It’s a celebration no one should miss. Iowa’s seventh annual Greater Prairie Chicken Day is scheduled for Saturday, April 10 at the Kellerton Grasslands Bird Conservation Area.

Although situated a bit off the beaten trail, the event is easy to find. The prairie chicken booming grounds are located in southern Iowa two miles west of Kellerton on Highway 2, and one mile south on 300th Ave. There’s easy parking and the area’s public viewing platform is wheelchair accessible. The fun begins at daybreak and DNR wildlife staff will be on hand to assist with viewing. Spotting scopes, early morning refreshments and good conversations are provided free of charge. Excellent and affordable lodging is available at the newly constructed Mount Ayr Inn.

“Prairie chickens are amazing birds and the Kellerton area is something that all Iowans can take pride in,” says field day coordinator and DNR wildlife biologist Chad Paup. “This is our only public [prairie chicken] booming ground and there‘s nothing else like it anywhere in the state. Prairie Chicken Day is highly unusual in that it’s an outdoor event where people are virtually guaranteed the chance to hear and observe wild prairie chickens as they conduct their annual spring ritual in a natural setting. In many ways it’s like traveling back in time and catching a glimpse of what Iowa once was.

“We held our first public field day in 2004. A handful of people turned out and the event has grown ever since,” notes Paup. “Last year we had over 200 people show up for the sunrise display, and we’re hoping for even more this spring.”

Paup adds that April weather can be brisk and recommends dressing in layers. Once participants have a firsthand opportunity to see dancing prairie chickens for themselves, most people are reluctant to leave the site, he says. The clearer the skies, the better the show and dancing males usually remain active until mid-morning. A more low key performance usually occurs prior to sunset.

“The prairie chickens always provide an exciting show and I seem to observe something different with each new visit,” says Paup. “It’s a unique viewing opportunity and I wish everyone in Iowa could see this at least once in their lifetime.”

  Mount Ayr Community’s Riaders opened the 2010 track season by competing at the Bruce Jenner Indoor meet in Lamoni on Saturday, March 27.  

Junior Cade Lambson won the shot put with a throw of 49’ 3” and sophomore Dustin Pritchett’s throw of 47’ 6” earned him the silver medal at the meet.  

Chad Starlin ran :55.59 to place third in the 400 meter dash and also qualified for the finals in the 200 meter dash.  

Braydee Poore cleared 6’ 0” in the high jump which also allowed him to get a second place medal.

“Our guys competed well,” stated head coach Brad Elliott.  “We wanted to get an idea of what our 200, 400 and 800 runners could do in a meet situation in order to set up relays for upcoming meets.”  “Cade and Dustin threw very well for a first meet and Braydee and Chad had good performances as well,” added coach Elliott.  “We had some other good performances as well for a tough indoor meet.”    Listed are the placings for the Raiders at the Bruce Jenner meet:

Shot put -- 1. Cade Lambson, 49’ 5”; 2. Dustin Pritchett, 47’ 6”.

High jump -- 2. Braydee Poore, 6’ 0”; 6.  Drake Schafer, 5’ 4”; 7.  Christian Overholtzer, 5’ 4”’ 9. Brett England, 5’ 2”.

55 meter  hurdles -- 5.  Korey Beaman, :08.92.

1600 meter run -- 14. Zach Zollman, 5:49; 15. Heath Evans, 5:51; 16. Tom Hosfield, 5:55.

55 meter dash -- 16. Devin Richards, :07.39; 24. Ty Han, :07.53.

200 meter dash --  7. Chad Starlin, :24.99; 12. Tyler Hinz, :25.43; 26. Matt Sobotka, :26.76; 30. Braydee Poore, :26.92; 38. Jeff Risser, :27.40; 39.  Ty Han, :27.45; 48.  Devin Richards, :27.92; 56.  Harley Hamilton, :28.55.

