Area athletes earn Pride of Iowa basketball honors

Five area schools placed athletes on the Pride of Iowa all-conference teams: five being selected as unanmious first-team picks.

Boys

Three area boys earned first-team honors, three earned second team and five earned honorable mention.

Senior Gabe Funk of Lenox and junior Jackson Ruggles of Mount Ayr were each unanimous first-team picks. Cael Hogan of Southwest Valley was also a first-team selection.

Funk led the Pride of Iowa in assists (94) while being second in points (383), steals (64) and field goals (157).

Ruggles led the conference with 478 points, field goals (166), 3-pointers (64), free-throws (82), 3-point percentage (43.5%) and free-throw percentage (79.6%).

Hogan had a POI-high 82 steals. His 87 assists ranked second, 56 3-pointers was third-highest and his 368 points was fourth-highest.

On the second team were Tyler Martin and Tate Dugan of Mount Ayr as well as Alex Morgan of Southwest Valley.

Morgan’s 217 rebounds is tied for third-highest in the conference while his 65 free throws is fourth-highest.

Dugan ranks second in field goal percentage with 59.9%. His 181 rebounds is fifth-highest.

Martin’s 3-point percentage is fifth-highest at 39.5%.

Each team receives one player on the honorable mention team.

East Union’s Jace Petit, Lenox’s Laramie Stoaks, Mount Ayr’s Jaize Frost, Nodaway Valley’s Paul Berg and Southwest Valley’s Wyatt Mendenhall were the selections.

Southeast Warren was the POI conference winner with a 14-2 record. Mount Ayr took second, also with a 14-2 record.

Girls

Five of six first-team selections were from area schools, three being unanimous picks. Two earned second-team honors and five were named to honorable mention.

Izzy Eisbach of Nodaway Valley, Izzy Gilbertson of Mount Ayr and Sadie Cox of Lenox were the unanimous selections while Breya Nickle of Mount Ayr and Zoey Reed of Lenox also earned first-team honors.

Eisbach’s 734 points was 300 more than the next highest player. She also logged a POI-high 122 steals, 250 field goals, 88 3-pointers, 146 free throws and 82% free-throw percentage.

Cox led the POI in rebounds (355) and blocks (55) while placing second in points (396) and field goals (164).

Gilbertson had the highest field-goal percentage (50%) in the Pride of Iowa. Her 337 points were fifth-most, 49 blocks were third-most and 140 field goals were third-most.

Nickle had the third-highest field goal percentage (43.4%), fourth-most free throws (85) and fourth-highest free-throw percentage (74.6%).

Reed’s 91 free throws were second most while her 355 points were third-most and 122 field goals were fourth-most.

On the second team were Hailey Randall of Southwest Valley and Jaxy Knight of Mount Ayr.

Randall came in fourth with 352 points, third with 88 free throws and fifth with 117 field goals.

Knight led the conference in assists with 98, logged the third-most steals (91) and mad the fifth-most 3-pointers with 35.

East Union’s Kayli Shade, Lenox’s Izzy Curtis, Mount Ayr’s Danny Stewart, Nodaway Valley’s Maddie Weston and Southwest Valley’s Maddie Bevington were the honorable mention selections.

The Mount Ayr girls were the Pride of Iowa conference winners with a 15-1 record. Lenox took second at 13-3.