Two more conference games -- two more wins.

The Raider boys basketball team kept rolling up the wins this past week with a 51-35 win over Bedford Tuesday, Jan. 24, and a 70-31 victory over Southeast Warren Friday, Jan. 27.

The wins raised the Raider Pride of Iowa conference mark to 12-1 and the overall season mark to 17-1.

Next action

The Raider wins set the stage for the conference title showdown with Nodaway Valley in Greenfield on Tuesday, January 31.   Nodaway Valley is 13-0 in conference play and the Raiders are 12-1.

The Raiders host Pleasantville Friday night for parent’s night and play the regular season finale with Lenox there Tuesday, Feb. 7.

  It was back to 50-50 for the Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes in girls basketball action this past week.

The girls fell to league-leader Bedford 59-24 Tuesday, Jan. 24, then slipped past Southeast Warren 37-35 in Liberty Center Friday, Jan. 27.

The Raiderettes are now 7-6 in the Pride of Iowa conference and 10-8 overall.

Next action

The Raiderettes traveled to Greenfield Tuesday and host Pleasantville Friday night for parent’s night. They play the regular season finale with Lenox there Tuesday, Feb. 7 and begin tournament play Thursday, Feb. 9 against Lamoni at home at 7 p.m.

  Regular season for the Mount Ayr Community Raider wrestlers drew to a close this past week with a pair of dual meets and the Quad State Invitational.

The Raiders won a pair of dual meets with Clarke and  Clarinda Academy at senior night for the Raiders Tuesday, Jan. 24, in Mount Ayr.

The Raiders had a 1-2 record in a set of duals with Bedford-Lenox, Maryville and Pleasantville in Lenox Thursday, Jan. 26.

The Raiders then had four wrestlers place in the Quad State Invitational in Maryville, MO Saturday.

Place winners in the tournament for the Raiders were Erik Freed, Shane Swank and Joe Ricker with second place finishes and Grant Staats with a fourth place finish.

Next action

The Raiders travel to the sectional wrestling tournament in Corning Saturday for action beginning at 12 noon.

  Their second win of the season over Seymour was added along with another couple of losses when the Diagonal Maroonettes played their basketball games this past week.

The girls fell to Lamoni 46-31 in conference action, lost to Walnut in a close battle 29-22 on Thursday, Jan. 26, then rolled over Seymour 56-31 Friday night at homecoming.

The girls are now 2-15 for the season and 1-7 in conference play.

Next action

The girls took on Mormon Trail at Humeston Monday, Jan. 30, host Lamoni Friday, Feb. 3, and then host Essex Wednesday, Feb. 8. 

  Diagonal’s Maroons dropped a trio of games this past week, including a heart-breaker at the buzzer against Seymour in the homecoming contest Friday night.

The boys lost to Lamoni 64-33 Tuesday, Jan. 24, fell to Walnut 56-38 on Thursday, Jan. 26, then fell on a last-second shot 54-51 to Seymour Friday night at homecoming.

The Maroons are now 1-15 for the season and 1-7 in conference play.

Next action

The Maroons took on Mormon Trail at Humeston Monday, Jan. 30, host Lamoni Friday, Feb. 3, and then host Essex Wednesday, Feb. 8.

  Some of the tests were stronger, but the Raider boys basketball team met all of them again this week as they won three straight games.

The Raiders handled East Union 80-58 in conference play Tuesday, Jan. 17, squeaked past conference foe Wayne 45-43 in Mount Ayr Friday night, then got past Clarinda Academy 69-52 in Mount Ayr Monday night.

The boys moved their season mark to 15-1 with the addition to their winning streak and are now 10-1 in conference play.

Next action

The Raiders traveled to Bedford Tuesday, Jan. 24, and to Southeast Warren Friday, Jan. 27. Tuesday, Jan. 31, they take on Nodaway Valley there.

  It was a profitable week for Mount Ayr Community Raiderette basketball as the girls were able to put a pair of wins back-to-back in Pride of Iowa conference play.

The Raiderettes rolled past East Union 40-29 in Mount Ayr Tuesday, Jan. 17, then handled Wayne 36-28 in Mount Ayr Friday, Jan. 20.

The Raiderettes are now 9-7 for the season and 6-5 in Pride of Iowa conference action.

Next action

The Raiderettes went to Bedford Tuesday, Jan. 24, to face a league leader and play at Southeast Warren Friday, Jan. 27. Tuesday, Jan. 31, the Raiderettes face Nodaway Valley in another battle with a conference leader.

  A second place finish in the tough John J. Harris wrestling tournament in Corning by 126-pouner Erik Freed was the highlight of the week of wrestling for the Mount Ayr Community Raiders this past week.

In dual action the Raiders lost to Corning 48-30 and to Van Meter in a tie breaker 36-36 in Van Meter Tuesday, Jan. 17.

The Raiders finished in 16th place in the John J. Harris Invitational with Shane Swank’s fifth place finish at 152 pounds the only other Raider placing.

With the dual match losses, the Raiders now have a 6-13 mark for the season in that statistic.

Next action

The Raiders host Clarke Tuesday, Jan. 24, for their final home meet of the season in a 5:30 p.m. meet. Today (Thursday) they face Bedford-Lenox, Maryville, MO, and Pleasantville at Lenox. They finish up the pre-tournament trail with the Quad State Invitational in Maryville, MO, on Saturday, Jan. 28.

  Mount Ayr Community high school’s Sparks drill team has been invited to perform at halftime at the state tournament and will be on television in early February.

The Sparks have been asked to perform at halftime during the Tuesday, Feb. 28 11:45 a.m.  game at the girls state tournament.  

The Iowa High School Girls Athletic Association selects outstanding dance teams across Iowa to provide the halftime entertainment. This is the first year that the Mount Ayr Sparks have been asked to perform.

The 2012 ISDTA Championships where the girls brought home two top placings will be aired on IPTV on Saturday, Feb. 4 from  8 to 10 p.m. and rebroadcast on Sunday, Feb. 5 from 2 to 4 p.m.  

The two-hour championship show will show edits of all of the championship routines along with special features about the new dance exhibit at the Iowa Hall of Pride, ISDTA’s involvement in the Exercising Your Character Program, and interviews with two of the judges.  

  Mount Ayr Community’s Raiders continued to roll up the victories in action this week with Lenox and Central Decatur.

The Raiders pounded Lenox 81-46 in Mount Ayr Tuesday, Jan. 10, then easily handled Central Decatur 74-43 in Leon Friday night.

The Raiders are now 12-1 overall and 8-1 in Pride of Iowa conference action.

Next action

The Raiders hosted East Union Tuesdasy night and Wayne comes to visit Friday, Jan. 20. Monday, Jan. 23, Clarinda Academy comes to town and Tuesday, Jan. 24, the Raiders play at Bedford.

  Harlan swept the title at the Mount Ayr Dual wrestling tournament over the weekend that saw nine rounds of wrestling between the nine teams participating.

The Raiders struggled without picking up a dual win in their eight matches of the busy weekend of wrestling.

With the streak of eight losses, the Raider dual wrestling record fell to 4-13 for the season.

Best record for the weekend for the Raiders came from 152-pounder Shane Swank, who went 7-1 for the weekend. Erik Freed won six matches by fall and lost two by decision for a 6-2 record in his first action of the season. The same mark of 6-2 was added by Joe Ricker at 285 pounds.

Wrestlers from Lathrop, MO, Council Bluffs St. Albert, Harlan, Martensdale-St. Mary’s and Penny High were named to the Ron Scott all-tournament team for making it through the tournament as unbeaten individuals.

There were some eight Iowa state-ranked wrestlers taking part in the action of the weekend, giving wrestlers some top competition. The only head-to-head match of ranked wrestlers would have come at 113 pounds when Martensdale-St. Mary’s and Durant met, but Tyler Hagen of Martensdale-St. Mary’s wrestled at 120 pounds while Durant’s Aaron Barthagenwrestlered at 113 pounds. Both won their matches by pin.

