Area roundup: Osky picks up first conference win

Aug. 31—Volleyball

Oskaloosa defeats Newton 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-23)

NEWTON — The Indians got their first conference dual win on Tuesday with a solid road sweep over Newton.

Oskaloosa dominated in the first set with the Cardinals making it a little tougher over the last two sets before the Indians would close it out.

Maleah Walker had a great night with 17 kills (.350 kill efficiency), eight digs, two blocks and three aces. Gracie DeRonde added eight kills while Presley Blommers finished with 31 assists. Lucy Roach led the defense with 13 digs while Hayley VanArkel was tough at the net with three blocks.

Oskaloosa (5-1, 1-0 LHC) travels to Cedar Rapids Washington for a tournament on Saturday at 9 a.m.

Norwalk defeats Pella 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-14)

NORWALK — The Lady Dutch started their conference season on Tuesday with a tough 3-0 loss at Norwalk.

The Pella attack had a tough night against the Warriors' block as they finished with a -.047 hitting efficiency while Norwalk racked up 10 blocks on the night. Serve receive also had a tough go at times with Norwalk finishing with 12 aces.

Mia Warner and Katie Scheckel both had five kills to lead the offense while Hunter Hughell had nine assists. Abby Warner racked up 19 digs for the defense while Jasmine Namminga tallied three blocks.

Pella (4-4, 0-1 LHC) will return home to host Newton (3-4, 0-1 LHC) on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m.

No. 14 (4A) Indianola defeats Pella Christian 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-21)

INDIANOLA — The Eagles opened up conference play with a tough matchup against the undefeated Indians of Indianola.

PC battled but were outhit on the night in terms of kills, 40-18.

Ema Zula, Chloe Huisman, Annika Van Dyke and Emma Eekhoff all had four kills to lead the Eagles while Huisman also added a team-high nine assists. Faith Kacmarynski led the defense with 14 digs and two aces while Eekhoff chipped in three blocks.

Pella Christian (2-5, 0-1 LHC) will return home to host Grinnell (3-3, 0-1 LHC) on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m.

Cross country

Oskaloosa races at Williamsburg

WILLIAMSBURG — The Oskaloosa cross country team got their first races of the new season under their belts on Tuesday at Williamsburg with the boys taking third while the girls took eighth.

The boys were led by a great top 10 finish from junior Will Roach, who took seventh with his time of 18:42. Reid Luck finished not too far behind him in 13th at 19:14 while Luke Abrahamson (23rd, 19:37), Blake Henry (24th, 19:52) and Sam Nelson (28th, 20:09) rounded out the top five for the Indians.

"Will was not afraid and took the challenge to compete with the best in this race," Oskaloosa head coach Michael Comfort said. "He fought hard towards a top 10 finish. It set the tone for our boys and we were able to have a strong group behind him with Reid Luck, Luke, Blake and Sam to complete our scoring. That pack of boys fought hard for the whole three miles. If we can continue to improve our pack each week, we can be a tough team."

The Osky girls were led by freshman Tierney Carter, who raced to a ninth place finish in her first varsity race with a time of 22:50. Fellow freshman Josie Adam grabbed 20th at 24:07 while Emmalee Wells-Stout (40th, 27:12), Sarah Phillips (42nd, 27:51) and Kimber Vanengelenhoven (52nd, 28:44) made out the rest of the top five.

"Tierney ran a fantastic race for a freshman competing in her first varsity action," Comfort said. "Just like Will, she was fearless and attacked the competition. She is just now starting to scratch her potential. Josie was also in her first varsity action as a freshman. She is an extremely gutsy runner and that propelled her to a great race today. Sarah, Kimber and Alison really stepped up tonight to help us out, too."

The Indians still have one more race this week but they have set a good bar and starting point for their team to move forward with.

"I was really impressed with how we looked tonight," Comfort said. "We've had three weeks of practice and with so many new runners or new runners in new roles, I was looking forward to a race to see how we competed against other teams. I was really happy overall with the effort put forth from the team."

Oskaloosa will race again on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Pella.

Girls swimming

Osky girls swim at Boone

BOONE — The Oskaloosa girls swim team was in action on Tuesday in a triangular against Boone and Grinnell.

The Indians would fall in both duals as Boone and Grinnell both had teams twice the size of Osky. That said, the girls were still able to grab a handful of top three finishes on the night.

"Being able to place top three in competitions against larger schools is a big accomplishment and I am so proud of them," Oskaloosa head coach Rachel Brown said. "This was also a great experience to talk about the importance of working on our individual times and races!"

Oskaloosa has next week off before going to Williamsburg on Monday, Sept. 12 at 5:30 p.m.

Results (* indicates season best, bold is lifetime best)

Medley Relay: team of Bolibaugh, Snakenberg, Moorman, and Lindgren placed 3rd

200 Freestyle: Emma Adams 3rd* Kenzie Kanis 6th*

200 IM: Grace Moore 2nd*

50 Free JV: Audrey Cheney 2nd*

50 Free V: Callie Lindgren 4th* Cora Snakenberg 6th*

100 Fly: Grace Moore 3rd* Maddy Moorman 6th

100 Free JV: Callie Walters 1st* Emma Whitt 3rd*

100 Free V: Vivian Bolibaugh 4th* Callie Lindgren 5th*

500 Free: Emma Adams 4th

200 Free Relay: team of Moore, Walters, Snakenberg, Lindgren 3rd and team of Cheney, Kanis, Moorman, Whitt 6th

100 Back: Vivian Bolibaugh 2nd* Audrey Cheney 6th

100 Breast: Cora Snakenberg 1st Kenzie Kanis 6th

400 Free Relay: team of Walters, Moorman, Whitt, and Adams 4th

Colin Peters can be reached at 641-672-2581, by email at cpeters@oskyherald.com or on Twitter @ColinPetersOH.