Stories from Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The Okoboji wrestling team hosted Estherville Lincoln Central and Algona in a double dual on Tuesday evening, falling to both the Midgets and Bulldogs, but earning several individual wins on the night. In the first of two duals, the Pioneers fell to the visiting Bulldogs, but had the upperhand near the end of the contest...

Both the Spirit Lake Park and Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire wrestling teams took part in double dual action in Sioux Center on Tuesday night, as the Indians earned a pair of wins and the Titans fell twice. The Indians earned a narrow team victory over the Titans on Tuesday night, winning their final two matches of the dual to secure the favorable result...

Returning to an eight-team format for the first time in some years, the Jerry Hentges Duals held Friday in Spirit Lake proved to be an exciting exhibition of wrestling in northwest Iowa. Facing teams the likes of West Lyon, Sioux City North, Lawton-Bronson, MOC-FV, Laurens-Marathon/Sioux Central, Sibley-Ocheyedan and Cherokee, the Spirit Lake Park wrestling team took third place overall with a 3-2 record on the day...

Facing arguably the best winless team in the state, the Spirit Lake boys basketball team was simply too much for their opponents on Monday night, as the Indians took a 77-64 win over Sibley-Ocheyedan at home. "Sibley is probably playing their best ball of the year right now," Spirit Lake coach Dr. ...

In a game that produced more whistles than a New York City traffic cop during rush hour, the Spirit Lake girls basketball team did just enough to earn a 63-50 win over the visiting Sibley-Ocheyedan Generals on Monday night. The two teams combined to attempt 67 free throws throughout the contest and neither hit them at a consistent clip, making the final score even more impressive...

For most young athletes, getting a chance to sign a national letter of intent to a Division 1 school is a Kodak moment. Coaches, parents and friends typically surround the athlete as he or she inks a signature, shakes a few hands and poses for photos...

A lone point separated the Spirit Lake and Harris-Lake Park boys basketball teams after one quarter of play Thursday night, as the Wolves held a 14-13 advantage over their neighbors to the east. However, the tides turned in the Indians' favor in the second quarter, as a four-point play by Spirit Lake's Alec Henrickson gave his team a lead it would not relinquish, holding the Wolves to just nine second half points in a 78-35 road rout...

A lopsided first quarter score remained the difference throughout what ended up being a close contest Friday evening, as the Okoboji girls basketball team fell to visiting Sioux Center 50-43. The Pioneers struggled from the opening tip and the Warriors took advantage, outscoring Okoboji 19-6 after one quarter of play and putting the hosts in a difficult position...

According to coach Ryan Paulson, a lack of focus throughout the week led to a disappointing 89-41 loss for his Okoboji boys basketball team against Sioux Center on Friday. "We didn't have a good week of practice at all," Paulson said. "We played Friday how we practiced. ...

After allowing 10 points in taking a seven-point first quarter lead, the Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire boys basketball team clamped down defensively against Clay Central-Everly on Friday, allowing just 10 points over the final three quarters in a 75-20 rout at home...

Facing Clay Central-Everly at home on Friday, the Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire girls basketball team took a commanding 14-3 lead after one quarter of play and gained a 27-15 lead at the half. However, the tides turned as the teams exited their respective locker rooms following halftime, as CC-E closed the gap to 30-26 entering the final stanza...

Seven Okoboji wrestlers were champions of their respective weight classes at a tournament held in Graettinger on Saturday, as Dominick Titus, Brady Jones, Adam Dublinski, Kaleb Vanderpool, Noah Bouse, Jordan Hanna and Austin Kolegraff each went 3-0 on the day...

The Okoboji Wrestling team appeared at a triangular in Pocahontas on Thursday. The Pioneers fell to Manson-Northwest Webster 58-24 and Pocahontas Area 44-24. Adam Dublinski earned a pair of wins for the Pioneers on the night at 120 pounds, pinning MNW's Collin Bulten at 3 minutes, 12 seconds and POAR's Clayton Reis at 1:20...

The Spirit Lake boys basketball team defeated North Union in a rare appearance at the Iowa Lakes Community College gymnasium on Saturday where the Indians bested the Warriors 64-24. Spirit Lake led 22-3 after one quarter of play and 41-9 at the half...

The Spirit Lake girls basketball team earned a dominant road victory at Sioux City, as the Indians defeated North High School 70-28. Spirit Lake held a 25-16 advantage after the opening stanza before putting the Stars on their heals with a crushing 26-4 score in the second to lead 51-20 at the half...

The Spirit Lake Park wrestling team took part in a triangular at Storm Lake on Thursday, earning a 42-36 win over Emmetsburg and a 42-30 win over the host Tornadoes. Five wrestlers went undefeated for Spirit Lake Park on the night, as Zach Skopec, Kenten Murray, David Trucksess, Trevor Bueltel and Jacob Jenness each went 2-0...