WATERLOO (May 28) -- Harlan Community senior Brock Bruns finished with a 1-2 match record and came within a tiebreaker of earning a medal at the Class 1A Boys State Tennis Tournament this past weekend at the Byrnes Park Tennis Center in Waterloo. Bruns, the Cyclones’ first state singles qualifier since 2012, played all three of his matches on Friday and all three were held inside due to the weather. Bruns lost to Keokuk’s Abbot Haner 0-6, 1-6

 KIMBALLTON (May 28) -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth to break a 4-4 tie and held off Coon Rapids-Bayard 7-4 in Rolling Valley Conference softball action here Friday. The 12th-ranked (Class 1A) Spartans capped a 5-0 opening week of the season, including two wins inside the RVC, while the Crusaders dropped to 1-2. Exira-EHK fell behind 2-1 in the top of the third and 4-3 in the fourth but was able to ans

 IRWIN (May 27) -- The IKM-Manning softball team was defeated by Tri-Center 12-7 in a Western Iowa Conference game here Thursday night. The Wolves rallied back to tie the score at 3-3 in the first inning and 4-4 in the second, but were unable to recover after T-C plated four runs in the top of the fourth and two more in the fifth. IKM-Manning totaled just four hits on the night but was able to draw 14 walks, including four by Zoey Melton.

 HARLAN (May 26) -- Jordan Heese’s fourth-inning double supplied the only RBI of the game Wednesday night as the Harlan Community softball team topped AHSTW 2-0 in a pitchers’ duel at H.

 DENISON -- The Harlan Community girls golf team finished the season with a seventh-place performance out of 12 schools at the Class 3A, Region 1 Tournament held May 24 at Majestic Hills Golf Course in Denison. State-qualifying teams were first-place Gilbert with an impressive score of 357 and second-place Nevada with a 400.

 CARROLL (May 24) -- Try as he might, Heath Stein won’t soon forget his first game as Harlan Community’s head baseball coach. Stein’s Cyclones showcased their promise in the first three and a half innings of Monday’s season opener at Kuemper Catholic, playing large amounts of small ball to build an 8-1 lead by the top of the fourth. The Cyclones showcased their youth from that point on, committing five errors in the last three innings and allo

 CARROLL -- The Harlan Community softball team opened the season last Monday night (May 24) with a 13-1 Hawkeye Ten Conference win at Kuemper Catholic, using a three-run second inning, a four-run fourth and a five-run seventh to turn the game into a rout. HCHS outhit the Knights 15-1 and also took advantage of seven Kuemper errors.

 WATERLOO -- Harlan Community senior Brock Bruns, son of Chad and Molly Bruns, Harlan, will be participating in the Class 1A Boys State Tennis Tournament this weekend in Waterloo. The tournament will be held May 28-29 at Byrnes Park, with competition beginning at approximately 9:30 a.m.

 HOLSTEIN (May 24) -- IKM-Manning sophomore Kylie Powers advanced to the Class 1A Girls State Golf Tournament on Monday by winning the Class 1A Region 1 Final held at the Holstein Country Club. Powers shot an 18-hole score of 86 on the day, finishing one shot ahead of Newell-Fonda’s Alexis Barber, Gehlen Catholic’s Jayden Barthole and Tori Galle of Remsen St. Mary’s.

 ANITA (May 21) -- A rough back nine cost Trey Petersen a trip to the state golf tournament in last Friday’s Class 1A District Tournament at Anita’s Crestwood Hills Golf Course. Petersen, a sophomore from Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton, shot an even-par 35 on the front nine of his district round but finished 10-over (46) on the back nine to score a seventh-place 81.

 DES MOINES (May 20-22) -- Area athletes combined to medal in 14 events this past weekend at the 2021 State Co-Ed Track and Field Championships in Des Moines. Following a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the state meet returned in full force Thursday, Friday and Saturday with near-capacity crowds filling Drake Stadium for six action-packed sessions. Harlan Community, AHSTW, IKM-Manning and Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton qualified 37 state entries t

2021 Iowa High School State Track & Field ChampionshipsMay 20-22 • Drake Stadium • Des Moines

 CARROLL (May 21) -- IKM-Manning senior Tyler Brandt qualified for the Class 2A Boys State Golf Tournament Friday after shooting an 18-hole round of 78 in the district meet held at the Carroll Country Club. Brandt was the third-place medalist on the day, trailing only Keegan Joyce of Emmetsburg (76) and Lucas Lorenzen of Okoboji (77).

 DENISON (May 20) -- The Harlan Community boys soccer team took on Denison-Schleswig Thursday night in the first round of the Class 2A substate playoffs, losing a 2-0 decision. Although HCHS finished the season with a 3-15 record, its performance against the Monarchs was its best all year. The Cyclones entered the game already knowing they were the underdogs to the now 10-5 Monarchs.

 UNDERWOOD (May 20) -- The AHSTW boys soccer team was defeated by Underwood 6-1 in the first round of the Class 1A substate playoffs on Thursday night. The Vikings finished their season with an overall record of 4-9. The host Eagles led 2-0 at halftime before taking control after the intermission and improving to 10-6. They moved on to face Council Bluffs St. Albert (12-6) on Monday night.