High School Sports

For the second time in three seasons, Spirit Lake’s state tournament dreams were dashed one game away from punching a ticket to Des Moines. The Indians fell 61-53 to Western Christian in the Class 2A substate championship held Saturday, Feb. 27 in Sibley...

It was an up-and-down tournament for Spirit Lake Park junior Jon Burnette at the 2021 state wrestling championships. Burnette, who placed seventh as a 106-pound freshman and fifth last year at 113 pounds, placed sixth in Class 2A while going 3-3 in a loaded 120-pound bracket...

Okoboji/HMS heavyweight Nick Bronstad powered through the pain of a knee injury suffered at the end of the 2020 football season to earn a spot on the Class 2A podium this past week at the state wrestling championships. Bronstad, who will soon undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus, went 2-3 to place eighth at 285 pounds in Des Moines...

Spirit Lake Park senior Keegan Bradley, who missed his junior season because of a back injury and a hernia, battled his way back into wrestling shape and onto the state’s biggest stage by qualifying for the 2021 state wrestling championships this past week...

After suffering a loss in his first match of the 2021 state wrestling championships, Spirit Lake Park junior Zach Jensen’s back was against the wall. Needing a win to advance to the second day of the tournament, Jensen hit a blast-double against Independence 152-pounder Teegan McEnany, lifted his opponent into the air, returned him to the mat, and locked up a half nelson for a pin in 2 minutes, 30 seconds...

Spirit Lake junior Vance Katzfey scored 17 points in the fourth quarter of a 65-52 Indians win over Sioux Central Tuesday in the Class 2A Substate 2 semifinal in Milford. Katzfey, spurred on by Spirit Lake’s lockdown defense, was absolutely dominant when it mattered most...

You can expect a loud crowd when bitter rivals Spirit Lake and Okoboji square off in any sport, and that held true Thursday night when the Indians and Pioneers battled in the boys Class 2A substate basketball tournament in Spirit Lake. In the end, the Indians emerged victorious, defeating the Pioneers 68-50 to advance in the postseason...

Spirit Lake Park will send three wrestlers to Des Moines this week following the Class 2A district tournament in Humboldt on Saturday, Feb. 13. The Indians earned a pair of championships and an additional runner-up finish while placing third overall as a team. Five Spirit Lake Park wrestlers saw their seasons come to an end...

Nick Bronstad will be the lone Pioneer competing for wrestling glory inside the walls of Wells Fargo Arena this week. The heavyweight placed second at the Class 2A district tournament in Humboldt on Saturday, Feb. 13 to punch his ticket to the state tournament...

Okoboji's girls basketball season came to a close Saturday, Feb. 13 with a loss to fourth-ranked West Lyon in the opening round of the Class 3A regional tournament. The Pioneers fell 50-24 to the Wildcats in Inwood. “As our girls have done all season long, they battled and gave us everything they had tonight," Okoboji coach John Adams said. ...

Spirit Lake's season came to an end Saturday, Feb. 13 with a loss to Sioux Center in the opening round of the Class 3A girls regional basketball tournament. The Indians fell 45-17 to the Warriors in Sioux Center. Spirit Lake coach Todd Rogers said the game was a tale of two halves, as the Indians held an 11-10 halftime lead...

The Okoboji boys basketball team advanced in the postseason with a home win over Emmetsburg on Monday, Feb. 15. The Pioneers downed the E-Hawks 52-44 in Milford. "Tonight was a gritty type of game as both teams worked hard on the defensive side of the ball," Okoboji coach Ryan Stumbo said. ...

The Harris-Lake Park boys basketball team's season came to a close Monday night with a road loss to South O'Brien in the opening round of the Class 1A district tournament. The Wolves fell 44-35 to the Wolverines in Paullina. "The Wolves came out ready to roll on Monday night jumping out to a 12-4 lead after the first quarter," Harris-Lake Park coach Jeff Sohn said. ...

Harris-Lake Park wrapped its regular season with a home win over former Cornbelt Conference rival Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire on Friday, Feb. 12. The Wolves topped the Titans 64-56 in Lake Park. "It was a good win for the Wolves over a scrappy GTRA squad," Harris-Lake Park coach Jeff Sohn said. ...

The Okoboji boys basketball team earned a Siouxland Conference home win over Sioux Center on Tuesday, Feb. 9. The Pioneers topped the Warriors 90-78 in Milford. "We were really proud of how the boys competed tonight to get us back in the win column after a lot of tough tests," Okoboji coach Ryan Stumbo said. ...

The Spirit Lake boys basketball team avenged an earlier loss and upset third-ranked (2A) Western Christian on Tuesday, Feb. 9. The Indians topped the Wolfpack 68-60 in the regular season finale in Spirit Lake. "We couldn't have asked for a better way to end our (regular) season," Spirit Lake coach Paul Brown said. ...

Spirit Lake secured a season sweep over Western Christian with a home win on Tuesday, Feb. 9. The Indians defeated the Wolfpack 50-43 in Spirit Lake. "We played a great game against (Western Christian)," Spirit Lake coach Todd Rogers said. "I thought they also played very well. ...

