Several Aplington-Parkersburg spring sports teams were in action Thursday.
The girls soccer team kept their composure in a close match to defeat GC-GR 3-1, as aired on 99 The Wave. It was also senior night for three Falcons as Addy Hook, Ava Onken and Finley Groeneveld were recognized. As the rain started to fall, A-P struck first on goal by Ciara Troyna midway through the first half and added another goal from Olivia Peterson just before the half in the midst of a traffic jam. Leading 2-1 late, the Falcons added an insurance goal by Adri Allan with eight seconds remaining.
A-P Senior Ava Onken on defensive effort and senior night.
“I’m proud of our defensive line,” Onken says. “We held it strong for most of the game. Just got one left by, but it’s fine. We still stayed communicative and we were positive out there. And I’m just proud of everyone for having each other’s backs out there. Just like the other seniors said, it was pretty emotional, but it’s sad that it’s going to be over. But I just think back to how great my soccer season has been and years prior. And I’m just so excited for where we get to go. Over the years, I feel like our team just keeps getting better and better. So I’m super proud of us.”
The #8 (2A) AP/DNH United won 6-1 at GC-GR. They scored five goals in the first half, and each team scored once in the second half. Aiden Merrill and Mason Bertram each scored twice. Dax Weedman and Cooper Mulder each added one goal. They’ll return to action Monday at Northeast Iowa United.
The boys golf team won 156-169 at Hudson. Benny Waller was the individual champion with 37 strokes. Nate Peters was third with 38. Their next meet will be Friday at Jesup at 4:15, where they’ll be joined by Clarksville and Tripoli.
The boys tennis team won five singles matches against Hampton-Dumont-CAL before rain caused the cancellation of the rest of the matches. Keegan Bolhuis, Tyler Wedeking, Kaidyn Purdy, Sam Janssen and Jonah Carney each won their matches. They’ll be at South Tama Friday at 4:00.
The girls tennis meet at Charles City was postponed. They’ll be at Hampton-Dumont-CAL Friday at 4:15.
The boys track & field team placed eighth with 43 points at the Roland-Story Boys Relays. Medalists:
Distance Medley Relay – 1st
Owen Pruisner – 3rd in 400 hurdles
Sprint Medley Relay – 3rd
They’ll next compete Monday at Denver.
In other Friday action, the girls track & field team will be at the Harry Dole Classic Coed at Grundy Center. Senior Avery Freund, who’s back on the team for the first time since her freshman season, says the team’s culture has helped lead to some of the recent meet titles.
“Being a part of track, I think a lot of people think that it’s a singular sport and you’re always running against yourself, but it’s way more of a team sport than you think,” Freund says. “Especially on the AP girls track team, I always think that there’s always someone around the track cheering you on no matter if it’s an individual event, a relay, a field event, no matter what, there’s always somebody there cheering you on around the track as you go. And I think that plays a huge role in us winning these last couple of meets, is we’ve become a lot tighter as a team. And we’ve had a lot of bonding portions of track meets that have helped us be able to run faster because we’re trusting our relays more, we’re trusting people with handoffs. And I think that has really set us above the bar recently. And the bond we have has set us above other teams who are maybe just there for themselves.”
A high jumper, Freund placed second at Tuesday’s home meet. It’ll start at 4:30.
Avery Freund interview:
