Sports

SIOUX CENTER - Balanced scoring and sound defense propelled Cherokee past Sioux Center here Tuesday 81-53, making it four in a row for the Braves, now 8-4 on the season. “We got out to another great start and that’s always huge on the road,” said Cherokee Coach Mark Hurd. “Our team ball was great and we moved the ball well and got good looks and shots.”...

A proud couple moments for button-busting Cherokee fans at the Tyson Events Center last Saturday. Two Cherokee senior student athletes, Kayden Waldner and Trevor Lundquist, were recognized as 2020 CNOS Foundation Basketball Classic “Tomorrow’s Leader Award” recipients...

Cherokee basketball teams were in complete control from start to finish in both games of a non-conference coed doubleheader here Tuesday with Manson NW Webster. Cherokee’s lady Braves improved to 7-3 with a 40-point margin of victory, 70-30, over the visiting Cougars of the Twin Lakes Conference, while the Braves cruised to a36-point margin of victory, 86-50, over the Cougars in the nightcap...

SPIRIT LAKE - Cherokee’s Class 3A, 15th ranked Braves put together a strong second half to overcome a 29-23 halftime deficit and pocket a 62-47 win over a taller Spirit Lake contingent last Friday. In the nightcap here, Cherokee’s boys were outscored 22-9 in the final quarter as the host Indians made it four in a row via a 61-53 win over the visiting Braves...

Most high school basketball teams in our state have played eight to 10 games to date, leaving some 12 games left before tournament competition begins. We all know how fast time goes. With that, we took a glimpse at statistics and witnessed some always interesting numbers...

Cherokee’s own Neil Phipps, a Hall of Fame football coach in our state, is always helpful in supplying this corner with positive messages always worth sharing. Near the west entrance to our Washington High School, Phipps has placed on the south wall a nicely framed, old football jersey, including a relevant message we all should take pause and read...

Iowa high school softball is better off today because Steve Ebert is involved. Make no mistake about it. Too bad we don’t have more like him. Ebert, a successful downtown Cherokee merchant, takes his position as a local high school softball umpire and football official very seriously and with a ton of passion...

Parker Wildeman is a born motivator. He had me doing sit ups during a telephone visit recently. Not really. The only sit ups I do these days is to the table. But anyone looking for some motivation would be wise to listen to Parker. He’s been self-motivated and driven his entire life. His body of work speaks for itself and now he remains in a familiar wheelhouse earning a living motivating clients...

END OF THE BENCH SHARING THE GOOD NEWS We love sharing success stories as it relates to our area. Here are three good ones. HANNAH LOCKIN Hannah Lockin, daughter of Aurelia born and raised Doug and Rhonda, now of Des Moines, is a member of the “Final Four” Baylor University volleyball Bears...

HULL - The second quarter wasn’t good for either Cherokee basketball team here last Friday night, proving to be a key factor in a coed doubleheader loss to host Hull-Western Christian ball clubs. In the opener, Cherokee’s girls were outscored 30-13 in the second frame and eventually fell victim to a good 5-2 Western contingent, 88-53, while Cherokee boys were outscored 17-8 in the second stanza and ended up on the short end of the stick, 72-58...

Cherokee’s wrestling Braves edged Sheldon/South O’Brien 186.5 to 186 in claiming the 2019 Paul Fuhrman Wrestling Invitational here Saturday. An happy and excited Cherokee head coach Austin Todd exclaimed, “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. ...

One senses a renewed confidence in the Cherokee boys’ basketball huddle. On Thursday night, senior talent Ryan Hurd scored 22 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out six assists to lead a confident Braves squad to a resounding 87-48 win over visiting Newell-Fonda...

END OF THE BENCH As I stare blankly at my computer monitor, it’s a bit blurry. You see, I’m just “scratching where it itches. These old brown eyes swell with real tears. It was something most of us couldn’t help when we heard the news. Funny, I weep for a man who didn’t know me from a load of Iowa hay. Ain’t that right, Hayden?...

In the first of three games this week, Cherokee cagers logged convincing wins over Eatherville-Lincoln Central teams here Tuesday evening. Cherokee teams played host to Newell-Fonda on Thursday and tonight travel to Hull Western Christian. In the coed doubleheader opener Tuesday, Cherokee’s lady Braves improved to 6-1 with a 86-68 win, while in the nightcap the Braves dominated E-LC on the way to a 67-25 victory to improve to 3-2...

“Hard worker, four-sport standout, team leader, excellent student - it goes on and on and on. Those aforementioned qualities are frequently used to describe MMCRU sophomore Taylor Harpenau, this week’s Chronicle-Times Prep of the Week. We talked to people who know. The comments were all good...

Three years ago I named then San Francisco 49er QB Colin Kaepernick the first recipient of my Rise Man Award following his refusal to rise for the National Anthem. Kaepernick willingly immersed himself into national controversy by refusing to stand for the playing of the National Anthem in protest of what he publicly deemed social and police oppression of African Americans and other minorities in the United States...

Freshman Kenna Mongan had missed four shots in a row until draining what turned out to be the winning three pointer in Cherokee’s upset 63-60 win over Class 3A, 10th ranked Unity Christian here last week. “Kenna was 0-4 until the last three pointer she hit with 15 seconds left to play,” said a happy Cherokee head coach Brandon Slaughter. “I believe in Kenna, that’s why I kept giving her the green light to shoot.”...

JeMae Nichols had the numbers. The talented Cherokee junior multi-sport talent scored 42 points last week, grabbed 19 rebounds, blocked three shots and picked off a dozen steals. Not too shabby for a player who only played three quarters of a game last Friday against a highly regarded and state ranked Unity Christian club. Not too shabby for a player who most times is doubled teamed...