The Harris-Lake Park boys basketball team dropped a home game to Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn on Tuesday, Feb. 9. The Wolves fell 62-50 to the Hawks in Lake Park. Harris-Lake Park coach Jeff Sohn said his squad played considerably better than the first time the two teams squared off this season. The Hawks won that contest 69-36 on Jan. 5...

The Harris-Lake Park girls basketball ended its regular season with a home loss to Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn on Tuesday, Feb. 9. The Wolves fell 57-32 to the Hawks in Lake Park. The Wolves trailed 33-8 at the half, but played much better over the final two quarters according to coach Kirsten Noska...

The Lakes Conference and its member schools have accepted a request from Western Christian High School to withdraw from the conference, effective at the end of the 2021-22 school year. Official action on the conference's acceptance of the request was taken at the Lakes Conference Superintendent meeting on Feb. 10...

The Spirit Lake Park wrestling team continued to add to its long list of accomplishments with a team title at the Class 2A Section 8 tournament on Saturday, Feb. 6. The Indians edged runner-up Humboldt by seven points, put seven wrestlers through to the finals, earned four championships and advanced eight wrestlers on to the district tournament next Saturday...

Okoboji/HMS advanced a pair of wrestlers to the next round of the postseason, as Nick Bronstad and Noah Strantz placed in the top two of their respective weight classes at Saturday's Class 2A Section 8 tournament in Spirit Lake. Bronstad won the 285-pound sectional title with a pair of pins...

The Harris-Lake Park boys basketball team — after reeling three straight wins — suffered a second consecutive loss on Friday, Feb. 5, as the Wolves fell to visiting Unity Christian. The Knights topped the Wolves 74-37 in Lake Park. "Unity was a tough matchup for us on Friday night," Harris-Lake Park coach Jeff Sohn said. ...

The Harris-Lake Park girls basketball team dropped a home game to Unity Christian on Friday, Feb. 5. The Wolves fell 68-13 to the Knights in Lake Park. "Unity Christian is a very disciplined team on all ends," Harris-Lake Park coach Kirsten Noska said. ...

A last-second bucket by senior Creighton Morisch lifted Spirit Lake to a non-conference road win over Sioux City East on Saturday, Feb. 6. Morisch's bucket came with a little more than 1 second remaining on the clock, leading the Indians to a 47-45 win over East...

The Okoboji boys basketball team run into a buzzsaw on Friday night, as the Pioneers dropped a Siouxland Conference home game to top-ranked (2A) Boyden-Hull in Milford. The Pioneers fell 84-49 to the undefeated Comets. "Give Boyden Hull a lot of credit. ...

The Okoboji girls basketball team dropped a Siouxland Conference home game to Boyden-Hull on Friday, Feb. 5. The Pioneers fell 54-29 to the Comets in Milford. “Give Boyden-Hull credit, their pressure in the full and half court really bothered us as we had 35 turnovers," Okoboji coach John Adams said. "The first and third quarters just killed us with the slow start to each half. I felt like we battled back in the second quarter but we just couldn’t keep that momentum going."...

The Spirit Lake girls basketball team dropped a Lakes Conference home game to top-ranked (3A) Cherokee on Tuesday, Feb. 2. The Indians fell 69-44 to the Braves in Spirit Lake. "I thought we competed well against the top-ranked team in 3A," Spirit Lake coach Todd Rogers said. ...

Spirit Lake fell behind and couldn't close the gap completely in a one-point home loss to Cherokee on Tuesday, Feb. 2. The Braves topped the Indians 56-55 in Spirit Lake. It was the Indians' ninth one-possession game of the season. "It was another tight game for us, but I was much happier with how we played compared to recent games," Spirit Lake coach Paul Brown said. ...

The Okoboji girls basketball team dropped a Siouxland Conference road game to sixth-ranked (3A) West Lyon on Tuesday, Feb. 2. The Pioneers fell 57-19 to the Wildcats in Inwood. “I was proud of our effort tonight," Okoboji coach John Adams said. "West Lyon is one of the best defensive teams in the state, so we knew it would be tough on the offensive end. ...

The Okoboji boys basketball team dropped a Siouxland Conference road game to West Lyon on Tuesday, Feb. 2. The Pioneers fell 76-57 to the Wildcats in Inwood. "Give West Lyon credit tonight," Okoboji coach Ryan Stumbo said. "They shot well from the outside and made a lot of hustle plays to give themselves good opportunities. ...

The Harris-Lake Park boys basketball team dropped a War Eagle Conference road trip to West Sioux on Tuesday, Feb. 2. The Wolves fell 81-53 to the Falcons in Hawarden. "We got off to a pretty good start at Hawarden on Tuesday night, taking a 12-11 lead with a couple of minutes to go in the first quarter," Harris-Lake Park coach Jeff Sohn said. ...

The Harris-Lake Park girls basketball team suffered a road loss to West Sioux on Tuesday, Feb. 2. The Wolves fell 65-28 to the Falcons in Hawarden. "(West Sioux's Megan) Waterman is a talented post, and she was unstoppable all night finishing with 25 points," Harris-Lake Park coach Kirsten Noska said. ...