No. 8). The AHSTW Tournament will feature eight total teams.

 SHENANDOAH -- For the second straight year, Harlan Community’s cross country season opener at Shenandoah was postponed due to high heat and humidity on Tuesday. The Shenandoah Early Bird Invite was rescheduled for Tuesday, August 31, at 5:00 p.m. and the Cyclones do plan to attend. The HCHS harriers will now open the season on Saturday morning (Aug. 28) at the Glenwood Invite at Glenwood Lake Park.

 HARLAN -- Austin Ahrenholtz, a 2018 graduate of IKM-Manning, scored a hole-in-one while golfing in the Harlan Community Schools Booster Club Tournament on Sunday, August 15. Ahrenholtz used a 9 iron to ace hole number five - a par-3 - at the Harlan Golf and Country Club. He was golfing with Robbie Wegner, Derek Leinen and Shawn Schaben. (Photo contributed)