Vote now: Who should be SBLive Iowa's team of the week (Oct. 24-30)?
By Barry Poe
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Iowa High School Team of the Week for Oct. 24-30 as nominated by coaches, fans and readers. Voting ends Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
Southeast Polk football
The defending Class 4A state champions shut down a potent Ames offense in the Round of 16 playoffs, 49-3. The Rams face Cedar Rapids Prairie in a quarterfinal Friday.
Lewis Central football
Braylon Kammrad threw a school-record six touchdown passes in a 60-7 playoff win over Le Mars. The defending Class 4A champs are 10-0 and have Glenwood next.
Harlan football
The Cyclones have been on a roll since a season-opening loss to Lewis Central. Their ninth straight win was a 42-7 playoff conquest of MOC-Floyd Valley and Harlan continues defense of its Class 3A title against Nevada in a quarterfinal.
Williamsburg football
The unbeaten Raiders rang up 35 points on Mid-Prairie in the second quarter of a 63-7 Class 2A playoff win. Nobody has come close to Williamsburg since the second week of the season, but Centerville will be the next to try on Friday.
Van Meter football
The Bulldogs have lost only to Williamsburg, 18-13, in Week 2 and have shut out five of their last six foes, including Woodward-Granger 42-0 in a Class 1A second-round playoff game. Van Meter’s next foe in the quarterfinal round is Sigourney-Keota
Iowa City Liberty volleyball
The Lightning have reached the state tournament for the fourth straight season and are seeded No. 1 in Class 5A. They won the Mississippi Valley Conference after beating state tourney qualifiers Cedar Rapids Xavier and Western Dubuque.
Cedar Rapids Xavier volleyball
The Saints are in the state tournament for a seventh consecutive season. The top seed in Class 4A is looking for its second state title since 2020.
Davenport Assumption volleyball
The Knights have not lost to a Class 3A team this season and are back in the state tournament with four returning, including Tennessee Tech recruit Ava Schubert.
Hull Western Christian volleyball
The Wolfpack will have to unseat two-time defending champion Dike-New Hartford to win the Class 2A crown. Western has made it to at least the state semifinals a record 22 straight seasons and has not lost to an Iowa school this season.
Springville volleyball
The Orioles were runners-up in Class 1A last season and are playing in the state tournament for the seventh time in the last nine seasons. They return four starters from last year’s team.
Dowling boys cross country
Top-ranked Jackson Heidesch won his second consecutive Class 4A state championship and No. 1 West Des Moines Dowling won the team title for the third time in the last four years (10th overall), outscoring Johnston 51-124. Heidesch (14:56.66) was one of three Top 10 finishers for the Maroons, accompanied by No. 4 Flynn Milligan (5th, 15:35.74) and No. 29 Jack Flori (9th, 15:47.82).
Dubuque Hempstead girls cross country
Make that two consecutive Class 4A state championships for the outstanding Dubuque Hempstead girls cross country program. Paced by third-rated Julia Gehl (3rd, 18:03.20), the No. 1-ranked Mustangs outscored fifth-ranked Johnston 60-105 for the title. Top-10 performances were also turned in by No. 5 Keelee Leitzen (18:30.59) and No. 6 Brooke O’Brien (10th, 18:34.67).
Pella boys cross country
For the first time since 2011, Pella’s boys won the Class 3A state championship, outscoring Marion 79-115 for the title. Freshman and No. 7-ranked Canaan Dunham was the Dutch’s leading runner at the meet for the first time this season, taking sixth (16:00.62). Fifth-ranked Chase Lauman placed eighth (16:08.77) for Pella, which won its first state title in 2009.
Ballard girls cross country
SBLive salutes repeat Class 2A champion Paityn Noe of Ballard, who turned in the state’s fastest female time of the season (16:48.58). It was the ninth meet victory of the season for the No. 1-ranked Noe, who led Ballard to a second-place 127 points. Noe finished second in 2020 and third in 2019, both times running for a 3A state championship squad.
Van Meter girls cross country
Van Meter entered the Class 2A state meet ranked first and didn’t disappoint, edging Williamsburg 111-113 to win the title. No. 4 Clare Kelly paced the Bulldogs with a third place 19:05.90. A four-time state qualifier, Kelly was a three-time Top 10 state finisher who finished 10th a year ago after taking eighth in the 2020 Class 1A state meet.
Des Moines Christian boys cross country
Senior Aaron Fynaardt repeated as the Class 2A state champion and Des Moines Christian won its first-ever state title, outscoring Okoboji 75-99. A three-time state qualifier, Fynaardt’s first-place 15:50.62 was six seconds better than his time from the fifth-place team of 2021. Fynaardt’s freshman teammate, Caleb Ten Pas, took second place (16:06.33).
Iowa City Regina boys cross country
The No. 2-ranked Regals outscored defending Class 1A state champion A-C/GC 102-176 while winning the school’s ninth state boys cross country title. Fourth-ranked Aidan O’Neil, a 14th-place finisher a year ago, led Regina with a sixth-place 16:26.85, improving his time from the 1A state qualifying meet by 27 seconds.
Valley football
Don’t count the Tigers out just yet. Valley ousted unbeaten Pleasant Valley 15-10 in a Class 5A playoff opener and plays Cedar Falls this week.
Woodbury Central football
Max McGill rushed for 217 yards and four touchdowns as the Wildcats improved to 10-0 with a 48-7 Class 1A playoff win over Le Mars Gehlen Catholic. Wooodbury Central plays Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn in a quarterfinal.
Newell-Fonda football
The Mustangs made the long trip to Don Bosco and stunned the second seeded Dons 35-10 in an 8-player second round playoff game. Newell-Fonda plays Gladbrook-Reinbeck in a matchup of 9-1 teams in the quarterfinal round.
