December 29, 2017 By Chris Varney
2017 brought many great moments in local sports — that’s what I am writing about here. If you want to remember the Houston Astros winning the World Series or revisit the New England comeback in the Super Bowl, look elsewhere. Instead, I choose to remember the many moments that local athletes provided us this past year.
I remember standing in the middle of Drake Stadium on a cloudy overcast day in May, watching Sienna Durr jump farther than she ever jumped before. The Grinnell Junior would win the 3A state championship in the long jump after 17’10 1/4″ on her final jump. After the final jump by Washington’s Hannah Anderson was the last jumper in the line-up, I shuffled closer and closer to officials that were bending down low to go over all the results. Then I heard somebody mutter that the Grinnell gal won the event. I instantly sprang into action and tweeted the result online and then waited as Durr lined up with her competitors for the announcement of the results. It was the first state title for Grinnell in any sport since I started covering the Tigers.
I remember sitting up the first base line in Montezuma, IA wondering if the Bravettes would go to the state softball tournament for the first time in school history. Montezuma played through a tough South Iowa Cedar League conference schedule and had to overall some close calls in the regional playoffs before battling Ft. Dodge St. Edmond in the regional finals. In other words, the Bravettes would have to beat Ft. Dodge in order to go to Ft. Dodge. They did so easily and Head Coach Josh Anderson was a little stunned in my post-game interview. Monte was an easy team to root for — the girls on that team were just so likable.
I remember broadcasting several wrestling matches on the final night of the State Wrestling Tournament. English Valleys’ Zach Axmear would complete a perfect senior season and finally get a state championship for the Bears. Williamsburg’s Grayson Kesterson would not get scored on the entire state tournament and cruised to an easy state title. Iowa Valley’s Jacob Krakow would come up just short in his bid for a gold medal but South Tama’s Issac Judge would give us a third state title on the night.
I remember sitting in a cold football stadium in Sully, rooting on Lynnville-Sully in the first round of the Class A High School Football playoffs. It was so windy and so cold, I could not feel my feet after the game was over. The Hawks completed two long TD passes in the third quarter to Tyson Vander Linden, both of them on the same play to clinch a victory over New London. It took me the rest of the night to warm up after that game.
I remember seeing BGM’s Jayce Knight edge out a runner from Pekin in the finals of the 4×100 relay at the state tournament. The Bears team had proven all year that they were on a mission. I talked with Devon Maxfield, Keegan James, Dawson Owens and Knight at the Grinnell relays which was several weeks before state and they thought they had something special going. They were right. Knight and the Pekin kid were head to head down the stretch and Jayce was able just to lean across the finish line.
There were so many moments and interviews this past year — too many list. Talking with Montezuma’s Breck Goodman in early February was very special, one of the best interviews I have ever done of a high school athlete. It was fun going to Lynnville Sully in early March (indoors I might add) and interviewed the Hawks boys basketball team before they went to state. It was neat interviewing the Lint sisters in Brooklyn, Kelsey and Kaylee make up a strong future for BGM. It was fun following Grinnell alum Eli Dunne as he started at QB for UNI and took the Panthers to the playoffs. It was a blast going to the UNI Dome and broadcasting Williamsburg’s football team as they pursued a 2A state title.
If I had to narrow it down, watching the Grinnell girls basketball team go to state was the moment of the year for me. While they did not win at the Well, it was really special watching the Tigers go from being a very good team to a great team. Grinnell’s win over Center Point Urbana in early January 2017 was one of the greatest high school basketball games I have ever seen. Heading into the second half of this season, Grinnell is undefeated and maybe one of the best teams right now in the entire state of Iowa. They are poised to make 2018 very special indeed and bring us some more memories.
Make sure you tune in to our KGRN Sports Year in Review Show tomorrow at 3pm on 1410 KGRN and myiowainfo.com. We’ll re-air it on New Year’s Day at 3pm as well.
Happy New Year!