Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Richards named ICCAC Player of Year

Madsy Richards of Kirkwood has been named the volleyball Player of the Year in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference after helping the Eagles capture the league and regional titles this season.

Richards and Alex Miner were first-team selections on the ICCAC honor squad and Miner was named the MVP of the regional tournament.

Caiti Peterson and Erica Armstrong were second team all-conference selections and Jenna Laxton received honorable mention.

Richards, Miner and Peterson were named first team all-region players and Armstrong was selected for the second team.

Kirkwood has received the No. 6 seed for the NJCAA Division II national tournament and will face 11th-seed McHenry County in the opening round on Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, W.Va.

Parkland is the No. 1 seed for the 16-team tournament.

4 KCC baseball players ready to sign

Four members of the Kirkwood baseball team plan to sign letters-of-intent with NCAA Division I programs on Wednesday.

Lorenzo Elion, a freshman infielder from Chicago, plans to sign with the University of Michigan.

Colin Kreiter, a sophomore outfielder from North Scott, and Tyler Bordner, a sophomore catcher/infielder/outfielder from Morris, Ill., will be signing with Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Toran Shahidi, a sophomore catcher from Ames, plans to sign with USC Upstate from Spartanburg, S.C.

The signing ceremony is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday in Johnson Hall.

KCC volleyball makes national tourney

CRESTON - The eighth-ranked Kirkwood women's volleyball team topped No. 16 DMACC, 26-24, 20-25, 25-19, 25-12, in the regional finals Saturday and earned a spot in the NJCAA Division II national tournament.

The Eagles (32-8) finished seventh at the national tournament last year and will be looking for an even higher finish this time in Charlestown, W.Va., from Nov. 17-19.

Margaret Micka and Alex Miner led a typically balanced attack with 11 kills apiece against DMACC. Morgan Grimm contributed nine kills, Erica Armstrong had seven kills and Alexa Whipple provided five kills.

Caiti Peterson rolled up 37 assists for the Eagles. Grimm collected 15 digs and Whipple had 13 digs. Erica Armstrong was credited with a whopping 12 blocks in the match and Whipple had six.

Usher sparks No. 7 KCC women with 25

SEDALIA, Mo. - Olivia Usher paraded to the free throw line Saturday and scored 25 points as the seventh-ranked Kirkwood Eagles defeated State Fair, 74-61, in the final round of the State Fair tournament.

Usher, a freshman from Cedar Rapids Prairie, cashed 17 of 18 free throws for the Eagles. She also grabbed nine rebounds and barely missed a double-double in just the second game of her college career.

Simone Goods scored 20 points for the Eagles (2-0) and Deleyah Harris added 15. Harris made all six of her shots, including a 3-pointer, and had seven rebounds. Goods also had seven rebounds.

KIRKWOOD (74): Harris 6 2-2 15, Wilson 0 3-6 3, Axcell 1 0-0 2, Ajak 0 4-4 4, Taylor 0 0-0 0, Watkins 2 0-0 5, Voss 0 0-0 0, Cotton 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0-0 0, Goods 7 6-9 20, Usher 4 17-18 25, Achenbach 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 32-39 74.

3-point goals - Harris 1, Watkins 1.

Kirkwood men pounded by Indian Hills

OTTUMWA - The Kirkwood men's basketball team ran into a very talented club from Indian Hills Community College Saturday night and suffered the consequences.

Indian Hills drubbed the Eagles, 91-68, in the final round of the Indian Hills tournament in Ottumwa.

The Indian Hills roster is filled with transfers from NCAA Division I schools, including Brandon Hutton from Iowa and Brady Ernst from Iowa State. They also have transfers from Western Kentucky, Siena, South Alabama, Tennessee Tech, LaSalle and elsewhere.

Chris McNeal, a 6-foot-1 guard, paced four Indian Hills players into double figures with 17 points. The winners hit thirteen 3-pointers in the ballgame.

Byron Harp led Kirkwood (1-1) with 18 points. Chris King scored 17 points for the Eagles and Da'Rion King had 14.

Kirkwood is ranked No. 1 in NJCAA Division II. Indian Hills is ranked No. 17 in NJCAA Division I.

KIRKWOOD (68): Triplett 0 0-0 0, Harp 4 9-9 18, Jackson 1 2-2 4, Wentzien 0 1-2 1, Meeker 0 0-0 0, Fagan 1 2-2 4, C.King 6 3-4 17, Marble 2 2-2 7, Oliver 1 0-0 2, D.King 6 2-2 14, Moore 0 1-2 1. Totals 21 22-25 68.

Halftime - Indian Hills 48, Kirkwood 32. 3-point goals - Kirkwood 4 (C.King 2, Harp 1, Marble 1), Indian Hills 13 (McNeal 5, Hansbrough 3, Wormley 1, Williams 1, Maitre 1, Hutton 1, Allen 1).

No. 1 Eagles top Carl Sandburg in OT

OTTUMWA - Kaliph Fagan scored 24 points Friday night as the top-ranked Kirkwood men's basketball team defeated Carl Sandburg College, 86-81, in overtime in the opening round of the Indian Hills tournament.