Wins by teams in the two-day event included:

1. Harlan, 8; 2. Martensdale-St. Mary’s, 7; 3. Lathrop, MO, 6; 4. Council Bluffs St. Albert, 5; 5. Riverside, 4; tie for 6. Durant, Penney and Shenandoah, 2; 9. Mount Ayr Community, 0.

Next action

The Raider wrestlers went to Van Meter Tuesday, Jan. 17, to face Corning, Panorama and Van Meter and head to the John Harris tournament in Corning Friday and Saturday.

  It’s been a see-saw season for the Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes and this week the ups and downs continued.

The Raiderettes defeated Lenox 57-39 in Mount Ayr Tuesday, Jan. 10, then fell to conference co-leader Central Decatur 44-32 in Leon on Friday, Jan. 13.

The Raiderettes are now 7-7 for the season and 4-5 in the Pride of Iowa conference.

Next action

The girls hosted East Union Tuesday night and host Wayne Friday, Jan. 20. Tuesday, Jan. 24 they travel to Bedford.

  Diagonal’s Maroonettes picked up their first win of the season in the opening round of the Bluegrass conference basketball tournament Saturday night.

The Diagonal girls were able to handle Seymour 39-24 in action at Seymour on Saturday night in tournament play.

They opened the week with a 39-17 loss to Melcher-Dallas on their home court. 

Their season mark is now 1-10 and they are 0-5 in conference play.

  Three more victories were added to the season total in a great start to 2012 for the Mount Ayr Community Raider basketball team this past week.

The Raiders handled Corning 64-57 in conference play Tuesday, Jan. 3, won a close POI game  61-57 over Martensdale-St. Mary’s Friday, Jan. 6, then rolled over Clarke 59-23 on the road Monday, Jan. 9, in non-conference play.

The Raiders boosted their season mark to 10-1 and their conference record to 6-1 with the victories.

Next action

The Raiders hosted Lenox Tuesday, Jan. 10, and travel to Central Deatur Friday, Jan. 13. Tuesday, Jan. 17, they host East Union.

  Mount Ayr Community’s Raiders dropped a home dual meet with Cenral Decatur and took fourth in the Creston Invitational tournament to get back into action for 2012.

The Raiders fell to Central Decaur 55-15 in action Thursday night in Mount Ayr to see their dual record slip to 4-5.

The Raiders placed fourth in the round-robin action in the Creston tournament Saturday with a couple of wrestlers with Shane Swank, Jacob Roach and Joe Ricker finishing with winning records.

Next action

The Raider wrestlers host the Mount Ayr duals Friday and Saturday and wrestle Corning, Panorama and Van Meter at Van Meter Tuesday, Jan. 17.

  Mount Ayr Community’s Raider wrestling team will host the 24th annual Mount Ayr Dual Wrestling Tournament on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 13-14.  

Nine teams will wrestle a round robin dual tournament during the two wrestling sessions, beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13, and resuming at 10  a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14.

Saturday’s session will conclude with the crowning of the team champion and runner-up, as well as the presentation of the 2012 Ron Scott all-tournament team.

Participating teams will include Council Bluffs Saint Albert, Durant, Harlan, Lathrop, MO, Martensdale-St Mary’s, Riverside, Oakland, Penney High School (Hamilton, MO), Shenandoah and  Mount Ayr Community.

The Raiders face Lathrop, MO at 4:30 p.m., Harlan at 6 p.m. and Martensdale-St. Mary’s at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Saturday they wrestle Penney at 10 a.m., Riverside at 11:30 a.m., Council Bluffs Saint Albert at 1 p.m., Shenandoah at 2:30 p.m. and Durant at 4 p.m.

  A win over Martensdale-St. Mary’s was sandwiched between losses to Corning and Clarke in action for the Mount Ayr Community Raiderette basketball team this past week.

In conference play Tuesday, Jan. 3, the girls fell to Corning 49-27. The Raiderettes picked up a conference win over Martensdale-St. Mary’s Friday, Jan. 6, in a nailbiter 39-36. Monday, Jan 9, the girls fell to non-conference foe Clarke 59-32.

The girls now have a record of 6-6 and are 3-4 in Pride of Iowa conference play.

Next action

The Raiderettes hosted Lenox Tuesday night and travel to Central Decatur Friday, Jan. 14. Tuesday, Jan. 17, East Union visits.

  Diagonal’s Maroons broke in the win column after starting the season with a loss in their brightest week of action so far.

After falling to a tough Murray squad 74-23 on Tuesday night, the Maroons rebounded to handled Moravia 58-50 Friday night before the home crowd.

With the split this week the Maroons are now 1-9 for the season and 1-3 in Bluegrass conference play.

Next action

The Maroons host Melcher-Dallas Friday, Jan. 13, and then jump into the Bluegrass conference tournament. Pairings for the conference tournament were to be made Wednesday, Jan 11.

  Area sports teams jumped back into action this week with several events Tuesday, Jan. 3, and most teams seeing action sometime in this first week of January.

Tuesday night the Mount Ayr Community Raider and Raiderette basketball squads opened action in 2012 by hosting Corning squads. Friday night Martensdale-St. Mary’s comes to visit and Tuesday, Jan. 5, both teams go to Clarke.

Diagonal’s Maroons and Maroonettes jumped back into action Tuesday by hosting Murray teams. Friday, Jan. 6, they host Moravia as a home stand continues.

Mount Ayr Community Raider wrestlers host Atlantic and Central Decatur tonight (Thursday) in their first action of the new year and go to the Creston tournament Saturday, Jan. 7.

The Raider and Raiderette bowlers see their first action of the new year Monday, Jan. 9, when they host Lamoni at Lucky Lanes.

The Raider and Raiderette junior varsity basketball teams saw action against Corning Tuesday, Jan. 3. The teams host a junior varsity basketball tournament Saturday here as well and the boys play at Clarke Monday Jan. 9. Tuesday, Jan. 10, both teams host Lenox.

The junior varsity wrestlers will attend a junior varsity meet in Creston Monday, Jan. 9.

The junior varsity bowlers have a meet with Lamoni in Leon Wednesday, Jan. 11.

Mount Ayr Community middle school girls basketball picks up Friday, Jan. 6, when the girls go to East Union. The split season is over for the Mount Ayr Community Raider boys basketball team.

The first action for the middle school wrestling team comes today (Thursday) when Corning, Central Decatur and East Union visit.

  Mount Ayr Community will be hosting a junior varsity basketball tournament the opening weekend of 2012.  

The tournament will be held on January 7  in the Mount Ayr Community middle school and high school gymnasiums.  

The championship games for both boys and girls will be held in the high school gymnasium.  

The games schedule for the Saturday tournament are shown below.

Girls Division

9 a.m. -- Mount Ayr Community vs. Worth County, middle school gym.

10:30 a.m. -- Central Decatur vs. Creston, middle school gym.

12  p.m. -- Consolation game, middle school gym.

1:30 p.m. -- Championship game, high school gym.

Boys Division

9  a.m. -- Mount Ayr Community Black  vs. Worth County, high school gym.

10:30 a.m. -- Pleasantville vs. Mount Ayr Community White, high school gym.

12  p.m. -- Consolation game, high school gym.

3  p.m. -- Championship game, high school gym.

  Mount Ayr Community will be hosting a junior varsity basketball tournament the opening weekend of 2012.  

The tournament will be held on January 7  in the Mount Ayr Community middle school and high school gymnasiums.  

The championship games for both boys and girls will be held in the high school gymnasium.  

The games schedule for the Saturday tournament are shown below.

Girls Division

9 a.m. -- Mount Ayr Community vs. Worth County, middle school gym.

10:30 a.m. -- Central Decatur vs. Creston, middle school gym.

12  p.m. -- Consolation game, middle school gym.

1:30 p.m. -- Championship game, high school gym.

Boys Division

9  a.m. -- Mount Ayr Community Black  vs. Worth County, high school gym.

10:30 a.m. -- Pleasantville vs. Mount Ayr Community White, high school gym.

