By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The state-qualifying meets for ACGC and Panorama boys and girls track were last night, and the student-athletes impressed. It is something I marvel at each year. Making it to state felt like a rarity when I was at high school, but between ACGC and Panorama, across many sports, it feels like the norm.

ACGC

The ACGC boys, coming off a second-place finish at last year’s state track and field meet, showed they still have what it takes. First-year head coach Jacob Lacey, who admittedly has been with the team for several years, proved he can get the Chargers to the big stage, winning this year’s state-qualifying meet at Audubon. The boys won four events: Brexton Schneider in the 110-meter hurdles (something he has made a habit of this season), Preston Kent in the 3,200-meter run, the sprint medley relay team of Joe Crawford, Schneider, Thomas Skram and Talon Noland, and the 4×110-meter shuttle hurdle team of Skram, Morgun Nolte, Collin Stringham and Schneider. Plus, plenty of top-10 finishes. It will be fun to see how the Chargers finish this season versus last.

The ACGC girls did not win their meet outright but still won an event and will be sending a few girls to the state meet. The 4×200-meter relay team of Meranda Gruber, Savannah Akers, Cadence Petersen and Nora Langgaard came out on top and will be heading to state.

Panorama

The Panorama boys will be sending at least two athletes to the state meet: Reed Draper and Syler Shaffer. These two were the most likely to advance to state based on their performances this season. Draper in the long jump, and Shaffer in the 400-meter hurdles, were both consistently placing in the top two all season long. It will be interesting to see how they stack up against the rest of the state.

As for the girls, a familiar name will be at state on the blue track in Des Moines: Kylie Rochholz. Rochholz has become a staple in postseason events in both track and cross country since her freshman year, and this year is no different. Despite running limited races this season due to rehabbing from an injury, Rochholz waltzed into the state qualifier by winning the 1,500-meter run and placing second in the 3,000-meter run. Both are impressive feats. Let’s hope she continues to add to her impressive list of accolades at state.

It is great that these two schools continually have some of the best athletes in the state. I often find difficulty in rooting for my beloved Lincoln Rails. We are not good at much, except for soccer, much to my delight. But, come postseason, at least one of these two schools will give me someone or some team to root for. When it comes to track and field, that gives me almost too much to keep track of. I hope it stays that way.

Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

This week, ACGC’s and Panorama’s golf and track and field teams have been competing for bragging rights within the West Central Activities Conference. One thing I have learned since covering sports for the two schools is that the competition level within the WCAC is no joke.

During the interviews for our various sports guides, I used to ask each coach what the competition level was like this year within the conference. Every single one, across each sport, boys and girls, always produced a similar response that boils down to, everyone’s good, all the time. So, when the conference meets roll around, it is typically a good litmus test for these teams on how they will perform come the postseason.

Track and field

ACGC boys track and field has not quite reached the height of last season’s state runner-up season yet, but there have been some solid moments. One of the team’s best performances at state came from their shuttle hurdle relay squad. The revamped group won at the conference meet and looks like they are on pace to return to state this year. Preston Kent has been excellent in the distance runs, earning third at the conference meet, and could join them.

The ACGC girls track team has seen solid performances from Cadence Petersen in the hurdling events. Plus, Cayden Boals picked up a silver medal in the shot put and has been throwing well all season.

The Panorama girls track team under Greg Thompson has made it a habit to send events to the state meet. Star distance runner Kylie Rochholz has been slowly but surely returning from an injury and ramping up her involvement. She earned two bronze medals at the conference meet in the 1,500- and 3,000-meter runs, signaling a return to form. Not to mention, Emma Walker’s performances in the shot put and discus (bronze at conference meet) have been solid this year.

As for the Panorama boys, Syler Shaffer has been excellent in the 400-meter hurdles this year and continued to impress, earning silver at the conference meet. Another standout for the boys has been Reed Draper in the long jump, who took home gold at the conference meet. Draper has been leaping like a fish out of water all season and looks primed for a run at state this year.

Golf

The ACGC boys golf team is led by Sayer Bireline-Huss. He is among some of the best young golfers in the conference and continues to show that week-in and week-out, including at the conference meet where he placed 21^st out of 65 golfers.

