High School Sports

State A softball

COLUMBIA FALLS — There was no shortage of action in the first day of the Class A state softball tournament. From walkoffs to great defense and pitching, all 12 teams put forth their best effort on Thursday, and now only four remain unbeaten heading into the quarterfinal round. WATCH THE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: State A softball: […]

Published

2 months ago

May 23, 2025

Your Sports Nation

COLUMBIA FALLS — There was no shortage of action in the first day of the Class A state softball tournament.

From walkoffs to great defense and pitching, all 12 teams put forth their best effort on Thursday, and now only four remain unbeaten heading into the quarterfinal round.

WATCH THE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:

State A softball: Frenchtown’s Ryan Lucier flirts with perfection, Laurel walks off in second round

Polson 5, Dillon 4

In a back-and-forth second-round battle between Polson and Dillon, it was Polson coming out on top in this one as the Pirates came from behind and regained the lead after multiple ties.

Kinzie Creighton of Dillon plated two to start off with a two-out single for the early 2-0 lead.

Polson would tie the game back up and eventually take the lead on a two-run double by Natalie Nash that put the Pirates up 4-2.

Then in the bottom of the sixth with the game tied again at 4-4, Jaja Nichols hits in what would be the winning run, advancing Polson to the next round with a 5-4 victory.

Laurel 6, Columbia Falls 5

In the matchup between Laurel and Columbia Falls, the Wildkats took control of this one early, jumping out to a 3-0 lead to start the game.

But the Locomotives slowly fought back. Down 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Laurel’s Kourtney Kraft hit a single to drive in Ashley Brown from second and cut the deficit to two.

Then, with two runners on, Emmerson Gunther sent one over the fence to walk it off and send the two-time reigning state champion Wildkats to the consolation bracket with a 6-5 Laurel victory.

Lewistown 11, Billings Central 1

In the one blowout of the second round, Billings Central struck first as the Rams’ Gianna Haney hit a two-out single to score the Rams’ lone run of the game.

Unfortunately for Central, the fun would stop there, as the Golden Eagles struck back with a vegeance, starting with a three-run home run from Jaden Martin that put Lewistown up 2.

The Golden Eagles would ultimately put up 11 unanswered runs en route to an easy 10-run mercy rule in the fifth inning with an 11-1 victory.

Frenchtown 4, Havre 1

In one of the more exciting games of the day between Frenchtown and Havre, it was all defense until the bottom of the sixth inning.

With pitcher Ryan Lucier perfect through six innings, the Broncs had yet to score a run themselves until the bottom of the sixth, when Delanie Magnuson drove in the first run of the game to put the Broncs up 1-0

Then, to add on some insurance, Brooklyn Smith hammered a three-run home run to give the Broncs a 4-0 lead.

Lucier was perfect through 6 2/3 and had two strikes on Mariah Johnson before she sent a solo home run over the fence to spoil the shutout.

Frenchtown would still hold on to advance with a 4- 1 victory.

High School Sports

Wynne Rotary begins new year; CrossRidge administrator highlights specialty clinics, storm …

New Rotary Club president Jeremy Bailey (Photos courtesy of Wynne Rotary Club) CrossRidge administrator Garrett Morgan WYNNE — The Wynne Rotary Club held its first meeting under new president Jeremy Bailey yesterday. Bailey is the director of the Odell McCallum Community Center in Wynne and serves as a behavior intervention specialist at Wynne Intermediate School. […]

Published

2 hours ago

July 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Wynne Rotary begins new year; CrossRidge administrator highlights specialty clinics, storm ...

New Rotary Club president Jeremy Bailey (Photos courtesy of Wynne Rotary Club)

WYNNE — The Wynne Rotary Club held its first meeting under new president Jeremy Bailey yesterday.

Bailey is the director of the Odell McCallum Community Center in Wynne and serves as a behavior intervention specialist at Wynne Intermediate School. He’s been a member of the Wynne Rotary Club since 2018.

Yesterday’s speaker was Garrett Morgan, administrator at CrossRidge Community Hospital. Morgan is the sergeant-at-arms for the club. He spoke about the variety of specialty clinics offered at CrossRidge through its affiliation with St. Bernards Healthcare in Jonesboro.

