Sports

Former Newell-Fonda teacher and coach Curt Klaahsen will be returning to Newell next Thursday.

Klaahsen, who is an instructional coach as well as the head varsity girls basketball coach at Mason City, was a teacher and coach at Newell-Fonda from 1988-96.

He has recently published an autobiography called “When Life Meets Coaching,” which chronicles Klaahsen’s life and especially his 30 years in education. 

Nebraska recruit Ashtyn Veerbeek poured in 33 points and Class 2A No. 3-ranked Western Christian scored 30 points in the first quarter as the Wolfpack defeated Storm Lake 77-45 in a Lakes Conference game on Tuesday at Tornado Fieldhouse.

Western Christian led 30-16 after the first quarter, 43-27 at halftime and 69-37 entering the fourth quarter.

Veerbeek made 11 of 15 field goals and all none of her free throws to finish with 33 points.

Nick Gaes and Sam Sherkenbach each won all three of their matches to lead Alta-Aurelia in a quadrangular on Tuesday at Rockwell City.

The Warriors beat South Central Calhoun 42-40. Gaes began the dual with a win by pin in 45 seconds at 285 pounds. Schade Larson was a winner by pin in 1:40 at 120, as was Alex DeRoos in 1:03 at 182.

Brock Mier stuck his opponent in 2:53 at 195. Tyler Peterson (106), Sherkenbach (113) and Dalton Woosley (220) all won their matches by forfeit.

Jenna Coppock made seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points to lead four players in double figures as No. 6-ranked Newell-Fonda beat OA-BCIG 87-58 in a nonconference game on Monday at Ida Grove.

The Mustangs, now 8-0, raced out to a 24-16 lead after the first quarter. It was 47-27 Mustangs at halftime and 70-44 heading into the fourth period of play.

Coppock made seven of nine shots from behind the arc to lead the offense. Megan Morenz contributed 18 points, Olivia Larsen 15 and Ella Larsen 13.

Bryce Coppock finished with 24 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals, and Newell-Fonda outscored OA-BCIG 32-21 in the fourth quarter en route to a 69-62 win in a nonconference game on Monday at Ida Grove.

The Mustangs, now 4-3, led 21-10 after the first quarter, but were outscored 20-5 in the second quarter and fell behind 30-26 by halftime. It was 41-37 Falcons entering the fourth period.

Canyon Hopkins scored a career-high 17 points to help Buena Vista overcome a slow start and rally for a 74-66 win over Elmhurst College on Monday in Elmhurst, Ill.

Hopkins scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and was also one point away from a career best with seven rebounds.  BVU was held to a season-low 18 points in the first half before it caught fire from the field over the final 20 minutes.

The Storm Lake eighth grade boys basketball team ended its season with a bang as the Tornadoes defeated South O’Brien 51-22 on Monday at Primghar.

Luth Dak led the way with 12 points. Ruech Malou, Sam Dvergsten and Austin Gaffney all added eight points apiece.

Storm Lake won the “B” game 36-33. Tyler Moon had eight points. Storm Lake also won the “C” game 30-12. Bidit Top-Tut scored eight points.

The “A” team finished 2-7, the “B” team 5-4 and the “C” team 5-0.

Erin Nelson, who has served as the Storm Lake freshman volleyball coach for a number of years, will be moving up a couple of levels.

Nelson was named as the new head varsity volleyball coach for the Tornadoes. She takes over for Kim Johnson, who resigned after this past season.

The Storm Lake School Board approved the selection of Nelson at its monthly meeting on Wednesday night.

Tornadoes’ offense non-existent in 76-34 loss to Bulldogs

LeMars’ mastery of Storm Lake continued.

It’s been at least 10 years since the Tornadoes have beaten the Bulldogs, and that streak of dominance continued as they won a Lakes Conference game 76-34 last Friday at LeMars.

LeMars held a 9-7 lead in the first quarter when it finished the period on a 12-3 run to take a 21-10 lead into the second quarter.

Seven-footer has 17 points, 17 rebounds in 51-47 loss to SV

Seven-footer Will Hurd finished with 17 points, 17 rebounds and five blocked shots, but it wasn’t enough as Southeast Valley got past Storm Lake St. Mary’s 51-47 in a Twin Lakes Conference game played last Friday night at Gowrie.

The Jaguars held a 12-11 lead after the first quarter, but St. Mary’s took a 25-22 lead at halftime. The game was tied at 36-36 after three periods of play.