All of the Indianola winter sports teams were in action Thursday night, and all on their home venues meaning a busy night for the athletics department, but all teams performed well in their respective contests.
Indianola Basketball Sweeps Newton in Little Hawkeye Conference Blowouts
The Indians basketball squads swept Newton in a pair of blowout victories, the boys winning 86-49 and the girls 64-44. The Indians boys traded early blows with the Cardinals, only leading by three at the end of the first quarter 16-13, but took complete control after that to lead by 15 at the half and 16 after three, but the fourth quarter was where the Indians showed off their talent. Indianola outscored News 25-4 in the final 8 minutes, and head coach Brett Watson tells KNIA Sports the Indians defense was stellar.
“We didn’t make too many adjustments in that second half, we just talked about having to keep doing what we were doing. They took advantage and made us pay of some of our rotations in that first half with some three’s, but we felt that if we just kept attacking pushing and put the pedal to the metal that we could stretch the lead out a bit, I never would have imagined us doing what we were doing, but I’m just really proud of how we attacked the second half.”
Four Indians players ended in double-digit scoring, with Caden Rehmeier scoring 20, Tyce Johnson with 19, AJ Toigo with 15, and Luke Youmans with 12. Turnovers and big runs was the theme of the Indians girls game, with the Indians putting on a show in the second quarter to earn a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The Indians led 16-11 after the first, but Newton scored the first five points of the second to tie the score at 16, it was all Indians after that immediately going on an 11-0 run and outscoring the Cardinals 21-7 to close out the half. Lauren Blake led the Indians in scoring with 24. The Indians boys have now won eight in a row and sit at 8-2 overall and 5-1 in Little Hawkeye Conference play, and the girls are 7-3 and 5-1. Both teams will next play on Tuesday hosting Urbandale.
Indianola Wrestling Dominates Pella and Woodward-Granger on Mat Tribe Night
The Indianola wrestling team held Mat Tribe night on their home mats in a double dual, taking down Pella 64-15 and Woodward-Granger 67-9. Picking up a pair of wins by fall for the Indians included Ryder Downey at 113, Cooper Belt at 126, Bryce Aldridge at 132, Brennan Meacham at 152, Nick Bonnano at 160, Jacob Darr at 182, and Miles Berg at 190. The Indians will next wrestle Saturday in the Bob Sharp Invitational at Ankeny High School.
Indianola Swimming Sees Several Top Finishes Against Ankeny
The Indians boys swimmers hosted a tough Ankeny squad, falling 108-62. The Indians got a win in the 100 Breaststroke from Nathan Pollard, and saw second place finishes in the 100 Freestyle from Collin Guerts, 500 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke from Matt Coffelt, and the 200 Medley Relay, and 200 and 400 Freestyle Relays. The Indians will hit the pool again Saturday at Southeast Polk. Full results are below.