State News

4A state golf returns to Hunters Ridge

For the first time since hosting the IHSAA Fall State Golf Tournament in 2005, Hunters Ridge in Marion will provide the test for 76 large school golfers Friday and Saturday. The par-72 layout is landscaped over 6,850 yards.

Play is scheduled to start at noon Friday with tee times starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

Defending champion and top-rated Waukee, which also claimed the 2011 crown, was bumped from the state field in a tough District Tournament at Cooper Creek in Pleasant Hill Tuesday. Des Moines Roosevelt claimed the district title with a 303. The Waukee Warriors shot a 311 and followed Dowling Catholic (309) and Southeast Polk (310).

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Jenks beats college runners in Oregon

SPRINGFIELD, Oregon - Linn-Mar High School sophomore Stephanie Jenks finished seventh at the Bill Dellinger Invitational cross country race Saturday in Springfield, Ore., and beat numerous runners from 10 colleges along the way.

Jenks competed unattached in the Open Division and covered the 5K course in 16 minutes, 57 seconds. The winning time was 16:35.

Former Dowling Catholic star Katie Flood, now running for the University of Washington, placed fifth in 16:54, nipping Jenks by three seconds.

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Sievertsen getting his kicks at UNI

CEDAR FALLS - Tyler Sievertsen does not believe in jinxes, so it's OK to ask him about his incredible streak of kicking PATs for the University of Northern Iowa football team.

Sievertsen, an all-state kicker during his prep career at Kennedy High School, has been UNI's top place-kicker for the past three years and has piled up some incredible numbers.

"I'm aware of them. I don't think about them," he said Saturday night after the fifth-ranked Panthers drilled No.9 McNeese State, 41-6, in the UNI-Dome. "I know the extra-point one is coming up here."

Sievertsen, a fifth-year senior, kicked five PATs Saturday and is now 97 for 97 in his career. He went 39 for 39 in 2011, was 41 for 41 last year and is 17 for 17 this season.

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IHSAA approves twinbills for district playoffs

BOONE - More boys basketball teams will travel for early-round district games but for shorter distances, thanks to a new proposal adopted at the Iowa High School Athletic Association board meeting Wednesday morning.

The board considered two separate measures from the basketball committee, including one that would introduce doubleheaders at early-round district sites. While more teams will be required to travel, sites will be at more centralized locations in order to cut down on travel time. The early-round doubleheaders will take effect for the upcoming postseason tournament.

The IHSAA hopes the increased early-round attendance, which will feature four fan bases instead of two, will lead to more exciting atmospheres and higher attendance at early-round venues. District championships and all substate contests will not be affected by the change.

Class 4A schools do not play district games, so the new venture will not affect them. The playoffs for Class 4A schools start at the substate level.

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