12  p.m. -- Consolation game, high school gym.

3  p.m. -- Championship game, high school gym.

  It was a low scoring affair, but the North Harrison, MO boys were able to take a 44-27 win over the Diagonal Maroons in Diagonal Tuesday, Dec. 20.

The Maroons are now 0-8 for the season and 0-3 in Bluegrass conference.

Next action

Action resumes following the holiday break when the boys host Murray Tuesday, Jan. 3.

  Diagonal’s Maroonettes came the closest to a win they have this season, but fell by a bucket 43-41 to North Harrison, MO in Diagonal Tuesday, Dec. 20.

With the loss the girls fell to 0-7 for the season and have a 0-4 Bluegrass conference record.

Next action

Action resumes following the holiday break when the girls host Murray Tuesday, Jan. 3.

  A victory over East Union and a loss to Nodaway Valley in home dual wrestling action and five placings in the Pride of Iowa conference tournament including championships for Shane Swank and Joe Ricker were the story for the Mount Ayr Community Raider wrestlers in action this past week.

The Raiders handled a short-handed East Union squad 52-6, then fell to a strong Nodaway Valley squad 57-6 in the dual meet with the two conference schools Thursday, Dec. 15.

The Raiders finished seventh as a team in the conference tournament Saturday, Dec. 16, and moved their dual wrestling mark for the season to 4-4 with last week’s play.

Next action

The wrestlers are now off until after the holiday break when they host a meet with Atlantic and Central Decatur Thursday, Jan. 5.

  First loss of the season for the Mount Ayr Community Raiders came this week against conference leader Nodaway Valley, but the Raiders bounced back for a pair of wins as well.

The Raiders fell to Nodaaway Valley 58-48 in Mount Ayr Tuesday, Dec. 13. Thursday, Dec. 15, they handled Lamoni 81-53 on the road. They traveled to Interstate 35 on Friday night and brought home a 43-35 vicory.

The action this week makes the Raiders 4-1 in the Pride of Iowa conference and 7-1 overall heading into the Christmas break.

Next action

The Raiders pick up action after the holiday break Tuesday, Jan. 3, when they host Corning.

  A conference loss and a conference victory marked the down and up week for the Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes.

After losing to Nodaway Valley 54-27 at home last Tuesday night, the girls bounced back to take a 48-40 win over Interstate 35 in a road game.

Mount Ayr Community is 2-3 in the Pride of Iowa conference and 5-4 overall.

Next action

Action for the girls picks up after the holiday break on Tuesday, Jan. 3, when the Raiderettes host Corning.

  Mount Ayr Community’s bowling teams dropped matches with Clarke in the finale of the 2011 portion of their season Thursday, Dec. 15.

The boys fell to Clarke 2,560-2,330, the girls lost  2,012-1,266 and the junior varsity boys were defeated 1,558-1,475 in action in Osceola.

Next action

The bowlers pick up action after the holiday break Friday, Jan. 9, when they host Lamoni.

  It’s five in a row after two weeks of action for the Mount Ayr Community Raider basketball team so far this season.

The boys handled East Union 65-41 in Afton Tuesday, Dec. 6, then got past Bedford 54-32 in Mount Ayr Friday, Dec. 9.

The Raiders now are 3-0 in Pride of Iowa conference play and 5-0 for the season.

  Dual meet record for the Mount Ayr Community Raider wrestling team slipped to 3-3 after the Raiders went to a quad meet in Truro Thursday, Dec. 8.

The squad also wrestled at the Central Decatur Invitational tournament in Leon Friday, with Dawson Knapp’s third place finish the top one for the team there.

In the quad meet the Raiders defeated Wayne 53-6, then fell to Eddyville-Blakesburg 53-24 and to host Interstate 35 71-5.

Next action

The Raiders host East Union and Nodaway Valley in their first home meet tonight (Thursday) and go to the Pride of Iowa tournament at Southeast Warren Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. for their final pre-holiday action.

  An East Union victory and a loss to Bedford were added to the record books by the Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes in basketball action this past week.

The girls squeaked out a 46-45 win over East Union Tuesday, Dec. 6, then were thumped by second-ranked Bedford 40-26 on Friday night.

The Raiderettes are now 1-2 in the Pride of Iowa conference and 4-3 overall.

Next action

The Raiderettes hosted Nodaway Valley Tuesday night and finish out the 2011 portion of the campaign at Interstate 35 Friday, Dec. 16. 

  Mount Ayr Community’s Raider bowlers are off to a good start while the Raiderettes are struggling in early action for the MAC squads this season.

The teams opened the season in the Panther tournament in Creston on Tuesday, Nov. 29, and then hosted Lenox and Central Decatur Monday, Dec. 5.

In the Panther tournament the Raiders placed third while the Raiderettes came in sixth.

In the bowling in Mount Ayr, the Raiders defeated both visitors while the Raiderettes lost to Lenox and Central Decatur.

Next action

The bowlers travel to Clarke today (Thursday) for their final pre-holiday action.

  The Mount Ayr Community’s Sparks drill team competed in the Iowa State Drill team competition held in Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on December 1, bringing home state awards.

The state of Iowa hosts the largest drill team competition in the nation.  There were over 270 high school teams in this year’s competition. There were six divisions based on school size. 

In the pom category alone, there were over 110 routines.  The Mount Ayr Community’s Sparks accomplished something special as the team captured the first place trophy as the top pom squad in their division.  This is the first time a drill team from Mount Ayr Community has ever placed higher than third in state competition.  

The Sparks also garnered the runner-up trophy in the kick division to cap off an exciting day.

The Drill Team Association also presents academic awards to the participating teams.  Teams receive an excellence in academic award for a cumulative grade point average of 3.0-3.49 and a distinguished academic award for a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 to 4.0.  

Mount Ayr Community received the distinguished award for posting a cumulative GPA of 3.85.

The head coach of the Mount Ayr Community Sparks is Jill Weehler.  Coach Weehler pointed out that Deb Lynch, Amy Levine and Amy Wood also helped with the squad this year.  

Coach Weehler recognized her captains and co-captains this year and praised the team’s hard work, dedication and team cohesiveness this year.  

She also was appreciative to the staff, student body, fellow coaches, parents and entire community for all the support she and the Sparks receive throughout the year. 

The members of this year’s squad are: Taylor Lynch, Megan Doubleday, Kylie Wilson, Maggie Jennett,  Allison Wallace, Ashton Johnson, Madison Hosfield, Caitlin Giles, Logan Wimer and April Shields.  

The Mount Ayr Sparks will perform their winning routine at the half of the Mount Ayr-Bedford boys basketball game on Friday, Dec. 9.

  A pair of victories moved the Raider boys basketball record to 3-0 this week with victories over Mormon Trail and Corning.

The Raiders rolled past Mormon Trail 63-37 on the road Tuesday, Nov. 29, then picked up their Pride of Iowa conference opener with a 64-53 win over Corning Friday night there.

The Raiders are 1-0 in conference action.

Next action

The Raiders traveled to East Union Tuesday night and host Bedford Friday, Dec. 9. Tuesday, Dec. 13, Nodaway Valley comes to visit.

  A victory over Mormon Trial in non-conference action and a loss to Corning in conference play marked the week for the Mount Ayr Community Raiderette girls basketball team.

The girls rolled past Mormon Trail 51-38 and then fell to Corning 51-31.

The Raiderettes are 0-1 in the POI and 3-2 overall.

Next action

The Raiderettes traveled to East Union Tuesday night and host Bedford Friday, Dec. 9. Tuesday, Dec. 13, Nodaway Valley comes to visit.

  A victory over Mormon Trial in non-conference action and a loss to Corning in conference play marked the week for the Mount Ayr Community Raiderette girls basketball team.

The girls rolled past Mormon Trail 51-38 and then fell to Corning 51-31.

The Raiderettes are 0-1 in the POI and 3-2 overall.

