By Ben Ihrig

With a van full of athletes, North Scott’s Drake qualifiers headed for Des Moines where most would compete, not knowing how well they would do. For Tyler Blondell, Randy Schmidt, Louis Defreise, and Jon Rus (4x 100 team), they never even came in first the entire year during a regular season track meet, so they were definitely astonished when they ended up placing 7^th out of 80 teams at the famous Drake Relays.

“I knew we weren’t too bad but I didn’t think we’d make it to the finals,” said Tyler Blondell (4 x 100 lead leg).

It certainly surprised me to receive a text from Blondell late Saturday that simply stated they were 7th. Many of their own teammates, including me, didn’t think they would do that well at Drake. I guess being underrated isn’t a bad thing at all.

They competed against some of the most elite 4A high schools in Iowa including Cedar Falls (who set a new Drake record), West Des Moines Valley, Iowa City High, and many others. Cedar Falls also had the fastest participant in the state running as their anchor, James Harrington, who also set a meet record in the 100 meter dash.

The team made a great run for a fairly underrated lineup in the state and (most importantly) made the coaches happy.

By Colby Sorensen

The baseball season is officially under way. The men have been hard at work this first week of practice that started on April 30. For most of the players the season has been going since last November when the varsity team held optional indoor workouts on Sunday afternoons.

In April the varsity, sophomore, and freshman teams have been playing inter-squad games on the weekends. Rain has altered the practice routine slightly. The hard work is still there though. The varsity squad practices every day after school until about 6 o’clock and the sophomore and freshman teams follow. For those of you who wonder how three teams share a field every single night it is tricky.

The team that practices right after school gets the field to themselves until about 5 and that is when the proceeding team warms up in right field. The last team to practice last warms up at about 6 and gets the field at roughly 6:30. It gets hectic having 40-50 players on the field at one time but we always find a way to make it work and get a solid practice in every day.

The first game is May 22nd at Dyersville-Beckman. The home opener is a non-conference matchup versus Bellevue-Marquette on May 23rd. It is going to be an excited year for Lancer baseball so show your support and come watch a few games this summer.

By: Justin Kreiter and Noah Gumpert

This past weekend the girls’ soccer went to Des Moines for a two-day tournament. They returned home with two wins and only one loss. They played some tough teams from the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids area.

Senior forward Raegan Czupka led the Lancer charge with two goals while Chloe Gotschalk and Shalynn Eldridge-Mcmillan also scored a goal of their own.

North Scott looks to keep their success up as they face Assumption, Pleasant Valley, and Central. They don’t have a home game until next week when they play Pleasant Valley but their games are close enough for fans to travel and support them. The Lady Lancers are right in the middle of the fight for a MAC Title and will need a strong push at the end of the year. They are 2-2 in MAC competition and 5-7 overall.

Senior guard, Brandon Voss, shoots over Cedar Rapids Prairie at a game earlier this season.

This Friday, January 14th Lancer fans will pack the Pit for the annual Cake Auction sponsored by the North Scott Athletic Boosters. This year’s theme is: “North Scott Lancers: Riding the Waves of Success.”

Activities begin at 4 o’clock as the sophomore boys and girl’s teams take on Davenport West. Varsity girl’s action starts at six and the Varsity boys will finish the night, tipping off around eight.

While the games are sure to entertain, perhaps the most anticipated match-up will be between the short but quick Varsity boys and the Falcons (5-1) 7-foot center, Nate Wells. It will be interesting to see how Coach Budde and his squad plan to overcome this nearly 8-inch Falcon advantage to maintain their second-place record in the MAC (actually tied with Davenport West) and chance at league champions.

But just in case the hardwood action isn’t enough, there will be plenty of uniquely decorated cakes waiting to be bought and devoured in the Commons. The event is a huge fundraiser for the Boosters; bring in thousands of dollars to support Lancer athletics.

So, whether it’s the sports or the sweets that attracts people to this year’s Cake Auction, it is a community tradition that won’t want to be missed.

At North Scott, the fall season means one thing to the student body: football games. Whether it’s tailgating in the parking lot, hanging out with friends at the game, or marching band, everyone looks forward to watching the games on Friday nights. So, show you’re school spirit and show up to as many games as possible this year! Also be sure to know what the theme is. Wearing black to a white out is just embarrassing.

Here’s the 2010 schedule:

8-27 7:00 against Pleasant Valley at home

9-3 7:00 at Clinton

9-10 7:00 against Davenport North at home

9-17 7:00 at Muscatine

9-24 7:00 at Bettendorf

10-1 7:00 against Davenport West HOMECOMING

10-8 7:00 against Assumption SENIOR NIGHT

10-15 7:00 at Burlington

10-21 7:00 at Davenport Central   Thursday game

10-28 7:00 1^st round of playoffs    Wednesday game

Football, basketball, and wrestling have always been known to draw the biggest crowds out of all the sports at North Scott. This may seem unfair to those in other sports, but that is generally the way it goes. However, all sports and the athletes that participate in them are deserving of recognition. And no sport deserves it more than baseball.

This summer, the Lancers capped off a 20-12 season with 5 players selected to numerous All-State, District, Metro, and MAC teams.

IHSBCA ALL STATE TEAM

Ben Engler – JR – 2nd Team – Outfield

INA ALL STATE TEAM

Ben Engler – JR – 3rd Team – Outfield

All QUAD CITY METRO

Ben Engler  – JR – 2nd Team – Outfield

All MAC

Ben Engler  – JR – 1st Team – Outfield

Brock Brade – SO – 2nd Team – 2nd Base

Aaron Huber – JR -Honorable Mention

Robert Copley – JR – Honarble Mention

Dyllin Gorsh – JR -Honrable Mention

All S.E. DISTRICT

Ben Engler – JR – 1st Team – Outfield

Aaron Huber – JR – 2nd Team – Utility

Robert Copley – JR – 2nd Team – Pitcher

The North Scott girl’s cross country team is back and ready to dominate. The girls have been practicing throughout the summer at the Scott County Park, training hard for their first two meets. The first meet on August 24 at Clinton is just a practice meet to place girls on JV or Varsity.  The first official meet will be held at PV on September 4.

The coach, Mrs. Lane has been working the girls hard with practices that vary from ladder workouts on the track to running suicides on 8^th street hill in Eldridge.

New talent added to the team this year are incoming freshman Emily Lane and Skylar Brooks. Emily & Skylar have shown their skills and dedication to the team and are both expected to place in the top 7 and be starters on Varsity for the season.