Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

City High and Liberty High each secured their second consecutive appearance at the Class 4A state tournament with substate final wins on Wednesday.

On Thursday the Little Hawks and Lightning were rewarded for their regular season performance in the form of conference honors.

City High had six players earn all-division honors and Liberty High had five players named to all-division teams when the Mississippi Valley Conference released its postseason baseball awards on Thursday.

Sophomore pitcher Talon Young headlined the City High all-division picks as a unanimous selection to the Valley Division first team.

Young emerged as the ace of the City High staff as a sophomore posting an 8-0 record, .72 ERA and .91 WHIP while striking out 47 in 58 1/3 innings.

Senior DJ Hodges, junior Jake Mitchell and sophomore Dominic Salibi were all second-team Valley Division selections for City High.

Hodges was a second team pick as an outfielder after batting .374 with four home runs and 31 RBI while scoring 38 runs.

Salibi was a second-team pick as a corner infielder after hitting .424 with 19 extra-base hits including three home runs and driving in 33 runs while scoring 24 runs.

Mitchell earned second-team honors as a pitcher after the left-hander went 2-1 with a 1.46 ERA and .95 WHIP with 24 strikeouts in 33 2/3 innings.

Senior Drew Carlson and junior Max Waldschmidt were both honorable mention all-Valley Division picks for City High.

Liberty High had five players earn all-division honors in the Mississippi Division led by a trio of second-team picks.

Juniors Jayden Khamphilanouvong, Jackson Khamphilanouvong and Ryan Schmierer all earned second-team honors.

Jayden Khamphilanouvong was a second-team pick as a catcher after batting .275 with two home runs and 13 RBI.

A second-team utility selection, Jackson Khamphilanouvong batted .311 with nine RBI and 16 runs scored and also went 1-3 with a 4.08 ERA while striking out 28 in 34 1/3 innings.

Schmierer earned second-team status as an outfielder after leading the Lightning with a .375 batting average and 11 stolen bases and driving in 13 runs and scoring 22 runs.

Senior Luke Ramsey and sophomore Mason Waterbury were both honorable mention Mississippi Division selections for Liberty High.

West High had five players earn all-division honors.

Seniors Ryne Vander Leest, Nate Anderson and Carter Freidhof were all named to the Valley Division second team.

Vander Leest was a second-team pick as a corner infielder after batting .362 with 15 RBI and 33 runs scored.

A second-team utility pick Anderson hit a team-leading .367 as a senior to go with 12 runs scored, 12 RBI and a 6-4 record and 3.76 ERA in 35 1/3 innings pitched.

Freidhof was a second-team outfield selection and hit .320 with nine doubles, 13 RBI and a team-leading 34 runs scored.

Junior Jacob Koch and senior Mitch Frey were each named to the Valley Division honorable mention team.

Mississippi Valley Conference All-division Baseball

Mississippi Division

Athlete of the year – *Maddux Frese, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie

Coach of the year – James Nelson, Cedar Rapids Prairie

First team – P: *Maddux Frese, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie; Bryce Rudiger, Sr., Dubuque Wahlert. C: *Cal Sullivan, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie. Corner INF: Drew Grete, Sr., Cedar Falls; Noah Huxford, Jr., Cedar Rapids Jefferson. Middle INF: *Jonathan Wille, Sr., Dubuque Senior; *Colin Coonradt, Jr., Cedar Falls; Jack Walsh, Sr., Dubuque Wahlert. OF: Kade Knock, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie; Ryan Brosius, Sr., Dubuque Wahlert; Zac Henderson, Sr., Cedar Rapids Jefferson. UTIL: Alex Kirman, Jr., Dubuque Senior; Reid Burkle, Jr., Cedar Rapids Prairie

Second team – P: Logan Wagemester, Jr., Cedar Rapids Prairie; Shae Buskohl, Sr., Cedar Falls. C: Jayden Khamphilanouvong, Jr., Liberty High. Corner INF: Logan Wroe, Jr., Cedar Falls; Seamus Crahan, Sr., Dubuque Wahlert. Middle INF: Patrick Fitzgerald, Sr., Dubuque Wahlert; Cooper Schenck, Sr., Cedar Rapids Xavier; Logan Boll, Sr., Cedar Rapids Jefferson. OF: Landon Ruby, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie; Carlos Baez-Perez, Sr., Cedar Rapids Xavier; Ryan Schmierer, Jr., Liberty High. UTIL: Jackson Khamphilanouvong, Jr., Liberty High.

Honorable mention – Derek Woods, Sr., Cedar Falls; Payton Marsh, Sr., Cedar Falls; Konner Lake, Jr., Cedar Rapids Jefferson; Carson Dighton, Sr., Cedar Rapids Jefferson; Kam Volz, Jr., Cedar Rapids Prairie; Mason Trpkosh, Sr., Cedar Rapids Prairie; Preston Lang, Jr., Cedar Rapids Xavier; Caleb Even, Jr., Cedar Rapids Xavier; Ben Bechen, Sr., Dubuque Senior; Will Sullivan, Jr., Dubuque Senior; Will Specht, Soph., Dubuque Wahlert; Foti Rigopoulos, Soph., Dubuque Wahlert; Luke Ramsey, Sr., Liberty High; Mason Waterbury, Soph., Liberty High

Valley Division

Athlete of the year – Isaac Then, Sr., Western Dubuque

Coach of the year – Casey Bryant, Western Dubuque

First team – P: *Talon Young, Soph., City High; *Grant Mather, Jr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy. C: Trevor Scott, Jr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy. Corner INF: Isaac Then, Sr., Western Dubuque; Nolan Grawe, Jr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy. Middle INF: *Jake Goodman, Jr., Western Dubuque; *Jackson Mishler, Jr., Linn-Mar; *Jonny Muehring, Sr., Dubuque Hempstead. OF: *Brett Harris, Fr., Western Dubuque; *Caleb Klein, Sr., Western Dubuque; Dylan Muszynski, Soph., Linn-Mar. UTIL: *Rowan Donels, Sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; *Justin Potts, Jr., Dubuque Hempstead

Second team – P: Jace Scott, Jr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Jake Mitchell, Jr., City High; Matthew Buse, Sr., Linn-Mar. C: Tayvon Homolar, Jr., Waterloo West. Corner INF: Dominic Salibi, Soph., City High; Ryne Vander Leest, Sr., West High. Middle INF: Matthew Stoltenberg, Jr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Ty Donels, Fr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Roman Rivera, Sr., Cedar Rapids Washington. OF: Hunter Quagliano, Jr., Western Dubuque; DJ Hodges, Sr., City High; Carter Freidhof, Sr., West High. UTIL: Nate Anderson, Sr., West High; Connor Maiers, Sr., Western Dubuque

Honorable mention – Ike Lyons, Sr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Owen Hutchison, Jr., Cedar Rapids Kennedy; Erich Rinderknecht, Jr., Cedar Rapids Washington; Caiden Buonadonna, Soph., Cedar Rapids Washington; Curt Saunders, Sr., Dubuque Hempstead; Andrew Tharp, Sr., Dubuque Hempstead; Drew Carlson, Sr., City High; Max Waldschmidt, Jr., City High; Mitch Frey, Sr., West High; Jacob Koch, Jr., West High; Boston Stoffel, Sr., Linn-Mar; Carter Bond, Sr., Linn-Mar; Alex Willis, Sr., Waterloo West; Cael Caughron, Jr., Waterloo West; Bradyn Delaney, Sr., Western Dubuque; Colton McIlrath, Sr., Western Dubuque

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