Next action

The Raiderettes traveled to East Union Tuesday night and host Bedford Friday, Dec. 9. Tuesday, Dec. 13, Nodaway Valley comes to visit.

  Mount Ayr Community’s Raiders won two out of three dual matches in the opening quadrangular meet in Osceola, then had five wrestlers place in the top six in the Coach Riley tournament at Greenfield in a busy first week of action.

The Raiders traveled to Osceola for the meet with Clarke, Corning and East Union Thursday, Dec. 1. They defeated host Clarke 33-27, downed East Mills 36-27, then fell to Corning 42-34.

In the Greenfield tournament, Grant Staats placed second, Dawson Knapp and Shane Swank were third and Jacob Roach and Joe Ricker took sixth in the tournament.

The Raiders placed eighth in total points out of the nine teams at the tournament.

   Mount Ayr Community’s Raiders  opened the 2011 season with an exciting 69-63 victory over the Murray Mustangs in Mount Ayr Monday, Nov. 28. 

Murray played very well considering they were still playing football 11 days ago.

“For the second straight year we were able to defeat a very good Murray team,” said a relieved coach Bret Ruggles.  “We were able to make some big free throws in the final minute to secure the win.”

The game was close the entire 32 minutes with neither team able to get much of a lead.  

  A loss to Villisca and a close victory over Murray marked the week of action for the Mount Ayr Community Raiderette girls basketball team this past week.

The girls fell to Villisca 58-39 in the second night of the Raiderette Classic Tuesday, Nov. 22, then defeated Murray 33-31 at home Monday night to move their record to 2-1 for the season.

Next action      

The Raiderettes played at Mormon Trail on Tuesday and travel to Corning on Friday, Dec. 2 to open conference play. They take on East Union there Tuesday, Dec. 6.

  Wrestling action gets underway Thursday, Dec. 1, with a meet with Clarke, Corning and East Mills at Osceola to begin the 2011-12 season.

The Raiders have a roster of 11 wrestlers taking the mat this year with three seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen.

Wrestler Erik Freed is not cleared to take part at this time while he recovers from injuries due to a car accident.

New this year will be a new grouping of weight classes for wrestlers.

Wrestlers include:

108 pounds -- Dawson Knapp, sophomore.

113 pounds -- Open.

120 pounds -- Jacob Beamgard, sophomore.

128 pounds -- Ben Saville, freshman.

132 pounds -- Grant Staats, freshman.

138 pounds-- Harley Hamilton, senior.

145 pounds -- Eric Miller, freshman.

152 pounds -- Shane Swank, junior.

152/150 pounds -- Zach Lemon, junior.

170 pounds -- Open.

182 pounds -- Open.

195 pounds -- Open.

220 pounds -- Jacob Roach, freshman.

285 pounds -- Joe Ricker, freshman, and Wyatt Schamp, senior.

None of the Raiders returning have experience at the state meet.

Dawson Knapp and Shane Sickels both placed third in the district meet last year, however, and several of the upper classmen have experience on the mat.

Coaching the squad again are head coach Eric Ehlen and assistant coach John Ford.

The Pride of Iowa conference is always a strong wrestling conference so wrestlers will have their work cut out for them this season.

Local fans will have four chances to see the Raiders in action on their home floor. The first home match of the year comes Thursday, Dec. 15, against East Union and Nodway Valley.

  The Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes opened the season with a close 38-34 win over the Orient-Macksburg Bulldogs on Monday, Nov. 21 in Mount Ayr, in the Raiderette basketball classic. 

“We played good defense as the Bulldogs returned several starters from last season,”  said coach Thad Streit.  “We struggled on the offensive end and did not take advantage of several open looks.”

Lamoni held on to defeat Lenox 41-38 in the Classic opener.  Lamoni saw their seven-point half time lead evaporate as the Tigers tied the contest in the final period, but baskets by Mikaela Millslagle and free throws by Tiffany Brunner allowed the Demons to prevail.  Mikaela Millslagle was the player of the game for Lamoni and Katie Barker received the honor for the Tigers. 

Next action

The girls were to play in their own tournament Tuesday, Nov. 22, and host Murray Monday, Nov. 28. The girls play at Mormon Trail Tuesday, Nov. 29 and then go to Corning Friday, Dec. 2.

  A total of 10 girls will take the floor for the Diagonal Maroonettes girls basketball team this season.

Returning are four letterwinners for the squad this season.

Seniors include guard Amber Lilienthal, post Ashley Jarred and guard Bailey Cameron -- all returning with letter experience.

There are also three juniors on the squad. They include letterwinning post Elly Brown, guard Ashley Parrish and forward Charlene Hingley.

Four freshmen are also part of the team. They are guard Elizabeth King, guard Jaylee Bogan, guard Kailtyn Klomomhaus and forward Katie Holmes.

Coach Gina Knox says that the determination of the squad will be one of its strengths this season.

“We have height and aggressive guards who want the ball in all their hands,” she said.

“Learning to use each other for the benefit of the team and to get the win is the team weakness right now,” she said. “We also have many young and inexperienced players who will all see time on the floor, which will mean they will need to pick up things quickly.”

“The group will come out ready to push the limits but will need to learn to control that individually and as a team,” Knox said. “They will also need to learn how to maintain it until the end of the game.”

Goal for the Maroonettes this year is to finish in the Bluegrass conference’s top three.

“Many of the teams we face have lost players while we have gained,” she said.

Knox pointed to Moulten-Udell, Murray and Twin Cedars as providing the most challenge to the Maroonettes in the conference this year.

  New head coach Matt Warren has 10 players out for his Diagonal Maroon boys basketball team this season.

Four letterwinners return for the squad this year, which will be a young team.

There is one senior back in letterwinner Trenton Moffitt. Two junior letterwinners return -- Heath Evans and Shad Haidsiak.

Sophomore Kenny Weaselhead returns with letterwinning experience and is joined by sophomre Ryan Parrot and Leigh Davis.

Four freshmen round out the team this year in Blake Butler, Aaron Davenport, Tristin Brown and Layne Ruby.

“We have a young team that will have to fill some roles and find guys who can score and rebound for us,” coach Warren noted. “We are looking to get better everyday and build a winning tradition. It will not come easy in the short term. Our work ethic has shown that if we stay on course we will have great success.”

Murray will be the preseason favorite for the Bluegrass conference, Warren noted.

“Being a newcomer to the conference I don’t know much about all the teams yet,” coach Warren said. “I would like to play up to our potential and see where that takes us.”

  Mount Ayr Community began practice for the upcoming basketball season on November 14 with 28 young men reporting to coaches Bret Ruggles and Jeff Levine.   

The Raiders return all-conference performers Braydee Poore and Dusty Lyden along with Jacob Still, who saw plenty varsity minutes last season.  

The Raiders will be counting on seniors Joey Taylor, Matt Kerns, Dustin Pritchett and Alex Sobotka, juniors Dylan Doman, Austin Quick and Johnathan Triggs and sophomore Jacob Sobotka to complement their varsity veterans this season.  

The Raiders will see different teams on the tournament trail this season as Mount Ayr Community will be competing in Class 1A in 2011-2012.

“We have some veterans coming back, but we really don’t have a lot experienced depth,’  said coach Bret Ruggles. “We hope some of our new faces improve quickly to give us a well rounded squad.”     

Nodaway Valley should be very good again this year as they return outstanding guards Brad Baudler and T.J. Bower and 6’ 5” center Alex Welsh. The Interstate 35 Roadrunners return several starters led by POI  all-conference performer Brody Brownlee. 

Pleasantville could be tough on the east side as they have Hunter Van Haalen and Collin Thomas to build around this year.  Southeast Warren lost Seth Nutting, but still has high scoring guard Austin Allen.  

Corning returns standout Wyatt Henkenius along with several experienced athletes.  East Union has POI honoree Jake Hoff and Lenox has POI first teamer Jordan Reed  and Martensdale-St.Mary’s has second teamer Zeb Noel.  Bedford’s Kolten Sefrit will have several experienced teammates this season as the Bulldogs will try to improve on last season’s record. Wayne and Central Decatur will have some youth and inexperience on their squads this year.

