DES MOINES -- Making its third consecutive trip to the Girls State Basketball Tournament, Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton played in one of four Class 1-A state quarterfinal games Monday at Wells Fargo Arena. The third-rated Spartans (23-1) took on No. 8 Sidney (23-1) on Monday afternoon at 3:15. The winner will face No. 2 Turkey Valley (21-3) or No. 9 Janesville (24-0) in Thursday’s semifinal round at 11:45 a.m.

 MANNING -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton’s effective inside game was no match for Ar-We-Va’s onslaught of three-pointers Thursday night as the sixth-ranked Rockets stayed unbeaten with a 61-41, Class 1-A district final win over the Spartans in Manning. Sophomore Drew Schurke knocked down six of Ar-We-Va’s 11 total treys and scored a team-high 21 points while 6-foot-3 senior Alex Kock got things going inside in the second half and scored 12 of his

 MAPLETON -- To say that the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls basketball team regrouped at halftime Monday night would be an understatement. The third-rated Spartans trailed Akron-Westfield 33-20 during the intermission of their Class 1-A, Region 1 final in Mapleton, bearing little resemblance to the team that won its first two postseason games by an average of 45.5 points. Exira-EHK turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, struggled to

 Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton is making its third straight trip to Des Moines after reaching the 1-A state semifinals in 2015 and bowing out to Newell-Fonda in last year’s first round. The school’s communities have a strong history at the Girls State Tournament as EH-K qualified eight times (its final appearance in 1997) and Exira qualified six times, capped by a state title in 2010.

    HARLAN -- It’s tough to beat any good team three times in one season.

 CARROLL -- Kuemper Catholic hit five 3-pointers during a pivotal 19-4 second-quarter run and got 22 points from senior standout Matt Dentlinger in beating IKM-Manning 76-53 in Tuesday night’s Class 2-A, District 15 final at Carroll High. The 2nd-ranked Knights (21-2) advanced to Saturday night’s Substate 8 final vs. Alta/Aurelia (21-1) at Denison. IKM-Manning finished the season at 16-7.

ELK HORN -- Finishing the first half on a mini-run, Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton picked up right where it left off in the third quarter Tuesday night and beat Coon Rapids-Bayard, 58-51, in a Class 1-A boys district semifinal. The game was a rubber match between the Rolling Valley Conference rivals, who both won on the opponent’s home floor by seven points during the regular season. Tuesday’s seven-point win improved the Spartans to 18-5 overall a

    ATLANTIC -- A season of ups and downs ended abruptly for the Harlan Community boys basketball team Monday night as the Cyclones were bounced from tournament play by Adel-De Soto-Minburn.    The Tigers went on a 12-2 run in the second quarter and pulled away with a 16-3 second-half spurt to beat the Cyclones 65-51 in a Class 3-A, District 15 semifinal game at Atlantic. ADM (12-10) advanced to Thursday’s district final round against Atlantic

    DES MOINES – Harlan Community High School junior Keaton Jones placed in a tie for 27th out of 52 total bowlers at the Class 1-A Boys State Bowling Tournament held at Plaza Lanes in Des Moines on Monday.    Jones rolled individual games of 190 and 184 for a total score of 374.    Jones became just the second state qualifier in the history of the Cyclone boys bowling program after rolling a career-best 461 series at the Class 1-A State Quali

 DES MOINES -- The last time Harlan Community had a top-four medalist at the State Wrestling Tournament, current senior Jacob Wingert was in second grade. Wingert personally ended the drought Saturday with a fourth-place finish at 170 pounds in Class 2-A.

 DES MOINES -- A severe hamstring injury ended Gabe Pauley’s freshman season just shy of sectionals last winter, bringing an abrupt close to an otherwise successful 43-5 campaign. One year later, Pauley has certainly made up for lost time. AHSTW’s sophomore 160-pounder capped a sensational 49-2 season this past weekend by winning five out of six matches and placing third in the Class 1-A State Wrestling Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. Pauley,

 ELK HORN -- Sophia Peppers dominated in the paint to the tune of 37 points and 13 rebounds Friday night, leading the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls past Boyer Valley 72-39 in a Class 1-A regional semifinal played at Elk Horn. Leading by just two points (24-22) at the midway mark of the second quarter, the third-ranked Spartans finished the first half on a 12-0 run, outscored the Bulldogs 29-11 in the third quarter and went ahead by 35 points

 AREA -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton, AHSTW and IKM-Manning all prevailed in boys basketball district action Thursday and will continue on the postseason trail Tuesday. The Spartans won 70-49 over Charter Oak-Ute in a Class 1-A district quarterfinal and will host Coon Rapids-Bayard on Tuesday night.

 HUXLEY -- The Harlan Community girls basketball team saw its season come to end here Saturday night, falling behind 26-4 in the second quarter and losing at 12th-ranked Ballard, 53-34, in a Class 4-A regional semifinal.

 DES MOINES -- Just like several other area athletes at the 2017 State Wrestling Tournament, it didn’t take long for Cole Bruns to run into a state title contender in his 170-pound, Class 1-A bracket. Making his first-ever state meet appearance, the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton senior drew 2nd-ranked Taylan Entriken in Thursday’s first round and was pinned in 1:03.