CARROLL -- Lopsided wins at Kuemper Catholic have been a rarity over the years, but Friday night was a fun exception to the rule for the Harlan Community boys basketball team. Drilling 7-of-8 three-pointers in a game-opening 23-4 outburst, the Cyclones led by as many as 25 points in the first half and 40 during the late stages of a 67-32 road win over the Knights. The matchup of Hawkeye Ten co-leaders did not count in the conference standings

 CARROLL -- The Harlan Community girls basketball team clinched at least a share of its third straight Hawkeye Ten Conference title on Friday, winning 56-35 at Kuemper Catholic to complete a season sweep. The top-ranked (Class 4-A) Cyclones built a 13-0 lead in the opening six minutes and extended their advantage as high as 23 points in the fourth quarter, vexing Kuemper with two types of zone press and extensive use of a new half-court 3-2 zo

 MANNING -- The IKM-Manning girls avenged a three-point loss to Underwood from earlier in the season Friday night, and they did so in a big way with an 82-34 rout of the Eagles. The Wolves stormed to a 30-8 first-quarter lead and never looked back. 

 MANNING -- The IKM-Manning boys basketball team improved to 15-2 Friday night with a 76-48 home win over Underwood. The Wolves led 37-24 at halftime and pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 24-8. 

 HARLAN -- Led by the runner-up finish of Jacob Wingert at 160 pounds, Harlan Community secured 11 medals and placed fifth in the team standings as the host of Saturday’s Hawkeye Ten Conference Wrestling Tournament. The Cyclones’ fifth-place finish was one spot higher than each of the last two years and their 144 points was an improvement of 31 over last season. Creston/Orient-Macksburg, ranked third in Class 2-A, claimed its fourth conference

 ELK HORN -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton overcame a slow night on offense with some shut-down defense in the second half to beat the Coon Rapids-Bayard boys, 37-29, last Tuesday night. Trailing 21-13 at halftime, the Spartans made a few defensive adjustments and outscored CR-B 24-8 the rest of the way. According to head coach Doug Newton, the Spartans made a few transition buckets in the third quarter to cut the margin to 24-22, then scored on s

 ELK HORN -- Outscoring Coon Rapids-Bayard 49-10 during the second and third quarters, the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls cruised to 16-0 last Tuesday night with a 72-29 win over the Crusaders. The game was close for one quarter (15-13) before the 2nd-ranked (1-A) Spartans dominated the rest of the way. Sophia Peppers (9-for-11 shooting) and Mara Burmeister (8-for-13) scored 20 and 19 points, respectively, to lead Exira-EHK, which shot 61.5 p

 WEST DES MOINES -- Hired to direct the Harlan Community baseball program in 1994, Steve Daeges never imagined the type of success that would follow. Twenty-two seasons and 579 wins later, he’s a hall of famer. On Saturday night, January 23, at the Sheraton Hotel in West Des Moines, Daeges was honored as one of five new inductees into the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

 HARLAN -- Taylor Frederick and Jordyn Moser combined to score 42 points Tuesday night as the Harlan Community girls basketball team overcame a sluggish start to beat Denison-Schleswig, 65-43, in Hawkeye Ten Conference play. The top-ranked (Class 4-A) Cyclones led by 30 points before D-S closed the gap in the final three minutes. Frederick led HCHS with 23 points and 11 rebounds (adding three steals and three blocks) while Moser had 19 points,

 HARLAN -- It took nearly three quarters, but Harlan Community eventually delivered the knockout punch Tuesday night in a 74-43 boys basketball win over Denison-Schleswig. After the Monarchs pulled within 41-33 at the 2:30 mark of the third period, Cyclone coach Mitch Osborn called a timeout and the team responded with a 33-10 closing run to sweep the season series. HCHS point guard Caleb Rasmussen ignited the final push with two impressive le

 HARLAN -- Bonus points proved to be the difference maker Tuesday night as the Harlan Community wrestling team settled for a split of its Hawkeye Ten home double dual vs.

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community girls and boys bowling teams both improved their records to 4-2 overall last Thursday (Jan. 21) with victories over OA-BCIG at Cyclone Lanes. The Cyclone girls won by 418 pins (2,324 to 1,906), led by Bailey Portwood’s individual series of 362. The Cyclone boys won by 95 pins (2,623 to 2,528), led by Mitchell Leinen’s 380.

 TRI-CENTER -- Another game, another big second half by the IKM-Manning boys basketball team. Three nights after outscoring Audubon 45-19 in the final 13:30 of an 11-point home win, the Wolves erased a one-point halftime deficit on the road by outscoring Tri-Center 55-18 in the second half of an 82-46 victory. The 8th-ranked (Class 1-A) Wolves buried 12-of-25 three-point shots in the contest, including five by Kyle Wagner, three by Jared Volls

 RED OAK -- The 13th straight victory for the Harlan Community girls basketball team was its most lopsided yet as the top-ranked Cyclones built a 45-10 halftime lead and trounced Red Oak, 66-22, on Friday night. HCHS rolled to 7-0 in Hawkeye Ten Conference play (one game ahead of Lewis Central) and 13-1 overall, while the Tigers dropped to 1-6 and 3-10, respectively. The Cyclones stormed out to a 28-7 lead after the first quarter and dominated

 RED OAK -- Ahead by just six points at halftime, the Harlan Community boys put together a 23-8 third-quarter run and continued to pull away in the fourth to post a 78-49 win at Red Oak Friday night. Senior Kyle Juhl led the 5th-ranked (3-A) Cyclones with 31 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots, shooting 13-of-19 from the field as HCHS improved to 8-1 in Hawkeye Ten Conference play (tied for first place) and 1