MASON CITY — The Iowa Lakes Lakers men's soccer team started out hot on the road in Mason City Wednesday where they defeated NIACC, 3-1, in the first of teams two meetings in the 2023 season.

Laker Philmour Virgo found Lander Gonzalez on a square pass across the 6-yard box for the first goal of the game, before the Titans equalized things one minute into the second half.

Just too much Jaxon Cherry.

Friday, Spencer fell to 0-2 in nondistrict play, dropping a 34-7 matchup with Webster City in the Tiger home opener at Dale Norton Field.

Cherry, one of the state’s top backfield talents proved nearly unstoppable, amassing all five of the team’s touchdowns and more than 300 yards in Webster City’s dominant ground attack.

The Spencer Tiger volleyball squad played six matches at the South Central Calhoun Early Bird Tournament Saturday, finishing the day three-and-three.

Tara Hauschen, the Tigers volleyball coach, said they played “some great games against some tough teams.”

Spencer finished the day with a big win against Pocahontas to salvage the even split for the tournament. The purple and gold also scored wins against Manson-Northwest Webster and Perry.

A one-two finish in the final relay event of the evening on Thursday in Spencer propelled the Tiger girls swim team to a victory over Mason City, 87-82, at the Spencer Family YMCA.

The 400-yard freestyle relay teams of Brooklyn Ferguson, Emma Storms, Lily Gross and Emily Quanbeck; and Abby O’Clair, Kamdyn Van Gelder, Autumn Wunschel and Ryonna Faulkender led Spencer to a come-from-behind win.

SIOUX RAPIDS — Sioux Central’s attempt to start its 2023 with a 2-0 start was foiled by visiting Cherokee Friday night. The potent Brave ground ran for than 400 yards and turned a 7-0 first quarter lead into a 37-0 advantage by halftime. A pair of scores in the final periods would result in a 50-0 shutout victory for the guests.

Sioux Central debuted its 2023 coed cross-country programs on a big stage in Okoboji on Thursday, making it known they will be a force to contend with on area courses this year, finishing near the top of the talented competition.

“I am very happy with how the first meet of the season went,” said Kelsey Miller, Sioux Central girls and boys cross-country coach. “We gave a very solid performance across the board.”

As mentioned in a recent release, the State Forest Nursery online store for fall 2023 and spring 2024 seedling orders opened on Aug. 1. Here is additional information.

The bare-root (no container, soil root ball or moss include) seedlings are packaged in bundles of 25 inside sealed and labeled plastic bags.

RABBIT SEASON PREVIEW

The good news for Iowa’s cottontail rabbit hunters is that Iowa has an abundant rabbit population, with the south-central part of the state seeing the best overall numbers. The better news for hunters is Iowa’s cottontail rabbit season begins Sept. 2 statewide.

The passage of Labor Day weekend suggests to many people that the end of summer is near, and to some anglers, that means it’s time to put the boat and other fishing equipment into storage. Anglers who quit fishing when summer exits are missing out on what some say is the best fishing of the year. If the thought of catching fish and having the water to yourself is appealing, here’s how you can extend your fishing season.

This time of year is such an awesome one. It is kind of a transition between summer and fall. We get some really nice 70-degree temperatures, but we also get some upper 80- to 90-degree temperatures, too. Corn fields are beginning to show some spots of brown, the prairies are beginning to change and garden produce becomes more and more abundant. The early teal season, along with the dove season have begun, as well as the squirrel and cottontail seasons.

SPIRIT LAKE — After Spencer’s opening home cross-country meet was canceled due to heat last week, the Tiger boys and girls participated in their first meet of the season hosted by Spirit Lake at Brooks Golf Course.

Tiger junior Peyton Morey picked up right where she left off in regional competition last year, recording her first win of the year, in 21:06.20, leading from start-to-finish. She defeated second place finisher Grace Woodall, of Cherokee, by just over 34 seconds.

SIOUX RAPIDS — Pocahontas Area did what it had to do to edge host Sioux Central in games one and two, scoring 29-27 and 25-21 victories in tight sets, before convincingly completing the three game sweep, 25-16, Tuesday.

Sophomore Reata Ayers facilitated the Rebel attack with 11 assists to her credit. Senior Preslie Peterson finished the night with a team high seven kills, while teammates Morgan Christian and Vivi Orenday added 12 digs and two blocks respectively.

Tuesday night, the Spencer volleyball team dropped a pair of matches in straight sets before downing Sheldon, 2-1, at the MOC-FV Tournament. The Tigers fell to the host Lady Dutch and Sergeant Bluff-Luton.

“The girls battled against some really tough teams at the MOC-FV tournament,” head coach Tara Hauschen said. “… We definitely learned a lot and continue to build from all of these early season tournaments.”

Traveling to Sioux City Tuesday night, the Spender girls swim team competed against against Sioux Metro and Council Bluffs-Abraham Lincoln in a non-scored pentathlon where most athletes swim in all the events. Spencer’s Brooklyn Ferguson placed among the top 10 in all four events, finishing runner-up to SCM’s Natalie Patee in the 50-yard freestyle by less than six-tenths of a second.

Swimmers Lily Gross and Emily Quanbeck would crack the top 10 in three events.

The Iowa Lakes volleyball team battled for five sets against Southwestern Community College, falling in the fifth 12-15. It was a back-and-forth night with the Spartans taking sets one, three and five and the Lakers taking sets two and four.