Sports

W. I. N. Whatever Is Necessary. That’s the philosophy of Coach Jim Struve and the 2015 Vinton-Shellsburg baseball team is taking to the State Tournament next Tuesday. The Vikings did whatever was necessary on Wednesday night at Williamsburg, with offense, pitching and defense. In the bottom of the first, with two Raider runners crossing home plate and the batter who hit a line drive into the right field corner rounding second, right fielder Jordan Womochil relayed the ball to the infield, where Tyler Rippel tagged out the runner who tried to stretch a double into a triple.

VS Boys and Girls Middle School/High School Swim Camp will take place next week, Monday through Friday,  July 27-31 at the Vinton pool from 5 – 6 PM. All boys and girls entering 6th through 9th grades interested in learning about competitive swimming are invited. Swimmers Must be able to swim two pool lengths to participate. Register through VPRD by July 24th.

Ty Rippel pitched a complete came shut-out vs. Benton and center fielder Wes Edwards overcame a day of nausea to double and score the winning run in the first inning as Vinton-Shellsburg won in the second round of District baseball action. Edwards' run was all the Vikes would get, and all they would need, as Rippel kept the Bobcats from scoring.

Tony Olson’s dream season continued Sunday night at Benton County Speedway. In just 35 Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod starts in 2015, Olson earned his 18th feature win, his seventh on the Vinton quarter-mile. Kurt Hogan took the lead from Jake Salisbury following a lap one caution while Olson worked through the pack from a fifth row start.

For the past several years, the Iowa High School Athletic Association has used a 32-team football play-off, which allowed approximately one-half of the more than 20,000 players to be on a play-off team each season. But a review of scheduling issues and concern for athlete safety has motivated the IHSAA to change the play-off system for the 2016 season.

\ Vinton Parks and Recreation Department Adult Slow Pitch Softball Leagues - 2015 July 15-16, 2015 Women's Division Grinnin' Pitches 7--1 Grim Construction / Fareway 5--3 Team Extreme 0--8 Thursday's Games July 16th 2015 Team Extreme 5 vs Grim Construction / Fareway 19 Team Extreme 2 vs Gri

Down 3-0 after five innings, the Vinton-Shellsburg baseball team extended its season at least one more game by scoring once in the 6th inning and rallying for three runs in the 7th, when a walk-off single by catcher Aaron Henderson gave them a 4-3 win.    "I'm really proud of the guys on how they continued to believe they were going to win and performed their best when it mattered most," said Coach Jim Struve.

Iowa high school baseball teams begin their post-season this week. The Vinton-Shellsburg Vikings will compete in the Class 3A, District 10 grouping, which includes Benton Community, South Tama and Union. The Vikings and Bobcats play at 5 p.m. on Friday; the Trojans and Knights play at around 7 p.m.  The winners will play for the district title at 7 p.

Click to view this week's standings.

The annual Viking Youth Football Camp begins Aug. 3, for players entering grades 1-8. VS coach Jim Womochil has shared the official registration form, with specifications and costs. Click HERE to see that form.