IOWA CITY (Jan. 22-23) -- AHSTW’s Bella Canada earned a fourth-place state medal at 195 pounds over the weekend at the 2021 IWCOA Girls State Wrestling Tournament in Iowa City. Canada went 4-2 during competition Friday and Saturday, earning 20 points for AHSTW and placing fourth out of 19 wrestlers in her bracket. Her only two losses came against Ankeny Centennial’s Grace Gray.

 ATCHISON, KAN. -- Following 16 highly-successful years as part of the powerhouse football program at Northwest Missouri State University, Harlan native Joel Osborn has found a new home. On Tuesday, Osborn was introduced as the new head football coach at Benedictine College, an NAIA Division I school located just off the Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas. Osborn was hired on Thursday, Jan.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (Jan. 19) -- For the second straight year, Harlan Community sophomores Kaiden Milliken and Reilly McMurphy are competing for the Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln boys swim team, also known as the CB Swim Team. The Lynx, who have just six swimmers on the roster, were defeated by a deep and talented Sioux City Spartans team 122-42 on Tuesday.

 AVOCA (Jan.

 CHURDAN (Jan. 19) -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls basketball team improved to 14-0 overall and 10-0 in the Rolling Valley Conference Tuesday night with a 64-47 win at Paton-Churdan. The sixth-ranked Spartan girls trailed 20-13 after the first quarter before outscoring the host Rockets 21-4 in the second.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (Jan. 18) -- The AHSTW girls basketball team picked up a solid non-conference road win Monday night, surging ahead in the third quarter and holding off St.

 MANNING (Jan.

 MANNING (Jan. 19) -- The IKM-Manning boys basketball team picked up its fourth win in six games Tuesday night, pulling away in the second half of a defensive battle to outlast Riverside 40-26 and avenge last month’s overtime loss in Oakland. The Wolves led just 16-13 at halftime before outscoring the Bulldogs 11-5 in the third quarter and 13-8 in the fourth.

 AVOCA -- AHSTW senior Chloe Falkena reviewed her list of pros and cons. Ultimately, she decided that the cons didn’t matter. Falkena wanted to continue her running career at the next level, and Minnesota State University, Mankato was “just the right fit.” On Monday, January 4, Falkena made it official by signing a national letter of intent to attend Minnesota State and join the women’s cross country and track and field teams starting in the f

 MOUNT AYR (Jan.

 NEOLA (Jan.

 NEOLA (Jan. 16) -- IKM-Manning was held to eight points or less in each quarter and shot 21.7 percent from the field during Saturday night’s 64-25 boys basketball loss at Tri-Center. The Trojans, who shot 51.1 percent and made 8-of-17 three-pointers, improved to 9-2 overall and 8-2 inside the Western Iowa Conference. Senior Leyton Nelson led the way with 20 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots.

 AVOCA (Jan. 12) -- The fourth-ranked (2A) AHSTW boys basketball team dominated its home game vs.

 AVOCA (Jan. 12) -- The AHSTW girls basketball team lost a close one at home against Audubon last Tuesday night, falling 52-49 in Western Iowa Conference action. The game was tight throughout as the Lady Vikes led 17-13 after one quarter and 25-22 at the half, then trailed 38-37 after three. AHSTW shot 33.3 percent from the field (17-of-51) and was outrebounded 32-27.

 MANNING (Jan. 12) -- Playing for the first time since a 64-35 loss to Underwood, the IKM-Manning girls basketball team left the court feeling a lot better about Tuesday’s performance in a 47-42 home defeat vs.