Iowa
Waukee Northwest completes back-to-back sweep in Class 2A Iowa boys state tennis tournament
Waukee Northwest’s Kaden Taylor on his state title win in 2A boys tennis
Waukee Northwest senior Kaden Taylor won his second-straight 2A state singles tennis title on Wednesday in Iowa City.
Marc Ray
The Iowa high school boys state tennis tournament in Class 2A culminated at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex in Iowa City on Wednesday.
Waukee Northwest swept the singles and doubles tournament for the second straight year. Class 1A state competition is being hosted in Waterloo at Brynes Park, with finals set for Thursday.
Here is a recap of Wednesday’s action in Iowa City.
This story will be updated with Class 1A results on Thursday.
Make that back-to-back state titles for Waukee Northwest’s Kaden Taylor
Last season, Kaden Taylor became the first Waukee Northwest tennis player to win a singles state championship. A year later, the high school senior returned to the big stage, defeating Waukee’s Quinn Monson (6-4, 6-1) to win his second-straight 2A state title.
“It’s a great feeling,” Taylor said. “I really had to fight especially in the first set going down 4-3…He’s a great player obviously and to kind of get through that, it really feels good.”
Taylor went head-to-head with Monson, a former Waukee teammate with whom he won a doubles state title in 2021.
“We got to be state doubles champs three years ago and then to get to compete in the finals of state this year was definitely something that was exciting and something we were both looking forward to,” Taylor said. “Obviously, it sucks that one of us had to come through, but it was a great match. He’s a great player so it was fun.”
Waukee Northwest’s Kellan Croatt, Jake Nelson earn second-straight doubles title in 2A
When you reach the mountaintop once, why not do it again? Waukee Northwest’s Kellan Croatt and Jake Nelson entered this year’s state tournament as the defending doubles title holders in 2A.
The junior duo added to their championship resume with a win over Linn-Mar’s Malcolm Rice and Garrett Bauermeister in straight sets (6-2, 6-1).
“It feels really, really good,” Croatt said. “We’ve been together for years…but we’ve been double partners ever since we were in fifth grade, so it just feels amazing.”
Croatt and Nelson said their routine was similar to their state title run in 2023. They admitted that they faced a bit of pressure heading into this year’s state tournament, but they found their rhythm during the second day of competition which led to another state championship trophy.
“It feels great being the second year now we’ve done this, and then this year was awesome for us at state,” Nelson said. “We had all of our players make it to compete in Day 2 and another doubles team in the semifinals also, so this was awesome.”
Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached atMARay@gannett.com, and on X, formerly Twitter, at@themarcszn.
Iowa
Arrests made in SD in Iowa courthouse incident
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Two suspects in the incident at the Lyon County, Iowa, courthouse were arrested in Spearfish, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post earlier Saturday.
The sheriff’s office identified two suspects as Brandon Lyle High Pipe, 39, and Luciano Eliseo Sanchez, 18, in a social media post on Thursday. Nationwide warrants were issued for the two suspects.
The sheriff’s office said on Tuesday the courthouse had burglarized overnight. The damage inside includes writing on walls, broken glass, tipped-over Christmas trees and other items tossed around.
The incident caused the courthouse to be closed for at least one day.
The sheriff’s office said on Saturday morning that more information should be released later.
Iowa
Iowa City West sweeps City High in a pair of close contests
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Grace Fincham led the West High girls to a second-half comeback in a 60-51 win over City High, giving the Trojans a win on their rival’s home floor.
The Trojans improve to 6-2 with the win. The Little Hawks drop to 6-2.
In the boys’ nightcap, the Little Hawks’ comeback attempt fell short, as the Trojans held on for a 53-51 win.
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Iowa
Iowa football dissects LeVar Woods succession plan
The loss of LeVar Woods, the Iowa Hawkeyes’ long-time, elite special teams coordinator, cannot be dismissed. The Hawkeyes have consistently been among the nation’s best special teams units, from punting to kicking to owning the return and field position battle.
With LeVar Woods departing Iowa for Big Ten foe, the Michigan State Spartans, the Hawkeyes have a big hole to fill, and head coach Kirk Ferentz spoke to the media this week on what that succession plan may look like.
“Yeah, it’s not a light decision. The trick will be to find the next LeVar Woods. He’s done a fantastic job. He didn’t have the profile necessarily maybe at that point to predict what he was going to do, but he’s done all the work. It’s like a good player; players do the work. LeVar has done a great job immersing himself and learning every aspect and then growing with each and every turn. So I guess I’m describing what we’re looking for, a guy who’s a good coach, who’s eager to take a challenge on, and immerse themselves in that world.
“Special teams is a unique niche, if you will. I’m sure we’ll have good candidates. It’s not pressing right now in my mind. What is pressing is the next two weeks getting ready for the game, and then after that we’ll have eight plus weeks or eight plus months actually to get it right. I don’t plan on waiting until August to fill it, but we’ll figure that out when we get in the new year,” Ferentz said about LeVar Woods.
The past few seasons, Iowa has been elite on special teams with kicker Drew Stevens being incredibly consistent, the punting game flipping fields, and the run of returners consisting of Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Charlie Jones, Cooper DeJean, and Kaden Wetjen.
The Hawkeyes have won more than their fair share of games relying on this unit, and to continue that success, Ferentz needs to hit on this hire.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7
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