400 meter dash -- 3. Chad Starlin, :55.59; 6. Tyler Hinz, :57.75; 8.  Korey Beaman, :58.46; 13.  Zach Zollman, 1:01.02; 14. Alex Sobotka, 1:01.04; 19.  Brett England, 1:02.16; 20. Jeff Risser, 1:02.59; 21.  Tom Hosfield, 1:03.03; 22.  Drake Schafer,  1:03.26; 24. Harley Hamilton,  1:03.32; 26.  Jordan Clymer, 1:03.77; 27. Braydee Poore, 1:04.06; 28. Zane Sickels, 1:04.19; 31.  Christian Overholtzer, 1:05.28; 32.  Matt Sobotka, 1:05.36; 35. Shane Swank, 1:06.12; 38.  Lusekelo Lwesya, 1;07.35; 44. Heath Evans, 1:14.06.

4x800 meter relay -- 11. Mount Ayr Community (A. Sobotka, J. Clymer, C. Overholtzer, D. Schafer), 10:08.45; 12. Mount Ayr Community (B. England, L. Lwesya, Z. Sickels, S. Swank),  10:35.06

Next action

The Raiders were to return to Graceland University for another indoor meet on Tuesday, March 30.

  A total of 28 young men have reported to coaches Brad Elliott and Kurt Wallace for the beginning of the 2010 track season.  

“I’d like to have a few more guys out, but we are anxious to get some decent weather and get outside,” said head coach Brad Elliott.  “Our strength right now is in the weight field events, but hopefully we can put together some quality relays and get some points in individual running events.”

Cade Lambson finished second in the state in the Class 1A shot put and won the Class 1A discus title last season.  Sophomore Dustin Pritchett also qualified for the state meet in the shot put in 2009.  

Veteran distance runners Tyler Hinz, Tom Hosfield, Jordan Clymer, Brett England, Christian Overholtzer, Drake Schafer, Alex Sobotka, and Zach Zollman should enable the Raiders to field some distance relay teams.  

Sprinters Matt Jones, Devin Richards and Chad Starlin also have a lot of meet experience as do middle distance runners Korey Beaman and Matt Sobotka. 

Austin Cox and Jeff Risser ran on some distance relays last spring and may also see more running action this spring.  

Several freshman are coming off good middle school careers and should provide help in several areas for the Raiders.  

“Several conference teams have strong individuals, but it could be a wide open race in Bedford for the team title,” added coach Brad Elliott.  

Team members include:

Seniors -- Ty Han, Tyler Hinz, Tom Hosfield, Matt Jones, Devin Richards and Chad Starlin.

Juniors -- Korey Beaman, Jordan Clymer, Cade Lambson, Christian Overholtzer, Drake Schafer, David Showalter, Matt Sobotka, Brett England and Lusekelo Lwesya.

Sophomores -- Austin Cox, Josh Fernandez, Harley Hamilton, Dustin Pritchett, Jeff Risser, Alex Sobotka and Zach Zollman.

Freshman -- Zach Lemon, Braydee Poore, Austin Quick, Zane Sickels, Shane Swank and Heath Evans.

Schedule includes:

Saturday, March 27 -- Bruce Jenner Invitational, Lamoni,                               10 a.m.

Tuesday, March 30 -- Demon Invitational, Lamoni, 3 p.m.

Friday, April 2 -- Winterset Invitational , Winterset, 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 6 -- East Union Invitational, Afton, 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 8 -- Clarke Invitational , Osceola, 5 p.m.

Tuesday, April 13 -- Chariton Invitational, Chariton, 5 p.m.

Thursday, April 15 -- Clarke Relays, Osceola, 5 p.m.

Tuesday, April 20 -- Red Oak Invitational, Red Oak -- 5 p.m.

April 22-24 -- Drake Relays, Des Moines, TBA.

Tuesay, April 27 --- Raider Invitational , Mount Ayr, 5 p.m.

Thursday, April 29 -- Bondurant Invitational, Bondurant, 5 p.m.

