Sports

Noelle Hamand, a standout golfer for the Humboldt High girls’ squad, will continue competing in the sport after she graduates this spring.

Hamand last week signed a letter of intent to attend Buena Vista University in Storm Lake and compete on the BVU golf squad. BVU coach Joseph Powell was on hand for the signing.

“I’m pretty confident and very excited to sign with BVU and play with their team next year. Golf is one of my main passions in life. I’ve been golfing since I was five. I really enjoy it and I get to continue beyond high school,” Hamand said.

“I’ll be majoring in Rehabilitation Sciences. I’ll go on to obtain my doctorate occupational therapy,” Hamand said.

“BVU has been following me around at my meets and they’ve shown a lot of interest. I really enjoyed the atmosphere at BVU when I visited,” Hamand said. “I’m hoping to advance to state again this year. I want to soak in my last year of high school golf.”

Some familiar North Central Conference schools will be joining Humboldt in Class 3A District 2 football this fall.

On Monday, the Iowa High School Athletic Association released district assignments for the next two seasons. Humboldt will be joined by Algona, Clear Lake, Charles City, Hampton-Dumont-CAL and Webster City.

The association will announce the schedules for the 2023-24 seasons, which will include the four non-district games played at the start of the season.

“I am really excited to play so many NCC teams. It’s always for our players and communities to play against each other,” Humboldt fifth-year head coach Derrick Elman said.

“Bringing Webster City, Hampton-Dumont-CAL and Clear Lake into our district schedule is really exciting. It’s been 10 years since Humboldt played Charles City, so that will be a new challenge for us,” Elman said.

Runner-up finishes in the shuttle hurdle relay and in the distance medley relay highlighted Humboldt's indoor track opener in the Nielsen Family Invitational held Friday, March 17, inside the Humboldt Recreation Center at Nielsen Family Fieldhouse.

Humboldt's distance medley relay of Peyton Petersen, Keegan Groat, Elliot Carlson and Mason Van Pelt clocked 3:56.80 for runner-up honors.

The Wildcats' shuttle hurdle relay of Jackson Dodd, Tyler Carlson, Landyn Dencklau and Coen Matson finished second in 40.77 seconds.

Matson also finished third in the 60-meter hurdles in 9.57 seconds and Tayeton Lohaus was third in the shot put with a toss of 44-1.

Humboldt's outdoor track season begins on April 4 at Eagle Grove. Humboldt's Charlie Bunn Relays will take place on April 6.

See full story in the Humboldt Independent Newspaper. Subscribe today for print/digital access by selecting the link on this page to get started.

Humboldt won three events and got a good look at their girls' track squad in their own Nielsen Family Invitational on Thursday, March 16, inside the Humboldt Recreation Center.

Morgan Mann won the high jump with a leap of 4-10 to boost Humboldt at the start of the meet.

Humboldt's 4x800 relay took first in 12:23.85. The relay consisted of Alana Malo, Meg Zweibohmer, Tori Gargano and Sophia Harris.

The distance medley relay clocked 4:46.51 for first-place. Tayla Wempen, Bella Metli, Mann and Brynn Malo comprised the winning relay for Humboldt.

Mann was also second in the 400-meters in 1:06.29.

Humboldt will begin their outdoor season at Clear Lake on April 4.

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Carlson tabbed 3rd team

Wildcats finished season at 18-5

Humboldt, which challenged for the boys’ North Central Conference basketball title, had four players named to the coaches’ post-season all-conference team.
Senior guard Will Orness was a first-team all-conference pick for the second straight year. The Wildcats’ senior guard Josh Thurm and junior forward Evan Hatcher were selected to the second-team. Humboldt sophomore forward Elliot Carlson was chosen to the third-team.
Orness averaged a team-high 16.65 points per game, along with 6.65 rebounds. He also had 3.3 assists and 1.56 steals per game. Orness shot 35.5 percent from 3-point range as he made 83 of 234 attempts. He also made 48 of 61 free throws for 78.7 percent.

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Humboldt won NCC dual title, finished 7th in state duals

Wildcats were 18-4 overall

Winning is a habit for the Humboldt boys’ wrestling team and no one has to look any further than the recent 2022-23 season where the Wildcats were 18-4 in duals, went unbeaten in North Central Conference duals and finished seventh in the Class 3A state dual team tournament.

Humboldt also had five qualify for the state individual tournament with seniors Jase Goodell and Jayden Gargano placing fifth and sixth, respectively.

“We’ve had 13 straight winning seasons. We’ve been ranked in the top 16 ten times over those years. This isn’t an accident,” Humboldt 20-year head coach Chad Beaman said.

By PHIL MONSON

Former Humboldt High and Wartburg College track and cross country standout Jon Stover has been making his mark as a coach.

Stover, in his sixth year as an assistant cross country and track coach at Iowa City West High school, specializes in leading a wheelchair competitor at IC West, senior Jordan Caperon.

Stover helps in all areas but mostly focused on wheelchair events for the last three years with Caperon.

“I just like giving back to the kids. I learned so much and I was able to get so much out of running that I want to continue giving back to the kids and guys that probably were a lot like I was when I was in high school and in college,” Stover said.

“Just the things that I was able to accomplish, especially in college, I never would have dreamed I could have done that when I was a young kid growing up. It shows you what hard work and dedication can get you,” Stover said.

Wildcats finished 15-8, were 3rd in league

By PHIL MONSON

Humboldt sophomore guard Morgan Mann, who set several new records this past season, was a unanimous first-team all-conference basketball selection by coaches in the North Central Conference.

Freshman Ava Fischer, who made an impact from the opening tip of the season, earned second-team all-conference honors. Fischer and Mann helped lead the Wildcats to an overall record of 15-8, 10-4 and third in the NCC standings.

Mann averaged 19.5 points per game along with 3.4 steals, 5.5 rebounds and 2.35 assists per game. Mann set five-player individual records in scoring in two categories. She made 33 points in a late-season game and finished the year with 448 points for the season.

By PHIL MONSON

Nothing came easy for former Humboldt High football and wrestling standout Colten Goodell during his last two seasons on the Iowa Central Community College wrestling team.

Goodell says he wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Tritons, a perennial junior college power each year, have all 10 of their starters competing in the national tournament this weekend in Council Bluffs.

Goodell, a 220-pounder in high school, competed at 197 his freshman year at IC and moved up to heavyweight this past season.

“These last two years have gone really fast but I have no regrets,” said Goodell, who has wrestled mostly in a reserve role for IC.

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Algona put together a strong fourth quarter performance to down Humboldt, 70-64 in a boys' Class 3A substate semifinal round game in the Humboldt gym Thursday night, Feb. 23.

Ben Helmers scored 24 points, Caden Weber had 19, Alex Manske made 13 and Tristan Larsen added 11 for Algona, 16-7. They played MOC-Floyd Valley, which defeated Sioux Center, 66-52. Algona will play in a substate final on Feb. 27 in Spencer. Algona won over MOC-FV, 61-58, to advance into next week's state tournament in Des Moines for the first time since 1999.

Elliot Carlson’s 18 points led Humboldt. Josh Thurm made 15, Corey Dettman had 12 and Evan Hatcher added 11 for Humboldt, which finishes 18-5 overall.

The Wildcats won the previous two meetings between the two North Central Conference rivals. Humboldt won 83-63 in Humboldt on Dec. 13 and rallied in the fourth quarter for an 89-84 victory at Algona on Jan. 24.