ADM volleyball, XC teams reach state after big performances
It was a banner week for the Tiger family. (Note: Events covered Oct. 18-24)
Volleyball (27-3)
For the first time since 2005, the Tigers are off to the state tournament. Now the task is to get past the second round to go further than any ADM volleyball team has gone before.
Dallas Center-Grimes took the Tigers to the brink at just about every turn in Tuesday’s regional title game with each set decided by five points or less, but ADM pulled through with a 3-1 win to raise the banner.
ADM received the No. 5 seed in the state tournament bracket and will face No. 4 North Scott (26-4) on Monday at 6 p.m. in round one. The Lady Lancers were the No. 2 seed last season but lost in the semifinals to the 2022 runner-up and this year’s undefeated No. 1 seed Clear Creek Amana. A win against North Scott would pit the Tigers either against Clear Creek or No. 8 Norwalk (which ADM defeated 2-1 this season).
Football (6-3)
After rising to No. 1 ranked status earlier in the season, the Tigers will have to win five more games to claim that official title this year as the team rides into the playoffs with a road game test this week following a loss to North Polk (7-2.)
Hosting the Comets for a defacto district title game, the Tigers were outdone 28-17 by their guests even with quarterback Aiden Flora making his return.
The Iowa State commit had a strong outing with 181 passing yards on 12-of-18 attempts, but the Comets were able to slow him in open space by allowing a mere 73 yards and a touchdown on 25 attempts. His season average this year is 190 yards and 2.5 TDs per game.
Zach Lohmann was the team’s leading rusher with 80 yards for the night, as the Comets disrupted the backfield with 10 tackles for loss.
That brings the Tigers into a first-round playoff matchup at Denison-Schleswig (7-2) on Friday.
Like ADM, the Monarchs didn’t close out the regular season with a win. But that was due to Sioux City West’s forfeit that will leave them rested for two weeks. The last time Denison stepped on the field, they escaped LeMars (6-2) with a 16-14 win. They’re a slow-burn team that has typically relied on its defense to pull through. Among Class 4A, their 17 points per game rank eighth but rank 23rd with 22 points scored per game. By comparison, ADM averaged a score of 35-19 for the eighth-best point differential.
Cross Country
Both Tigers teams will head back to Fort Dodge on Saturday for the state meet after making qualifying group times on Wednesday in Clear Lake with third-place finishes.
At the state meet in 2022, the girls placed fifth while the boys team grabbed 12th place in Class 3A.
For the girls, freshman Allie Eggleston set the tone with a seventh-place mark of 20 minutes 19 seconds, closely followed by classmate Addie Bjork in 10th at 20:39. Last year’s state team was highlighted by senior Geneva Timmerman’s fourth-place time of 18:40.
In the boys’ bracket, Torin Timmerman led the Tigers at the qualifying meet with a time of 16:48 for fourth place. His time of 16:58 last year in Fort Dodge was the team’s biggest point contributor in 29th place.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: ADM volleyball, XC teams reach state after big performances
