Sports Calendar: February 21
It's a big day on the sports calendar.
It all starts with state wrestling as a couple of area wrestlers look to finish their tournament on the podium.
Red Oak wrestler Tanner Mertz (145 lbs.) will be in the consolation semifinals. Mertz will wrestle Adam Benzing of Waukon in the consolation semifinal. Friday night, Mertz lost via pinfall to Max Thomsen of Union in the championship semifinals. A win over Benzing will guarantee Mertz a top four finish.
Meanwhile, East Mills' Josh Hopkins (152 lbs.) is also in the consolation semifinals. He'll take on Zach Axmear of English Valley in the semifinals. A win for Hopkins also guarantees Hopkins a top four finish.
The consolation semifinals and finals for all three classes will start at 10 a.m.
The main event, however, will be taking place in Harlan, not Des Moines. A state berth is on the line as Red Oak takes on Kuemper Catholic in the 3A regional final. The game starts at 5 p.m.
It's the third straight regional final for Red Oak, who qualified for the state tournament in 2013.
Red Oak reached the regional final after they rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Shenandoah Wednesday night by a 58-53 score.
Kuemper Catholic meanwhile defeated West Central Valley 64-32.
It's the second meeting between the two schools this season. The last occurred Jan. 16 and the difference was a last second bucket off a turnover, giving Kuemper Catholic the 50-49 win.
It was a tough blow for the Tigers. They would lose two more games (to Glenwood and Harlan) and it would drop them from the one seed to the third in the regional brackets, which were released Jan. 26.
That was an important day for the Tigers. Jan. 26 was the day they started their new winning streak with a blowout over Southwest Valley. That win streak has ballooned to eight straight, including the Shenandoah win Wednesday night.
It has been a much different story for Kuemper Catholic. After the regional brackets were released, the Knights had their own struggles. They lost five of six (Newell-Fonda, Harlan, Lewis Central, Shenandoah and South Central Calhoun). Their only win was against Denison-Schleswig. With their wins in the regional tournament, Kuemper Catholic has won three straight.
Red Oak's two biggest concerns opposing them Saturday night will be Maria Dentlinger and Kierstyn Bauer. Both players were critical in the first game. Dentingler had 19 points, while Bauer scored the game winning bucket.
The Tigers will need their offense to step up, led by Kate Walker. In the first meeting, Walker was held to 13 points. That hasn't stopped Walker from scoring, though. Walker had 31 points in the win against Shenandoah Wednesday night.
But it's not just Walker they'll need. They'll also need Grace Blomstedt, Micayla Taylor, Angela Mahoney, Madison Gilbert, Hannah Vial and Sierra Athen to step up. Walker is key in this department, as well. Against Shenandoah, Walker had seven assists. She's averaging 7.3 assists per game, which easily leads the Hawkeye 10.
Saturday's game will have a tip-off time of 5 p.m. The reason for the early start time is because Harlan will be hosting a 4A regional semifinal against Adel DeSoto Minburn at 7.
There are eight 3A regional finals taking place, including Red Oak-Kuemper Catholic. Here are the other regional finals:
Region 1- Sioux Center vs. Spirit Lake @ Sheldon
Region 2- Clear Lake vs. Hampton-Dumont @ Mason City
Region 3- Osage vs. Crestwood @ Charles City
Region 4- Center Point-Urbana vs. Mount Vernon @ Marion (Linn-Mar)
Region 5- Nevada vs. Benton Community @ Tama (Meskawaki Settlement)
Region 6- Mediapolis vs. PCM @ Washington
Region 7- Pocahontas Area vs. Roland-Story @ Webster City