Stories from Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Over the weekend, the Spirit Lake Park wrestling team battled intense competition as well as injury at the Estherville Lincoln Central Duals, as the Indians lost all five of their matches to Blue Earth Area (Minn.), Linn-Mar, ELC, Forest City and Sioux City Bishop Heelan...

Opening Tuesday night's contest on a 10-0 run, the Harris-Lake Park girls basketball team put visiting West Bend-Mallard away quickly, as the Wolves defeated the Wolverines 54-30. "We started out fast, which is what we've wanted to do all season," H-LP coach Eric Clouse said. "We had a few girls who didn't play their best, but we had other girls step up and make a lot of shots, so it was a good win."...

Twice the Harris-Lake Park boys basketball team found itself in West Bend-Mallard's crosshairs Tuesday evening and both times the Wolves responded, as they took a 83-69 victory over the visiting Wolverines. The Wolves overcame a small deficit in the opening minutes and made clutch shots in the third quarter to erase a 40-40 tie before making free throws down the stretch to seal the win...

Facing a 19-4 deficit after one quarter of play Saturday evening in Spirit Lake, the Okoboji girls basketball team seemingly dug itself into a hole few teams could escape from. Little by little, however, the Pioneers scratched and clawed their way back into the contest, eventually pulling within four points of the Indians with six minutes left, but ultimately fell as Spirit Lake caught fire from the charity stripe in a 63-48 win...

With bragging rights on the line, the Spirit Lake and Okoboji boys basketball teams battled to a narrow halftime score in front of a packed gymnasium in Spirit Lake on Saturday evening. But, in the end, it was the Indians who outlasted the Pioneers in a 69-48 Dickinson County clash...

The Spirit Lake boys basketball team continued its winning ways Tuesday evening, as the Indians earned a 20-point win over Lakes Conference foe Storm Lake at home. The Indians were led by Alec Henrickson with 29 points while Billy Brown chipped in 20 and Trevor Smith scored 17...

In a double dual rescheduled from Jan. 16, the Okoboji wrestling team went 1-1 against Sheldon/South O'Brien and Sibley-Ocheyedan at Sibley on Tuesday evening. The Pioneers defeated S/SO 57-20, but fell to their hosts by the narrowest of margins, 40-39...

A lack of consistency continued to plague the Okoboji boys basketball team in a 80-55 road loss to George-Little Rock on Friday, as the Pioneers let a lead slip away over the final 24 minutes of the contest. "We really were solid through the first and even deep into the second quarter," Okoboji coach Ryan Paulson said. ...

Megan Peschong chalked up a season-high 20 points and snagged 13 rebounds on Friday night, as the sophomore guard led the Okoboji girls basketball team to a 56-47 road victory over George-Little Rock. The Pioneers and Mustangs nearly matched each other point-for-point through the first 16 minutes, as Okoboji led 9-8 after one and 24-22 heading into halftime...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire boys basketball team poured it on unsuspecting Corwith-Wesley-Luverne on Friday evening, as the Titans earned a 80-51 road victory. G-T/R-A held a slim 19-16 lead after one quarter of play, but pushed the tempo in the second quarter to the tune of 26 points while taking a commanding 45-22 lead at the half...

Three Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire wrestlers were crowned champion of their respective weight class at Saturday's Twin Lakes Conference tournament held in Rockwell City, as Alex Hoffman, Ty Gibson and Cody Thompson went undefeated on the day...

A late-season lull took hold of the Okoboji wrestling team over the weekend, as the Pioneers struggled overall at the Nighthawk Invitational in Rock Valley on Saturday. "We wrestled flat," Okoboji coach Nate Dau said. "It's the time of the year that really starts to grind on wrestlers and we need to buckle down and focus on the next three weeks. ...

On Friday, Jan. 24, the Okoboji girls and boys basketball programs will host their third annual Coaches v. Cancer Night in conjunction with JV and varsity girls and boys basketball games against Sheldon in Milford. It's time to finish the fight against cancer. ...

In its first tournament of the year, the Spirit Lake fourth grade boys traveling basketball team secured a championship in heated competition in Westbrook, Minn., on Jan. 11. Saturday's first victory of the six-team tournament came against the home team of Westbrook Walnut Grove with Spirit Lake leading from the start...

Thirty girls and boys ages 9 to 14 participated in the 2014 Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship last weekend, and six earned the right to compete at the regional level. Iowa Great Lakes Council 5043 in Spirit Lake sponsored the local competition at Spirit Lake High School...

An outstanding fourth quarter display by Lakes Conference rival Le Mars was the difference for the Spirit Lake boys basketball team Friday evening, as the Indians fell to the Bulldogs 62-45. Spirit Lake trailed 10-9 after one quarter and 30-25 at the half...

The Spirit Lake girls basketball team earned a decisive road victory over Lakes Conference foe Le Mars on Friday evening, beating the Lady Bulldogs 58-34. Leading 13-6 after one quarter of play, the Indians stretched their lead to 28-12 entering the half and cruised to victory from that point forward...