DALLAS CENTER -- All in all, it was a good 62nd birthday for Harlan Community baseball coach Steve Daeges. Daeges’s Cyclones improved to 21-4 on Wednesday night with a 4-2 road win over Dallas Center-Grimes, and it just happened to be the 600th career victory for the Cyclone head coach. Now in his 23rd season on the job, Daeges improved to 600-205 with HCHS.

 CLARINDA -- The Harlan Community baseball team wrapped up a 17-3 season in Hawkeye Ten Conference action and also notched their 20th victory overall Tuesday night, posting a 10-3 win at Clarinda. Kyle Juhl (4) and Josh Cheek (3) combined for seven RBI in the game and four Cyclone pitchers combined on a four-hitter. HCHS led 6-3 after six innings before pulling away behind a four-run seventh and improving to 20-4 overall.

 SIOUX CITY -- Clinging to a late 2-1 lead, the Harlan Community softball team surrendered eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and lost Tuesday’s regular-season finale, 9-2, at Sioux City East. The Cyclones took a 13-22 overall record into Thursday night’s Class 4-A regional quarterfinal at 14th-ranked Glenwood (20-12), with hopes of advancing to Saturday night’s regional semifinal at Lewis Central (30-5). Tuesday’s loss was the eight

 CARROLL -- Portsmouth native and current University of North Texas golfer Ross Martens won the championship flight of the Carroll Amateur Golf Championship last month, holding off Matthew Walker (Ottumwa, University of Iowa) by one stroke over 54 holes. Competing in the June 11-12 event for the first time at the Carroll Country Club, the 20-year-old Martens shot a six-under-par 65 on Saturday, followed by rounds of 71 and 66 Sunday for an 11-

 TREYNOR -- The final score was a bit misleading, but there is no questioning the champion of the Western Iowa Conference Softball Tournament. Top-ranked (2-A) Logan-Magnolia was its typical sound and steady self during Thursday night’s WIC Tourney title game at Treynor, producing key two-out hits and playing error-free defense behind ace pitcher Abby Straight to blank 11th-ranked IKM-Manning 8-0 and defend its crown. The Panthers (27-2 overal

 TREYNOR -- Led by Abbey Youngren’s six-RBI game, the top third of IKM-Manning’s lineup put together a monster performance Thursday as the Wolves handled Treynor 12-2 in a Western Iowa Conference Softball Tournament semifinal shortened to five innings. IKM-M scored five runs in the second inning and four in the third to build a commanding 10-0 lead, finishing the game with 13 hits and taking advantage of five Cardinal errors. Paige Gaskill (3-

 CARROLL -- Harlan Community finished seventh in the final Hawkeye Ten Conference softball standings following Friday night’s 4-2 loss at Kuemper Catholic. The Cyclones didn’t crack the scoreboard until a two-run seventh-inning rally brought them only halfway back. Logan Schaben, Allison Bruck and Morgan Schaben all singled twice as HCHS outhit the Knights 8-5 in defeat. 

 AREA -- AHSTW and Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton will host regional games Tuesday and IKM-Manning will open its postseason at home Wednesday night as softball tournament play swings into full gear this week across the state. Pairings for the Lady Vikes, Spartans and Wolves are listed below.

 MANILLA -- A late-game rally fell four runs short for AHSTW Friday night as Audubon held off the Vikings 14-10 in the third-place final of the Western Iowa Conference Baseball Tournament at Manilla. Missouri Valley repeated as WIC Tourney champion later in the evening, taking down top-seeded Treynor 12-0 (five innings) in the title game. Down 13-4 and nearly beaten by the 10-run rule after five innings, the Vikings showed no quit down to the

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community baseball team clinched second place in the Hawkeye Ten Conference standings Thursday night with a doubleheader sweep of Red Oak at Jim Goeser Field, winning 16-6 in six innings and 17-2 in four. The third-ranked (3-A) Cyclones improved to 19-4 overall and 16-3 in the H-10 with one league game remaining. Lewis Central (18-0) has already secured the conference title going into Thursday’s doubleheader at Creston.

 ELK HORN -- Ar-We-Va’s Zack Kraus outdueled Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton’s Alex Amaral Friday night as the Rockets edged the Spartans 2-1 to complete a season sweep.

 MISSOURI VALLEY -- Connor Lange’s squeeze bunt scored Justin Miller with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth last Monday as Missouri Valley edged IKM-Manning 2-1 in a Western Iowa Conference Baseball Tournament quarterfinal game. The Big Reds went on to claim the tournament title for the second straight year, winning their next two games by a combined 27-1.

 AREA -- Ethan Knudson was named first-team All-Hawkeye Ten and four Harlan Community teammates were also recognized on the all-conference boys soccer teams announced in June. Hawkeye Ten co-champs Denison-Schleswig and Glenwood, along with Class 1-A state runner-up Kuemper Catholic, paced the all-conference list with three first-team selections each. In addition to Knudson, Cyclone honorees included Caleb Brace and Drew Voge on the second tea

 AREA -- Harlan Community junior Haley Arkfeld was named first-team All-Hawkeye Ten while senior teammates Mercedee Mayberry and Lexi Hoffmann both received honorable mention on the all-conference girls soccer teams released last month. Class 2-A state champion Lewis Central led the eight-team league with five first-team selections, followed by 1-A state qualifier St. Albert with three.

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community softball team split a doubleheader with Red Oak at H. Jack Field Thursday night, bouncing back from an 8-4 loss in game one to win the night cap 5-2. Senior shortstop Logan Schaben had an outstanding overall night for HCHS, going 4-for-7 with her ninth and 10th home runs of the year - one in each game - as well as a triple and a double.