Nevada Journal sports round-up: Mackenzie Arends claims state championship at girls state wrestling

Nevada sophomore Mackenzie Arends made history last Friday by becoming the first wrestler in Nevada history to win a girls state wrestling championship.

Arends placed first at 190 pounds during the girls state wrestling tournament held at the Xtreme Arena in Coralville Feb. 2-3. She achieved the feat during the first girls state wrestling tournament that was sanctioned by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

The sister tandem of Ashlyn and Gracie Leslie also competed for Nevada at the girls state wrestling meet and they both picked up multiple victories.

The Nevada boys basketball team pushed Class 1A No. 1 Grand View Christian to the limit until the final three minutes in a 72-57 non-conference loss Feb. 2. The Cubs won at Saydel Jan. 31, 72-52, and at Greene County Friday, 76-73 in overtime to improve to 12-7 overall and 10-3 in the Heart of Iowa Conference.

The Nevada girls basketball team pushed its winning streak to four games with victories over Saydel (65-22), Grand View Christian (49-42) and Greene County (41-15). The Cub girls improved to 10-10 overall and 8-5 in the HOIC.

The Colo-NESCO boys basketball team also remained hot with victories over Collins-Maxwell at home Jan. 31 (52-48) and at Paton-Churdan Feb. 2 (78-40) and Janesville Friday (50-41). The three victories stretched the Royals' winning streak to nine games as they improved to 13-7 overall and finished tied for second in the Iowa Star Conference South Division with an 8-4 conference record.

The Colo-NESCO girls basketball team suffered losses to Collins-Maxwell (53-19), Paton-Churdan (43-41) and Janesville in dropping to 2-17 overall and finishing 2-12 in the ISC South.

Here is what we learned from this week's Nevada Journal-area high school sports competition.

Mackenzie Arends makes history

After placing second at last year's girls state wrestling tournament Arends wasn't about to let a second chance at a state championship slip through her fingers.

Arends turned in an amazing two days at the Xtreme Arena, going 5-0 to finish the season with a 38-2 record and earn her historic state championship during the first sanctioned girls state tournament in Iowa history.

"To know I made history not just in the state, but more specifically in my hometown feels amazing," Arends said. "All of my biggest supporters are here so to make them proud makes my day and pushes me more."

Arends was seeded second at 190 and she opened the tournament by pinning Ridgeview's Maya Waldo in 1:06 during the first round. Arends won a 3-2 battle over I-35's Ciera Hutton-Spieker in the second round, pinned South Winneshiek's Isabelle Kipp in 3:05 during the quarterfinals and pulled off a 3-1 victory over Iowa Valley's Breanna Peach in the semifinals.

That set up the championship match against top seed Jana TerWee of West Lyon. The two wrestlers engaged in a defensive struggle that lasted three overtimes before Arends prevailed by a 1-0 score to claim the championship.

"It was the best feeling in the world," Nevada coach Tawnia Leslie said. "Words cannot describe all the emotions we were feeling."

Arends was able to get past TerWee by keeping her down on the mat and riding out the win in the third overtime.

"It felt amazing to get my hand raised and to know that I was the first ever girl to be at that point in Iowa history at my weight class," Arends said. "It was almost like a big weight lifted off my shoulders."

Leslie's daughters both went 2-2 during the girls state tournament.

Ashlyn competed at 110 and she opened the tournament by pinning Aplington-Parkersburg/Grundy Center's Lia Hovenga in 3:16 and West Branch's Emmersen Thomas in 3:41. She then lost by fall to Ottumwa's Jasmine Luedtke in the quarterfinals and by a 13-4 major decision to Western Iowa's Kacy Miller in the consolation fourth round to finish her season at 34-11.

Gracie wrestled at 130 and dropped her opening match to Perry's Charity Mickles by fall. She bounced back to pin Glenwood's Lauralyse Flint-Spencer in 3:35 during the consolation first round and South Central Calhoun's Delanie Westcott in 4:35 in the consolation second round before losing by fall to Decorah's Ashley Bjork in the consolation third round to finish 41-14.

Nevada took 25th out of over 150 teams at state with 42 points.

"We are super proud of them as a lot of teams that placed (higher) had more girls there," Tawnia Leslie said. "Next year I'm looking forward to bringing more girls to state."

Waverly-Shell Rock was the girls state wrestling team champion with 123 points. East Buchanan took second with 113.

Nevada girls basketball is on a roll

The Nevada girls basketball team turned in an impressive week with their victories over Saydel, GVC and Greene County.

In the win over Saydel the Cubs blew the game open late with a 27-6 run in the fourth quarter. Nevada held Saydel to 18.9% shooting and forced 24 turnovers.

Emma Strottman, Avery Hinson and Bridget Cahill each scored 10 points and Cinamon Hazlitt added 9 for the Cubs. Strottman also had 12 rebounds, six assists and five steals, Hinson four rebounds, three assists and two steals, Cahill seven rebounds and Hazlitt three assists.

Isabelle Nelson chipped in 8 points, six rebounds and three steals.

A strong stretch over the second and third quarters gave Nevada its non-conference win over GVC. The Cubs outscored the Thunder 30-20 over those two periods to take control.

