Midland inducts four members into new Hall of Fame

     Four inaugural inductions were made into the Midland High School Hall of Fame in a pair of events held in late January in Wyoming.

     Inducted were John Byers, Betty Anderson, Jerry Carstens and the 1993-94 Midland girls basketball team.

     The hall of fame was set up to honor those who have contributed to success at Midland High School. It will honor not only athletics but also fine arts, contributors to Midland, and distinguished graduates.

     The inductees:

     John Byers, who passed away in November 2016, worked at Midland High School for 35 years, teaching industrial arts and drivers’ education as well as coaching football, wrestling and track. In 1978 he was honored as The Class A Iowa Coach of the Year for wrestling. In 1992 he was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Hall of Fame.

     Betty Anderson has been a long-standing contributor to the Midland school district. Over the years, “Grandma Betty,” as she is known to many in the district, has been involved in many activities including driving bus, regularly attending Midland sporting events, chaperoning dances, and more.

     Jerry Carstens, who passed away in October 2019, was a long-time physical education teacher and coach. He coached girls basketball at Midland, guiding six teams to the state tournament between 1969 and 1994. Carstens is currently the ninth winningest coach in Iowa high school girls basketball history with 685 wins against 246 losses. He was inducted into the Iowa Girls Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2002. He coached at Midland through 2004.

     The 1993-94 State Qualifying Girls Basketball Team played in the Iowa state tournament that featured only 5-on-5 games for the first time. Under coach Carstens, the team finished 19-5, losing in the first round of the state tournament 37-32 to Armstrong-Ringsted. Team members included Julie Knake, Lisa Eganhouse Cantwell, Paula Brady Walsh, Kelly Erickson Ballou, Jessie Paarmann VonBehren, Nancy Tasker Davis, Tamara Ewoldt, Kelly Kleppe Doll and Kristy Loy.

Wrestling

     Two members of the Midland wrestling team, Cayden Miller and Damon Huston, advanced to district competition during the Class 1A sectional tournament held Feb. 8 at Lisbon.

     Miller was champion at 160, winning both a semifinal and championship match by fall. In the finals, he pinned Jacob Waller of Bellevue in 3:02.

     Huston, at 120, reached the finals before losing to Brandon Paez of Lisbon. Huston then had to wrestle back for the true second spot, pinning Blaine McGraw of Alburnett in 57 seconds to advance to districts.

     Others who placed for Midland: Shayden Hansen, third at 113; Jared Crock, third at 138; Caden Ballou, third at 145; Carson Hunter, third at 152; Logan Bicknese, fifth at 106; Kaleb Westphal, sixth at 170; and Cael Eganhouse, sixth at 285.

     As a team, the Eagles were fourth with 116 points, finishing behind champion Lisbon (292.5), Alburnett (177) and Bellevue (117).

Girls basketball

     Two strong Tri-Rivers Conference opponents handed defeats to the Midland girls basketball team last week.

     Midland (1-10, 3-16) played at Calamus-Wheatland Feb. 4, and lost by a score of 40-29. Arianna Hacke recorded a double-double for the Eagles, with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Hacke also had four assists and three blocks. Amaya Terrell had six points, and Elizabeth Soper added four. Bailie Uppena grabbed nine rebounds, Allison Paulsen pulled down six, and Kaeti Taylor-Mere had four. Uppena also had three steals.

     “It was a competitive ballgame throughout, and we played well enough to win, but we need to learn to finish games better and manage our turnovers,” Midland coach Jason Soper said.

     On Feb. 7, Easton Valley rode a 17-5 third quarter edge to a 51-42 victory over the Eagles in Wyoming. Hacke had another strong game for Midland, with 13 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists. Paulsen and Terrell had nine points apiece, and Hope Saroka came off the bench to score five.

     “Ari has really rounded into an all-conference performer, recording her seventh double-figure scoring game of the year,” Soper said. “I am very proud of the fight in our girls. I will be excited to see the day when we put it all together; we are very close.”

Boys basketball

     Midland lost a pair of games in recent Tri-Rivers Conference boys basketball action.

     The Eagles (3-7, 5-13) played at Calamus-Wheatland Feb. 4, and lost 71-58.

     “We played really well offensively,” Midland coach Dalton Harms said. “Defensively is where we needed to improve. They got too many easy buckets blowing right by us and in transition. We needed to take better care of the ball.”

     Britan Martens scored 22 points to pace the Eagles. Zain Sauer added 15, and Iziek Soper had 13.

     The Eagles also lost a Feb. 7 home game to Easton Valley, 73-31. Statistics for that game were unavailable at press time.