The Raiders open on the road  in the Villisca Jamboree on November 22 before hosting 1A power Murray on November 28.  The Raiders play Mormon Trail in Humeston before opening POI conference play in Corning on December 2.  

Roster for the Raiders includes seniors Matt Kerns, Dusty Lyden, Dustin Pritchett, Alex Sobotka and Joey Taylor.

Juniors include Dylan Doman, Kraig Doolittle, Braydee Poore, Austin Quick, Jacob Still and Johnathan Triggs.

The sophomore class includes Jack Jones, Brandon Munyon, Casey Paxson, Matt Poore, Weston Schnoor, Jacob Sobotka, Zach Vanderflught, Quincy Vos, Hagan Willis, Treyor Wood and Kyle Young.

Freshmen team members include Conner Giles, Lincoln Martin, Jake Ricker, Riley Weehler, Tucker Winemiller and  Tyler Triggs.

  Mount Ayr Community  began practice Monday, Nov. 7 for the upcoming girls high school basketball season.  

Thad Streit returns as the Raiderette head coach and will be  assisted again by Mark Budach.   Mount Ayr Community will competing in Class 1A this season after realignment set by the IGHSAU.  

The Raiderettes are coming off a great 2010-2011 season, culminated by the Raiderettes second straight trip to the “Well.” The Raiderettes lost to Monticello  in the first round of the Class 2A state tournament.   The girls finished second in the Pride of Iowa conference and compiled an overall record of 22-3. 

  The Raiderettes return two starters from the 2010-2011 team, giving Mount Ayr Community a major rebuilding task for the upcoming season.  Three of the Raiderette seniors from 2011 squad are now members of college teams, so there are some big shoes to fill. 

Senior Claire Andresen averaged 12 points and seven rebounds last season. Senior Megan Doubleday started several games last season and junior Taylor Still also played several varsity minutes for Mount Ayr Community.  

The rest of this year’s squad saw limited action or were playing on the junior varsity or middle school teams last season.   

“We have a lot of new faces and our success will depend on how quickly some of these young players develop,” said Coach Thad Streit.  “The Pride of Iowa has several good teams again this season, so we will be tested early and often this campaign.”   

Coach Streit stated that last season’s POI champion and state Class 1A champion   Martensdale-St. Mary’s will again have a strong team as will state 1A qualifier Bedford.  Bedford returns All-Conference performers Kayla Lindenmeyer, Kendyl Gruttemeyer. Calia Raymond and Savanna Thornton, which may be enough firepower to dethrone the Blue Devils this season.  

The Blue Devils will build their 2011-12 squad around senior veterans Morgan Halverson and Meaghan Streyffeler.   

Nodaway Valley will have some new faces, but return leading scorer Sara Kerber.  Corning and Central Decatur could be the surprises in the conference this season. Corning will have veterans Kelsey Roberts, Mackenzie Barton and Adalina Morales in their lineup, which will make them a force in the POI  west.   The Cards’ Bailey Boswell returns along with some quality young players.    

Interstate 35 will have to find some new players to complement top scorer Olivia Sulentic and fellow veteran  Savanna Oakes.    Pleasantville will be looking for help for returning senior Mariah Zoss.    

East Union played in the state volleyball tournament this month and some of those athletes will be starting for the Eagle basketball team.   The Lenox Tigers will be better this season as they have several players who got a lot of playing time last season   Southeast Warren and Wayne will be looking to improve on last season’s performances. 

Raiderettes open in own tourney

The Raiderettes open the season with their own invitational tournament on Monday and Tuesday, November 21-22 in Mount Ayr.  

Lamoni will face Lenox in the first game with a 6  p.m. tip-off.   Mount Ayr Community will play the Orient-Macksburg Lady Bulldogs in the second game of the evening.   

Tuesday’s games are Orient-Macksburg versus Lamoni at 6 p.m. and Villisca versus Mount Ayr Community at 7:30 p.m.

Seniors on the team this year include Claire Andresen, Megan Doubleday, Kylee Klommhaus and Taylor Lynch.

Juniors this year include Caitlin Giles, Hannah Fletchall, Emily Fox, Morgan Quick, Taylor Still and Logan Wimer.

This year’s sophomores are Paige Daughton, Leah Klejch and Brook Rychnovsky.

New to the team are freshmen Baylee Arends, Hannah Glendenning, Shelbie Greene, Ashton Johnson, Christiana Overholtzer, Allie Shields, Kaci Stackhouse and  Billi Stark.

  Coach Mike Zarr has 10 girls and 16 boys taking part in the Raiderette and Raider bowling programs this season.

The bowling teams are preparing for their first action of the season when they bowl at the Panther Tournament in Creston Tuesday, Nov. 29.

It will be a rebuilding year for the Raiderettes who graduated eight bowlers last year including Shannon Fox, who made it to the state meet as an individual.

“We lost all of our starting varsity plus two of the top subs, so the girls are going to be rebuilding,” coach Zarr said. “If the girls work hard in practice, they have the potential to be a good team and surprise people in the regionals.”

Last year the girls had a 10-7 record, placed third in the Pride of Iowa tournament and second in regionals.

Returning letterwinners for the girls include senior Sarah Campbell, senior Nichole Phelps, sophomore Carli Hand and sophomore Alisha Link.

New prospects for the team include seniors Jessa Ely and Racheal Roach, juniors Brooke Chenoweth and Kelsey Hunt, sophomore Holly Karr and freshman Alicia Thurman.

“Central Decatur and Lenox had young teams last year and should be the favorites in the Pride of Iowa conference,” coach Zarr noted in looking at the conference race for the girls. “Nodaway Valley is sharing with Earlham this year, so they could be very strong too.”

The Raiders only lost one bowler from last season -- state individual qualifier Ian Abarr -- so will have five returning starters back and a lot of good bowlers ready to take their spots, coach Zarr noted.

“It should be a fun year for Mount Ayr Community boys bowling both in competition and practice,” he said.

Last year the Raiders were 10-7 for the season, second in the Pride of Iowa conference tournament and second at regionals.

There are a dozen returning letterwinners for the squad. 

Seniors back include Hunter Brown, EJ Borum, Austin Cox, Derek Hand, all-district team member Ethan Pollock, Jeff Risser and Jon Zollman.

Juniors are Jasper Abarr and Michael Dowdell and sophomores returning include Seth Leonard, Tim McVey and Trevor Shelly.

New prospects this season include freshmen Quintin Chumbley, Ty Pollock, Blake Roberts and Nathan Roberts.

“The Pride of Iowa conference title race is wide open this year,” coach Zarr said. “All four teams have several returning starters back so it should be quite a race.”

Assisting coach Zarr as a volunteer coach again this year is Deb Ayers.

  Mount Ayr Community had a total of 11 young men selected to some mention on the Class 1A District 7 all-district teams for the 2011 season.  

Jacob Sobotka, Dustin Pritchett and Zane Sickels were selected to the first team and Braydee Poore, Levi Martin, Mason Mercer, Alex Sobotka and Shane Swank are members of the second unit.  

Dusty Lyden, Cody Stackhouse and  Johnathan Triggs  were honorable mention, rounding out those receiving mention.

Central Decatur had both the District 7 offensive player of the year and defensive player of the year for the 2011 season.   Linebacker Dalton Gilbert was the defensive player  and quarterback Austin Wells was the offensive award selection.  

Wells has some local ties as his maternal grandparents are Dick and Bonnie Still of Mount Ayr.   

The Raiders tied for third in District 7 with a 4-3 record and finished the season with a 5-5 overall record.  

  Statistics were available this week for the Diagonal Maroonettes and their season where they had a 3-14 won-loss record and lost in the first round of regional play to Lamoni.

Elly Brown led the team in kills wih 93, Bailey Cameron was the top server with 164 and ace serves with 36 and Charlene Hingley led the team in serve efficiency at .897 percent.