Tuesday, May 4 -- Pride of Iowa  Conference Meet, Bedford, 4 p.m.

Thursday, May 6 -- Corning Invitational , Corning, 5 p.m.

Friday, May 7 -- Bedford Invitational, Bedford, 5 p.m.

Tuesday, May 11 -- Central Decatur  Coed Invitational, Lamoni, 5 p.m.

Friday, May 14 -- District Meet, Mount Ayr, 4 p.m.

May 20-22 -- State Meet, Des Moines, TBA.

  Diagonal’s archery teams have again qualified for a trip to the national archery tournament.

Team members will be traveling to Louisville, KY May 7-8 for the National NASP tournament after the team qualified at the state meet last week. 

As well as qualifying an elementary and the high school team for the nationals, the Diagonal shooters had individuals place in the top five in each category.

In the elementary male competition, Diagonal’s Colter Pickering placed first with a score of 267.

In the middle school male competition, Layne Ruby placed second overall with a score of 291, just one point out of first place. 

In the high school competition,  Shad Haidsiak placed fifth with a 280 score on a tiebreaker with another archer who had the same score but more 10’s.

  Mount Ayr Community’s girls opened practice for what could be another exciting and successful track campaign recently.   Coaches Deb and John Larsen return an outstanding group of veterans and are hoping some newcomers can give them some depth this season.   

Returning juniors Allie Knapp, Bailey Myer and Becca Pennington are members of the school record holding 4x800 relay team that earned silver medals at the state track meet last season.   Myer also placed eighth in the state meet in the open 800 with a 2:22.0 clocking, which is the second best 800 time in Raiderette track history.

Senior Tiffany Wimer is the school record holder in the hurdles and she, Bailey Myer and Allie Knapp are members of the record setting shuttle hurdle relay team.  Seniors Erica Kemery and Jamie Novak are medal winning relay runners with a wealth of experience for Mount Ayr Community.  Besides the juniors already mentioned the Raiderettes return Grace Fernandez, Brittni Gillespie, Becca Gregg, Jordyn Grose, Charmaine Johnson, Valerie Jones, Jensen Stewart and Liberty Silliman.   Becca Gregg, Valerie Jones and Jensen Stewart all have earned first place medals in their Raiderette careers.  

Megan Doubleday, Amanda Perrigo, Desirae Trammell and Katelyn Warin are the leading medal winners among the sophomores.  Doubleday and Warin are middle distance runners and Perrigo will be running a lot of sprint relays.  Trammell will be helping the Raiderettes by scoring points in the field events.  

Sophomores Taylor Lynch and Kylee Klommhaus also have meet experience for Mount Ayr Community.  

Head coach Deb Larsen is expecting some contributions from a good group of incoming freshman and some other newcomers this season.  

“Perennial power Corning and upcoming power Martensdale-St. Marys will be the ones to beat for the POI title,” said head coach  Larsen.  “The Raiderettes will be hosting a 1A District, but the teams present at the Mount Ayr site are not yet determined.”  

The Raiderette roster  includes:

Seniors --Erica Kemery, Jamie Novak and Tiffany Wimer.

Juniors -- Grace Fernandez, Brittni Gillespie, Becca Gregg, Jordyn Grose, Charmaine Johnson, Valerie Jones, Allie Knapp, Bailey Myer, Becca Pennington, Jensen Stewart and Liberty Silliman.

Sophomores include Claire Andresen, Megan Doubleday, Mariah Fifer, Kylee Klommhaus, Taylor Lynch, Amanda Perrigo, Rachael Roach, Deirae Trammell and Katelyn Warin.

Freshmen are Brooke Chenoweth, Hannah Fletchall, Cassidy Flowers, Emily Fox, Madison Hosfield, Maggie Jennette and Morgan Quick.

Schedule set

Schedule for the girls includes:

Tuesday, March 30 -- Demon Invitational, Lamoni, 3 p.m.