Cahill had 14 points and three assists, Hinson 9 points, four steals and three rebounds, Strottman 7 points, four rebounds and three assists and Nelson 6 points, 14 rebounds and three assists against the Thunder.

In the victory over Greene County the Cubs held the Rams to 16.7% shooting from the field and forced 29 turnovers. The Cubs also held a 36-26 rebounding advantage.

Strottman had 10 points and five rebounds, Cahill 8 points and two steals, Nelson 5 points, five rebounds and four steals, Emilee Kelly 5 points and Dakota Hendricks nine rebounds and five steals.

Nevada boys play GVC tough

The Nevada boys cut an 18-point deficit down to 5 with just over four minutes to go during its non-conference game with GVC Feb. 2.

The hot outside shooting of Easton Gray and Alec Higgins helped Nevada get as close as 56-52 with 6:10 remaining in the game. The Cubs still only trailed by 5, 59-54, with 4:16 left following two Kane Williams free throws.

"We made a run in the fourth quarter," Nevada coach Tyler Struck said. "It's probably one of the closest fourth quarters they've had... I know no one has been that close to them in the fourth. "

But the Thunder ended the game on a 13-3 run thanks to the play of guard Josh Sanderson, who scored all 13 of his team's points down the stretch and finished with a game-high 30 points.

"He's one of the best guards in the state (regardless) of class," Struck said. "Clearly he was a difference maker there late."

Higgins had 12 points and 13 rebounds, Gray 10 points, Jacob Khounsourath 14 points and Carson Rhodes 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks for Nevada in the loss. John Nelson chipped in 6 points and three assists.

In their victory over Saydel Jan. 31 the Cubs went on a 39-20 run over the second and third quarters to put the game away. They held a 41-26 rebounding advantage and limited the Eagles to 36.5% shooting.

Khounsourath at 24 points, three assists and three blocks and Nelson 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals versus the Eagles. Rhodes tacked on 9 points and 14 rebounds and Higgins 9 points.

Nevada held off a late Greene County rally to defeat the Rams Friday.

The Cubs were outscored 21-10 in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. But they held a 9-6 advantage in the extra session to pull off the victory.

Nevada prevailed despite 39.7% shooting and 18 turnovers. The Cubs were helped by a 44-33 rebounding advantage and 14 3-pointers.

Khounsourath made seven 3-pointers and went for 30 points and five rebounds in the win. Rhodes tacked on 17 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and five blocks to help Nevada prevail.

Higgins chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds and Gray also scored 11 points. Richard Daugherty led Greene County with 33 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Royal boys finish ISC South play on a high note

The Colo-NESCO boys basketball team clinched a tie for second place behind Baxter in the ISC South with its victory over Collins-Maxwell.

The Royals saw an early 12-5 lead evaporate as the Spartans rallied to tie the game going into the fourth quarter. But Colo-NESCO ended the game on a 17-13 run to come out on top.

Colo-NESCO held Collins-Maxwell to 34% shooting and posted a 31-25 rebounding advantage. That helped the Royals overcome 18 turnovers to secure its tie for second in the conference.

Lucas Frohwein went for 23 points and 13 rebounds, Spencer Hansen scored 15 points, Gannon Short pulled down seven rebounds and Breckin Clatt dished out six assists for Colo-NESCO in the win.

The Royals pulled off a decisive non-conference victory over Paton-Churdan Feb. 2.

Colo-NESCO blew the game open with a 26-6 run in the second quarter. The Royals had 46 rebounds and they only turned the ball over nine times.

Hansen had 15 points and seven rebounds, Frohwein 14 points and 11 boards, Short 12 points, Mark Bower 11 points and five rebounds and Clatt 6 points and 10 assists against the Rockets.

The Royals outlasted Janesville in a cross-division ISC game by outscoring the Wildcats 27-16 in the second half. Short went off for 22 points, Frohwein had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists, Hansen 9 points and three assists and Clatt 6 points and rebounds apiece.

Royal girls fall just short against Paton-Churdan

The Colo-NESCO girls basketball team couldn't hold on against Paton-Churdan in a non-conference loss Feb. 2.

The Royals led 33-25 going into the fourth quarter, but they were outscored 18-8 over the final eight minutes. Colo-NESCO held the Rockets to 17.5% shooting and posted a 46-39 rebounding advantage, but the Royals were hurt by 29 turnovers.

Riley Handsaker had 11 points and seven rebounds and Jessica Duran also scored 11 points for Colo-NESCO. Abigail Kettwig chipped in 6 points and four rebounds, Gemma Bower 4 points and 8 boards and Callie Kohlwes pulled down nine rebounds.

In the loss to Collins-Maxwell the Royals shot just 25% from the field and had 28 turnovers. Abigail Hostetler scored 9 points and Jadyn Niemeyer finished with 2 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Colo-NESCO turned the ball over 29 times and was held to 12.5% shooting in the loss to Janesville. Sydney Ingle finished with 7 points and five rebounds and Bower 6 points and eight boards against the Wildcats.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Nevada's Mackenzie Arends claims girls state wrestling championship