Bailey Cameron topped the team in sets with 100 assists. Ashley Jarred was the team’s top digger with 123 or 2.41 per set. Ashley Jarred topped the team in blocks with 17.

       As a team, the girls had an 85.2 percent serve efficiency rating for the season, averaging 3.47 kills and 2.36 ace serves per set.

The girls averaged 2.94 assists per set, 10.76 digs per set and .63 blocks per set for the season.

Complete statistics are shown in the print or online versions of the Mount Ayr Record-News.

  A successful football season was wrapped up by the Ringgold Raider football teams and cheer squads in action at Graceland University in Lamoni Saturday.

The Ringgold Raider Black Seniors won the south division, bringing home the super bowl championship trophy.

Both Black and White junior teams placed second, returning home with trophies.

The White Senior team placed fourth in their league this year.

The youth football and cheerleading program is part of the Sites For Learning program.

  Mount Ayr Community’s football season ended with a 47-7 loss at the hands of top-rated Council Bluffs St. Albert on Wednesday, Oct. 26 in Council Bluffs.  

This is the second year in a row that the Falcons have defeated the Raiders in the playoffs.  

“The Falcons have a deep roster of talented athletes,” stated coach Derek Lambert.  “They stepped up their play in the second half and their defensive quickness kept us from getting much going on offense.”  

“We got on the board with our defense and played pretty well, but their backs run hard and their line blocks well and they just wore us down,” commented Delwyn Showalter.  

“We are a young team, playing several freshmen and sophomores,” he continued. “These guys played above their level of experience for most of the time, but sometimes reality sets in and we make some freshman or sophomore mistakes.”  

The coaches added, “These guys gave great effort all year and we will see a lot of them back in a Raider uniform next fall and they will have a large amount of experience to build on for the 2012 campaign.” 

It was the final game in a Raider uniform for Harley Hamilton, Dusty Lyden, Dustin Pritchett, Wyatt Schamp and Alex Sobotka.  The coaches cited the play of seniors Dustin Pritchett and Alex Sobotka in the contest.  

“Alex did great job on punt coverage as he has done all season,” commented coach Delwyn Showalter. “The Falcons started running plays away from Dustin, but he was a definite force out there tonight.” 

“Zane Sickels played well on both sides of the ball tonight,” the coaches added. “Casey Paxson also continues to improve as our punter.”

  The Lamoni Demons defeated the Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes 3-0 on Tuesday, Oct. 25 in Mount Ayr in regional volleyball action.  

The Raiderettes closed the 2011 season with a 3-16 match record with the loss. 

The Raiderettes played close in the first set before losing 25-19.  The Demons won set number two 25-13 and the final set 25-10.  

It was the final match for Raiderette seniors Megan Doubleday,  Taylor Lynch, Amanda Perrigo and Katelyn Warin.  

“We played fairly well in the opening set,” said coach Brandie Ruggles.  “We just lost our focus in set number two and never regained it.”

Paige Daughton led the Raiderettes in hitting, Madi Hosfield led the setters and Megan Doubleday topped the servers.  Madi Hosfield was 6-6 in serve receive and Logan Wimer and Doubleday both were near 50 percent in the category. Doubleday and Hosfield both recorded a team leading 13 digs.

 Season for the Mount Ayr Community Raider football came to a close with a 47-7 loss to Council Bluffs St. Albert in Council Bluffs Wednesday, Oct. 26.

The Raiders stayed with the number one ranked CBSA squad early and had some good early defensive stands, but the offense couldn't get untracked against a strong St. Albert defense.

Details of the loss, which ends the Raider football season at 5-5, will be included in next week's Mount Ayr Record-News.

  Mount Ayr Community came within two points of scoring as many points as the Raider basketball team scored on its last trip to Pleasantville in posting a 52-41 victory over the Trojans in Pleasantivlle Friday night, Oct. 21. 

“We had several guys playing with nagging injuries, but the Trojans made some good plays on offense resulting in lot of points being scored,” confessed coach Delwyn Showalter.  “We won’t have much time to get healthy before going to Council Bluffs.”

“We had eight different people score points tonight,” said coach Derek Lambert.  “We had several guys step up and make plays enabling us to score a season high 52 points.”

  Mount Ayr Community advanced to the second round of regional volleyball with a 3-0 victory over the Lenox Tigers.  

Lenox had beaten the Raiderettes 3-1 earlier in the season.  

“We finally played with some positive consistency,” said coach Brandie Ruggles.  “The girls had their season best performance in setting and serve receive.”

The Raiderettes won by scores of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-19.  

Mount Ayr Community advanced to face  Lamoni in regional  action on Tuesday, Oct. 25.

The Raiderettes fell to Lamoni 3-0 in the second round tournament action to finish up their season.

Details of the match with Lamoni will be reported in next week’s Mount Ayr Record-News.

  Mount Ayr Community cross country teams closed the 2011 season by competing in the regional meet held at Knoxville on October 20.  

“Our kids ran good times, but there were a lot of good runners at this meet,” said coach Josh Vanderflught.

Adrian Richards finished in 33rd place with a time of 17:59.  Christiana Overholtzer was 88th in 24:11 and Neesie Brand was 87th in 24:09 for the Raiderettes.  Champion Pekin and runner-up Earlham dominated the meet as seven of the top 10 individual finishers were either from the Panthers or Cardinals.  

Chelsey Conger of Pekin was first and Abbey Murphy of Earlham was second among the individual finishers. 

Taylor Richie finished in 39th place (19:07)  to top the Raider runners.  Clint Bounds ran 22:44 to place 97th for Mount Ayr Community.  

Tanner Wanders of North Mahaska was the individual winner and Levi Storjohann of Champion BCLUW was second.  Earlham boys finished second and Pekin came in third in the boys division

 Mount Ayr Community's Raiderettes advanced in the regional volleyball tournament Wednesday night while Diagonal's Maroonettes saw their season come to a close.

The Raiderettes defeated Lenox 25-23, 25-22 and 25-19 in action in Mount Ayr Wednesday night for thier third match win of the season.

The Maroonettes fell to Lamoni 25-10, 25-12 and 25-10 to see their season come to a close in action in Lamoni.

The Raiderettes will now take on Lamoni in volleyball action Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. in Mount Ayr in the next round of regional volleyball action.

“They ran a defense that we had not seen on film, which confused our blocking schemes,” confessed coach Derek Lambert.  “We got behind early and we were forced to throw the ball and unfortunately the Panthers did good job defending our passing game.”

Mount Ayr Community will travel to  Pleasantville to take on the Trojans this Friday for their final District 7 contest. 

The Trojans are 2-4 in District 7 after they won their second straight game 28-21 over West Central Valley last Friday.

A victory over Pleasantville should insure that the Raiders will advance to the playoffs Wednesday, Oct. 26. Right now it looks like this would mean a long trip to either Council Bluffs St. Albert or Logan-Magnolia, who meet Friday night in a battle of unbeaten teams. Details of the playoffs will be available on the Record-News website at mountayrnews.com.

  Mount Ayr Community School has renamed the Mount Ayr invitational cross country meet to the Ron Landphair invitational in honor of the  longtime track coach and industrial arts instructor at Mount Ayr Community.  

Landphair was instrumental in starting the Mount Ayr cross country program in 1987.    

Coach Landphair’s teams won nine Pride of Iowa conference championships.  The boys were conference champs in 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1999 and the girls won titles in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1996.  

The girls teams qualified for the state meet in 1989, 1993 and 1997.  The boys teams were state qualifiers in 1988, 1990 (seventh place), 1991, 1999 (12th place)  and 2001 (18th place).  

Coach Landphair retired from Mount Ayr Community in 2006 but he still helps out with cross country and track meets in Mount Ayr and often travels to support athletic teams throughout the year.  Landphair has been a mentor to many of the current Mount Ayr Community coaches and a positive role model for all of his former students and athletes.

  Mount Ayr Community’s cross country teams had two runners place in the top 20 in the Pride of Iowa conference meet in Greenfield and the Ron Landphair invitational meet in Mount Ayr that ended the regular season for the teams.

