Sports

The Waukon bowling team got its 2017-2018 season underway against one of its more experienced opponents on this season’s schedule when the Indians traveled to Waverly-Shell Rock Tuesday, November 21. The Waukon girls fell to the host Go-Hawks by a 1680-1862 final count, while the boys surrendered a 1768-2322 result.

The bowling Indians were next scheduled to compete at Tripoli Friday, December 1 before bowling their first home matches of the new season. The Tribe will actually be at home the next two Fridays to finish out the 2017 portion of their schedule, hosting North Iowa December 8 and then Decorah December 15.

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The 2017-2018 season got underway for both the Waukon and Kee girls basketball teams when the intra-county foes met at Waukon Tuesday, November 21 in a non-conference season-opener for both squads. The experience and charisma of the veteran visiting Hawk squad proved to be too much for the hustling and scrappy effort put forth by the overall younger host Indians, as the Kee hoopsters played to a 56-40 victory.

Kee was next scheduled to travel to Central Elkader Tuesday, November 28 to open Upper Iowa Conference play before then traveling to Starmont Friday, December 1. The Hawks will then play at Class 3A second-rated Crestwood Monday, December 4 before traveling to West Central Friday, December 8 and finally getting to open their home varsity schedule Tuesday, December 12 by hosting two-time defending Class 1A State Tournament Runner-Up Turkey Valley.

Lyla Marie Olson, age 62, of Dorchester died peacefully November 25, 2017 at Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah. She was cremated through Martin Funeral Home of Waukon and it was her wish for no public memorial service. Immediate family members will hold a private celebration of life. Cards of sympathy can be sent to Lyla’s sisters.
Lyla was born November 23, 1955 in Caledonia, MN to Edward and Gladys (Ranzenberger) Olson. She was a 1974 graduate of Caledonia High School. She loved the farm and country life, and also was a long distance semi-truck driver.

The past year has offered some trying moments for the Waukon girls basketball program, with some unique transitions in the coaching ranks - the permanence of one nobody ever hopes to have to deal with. After playing to just a 2-6 start to last season, the first of those coaching transitions took place during the holiday break and eventually played out to an 11-11 season record, with the return of all but one of those players from last season looking to improve on that mark during their 2017-2018 campaign following another coaching transition in the off-season.

The Kee girls basketball team will have a somewhat new face leading a much more familiar line-up in an effort to return at least to what has become a very familiar spot for the program in the past three seasons. First-year head coach Lisa Steckel will benefit from a crew of five returning letterwinners that consist of a vast majority of the Hawks’ statistical leadership from last winter’s 17-5 campaign, all hoping to make their way back to continued recent postseason success that has seen Kee play its way to the brink of State Tournament qualification, surpassing that brink with a first-ever State Tournament berth two seasons ago but coming up a combined six points shy of that goal on each side of that history-making effort, including a one-point loss in last season’s regional finals to Janesville.

Coming off an inaugural season last winter of learning for both coaching staff and student-athlete performer, the Waukon bowling program looks to build on the foundation laid during that 2016-2017 initial campaign in its second season this winter. Helping that cause will be a total of 10 letterwinners returning with their first-year experience, including a trio of veterans coming back from a girls squad that posted a 4-5 season record and more than twice that many letterwinners, seven, from a boys crew that finished with a 3-6 mark last winter.

The Waukon football team used a dominant second half to pull away from an 8-0 halftime lead to a 29-0 Class 2A State Championship victory over Williamsburg Friday, November 17 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. Following a 10-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter from senior Abe Schwartz to junior Michael Sweeney that helped the Indians to that 8-0 halftime lead, the Indians added back-to-back touchdowns by senior Evan Armstead on a 22-yard third quarter pass and a 30-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter followed by a 16-yard run from senior Mitchell Snitker to finish off the football Tribe's first-ever State Championship.

Indians will match up with wild card Williamsburg in Class 2A title tilt this Friday

The Waukon football team was looking for its second trip to the Class 2A State Championship game in school history when it took the field Saturday, November 11 in its State Play-Offs semifinals contest at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, but had to go through a top-ranked Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley team looking to get back to that same stage for a second consecutive year after winning last year’s Class 2A title.

The Waukon Indian spirit is alive and well - very well, in fact, as the spreaders of that spirit, the Waukon Indian cheerleading team, proved to be among the best in the state of Iowa after claiming both a State Championship and a State Runner-Up finish in certain competitions at the 2017 Iowa Cheerleading Coaches’ Association State Championships held Saturday, November 4 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. The Waukon cheer squad claimed that State Championship in the Class 2A Stunt Group competition among nine squads, with its runner-up finish coming in the Class 2A Time Out competition out of 12 participating squads.

The Waukon Wellness Center will be holding its Fourth Annual “Turkey Trot” 5K Run/Walk and 8K Run Thanksgiving Day, November 23 at 8 a.m., beginning and ending at the Waukon Wellness Center. The Center is located directly across from Waukon High School at 1220 Third Avenue NW.

All runners and walkers are welcome to join in this traditional pre-feast workout. The event is being held in conjunction with Waukon Wellness Center’s 10-year anniversary celebration this year.

Registration forms for the 5K/8K are available at the Waukon Wellness Center or online at www.waukonwellness.com. Online registration is also available at https://waukon.recdesk.com/Community/Member/Login. For additional information, contact the Waukon Wellness Center at 563-568-0074.