Iowa
Krob, Applegate to represent Iowa Gym-Nest at Hopes Championships
CORALVILLE, Iowa (KCRG) – After strong showings at the USA Gymnastics American Classic, one duo from Iowa Gym-Nest has qualified for the Hopes Championships.
Thirteen year old Greta Krob was crowned the uneven bars, balance beam and all-around champion at the USA Gymnastics Hopes American Classic that took place in early July in Katy, Texas.
“I was happy with my performance,” she said.
This marked the second straight year Krob was one of 25 athletes in the country that got the chance to compete in the event.
“I felt a bit more confident. I had the feel of it. Felt a lot better than the year before. I wasn’t as nervous,” Krob said.
“She has had a huge progression from last year, just maturity wise and in the growth in the skills she’s doing too,” added Iowa Gym-Nest elite and fast track director Erika Briscoe. “In the 13-14 year old age group, it’s actually harder rules. She ended up having to upgrade quite a lot this year.”
Krob was able to go with her teammate Brynley Applegate, who was one of 30 competitors in the 11-12 year old age group.
“The competition was really challenging. I was really nervous because I really wanted to qualify,” Applegate said.
She came in fourth on the uneven bars in her first time at the competition.
“My bars was really good. My floor was good. It was my first time competing my double pike in like a big meet,” she added.
“She likes to be overprepared, so she was very nervous going into the meet. She wasn’t quite sure if she was going to fit in with the other kids and I think it was eye-opening for her,” Briscoe added.
Both gymnasts scored high enough overall to qualify for the Hopes Championships that will take place on August 4 in Illinois.
“It’s so exciting. Every time we have kids at the Hopes or elite level, it’s so exciting for all the other kids in the gym. They look up to them and it’s just a really cool experience they get to have. They absolutely love it,” Briscoe said.
The girls know it takes hard work to compete at this level – hitting the gym at least five days a week. They first started the sport at a young age. Applegate began gymnastics at five years old.
“I like to say I had Brynley when she was still sucking her thumb. The first day she walked into my class, that was what I got. So to watch her grow up into the kid she’s become now, it’s amazing,” Briscoe said.
“I was a pretty crazy child, so my mom decided to bring me in for mommy and me classes when I was two years old,” Krob said. “I started competing when I was five.”
It’s rewarding for the duo to see all their hard work pay off. This Hopes Championship caps off their competition season that began November and adds another challenge to help them reach their ultimate goals.
“My long term goal is I’d like to become junior elite and make national team some time,” Krob said.
They’ve got a whole gym supporting them.
“I just hope they’re confident. I want them to go and be themselves. They’re both very prepared and ready to have success that way,” Briscoe said.
Copyright 2023 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Iowa
Titans Linked to Sleeper Iowa State WR
Heading into the NFL offseason, the top question surrounding the Tennessee Titans will be about what they’re going to do at the quarterback position.
Will Levis and Mason Rudolph are clearly not clear-cut options long-term.
Outside of that question, the Titans will also need to figure out how to add more weapons for whoever their starting quarterback ends up being. Pursuing another quality wide reciever should be something that they try to do.
In the 2025 NFL Draft, there are ways for Tennessee to address both of those issues. Taking a look at wide receivers in the third or fourth round would make a lot of sense.
With that in mind, Justin Melo of Titan Sized has suggested a sleeper wide receiver out of Iowa State. In his recent five-round mock draft, Melo had the Titans taking Jayden Higgins in the fourth round.
“Are the Titans going to reunite Tee Higgins with Brian Callahan? Callahan’s offense will need an offseason addition to play “X” receiver next season. If Higgins proves to be too expensive, drafting a big-bodied weapon like Jayden Higgins offers an alternative route. Higgins does an outstanding job high-pointing the football at the catch point,” Melo wrote.
Higgins has put together an impressive 2024 season with the Cyclones. He has caught 87 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns.
Standing in at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Higgins would bring great size to the Tennessee wide receiver room. His size would make him a lethal threat, especially in red zone situations.
Throughout his entire college career, Higgins has racked up 227 receptions for 3,317 yards and 28 touchdowns. He has proven himself to be a more than capable playmaker.
Taking a flier on him in the fourth round would be a very wise investment. He may not pan out, but if he reaches his full potential he could end up developing into a starter.
He may be a sleeper and wouldn’t be a “flashy” addition, but Higgins has all of the makings of being a draft steal for a team like the Titans who could use a little more help at the position.
Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
Iowa
Runnin’ Utes give up 2nd half lead as Iowa pulls away for 95-88 win
SOUIX FALLS, S.D. — Iowa’s defense was smothering, and Utah did little to help itself on offense by starting the game shooting just 12.5% from the floor.
It was another first-half slow start against a Quad 1 opponent this season.
But unlike in previous Quad 1 games, where Utah allowed the opposing team run away with an early double-digit lead, the Runnin’ Utes fought back. And it was Mason Madsen, who earned his first start of the season, who provided the game-changing spark.
Madsen got a defensive rebound, and then hit a 3-pointer on the other end to open up three straight 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to give Utah its first lead of the game.
From there, Utah found its offense to control a 4-point lead at the halftime break before building up the lead to 10 in the second half.
Iowa didn’t back down, though, and slowly chipped away at the lead before eventually pulling away for a 95-88 win at the Sanford Pentagon in the Utah’s final nonconference game of the season.
Madsen finished with 24 points, including going 6-of-11 from 3-point range, six rebounds and four assists, but it wasn’t enough to contend with Iowa’s offensive attack late. Lawson Lovering added 25 points, four rebounds and two assists in the loss.
Iowa forward Payton Sandfort led the charge in the second half and contributed a team-high 24 points and seven rebounds, while four other Iowa players finished in double-digit scoring.
Utah opened up the game shooting just 1-of-8 from the field as Iowa took an early 9-2 lead that was also helped by a defense that forced the Utes into late-shot situations and poor looks. Little by little, Utah found a way to get back into the game, largely by Madsen’s hot shooting and Lovering’s strong post play.
Less than two minutes into the second half, Ezra Ausar hit two free throws to give the Utes a team-high 11-point lead. Over the next five minutes, Iowa slowly chipped away at Utah’s lead and made it a 4-point game with 14:13 left to play.
Utah made only 2 points over the next three minutes as Iowa cut the lead to a single possession before Drew Thelwell hit a 3-pointer with 10:47 left for the go-ahead score. Once Iowa reclaimed the lead, there was little Utah could do over the final 10 minutes of game time to stop the Hawkeyes’ lead from growing.
Owen Freeman, the team’s leading scorer who averages 17.2 points per game, got into foul trouble and was forced to sit for much of the game — including picking up a fourth foul with just under 11 minutes to play — but finished with 16 points, six rebounds and two assists, while adding three blocks in just 19 minutes of play.
Thelwell and Josh Nix added 15 points apiece, and Brock Harding contributed 12 points to round out Iowa’s top scoring.
Utah closes out nonconference play with an 8-3 record, with all three losses coming against Quad 1 opponents. The Utes resume action on Dec. 31 in Waco, Texas, to start Big 12 play against Baylor.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Iowa
Extra Point: What Awaits Miami in the Pop-Tart Bowl vs. Iowa State?
When the Miami Hurricanes and Cam Ward take the field against the Iowa State Cyclones on Dec. 28, the Hurricanes will see an offense much like some they faced this season in ACC play.
The Cyclones are no pushover, and have the numbers to back that up. Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht tossed for over 3,200 yards this season and 22 touchdowns, most of which came at the hands of leading receiver Jayden Higgins, who caught for almost 1,200 yards on his own. Higgins has also pulled down a team-leading nine touchdowns thus far in the season, and will be looking to add to that total in the bowl game against the Hurricanes.
Those are just the surface level stats, though. Iowa State has some other weapons that could give the Miami defense some issues as well. For instance, their two headed backfield of Carson Hansen and Abu Sama III, which combined for over 1,200 yards on the ground this year. Samha is touted as one of the most talented underclassmen in the country, and is predicted by many to secure the starting role in the backfield next season.
Senior wideout Jaylin Noel serves as the team’s second leading receiver, and accounted for another 1,077 yards through the air this year for the cyclones. To put it bluntly, Iowa State has four to five guys on the field that can hurt a defense at all times, and that’s before discussing the defense.
The Cyclone defensive backfield has picked off 14 passes this year, good enough for a top-30 ranking in that category per game. The pass rush may not be what it was for ISU in 2023, but with Cam Ward under center anyway, this game looks to be one decided through the air.
Unless Miami running back Damien Martinez gets going, it looks to be a pair of high-flying offenses duking it out in the Pop Tarts Bowl this year.
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