The runners go to Knoxville today (Thursday) to run in the regional cross country meet.

Adrian Richards placed fourth at Mount Ayr and seventh in the Pride of Iowa conference cross country meets.

Taylor Richie was 12th in the conference and 19th in the home meet this year.

Pride of Iowa meet

Mount Ayr Community had two performers earn medals at the 2011 Pride of Iowa Cross Country held in Greenfield on October 11. 

  Adrian Richards finished seventh in the high school girls’ division with a time of 18:30.25.  Tiffany Shepherd of Corning ran an outstanding time of 16:21.39 to win the girls title.  This is the second straight POI title for Shepherd helping the Red Raiders win the team title.  

Neesie Brand finished 48th and Christiana Overholtzer was 49th for the Raiderettes.  Brand’s time was 25:43 and Overholtzer’s time was 25:53.

Taylor Richie finished the 5K course in 21:15.91 to finish 12th in the boys division.  Nodaway Valley’s TJ Bower successfully defended his individual crown with a time of 18:49.56.  The Raiders Austin Cox finished 32nd and Clint Bounds placed 35th for Mount Ayr Community on Tuesday.  Cox’s time was 24:47 and Bounds finished the tough Nodaway Valley course in 25:00. 

Ron Landphair invitational

Maryville won the boys’ team title and Corning won the girls’ crown in the Ron Landphair invitational cross country meet in Mount Ayr on October 13.  

“It was a little windy, but still overall it was a good night to run,” said coach Josh Vanderflught.  “Adrian Richards placed fourth in the girls race and Taylor Richie was 19th in the boys division to lead Mount Ayr Community.”

Damon Goodall of Maryville defeated POI champion TJ Bower of Nodaway Valley to win the boys’ race with a time of 18:19.   The Raiders’ Taylor Richie was clocked in 20:37, which placed him 19th in the 5K race.  Clint Bounds was 45th and Austin Cox was 47th for the Raiders.  Bounds’ time was 22:40 and Cox’s was time was 22:56.

POI girls champion Tiffany Shepherd won the girls race in a time of 16:46, Hanna Miller of Savannah was second, Sydney Rogers of Maryville was third and Raiderette Adrian Richards was fourth in the 4K run.  

Adrian Richards turned in a good time of 17:44 to earn her medal.   This is the seventh fastest time in Raiderette history.  Richards recorded the sixth fastest time of 17:24 in Panorama earlier this season.  She has received a medal in all the meets this season except the opening running event at Wayne this year.   

Neesie Brand was timed in 24:45 for 37th place and Christiana Overholtzer’s time was 25:05 in 38th place for Mount Ayr Community.

Regional meet today

Mount Ayr Community boys and girls cross country teams will compete at the Class 1A Regional at Knoxville at 3:30 p.m. today (Thursday). 

The top 10 individual finishers will qualify for the state meet to be held in Fort Dodge on Saturday, Oct. 29.  

  Mount Ayr Community and Diagonal Community girls played Wednesday night in the regional volleyball tournament first round.

Results will be included in next week’s Mount Ayr Record-News.

The Diagonal girls came into the tournament with a 3-11 record for the season.

They were to face Lamoni on the road Wednesday night at 7 p.m. A win would advance them to play Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. in Mount Ayr against the winner of the Mount Ayr Community and Lenox game.

The Mount Ayr Community girls came to the tournament with a 2-15 record for the season.

They were to face Lenox at home Wednesday night at 7 p.m. A win would advance them to play the Lamoni and Diagonal winner Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. in Mount Ayr. Regional semifinal action will be in Bedford Friday, Oct. 28, and the regional final is in Corning Tuesday, Nov. 1.

  Central Decatur defeated the Mount Ayr Community Raiders 40-33 in a wild, high-scoring game in Mount Ayr on Friday, Oct. 7. 

“There were a lot of mistakes and a lot of big plays,” said coach Derek Lambert.  “We made some great plays, but we also made too many mistakes.”  

“Austin Wells did a great job running their offense,” observed coach Delwyn Showalter.  “Our defense had Central Decatur in several tough situations, but they were able to make some big plays which in the end was instrumental in the Cardinals getting the win.”

The Raiders went out to a 13-0 lead but Central Decatur came back and took the win in a battle that went right down to the end of the game.

Mount Ayr Community will entertain the District 7 leading Panorama Panthers for Parents’ Night contest on October 14.  

The Panthers are ranked fifth in Class 1A  and bring a talented 7-0 squad to Raider field for the 7 p.m. kick off.  

  Mount Ayr Community’s Raiderettes picked up their second match win of the year in the regular season finale at the Pride of Iowa conference tournament Monday.

The girls fell to East Union 3-0 Tuesday, Oct. 4, and were blanked by Corning, Clarinda and Treynor in a quadrangular meet in Clarinda Thursday, Oct. 6.

In the Pride of Iowa conference meet on Monday, the girls got past Central Decatur 2-1 and then fell to East Union 2-0 to be eliminated.

The girls now have a 2-16 match record for the year going into the regional game with Lenox at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19 in Mount Ayr.

    Mount Ayr scored a season high 47 points in drubbing the West Central Valley Wildcats 47-7 in Stuart on Friday, Sept. 30. 
    The win gives the Raiders a 3-1 district mark and a overall record of 4-2. 
    “Obviously, it has been a very emotional week for our school and community, so we were not certain how we would play,” confessed coach Delwyn Showalter.  “These young men kept their focus and intensity for the entire contest which was instrumental in the big win.”
     “Our line play was the best its been all season,” said coach Derek Lambert.  “We were able to accomplish a lot things on offense tonight.”

    Jacob Sobotka earned KMA’s Player of the Week with his performance on Friday.  Sobotka was 10-13 passing, good for 174 yards and three touchdowns and he rushed 186 yards and two more scores against the Wildcats.     

Mount Ayr Community will face longtime rival Central Decatur in Mount Ayr on Friday for an important District 7 game against the Cardinals. 
    The Cards are also 3-1 in district play after losing 23-6 to Des Moines Christian last week.  The winner of this game will increase their chances of a playoff spot with just two regular season contests left on the schedule.  

 

    Mount Ayr Community’s Raiderettes couldn’t break out of their 3-0 loss cycle this week, dropping contests to Nodaway Valley and Murray by the sweeping score.
    The girls fell to Nodaway Valley in Greenfield Thursday, Sept. 29, in a makeup game and to Murray on the road Monday, Oct. 3.
    The girls are now 1-11 for the season.
Nodaway Valley 3, Mount Ayr Community 0   
    The  Nodaway Valley Wolverines defeated the Mount Ayr Community  Raiderettes 3-0 in a volleyball match held in Greenfield  on September 29. 
    The Wolverines won by scores of 25-14, 25-14 and 25-8.
    Madi Hosfield led the Raiderettes in hitting with five kills, Caitlin Giles topped the team in setting.  Logan Wimer led the servers and Megan Doubleday was the team leader in digs.
Murray 3  Mount Ayr Community 0
    The Murray Lady Mustangs defeated the Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes 3-0 in a volleyball match held in Murray  on October 3. 
    “We lacked enthusiasm and intensity,” stated coach Brandie Ruggles.  “We can’t spot teams huge leads and expect to win very many sets.”
    The Raiderettes fell behind 16-0 in the opening set before losing 25-7.  Mount Ayr Community trailed 13-5 before losing set two 25-14. 
    The Raiderettes led most of set three before faltering late and losing 25-23.     
    Paige Daughton led the team with six kills, Madi Hosfield led in assists with five and Caitlin Giles topped the servers, Logan Wimer led in serve receive and Megan Doubleday’s 11 digs led the Raiderettes in that category.  

Next action
    Things won’t get any easier for Mount Ayr as they faced state rated East Union on Tuesday and face two more rated teams on Thursday in Clarinda and Treynor.
    Conference tournament action begins October 10.

