Thursday October 3rd Local Sports

IOWA CITY — Iowa views this weekend’s visit to 19th ranked Michigan as an opportunity to show it will be a contender in the Big Ten West. The 14th ranked Hawkeyes are 4-0 and visit a Wolverine team that needs a win to stay in the hunt in the East Division.

That’s safety Geno Stone. The Hawkeyes have only claimed one victory in Ann Arbor since 2002. Tight end Nate Wieting.

Junior running back Mekhi Sargent says the Hawkeyes view themselves as underdogs.

Kickoff on Saturday is scheduled for 11 o’clock , with the pre-game show starting at 9 o’clock on AM-1300 KGLO.

AMES — Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy says better production on first and second down will help the Cyclones convert more third down opportunities. ISU is converting less than 45 percent on third down in a 2-2 start.

A more productive ground game will help take some pressure off of Purdy and the passing game. The Cyclones managed only 63 yards on the ground at Baylor.

The Cyclones host TCU on Saturday and will be in search of their eighth straight win during the month of October. Purdy says the key has been continued improvement.

Kickoff at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday is scheduled for 11 o’clock.

CHICAGO —- Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery says there is an outside chance Jordan Bohannon may play this season. The senior point guard underwent off-season hip surgery and may take a redshirt season.

He says Bohannon has not returned to on-court work.

If Bohannon can’t play he would be the third significant loss off last year’s team that made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Tyler Cook turned pro and guard Isaiah Moss transferred to Kansas. As McCaffery enters his 10th season as coach the Hawkeyes face their most challenging schedule.

McCaffery made his comments at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago on Wednesday

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins made the unorthodox decision to hire pitching coach Wes Johnson last winter straight from college, where the schedule of games and the makeup of players is vastly different than in the pros. Johnson’s background with biomechanics and his accentuate-the-positive personality have clearly made a mark on the staff of the American League Central champions. The Twins posted the ninth-best ERA in the major leagues this season, their highest rank in 10 years at Target Field.

MASON CITY – The NIACC volleyball team improved to 4-1 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference with a 3-1 win over No. 14 Kirkwood Wednesday night in the NIACC gym.

NIACC (17-5 overall) won 25-17, 25-23, 19-25, 25-23.

NIACC sits in third place in the conference behind Iowa Central and Northeast. Iowa Central improved to 5-0 in the league with a 3-0 win over Southwestern and Northeast Community College (4-0 in the league) played at Hawkeye Community College Wednesday.

NIACC hosts Northeast on Oct. 9 and plays at Iowa Central on Oct. 30.

In Wednesday’s match, sophomore Kennedy Meister had 11 kills, seven ace serves and 20 digs. Also for the Lady Trojans, freshman Becca Steffen had nine kills, 21 assists and seven digs, Shelby Heston had six kills, 14 digs and two blocks, Bri Powers had 14 digs, Tessa Sienknecht had 3 kills, seven assists and eight digs, Megan Hollander had five kills, Alexa Loftus had four kills and nine digs and Braylee Wood had two kills and four blocks.

NIACC hosts the NIACC tournament on Friday and Saturday. They’ll face Minnesota West Community and Technical College and Dakota College at Bottineau on Friday afternoon at 4:00 and 6:00, followed by matches against Carl Sandburg College and Anoka-Ramsey at 11:00 and 2:00 on Saturday.

MASON CITY – Both NIACC cross country teams are ranked in the second junior college Division I poll released on Wednesday.

The NIACC women’s cross country team is ranked 13th. They were ranked ninth in the first poll of the season on September 18th.

NIACC placed sixth at the Luther College All-American Invitational on Sept. 14 in Decorah. NIACC was led by freshman Paula Jimenez, who placed 12th in a time of 19 minutes, 25 seconds on the five-kilometer course. NIACC sophomore Emma Davison placed 16th in a time of 19:46.

In the poll released Wednesday, Iowa Central is ranked No. 1 in the women’s poll and El Paso Community College is ranked second. Iowa Western is ranked 10th.

The NIACC men are ranked 15th in the new poll.

Cloud County Community College of Kansas is ranked No. 1 in the men’s poll and Iowa Central is ranked second. Iowa Western is ranked 10th and Hawkeye Community College is 18th.

NIACC placed fourth at the St. Olaf College Invitational on Sept. 21. NIACC was led by freshman Jorge Ruiz, who was 20th in a time of 27 minutes, 54 seconds on the 8-kilometer course.

NIACC’s Janvier Irakoze was 23rd in 28:11. Other counting scores for the Trojans were Evan Wilson (26th in a personal best 28:22), Aidan Bauermeister (30th in 28:25) and Dawson Schmidt (32nd in 28:33).

Both NIACC teams return to action Saturday at the University of Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival.