Wildcats are fifth in TRC tourney

Wrestling

     Maquoketa Valley finished fifth of nine teams in the Tri-Rivers Conference Wrestling Tournament Jan. 26 at East Buchanan in Winthrop.

     Lisbon was the runaway champion with 245 points; East Buchanan was second with 151.

     Evan Elgin reached the finals in the 195-pound weight class, and finished second. Taking third place were Parker Sternhagen at 145 pounds, Tim Harmon at 160, Carter Kruse at 182, and Michael Feldmann at 220.

Girls basketball

     A 10-day layoff between games didn’t seem to bother the Maquoketa Valley girls basketball team, which won back-to-back games this past weekend.

     The Wildcats (10-1, 15-2) scored a 67-43 win at Alburnett Jan. 25. Three MV players scored in double figures: Sam Wall with 21 points, Emerson Whittenbaugh with 14 and Ella Imler with 11. Whittenbaugh also had eight rebounds; Wall made four steals and blocked two shots.

     “We didn’t get off to a very good start, but to our kids’ credit they battled all night,” MV coach Scot Moenck said.

     On Jan. 26, MV played host to Central City, and won 71-42, thanks largely to a 25-8 first quarter lead. Wall had 26 points and Whittenbaugh added 24 points and seven rebounds. Getting six rebounds apiece were Maci Freiburger and Taya Tucker. Wall had four steals; Maddy Anderegg and Whittenbaugh had three apiece.

     “After a big win the night before and not having any practice time in a week, we couldn’t look past Central City,” Moenck said. “We didn’t play very well in this game, especially on the defensive side of the ball.”

Boys basketball

     Despite the school closings and postponements across Eastern Iowa for much of last week, the Maquoketa Valley boys basketball team managed to get three games in, winning one of them.

     The Wildcats (3-7, 8-8) played host to Clayton Ridge Jan. 21, and scored a 50-27 victory. MV held Clayton Ridge to just eight first half points while taking a 20-8 lead. Brian Heims scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. Andrew Holtz had 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Blake Becker added nine points, and A.J. Ambundo had seven.

     On Jan. 22, MV hosted Central City, and lost 60-54 despite a 17-point night for Ambundo. Owen Mensen added 12 points. Becker had eight rebounds, and Holtz made seven assists.

     At Alburnett Jan. 25, the Wildcats lost 74-44. Heims had 12 points and seven rebounds. Holtz had nine points and six assists.