By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette
State championships roundup
I know you have seen plenty of coverage of the golf and track and field state championships, so I won’t go on for too long, but a recap of both school’s performances is certainly fitting. Follow the links below to more comprehensive coverage of their performances. After the Panorama girls finished fifth at the state meet in 2024, it was the ACGC boys’ turn to represent Guthrie County high up on the leader board. Let’s hope we see both of these programs on the blue track in Des Moines in 2026.
ACGC boys track and field – Second place with 44 points
ACGC girls track and field – Tied for 25th with 11 points
Panorama boys track and field – Syler Shaffer places 13th in 400-meter hurdles
Panorama girls track and field – Tied for 31st with 7 points
Panorama boys golf – Seventh place shooting +75
Baseball and softball begin
Panorama and ACGC baseball and softball seasons have begun. I spoke with each of these team’s head coaches for our soon-to-publish Summer Sports Guide.
ACGC has new head coaches for both teams this year. Nick McCool takes over the Chargers baseball team. He spent several years as an assistant and volunteer. From our conversation, he knows his players well and is excited to get the season going.
Tyler Merical is in charge of the softball team. ACGC softball production was dominated by a talented group of seniors. The team’s 13-13 season is one the coach hopes to build off of. The 2025 group is young, but Merical seems primed for the challenge.
“I’m just hoping we bring an exciting brand to softball that the community can get behind and enjoy. We want to be something that not only the school, but the community, can be proud of,” Merical told me.
As for Panorama, Brian Bahrenfuss returns to coach the baseball team, and Ismael Galvan remains in charge of the softball program. Panorama won 10 games last season, a big improvement over the three it won the year prior. He says the Panthers are focused on getting 1% better each day.
Galvan is tasked with replacing Jaidyn Sellers’ 10 home runs from a year ago and Lindy Nelson’s .312 average. The good news for Galvan is that the Panthers return a majority of their team from last season. That is especially good news for a team that relied heavily on production from sophomores, freshman and eighth-graders.
“I think the girls have bought in and have done such a great job so far this season in stacking great practices and working hard. It’s a testament to them and how hard they work every practice, and Coach Thompson and I could not be prouder,” Galvan shared with me.
Brothers meet in final
The state tennis meet provided a truly fantastic occurrence this season. According to Owen Siebring, a sports anchor in Cedar Rapids, a pair of brothers had never met in the title game since IHSAA began tracking state tennis champions in 1929. That is, until now. Prairie’s Anthony and Dylan Schulte met in the 2A state singles final. Older brother Anthony ended up winning, but younger brother Dlyan is only a freshman, giving him plenty of chances to return to the final. Everyone likes to tout bragging rights over their siblings, but I’m not sure it gets much better than beating them in a state championship.
Hoover qualifies for state tournament
I mentioned the trouble Hoover High School’s soccer program got into in a previous column. The team had to forfeit all of its wins due to playing an ineligible player. But this did not eliminate them from post season play. The Huskies defeated Glenwood, 6-0, to advance to the state tournament, with a 5-11-2 record. As the seven seed, they face second seed Liberty (11-5-2). This is a tough draw for Liberty as Hoover is still a solid program, and much better than a seven seed. The Huskies have lost three games since their forfeits: Roosevelt, Ames and Valley. All of them are 4A state qualifiers.
Reach out with your thoughts, comments and ideas to cyote@dmcityview.com.