Tuedsay, April 6 -- Clarinda Invitational,  Clarinda, 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 8 -- Interstate 35 Relays, Truro, 5 p.m.

Monday, April 12 -- Panther Relays, Creston, 5 p.m.

Thursday, April 15 -- Fillie Relays, Shenandoah, 5 p.m.

Monday, April 19 -- Girls Red Raider Relays,  Corning, 5 p.m.

April 22-24 -- Drake Relays, Des Moines, TBA.

Tuesday, April 27 -- Lady Charger Relays, Chariton, 5 p.m.

Thursday, April 29 -- Interstate 35 Invitational, Truro, 5 p.m.

Friday, April 30 -- Bedford Invitational,  Bedford, 4:45 p.m.

Tuesday, May 4 -- POI Conference Meet, Bedford, 4 p.m.

Thursday, May 6 -- Raiderette Relays, Mount Ayr , 5 p.m.

Tuesday, May 11 -- Central Decatur Coed Invitational, Lamoni 5 p.m.

Friday, May 14 -- District Meet, Mount Ayr, 4 p.m.

May 20-22 -- State Meet, Des Moines, TBA.

 BY JAMES SAVILLE

The Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes finished the season as the Class 1A  state runner-up as they dropped a 57-55 game to number two ranked and undefeated Exira in the championship game at Wells Fargo Arena on Friday, March 5.  

And what a classic battle it was with the outcome not determined until after the buzzer when a ball bouncing on the rim went through for the Exira victory.

“I said at the pep meeting that Exira may have the best player, but the Raiderettes are the best team and the outcome of the game did not change my belief,” said coach Thad Streit.  “It took a fortuitous bounce of the ball to allow the Vikettes to get the victory with less than one second left.”

Both teams scored on their first possession before Bailey Myer hit from beyond the arc to give the Raiderettes a 5-2 lead at the seven minute mark of the first period.  A conventional three-point play by 6’ 3” Hallie Christofferson tied the game at 5-5 and Maddy Peppers scored a lay-up putting the Vikettes up 7-5 with six minutes left in the opening quarter.  

Mount Ayr Community would not score again until Bailey Myer made a free throw with under two minutes left in the first period.  Free throws by Christofferson and baskets by Claire Andresen and Becca Pennington made the first quarter score 14-10 in favor of Exira.

The teams traded baskets early in the second period as Megan Doubleday and Bailey Myer scored for the Raiderettes and Ann Walker and Christofferson scored for the Vikettes.  Exira led 18-14 before Becca Pennington scored a two-pointer and a Claire Andresen steal and a successful conventional three-point play by Pennington  put the Raiderettes up 19-18 with 1:29 left in the first half.  

Mount Ayr Community got a basket in close from Tiffany Wimer and added Bailey Myer’s three-ball with seven seconds left in the quarter to give Mount Ayr  a 24-20 lead at half-time.

Tiffany Wimer scored to open the second half giving Mount Ayr Community its biggest lead of the game at 26-20.  Hallie Christofferson pulled down one of her game high 13 rebounds and converted the lay-up and the foul shot to cut the lead to 26-23.  The big center duplicated the feat on the next offensive Exira possession tying the game at 26-26.  

The scoring went back and forth throughout the rest of the period with the Raiderettes leading 39-35 after Becca Pennington scored with 2:40 left in the quarter.  Maddy Peppers made a free throw and then grabbed the rebound on her unsuccessful second attempt and scored giving the lead back to the Vikettes 40-39 with just over a minute left.  Jensen Stewart took the ball strong to the rack allowing the Raiderettes to have a 41-40 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

Tiffany Wimer made two free throws, but Christofferson did likewise for Exira keeping the difference at one, 43-42.  The Vikettes would score the next six points, giving them a 48-43 lead with just over four minutes left in the game.  

