Spencer Fall 3-on-3 Basketball League

The Spirit Lake Indians swooped into Spencer Tuesday for a Lakes Conference matchup, rolling to a three-game sweep over the Tigers in the field house, 25-18, 25-16, 25-15, as the home team celebrated with its annual Pink Out Night.

“We struggled to get anything going (Tuesday night),” Spencer coach Tara Hauschen said. “Spirit Lake has a strong block that we couldn’t seem to find our way around.

WAVERLY — Saturday, Spencer’s girls and boys cross-country found the going touch in a crowded field of competitors amplified by the extreme temperatures during the late morning and early afternoon hours. The Tiger runners earned a top 20 team finish in the girls race, while the boys — anchored by two surprise efforts — placed 26th among 47 squads, on Wartburg’s Max Championship Cross-Country Course at the Steve Johnson/Dan Huston Invitational in Waverly.

Youth soccer clubs from the Upper Midwest participated in the two-day Northwest Iowa Fall Classic. Formerly known as the Great Balls of Fire and Galaxy Cup youth soccer tournaments. Spencer’s youth soccer complex fields were packed with players and fans last weekend. (Photos by Amanda Young, David Munson and Derek Bailey)

ESTHERVILLE — The Iowa Lakes men's basketball team will travel to Ames on Sunday to play in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference JUCO Jam. The Lakers will play three games at either the Iowa State University Sukup Basketball Complex or the All-Iowa Attack Fieldhouse. Both facilities are in the same parking lot.

DENISON — Once again, turnovers doomed the Tigers. Leading 19-7 at the half, Spencer gave the ball up twice — the first on the opening play of the second half which resulted in a Denison-Schleswig scoring drive, and the second on a potential game tying or winning drive late in the game. The result, 15 unanswered Monarch points in the final 24 minutes of play, snapping a 10-game Spencer win-streak, 22-19.

CHEROKEE — The Braves demonstrated why they have earned a No. 5 ranking this season as they handled the visiting Spencer Tigers in Lakes Conference volleyball action Thursday night, 25-11, 25-11, 25-14.

“The girls played so hard and did so many great things,” Spencer coach Tara Hauschen said. “We can take away a lot of good things from this match, our heart and hustle and defensive and offensive adjustments we were able to make throughout the game was so good to see.

ALGONA — The Spencer girls swim team made themselves home at Algona Thursday night putting a 121-53 beating on the host Bulldogs. The Tigers would win all three relays, including a top three sweep in the 400-yard freestyle to close the evening.

SIOUX CITY — Sioux City Metro would dominate the four-team girls swimming field at the Mickey Olsen Invite Saturday. The home team would roll up 425 points and Council Bluffs-Abraham Lincoln would amass just 101 leaving Spencer and Council Bluffs-Lewis Central to battle for the runner-up position. The Tigers would come up three points shy, falling 300-297 in the second place race.

POCAHONTAS — Both the Sioux Central girls and boys placed all five of their scoring runners in the top 20 at Pocahontas Saturday morning amidst extremely warm temperatures. The effort landed the Rebel ladies on top of the seven-team field, while the boys' successful outing placed them second behind East Sac County in a nine-squad race. East Sac also ran five in the top 20, occupying the one, two and three spots to win the crown by 40 points, 31-71.

SIOUX RAPIDS — Sioux Central rebounded from last Friday’s homecoming loss with a decisive 24-6 victory against Manson-Northwest Webster. In his final home game, Max Adams proved elusive as a group of aggressive Cougars pursued the Rebel senior all night long. He would lead his young teammates with two scores in the win, which allowed the home team to get back to even at 3-3 on the season.

As fall harvest starts across Iowa, the risk of wildfires in crop fields increases. Recent rains across Iowa provided some relief from the on-going drought, but crop fields are still dry, cured and could spark wildfires.

Drivers are advised to stay alert as they travel Iowa’s roadsides over the coming weeks. Autumn deer behavior, crop harvest and peak travel times for motorists combine to hike the risk of vehicle-deer collisions in Iowa.

Tree stand incidents can happen to deer hunters regardless of skill level or experience and result in serious injury or even death. Unfortunately, in nearly every case, these incidents were preventable.

To help prevent injuries, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is encouraging hunters to practice the ABCs of Tree Stand Safety:

• Always remove and inspect your equipment.

• Buckle on your full-body harness.

The best way to prevent the spread of oak wilt is to not prune any oak tree during the growing season.

“It’s best to wait until after Oct. 15 to start pruning oak trees,” said Tivon Feeley, with the Iowa DNR’s forest health program. “Then you can prune your oaks all winter long with the goal to stop pruning by March 1.”