Colfax-Mingo ready for another spring sports season

Colfax-Mingo senior Delaney Underwood took advantage of playing in her first state golf tournament last season.

Underwood qualified for the Class 2A tournament and came home with a 10th-place medal. In her final prep season, Underwood wants to move closer to the top in 2019.

“She obviously would be thrilled just to get back to state, but we think top five is a realistic goal, too,” Colfax-Mingo golf coach Mike Underwood said.

Coach Underwood begins his first full season as Tigerhawk golf coach. He served as an assistant coach last before taking over the reins in the postseason. In his first season, he will have 11 girls and eight boys to work with.

The Tigerhawk track programs have veteran coaches in Matt Barkalow and Zach Tomas.

Barkalow leads a boys’ team that goes nearly 30 deep and features a roster full of experience and depth in the middle distances.

Two of the four members — senior Zarek Hill and junior Trinity Schroeder — of last year’s state qualifying shuttle hurdle relay team are back. Junior Brady Berkey also is out for the first time and has already won a South Iowa Cedar League indoor title in the high jump.

“We expect to score in all field and running events each night,” Barkalow said. “I think we will be deep in jumps, hurdles and distances of 400 to 800 meters. We aim to be competitive in every meet.”

For the first time since Tomas took over the Colfax-Mingo girls’ track and field program in 2010, the Tigerhawks failed to qualify for the state meet.

With several key returners back in the fold, a strong freshmen class and a healthy Abbey McConeghey, Tomas hopes that changes in 2019.

“There are a lot of new faces, but this one of the hardest working and most positive teams that I have coached in my 10 years of leading the program,” Tomas said. “The goal is to be in the top half of the conference and return some events to the state meet.”

The C-M boys’ track team opens the outdoor season at Pella Christian at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Pella. The Tigerhawk girls compete with the boys in their first outdoor meet at Lynnville-Sully at 4:30 p.m. on April 2 in Sully.

The golf teams open their season at 4:15 pm. on April 1 in Sigourney.

Golf

Delaney Underwood headlines the Tigerhawk golf teams. The C-M senior ranked 10th in 2A in nine-hole average at 43.38 and eighth in 18-hole average at 82.33 last season.

The girls’ team also brings back senior Chelsea Russell and juniors Brielle Reed and Sydni Hostetter from last year’s varsity squad.

“We have our top four scoring averages back, and we have a team that can win the SICL,” Coach Underwood said. “If we can get our top four girls averaging around 50 or better, we’ll have a good shot to get to state, too.”

Russell averaged 55.43 in nine holes, while Reed and Hostetter both averaged just less than 58.

The rest of the girls’ roster includes returners senior Reghan Robinette, junior Shanen Shedenhelm and sophomore Kira Warrick and newcomers senior Meredith Mays and freshmen Katie Schlosser, Morgan Van Dyke and Kirsten Frier.

Schlosser is going to compete on the track team, too.

Senior Ahren Teed headlines the boys’ team after averaging 48.86 in nine holes and 86 in 18 holes last year. Teed is joined by several other teammates who played on the varsity a year ago.

Senior Skyler Aikin averaged 51 in nine holes and 96.5 in 18 holes last season. Berkey, who will dual-sport with track for the first time in his career, averaged 51.57 in nine holes and 103 in 18 holes a season ago.

Sophomore Jason Rhinehart also is back after compiling a scoring average of 55.40 in nine holes and 103 in 18 holes as a freshman last season.

“We were in the bottom half of the conference last year, but I think we can move into the top four this season,” Coach Underwood said.

“We need to have an improved short game, more consistency and be better with course management.”

The rest of the team includes senior Nic Duffy, sophomores Brode Nichol and Jake Nichols and freshman Shane Aikin.

Coach Underwood, whose assistant coach will be Blake Warrick, wanted to add a few more 18-hole meets in 2019. He was able to add a home 18-hole quad on the boys’ side and the girls will play 18 holes at Bondurant-Farrar.

Both teams also will play an 18-hole conference dual meet against English Valleys at Oakland Aces.

Boys Track

Two of the members of last year’s ninth-place shuttle hurdle relay state team have graduated, but Colfax-Mingo should have plenty of depth and experience to send more than just one event to the state meet this season.

Hill and Schroeder headline the roster, but the depth in the sprints includes seniors Ethan Summy, Cauy Fitch and Holister Koenig, juniors Trystin Ross and Berkey, sophomore A.J. Gibson and freshmen Tanner Gorman and Seth Johnson.