Jensen Stewart hit from the right side cutting the lead to 48-45.  Mount Ayr Community continued to battle the much bigger Vikettes, but were unable to hit their one- and-one free throw opportunities allowing Exira to hold a 48-45 lead with just two minutes  left.  

Christofferson made two more free throws and those were matched by Becca Pennington, keeping the margin at three, 50-47.  Ann Walker made two more charity tosses, but nine seconds later Becca Pennington had the scoreboard showing 52-49 with just over a minute left in the season.  Ann Walker remained perfect at the line allowing the Vikettes to inch closer to the title with just 25 seconds left.  

A missed Raiderette field goal and another free throw by Christofferson had the Exira fans anticipating a state title as the scoreboard read Exira 55, Mount Ayr 51 with just over 20 seconds left.  

Becca Pennington drove to the hoop and drew a foul and calmly made both free throws cutting the lead to 55-53 with 15 seconds left.  Becca Pennington wrested the inbound pass away from Christofferson and although she missed the lay-up, teammate Tiffany Wimer grabbed the rebound and tied the game at 55-55 with 4.6 seconds left in regulation.  

The Vikettes tried to get the ball to Christofferson on a long court play, but the ball got loose when Tiffany Wimer got a hand on it but Chelsea Nelson pushed the ball ahead to Ann Walker, whose desperation lay-up at the buzzer hung momentarily on the back iron before falling into the net making the Vikettes the 2010 1A champions 57-55.

Halle Christofferson led all scorers and rebounders posting her third double-double of the tournament with 27 points and 13 rebounds.  Ann Walker added 13 (including the final crushing shot) and Maddy Peppers also scored 13 for Exira.  The Vikettes hit 56 percent from the floor and 85 percent  from the line on Friday.  Mount Ayr made 35 percent of their field goals and 77 percent of their free throws in the contest.  

Becca Pennington led the Raiderettes with 19 points and Bailey Myer reached double figures again with 13 points.  Tiffany Wimer closed out her Raiderette basketball career with a team leading nine rebounds and tallied eight points.  Jensen Stewart dished out six assists and Bailey Myer topped the team in steals with five against the Vikettes.

Bailey Myer and Becca Pennington were both selected to the all-tournament team, which was announced at the close of the game.

The other members of the team were  Hallie Christofferson and Ann Walker of Exira, Morgan Halverson of Martensdale-St. Mary’s and Newell-Fonda’s Susan Kies.

In summation here is a partial list of some of the accomplishments of the 2009-2010 Raiderette basketball team.  The 26 victories is the most ever recorded by a Mount Ayr girls basketball team.  Their 18-0 start was the best ever and this past week the Raiderettes won their first contest at a state tournament.  

They followed that with another victory and became the first Mount Ayr Community team to play for the state championship.  Bailey Myer and Becca Pennington are the first Raiderettes to be selected to the all-tournament team.  

The final game did not conclude the way the Raiderettes, coaches, and hundreds of fans would have liked, but that’s the way events happen sometimes.  The Raiderettes created lasting memories for themselves and hundreds of others who live in Raiderette Country.  These young ladies were outstanding representatives of the community as they played with heart, determination and class the entire season.  So, Raiderettes,  in the eyes of many, are champions. 

A buzzer beating shot after the ball traveled the lenghth of the court in just over four seconds brought to and end the season for the Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes as runners-up for the state title in Des Moines Friday night.

The Raiderettes tied the game 55-55 with four second left after it looked like they might lose straight away, but Exira was able to get the ball in bounds, passed down the court with Tiffany Wimer almost getting it stopped for the Raiderettes and to Exira star Hallie Christopherson, who's shot hit the iron as the buzzer was sounding and then fell threw.

That meant a 57-55 loss for the Raiderettes in the Class 1A championship game which was a battle all the way. The girls did about all they could possibly do in the battle against the number two ranked team in the state and came up just short.

Raiderettes Bailey Myer and Becca Pennington were named to the all-tournament team after the game and the girls brought home a beautiful trophy for a season that was a dream come true despite missing the championship title.

