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Matt Lesan
(Solon, 2007) was named MVP of the 2007 Goalsetter IBCA All-Star
tournament in Pella, Iowa. The Goalsetter tournament has been
a tradition in Iowa for several years, pitting All-Star teams of
seniors in 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A classes in Iowa against each other in
a 4-team tournament setting. Lesan's 2A team defeated the 4A
team in the first round before defeating the 3A squad in the final.
Other Barnstormers playing in the Goalsetters tournament were
Dylan Diedrich (Northeast), Neil Gross (Harlan), Alex
Kramer (Nashua-Plainfield), and Stephen Kirschbaum
(Sheldon). |
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The Barnstormers were in
full force in Chicago last weekend, with their 12U, 13U, 14U Gold,
15U, 16U Gold, and 17U teams all playing in the adidas-sponsored
Chicago Shootout. The 'Stormers had a great weekend, finishing
with a record of 22-7 overall. The 14U Gold team won the 14U
division, while the 13U team finished second in their tournament.
The 15U and 17U 'Stormers each lost in the Final 4 of their
respective tournaments to the eventual champions.
Congratulations on a great weekend, guys! |
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Kurt Spomer
(Tri-Center, 2008) was recently named the Southwest Iowa Player of
the Year by the Council Bluffs newspaper The Daily Nonpareil.
This year, the 6'2" junior averaged 21 points per game, 10.9
rebounds, and 5.6 assists, including four triple-doubles, leading
his team to the final four of the Iowa High School State basketball
tournament. |
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The
16U Barnstormers
Black won the 2007 16 &
Under AAU State Championship over the weekend, defeating the the
16U Barnstormers
Gold in the semi-finals and the 16U
Martin Brothers in the championship game. The Gold 16s
defeated the All-Iowa Attack in the consolation game for third
place. Eli Groenendyk and Julian Dismute were named to the
16U All-Tournament Team, and Alex Walker
was named the tournament MVP. Congratulations, guys! |
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Neil Gross (Harlan, 2007) has committed to play
basketball at Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa.
The Upper Iowa Peacocks are a NCAA Division II School in the
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Neil joins fellow Barnstormers Matt Lesan and Alex Kramer
in committing to the Peacocks. Congratulations, Neil! |
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Fourteen Barnstormers
were selected this week to the Iowa Newspaper Association All-State
teams, based on their 2006-2007 school seasons:
1st Team: Kaylon Williams
(Kennedy), Kirby Pettitt (Carroll), BJ Hermsen (West
Delaware), Dylan Diedrich (Northeast), Matt Lesan
(Solon), Kurt Spomer (Tri-Center), Stephen Kirschbaum
(Sheldon), Jon Walburg (HMS).
2nd Team: Jordan Stoermer (Iowa City West), Eric
Jorgenson (Sioux City East), Brennan Cougill (Heelan).
3rd Team: Alex Walker (Sioux City North), Eric Hanson
(BCIG), Alex Kramer (Nashua-Plainfield). |
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The
15U Barnstormers won the 2007 15 &
Under AAU State Championship over the weekend, defeating the 15U
Martin Brothers 84-59 in the championship game. TrayVonn
Wright was named to the All-Tournament Team, and AJ Derby
was named the tournament MVP. Congratulations, guys! |
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Fourteen Barnstormers
will be playing next week in the Iowa High School State tournament
next week at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines:
Joe Ament (Dyersville Beckman),
Brennan Cougill (Sioux City
Heelan), AJ Derby (Iowa City West), Zach Derby (Iowa
City West), Dylan Diedrich (Northeast Goose Lake), Tanner
Ferguson (Sioux City Heelan), Neil Gross (Harlan),
Jake Hughes (Cedar Rapids Kennedy), Baley Johnson (Des
Moines Lincoln), Kirby Pettitt (Carroll High),
Kurt Spomer (Tri-Center), Jordan Stoermer (Iowa City
West), Alex Walker (Sioux City North), and Kaylon
Williams (Cedar Rapids Kennedy).
Good luck guys! |
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Alex Kramer (Nashua-Plainfield, 2007) has committed to play
basketball at Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa.
The Upper Iowa Peacocks are a NCAA Division II School in the
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Congratulations, Alex! |
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Since 1977, the top boys
high school basketball seniors nationwide have been selected to the
McDonald's All-American Basketball Team. Eight players from
the Class of 2007 Barnstormers were nominated for spots on this
year's team. Congratulations to Brad Burgus, Dylan
Diedrich, Neil Gross, Stephen Kirschbaum, Alex
Kramer, Matt Lesan, Woody Orne, and Jon Walburg
on the honor.