Carlo Marble pitched in 17 points for the Eagles in their season opener and Byron Harp added 15.

Shane Maple hit a 3-pointer in the final second of the second half for Carl Sandburg to tie the game, 73-73, and force overtime. Maple finished with 30 points for Sandburg.

Kirkwood faces Indian Hills in the second round on Saturday.

KIRKWOOD (86): Triplett 1 0-2 2, Harp 3 8-8 15, Jackson 1 1-2 4, Wentzien 2 4-4 9, Meeker 1 0-0 2, Fagan 7 9-9 24, C.King 1 0-0 2, Marble 6 3-4 17, Oliver 1 0-0 2, Henry 0 0-0 0, D.King 4 1-2 9. Totals 27 26-31 86.

CARL SANDBURG (81): King 2 2-2 7, Williams 8 3-3 20, Maple 8 10-10 30, Thurmond 3 2-2 8, Wildermuth 3 0-0 6, Stephens 0 0-0 0, Cook 0 0-2 0, Ousley 1 1-2 3, Wendling 3 1-2 7. Totals 28 19-23 81.

Halftime - Kirkwood 39, Carl Sandburg 35. Regulation - Kirkwood 73, Carl Sandburg 73. 3-point goals - Kirkwood 6 (Marble 2, Harp 1, Jackson 1, Wentzien 1), Carl Sandburg 6 (Maple 4, King 1, Williams 1).

No. 7 Kirkwood women roll in opener

SEDALIA, Mo. - Awal Ajak scored 21 points in her debut with the Kirkwood women's basketball team Friday as the seventh-ranked Eagles spanked Rend Lake College, 77-49, in the opening round of the State Fair Tournament.

Ajak, a 6-foot guard from Des Moines, hit three 3-pointers and shot 9 for 13 from the field.

Shaneequah Watkins added 12 points for Kirkwood in the season opener. Deleyah Harris grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Eagles face State Fair in the second round Saturday.

KIRKWOOD (77): Harris 1 4-6 6, Wilson 2 0-0 4, Puok 0 0-0 0, Hedges 0 0-0 0, Axcell 2 0-0 6, Ajak 9 0-0 21, Taylor 0 0-2 0, Watkins 5 1-2 12, Voss 2 3-4 7, Cotton 3 2-2 8, Wilson 0 1-2 1, Goods 4 1-1 9, Usher 0 1-2 1, Achenbach 1 0-0 2. Totals 29 13-21 77.

3-point goals - Kirkwood 6 (Ajak 3, Axcell 2, Watkins 1).

No. 1 Kirkwood men aiming for 2nd title

Kirkwood men's basketball coach Bryan Petersen is flattered that the Eagles are ranked No. 1 in the country in the preseason poll, but he's glad the national tournament is four months away.

The Eagles are talented, but they have a lot of work to do before they can make a serious bid at winning their second straight NJCAA Division II national title.

Kirkwood begins the new season this weekend with two games at the Indian Hills Classic in Ottumwa, meeting Carl Sandburg College Friday at 4:30 p.m. and facing Indian Hills Saturday at 7 p.m.

"I think we're talented," Petersen said this week, "but it's taken awhile with this group to kind of get things right.

"We do have some good pieces. It's just a matter of trying to get them to fit together a little bit better and just learn how to play a little better."

Kirkwood bumped off top-ranked Triton, 83-76, to win the national crown last season with a remarkable run in the postseason tournament. The Eagles finished with a 31-4 record, but they lost a lot of talent with All-American Hunter Rhodes, Nick Richards, Christen Wilson, Jacob Olson, Josh Bartlett and Josh Meier all gone.

Byron Harp, Da'Rion King, Kaliph Fagan, Elijah Henry, Al'Tavius Jackson and Shakur Triplett return this year after helping Kirkwood win the title and they've been joined by a talented group of newcomers.

With six veterans on the club, Petersen was not surprised when the Eagles were ranked No. 1 heading into the new campaign. Most coaches have questions and concerns heading into a new season and Petersen is no different.

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Muhl thinks KCC women can win title

Kim Muhl has won 792 games and six national titles during his fabulous career as the women's basketball coach at Kirkwood Community College, so he knows what it takes to finish the year as the No. 1 team in the country.

There's a long, long way to go between now and the 2017 national tournament, but Muhl thinks the Eagles have the potential to hang another NJCAA banner at Johnson Hall this year.

The emphasis is on the word POTENTIAL.

"I think the prospects are high," he said this week. "As far as looking at them on the hoof and how they can play, it's a nice look right now.

"They're fun to be around, I'll tell you that."

The Eagles open the season Friday against Rend Lake College at the State Fair Tournament in Sedalia, Mo. They'll face State Fair in the second round on Saturday.

Muhl, 61, has compiled a 792-174 record at Kirkwood. He's not sure if he'll stick around long enough to make a serious run at 1,000 victories, but don't bet against it.

The Eagles have a young team with 11 freshmen and only four sophomores, but Muhl likes the club's depth, balance and athletic ability.

"We've got some kids who can play," he remarked. "There's some nice players."

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