By Bob Bakken
MaxPreps.com
While one nearby state is about to begin testing its athletes for drug use, Iowa athletic sanctioning bodies will likely not go down the same road.
The Illinois High School Association will begin random tests of its athletes for performance-enhancing drug use when the fall athletic season begins. Research indicates at least one out of every 13 athletes in Illinois use drugs to increase their athletic performance.
But Iowa governing bodies, such as the Iowa High School Athletic Association, will not follow suit for now.
That news comes despite recent surveys that show some Hawkeye State athletes indeed dabble with drugs. Over 4,000 youngsters were surveyed by the IHSAA four years ago and four percent acknowledged steroid use. The percentage was only two percent in a similar survey five years before that.
“At this point with state law, it’s not permitted,” IHSAA official Alan Beste told the Quad City Times. “To this point we’ve really tried to put efforts into educational programs.”
Beste says Iowa code has strict guidelines that prevent search and seizure. Probable cause is needed and that prevents the association from random tests. Thus, the IHSAA does not get involved in drug tests, because state law has stronger language that runs counter to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows random testing.
Boys Basketball: Katich New DM Lincoln Coach
Des Moines Lincoln has named Joe Katich as the school’s new basketball coach. It’s a return home of sorts for Katich, who grew up in the Lincoln district and dreamed of playing for the Railsplitters.
However, his family’s faith and encouragement won out, as Katich went to West Des Moines Dowling Catholic for his high school education. He played on a team in 1977 that included future Iowa Hawkeye and NBA player Bobby Hansen.
Katich’s basketball coaching background includes being with the Dowling Maroons for five years, fashioning an 89-29 record and twice going to the state 4-A basketball tournament. However, his contract was not renewed two years ago and he stepped away from coaching for a year before taking an assistant’s job at West Des Moines Valley.
He takes over for Mike Swaim Jr., who retired at the end this past season with a 19-4 record and a CIML Metro championship.
Katich will be rebuilding the program after the loss of all but one player who saw major playing time last season for the Rails. Guard Ermin Zornic will be the only returner of that group from last year.
"We definitely think we had an excellent candidate. His credentials are very strong; we're excited," Lincoln athletic director Phil Chia told the Des Moines Register.
Boys Basketball: Hempstead Coach Heads to East Dubuque
Dubuque Hempstead boys basketball coach Eric Miller is leaving his position to have the chance to coach his sons across the Mississippi River at East Dubuque High School in Illinois
Approved by the East Dubuque school board last week, the appointment means Miller will leave his alma mater at the Dubuque school to coach in Illinois.
Miller replaces Andy Green, who was in East Dubuque for one season and is leaving to be closer to his wife, who is an assistant coach at Providence College in Rhode Island. Green’s record was 9-16 this past season.
He’ll have to wait a while to coach his kids, however, as Ayden is six years old and Connor is five. They are students in the East Dubuque district. Although Miller will coach in East Dubuque, he’ll continue to teach at Hempstead.
Miller was 43-91 in six seasons at Hempstead, including a 6-17 mark this past season.
Boys Soccer: No State Berth for Top-Ranked WDM Valley
The expected reservation for top-ranked West Des Moines Valley at the state boys soccer tournament will go unclaimed this season. The Tigers were upset in the sub-state final last week by Des Moines Hoover, 2-1.
Evan Eastman was the giant-killer for Hoover, scoring the match-winning goal in the second half of the sub-state championship final.
It’s the first state tournament berth for Hoover since 1995 and stops Valley from going to the state tourney for only the second time in school history and the first since 2000.
Hoover’s two goals were among only five given up by the Tigers all season long.
Boys Tennis: Wahlert Pair Wins State Title in Enemy Territory
Among the state championships won in tennis last weekend was a Class 1-A doubles title claimed by the Dubuque Wahlert tandem of Brooks Bertsch and Carter Giese.
Bertsch and Giese defeated defending state champions Joe and Jim Nora of Waterloo Columbus in the finals, winning the title on the Noras’ home court of Byrnes Park in Waterloo.
It was redemption of another type for Bertsch, who lost with another partner to the Nora tandem in the state finals last spring.
"They had like 100 fans there, cheering against us,” Giese told the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald. “We came out and put it back in their faces."
Bertsch and Giese won the championship in three sets, 6-1, 3-6, and 7-5.
"We complement each other so much. When one of us misses a shot, another one comes back with a winner. We just roll. It's just awesome,” Bertsch said.