Click here for the
McDonald's All American Game Website |
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The 13U and 14U teams
were in action last weekend at the 13U and 8th grade AAU State
Championships. The 13s took third place in their tournament,
losing in the first round to the eventual champion Bulldogs.
In the 8th Grade tournament, the 14U Black lost in the second round
to a tough Martin Brother squad, while the 14U Gold finished in
second place after beating Martin Brothers in the semis and then
losing in the championship to the Attack Red by two points in the
final seconds. 'Stormers Nick Appleget and Jon
Getting were named to the all-tournament teams. |
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Eric Jorgensen (2008) scored
41 points for Sioux City East on Friday night, shooting 18-24 from the field in a 82-45 win over
Sioux City West. Jorgensen had 31 points after three quarters
and left the game for good after scoring his final basket with just
over four minutes remaining. His total was just six points shy of
East's school record of 47 by Gary Pettit in 1965.
Link to story from Sioux City Journal |
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Stephen Kirschbaum (Sheldon, 2007) has
accepted a full-ride scholarship to play
basketball at Minnesota State in Mankato, Minnesota.
The Minnesota State Mavericks are a NCAA Division II School in the
North Central Conference.
Congratulations, Stephen! |
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The
13U
Barnstormers team played their first tournament of
the season in Cedar Rapids at the Mid-Winter Jam. The 'Stormers
finished 4-1 in the tournament, taking second place after losing to
the Sports University Bulldogs in the finals. After taking a week
off,
the 'Stormers will be in action
again at the USSSA Midwest Showdown
in Ames on February 3-4. |
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The
14U
Barnstormers squad played their second tournament of
the year in Chicago at the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Shootout. The 'Stormers
went 2-2 in the tournament, losing to the eventual champion in pool
play, before losing by 1 in the last seconds of the semi-finals to
the host Illinois Heat. Next up, the 14U 'Stormers will take
two weeks off, then play at the USSSA Midwest Showdown in Ames on
February 3-4. |
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Matt Lesan (Solon, 2007) has committed to play
basketball at Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa.
The Upper Iowa Peacocks are a NCAA Division II School in the
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Congratulations, Matt! |
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Matt Lesan
(Class of 2007) was recently featured in an article in the Cedar
Rapids Gazette:
...With Lesan, fellow senior Michael May and sophomores Matt
Morrison and Ben Weeks leading the way, Solon has the aspirations of
a championship team. Lesan (22.3 ppg) teams
well with Morrison, who averages 11.1 ppg, and Weeks, who is
averaging 10.6 ppg since transferring from Highland. The three play
together for the Iowa Barnstormers AAU program during the summer.
‘‘We knew that chemistry would be huge,’’ Lesan said. ‘‘Ben and Matt
are really great ballplayers. My scoring is down a little this year
but that’s all right. Now (opposing teams) have to prepare for me,
Matt and Ben. We’re a lot more diverse.’’...
Click HERE
for the full article. |
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Woody Orne
(Fairfield, 2007) has committed to play
football at South Dakota State in Brookings, South Dakota. The
South Dakota State Jackrabbits are a NCAA Division I-AA football
program.
Congratulations, Woody!
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Brennan Cougill
(Heelan, 2009) was recently
interviewed for a story on the Kansas University recruiting site
Jayhawkslant.com: ..."Yes,
I took an unofficial visit to Kansas during the Rhode Island game,"
said Cougill. "It was a great visit. I watched the game, went to the
locker-room afterwards and then took a tour of the campus. It was a
nice atmosphere at the game and one of the better ones that I've
seen.
"I've also been to Iowa, Iowa State and UNI," he added. "I don't
have any leaders or favorites right now. I am interested in the
schools that I just mentioned. I plan to make it back to Kansas for
a game, but I don't know when that's going to happen. The coaching
staff told me to call when I have time in my schedule to make it
back."...
Click Here for the entire article
(subscription required). |
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The
14U
Barnstormers squad played their first tournament of
the year in Cedar Falls at the Panther Shootout. The 'Stormers
went 3-2 in the tournament, losing to the eventual champion All-Iowa
Attack Red in the semi-finals. After taking some
time off over the Christmas Break,
the 'Stormers will be in action
again at the Martin Luther King
Holiday Classic in Chicago, IL on
January 13-14. |
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Brett Putz (Forest
City, 2008)
scored 50 points on Friday night, shooting 20-34 from the field
(including 8-16 behind the three point line) in a 97-83 win over
Mason City Newman. Brett's little brother, freshman Tyler
Putz (2010) also scored 22 points in the victory.
Link to Story from the Forest City Summit |
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AJ Derby (Iowa
City West, 2010) was recently
profiled on the University of Iowa recruiting website HawkeyReport.com: ...Thus far
this year the 6-foot-4 and 205 pound West High freshman is averaging
13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists a game, including a season high
22 against Davenport Central. In that game, Derby hit a three
pointer to send the game into overtime. "I am playing some
guard and forward and it has been a lot of fun playing varsity so
far, but it is also hard too. The coach is always on me, but it is
good experience," Derby said. "Playing against some of the top
players in the country all summer in AAU with the Barnstormers has
really helped my development as a player tremendously."...
Click Here for the entire article
(subscription required). |
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The Sioux City Journal posted an
article on Stephen Kirschbaum after naming him their Western
Iowa Athlete of the Week:
...The Sioux City Journal's Siouxland
Athlete of the Week scored a season-high 33 points in the Lakes
Conference victory over the Wolfpack. He followed up with two more
impressive outings, tallying 29 in Friday's 75-59 Lakes victory over
previously undefeated Spirit Lake and lit up the scoreboard for 31
in Monday's 81-66 win at Central Lyon.
Kirschbaum, who grabbed
12 rebounds in the win over Spirit Lake, has a team-leading 10.2
rebound average. He is shooting 47.3 percent (9 of 19) from
three-point range. Overall, he's shooting 51.6 percent. "He
can shoot the three, post up and score inside or outside," said
Sheldon coach Claude Struve. "If you put a big kid on him, he'll go
outside and it you put a smaller player on him, he'll go inside."...
Click Here for the entire article. |
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Jon Walburg (H-M-S, 2007) has committed to play
basketball at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota.
The Winona State Warriors are the reigning NCAA Division II National
Champions, and are currently ranked #1 nationally.
Congratulations, Jon!
Click here for Winona State's Press Release. |
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The Barnstormers
15U,
16U, and
17U
teams played last weekend at the Hawkeye Classic in Iowa City, held
at the University of Iowa's Carver Hawkeye Arena and Fieldhouse.
The 16U team went 4-0 and won their division, while the 17U team
finished 3-2 and lost in the tournament final to the Indiana Elite. |
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The Iowa Defenders, last year's 15U
State Champions, announced this week that their players will be part
of the Barnstormers program in 2007. The Barnstormers will
field two teams in the 16U age group (Class of 2009) next year...
the players from last year's Barnstormers team will become the
"Barnstormers Gold", and the players from last year's Defenders team
will become "Barnstormers Black". |
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The
14U Barnstormers placed second at MAYB Nationals on August 3-6, finishing with a record of 8-2 over
the three day tournament. The 'Stormers beat the Arkansas
Hawks in double overtime to reach the finals of the tournament
before falling to the Colorado Hawks in the championship. |
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The
16U and
17U teams traveled to
Las Vegas for the Reebok BigTime and Nike's Main Event tournaments
on July 22-31. The 16U team played "up" in the 17U division of
the Main Event, losing in the second round of the bronze tournament
to the NW Idaho Cougars. The 17U team played in the open
division of the Big Time, losing in the first round to the Houston Hardballers by one at the buzzer. The Hardballers
never had a closer game until losing to the eventual champions, the
Southern Cal All-Stars, in the semi-finals. |
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The
15U
team played in the NCAA-approved Hoosier Showcase in Indianapolis on
July 6-8, winning the championship and finishing with a record of
5-0. 6'8" Center
Brennan Cougill was named the tournament's Most Valuable
Player. |
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Matt Lesan (17U) scored 24
points in Solon's win against West Branch, breaking the
Solon High School's all-time scoring record. Matt now has
1,206 career points. |
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Brett Putz (16U) had 21
points, 9 rebounds, and 8 steals in Forest City's recent win
against West Hancock, despite only playing three quarters.
Click here for story... |
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David
Currie (17U) scored 20 of his 22 points in the
second half as Odebolt-Arthur beat rival Galva-Holstein in
the semi-finals of their conference tournament.
Click here for story... |
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Stephen Kirschbaum (17U) hit a three to put
Sheldon ahead with 14 seconds left in their upset of Class
2A #7 Hull Western Christian, handing Western Christian
their first loss of the eyar. Kirschbaum finished with
26 points.
Click here for story...
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Woody Orne (17U) has
been nominated
for the Eastern Iowa "Athlete of the Week" after leading the
state in rebounding (15.7rpg) through the first month of the
season.
Click here to vote... |
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