Athletics Notebook: January 16, 2023

Little Cyclone Athletics had another successful week and start to 2023, including boys basketball knocking off a top-10 opponent, seven Little Cyclone wrestlers winning titles at the Mendenhall Invitational, and boys swimming breaking nine pool records at Des Moines Lincoln. Here’s a few highlights from across the board since the New Year:

Boys Basketball

• Boys basketball defeated No. 9 Pleasant Valley at the Wells Fargo Advisors Shootout in Cedar Rapids. The Little Cyclones had previously been 0-3 so far this season against top-10 opponents.
• The Little Cyclones are on a five-game winning streak. After nearly upsetting No. 6 West Des Moines Valley on the road, Ames has defeated its four IAC North Division counterparts in quick succession.
• Ames has held its five of its last six opponents (including No. 6 Valley and No. 9 Pleasant Valley) to under 40 points.

Wrestling

• Five female and two male Little Cyclone wrestlers claimed Mendenhall Invitational titles. Greta Goodman (100), Lexa Rozevink (120), Alexis Winkey (125), Leah Stagg (145), and Allison Metschke (170) earned gold in the girls division while Jackson Winkey (170) and Kyler Hall (285) won their weight class on the boys side. Kyler Hall and Jabari Hinson would also collect gold a week later at the ADM Tiger Invitational in Adel.
• Four wrestlers land in the latest individual IAwrestle boys rankings. #3 Jabari Hinson (126), #4 Danarii Mickel (195), #4 Kyler Hall (285), and #11 Jackson Winkey (170) are the currently ranked athletes for Ames.
• Girls wrestling remained perfect on the conference dual season. The Little Cyclones saw pins from Greta Goodman, Lexa Rozevink, Alexis Winkey, and Leah Stagg in Thursday’s 45-27 victory at home over Fort Dodge.

Boys Swimming

• In their dual meet at Des Moines Lincoln, the Little Cyclones captured 9 of a possible 11 pool records on January 5. The Little Cyclones won the dual over the Railsplitters, 130-39.
• Ames defeated Mason City 135-34 in the final home regular season meet of the season.
• In a triangular on Thursday, Ames topped Fort Dodge 156-18 and Boone 160-28 to improve its season dual record to a perfect 7-0. The Little Cyclones only fault on the season so far was finishing second-place to Pleasant Valley at the Mike Wittmer Invitational.

Girls Basketball

• The Little Cyclones opened 2023 with a pair of wins over IAC North Division opponents. Ames handled Marshalltown 34-12 before providing a mini-upset over Ottumwa, 37-32.
• Those two victories added to the Ames victory on the road over Waterloo East right before break – it was the first three-game winning streak for the Little Cyclones since the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign.
• Ames fell to Mason City 55-19 on Friday to drop to 2-2 in the IAC North halfway through divisional play.

Bowling

• Right before winter break, Sam Thach bowled a 230 to help the Little Cyclone boys win their first dual in the young program’s history over Ankeny, 2463-2397.
• On Saturday, both boys and girls finished third in a triangular with the other two high school bowling programs in Story County. Gilbert won the boys bowling triangular over Ballard and Ames (2609-2580-2440). On the girls side, Ballard won while Gilbert edged Ames for the second spot (2185-1872-1826)