Sports

What was scheduled to be a pretty busy first week back in competition following the recent holiday break still ended up being a busy weekend for the Kee girls basketball team this past week. Originally scheduled to play three games in a span of five days to start the 2023 portion of their schedule, the Lady Hawks had a Tuesday, January 3 non-conference home game with Waukon canceled due to winter weather with no indication of a make-up date being rescheduled. The Kee girls did end the week with a pair of games played on back-to-back days, with both of those games being played against Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) foes and both also ending up shy of the win column. The Hawks first fell at Turkey Valley Friday, January 6 by a 57-29 final margin before suffering a similar fate at home against North Fayette Valley, 87-44, Saturday, January 7 in a rare afternoon matinee contest.

The Kee boys basketball team ended up playing two of its three games scheduled this past week, splitting that pair on consecutive nights of competition in the Hawks’ final week of competition in 2022. Kee opened the week falling just short of Wapsie Valley, 64-61, in a Monday, December 19 non-conference home date but bounced back the very next night for a 47-38 home win over West Central to defeat a second consecutive Upper Iowa Conference opponent.

A Thursday, December 22 game at New Hampton was called off by winter weather until a date yet to be determined. The Hawks wrapped up the 2022 portion of this season’s schedule with a 2-4 overall record that includes a mark of 2-2 in Upper Iowa Conference play.

For the second consecutive week, the Kee girls basketball team only got to play two of the three game on its schedule during this past week, and also for the second consecutive week the Lady Hawks were able to put one of those two games in the win column. The split of Kee’s two games this past week included a 63-40 loss at home to Wapsie Valley Monday, December 19 before the Hawks bounced back the very next night for a 38-23 win at home over West Central Tuesday, December, marking two consecutive Upper Iowa Conference victories for the Lady Hawks.

A Thursday, December 22 non-conference game at New Hampton was called off due to winter weather until a date yet to be determined. The Lady Hawks entered the holiday break with a 2-5 season record that includes a 2-3 mark in Upper Iowa Conference play.

The Waukon girls basketball team hit the road to wrap up the 2022 portion of this season’s schedule, ending up with a split of results on back-to-back nights of competition to start this past week. The Lady Indians traveled across the state border and came back home with a 57-33 win over Spring Grove, MN Monday, December 19 before being hosted by Class 4A sixth-rated Decorah and giving the highly-regarded Vikings a run for their money before surrendering a 60-51 defeat.

Holding a 5-4 season record that includes a mark of 2-1 in Northeast Iowa Conference play, the Lady Indians are next scheduled to return to action following the holiday break, traveling to Kee Tuesday, January 3 before hosting Charles City Friday, January 6. They will then host Waverly-Shell Rock Monday, January 9 in a game rescheduled from Friday, December 16 after being snowed out before playing at La Crescent, MN Tuesday, January 10 and then hosting Crestwood Friday, January 13.

In its final competition of the 2022 portion of this season’s schedule, the Waukon wrestling team traveled across the river into the state of Wisconsin but made itself feel right at home in sweeping all four of its opponents faced at the De Soto, WI Duals Tuesday, December 20. Those four Indian dual wins included a 48-36 triumph over Viroqua, WI, a 67-12 domination of River Ridge, WI, a 54-30 win over the host De Soto Pirates and a 60-18 handling of Postville.

Seniors Cullen Dickson and Jakob Regan at 182 and 126/132 pounds, respectively, junior 106-pounder Skyler Dugan and sophomore Ryland Egan at 138 pounds each went undefeated on the night in their four scheduled bouts. Dickson recorded three pins and one forfeit, Regan and Egan each posted two each of pins and forfeits, and Dugan recorded two forfeits, one pin and a win by decision.

The Waukon boys basketball team picked up its first win of the season this past week, splitting the two games the Indians were able to play out of three scheduled. The bucket Tribe first surrendered a 63-53 defeat at home at the hands of New Hampton Tuesday, December 13 before claiming this season’s first victory, 60-41 over North Butler, at the Wapsie Valley Winter Classic held Saturday, December 17 at Upper Iowa University in Fayette. A Friday, December 16 home game with Waverly-Shell Rock was postponed due to winter weather.

The Indians were next scheduled to play back-to-back nights of competition to wrap up their pre-holiday schedule, traveling to Oelwein Monday, December 19 before playing at Decorah Tuesday, December 20 in another NEIC girl/boy match-up. The Waukon boys will return to action after the holidays with a January 3 non-conference date at Kee before hosting Charles City Friday, January 6.

The Waukon girls basketball team played to an undefeated week this past week, sweeping the two games the Indians were able to play out of three scheduled for the Lady Indians. The Waukon girls first recorded a 68-62 win at home over New Hampton Tuesday, December 13 before completing their sweep of the week with a 73-60 triumph over Dubuque Hempstead at the Wapsie Valley Winter Classic held at Upper Iowa University in Fayette Saturday, December 17. A Friday, December 16 home game with Waverly-Shell Rock was postponed due to winter weather.

The Lady Indians were next scheduled to play back-to-back nights of competition to wrap up their pre-holiday schedule, traveling to Spring Grove, MN Monday, December 19 before playing at Decorah Tuesday, December 20 in an NEIC girl/boy match-up. The bucket Tribe will return to action following the holiday break, traveling to Kee Tuesday, January 3 before hosting Charles City Friday, January 6.

Waukon volleyball senior Jayden Knox has committed her skills to the Clarke University volleyball program in Dubuque. She is pictured above after signing her letter of commitment Wednesday, December 14, seated with her parents, Ashley and Troy Knox. Pictured behind them are, left to right, Clarke University head volleyball coach Chris Miron and assistant coach Alyssa Baumhover. Knox plans to double major in Psychology and Social Work, and she feels Clarke is a great fit for her.

In what turned out to be the only game of the week for the Kee girls basketball team, a match-up between two squads both still in search of their first win of the season took until the very final seconds of the Kee girls’ Tuesday, December 13 Upper Iowa Conference (UIC) game at Postville to determine which team would continue that search. Even though it was the Lady Hawks who didn’t move the scoreboard for the game’s final six minutes of the contest, they had done enough prior to that final silence to be able to hold off the host Pirates and secure the first Kee win of the season, 36-33.

The Waukon girls wrestling team had a busy end to this past week, competing in both dual meet and tournament action on back-to-back nights. The Lady Indians took on a traditionally strong Waverly-Shell Rock squad in their first Northeast Iowa Conference dual meet competition Thursday, December 8, falling by a 60-24 final result, before wresting to a fifth-place finish in the South Winneshiek Tournament held at Luther College in Decorah, with junior Kloe Hemmersbach pinning her way to the 170-pound tournament title on the way to an undefeated week on the mat.

The Indian mat ladies were next slated to compete at Decorah Thursday, December 15 with the Vikings and Central Elkader to wrap up the 2022 portion of this season’s schedule. They will return to the mat after the holiday break for a Monday, January 2 tournament at Osage before a Thursday, January 5 home date with Charles City.