Barkalow said Fitch is unique in the fact that he can use him in just about any distance on the track. He’ll be joined in the distance races by junior Hunter Green and sophomores Zach Steenhoek, Avery Lees and Colton Hernandez and freshman Coleman Craig.

Berkey joins the team for the first time. He spent his first two high school springs on the golf team. He’ll play both sports this season.

“He makes us better right away in every event he competes in,” Barkalow said. “He has 6-foot potential in the high jump and 20-foot potential in the long jump. He also will be an outstanding hurdler and makes every sprint relay better.”

Berkey will be joined in the high jump by Gibson and Schroeder, Koenig, Summy, Lees and Hill all have potential to be long jumpers with him.

Another new addition to the team is junior Andres Villegas, who is expected to be the top shot putter. Others who will throw the shot put include senior Deklan Lewis, junior Dylan Miller and sophomore Andrew Gorman.

Miller is the top discus thrower along with Lewis, Ross and freshman Grant Alexander.

Hill and Schroeder were on the shuttle hurdle relay team that placed ninth in 2A at state last year. Berkey is expected to join those two with Fitch, Koenig, Hernandez and freshman Justin Myers rounding out a deep group of hurdlers.

“We expect a return to state in the shuttle hurdle relay in 2019,” Barkalow said. “Zarek is a huge competitor, Trinity is incredibly gifted and Berkey will step right in and we won’t miss a beat in the event.”

Girls Track

Tomas said he expects the field events to lead the way for the Tigerhawks early on in the season. That will give him time to figure out where each athlete fits best on the track.

Headlining the list of returners are McConeghey, seniors Jordan Atwood, Braedynn Rawlins, Ilia Hostetter and Colbee Cunningham and sophomores Crystal Lincoln, Riley Carroll and Chelsey Temple.

Hostetter, Lincoln and McConeghey lead the distance events. Hostetter led the team in scoring last year with 73.5 points. Lincoln was second with 64.75 points.

Hostetter qualified for state in cross country as a sophomore and was part of the 4x800 relay team that went to state two years ago. She’ll run anything from 100 to 3,000.

McConeghey qualified for state in three events as a freshman but had her entire sophomore season wiped out because of an injury. Tomas hopes by the time the season ends, McConeghey can get back to her freshman-season form.

“It’s too early to tell,” Tomas said. “She is working really hard. I expect her to have a big season, but it may not be immediate.”

The third and fourth best scorers last season were Rawlins and Atwood with 64 and 60 points, respectively.

Rawlins leads a shot put group that includes junior A.J. Wilson and freshmen Kyra Lester and McKayla Smith.

Rawlins set the school record last season with a throw of 37 feet, 0 1/2 inches and Smith set the junior high school record last year as an eighth-grader.

Atwood is one of the top sprinters and has the longest leap in the long jump in the Tomas era. Other top sprinters include Carroll, junior Jodine Woods and sophomore Olivia VanHeukelom.

Cunningham, who will run anything from a 100 to an 800, was a top-10 scorer last year with 23 points. She was part of the Tigerhawks’ 4x800 relay team that qualified for state two years ago.

Carroll scored 19.5 points last year, finishing in the top 10 as well. Carroll is the team’s top hurdler.

Sophomore Daytin Chadwick had a breakout cross country season. Tomas hopes it carries over to the track. Chadwick will be the team’s leader in high jump, too.

There are nine freshmen and most of them will factor into the varsity lineup.

Lester reached 90 feet in the discus last year in junior high, and Tomas expects her to lead the team this season.

Kylie Doty will make an immediate impact in sprints and will compete in the long jump. Danica Lynn will factor into hurdles and mid-distance. Avery Rague is another sprinter and long jumper and Katie Schlosser and Maggie Schroeder both could factor into the throwing events.

Tomas expects Melany Vry to be one of the top hurdlers and she also will compete in high jump.

“This is one of the better groups as a whole that I have had since I have been coaching here,” Tomas said. “We will look rough early on, but we’ll improve a lot as we go.”

The Tigerhawks will be 31 deep. And unlike in other seasons, only a handful of those athletes will dual sport this spring. Hostetter, Lincoln, Temple and Woods will play soccer for PCM, and Schlosser will be part of the C-M golf team.