-Female Finalists-

Karly Cochrane:
School: Mount Vernon High School.
High school highlights: Key member of a talented troop of girls that claimed state championships in volleyball, basketball and track in the 2009-10 school year. Competed in four state track meets, three state volleyball tournaments, two state softball tournaments and one state basketball tournament. A member of 10 state-championship relays in track. The starting shortstop for five years, she earned first-team all-state honors in 2009. Softball team placed fourth in 2010.
Future plans: Will …

Larry Niemeyer called it “maybe the best overall infield I’ve ever had.”
All of it has graduated. Half of it, today, is honored.
Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s Alex Jacobson and Morgan Allee were selected as part of the 20-girl Class 4A all-state first team, released by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association.
“They’re both very deserving,” said Niemeyer, the J-Hawks’ head coach. “They’re going to be hard to replace.”
Allee batted .469, scored 40 runs and batted in 34. Jacobson hit .403 with 27 runs scored and 31 RBIs. They anchored the left …

CLASS 4A
First Team
Pitchers – Kayle Gaunt, jr., Muscatine; Brittnie Krieser, sr., Lewis Central; Emma Remmy, sr., West Des Moines Valley; Riley Fisher, soph., Des Moines East; Jadyn Spencer, jr., Waterloo West; Catcher — Tiffany Gillespie, jr., Southeast Polk; Infield — Ashley Prettyman, jr., Des Moines East; Cassie Curtis, sr., Johnston; Katelyn Bakey, sr., West Des Moines Valley; Chloe Miller, fr., Pleasant Valley; Alex Jacobson, sr., Cedar Rapids Jefferson; Cassie Garrett, sr., Waukee; Morgan Allee, sr., Cedar Rapids Jefferson; Outfield — Annie Sarcone, sr., …

Larry Niemeyer called it “maybe the best overall infield I’ve ever had.”
All of it has graduated. Today, half of it is honored.
Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s Alex Jacobson and Morgan Allee are part of the 20-girl Class 4A all-state first team released by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association.
“They’re both very deserving,” said Niemeyer, the J-Hawks’ head coach. “They’re going to be hard to replace.”
Allee batted .469, scored 40 runs and batted in 34. Jacobson hit .403 with 27 runs and 31 RBIs. They anchored the left side …

Iowa High School Athletic Association Executive Director Rick Wulkow was kind enough to sit down for a short chat during last week’s state baseball tournament in Des Moines.
Wulkow has been with the IHSAA since 1980, including five years as executive director. A Lytton native, Wulkow was recently appointed president-elect of the National Federation of High School Associations.
Here’s the interview with Wulkow in its entirety.
Q: Tell me about the national appointment and how you feel about it?
A: It’s one of those things that you kind of dream …

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union announced Friday that it will shift the cutoff line for 2A/1A softball.
Starting in 2011, the largest 48 schools will be classified in 4A, the next 64 in 3A, the next 96 in 2A and the rest in 1A. Previously, 128 schools had been in 2A.
This means track and softball will be classified the same at 48-64-96-rest. Basketball and volleyball will remain with 48-64-128-rest.
“During the 2010 softball season, it became clear that a classification adjustment would be necessary for …

FORT DODGE — Opportunities came. And opportunities went.
Mount Vernon failed to get a clutch hit in several key spots and dropped a 4-0 decision to Fort Dodge St. Edmond in the Class 2A third-place game at the state softball tournament Friday afternoon at the Rogers Sports Complex.
“We just couldn’t get a hit (when we needed it,” said Mustangs Coach Gary Stamp. “I wasn’t wild about the (strike) zone, but so be it. I’m not going to sour-grape it.”
St. Edmond (32-6) scored a run in the …

FORT DODGE — Layne Grgurich hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to give Chariton the lead, and the Chargers went on to defeat Clear Creek Amana, 4-1, in the Class 3A third-place game at the state softball tournament Friday at the Rogers Sports Complex.
Chariton finished 27-4; CCA ended at 39-7.
Clear Creek Amana struck first, on Mallory Madsen’s RBI single in the top of the second inning. Caitlin Wnek led off with a single, moved to second, then scored on Madsen’s hit.
Tenna Seuferer …

Two walks. Two errors.
Too much to overcome.
Sixth-ranked Keokuk capitalized on some seventh-inning misadventures by No. 2 Clear Creek Amana, scoring four times to dethrone the defending champion, 6-4, in a Class 3A semifinal at the state softball tournament Thursday at Rogers Sports Complex.
“Our kids kept hitting and kept battling,” said Keokuk Coach Merle Jones. “They stayed in the game, even after I thought we might have let it slip away.”
Keokuk (34-9) faces No. 1 Carlisle (37-2) for the title at 4 p.m. today.
The Chiefs’ rally was filled with irony. They …

The unthinkable will go unrealized.
Top-ranked BCLUW scored six runs — five unearned — in the second inning and pasted No. 6 Mount Vernon, 7-0, in a Class 2A semifinal at the state softball tournament Thursday night at the Rogers Sports Complex.
Mount Vernon was bidding to become the first school in state history to claim all four major girls’ sports in one school year. But those hopes drowned in a sea of errors.
The Mustangs booted the ball five times in the second inning.
“It’s unfortunate to have one of those innings (on …