Cherokee wrestlers fell to Sheldon/South O’Brien 53-21 and to Central Lyon 53-19 in dual meet competition here Thursday night. “Tonight was a very humbling night,” said cherokee head coach Austin Todd. “We were able to put up a tough fight despite having some extra ones and injuries during the night. ...

Seven Cherokee wrestlers earned double wins here Tuesday in convincing dual meet victories over MVAOCOU (66-12) and MOC-FV (43-33). “What a great night for wrestling,” exclaimed Cherokee head wrestling coach Austin Todd. “I was extremely proud of how our young men brought intensity to the mat.”...

ALTA - Both games of a coed doubleheader here Monday proved to be “typical” first games of the season. Like most season openers, both games were littered with typical early season mistakes, but there were also some bright spots sprinkled in. Ridge View’s Raptors swept the area twin bill, winning the girls’ game 70-30 and claiming a close 43-40 victory in the boys’ nightcap...

South O’Brien, Alta-Aurelia and Cherokee featured football players respresented on the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association (IPSWA) 2019 football all-state teams released recently. Leading the way locally with a spot on the Class A first team offense is South O’Brien’s talented running back, senior Tristan Wilson, the only first team selection in the Chronicle-Times six-school coverage area...

PARKER HONORED Although we were unable to talk directly to our good friend and former Cherokee Brave and University of Iowa Hawkeye, Parker Wildeman, we want to recognize and congratulate him for being inducted into the IHSAA Football Hall of Fame last week in Cedar Falls...

SIOUX CITY - Without even looking at the stat sheets, it was apparent the hot three-point shooting and physicality of a veteran Sioux City West squad spoiled Cherokee girls’ basketball season opener here Monday night. West pulled away from the youthful Braves squad in the second half to log a convincing 90-70 victory...

The big question for the Cherokee basketball Braves this season is whether or not this talent-stacked contingent will mesh into a cohesive and efficient ball club. There’s no question the talent is there bolstered by the return of six lettermen with a ton of playing time under their belts...

Mat Braves Return 8 Veterans

Six Cherokee football players earned Class 1A Northwest All-District honors, three on first team and three on the second team First team selections were sophomore punter Mason Carver, and seniors Trevor Lundquist on defense and Ryan Hurd on offense...

Brandon Slaughter, Cherokee head girls’ basketball coach, says this year’s lady Braves will play “with a chip on our shoulder.” “We lost some very talented seniors from last year’s team,” admitted Slaughter. “So, because of that, not very many folks believe this Cherokee team will be as good as we have been in recent past.”...

BRITT - The state’s No. 1 ranked Class A team, West Hancock’s Eagles, eliminated South O’Brien here last Friday in a 43-0 quarterfinal playoff game. South O’Brien finishes the season as district champs and 9-2, the best finish for a Wolverine squad since 2013...

A Bird in the hand… Way back in the late 1960s when Cherokee IC boys basketball teams were rampaging all comers, this college boy, fortified by a few lagers, sat on the IC stage during a game, riding the refs for all their “bad” calls. I was a know-it-all jock who played the game all my life and had also taken sports officiating classes in college, refereed a few junior high and JV games and therefore had all the answers. ...

In the cartoon “Peanuts,” Charlie Brown walks off the diamond with Lucy, his head down and dejected. “Another ballgame lost! Good grief!” he says. “I get tired of losing. Everything I do, I lose!” Lucy replies: “Look at it this way, Charlie Brown. We learn more from losing more than we do from winning.”...

ANOTHER MILLER MAKES MARK Cherokee sports fans still remember Damon Miller and all the positive things he accomplished as a Cherokee Brave in the 1990s. Unarguably one of the best catchers to ever play baseball here, Miller was also a solid and productive point guard for four years and just as good a football player to ever put on the black and gold...

ORANGE CITY - Bryce Kremer smiled and was glad to pose for a group picture with six very giddy-happy Cherokee lady Braves. Kremer will join the Cherokee girls’ cross country team at the state meet on Saturday, Nov. 2, in Fort Dodge after qualifying for the second consecutive year here Thursday afternoon...

I feel compelled to share some personal observations about what happens every fall in Chariton, our Hy-Vee sister city located in south central Iowa. Most folks here know Chariton and Cherokee share some commonality. Both cities rely heavily on Hy-Vee for employment opportunities with warehouse facilities in both locations. ...

Cherokee’s 1956 football Braves, under second-year coach Bruce Pickford, turned around a struggling program and finished 6-3 that year. Take note. Programs that struggle can be rectified. The ’56ers are the proof’s pudding. The Braves of ’56 halted a two-year skid and turned things around to reestablish a winning foundation for many successful Pickford coached Cherokee teams to follow...

HOLSTEIN - Manson NW Webster improved to 2-6 and spoiled Ridge View’s senior night here last Friday, clipping the host Raptors 29-12. Ridge View, 1-7, cap the 2019 football season at IKM-Manning (5-3) this Friday. “We played well at times, but were a little inconsistent on both sides of the ball,’ said Dale Tokheim, Ridge View head coach. “It was a close game throughout and we just didn’t make a big play when we had the chance.”...

Cherokee’s dedicated senior weightlifter football lineman Kaleb McGee is capable of carrying a lot of weight around Washington High School hallways here. McGee recently established two new Washington High School lifting records and hence a unanimous selection for our weekly Chronicle Times ”Prep of the Week” honors...

END OF THE BENCH OCT. 21 KEEPIN’ UP WITH THE JONES’ The torch has been passed. By now most everyone via social media has heard the news about West Sioux’s Hunter Dekker breaking the state prep career passing record set by Cherokee’s Tyler Jones from 2005-2008...