​By Lance Losh @LanceLosh

The Boone boys basketball team had many different players contribute to their success as they got a 64-60 win over Perry. This win in the district championship sets up a rematch with Dallas Center-Grimes in the substate final with a trip to Wells Fargo Arena on the line.

Perry built an early lead on the shoulders of senior Kyle Nevitt and Boone battled against a deficit for the entirety of the first half. The Toreadors had a great defensive effort in the second quarter which kept them in the game. On offense, the Boone junior Trevor Van Pelt played big time minutes in the second quarter as he knocked down a pair of three-pointers to carry the team. At the half, Boone trailed Perry 27-23. Van Pelt led the Toreadors at the break with eight points.

“I was feeling it in the first half,” said Van Pelt. “Seeing the ball go in gave me the confidence to keep shooting and my teammates set me up for good looks.”

Boone dug themselves a hole in the third quarter as they were trailing 31-23. The Toreadors battled back and went on a 17-2 run which was sparked by the full court press and a thunderous crowd. Boone outscored Perry 19-8 in the third quarter and had a 7 point lead going into the final stanza. 

The Bluejays spent most of the fourth quarter chipping away at a deficit, but Boone maintained their lead due to the shooting of senior Ethan Lewis. Lewis had zero points in the first half, but he really showed up with the game on the line. Lewis converted a long three-pointer with 1:30 remaining in the game to stretch the Toreador lead to six. Boone would hold onto the lead and secure their spot in the substate final. Four Toreadors finished in double figures and that was crucial to Boone coming away with the victory.

Boone travels to Johnston on Monday for the substate final. In the first on January 3rd, Mustang-Toreador matchup, Boone suffered a 56-50 loss. 


CAPTION: Junior Trevor Van Pelt rises up over junior Rashon Ivory for the three pointer. Van Pelt finished with 11 points off the bench.

By Lane Losh @LaneLosh2

Rewind to 54 years ago. The date is March 16th, 1963. The Boone boys’ basketball team is in a Substate Final showdown with the Carroll Tigers and the score remains close in the final seconds of the game. Senior leader Roger Dutton steps to the foul line looking to sink a pair of clutch free throws, and the once raucous gym goes completely silent. Dutton makes the foul shots, and the Toreadors are headed to Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines to play in the Iowa High School State Tournament.

Senior Roger Dutton was the anchor and leader of the 1963 team, and he was a 2nd team All-State selection. He received more votes than any other guard in the state in the voting. Other than Dutton, the other starters were all just juniors. Dick Musser, Mike Loehrer, Marv Nicholson, and Mike Bennett made up the rest of the lineup. 

Boone was coached by Jim Ranglos, who played collegiately at Colorado and later played professional basketball.

Many different pieces and players played a role in that magical postseason run. One player remembers it very vividly 54 years later. I caught up with Roger Dutton and discussed with him what it was like to be a part of something so special.

In the State Tournament, Boone was beaten by Storm Lake on a pair of last-second free throws, and it was a truly heartbreaking defeat for the team.

“From a purely basketball standpoint, it really wasn’t a terrific memory. We were all crying in the locker room afterward. I had my worst game of the year at a time when the team needed my senior leadership the most,” says Dutton.

Roger remembers the Des Moines newspaper doing interviews after their first practice at the Auditorium, prior to the game. When coach Jim Ranglos was asked about their gameplan for the 1st round game, he simply said, “we have Roger Dutton and they don’t.”

Dutton has very fond memories of Coach Ranglos, saying that he was an excellent coach and an even better man.

“Jim and I would play one-on-one after practices and he would dominate me. Grab me, push me, taunt me, but it was a great education for how I would be played against all year long,” he said of his former coach.

Among all the memories from their State appearance, he says his favorite would have to be the tremendous outpouring of support from the community of Boone. 

“There was a huge caravan of cars accompanying us to Des Moines. Went through all the little towns along the way. Honking horns, people on the streets waving and cheering us, both as we left Boone and also from all the small towns along the way. Felt like a ‘Hoosiers Moment’. I will never forget that memory.”

While Roger Dutton was a terrific player, he also had a great cast of supporting teammates. The Toreadors were made up of primarily juniors, and they grew up at just the right time. Contributions from the scrappy Marv Nicholson and scoring from Dick Musser were all essential for Boone’s success.

“Wonderful teammates, great memories. That is what sports are all about. Not individual achievements, but team achievements,” said Dutton.

“It was quite a send-off from our high school years. I can say that I feel extremely fortunate to have had such great teachers and coaches. They prepared us very well for the athletic field as well as our futures academically in college.”

These days, Dutton is far removed from his Boone High glory days and runs a financial firm in the Greater Chicago Area. Following high school, he went on to play basketball and baseball at Northern Illinois University, where he is a member of the athletic Hall-of-Fame. After college, he was a 3rd round draft choice by the New York Yankees and spent five seasons in their organization. However, after all of these accomplishments, Roger often reminisces on his one shining moment with his best friends at Boone High 54 years ago.

