Pride of Iowa releases all-conference team

All-POI

Mount Ayr sophomores Jaixen Frost and Jaydon Knight were unanimous selections on the Pride of Iowa all-conference baseball teams announced this week.

The other unanimous selection was Martensdale-St. Marys junior Kasey Carter.

The first team selections:

Pitcher — Jaydon Knight, So., Mount Ayr (unanimous); Keegan Christensen, Sr., Lenox; Caelen DeVault, Jr., Nodaway Valley; Matt Hughes, Jr., Martensdale-St. Marys.

Catcher — Kale Rockhold, Fr., Central Decatur.

Infield — Jaixen Frost, So., Mount Ayr; Wyatt Carlson, Jr., East Union; Kasey Carter, Jr., Martensdale-St. Marys; Matthew Boothe, Jr., Central Decatur.

Outfield — Erik Trujillo, Sr., Mount Ayr; Carson Elbert, Sr., Martensdale-St. Marys; Mason Merfeld, Sr., Southeast Warren.

Utility — Dawson Swank, Sr., Mount Ayr; Hogan Franey, Jr., Martensdale-St. Marys.

Second team selections:

Pitcher — Gavin Stott, Jr., Martensdale-St. Marys; Cade Nelson, Jr., Southeast Warren; Devin Adams, Jr., Central Decatur; Mason Mather, Sr., Nodaway Valley.

Catcher — Dylan Swaney, Sr., Bedford.

Infield — Jace Grose, Jr., Mount Ayr; Boston DeVault, So., Nodaway Valley; Tanner Dierking, Sr., Southeast Warren; Cullen Wood, Sr., Lenox.

Outfield — Brock Manser, Jr., Southeast Warren; Troy Holt, Sr., Martensdale-St. Marys; Silas Walston, Fr., Bedford; Tyke Hullinger, Jr., Central Decatur.

H-10 All-Academic

Five Creston senior athletes received Hawkeye Ten Conference summer sports all-academic honors for attaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher during their high school careers.

All-academic softball players were Braelyn Baker and Peyton Rice. Named all-academic from the Panther baseball team were Evan Bruce, Britain Miller and Cole Strider.

NJCAA all-academic

Sixteen members of the Des Moines Area Community College softball team earned Academic All-American honors, including freshman Sara Keeler of Creston on the second team (3.8-3.99 GPA).

Keeler is the fourth Creston Community High School graduate from the DMACC team to be named Academic All-American, the most of any high school. Previous honorees were Taylor Briley, Natalie Mostek and Katlin Briley.

Earlier, it was also announced that DMACC volleyball player Alissa Weinkoetz of East Union earned Region XI Academic All-Region honors.

Meanwhile, Southwestern Community College had 44 athletes honored for national academic recognition. A total of 22 Spartans earned spots on the Academic All-American first team with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Another eight attached second-team status by having a GPA of 3.80-3.99, and 14 were on the third team for GPAs of 3.60-3.79.

Spartans that earned first-team NJCAA All-Academic first team honors are Brielle Baker, Deja Brown, Grace Cotton, Eric Desbois, Thomas Esterhuyse, April Francom, Harrison Galea, Brooke Halteran, Emma Hanson, Maslyn Hummel, Ryan Jarvis, Brylee Kemper, Alyssa Morris, Florence Omodayo, Jenna Parfeniuk, Vernae Ramoth, Victoria Reynolds, Jordan Richards, Trey Rodriguez, Kaitlyn Schad, Madeleine Shwaluk and Paige Shwaluk.

Southwestern student-athletes on the NJCAA All-Academic second team are Miracle Allen, Hailey Chew, William Courtney, Levi Detrick, MaKenna Hudson, Madison Orewiler, Heylee Shields and TJ Swaney.

Spartans on the NJCAA All-Academic third team are Christopher Blair, Nyle Buchanan, Reuben Cooper, Abbigail Hood, Allison Lillis, Jordan Redeker, Lachlan Timms, Ethan Brumbaugh, Jacob Ciafullo, Ali Enright, Noah Leist, Emmanuel Nwaneri, Joel Sampson and Whynter Waterhouse-Brennan.

“I would first like to thank our faculty for the time, energy and effort they put into our student athletes,” said SWCC athletic director Nick Weinmeister. “Facing unusual circumstances, our student-athletes did a fantastic job maintaining focus on academics while balancing the rigors of their sport. Each person on this list did a fantastic job.”

— Compiled by Larry Peterson, CNA contributing writer.