Week of 10/26/26

The boys would then run at the MRAC Conference championship. In life there are only three certainties: Death, taxes, and the stars dominating the MRAC. The dominance started with the boy's JV squad who pulled off the illustrious clean sweep! The stars went 1-6 on the day with Braxton Davis, Winston Palmer, Asher Amman, Layne Munson, Gabriel Lynam-Ochoa, and Tate Behrens stealing the first 6-spots!

This dominance would continue as the Varsity squad would repeat for their 9th consecutive conference championship. Kuma Gutema was the champion followed by Leo Wheelock who secured a 4th place finish and a 16:19 personal best! Josue Guiterrez would continue the PR train as the junior would unleash a 7th place finish and a time of 16:42! Nebiyu Kifle would stay consistent running a 16:48 with a 9th place finish as Lameck Gafo would break away a PR running 16:57 and a 10th place finish! Logan Bonnes and Mathew Garcia-Perez would also run personal bests with placements of 14th and 16th and times of 17:19 and 17:25; this was truly the best race of the season for the stars.

Despite this dominant season from the stars, most of their seasons would come to end on Wednesday 10/21 at the district meet. The stars raced against a loaded field that featured the 4th, 5th, and 11th ranked teams. The stars came into the meet ranked 20th, but with something to prove. However, the stars would finish 4th as a team, just one spot shy of qualifying for the state meet.

Kuma Gutema continued to impress, however, as the #1 ranked runner in Iowa won the meet with an impressive 14:54 and a 1st place finish. Junior Leo Wheelock paced 20th and was just one spot shy of qualifying for the state meet.

The stars return all of their Varsity runners next year and are set for a monster season.

Thank you to seniors Christian Guevara, Winston Palmer, AJ Hartso, Layne Munson, Carver Hoekstra, Beckett Beller, and Edward Kellog. Good luck in your future endeavors!

Good luck to Kuma as he takes the course Saturday looking to win a state championship!

The girls cross country team has been building. The girls competed at the Fort Dodge invite which features some of the best teams in the state. The girls were led by freshman Autumn Sorensen this race as Sorensen placed 120th overall and ran a 22:06; Autumn has been consistent all year for the stars. Senior Jackie Garcia-Perez kept building herself, the senior dropped another 20-seconds off her time this race by running a 22:08 and placing 122nd. Melody Kenney continued to step up as the sophomore ran a 22:33 with a placement of 130th. Just behind Kenney were Khloe Eliesa and Ellie Ayers who clocked in at 22:39 and 24:08 while placing 132nd and 153rd overall. Rounding out the stars was Mady Prevail and Jenna Hansen who ran times of 24:13 and 24:31 while placing 155th and 157th. The stars took 24th place overall!

The Varsity girls followed the lead of the JV girls and ran their best meet yet! The varisty team was led by Senior Jackie Garcia who shaved another minute off her time to get 9th place overall in a blazing fast 21:06! Khloe Eliesa was right behind Garcia-Perez with a time of 21:44 and 16th place finish; Eliesa also dropped 1-minute from her time compared to her last race. Autumn Sorensen was right up with Eliesa as she ran a 21:55 with a 18th place finish. Melody Kenney and Ellie Ayers were just behind placing 20th and 24th with times of 22:14 and 22:40. Anna Disterhaupt and Mady Prevail rounding out the scorers for the stars with times of 23:07 and 23:43 and placements of 28th and 35th overall.

Jackie Garcia earned first team all-conference honors and Autumn Sorensen, Khloe Eliesa, and Melody Kenney earned 2nd team!

The girls' season would come to an end, however, as they ran at the district cross country meet on Wednesday 10/21. The girls battled hard, but fell just short of qualifying for state. Jackie Garcia-Perez was the highest place finisher of the day with a 20th place finish, just one spot shy of qualifying.

Thank you to seniors Jackie Garcia-Perez, Khloe Eliesa, and Mady Prevail. Good luck to you on your future endeavors!

The Football team ended their season last week on Friday, but the stars battled it out each game. Playing a 5A schedule is tough, especially when the team has a good mix of classes starting on Varsity. Despite this fact, the boys battled tough all year and wore the North High Star with pride.

The stars were led this year by Sophomore Quarterback Colton McClellan. McClellan was lights out for North this year, amassing some impressive stat lines. McClellan was 106/176 on the year with a staggering 60% completion percentage! The sophomore threw for 1,525 yards and 14 touchdowns with his longest being an 80-yard reception! McClellan is the first QB to throw for 1,000 yards since 2022 and the first to throw for 1,500 yards since 2020 for the stars!

Senior Ian Lofflin led the stars in rushing with 68 carries for 315 yards. Daylen Fredrickson was second in rushing with 27 carries for 123 yards. Devin Worden and Finn Kuehl were two standout receivers for the stars this year as the both amassed over 200 receiving yards and combined for 4 touchdowns on the year.

Defensively, the stars were led by Liam Beacom who accounted for 38 tackles on the year. Zach Hagan racked up 36 himself while Fin Kuehl had 35. Daylen Fredrickson, Kayden Mapes, Andrew Hagan, and Peyton Carson all had over 20 in their own right.

Jensen Wanderscheid was automatic from the kicking position. Wanderscheid kicked a remarkable 12/13 PAT with a 92% completion rate!

This season was not what the stars were hoping for, but they have a young foundation to build upon. Thank you to seniors Ian Lofflin, Andrew Hagan, Zach Hagan, Liam Beacom, Jensen Wanderschied, Aaden Quinn, Ben Vlach, Judah Henderson, Joe Nilles, Trezdyn Swanson, Damarrion Myers, and Gio Verzani.