Dr. Peggy Whitson was presented an award at halftime of the game and was to speak at the breakfast for all the teams Saturday morning.

Watch for next week's Mount Ayr Record-News for details and pictures about the final two games of the big week at state. The Mount Ayr Record-News is also publishing a full-color commemorative edition about the season for the first Mount Ayr team to make it past the first round in state basketball action.

Call the Mount Ayr Record-News at 641-464-2440 if you would like to have a congratulatory message as part of the special issue, which will feature pictures, stories about the season, and information on each of the girls on the squad.

 Here's some information about the state girls Class 1A finals Friday night.

There will be a pep rally for the girls at 1:10 p.m. Friday afternoon to which the public is invited. School will be dismissed at 1:25 p.m. at the elementary school and 1:30 p.m. at the high school.

Tickets for the finals are not available at Mount Ayr Community high school like they were for earlier rounds. They can be purchased at the ticket offices at Wells Fargo Arena. The $8 tickets can be purchased on line at www.iowaeventscenter.com but a singe ticket there costs $14.60 after charges are added in. Checks are not accepted at Wells Fargo Arena.

The parade of participating teams will be held Friday night during halftime of the 2A championship game so the crowd may be extra large for the events Friday night. All the participating teams will be taking part in the parade of participating teams.

A team honors breakfast will be held on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. to which all the teams will go and this will be special for the Mount Ayr Community girls because Dr. Peggy Whitson will be the speaker.

There will be ways to watch the finals game Friday night on television and on the internet. The game will be broadcast on KCWI (the CW channel) beginning at 6 p.m. This is channel 9 on Mediacom 

For fans who live further away from the area, the Iowa High School Sports Network (IHSSN.com) offers video webcasts of the games. There is a charge for people who are not Iowa Telecom subscribers.

Area radio stations are also expected to carry the game.

The Mount Ayr Record-News will be publishing a special full-color commemorative edition of the season. Call 641-464-2440 to place your congratulatory ad for the edition.

 If winning the opening game in the state girls basketball tournament was ground-breaking, then winning the semifinal game against Martensdale-St. Mary's Wednesday night must be earth-shattering.

The Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes upset the only team that has defeated them this season in the semifinal round of the girls Class 1A state tournament  Wednesday by a score of 57-48.

Not only where the girls defeating the top ranked team in Class 1A, they were defeating the team that handed them second place in the Pride of Iowa conference in the only loss the girls have had this year.

The battle Wednesday night looked nothing like the earlier game in Mount Ayr where the inside play of Mackenzie Morrison was balanced with a three-point shooting attack that added 15 points to the score. The Raiderettes were able to hold Morrison to just 12 points and keep the Martensdale-St. Mary's outside threat without a three all night.

Bailey Myer poured in 22 points and Jensen Stewart had a big night with 18 points for the Raiderettes in the game.

A huge crowd of Mount Ayr fans helped cheer the girls on to the victory, which means that the Raiderettes will face Exira in the Class 1A finals in a game at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines at 6 p.m. Friday, March 5.

Watch next week's Mount Ayr Record-News for all the details of the game Wednesday and the state finals along with many pictures of the games. More pictures will be available on the internet page as well.

Mount Ayr Community came up a little short of making a trip to the state tournament as they lost to Ankeny Christian Academy 62-53 in the Valley of West Des Moines gymnasium on Saturday, Feb.  27.

This was the first appearance by a Raider basketball team in a sub-state game since Coaches Brad Rumple and Delwyn Showalter guided the 1986 squad to appearance against state-qualifier Woodward-Granger.  

“We defended them as well as we could, said coach Bret Ruggles. “We just needed to shoot the ball better, but we gave another great effort.”  

“It was good to see Malcom Mercer end his Raider career on such positive note,”  stated coach Ruggles.  “We will definitely miss him, but we have a lot of young men who got some valuable experience this season.” 

