Iowa Prep Sports Podcast

The River Valley Conference’s hold on the top of the Class 1A Iowa high school boys’ soccer rankings didn’t change, but the team at the top did. Nathan Ford and Ryan Pleggenkuhle discusse West Branch’s rise to No. 1 and the notable results from last week, plus preview a big week of ranked matchups in the Gazette area on this episode of Park the Bus.

Iowa City Regina is the new No. 1 team in the Class 1A Iowa high school boys’ soccer rankings, but the Regals weren’t the only team that moved up. Nathan Ford and Ryan Pleggenkuhle detail the Gazette-area boys’ and girls’ teams on the move on this week’s episode of Park The Bus.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association’s first weekly boys’ soccer rankings provide some helpful talking points for this week’s episode of Park The Bus, The Gazette’s high school soccer podcast. Hosts Nathan Ford and Ryan Pleggenkuhle also take a look back at last week’s games by naming teams and players of the week in the area for boys and girls.

On the first episode of Park The Bus, a podcast covering Iowa high school soccer in the Gazette area, Ryan Pleggenkuhle details teams and players to watch in 2024 as well as some bold predictions.

The field is set for the 2024 Iowa high school girls’ state basketball tournament and The Gazette's Jeff Johnson and Jeff Linder take a class-by-class look at what to expect on this week’s episode of Call It Both Ways. Plus, an update on the boys’ basketball postseason with state qualifiers soon to be determined.

After another unpredictable Iowa high school boys’ state wrestling tournament, the Pinning Combination with The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher and Hall of Fame coach Dick Briggs is here to break down all the top storylines.

It’s set to be a historic basketball night in Iowa, so the Call It Both Ways podcast with The Gazette's Jeff Johnson and Jeff Linder can only start this week’s episode by discussing Caitlin Clark on the verge of setting the NCAA women’s basketball scoring record. Then, it’s back to high school basketball and updates from the IHSAA and IGHSAU tournament trails.

In the high school segment of this week's Pinning Combination podcast with The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher and Hall of Fame coach Dick Briggs is a class-by-class preview of this week’s boys’ state wrestling tournament with a few predictions as well.

Conference realignment continues to be a topic on Call It Both Ways, The Gazette’s Iowa high school basketball podcast with Jeff Johnson and Jeff Linder. This week’s episode begins with the latest updates as the Northeast Iowa Conference appears on the brink of collapse. Then, we take a look at more postseason brackets released by the IGHSAU (5A and 4A) and IHSAA (2A and 1A) and the big games involving top teams last week.

The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher and Hall of Fame coach Dick Briggs look back at last week's girls' state wrestling tournament and boys' state duals and preview this week's boys' district tournaments on this episode of the Pinning Combination.

It’s one of the busiest weeks of the Iowa high school wrestling season and the Pinning Combination podcast with The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher Hall of Fame coach Dick Briggs breaks it all down. We recap last Saturday’s boys’ conference tournaments and Tuesday’s regional duals, then preview the Xtream Arena-hosted boys’ state duals (Saturday) and girls’ state tournament (Thursday and Friday).

No. 1-ranked teams in Iowa high school basketball picked up some big wins last week: Class 1A’s top-ranked North Linn girls beat 3A No. 1 Mount Vernon, while the 4A top-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy boys handled West Des Moines Valley. And there’s another big boys’ game on Friday, when 1A No. 1 Bellevue Marquette hosts No. 3 North Linn. The Gazette's Jeff Johnson and Jeff Linder discusses those games, plus more notable performances on this week's episode of Call It Both Ways.

The Class 4A boys’ rankings had a big shake-up this week (though Cedar Rapids Kennedy is still the clear No. 1) and that leads this episode of Call It Both Ways with The Gazette's Jeff Linder and Jeff Johnson. Other topics this week include a big win for the Marion girls, North Linn’s consistent success, the Clear Creek Amana girls taking over the top spot in Class 4A and a conference realignment update in the northeast part of the state.

It was only about a month or so ago when the Pinning Combination podcast had limited topics during a slow period of the wrestling schedule. That’s far from the case now. This week’s episode with The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher and Hall of Fame coach Dick Briggs highlights the standouts from the weekend of high school tournaments and previews upcoming boys’ conference tournaments and regional duals and girls’ regional tournaments.

The Gazette's Jeff Linder and Jeff Johnson Call It Both Ways on their weekly high school basketball podcast. Lots of topics this week, including the Mount Vernon girls' rise from a one-win season to a No. 1 ranking, schedule changes, participation numbers, Eric Dettbarn's 500-win career and more.

Weather wiped out much of the wrestling schedule in Iowa last week, but there still are a few topics to discuss on this week’s episode of the Pinning Combination with The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher and Hall of Fame coach Dick Briggs, including Monday's J-Hawk Invitational, updated IHSAA dual rankings and events to watch this week.

The Call It Both Ways podcast is snowed in for the time being, but The Gazette's Jeff Johnson and Jeff Linder still have a few topics to discuss despite the lack of games. Those include a look at the Cedar Rapids Washington girls, Lansing Kee boys and other teams on the rise, takeaways from last Saturday’s MVC-CIML Shootout and revisiting conference realignment possibilities.

The first weekend of Iowa high school wrestling tournaments in 2024 gave the Pinning Combination podcast plenty to discuss this week. Tune in for takeaways and a look at the week ahead with The Gazette's K.J. Pilcher and Hall of Fame coach Dick Briggs.

The Call It Both Ways podcast with The Gazette's Jeff Linder and Jeff Johnson is back from the holiday break with its first episode of 2024. They discuss Jim Dostal's legacy, the IHSAA's first basketball rankings and games to watch this week (including a full Saturday).

Gazette sportswriters Jeff Johnson and Jeff Linder talk about some high school football coaching moves, and discuss the high school basketball scene as the December portion of the season winds down.