Those clinics include cardiovascular, pulmonary, nephrology, wound care, gastrointestinal, and sports medicine. The sports medicine clinic is offered by Dr. Morgan Benefield, who is a Cross County native and graduate of Wynne High School.

Morgan noted that the local hospital also provides physical therapy and home health services. CrossRidge is supported by a 1-percent sales tax.

Morgan said the facility has placed a renewed emphasis on emergency care and preparedness in the aftermath of the March 2023 Wynne tornado. He said CrossRidge treated 45 patients in its emergency room following the storm due to injuries and other medical issues.

High School Sports

Poll

In six weeks, the fall sports season — and the 2025-26 athletic season — will begin in the Gainesville-area.Much of our content at the Gainesville Sun in the weeks leading up to kickoff will be looking ahead to the season. However, we want to honor the best of the best from the 2024-25 season before […]

Published

3 hours ago

July 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

This week, the Sun will be running polls to honor the best teams and athletes for the boys and girls sports in North-Central Florida. In case you missed it, we already released polls for the girls and boys team of the year. Voting is still open for both polls!

Next up is the girls athlete of the year. We have 16 nominees. These nominees came from our All-Area teams from the fall, winter and spring. But who was the best of these top athletes in their sport? We want to give you the chance to decide that.

Below is our nominees and the poll. It closes Sunday at 11:59 p.m., and you can vote as many times as you’d like. Share with friends and family and get to it!

Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at nram@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Noah_ram1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com

High School Sports

Jacob Smithburg highlights his work in creative arts

A year ago in July Jacob Smithburg and his partner, Beth, moved to Rochester after looking for a state with “good vibes.” Today, he says, “We have been having such a fab time here in Minnesota.” For Smithburg, that includes his work as a program assistant at the Rochester Art Center. After growing up in […]

Published

5 hours ago

July 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Jacob Smithburg highlights his work in creative arts

After growing up in Iowa and being interested in theater and music, Smithburg earned an associate degree in animation, film and video effects. Then, he worked at a summer camp in California and was an intern at Disney World. “After Disney,” he says, “I earned a bachelors in cinema from the University of Iowa and plugged into the experimental theater and art installation scene at Iowa City.”

Among the many things he appreciates about work at RAC, Smithburg says, “Working here has allowed me to not be afraid to dress in my style. I have worked at jobs where you didn’t feel you could experiment with your style and be your true self, where you had to be a normy because people might comment. Here, people say, ‘Oh, what you’re wearing, that’s so fun, that’s you, that’s Jacob. It’s opened the door, made it wide open.”

Please describe your style?

Candied seahorse at an aquarium gift shop. Or a mix of that and a character from “Twin Peaks,” Dr. Jacoby, who would dress in a very flashy way with a lot of colors and weird outfits. That captures a lot of what my style has evolved into. I didn’t know about the show for a while, but when I saw it, I thought that character’s style is kind of me. And also a little bit of this comedian Chris Flemming who has very fun vibes.

Your Style - Jacob Smithburg — Jacob Smithburg moves to his own beat.

Early evolution?

I was into theater at a young age and eventually would always try to go to school outfits with lots of color — wild for the Midwest. Then I think in high school I started wearing really weird colorful outfits like with tights under green pants and the pants rolled up.

And more recently?

Once COVID hit, I started experimenting a lot more with my style and thrifting. When I worked at the fabulous summer camp near Tahoe, I thrifted every weekend. That got me to where I am now.

What do you wear to work on a daily basis?

I’ve always dug the museum look, professional but silly and playful. Wide leg dress pants or fun jeans and something colorful on top, a shirt or a jacket but professional.

What do you hope your style says about you?

That I work in the creative field. That this guy is fun, that he’s silly, he’s playful but he’s still professional, and that his is a curated outfit not a hodgepodge of colors and textures.

Your most important wardrobe components?

Definitely pants. I think they really make an outfit. If you don’t have the right pants, the whole outfit can be ruined. If you don’t have the right pants, it’s a super bummer. … Then, also, turtlenecks and mock turtlenecks are a wardrobe staple of mine.

You’ve mentioned you love jackets …

I do. I have one that is very colorful and looks like a huge knitted jacket. It looks like something a character from the movie “Inside Out” would wear. Then I have others with fun, weird patterns and cool textures.

As for accessories?