The Charger girls team has also put together some solid scores this season, including a win in their first meet of the season. They haven’t quite returned to that form since then but are still consistently shoot well as a squad. A DQ kept them out of placing at the conference meet, but the 399 they shot would have put them at fifth place, finishing in the top-half of the WCAC.

The Panorama boys golf team has qualified for the state meet the last two seasons. Losing their best golfer from last season to transfer stung, but the team is still scoring well. Brayden Galvan has been doing his best to pick up the slack by medaling at the conference meet. The team placed fourth, just two strokes shy of third place.

The Panorama girls golf team is being led by some young golfers with three of their best scores normally coming from freshmen like Anabel Pudenz, Alyssa Stanley and Avery Ambrose. Add in some solid juniors, and the future looks bright for this team after an eighth-place finish at the conference meet.

Soccer

There’s no dedicated conference meet for soccer, but if there was, the Panorama girls soccer team would have a great shot at winning it. The girls are 9-1 this season and are technically leading the four-team WCAC. They slightly edge No. 3 Des Moines Christian, which is 9-1-1. It still surprises me the girls haven’t snuck into the top 15 thus far. They face No. 3 DM-C next week on Monday and then No. 9 Tri-Center (7-3-1) the next day. It will show how good the girls stack up against some of the best talent in 1A.

Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

That phrase seems to be one of the most common and heralded of all time. Or is it?

The origin is attributed to Bert Lance, director of Office of Management and Budget under President Jimmy Carter. The saying is likely older than that, but that was its first mainstream use (as mainstream as budget management gets, anyway).

Either way, it is deeply rooted in truth. However, no one seemed to tell the NCAA. Either that, or, more likely, they just aren’t listening. The college football playoff has been needlessly expanded twice with more expansions possibly on the way. Now, they have brought the same mindset to the college basketball national tournament. It already expanded slightly a few years back when it added the First Four to take it from 64 to 68.

ESPN stated: “The primary driver of this move hasn’t been money, but rather access for at-large bids for power conferences. The expansion has been pushed by power conferences, which have grown throughout the course of the current deal.” This just two paragraphs after the source who broke the news stressed that there would be a profit.

Even still, the NCAA will try to sell this as a win for the little guy. More teams in the tournament means the potential for overlooked teams to get into the big dance. But that is clearly not the case. The first four games are currently played by two 16-seed teams and two 11-seed teams. The 16 seeds, which lose 99% of the time, do see some benefit from making the big dance. The payouts can sometimes fund the programs’ athletic departments in a massive way. The 11-seed games last year were played by NC State, Texas, SMU and Miami of Ohio. Three of those team’s aren’t exactly hurting for cash. Miami of Ohio was the only undefeated team heading into the tournament and had to win a play-in game just to be the 11 seed.

Just like the expansion of the College Football Playoff, this is only happening to benefit the major conferences that have lucrative TV deals with major broadcasters. At least in college football, it is presented as being as beneficial to the Group of Five schools. But, at least so far, neither the NCAA nor ESPN have shown an ounce of dignity to pretend like this expansion is anything but giving a handout to a team like Auburn that couldn’t stop complaining about missing the tournament despite finishing in the bottom half of its conference.

Major conferences will benefit from better seeding and more guaranteed spots while mid-majors will get the raw end of the deal and have to play even more games to advance further in the tournament. Mid-majors, which are already disproportionally affected by the transfer portal, are having their sporting lives made more difficult by the decision-makers at the NCAA. All this still has to go through committee votes, but it is being reported as a formality.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the NCAA to cave to public pressure and fix this anytime soon, even if it is clearly broken.

Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

Believe it or not, I’m lacking things to write about this week. Sure, there is the Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini drama, but this is not a tabloid. You can Google that situation if you want. It’s great if you like reality TV. Besides that, nothing much has happened this week that has grabbed major headlines. So, for this week, I’m doing a buy and a sell. One of my favorite podcasts does this each week, and I’m stealing it from them. Thank you, “Brilliantly Dumb Show.” Plus, I’ll throw in my favorite clip of the week.