The Freshman (JVR) team would end their season on Friday as well. This squad ended with a respectable 3-3-1 record! The stars played West Des Moines Valley two weeks ago and ultimately lost a tight battle. The stars would rally back and defeat Indianola the next week. The stars found themsevles down 6-0 early, but rallied back to win 16-6. Brody Vogel scored a 3 yard TD run and then converted a 2-point attempt by catching a pass from Riggs TenHapel. Manuel Segovia contributed to the stars' success by picking u a loose ball on defense!

The stars then played Ankeny Centennial for their last game. This game was a back and forth battle that the stars ultimately lost. Riggs TenHapel found Abiselam Tedros in the end zone for a touchdown early in the game as well as Brody Vogel punching in a 1-yard run to put the stars up 16. Lucas Greene was productive as he was one broken tackle away from housing a kick-return.

After a string of events, the boys would ultimately lose the game 23-16.

The JVR team played an outstanding season. The future is bright for the North Stars.

The stars had a year of growth this season. With a young squad, some lumps were expected. However, each girl gained a year of 5A varsity level experience and are set to be talented for the following years.

The girls were led by Adrienne Wall this year in Kills with 159! Olivia Mogensen was just behind her with 141 making it a true 1-2 punch. ZaRiyah Van Buren was third for the team with 91.

Emersyn Casey was the assists leader with 184 while Laundry Hoak compiled 161. Olivia Mogensen led the stars in digs with 192 while Adrienne Wall and ZaRiyah Van Buren were third and fourth with 164 and 137 a piece.

Freshman Kinley Vogel was the leader in blocks with 23. Emersyn Casey also compiled 36 serve aces!

Thank you to seniors Alexa Hayes, Chloe Cross, ZaRiyah Van Buren, and Hayden Embrock. Good luck to you in your futures!

The Metro swim teams continues to impress as they racked up some impressive performances the past two weeks. The girls had their first meet at home against Carroll. Lily Harder had a strong performance with a 1st place in the 200 yd IM and 400 yd Free Relay, 2nd in the 200 yd Free Relay, and 3rd in the 100 yd Free individual. Rylee Rustwick placed 2nd in her 100 yd Back and both relays of the 200 yd Free and 200 yd Medley. She finished 4th in the 100 yd Fly. Harper Rohlena swam a PR by 3 seconds in her 200 yd Individual Medley. Carlie Gabriel contributed to two relays: 200 yd Medley and 400 yd Freein which both events placed 3rd.

The girls then swam at the Lewis Central invite where the Metro girls placed second behind Spencer, beating Lewis Central, Carroll, and Atlantic. Lily Harder had a great meet, placing in top the 5 and PR’ing in both her individual races: the 200 yd Free (2nd) and 100 yd Fly (4th). She also placed 1st in the 400 yd Free Relay. Rylee Rustwick placed 3rd in the 500 yd Free and 5th in the 50 yd Free. She also swam in two relays that also placed in the top 5: the 200 yd Medley Relay (2nd) and the 200 yd Free Relay (4th). Carlie Gabriel also swam a PR in the 100 yd Fly by 5.5 seconds!

The girls compete Thursday November 5th at a shot at qualifying for the state championship. Good luck ladies!

The North Dance Team is bringing the energy as competition season gets closer! 10 dancers recently competed at the ISDTA State Solo Qualifiers, earning three Division I ratings! They also wrapped up their home football season with an exciting pom performance under the Friday night lights. Now, all eyes are on their Dance Team Showcase on November 21st! Come cheer on our dancers, celebrate their hard work, and get a sneak peek at what they’ll bring to the state floor on December 4th. We would love to see our North community come out and show these ladies some love before they take the stage!

The North High School Cheer Team made program history this past weekend by competing in its first-ever cheer competition at the Iowa Heartland Championships in Ankeny, Iowa. Competing in the Coed Cheer-Dance division against some of the top teams in the state, the North Stars earned a fourth-place finish. Additionally, North cheerleader Truc Quach was named a finalist for Athlete of the Year.

The team will spend the next two weeks increasing the difficulty of their routine and refining their performance in preparation for the State Competition on November 7 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Seth Frankele competed at the Iowa High School Golf State Championships two weeks ago. The junior district runner-up, came into the meet poised with confidence. Frankele, North's first state golf qualifier in 7-years, was ready to take the course.

The Junior would run into some adversity early in the rounds, which ultimately led him to fall below his normal performance. Frankele did not reach the podium this year, but he played an amazing golf season which led him to break a 7-year drought.

Great season Seth! With no seniors on the squad, the stars will return their entire team next year!

Please join me in congratulating the students listed below (and their teachers) on their selection for the Iowa High School Music Association’s 2026 All-State Music Festival. Selection for an All-State ensemble is considered the pinnacle achievement for a high school musician in Iowa, so their success represents a remarkable accomplishment. The festival will be held November 19-21, 2026 on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

We had 11 North High stars earn all-state honors! Congratulations to the following students:

Carter Chandler (bass, choir)

Damian Hancock (bass, choir)

Adrian Hartso (alto saxophone, band)

Dane Henneman (tenor, choir)

Leah Henneman (alto, choir)

Nation Heth (bass, choir)

Rashaad Jefferies (tenor, choir)

Lorelina Jimenez-Martinez (alto, choir)

Kiana Jones (cello, orchestra)

Abby Powers (soprano, choir)

Kaymarei Thomas (alto, choir)

Grace Wagner (soprano, choir)

Jelil Woodruff (tenor, choir)

Maverick Davis competed on Friday 10/9 for the Nebraska Special Olympics. He competed in 3 sports!! In corn hole he received a gold medal. In soccer her received a silver medal, and in flag football he received another gold medal!! It is safe to say that Maverick is bringing home a lot of medals!!! Way to go Maverick!