The Raiders finished the season with a 16-8 overall mark, but were 13-4 in their final 17 games of their season.

Malcom Mercer scored first to give the Raiders an early 2-0 lead, but it did not last long as Jason Cameron hit a long “three” and 6’ 5” Jay Snyder scored inside to put the Eagles ahead 5-2.  Malcom Mercer hit a “three” of his own and Tim Olejniczak hit from beyond the arc and Snyder scored again in close to keep the Raiders at bay.   Braydee Poore and  Jake Glendenning scored “two’s” and Matt Sobotka nailed a long ball and the Raiders were within two, 15-13 at the end of one quarter.  

Jason Cameron really made things difficult for the Raiders as they tried to help out inside on the big Snyder, the big forward hit two 23-footers to put the home team up eight.  Matt Sobotka was able to score five points, including another “three,” but Isaac Lopez scored along the baseline and Cameron and Olejniczak helped the Eagles go into the half-time break leading 31-25.

The Raiders did a great job limiting the Eagle field goal production in the second half, they just could not generate enough scoring by their own offense to overtake the bigger Ankeny team.  

Malcom Mercer added another “three” and Jake Glendenning scored twice in the third period.  Mercer’s bomb had pulled the Raiders to within three at 31-28, but Andy Harmsen joined the Eagle scorers and the pesky Olejniczak found the bottom of the net from long range putting the Eagles back up 41-33 heading into the last eight minutes of the game.  

Tim Olejniczak did most of the ball handling for the Eagles and drew several fouls in the final quarter. Ankeny Christian Academy would score 21 points in the final quarter with most of those coming at the free throw line.  Tim Olejniczak and Jay Snyder were nearly automatic in the closing minutes, dowsing any hopes the Raiders had of a miracle finish.  

The Raiders had a productive quarter themselves as Braydee Poore scored six points and Malcom Mercer five before they both went to the bench with five fouls.  David Showalter’s three-pointer cut the lead to 58-53 with 43 seconds left, but that would end the Raider scoring and Olejniczak and Snyder would make free throws to seal the Eagles’ state tournament berth.

Malcolm Mercer led the Raider scoring with 16 points and Braydee Poore and Matt Sobotka both added 10 against Ankeny Christian Academy.  

The Raiders shot 46 percent from the floor and made four of seven free throws.  The Eagles shot 48 percent from the field and made 69 percent of their 32 free throws.  Ankeny Christian was successful on 79 percent of their two-point tries against the Raiders.  Tim Olejniczak topped the Eagles with 24 points including 13-16 at the charity stripe.  Jay Snyder scored 13 points, Jason Cameron 12 and Andy Harmsen 10 for Ankeny Christian.    Colton Bolles did most of the board work as he had 13 rebounds and Malcom Mercer was the only other Raider with more than one as he pulled down two rebounds.  David Showalter led the team in assists with nine and Jake Glendenning and Braydee Poore each had two steals.

An exciting victory over North Sentral Kossuth in the first round of the state basketball tournament Monday afternoon means the Raiderettes will be playing again Wednesday, March 3, at 8 p.m. in the semifinal round of the tournament.

The Raiderettes defeated North Sentral Kossuth 54-45 in the first round game Monday afternoon. After a close first half where the Raidrettes trailed 23-22, the girls outcored the fifth-ranked NSK team 17-7 in the third period to make the difference in the game.

The girls had four players in double figures in an even attack and outrebounded the NSK team 41-32. A big difference in the game was that the NSK team had been hot in three-point shooting in the past but were held to four of 24 attempts against the Raiderettes.

More details of the game will be included in the Mount Ayr Record-News this week, along with photos from the game which will go up on the website.

The girls will play Martensdale-St. Mary's in a rematch of the conference championship game which the top-ranked M-SM team won.

The finals are set for Friday, March 5, at 6 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.if the Raiderettes win Wednesday.