Buy: The NBA Playoffs

I already wrote about the NBA Play-In and how exciting it was. So far, the first round of the playoffs have been just as exciting. There have been plenty of close games, big plays and developing story lines. If there was one thing I could sell about the playoffs, it is the late tip-times. Games played in the west routinely end well past midnight, and that is past my bedtime. Even so, all week long, I have found myself staying up late to watch the conclusion of these games. I can’t get enough of them.

Sell: The NFL Draft

I might be in the minority here, but I’ve never been a fan of watching the NFL draft. Case in point, it was last night, and I opted to watch basketball instead. It didn’t help that the Packers did not have a first-round pick this year, giving me even less reasons to watch. Of course, seeing who the new players who will be coming into the league is exciting. But, even so, the NFL media at this point in the season has next to nothing to talk about besides the draft and which prospects might go where. Mock drafts after mock drafts are released, trades are rumored and, every year, we find out that nobody seems to know much of anything. The mocks are wrong, teams do things we think are dumb, or smart, and none of it matters again for several months until the season starts.

Highlight of the week

This was the best clip I saw all week, and it is an early contender for the best clip I have seen all year. Have you ever thought that you really wanted to catch a foul ball? Well, you are really only half, or maybe ever a quarter, as determined as this Colorado Rockies fan who gave it his all on this foul ball.

Bonus clip, another foul ball moment, this one much more wholesome and heartwarming, and even lacking catching the ball, but still good enough to give you a smile today. 

Reach out with comments, suggestions, and story ideas to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

The NBA has faced a lot of internal and external criticism this season. Fans, players, the media and others have complained about the new 65-game rule. Some are complaining about tanking, and how too many teams are intentionally losing, and how the league is doing a poor job at stopping it. It has been mostly annoying following this discourse. But one change the league made several years ago, the Play-In Tournament, has provided some outstanding basketball games this week.

The Play-In Tournament was conceived as one way to keep games entertaining toward the end of the season. The league and fans felt that toward the end of the season, once many of the playoff spots were locked in, teams stopped trying as much, leading to some less than stellar basketball being played for the final weeks of the season. Previously, the top-eight teams in each conference advanced to the playoffs. Now, teams 7-10 enter the Play-In. The 7 and 8 seeds, and the 9 and 10 seeds play each other. The winner of the 7/8 game advances and is officially the 7 seed. The loser of the 7/8 game plays the winner of the 9/10 game. The winner of that game then becomes the final No. 8 seed.

This is meant to keep the teams in the four, five and six seeds engaged, with fear of slipping into the play-in and losing their guaranteed spot. It also gives the teams in ninth and 10th place a reason to keep trying till the very end of the season. So far, this year’s Play-In has delivered.

Three of the first four games went to down to the wire. A one-point win, a four-point win, and a five-point win. In the fourth game, the Sixers defeated the Magic in a good contest, but nowhere near as crazy as the other three. Here are some of the highlights from the other three.

The most enthralling game was certainly between the Hornets and the Heat. I lost track of how many times my jaw dropped while watching this one. Coby White exploded for 14 points in the third quarter. I mean, just listen to that crowd. Then, in the fourth quarter, time winding down, the Hornets needed three points to send it to OT. White stepped up again. To cap it all off, the team’s star, Lamelo Ball, despite a rough night overall, wins the game with a layup. The game then was quickly sealed by an insane block by teammate Miles Bridges. The Charlotte crowd did not disappoint.

Starting right after that game was Suns vs. Blazers in the West. Now, while this game didn’t have quite as many highlight worthy plays, it was close from start to finish. The main standout? The Deni Avdija of the Blazers, who capped off his 41-point night with a game winner, stunning the Suns fans in attendance.

Also in the west, the Warriors and the Clippers battled back and forth all game long. Kristaps Porzingis, despite hardly playing this season, was fantastic. Al Horford, the oldest player in the league behind only LeBron James, shot the lights out. He hit four straight threes to give the Warriors a late lead. Draymond Green locked up Clippers star Kawhi Leonardwith two steals in the final minute. And, Stephen Curry reminded everyone why he is the greatest shooter to ever touch a basketball floor.

