ANAMOSA - After the Women’s Eastern Iowa Golf Association decided not to hold their annual one-day, 18-hole tournament in Solon due to COVID-19 concerns, members of the Wapsi Country Club decided to take things into their own hands.
ANAMOSA - As one of the best teams in the River Valley Conference (RVC) each of the past two years, the Anamosa softball team has been well represented on All-RVC teams.
But nothing quite like this summer.
ANAMOSA - There’s no doubting the needle is pointing upwards for the Anamosa baseball program following another improved campaign in 2020.
ANAMOSA - As a former Wapsi women’s club champion, Laurie Woods knew exactly when the right time was to make a run competing at the 2020 event Saturday, July 25.
ANAMOSA - Sitting just one shot off the lead after one day’s play at the Wapsi men’s club tournament Saturday, July 25, Sean Smith wasn’t sweating.
At least figuratively he wasn’t, yet.
WYOMING - There was no doubting the improvement from the Midland softball team, even in a COVID shortened 2020 campaign, and Tri-Rivers Conference coaches took notice.
SPRINGVILLE - While the season may not have ended the way the Springville softball team had hoped it would after a tough post-season setback earlier this month, that doesn’t take anything away from what the Orioles accomplished during the 2020 regular season.
MOUNT VERNON - History has been something the Anamosa softball team has been making each of the last two summers.
DEWITT - For the second straight summer, the Anamosa baseball team was in DeWitt playing a class 3A district semi-final game against the talented and third-ranked Sabers Friday, July 17.
ANAMOSA - The best of area linksmen hit the local courses Saturday, July 18, and Sunday, July 19, looking to state their claim as Anamosa’s top golfer as the Wapsi Country Club and Fawn Creek Country Club hosted the annual two-day, 36-hole City tournament.
ANAMOSA - Looking to head into the post-season playing some of their best softball of this COVID-19 shortened summer, the class 3A eighth-ranked Anamosa softball team looked very businesslike in a trio of impressive triumphs over Iowa City Regina, Wilton and Mid-Prairie closing out the 2020 regular season last week.
WILTON - Executing with two-outs has been a challenge for the Anamosa baseball team for most of this COVID-19 shortened summer season, but Tuesday, July 7, in Wilton, not only did the Raiders execute on the offensive end with two outs, they did defensively too, keying a huge 14-4, five-inning rout over the Beavers.
SPRINGVILLE - Looking to get back on the winning track after dropping a pair of games at Alburnett four days earlier, Springville did exactly that sweeping a regular-season ending doubleheader hosting Calamus-Wheatland Friday, July 10.
ANAMOSA - Coming off a pair of extremely frustrating losses hosting West Branch and Monticello earlier in the week leading into their contest hosting North Cedar Friday, July 3, Anamosa baseball coach Bryan McCray challenged his team.
ANAMOSA - Senior Night is an emotional time each and every season, but Friday, July 3, in Anamosa, it was extra special as Raider softball fans said good bye to a sensational class in Ellie Tallman, Kalli Minger, Autumn Kirby, Maggie McQuillen and Jordyn Erickson.
WYOMING - It’s not often when only two hits are enough to win a high school varsity baseball game, but Thursday, July 2, in Wyoming, it was enough for the Midland baseball team.
CALAMUS - Over much of the past decade, scoring runs had been the biggest issue between the Midland softball program picking up coveted wins.
ANAMOSA - It’s not often when two state-ranked teams get together and the main objective isn’t about winning the game.
ANAMOSA - Jumping out to a quick 3-0 first-inning lead hosting Northeast Thursday, June 25, Anamosa baseball coach Bryan McCray was hoping that early success was going to be a sign of things to come for the rest of the game against the Rebels.
SPRINGVILLE - Coming into Springville Wednesday, June 24, the Midland baseball team knew they’d have to be on their game if they wanted to leave town with a pair of wins playing an undefeated Oriole team.
That’s exactly what the Eagles did.
SPRINGVILLE - Admitting that her team is more historically suited to holding on to leads than rallying from late deficits, Springville softball coach Laura Riley was pleasantly surprised with her team’s performance hosting West Central in a non-conference contest Friday, June 26.
MONTICELLO - It’s what good teams do to win when not all facets of the game are working seamlessly at the same time.
ANAMOSA - Coming off a tough loss hosting class 3A eighth-ranked West Liberty in a playoff-like atmosphere Thursday, June 18, the fourth-ranked Anamosa softball team needed to quickly get back on track hosting rival Monticello 24-hours later Friday, June 19.
WYOMING - Last season it took 30 games before the Midland softball team tasted victory for the first time with a 9-4 triumph over Bellevue.
Eagle coach Zach Hebl was determined his team was not going to wait as long to get that first softball win in 2020.
