Sports

  The Vinton-Shellsburg Vikettes came within just six strokes of earning a trip to the team State Golf Meet at the Regional contest on Monday, finishing in third place. Seniors Erin Randall and Natalie Ketchen did advance to the State individual event; both carded an 89.  Coach's Report: May 20, 2013 Westwood Golf Course, Newton Par 71 Weather conditions: Windy, upper 70s, low 80s   Team Standings: (top two teams advance to State) Grinnell                         353 Newton                          376 Vinton-Shellsburg         382 Adel-Desota                  401 Dallas Center-Grimes   408 Norwalk                         420 Ballard                           426 Winterset                       436 Creston                          447 Carlisle                          458 Perry                              462 Webster City                  468 Top 5 Individuals (and ties) advance to State in Medalist Competion: Amanda Hintz                    Grinnell   82 Erin Randall                        V-S         89 Natalie Ketchen                   V-S         89 Shelby Townsend                Perry       89 Samantha Ramsey               Grinnell   90 Amber Kracht                     Grinnell    90 We are delighted to have Erin Randall and Natalie Ketchen both shoot 89 and advance to the State competition to be held at the Ames Country Club next Tuesday and Wednesday.

  A year after helping coach Heartland Community College of Normal, Illinois, to third place in the 2012 D-II National Championships, Vinton native Josh Kauten and the coaching staff and players are celebrating another Region 24 Championship. The Hawks return to the National Championships this weekend, in Oklahoma.  See Josh''s page on the Heartland site HERE.

The second season of Vinton-Shellsburg boys soccer ended Monday night with a first-round Sub-State loss at Independence, 3-1.  The Vikings and Mustangs remained scoreless until halfway through the first half, when the Mustangs scored two goals within three minutes. The hosts dded another early second-half goal. The Vikings got on the board with just under seven minutes left with a Lasse Heddinger penalty kick.

Nolan Sagan shaved nearly 5 seconds off his first-place finishing time in the District 800M dash during the State Track Meet finals on Saturday, finishing second in his heat and 8th overall in Class 3A with a time of 1:57.64. His first place time during the District meet in Vinton a week earlier was 2:02.44. "Nolan had a great day Saturday," said VS Boys Track Coach Aric Chvala.

The Vinton-Shellsburg girls golf team defeated Benton Community by only three strokes on the Bobcats' lowest-scoring outing of the season. Coach's report: May 16, 2013 Benton – V-S Dual Meet Tara Hills Golf Course Par 37 Weather conditions: warm, little wind   Team Results: V-S                              190 Benton Comm.

The eight Vinton-Shellsburg athletes who qualified for the State Track Meet loaded into school vans this morning after a pep assembly. They will compete tonight and/or tomorrow in Des Moines. Parents along with a busload of VSHS seniors are traveling to Des Moines to support the Vikings and Vikettes. VS qualified the following athletes/events:   Boys: * Nolan Sagan, 400M and 800 M.

The Vinton Parks and Recreation held its annual Hershey Track Meet on Tuesday afternoon. Winners in each age/gender group earn the right to advance to the State eventl  Click HERE for complete results.

Erica Miller, the grandaughter of Dave and Marcia Hite of Vinton, has enjoyed much success at first base for Iowa State University, especially in the past two seasons. Miller, an ISU senior, was named to the All-Big 12 First Team for the second year in a row. In her final season with the Cyclones, Miller hit .349 against Big 12 pitching while slugging .

The wind was again a factor on the soccer field as the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikings played against a strong south wind for the first half of their game vs. West Delaware. The Hawks took advantage of the wind at their backs to score two goals in that half.  The Hawks defenders kept the Vikings from taking advantage of the wind in the second half to preserve a 2-0 win.

Just 40 days ago, Logan Davis put on the gloves and stood guard over a soccer net for the very first time. The Viking junior had never played soccer his entire life until deciding this spring to try out for the Viking soccer team, which began just last year. Already, Davis is among the leaders in Class 2A goalies. Going into Tuesday's game against West Delaware, he was second in the WaMaC West and fourth among Class 2A goalies in all of Iowa, with 117 saves in 13 games.