Sports

Coaches I've known never put much stock in rankings. They prefer to downplay any polls for fear their team may become complacent or over confident. I get it. But when your school is recognized as a top contender in its class, that's worth a mention...

When the student body rushes the field, it's always a good thing. That was the scene here Friday as Cherokee's football Braves welcomed the revelers after christening the new turf at George Hicks Field here in a big way, defeating MVAOCOU's Rams, 43-0...

If you hop online and look at the Little League World Series webpage, there's a video clip well worth the watch. It features South Dakota 12-year-old team member Kye Carlson making a fabulous play at second base. The smile on his face after making the play is, in itself, worth the watch...

HULL - Cherokee's junior varsity volleyball squad finished second behind host Hull- Western Christian in tourney play here Tuesday, going 2-1 on the night. After defeating George-Little Rock 21-11 and 21-9, the Braves got by MOC-FV 2-1, losing the first set 20-22 and then coming back to win 21-19 and finally, 15-10...

MARCUS - On a sweltering summer night, it was a battle to the bitter end before Cherokee senior Trey Benson ended it all with an interception in the waning seconds to give Cherokee's Braves a narrow 27-20 win over MMCRU's Royals here Friday night. Cherokee, 1-0, travel to Onawa this Friday to face off against West Monona's Spartans,...

Hey Maw, come look at this. There’s a woman driving a golf cart! Wait a minute, now she’s getting out and going to hit a ball! What the h…? How are the men allowing that? What’s this world coming to? Next thing you know they’ll be playin’ cards at the Legion and sittin’ in the outside seat at church. Over my dead body!...

Former Cherokeans, Parker and Chrstina Wildeman, Cherokee grads and University of Iowa alum, have changed their wardrobe colors from black and gold to red and white. Likewise brother Paul Wildeman, a South Dakota State University alum changing from blue and gold to red and white...

Cherokee cross country teams carded record setting seasons last year, and promise to be even better this fall. Cherokee's girls' team, winners of Lakes Conference and district titles last fall along with a seventh place finish in a very tough Class 2A state meet, are sparked by the return...

Give Paul Pingel a jingle and you'll feel Willie Good about it. After all, you'll be supporting Cherokee athletes. Seriously, call, text or email Pingel or Good as they are seeking team entries for the 2nd Annual Cherokee Athletic Boosters Kickball Tournament to be held Saturday beginning at 9a.m. at the Cherokee Fairgrounds. (Pingel: 712-363-5474 - phpingel@evertek.net; Good: 712-261-1847 - wgood@ohallorans.com)...

Summer Herwig, Cherokee’s first-year volleyball coach, is no stranger to the game. A Buena Vista graduate, Herwig has been playing volleyball competitively since elementary school growing up in Treynor. “I have played club volleyball since I was 11 and competed in three national tournaments,” noted Herwig. “Then played libero in my high school career before playing four years at BVU while majoring in Biology.”...

The Cherokee Turf Committee is excited to announce the grand opening of George Hicks Field on Friday, September 10. Top donors will be invited to the field for a meal beginning at 4:30 PM and have the opportunity to see the unveiling of the completed project before kickoff. Speeches will begin at 5:30 PM on the field. Gates will open to the general public at 6:00 p.m.. There will be a brief ribbon cutting ceremony around 6:45 as the Braves take the field against MVAOCOU!...

The Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association recently released its 2021 All- District teams. Among those recognized were seven Cherokee County baseball players earning all-district honors in Class 2A and Class 1A. Two of the seven county players were first team selections in Alta-Aurelia second...

Something mysterious was up earlier this spring when youngest son Alex called me after his Le Mars Bulldog tennis team played (and beat) Sioux City East at the Morningside University tennis courts. “Dad, I got this strangest feeling at those courts today,” Alex told me on the phone. ...

By the looks of things early Sunday morning as thousands of RAGRAI riders rolled into town, they were representing possible record numbers (best guess, 20,000). Since its inception in 1973, this glorious brainchild of then Des Moines Register columnists and editorial faces of “The Newspaper Iowa Depends On,” Donald Kaul and John Karras, RAGBRAI has ascended into the world’s largest, most cherished weeklong biking party, revealing the many treasures Iowa has to offer - most notably its people...