I wear bracelets sometimes that are just Smart Wool sock band things. And sometimes I wear a watch, but just an Apple watch, and I only wear it with short sleeves which is not very often.

Anything surprising in your wardrobe?

I’d say either my “Star Trek: TNG” (“The Next Generation”) replica Lt. Commander Data uniform and my full-length hospital gown.

Footwear preferences?

I wear a lot of chunky sneakers, Hoka and New Balance, and then I have Merrell Hydro Mocs. They look like they are made out of bird bones. The structure is strange and they make a great camp shoe if you’re hanging out at the campsite.

Parting thoughts?

If you have even the smallest inkling or desire to try, you should. Being able to explore and experiment with your style not only opens your style sense but your true character, personality, your charisma.

Do you know someone who has unique style? Send nominations to

life@postbulletin.com

with “Your Style” in the subject line.

High School Sports

Local Iowa high school playoff softball highlights and scores (7

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) – Here’s a look at our local Iowa high school playoff softball highlights and scores from July 9th, 2025: Westwood 8, Lawton-Bronson 4 Akron-Westfield 8, South O’Brien 5 Central Springs 10, Emmetsburg 0 Hinton 5, West Sioux 0 Kingsley-Pierson 2, Woodbury Central 0 MVAOCOU 6, Logan-Magnolia 3 Newell-Fonda 10, IKM-Manning 0 […]

Published

7 hours ago

July 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Local Iowa high school playoff softball highlights and scores (7

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) – Here’s a look at our local Iowa high school playoff softball highlights and scores from July 9th, 2025:

Westwood 8, Lawton-Bronson 4

Akron-Westfield 8, South O’Brien 5

Central Springs 10, Emmetsburg 0

Hinton 5, West Sioux 0

Kingsley-Pierson 2, Woodbury Central 0

MVAOCOU 6, Logan-Magnolia 3

Newell-Fonda 10, IKM-Manning 0

Ridge View 13, MMCRU 6

Pocahontas Area 11, Manson-NW Webster 1

Remsen St. Mary’s 5, Gehlen Catholic 4

West Lyon 8, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 0

West Monona 6, Shenandoah 4

West Fork 8, Alta-Aurelia 0

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports.

High School Sports

Local Iowa high school playoff softball highlights and scores (7

Published

9 hours ago

July 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) – Here’s a look at our local Iowa high school playoff softball highlights and scores from July 9th, 2025:

Westwood 8, Lawton-Bronson 4

Akron-Westfield 8, South O’Brien 5

Central Springs 10, Emmetsburg 0

Hinton 5, West Sioux 0

Kingsley-Pierson 2, Woodbury Central 0

MVAOCOU 6, Logan-Magnolia 3

Newell-Fonda 10, IKM-Manning 0

Ridge View 13, MMCRU 6

Pocahontas Area 11, Manson-NW Webster 1

Remsen St. Mary’s 5, Gehlen Catholic 4

Shippensburg Legion Baseball vs. St. Thomas Highlights

It was Shippensburg vs. St Thomas American Legion baseball at Veterans Stadium on Monday evening. The game was a pitcher’s duel through the first three innings, with both pitchers not allowing batters to reach the bases. However, both teams managed to get on the scoreboard in the fourth inning, with St. Thomas plating runners in […]

Published

10 hours ago

July 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Shippensburg Legion Baseball vs. St. Thomas Highlights

It was Shippensburg vs. St Thomas American Legion baseball at Veterans Stadium on Monday evening.

The game was a pitcher’s duel through the first three innings, with both pitchers not allowing batters to reach the bases.

However, both teams managed to get on the scoreboard in the fourth inning, with St. Thomas plating runners in the sixth and seventh innings as well. Shippensburg came up short, losing to the visitors, 5-2.

Coach Matt Carr was unavailable for comments after the game. Shippensburg will be back in action at Memorial Park tonight, taking on Waynesboro.

A nice crowd gathered for the warm evening game, which included a group of residents from Shippensburg Rehabilitation and Health Care Center. “A lot of our residents love baseball. Having games here at the park provides an opportunity for them to enjoy an evening at the ballpark,” commented Activities Coordinator Connie Faust. “Earlier in the year we attended a boys’ high school game, but we didn’t stay for the entire game because it was too cold. This weather is perfect for everyone to enjoy a game.”