Sports

Steve Berry's Youth bowlers bowled well in the City Bowling tournament at May City in Cedar Rapids earlier this spring.  Each year our youth bowlers are provided an opportunity to compete against others bowlers outside of our home bowling alley.  This provides our bowlers the ability to compete against their peers and allows them to see what it is like to bowl in another bowling alley.

The 22nd annual Hogan Memorial will be held Sunday, July 3 at Benton County Speedway.  Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modifieds headline the holiday weekend special in Vinton. The Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot-qualifying feature pays a minimum of $1,250 to win, with lap money, a halfway leader bonus and hard charger awards making for a potential payday of more than $4,000.

Union athletes are among players in one of the state's fastest growing organized sports: Rugby.   Friday night in Altoona, the Wolf Creek Knights opened up with convincing wins over Urbandale 35-14, and SE Polk "B" 49-14. In the first contest, Isaiah Vaughan and Jordan Schmitz each scored twice and Sam Johnson scored once.

The portable speaker and scoreboard stayed inside. Bleachers replaced lawn chairs and blankets – although many of the spectators brought blankets for warmth in the windy, rainy 40-degree weather. The concession stand was open for the very first time during a VS soccer game. And the players started the game on one of the newest fields – a sharp contrast to the previous years, when home soccer games took place up the hill, on a sloping field where the north goal was at a noticeably higher elevation than the south goal, the playing surface included ankle-turning divots, and a bright orange snow fence helped keep errant kicks from bouncing onto 21st Street.

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series featuring Vinton-Shellsburg athletes and coaches who are continuing to pass lessons about life and sports to young players. Today, we meet Kyle McAbee, who will coach his first high school varsity soccer game tonight. A member of the very first Vinton-Shellsburg varsity boys soccer team has returned to become its coach.

VINTON, Iowa – There will still be an IMCA Frostbuster Week to start the 2016 race season. The last three of those specials will be held next week, however.  Friday’s special at Marshalltown Speedway has been canceled, as was the Thursday event at Benton County Speedway in Vinton, due to rain. Boone Speedway will still host a sanctioned show on Saturday, April 2, paying $1,000 to win in the Fast-Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying feature; the complete purse for the Modifieds, IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks is to be determined this afternoon.

The 213 that Byron Christianson bowled on Saturday would have been among the top 20 one-game scores among the 40+ high schoolers who competed in the 2016 Class 1A Boys State Tournament earlier this year. And Byron is only 8.  Byron, the son of Jarron and Ashlyn Christianson, rolled his personal best while winning the Zippy Midgets tournament at Berry's Lanes on Saturday.

Vinton-Shellsburg senior golfer Tyler Stueck will continue his career into the collegiate level. Stueck, the son of Tom and Cindi Stueck, has signed a Letter of Intent to attend college and play golf for Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids.  VS Coach Chad Pettyjohn joined the Stuecks and Mount Mercy Coach Luke Slaymaker for the signing. Last year, Stueck was one of the six top golfers in the Wamac West, with a 9-hole average of 41.

 Ken Schrader joins the Xtreme Motor Sports IMCA Modified field for the Thursday, March 31 Frostbuster special at Benton County Speedway.  The popular NASCAR driver will be among contenders for a $1,000 winner’s check and a berth on the ballot for the 2016 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational.  Completing the season-opening program at Vinton are IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars running for $500 to win, Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMods for $400 to win and IMCA Sunoco Hobby Stocks for $250 to win.

More than 30 area youngsters have signed up already for the first Vinton-Shellsburg 7-on-7 football league “This could be the start of something pretty cool,” says Andrew May, of the new league, which begins next month. Both boys and girls in grades 5-8 can still sign up for the 7-week session which begins April 5. There is no cost for participants, said May.