SPRINGVILLE - Trailing early in their season-opening doubleheader hosting Maquoketa Valley Monday, June 15, the Springville baseball team got their offense going late in the first game and then kept it going early into the second as the Orioles started 2020 with an impressive sweep of the Wildcats.
SPRINGVILLE - With a small and somewhat inexperienced squad, Springville softball coach Laura Riley thought it might take a little time for her team to get acclimated to the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
ANAMOSA - Heading into the 2001 girls track and field campaign, Anamosa’s Ashley Lerch had made trips to the state meet at Drake Stadium in Des Moines each of the previous two seasons in the wheelchair 100-and-400-meter dash events.
ANAMOSA - During an amazing month-long stretch in the summer of 1999, Anamosa graduate Matt Schirm, then a Coe College junior, would have a life-altering experience playing baseball in El Salvador and Nicaragua for Athletes in Action.
WYOMING - There were times during the weeks leading up to what was supposed to be an Iowa high school baseball season when Midland baseball coach Josh Soper wasn’t sure his team was actually going to be able to play in 2020.
SPRINGVILLE - For a while, Springville baseball coach Tony Dlouhy wasn’t sure there was actually going to be a season for his team to play even after it was announced all Iowa high schools would have their summer sports in 2020.
ANAMOSA - It was a run of success unlike anything the Anamosa boys track and field program had seen in a number of years.
WYOMING - When it comes to wins and losses, and merely keeping girls out for the sport, things have been tough for the Midland softball program over much of the last decade.
SPRINGVILLE After losing a talented senior class in 2018, there weren’t too many outside of Springville who thought the 2019 version of the Oriole softball team could be vastly improved.
OLIN - At pretty much every venue they competed during a memorable 1999 run for the Olin boys track and field team, Lion seniors Jesse VonBehren and Chris Sulzner were the class of the 1600-meter event.
ANAMOSA - There was no question that if there was actually going to be an Anamosa softball season, the Raider girls were going to do something to honor senior teammate Maggie McQuillen, who has been making a remarkable recovery following a horrific car accident March 19, that left her fighting for her very life.
ANAMOSA - Just take a look at the sign at the bottom of the hill leading up to the high school.
ANAMOSA - There have been numerous events that have stood out to Anamosa boys basketball fans over the past 25 years.
ANAMOSA - It didn’t take the Anamosa volleyball team very long to get into a winning mentality in the fall of 1997, and thankfully for Raider fans, it lasted all season long during that would prove to be one of the greatest campaigns the program would witness over the next quarter century.
ANAMOSA - Dan Achenbach came into his senior season for the Anamosa football team in 1997 with some pressure placed squarely on his shoulders.
OLIN - Olin boys track coach Rich Ginn brought two athletes with him to the state track and field meet at Drake Stadium in Des Moines during the spring of 1998, and both went home with coveted state medals.
ANAMOSA - Today, Thursday, May 14, was supposed to be the day that Anamosa senior Olivia Nebergall, and the rest of her talented Raider girls track and field teammates, would make more memories by battling for berths to Drake Stadium in Des Moines competing at the class 3A state meet qualifier.
ANAMOSA - Anyone who has competed under Anamosa wrestling coach Denny Christenson knows they guy was one of the best motivators in the entire state.
Heck, maybe the country.
WYOMING - There was no sneaking up on anyone for the Midland girls’ sprint medley relay team as they entered the 1997 state track and field meet inside Drake Stadium in Des Moines that May.
I was blessed to have been able to watch some extremely good basketball back in 1995-96, from numerous area teams and at numerous levels.
ANAMOSA - The news hit like a bomb dropping in Anamosa Friday, May 1, and the ripple effects could be felt all the way into Johnson County.
ANAMOSA - If the rules that are in play now would have been allowed back in 1996, the Anamosa football team’s class 2A co-district 5 championship would have earned that Raider team a berth into the playoffs, a place the program had only been one other time in school history at that point.
ANAMOSA - During the entire 1996 Anamosa boys track and field campaign, then Raider senior Nic Weers had his mind set on one thing and one thing only.
It was my first season covering football at the Anamosa Journal-Eureka in the fall of 1996, and I don’t mind telling you, I was a little nervous.
Taking a page from what pretty much all of the major sports television networks have done during this pandemic era, I’ve decided to relive some Anamosa, Olin, Midland and Springville sports history by bringing back some of our area schools’ classic sports moments from the last quarter century.
WAVERLY - There’s a reason why former Springville standout Sam Lorimer was widely considered one of the best distance and middle distance runners in school history when he graduated three years ago.
PLATTEVILLE, WIS. - As one of the top cross country and track runners in school history when he graduated last spring, Caleb Christiansen has made Oriole fans proud for years with numerous state meet berths and memorable performances.