Sports

The Kee volleyball team had just one competition date on its schedule this past week, but that single date at Waukon Monday, August 31 featured a double dip for the Lady Hawks that ultimately ended up in an even split of their two matches. That split began with a three-set battle against Riceville by sweeping scores of 25-20, 25-22 and 25-22 before the Hawks fell to the host Indians in the evening nightcap by scores of 11-25, 21-25 and 12-25.

The closeness of Kee’s first battle of the triangular was reflected throughout the match and throughout pretty much each set against Riceville. Besides a double-digit margin midway through the third and final set of the match, the Hawks couldn’t get much separation from the Wildcats than what prevailed in their sweep of Riceville by scores of 25-20, 25-22 an 25-22.

The 2020 Waukon girls cross country team will feature a great deal of familiarity overall, but will have a new look at the very top beginning with this season. Returning seven runners with varsity letterwinning experience, the greatest change for the Lady Indian distance program will be in the head coaching position as Tyler Scholl takes over the helm of the program following the departure of Brett Egan, who is now teaching in the Cedar Falls Community School District.

The Waukon boys cross country team will return five letterwinners for its 2020 campaign, a fall season that will be like none other before it with the COVID-19 pandemic looming. Although the sport of cross country may lend itself to some built-in mitigation measures with its outside venue and the idea of distancing oneself from other runners, there are still some concerns with the larger gathering of runners at each meet, among other concerns that the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) has tried to address in its proposed mitigation guidelines.

“This year more than ever, it is going to be very important to stay healthy, with hopes of being able to run a full season of meets,” Waukon boys cross country coach Tara Stein said. “Things are a bit different at practice, and meets will have slight modifications, but if we follow the recommendations that have been put in place by the IHSAA/IGHSAU, hopefully we can get in a full cross country season this fall.”

Anyone who left the Waukon football team’s Friday, August 28 season opener at Decorah prior to the midway point of the final quarter missed out on the most exciting and tale-telling part of the ballgame as momentum swung hard in both directions while the game’s final minutes ticked off the clock. Unfortunately for the football Indians, the final swing of that momentum was not in their favor.

Trailing by two touchdowns midway through that fourth frame, the football Tribe was finally able to not only find the explosiveness its fans have come to expect in recent years but also find the scoreboard - not just once, but twice - in the game’s final six minutes. The Indians used that final flurry to overcome a 12-0 deficit and build an 18-12 lead, only to have that lead snatched right back in the game’s final minute to suffer a 19-18 defeat to the host Vikings to open the 2020 season.

The 2020 season got off to a convincing start for the Kee football team, as the Hawks dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage early on the way to a 38-0 halftime lead and eventual 54-12 season-opening victory at Central Elkader Friday, August 28. That dominance could have, perhaps, been even greater if not for a handful of hiccups one might expect for a first game of the season but that Kee football coach Chad Winters says certainly need to be addressed in the grand scheme of things.

The Kee volleyball team returns a large collection of eight letterwinners from last season’s campaign that produced a 7-20 overall record and placed the Hawks seventh in the final Upper Iowa Conference standings with a league mark of 2-7. Three-fourths of that leadership experience comes from the highest level possible in this season’s six seniors, with half of those seniors contributing to the varsity program every year of their high school career.

That veteran experience will certainly be needed this season, as in addition to the competition on the other side of the net each night on the court, teams are also going to need that type of senior leadership to navigate the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has already brought to this season. On top of adjusting to the abbreviated season schedule in comparison to other seasons, following mitigation guidelines both on and off the court can use the type of frontline leadership brought to the season by veteran experience.

The Kee girls and boys cross country teams have been looking forward to the 2020 season with great anticipation as both hope to build on their respective representations at last season’s Class 1A State Cross Country Meet this fall. Although this fall’s high school athletic seasons have been tainted with the looming threat of the COVID-19 pandemic and all the considerations in preventing further spread of the virus, the fact that the state of Iowa is continuing with its plan of allowing high school competition and not delaying it like some neighboring states provides its own bit of inspiration of wanting to make the most out of the opportunity that has been granted.

The Waukon volleyball team will benefit from the return of five players with varsity letterwinning experience from last fall’s squad that posted a 10-20 season record and will look to improve on a sixth-place Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) finish in both regular season and tournament play this season. That return of veteran experience will include a mix of each of the three grade levels eligible to return from previous varsity action, including four with multiple seasons of varsity contributions and one solid newcomer who began to make her mark last fall.

Anticipation of the 2020 Waukon football team is soaring high, as the Indian grid squad returns eight starters and 18 total letterwinners this fall from a nearly perfect 2019 season that saw its lone loss come in the Class 2A State Championship game. However, this season’s challenges in trying to play to a return State Championship berth and fourth consecutive trip to the UNI-Dome level of the State Play-Offs will involve overcoming more than just 11 opponents on the other side of the football as all teams will also be battling the same opponent in a COVID-19 pandemic that can disrupt a season even quicker than any on-field opponent.

Waukon softball junior shortstop Annika Headington was honored by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association by being named to the Class 3A All-State Third Team following completion of the abbreviated 2020 season. Headington led the softball Indians this season with a .412 batting average, .512 on-base percentage and .824 slugging percentage, posting additional team highs of 14 hits that included four homeruns to drive in a team-high 17 runs and score 13 more that ranked second on this year’s squad.