CEDAR RAPIDS -- In a little more than a year, three area conferences will become two.The Iowa Department of Education rendered its decision Tuesday on an ongoing dilemma with athletics affiliation.In a nutshell, the IDOE decided to dissolve the Big East Conference and expand the Tri-Rivers ...

DES MOINES -- Jeff Linder of The Gazette/KCRG previews the girls' portion of the state track meet Thursday through Saturday at Drake Stadium.CLASS 4AIndividuals to watch -- Erin Hawkins, who spearheaded Des Moines Roosevelt's sprint brigade that ran roughshod through the Drake Relays three weeks ...

They nailed the dress rehearsal.Competing against a field comprised largely of Wamac Conference rivals, the Marion Indians ran away with their boys' invitational track meet Monday at Thomas Park Field.As a result, the Indians carry the tag of favorites into Thursday's conference meet at Vinton."I guess ...

 DES MOINES -- This one hurt. It hurt bad.Anne Leners of Pleasant Valley fought past Cedar Rapids Washington's Brooke Foreman in the girls' 400-meter hurdles Saturday afternoon at the Drake Relays.Foreman had her heart set on a championship flag, but was heartbroken afterward instead.Twice during ...

DES MOINES -- Dakotah Goodell threw well enough to set a personal record.But not quite far enough to repeat.Dubuque Wahlert's Katelyn Weimerskirch denied Goodell a second consecutive Drake Relays discus title Friday, unleashing a throw of 148 feet, 1 inch on her final try."I was ...

CASCADE -- It isn't too early to tinker."We have a lot of depth, and that's both a blessing and a curse," Cascade girls' track coach Tim Frake said. "We're already starting to look at what we're going to do at (regionals), how we can score ...

(Here's how Jeff Linder from The Gazette-KCRG would complete the ongoing conference realignment issue for small schools throughout Eastern Iowa)Thank you all for attending this meeting. Please grab a doughnut and some coffee on your way to your seat. Make yourselves comfortable; this shouldn't take ...

Area girls track teams to watch for 2012:BELLE PLAINECoach -- Julie Mantz2011 state finish -- Class 1A runner-up, 46 pointsReturning state placewinners -- Emily Toennies, jr. (1st, 200; 1st, 400; 1st, sprint medley relay; 2nd, 100); Larissa Fowler, soph. (1st, sprint medley relay); Julie Long, jr. ...

This story from the Quad City Times (www.qctimes.com)MAQUOKETA — As the North Cedar lead dwindled in the second half of the Knights’ 51-46 victory over Cascade, the reaction on the Knights’ bench was not one of panic.Ironically, the Knights seemed to have the game right ...

MONTICELLO -- The Big East Conference will disappear. A new, yet-to-be-named conference will form.The Cedar Valley and Wamac conference will get a little smaller. The Tri-Rivers Conference will get a lot bigger.And Cedar Valley Christian School will have a home.Those are the likelihoods disclosed from ...