Genetics and work ethic have been at play for Jenna Anderson’s whole life as the accomplished prep soccer star advances her career into college. The daughter of Mike and Stacy Anderson of Kansas City, Kan. and granddaughter of Gene and Jeannie Anderson of Cherokee, Jenna overcame a serious knee injury to continue excelling in her favorite sport and reaping multiple honors for her stellar play on the soccer pitch...

After having an opportunity to chat with many who golfed in the first ever Sioux Valley Amateur Women's Match Play Golf Tournament here last week, it's very clear the future of this event is locked, loaded and likely to explode into a very popular tournament for...

ATLANTIC -Cherokee's softball season came to an end here Friday night after a 10-0, five-inning loss to Atlantic's Class 3A, No. 6 ranked Trojans in regional semifinal tournament play. The Braves hang up the cleats at 3-19, while Atlantic advances in the tourney with a...

For our baseball team this summer it's been what my dad called, "tough sledding." I'm assuming the phrase came from his younger years in the late 1920s when he drove a bobsled and team of horses to St. Catherine's Catholic grade school in Oyens. Or perhaps, as he told it, walking up hill both ways to school, pulling a sled. I don't know for sure. My dad was always a good story teller...

You know the tune. "The sun will come out tomorrow, tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar." Those lyrics from the popular hit show "Annie" bode well with the first ever Sioux Valley Amateur Women's Match Play Golf Tournament held on the Cherokee Golf Course this past...

The regular season ended on a winning note for the Cherokee baseball Braves here Thursday night with a 5-2 come-from-behind victory over MVAOCOU's Rams. "It was nice to get a win to finish off the regular season," said Tom Ryherd, Cherokee head coach. "We went into the game with a plan to get some of our pitchers some work...

Curtis Riedemann might be the most valuable player on the Cherokee baseball bench this summer. Forget that Curtis doesn't start and his statistics aren't at the top of the list. Still, in my humble opinion, he's our MVP. Riedemann, a big guy with a smile and a heart to match, has dedicated five years to the...

Cherokee's softball gals buried OABCIG's Falcons in a shrit-lived, lopsided 12-0, three- inning, first-round regional tourney game here last Tuesday afternoon. The game was moved up to a 2:30p.m. start due to threatening weather and the Braves didn't waste any time putting this one in the books...

Better late than never. Right? Cherokee's baseball team is playing its best ball right now after struggling through much of the season stifled by lack of offense and too many miscues. However, something changed last week for the Braves. On Thursday night, in an obvious turn-around, the Braves regrouped and pulled off a...

PAULLINA -South O'Brien's Wolverines improved to 18-7 with a narrow 7-6 win over Cherokee's softball Braves here last Thursday. It was the regular season final game for the Braves, capping the season at 2-18 before playing OABCIG at Cherokee Tuesday night in girls regional quarterfinal tournament...

Cherokee dropped both ends of a varsity softball doubleheader here Wednesday, losing the rain delay makeup contest 12-2 and then dropping the nightcap 10-0 to host Western Christian. "The first game was a frustrating game in the aspect that they were hitting well and we...

HULL -Cherokee bagged its first Lakes Conference win of the season here Wednesday night, defeating Western Christian 7-3 in the nightcap of a varsity doubleheader. The Braves, 3-13, played LeMars Gehlen on Thursday night and host Akron-Westfield at Kenny Bern Field here tonight. Both game stories will appear in Wednesday's...

We would be remiss not to reflect on the Father's Day weekend Sioux Valley Amateur Match Play Golf Tournament held here for the 87th year. The tournament was blessed with wonderful weather, outstanding golf and great community support. Hats off to Jason "Spoonman" Spooner, tourney director, and all his...

CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT •First Round J.D. Anderson, Johnston, def. Mike Cedar, Cherokee, 5 and 3 Cody Holck, Ankeny, def. Drew Laake, Colorado Springs, CO, 5 and 4 Colin Mitchell, Sioux City, def. Brandon Vande Griend, Sioux Falls, 1-up (19 holes) Josh Waring, Lakeland, Florida def. Bret Taylor, Booneville, 3 and 2...