CARROLL (Feb. 26) -- It’s been eight years since the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton boys basketball team went to state in its first season as a consolidated school. On Tuesday night, the Spartans’ most accomplished four-year senior class fell one win shy of joining that coveted fraternity. In a Class 1A, Substate 8 final twice postponed and once relocated due to winter weather, sixth-ranked Sioux Central overcame a rough start to beat No.

 DES MOINES -- Seven area youth wrestlers qualified for and competed in the 2019 AAU State Tournament held February 23-24 at Wells Fargo Arena. Competing for the Harlan Community Wrestling Club, sixth-grader Reese Koch was the lone place-winner at state, finishing fourth with a 6-2 record in the B138 weight class. Results for the other area qualifiers are as follows. Brody McKinley (Riverside Wrestling Club) qualified at B90 and went 2-2. Jess

 MANNING (Feb. 21) -- That giant Ar-We-Va monkey is finally off the collective back of the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton boys basketball team. The Spartans couldn’t have picked a better time to snap their 0-13 drought against the Rockets, pulling away in the fourth quarter to win Thursday’s Class 1A, District 15 final, 69-50, in the Manning gymnasium. Since the inception of the Rolling Valley Conference in 2013, Exira-EHK had lost 13 straight vs.

 ELK HORN (Feb. 19) -- AHSTW kept on fighting back last Tuesday night, but Ar-We-Va answered every challenge. Eventually, the Vikings ran out of time as the 8th-ranked Rockets converted 14-of-16 free throws in the final 2:03 to win 66-54 in a Class 1A district semifinal boys basketball game at Elk Horn. AHSTW led 5-2 early on but otherwise trailed the whole way.

 SIOUX RAPIDS (Feb.

 WATERLOO (Feb. 18) -- Harlan Community’s third trip in six years to the Class 1A Girls State Bowling Tournament resulted in its best finish yet as the Cyclones placed fifth out of eight teams Monday at Cadillac Lanes in Waterloo. HCHS checked in one spot and 97 pins ahead of sixth-place Red Oak, registering an individual total of 1,704 and a Baker Games total of 735 for a 2,439 team score.

 CARROLL (Feb.

 ELK HORN (Feb.

 SLOAN (Feb. 15) -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton girls led 20-18 at halftime before being outscored 39-12 the rest of the way last Friday in a 57-32 Class 1A regional semifinal loss at Westwood. The Spartans finished the season at 17-6 overall while the 14th-ranked Rebels improved to 19-4. Westwood lost Monday’s regional final vs.

 SIDNEY -- The AHSTW girls basketball season ended February 12 with a 53-48 loss at Sidney in a Class 2A regional quarterfinal. The Lady Vikes finished 15-7. AHSTW led by five after three quarters but was outscored 19-9 in the fourth. Scoring leaders included Claire Denning with 14, Kailey Jones 13, Claire Harris seven and Kinsey Scheffler and Kate Wise six apiece.

 DENISON (Feb.

 ELK HORN (Feb. 14) -- Cole Burmeister led the way with 20 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and seven assists Thursday night as the 7th-ranked Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton boys opened postseason play with a 59-43 district quarterfinal win over Boyer Valley. The Spartans (20-2) hosted Audubon on February 19 in a district semifinal.

 NEWELL (Feb. 15) -- The IKM-Manning boys took control from the outset in Friday’s Class 1A, District 16 quarterfinal vs. West Bend-Mallard, outscoring the Wolverines 21-5 in the first quarter and winning 60-32. The Wolves (14-7) will now face Newell-Fonda (14-8) in a district semifinal Tuesday (Feb. 19) at Sioux Rapids. Alex Lingle hit 7-of-10 shots and led IKM-Manning with 14 points Friday.

 HARLAN (Feb.

 DES MOINES (Feb.