Stories from Monday, December 15, 2014

A depleted Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire wrestling team competed at the Sibley-Ocheyedan Invitational on Saturday. The Titans filled out just seven weight classes at the tournament, finishing last among the eight teams present, but had one champion and one runner-up on the day...

You could say Okoboji High School principal Brian Downing is a Christmas fanatic. He even dubs himself a Christmas nerd. His Christmas lights display at his home in Milford grew from his love for this very special time of year. "Clark Griswald (of 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation') is one of my heroes," Downing said. ...

The Class 2A No. 11-ranked Okoboji girls basketball team kept its unbeaten streak intact Friday, as the Pioneers edged Rock Valley 49-44 on the road. The Pioneers jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the opening stanza, but Rock Valley battled back to make it a 12-11 score after one quarter of play before taking a 20-19 lead into the locker room at halftime...

A rough third quarter was the difference for the Okoboji boys basketball team on Friday night, as the Pioneers were outscored 15-6 exiting halftime in a 55-47 road loss to Rock Valley. The Pioneers took a 16-13 lead after one quarter of play and extended that lead to 28-23 at the half, but Rock Valley stormed back to take a 38-34 lead entering the final stanza...

After starting the season with a dominant win over Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire, the Harris-Lake Park girls basketball team suffered three straight blowouts at the hand of Okoboji, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn and South O'Brien. That streak ended Friday night when the Wolves edged War Eagle Conference foe Akron-Westfield 38-29...

The Harris-Lake Park boys basketball team rebounded from back-to-back heartbreaking losses to earn a narrow 45-42 win over Akron-Westfield on Friday. The Wolves jumped out to an early 9-2 lead after one quarter and took a 21-12 lead into the half before the Westerners cut into the deficit by one with a 13-12 score in the third...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire girls basketball team struggled to find the net on Friday night, as the Titans fell to South Central Calhoun 55-18. GT/RA fell behind 12-3 after one and 24-5 at the half before being outscored 16-6 in the third and 15-7 in the final stanza...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire boys basketball team fell 62-57 to South Central Calhoun on Friday night. The Titans jumped out to an early 12-9 lead after one quarter, but watched their lead slip away in the second, as South Central Calhoun outscored them 17-12 to take a 26-24 lead into halftime...

The Iowa Lakes men's basketball team improved to 7-3 on the season with a 63-55 win over Minnesota West Community College on Tuesday, Dec. 9. The Lakers were led by Rachard Moody with 14 points, while Kyle Bauer tacked on 12.

The Iowa Lakes swimming and diving team was well represented at the Fina World Swimming Championships (25M) held in Doha, Qatar, Dec. 3-6. There were 209 countries represented at the championships which many refer to as the "Super Bowl of Swimming."...

The Spirit Lake Park wrestling team earned a pair of wins at a double-dual hosted by Western Christian on Thursday, as the Indians defeated Estherville Lincoln Central 49-23 and the Wolfpack 66-15. Adam Skopec went 2-0 on the night at 126 pounds, pinning ELC's Riley Breiner in 57 seconds and also pinning Western Christian's Derrick Jansma...

Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire heavyweight Cody Thompson was dominant in three matches at a dual hosted by Sibley-Ocheyedan on Tuesday, Dec. 9, leading the Titans to a 1-2 finish against Sibley-Ocheyedan, Emmetsburg and West Bend-Mallard. The No. 3-ranked senior went 3-0, pinning the Generals' Houston Coleman in 5 minutes, 41 seconds, Emmetsburg's Nicholas Jackson in 11 seconds, and West Bend-Mallards' Ben Auten in 35 seconds...

The Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire girls basketball team fell 35-29 to Storm Lake St. Mary on Tuesday, Dec. 9. The Titans jumped out to an early 10-9 lead after one quarter, but a 11-7 second quarter score gave St. Mary a 20-17 lead at the half...