Sports

Vinton Parks and Recreation is excited to offer the following new addition to our Adult Sports Programming.  ADULT CO-ED 5 V 5 SOCCER  WHO:  5 v 5 Co-Ed teams (Rosters are a max of 10 players) WHEN:  SUNDAY NIGHT – Games are @ 6:00 & 6:45 (Games will consist of 4 – 8 Minute Quarters) WHERE:  Karr Athletic Complex (New Football Field) COST:  $60 per team DEADLINE TO REGISTER: Monday, September 28th CAPTAIN’S MEETING: Thursday, October 1st @ Vinton Recreation Center 7:30pm **Play will tentatively begin the week of October 4 ***If you have questions or want to play but can't get a team we will be happy to pair you with some fellow "Free Agents".

Last week's V-S district opener at Charles City was dominated by both the Viking and Comet defenses.  The Vikings only managed 140 yards of total offense, but the Viking defense recovered two fumbles and intercepted two passes while holding the Cadets to 248 yards of offense. The last fumble recovery came late in the game, after the Vikings' lone score, a run by Nick Hyland from inside the Cadet 1.

Sisters Lily (3rd place) and Grace Horst (7th place) led the V-S girls cross country team to a 1st-place finish in the Grinnell Invitational on Tuesday evening. Bristi Gerber also finished 10th for the Vikettes, who came in 20 points ahead of second-place Pella.  In the varsity boys event, Cole Tharp (11th) and Jonah Blix (12th) led the Vikings to a second-place finish in a meet won by Grinnell.

The Vinton-Shellsburg varsity football team quickly fell behind the highly-rated Class 2A South Tama Trojans on Friday. But after giving up 14 first quarter points, the Viking defense contained the ST and its explosive running backs for the rest of the game. But one play in the third quarter left the audience silent and the Viking quarterback corps -- which has already suffered two injuires -- saw another one of its members go down.

All of the experts who have looked at the Iowa Conference football schedule expect former V-S Viking leader Gunner Tranel and the rest of the Wartburg Knights to be in December of 2015 exactly where they were a year earlier, when they celebrated in the snow their team’s second straight Iowa Conference title. The Knights are also ranked 6th and 9th nationally in two pre-season Division III polls.

Led by siblings Lily and Grace Horst, the V-S cross country team finished in third place in the girls event of the Williamsburg Invitational on Tuesday. Senior Lily finished third with a time of 20:33. Grace, a freshman, came in 6th with a time of 21:22. In the boys event, sophomore Cole Tharp led the Vikings, coming in 6th place with a time of 17:46.

In each of the first three V-S football seasons under head coach Jim Womochil, the Vikings have begun their season with a win over Benton, followed by a close loss to South Tama. Ending that streak will be tougher this year, as the Vikings prepare to face the highly-ranked Trojans, who made the second round of the playoff last year in Class 2A, and return 19 of last year’s 22 starters.

The slimmest of margins separated Todd Cooney and John Emerson atop the IMCA Late Model Sunday Series standings entering the final night of action at Benton County Speedway. As such, it stands to reason it took all 25 feature laps to remove all doubt in determining the series champion. Cooney held a one point edge over Emerson entering the ninth and final series tilt and, based on the tie breakers in place, unless he won the feature Emerson had to beat Cooney by at least two positions on the track to steal championship honors.

The first of what Vinton-Shellsburg players will be 10 or more football games takes place tonight, when the Vikings travel to Benton Community for their season opener. Those who cannot travel to Van Horne for the game can see it on their computers. The school plans to steam the game on its Cube video page. Like they have since 2010, the Vikings play their first two non-district games against Benton and then South Tama.

The 2015 cross country season began Tuesday in Mount Vernon, where the Vinton-Shellsburg boys and girls competed with several teams.  Viking sophomore Cole Tharp led his team with a 10th-place time of 17:50. For the girls, freshman Grace Horst led V-S with a 14th-place time of 22:22.  The Vikings finished third in team scoring; the Vikettes were 6th.