Sports

The 2022 Kee softball team played to an overall season record that was right around average with a 17-15 mark, but for the second consecutive season the Lady Hawks played to an Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) result that was well above average. The Lady Hawks played their way to a share of the Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) season championship once again this season by tying Turkey Valley for this summer’s best UIC record at 14-2.

That second consecutive Upper Iowa Conference crown for her charges topped the list of this season’s high points for Kee softball coach Liz Hill. Accomplishing that feat with as many as four eighth graders on the field this summer adds a whole different dimension to not only this year, but many to come.

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Upper Iowa Conference colleague Warriors then fall to top-seed Remsen-St. Mary’s in first round

Not many would have thought that the 2022 Kee baseball season would have been ended shy of a return trip to the Class 1A State Tournament, and especially not by a team they had outscored by a 33-6 result in a three-game regular season sweep. What those many may not realize, however, is that the team that ended the veteran Hawks’ 2022 journey toward improving on their 2021 State Tournament Runner-Up finish in a Tuesday, July 12 Class 1A Substate 3 championship game played at Decorah is a South Winneshiek squad that has now qualified for the State Tournament in three of the past four seasons.

Waukon coach Chad Beermann will be North Squad assistant, Indian linebacker Lincoln Snitker, Kee lineman Alex Goetzinger take to the field

Allamakee County will be well represented both on the sidelines and on the playing field for the 2022 Iowa Shrine Bowl to be played this Saturday, July 23 in the UNI-Dome on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. Waukon football head coach Chad Beermann has been selected as an assistant coach for the game’s North Squad, being one of eight coaches assisting North Squad head coach Steve Milder of West Central.

Sharing that Shrine Bowl experience with his head coach will be Waukon graduated senior linebacker/offensive back Lincoln Snitker, who has been selected to play for the North Squad and will wear number 18 on the field. Joining that Waukon contingency will be Kee High School graduated senior lineman Alex Goetzinger, who will wear number 76 for the North Squad.

Waukon Park & Recreation will be offering a tennis program again this summer, teaming up with instructors Aidan Hunter and Brendan Hunter to provide this opportunity. The program is for girls and boys ages seven to 17. The focus will be to help the kids gain a better understanding of the sport along with learning basic tennis technique and form.

The classes will be divided by age groups as follows:
• 7 & 8 year olds (5:00-5:50 p.m.)
• 9 & 10 year olds (6:00-6:50 p.m.)
• 11-17 year olds (7:00-7:50 p.m.)

The tennis program will be held Monday and Tuesday evenings (at the times listed above) at the Waukon Tennis Courts (across from the Waukon Wellness Center) starting July 25, and will run for three weeks. Program dates are July 25, July 26, August 1, August 2, August 8 and August 9. In the event of rain, a make-up date will be determined at that time.

The Waukon baseball team had its 2022 season brought to a close earlier than it wanted to - both in the overall season aspect as well as in the final game it played. The diamond Tribe traveled to Class 2A fourth-rated Dyersville Beckman Tuesday, July 5 and played the highly-regarded Blazers to just a 5-0 result through the Indians’ fifth-inning at-bats before lightning and stormy weather forced officials to call the game due to weather concerns, with rules stating that a game played through the fifth-inning at-bats of the team not leading on the scoreboard can be declared an official game, with that ruling bringing the Indians’ 2022 campaign to a close with the 5-0 loss.

The Waukon softball team had its Class 3A Regional Tournament opened and closed at Dubuque Wahlert Wednesday, July 6, the Indians being dealt a 13-3 loss in six innings by the host Golden Eagles. Battling back from a 4-0 initial deficit to pull within a couple runs near the game’s midway point, the Indians had the game get away from them in the fourth through sixth frames with eight unanswered Wahlert runs to the mercy-rule ending.

The Golden Eagles out-hit the softball Tribe by a 19-2 count, but the Indians were able to use their two singles to help take advantage of the 6-5 edge they were dealt in free passes in the contest. Three of Wahlert’s five free passes found their way to the scoreboard as well.

The Kee softball team had its 2022 season brought to a close at the home of 15th-rated Central City Wednesday, July 6 in the quarterfinal round of Class 1A regional tournament play, but not without giving the highly-regarded Wildcats a strong battle that opened up a bit in the later innings. Playing Central City to an even hitting effort of six safeties each, the Hawks took a 2-0 advantage they would hold until the fifth inning, when those Wildcats were able to string together most of their hits, along with two of their 3-1 advantage in walks, to pull away to a 6-2 Kee defeat.

Hawks slated to play South Winneshiek Tuesday for Substate 3 championship

The Kee baseball team got its postseason journey underway in victorious fashion this past week, winning two games to vault the Hawks to their second consecutive Class 1A Substate championship game to vie for a return trip to the Class 1A State Tournament. As the top seed in Class 1A’s District 6, Kee’s diamond dwellers received a first-round bye before putting their first postseason competition easily into the win column with a 10-0 district semifinal victory at home over Dunkerton in a mercy-rule five innings Wednesday, July 6, after having that game postponed from Tuesday, July 5 by weather.

The Waukon baseball team both wrapped up its regular season and began its postseason with victories that came in narrow fashion, the Indians closing out their regular season with a 14-16 overall season record that includes a mark of 7-13 that placed the baseball Tribe fifth in the six-team final Northeast Iowa Conference standings. That final week of the regular season saw the Indians first play to a split at home against Charles City Monday, June 27, winning game one by a 5-4 count before falling in game two by a 6-5 final result in nine innings. The Waukon diamond dwellers then wrapped up their 2022 regular season with a 6-4 home win over MFL/MarMac Wednesday, June 29 before getting their postseason journey underway with an 11-9 win over Clayton Ridge/Central in their Class 2A District 4 Tournament opener Saturday, July 2 at Monona.

Softball Hawks advance on to play at and against Central City Wednesday night

An undefeated past week saw the Kee softball team wrap up its regular season with championship flair and also begin its postseason in a triumphant manner. Having the fate of a second consecutive Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) championship season in their own hands, the Lady Hawks took full advantage of that opportunity with sweeps of a pair of home UIC doubleheaders, locking them in a second consecutive sharing of the Upper Iowa Conference season championship with Turkey Valley, as both squads compiled a 14-2 UIC record for this season’s honors.