Sports

Waukon wrestling senior Miles Hansmeier continued his "comeback kid" ways in the opening round of the Class 2A State Wrestling Tournament Thursday evening, February 14 in Des Moines. Trailing by a 10-5 count early in the third period against Roland Story senior Koby Hassebrock (39-3), Hansmeier scored a late takedown followed by nearfall points to tie the match at 10-10 in the closing seconds before winning it in overtime with a takedown. He will now wrestle top-rated senior Joey Busse (44-0) of Humboldt in the Class 2A quarterfinals Friday afternoon that begin at 2:30 p.m., with a win advancing him to the Class 2A semifinals Friday evening, beginning at 8:45 p.m., and a loss forcing him to the Class 2A consolation round right away that same Friday afternoon. Full coverage of Hansmeier's State Wrestling results, complete with photos, will appear in the February 20 edition of The Standard.

The final moments of the first round and the opening moments of the second round clinched a first-ever State Tournament berth for Waukon wrestling senior Miles Hansmeier at the Class 2A District 5 Tournament hosted by Independence High School Saturday, February 9. Hansmeier pulled off a five-point move in the final seconds of his opening match of the tournament against Independence junior Brady Webb to make his way to the 145-pound championship match, and even though he would lose in that title bout, a pin by Webb in his third-place match guaranteed that Hansmeier would not have to compete in a wrestleback to secure his second-place District Tournament finish and qualification for this week’s Class 2A State Tournament in Des Moines.

The Waukon boys basketball team brought its regular season to a close this past week and was scheduled to get its postseason journey underway, but had that first-round Class 2A District 4 game postponed a day due to winter weather. That match-up at and against New Hampton scheduled for Monday, February 11 was postponed to Tuesday, February 12, to begin at 7 p.m.

Prior to that postseason postponement, the Indians closed out their regular season with three final losses in Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) play, falling at Waverly-Shell Rock, 67-48, Monday, February 4 in a game rescheduled from January 25 before also falling at home to Decorah, 70-68, Tuesday, February 5 and to New Hampton, 68-63, Friday, February 8.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) will be welcoming seven inductees into its Wrestling Hall of Fame during this year’s State Wrestling Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019 will include two coaches and five wrestlers inducted Saturday, February 16 during the high school wrestling season’s grand finale.

Indian girls will host North Fayette Valley this Wednesday in regional semifinals

The Waukon girls basketball team wrapped up its 2018-2019 regular season and got its postseason tournament journey underway in fairly successful fashion this past week. The Indians split their final two regular season games, falling at Class 4A fifth-rated Waverly-Shell Rock Monday, February 4 in a game rescheduled from Friday, January 25 by a 54-40 final result before completing their regular season with a 60-35 victory at Decorah Tuesday, February 5. The basketball Tribe then got regional tournament play underway in dominating fashion, blasting Oelwein at home Saturday, February 9 by a 67-41 final result to advance down the postseason road.

The Kee boys basketball team brought its regular season to a close this past week and was scheduled to get its postseason underway, but the threat of winter weather postponed the Hawks’ first-round Class 1A District 5 Tournament game vs. Starmont at East Buchanan from Monday, February 11 to Tuesday, February 12. Details of Kee’s postseason possibilities appear in a shaded box elsewhere on this same Sports page in the February 13 print edition and e-edition of The Standard.

Prior to that postseason postponement, the Hawks were able to put together their season’s first win streak as the regular season wound down, winning at Riceville, 44-42, Monday, February 4 and following that up with a 52-33 triumph at Coulee Christian in West Salem, WI Friday, February 8. The Kee boys wrapped up their regular season with a 61-57 loss at home to North Fayette Valley Saturday, February 9 in a game rescheduled from Thursday, February 7.

After a week without school and nearly a week without basketball competition, the Waukon girls basketball team completed a busy final weekend of the regular season, playing a pair of Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) contests and adding them both to the win column. The Indians first handled a winless Charles City team with relative ease, 66-27, at home Friday, February 1 before doing likewise at Oelwein Saturday, February 2, 52-22, in a game rescheduled from January 18.

The Kee boys basketball team had a busy scheduled start to this past week, instead, turn out to be a busy end to it, as two games early in the week had to be postponed due to winter weather. The Hawks finally opened the week’s competition with a 64-52 home loss to MFL/MarMac Friday, February 1 before also falling in a Saturday, February 2 road date at Turkey Valley, 61-43, in a game rescheduled from both January 22 and then Monday, January 28. Kee’s Tuesday, January 29 home game with North Fayette Valley was postponed to this Thursday, February 7.

After sitting idle for two consecutive weeks, the Waukon boys and girls bowling teams finally resumed action Friday, February 1 with their Parents Night home match against Denver. Both the girls and boys squads made the most of that display in front of their parents, sweeping the visiting Cyclones by a 1968-1776 count for the girls and a 2555-2260 result for the boys.

The 2018-2019 wrestling season came to a close for all but this season’s lone senior as the Waukon wrestling team competed at the Class 2A Sectional Tournament hosted by Decorah High School Saturday, February 2. Senior Miles Hansmeier wrestled to a runner-up finish at 145 pounds to continue his season and career with advancement to this Saturday’s Class 2A District Tournament at Independence, beginning at 12 noon. Further details of Hansmeier’s next round of competition appear elsewhere on these same Sports pages in the February 6 print and e-edition of the The Standard.