KCII’s coverage of the top sports stories from the 2010s decade continues today with a look at big moments at area schools from the year 2014. 

Fifty up, fifty down. That was the story for Highland wrestler Drew West in the winter of 2013-2014, as the 106 lb Huskie went a perfect 50-0 on the season and captured a class 1A state title. He blew by the competition at Wells Fargo Arena with three pins and an exciting 6-5 decision in the title match. Teammates Travis Cole and Bryce West also found success with a second and third place finish, respectively.

It was another dominant summer six years ago for the Highland softball team advancing to the state tournament following a perfect 18-0 mark in SEISC play and finishing with a 32-3 overall record. The Huskies placed fourth at Fort Dodge beating Saint Ansgar and then falling to Eddyville-Blakesburg and Woodbury Central. Cheyann Adamson was big time at the dish with a .540 average and 40 RBI. 

For the first time in school history the Columbus Community soccer team advanced to the state tournament in Des Moines. They fell to Beckman Catholic 3-0 in the quarterfinals, but would return two years later. Alex Cruz was an offensive juggernaut for the team scoring a program record 28 goals on the season. 

The Lone Tree baseball team got hot at the right time and ended the season at Principal Park in Des Moines. The Lions were 21-7 on the year and edged Burlington Notre Dame 2-1 in the substate final to advance to the big dance. They fell to Gehlen Catholic in the class 1A quarterfinal by a 3-0 tally. Erik Murry was a shutdown hurler with a 0.85 ERA in 74 innings of work.   

For the second straight year Highland cross country duo Evan Mahler and Keiffer Sexton qualified for state and both cracked the top 10 in Fort Dodge. The senior Mahler finished fourth in the entire field with a time of 16:41 and Sexton was not far behind in eighth. 

It was a successful trip to the Blue Oval for the WACO boys shuttle hurdle relay team, as they finished second in class 1A with a time of 59.36 seconds. Competitors included Brett Hesseltine, Cornell Hulme, Bryce Aches, and Dylan Carlson.

A memorable fall played out for the Keota volleyball team when they captured a South Iowa Cedar League crown with a 10-0 league mark. The finished 18-7 overall and Madison Sheetz was a big reason why with 314 kills that ranked second in the conference. 

Check back in Monday when we run down top stories from the year 2015.