Stories from Wednesday, May 15, 2013

With the season on the line for every athlete, some quality competition brought out the best in Spirit Lake Park at the Class 3A State Qualifying Meet Thursday, May 9 at Sheryl Maahs Track. The Indians weren't going to be denied despite competing against seven high-caliber teams in the state's third largest class, capturing 13 state berths and five district championships. ...

Spirit Lake Park knew the tall task that was laid out in front of them, and they took the bull by the horns and ran with it, sending nine events to state with a several outstanding performances at the Class 3A State Qualifying Meet Thursday, May 9 at Sheryl Maahs Track...

With thoughts of the blue oval at Drake Stadium running through their minds, Okoboji put on a spectacular show for the fans to behold, qualifying 10 events for state despite having to overcome a huge hurdle at the Class 2A State Qualifying Meet Thursday, May 9 in Emmetsburg...

Okoboji didn't let a subpar conference meet performance affect them for long, turning in state qualifying races in two sprint relays and the high jump at the Class 2A District Championships Thursday, May 9 in Emmetsburg. The Pioneers turned in incredible times in cool and windy conditions to qualify to run on the blue oval in both the 4x100 and 4x200 relays. Darby Jones also advanced on for the third year in a row in the high jump...

Even though Brandon Stoll was the only player to qualify for the state tournament individually, the Spirit Lake-Okoboji boys tennis team kept its season alive with a runner-up performance at the Class 1A district tournament Friday, May 10 in Storm Lake...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire girls golf team kept its storybook season alive with a runner-up performance in the first round Class 1A regional tournament Monday, May 13 at Spring Valley Golf Course in Livermore. The Titans had a team score of 418 to finish behind regional champion Bishop Garrigan of Algona (359). Harris-Lake Park also came in sixth place out of nine teams with a 470...

The Spirit Lake boys golf team's depth paid dividends when it mattered most, allowing the Indians to qualify for districts as a team with a runner-up score of 318 at the Class 3A sectional tournament Friday, May 10 at Spencer Golf and Country Club. The Indians were able to hold off Storm Lake after three golfers recorded sub-80 scores. ...

"We sure have not had very good weather this spring!" With those words, Jackson Speedway Promoter Jon McCorkell announced that the first two races of the 2013 racing season will have to be delayed, "Mother Nature just won't cut us any breaks and with the nearly an inch of rain and snow in the last week and the forecast for more, we are likely not going to be getting much if any work done on the Jackson Speedway for the next week."...

Okoboji sophomore Alex Mankle kept her season alive with the hopes of advancing to the state tournament for the second year in a row after a top-5 finish in the first round Class 2A regional tournament Monday, May 13 at Lakeside Country Club in Fort Dodge...

The Okoboji boys golf team capitalized on a solid performance from junior Tyler Ohl to survive and advance to see another day with a runner-up showing in the Class 2A sectional tournament Friday, May 10 at Emerald Hills Golf Course. The Pioneers locked up in a heated battle with Emmetsburg and Western Christian atop the leaderboard in the eight-team competition. ...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire boys golf team came away with a second place finish to advance on to district round as a team in the Class 1A sectional tournament held Friday, May 10 at Spring Valley Golf Course in Livermore. With sectional champion Bishop Garrigan of Algona (322) being the tournament host, GT/RA and North Iowa were both able to advance on with solid scores on the challenging course. ...

The Spirit Lake-Okoboji girls tennis team needed to pull off two wins in two days and avenge a previous loss to Le Mars just to clinch a share of the Lakes Conference dual title, and they were able to cap off that feat after downing Storm Lake 8-1 to end the regular season last Tuesday...

The Lakes Area Youth Trap Club (LAYTC) opened its season on a rainy Saturday, competing April 20 in Emmetsburg. In the high school division, the team of River Kelly, Joshua Morrison, Blake Mart, Brady Mart and Kailye Hromatko place second overall. The team of Brandon Sundall, Cole Hackbarth, Brandon Johannsen, Gage Tolman and Glen Hackbarth finished third. Kelly took top individual honors...

Spirit Lake-Okoboji senior Brandon Stoll made the 2013 Lakes Conference Tennis Championships a memorable one, upsetting defending league champion Michael Gabhart of Spencer en route to winning the No. 1 singles crown Saturday, April 27 in Storm Lake...

On behalf of the Spirit Lake Education Association, I would like to thank the Spirit Lake Schools for the Pride Night event, held on Wednesday May 8, honoring individuals for years of service and the individuals retiring at the end of the current school year...

Spirit Lake letter carriers collected 2,500 pounds of food and $65 from customers along postal routes Saturday, May 11, and delivered it to our Upper Des Moines food pantry for the needy in Dickinson County. This amount of food will help feed families for several months. The food was delivered on Monday and this was the lowest amount of food I've seen at the pantry in seven years. They are now in much better shape for the coming months thanks to you, "our community."...

Quilt squares have been measured and cut, weights have been calculated and distances documented -- students are nearly ready for the inaugural OMS Career Far. Fifth- and sixth-grade students will showcase to family and friends how math and science can be utilized in real-life situations at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 16. The semester-long project is a way for math teacher Laura Stevens and science teacher Karen Tschetter to get their students engaged...

Mother Nature plays a big role in Tom Clary's day-to-day operations. And this year, she's been making the dock and hoist installation company owner cool his heels. Clary has been forced to wait through snowstorms, high winds and a late ice thaw. Dock and hoist installations are 26 days behind last year's pace as a result -- the first barge wasn't on the water until April 5, compared to March 17 in 2012...

Jan. 12, 1933 -- May 4, 2013 Vernon G. Anderson, 80, of Kingsley passed away on Saturday, May 4, 2013, at a Sioux City hospital. Funeral services were held Wednesday, May 8 at the Kingsley United Methodist Church. Burial was at the Kingsley Cemetery. ...

Nov. 2, 1980 -- May 7, 2013 Matthew Robert Eichner, age 32, of Spirit Lake and Iowa City, passed away Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at his home in Spirit Lake. He was born on Nov. 2, 1980, in St. Paul, Minn., to Robert and Karen Eichner. In 1985, the family moved to Spirit Lake, and Matt graduated from Spirit Lake High School in 1999. ...

July 16, 1959 -- May 6, 2013 A funeral service for John Dopp, age 53, of Lake Park, was held Friday, May 10, 2013, at the United Methodist Church in Lake Park. Burial was at Union Township Cemetery in Harris. John passed away Monday, May 6, 2013, at his home in Lake Park...

Sept. 17, 1926 -- May 7, 2013 A funeral service for Ellen Voss, age 86, of Spirit Lake, was held Friday, May 10, 2013 at the United Methodist Church in Spirit Lake. Burial was at Memory Gardens in Spirit Lake. Ellen Mae Voss, the daughter of Hans and Frieda (Wunder) Jansen, was born Sept. 17, 1926, in Lake Park. She graduated from Lake Park High School and continued her education at a teacher's college...