Tomorrow, the Hornets look to continue their storybook season to defeat the Magic and advance to the playoffs. The Warriors face the Suns for the same opportunity. Will the Hornets and Warriors be able to ride the momentum after their unreal games, or will the Magic and Suns bounce back after devastating loses? We will find out Saturday night.

Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

ACGC and Panorama spring sports have hit the blocks, teed off and kicked off. Or, as best they can. I was prepared to get back into the swing of covering track and field for both schools, seeing as the boys and girls of the Panthers and Chargers have made a habit of qualifying for the state meets. But several meets have already been cancelled. The same goes for golf, a sport I wish I was good at. And, my personal favorite sport, soccer, also fell victim to spring’s fickle weather.  

Even with postponements and cancellations galore, I would still like to take the opportunity to use this column to detail what I am excited to see for each sport, boys and girls, for Panorama and ACGC. You can read more about them in detail in our coming Spring Sports Guide, where I interviewed each team’s head coach ahead of their respective 2026 seasons.

ACGC

The ACGC boys track and field team is coming off of one of its most successful seasons in school history. The Chargers placed second at the state meet and took home a gold medal for good measure. Add in a few more medals and a host of top-10 finishes, and ACGC had quite the 2025 season. Girls track coach, Jacob Lacey, takes the reins this season. He has been assistant in the program for a long time and is aiming the replicate last season’s success.

Speaking of Lacey, his girls track team is also a successful one. Sure, they will be missing Ava Campbell and her prowess in the distance runs, but the team returns several state qualifiers from last season. It should be another successful campaign for them as well.

Lori McGivney had plenty of recruiting to do for the boys golf team, and that she did. McGivney had to make several replacements to last year’s squad but retains her best golfer in Sayer Bireline-Huss. In the team’s first meet, they exceeded her score expectations, and Bireline-Huss placed in the top five overall.

The girls golf team is led by Will Shull for the second year. He and his golfers made great strides in her first season, and, luckily for him, returned basically his entire team from a season ago. The team won its first competition of the season at the Woodward Golf Club, led by an impressive group of seniors. Shull says the team and some individuals will be chasing records this year, so it will be interesting to see how they finish out the season.

Panorama

While interviewing the Panorama girls track team’s head coach, Greg Thompson, we shared a laugh. I asked, “What season is this for you in charge?” He said, “Oh my gosh. I’ve been doing this since 1998.” I did the math for him, since I was born in 1998. This marks his 28^th season leading the Panther girls. And he should be set for another solid year with the return of distance running star Kylie Rochholz, as well as several other returning state qualifiers.

For the boys track team, Bruce Dahlhauser had one state qualifier last year in Syler Shaffer. A few more missed out by slim margins. Either way, Shaffer is returning, as well as plenty of other solid athletes. Dahlhauser won’t put a pin in how many events he would like to qualify for, but I would be surprised if that number was only one again.

As for the Panther boys golf team, they have qualified for back-to-back state meets under Head Coach Connor Osbahr. He returns three of his six golfers from the state meet last year. The Panthers rattled off four straight wins at one point last year. This 2026 squad has every chance to go on a similar run and hopefully make the final rounds of the season for a third straight year.

The girls golf team is led by Melissa Hochstetler. Statistically, the girls had their best season in 2025. After going 1-14 three years ago, and 4-25 two years ago, the Panthers went 12-22, accounting for their most wins in a season. The year ended at regionals, but the girls return a few solid golfers and will hope to continue improving that record.

Unfortunately, the boys soccer season was cancelled due to low numbers. My heart goes out to those players who will not be able to play this year. The memories I made during soccer season were easily the most enjoyable ones of my high school days.

On the other side, the girls soccer team should be in for another season full of wins and an opposing net full of Morgan Crees goals. Crees’s 55 goals last season was the second most scored by any girl in the entire state. Her freshman year, she scored 41. Her junior year, 48. That’s 144 goals from one player. And she netted five in the team’s first game of the season. There is every chance that she can reach 200 career goals this season. I’ll have to look into what the record is. Besides Crees’ incredible goal-scoring acumen, the girls team has never had a sub .500 season since it was formed. Head Coach Paul Kautzky hopes to bring them to the state tournament this year and get Crees some much deserved post season goals on her resume.