   Mount Ayr Community’s cross country teams ran at Nodaway Valley Monday, Oct. 3 in their latest outing. 
    “It was another beautiful night to run, but the Greenfield course is very hilly,” stated coach Josh Vanderflught.  “ Our kids ran hard against some quality competition on Monday.” 
    Adrian Richards medaled for the Raiderettes and Taylor Richie earned a medal in the boys division for Mount Ayr Community. 
    Richards ran in 18:55 over the 4K route which placed her 17th.  Neesie Brand (26:16) was 86th and  Christiana Overholtzer (27:37) was 93rd in the girls race.  
    Richie was 20th among the boys with a 20:39 clocking.   Austin Cox finished 68th (23:27) and Jeff Risser was 106th (31:55) 
    Creston won the boys division with Nodaway Valley’s T.J. Bower taking the individual crown.  Griswold won the girls title with Corning’s Tiffany Shepherd winning the individual medal.
Next action
    The cross country teams go to the Pride of Iowa meet in Southeast Warren Tuesday, Oct. 11, then host their own invitational Thursday, Oct. 13.
 

  Mount Ayr Community downed the Wayne Falcons 35-6 much to the delight of large Homecoming throng on the Raider field Friday, Sept. 23.  

The win raises the Raiders’ district record to 2-1 with a tough road test coming this Friday in Stuart against the West Central Valley Wildcats.

“We got off to a great start as we scored twice before the Falcons ran an offensive play on Friday,” said coach Derek Lambert.  “We had a god balance between rushing and passing  again against Wayne.”  

“We have a lot of guys injured right now and we definetely need to get healthy before next week,” added coach Delwyn Showalter.  “We got some of our young guys some playing time, but not as much as we wanted as the game goes by quickly with a running clock.”

Next action

 Mount Ayr Community will be facing another tough opponent this Friday on the road against the West Central Valley Wildcats in Stuart.  The Wildcats are also 2-1 in district play after their loss last week to the Central Decatur Cardinals.

  Four sets were needed, but the Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes went down to defeat again in their latest volleyball action.

The girls fell to Lenox 3-1 Tesday, Sept. 20, in their only action of the past week to drop their record to 1-9.

The girls did not play in the Bedford tournament Saturday and postponed their game with Nodaway Valley Tuesday, Sept. 27, because of the tragic death of a classmate early Saturday morning.

Lenox 3, Mount Ayr Community 1

The Lenox Tigers defeated the Mount Ayr Community Raiderettes 3-1 in a volleyball match held in Mount Ayr on September 20.  

“We played well at times, but were not consistent enough to get the match win,” commented coach Brandie Ruggles.

The Raiderettes started well, building early leads in set one.  Mount Ayr Community led 16-12 before losing 13 of the next 15 points to lose the set 25-18.  

Lenox led the entire way in set two, getting a 25-19 victory.  Mount Ayr Community played well in set three, holding on for a 25-23 win.  

The Raiderettes could not get a lead in set four, as the Tigers picked up the match victory with a 25-22 victory.

Paige Daughton led the Raiderettes with nine kills, Amanda Perrigo had the best setting percentage, Logan Wimer led the serving for Mount Ayr Community and also had a team-leading 23 digs on Tuesday.

Next action

The Raiderettes were to play Nodaway Valley in a make-up game tonight (Thursday) there, go to Murray Monday, Oct. 3, and host East Union Tuesday, Oct. 4, in the final home match of the season. They play at Clarinda in a quadrangular meet Thursday, Oct. 6.  

  Mount Ayr Community’s cross country teams ran in two meets this past week -- at Creston Tuesday, Sept. 20, and at Orient Monday, Sept. 26.

Creston meet

Mount Ayr Community’s cross country teams ran at Creston on September 20.  

“It was a perfect night to run and kids competed well,” reported coach Josh Vanderflught.  

Adrian Richards continued her good performances as the freshman medaled for the third consecutive meet.  Richards finished seventh with a time of 18:24.  

Taylor Richie picked up his first medal of the season as he finished 24th in the boys division.  Taylor completed the 5K event in  21:06.

Orient-Macksburg meet

Mount Ayr Community’s cross country teams ran at Orient on September 26.  

“It was a cool and windy night to run and kids did their best” reported coach Josh Vanderflught. “We had only four runners make the trip tonight.” 

Taylor Richie continues to run well as he was 17th in 20:12.  Clint Bounds was 43rd with a time of 23:14.  

For the girls, Neesie Brand completed the girls course in 25:11 and Christiana Overholtzer’s time was 25:33.  The girls placed 37th and 38th respectively.

Next action

The cross country teams go to Nodaway Valley Monday, Oct. 3, for their next cross country meet.

  Mount Ayr Community played their best game of the season in a come-from-behind win over Nodaway Valley on Friday, Sept. 17  in Greenfield.  

The Raiders outscored the Wolverines 21-6 in the second half to spoil Nodaway’s Homecoming again and take a 28-20 victory.

“Jacob Sobotka had his best game of the season as he accounted for over 310 yards in total offense against Nodaway Valley,” said coach Derek Lambert.  “We were able to get our blocking assignments better this week and we were much more efficient in our passing game.”  

“We played good defense against a very good offense this evening,” stated coach Delwyn Showalter.  “We held them to sixpoints in the second half and that TD pass was tipped, but somehow the Nodaway Valley receiver came up with the catch.” 

“We got some leadership from our veterans and the whole team played with much more intensity tonight,” the coaches added.

Mount Ayr Community  will try to get another Homecoming win this Friday when they entertain the Wayne Community Falcons.  

The Falcons are 0-2 in district play after being routed 46-0 last week by West Central Valley.  

  A string of four losses dropped the season record of the Mount Ayr Community Raiderette varsity volleyball team to 1-8 this past week.

The girls fell to state-ranked Bedford 3-0 in Bedford Tuesday, Sept. 13, then lost to East Mills, Winterset and eventual tournament champion Shenandoah in the East Union tournament Saturday, Sept. 17.

Bedford 3, Mount Ayr Community 0

Thirteenth ranked Bedford defeated the Raiderettes 3-0 in Bedford on Tuesday, Sept. 13.  

Mount Ayr Community played well in the opening set before losing 25-15.  The Raiderettes did not play as well in the following two sets and Bedford improved their play, taking set number two 25-11 and set number three 25-12.

East Union tournament

Mount Ayr Community participated in the East Union Tourney in Afton on September 17.  

The Raiderettes faced East Mills, Winterset and Shenandoah in pool play.  

The Raiderettes lost to East Mills 2-1 in their first match.  Mount Ayr Community lost the first set  21-11, won the second 21-18 before dropping the deciding set 15-5.  

The Raiderettes also lost to Winterset 2-1.  The Huskies won set one 21-4, but the Raiderettes came back to take the second set 21-18 to send the match to a deciding third set.  Winterset won that set 15-4.  

The Raiderettes lost to the eventual tourney champion Shenandoah 2-0 in their third match of pool play. The Fillies defeated the Raiderettes 21-4 and 21-12.

Next action

The volleyball girls hosted Lenox Tuesday, Sept. 20, and play in the Bedford tournament Saturday. Tuesday, Sept. 27, they go to Nodaway Valley.

  Mount Ayr Community’s cross country teams ran at Panorama on Thursday, Sept. 15.  

“It was a chilly evening, but our kids ran hard,” reported coach Josh Vanderflught.  

Adrian Richards earned another medal as she finished in ninth place in the girls field. She turned in a good time of 17:22 over the tough Lake Panorama course.  

Chrisitiana Overholtzer finished 53rd, Neesie Brand 54th and Erica Shields 55th for Mount Ayr Community.  

Taylor Richie turned in the best time for the Raiders as he completed the circuit in 21:13,  good enough for 40th place on Thursday.  Zach Zollman finished 61st and Clint Bounds placed 69th.

Next action

The cross country teams were to run at Creston Tuesday, Sept. 20, and go to Orient Monday, Sept. 26, and Tuesday, Sept. 27 to Clarke.