By Bob Bakken
MaxPreps.com
Cedar Rapids again hosted the state high school volleyball tournament last weekend at the U.S. Cellular Center.
Ankeny (40-1) claimed the Class 4-A title by avenging a regular season loss to top-ranked and defending champion Johnston in a three-game sweep. It was the third state championship for the Hawkettes in the last five years. Johnston finished the season 40-2.
Chelsey Simprini of Ankeny was named captain of the all-tournament team. She led the Hawkettes in the finals with 13 kills.
Marion took the Class 3-A championship in a five-game thriller over Mount Vernon. Brittany Thomas became the all-tournament captain from Marion with a 19-kill, 25-dig effort in the championship match. The Indians captured their first state championship with the win over Mount Vernon, who was also the runner-up in 2007.
Western Christian (Hull) took its 12th state championship home to northwest Iowa after a three-game sweep of Dike-New Hartford (37-5). Steph Fykstra and Brittany Landegent each had 14 kills for the winning Wolfpack (47-4), but D-NH’s Hannah Willms was named the captain of the all-tournament team.
Tripoli (29-11) was not in the final regular season rankings, but ignored that all the way to the Class 1-A state championship match, which it won with a five-game victory over fourth-ranked AGWSR (Ackley) (37-5).
It was the seventh Class 1-A state title for the northeast Iowa school, led by freshman Megan Gilbert’s 16 kills. Macy Ubben of AGWSR was named the captain of the all-tournament team.
Football: Brockshus Getting Kicks at Spencer
A college football program in need of a quality placekicker may want to get some highlight film of Spencer’s Sam Brockshus. Brockshus received all-district honors as a placekicker and a defensive back.
However, his placekicking range is what’s really getting him attention. Brockshus was 8-of-11 on field goal attempts, including a school record 55-yarder in a game against Storm Lake back in September.
"It's been a tremendous luxury to have Sam over the last four years. And, it's been a luxury that's even taken some getting used to for me," Tiger head coach Jim Tighe told the Spencer Daily Reporter. "For the first time in my life, I'm almost thinking like a college or an NFL coach wanting to get into field goal range. Normally in high school, you're fortunate if you can even get a kicker."
Brockshus’ 55-yarder tied him for the eighth-longest field goal in Iowa high school football history. Teams interested in him already include Drake and Northern Iowa in the state, and North Dakota State University. He says around three dozen schools have shown some level of interest in his abilities.
Baseball: Cherokee Pitcher Commits to Louisville
Cherokee pitcher Matt Koch has signed a national letter of intent to play baseball at the University of Louisville
The senior righthander was the top-ranked pitcher in the state last summer and 89th in the nation, according to Baseball America. Last summer, Koch fashioned a 5-1 record, a 2.08 earned run average, and struck out 67, as the Braves finished second in the state Class 2-A tournament. Koch also earned first team All-State honors as a shortstop.
The year prior as a sophomore, Koch was a perfect 5-0 with a 1.12 ERA. The Braves won the state 2-A title that summer with Koch on the mound.
His fastball was clocked at 91 mile per hour at last June’s Perfect Game National Showcase at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn.
Softball: Sioux City East’s Vanderloo Signs With Iowa
A softball standout from Sioux City has signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Iowa program after next summer.
East High’s Ashley Vanderloo set a city record with a .602 batting average for the Black Raiders last season, a mark that was the best in Iowa’s Class 4-A last season and among the top-ten across the state. She’s won all-conference honors three times in her softball career.
Vanderloo is also a three-time all-conference pick in basketball.
Girls Basketball: Spirit Lake’s Kirschbaum Inks With Northern Iowa
Spirit Lake’s Amber Kirschbaum has signed to play basketball at the University of Northern Iowa next season. The 6-foot-1 forward is a three-time all-conference selection at Spirit Lake and has scored 17 points and nine rebounds a game for her career.
She was the captain of the Class 3-A All-State tournament team as a sophomore when Spirit Lake lost to Cedar Rapids Xavier in the state championship game. Spirit Lake completed that season with a 20-3 record.