Honored graduate cheers on Mount Ayr Raiderettes

Astronaut Peggy Whitson, left, holds the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union First Lady Award, presented by Mike Dick, IGHSAU executive director, during halftime of Mount Ayr’s game against Exira Friday night. Whitson, a Beaconsfield native, played on Mount Ayr’s regional finalist team in 1978. (CNA photo by LARRY PETERSON)

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DES MOINES — It was purely coincidence.

Six months ago, when Beaconsfield native Peggy Whitson was notified she would receive the First Lady Award at the Girls State Basketball Tournament this year, she had no idea her former high-school team would be playing for a championship on the same night of her award presentation.

But, that was the case Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena. At halftime of the Class 1A championship game, when Whitson was introduced as the award winner, Mount Ayr held a four-point lead over Exira. In 1978, Whitson played for a Mount Ayr team that fell one game short of qualifying for the state tournament, ousted by Creston in a regional final.

• Read more of this story in the March 8 edition of the Creston News Advertiser.