It’s Playoff time for high school basketball in Iowa, and Mr. Dutton had some words of advice for both of the Basketball teams, “Don’t make it life or death. Have fun, make your own memories. Believe me, they will last you a lifetime. Go Toreadors, and don’t have any memories where you didn’t give your 110% effort!”

Special thanks to Mo Kelley, as well as the Boone News-Republican for providing information and photos.

Boone girls basketball faced the Dallas Center-Grimes Fillies in a substate final this past Tuesday night. One team would advance to the state tournament in Wells Fargo Arena, The other team’s season would come to an end.

Off the tip, the Toreadors and Fillies were neck and neck with both teams struggling to find momentum. Both Boone and DCG played stellar defense in the first quarter. As the second quarter started, the Fillies found their offense and gained a lead on the shoulders of their senior guard Rachel Lowary. At the halftime break, Boone girls trailed DCG 23-16. 

Coming out of halftime the Fillies played tough defense but Boone was able to chip away at the lead finding easy baskets around the rim feeding the junior post, Claire Sandvig. 

As the second half wound down, DCG and Boone continued to play lockdown defense, with Boone holding the Fillies to only one made field goal in the second half. With 49 seconds left in the substate final, fans, coaches, and players started to feel the pressure. With 17.4 seconds left the score was tied at 30 a piece with Boone’s possessing of the ball. Boone inbounded the ball and advanced it past halfcourt. Boone’s coach Jim Mcpartland then called a timeout with nine seconds remaining. 

Senior guard Emma Rouse inbounded the ball to junior guard Caitlynne Shadle, who dribbled around the perimeter and then penetrated to the paint.  At the last second, she was able to dish it off to Sandvig who put it up for the win, banking it in. 

Boone girls beat the DCG Fillies 32-30 and advanced to the state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. Boone will face Marion March 1st at 10:00 am. 

Dresden Wilson @dreswilson22

​Two wrestlers and many fans from Boone traveled to the Wells Fargo Arena this past Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with high hopes of returning champions.

Junior Mason Hulse (39-3) was the first grappler from Boone, in his first match, he was set to square off against Preston Terry (44-1), a sophomore from Burlington. The match started off slow but soon picked up. Hulse was the first to score getting a takedown and scoring two points. After the first period, the score was 2-0 in favor of Hulse. 

Terry then scored a point from an escape and then successfully completed a takedown for two points. At the end of the second, the score was 3-2 for Terry. In the final period of Hulse’s first match, he would start in the down position. Hulse again got another two points by takedown but gave up one by and escape. The score being locked up at 4 near thirty seconds left in the match. 

With both wrestlers fighting for the win, Hulse shot with eight seconds left. He completed the takedown, securing the win and a spot in the quarterfinals. The final for the match was a 6-4 win for Hulse (40-3) by way of decision. The next opponent due up for Hulse would be senior Drew Sams (39-2).

The next Boone wrestler due up, senior Jacob Melton (26-5), would be in the 220-pound weight class. Melton originally pulled senior Jacob Zachary from Dowling Catholic High School, but because of personal reasons, Zachary had to pull out. Melton’s new opponent would be Gage Linahon (10-6). 

The match was a fast one as Jacob Melton secured a throw and defeated his opponent within the first period. He would win by way of fall in 1:25 in the first period, also putting himself into the quarterfinal round. Melton (27-5) would wrestle a common foe from earlier in the season, number three ranked 220 pounder and senior Zach Haggstrom (34-8). Both wrestlers would finish on top of their game for the day returning the next with two tough matches.

On the second day of the Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament, both wrestlers were still fighting for their chance to be a state champion. Again the first wrestler up was Hulse in the 145-pound division. His opponent, Sams would be one of the toughest foes of the year. 

The first period would end in a 2-0 lead for Sams. The second period would go back and forth ending at 4-3, Hulse’s lead. The final period Hulse started down and got reversal points late, tying the match late at 6. The match would eventually go into overtime where Hulse would win with a final-second takedown taking the match 8-6. Hulse’s next opponent would be the two-time state champion Zach Barnes (43-3), later that day.

Melton would wrestle Haggstrom in his quarterfinal matchup. The match was back and forth at the start of the first period, but after Haggstrom completed a takedown, he would later pin Melton. His next opponent later that day would be junior Carter Sergeant (24-15) from Pleasant Valley.

After losing his first match on the second day, Melton was pretty well motivated to get the next one. With ease, the 220-pounder had no problem pinning his man in one minute and fifteen seconds. The final was Jacob Melton winning by way of fall. His next opponent would be a senior Jordain Buckland (29-2). 

The 145 pounder from Boone would find himself in a semi-final matchup against Barnes, later that day. The match did not go the full distance of three periods, but with a good fight from Hulse, he fell to a tough opponent with a final of 25-10 at 5:37 by way of technical fall. The Boone Wrestlers once against survived the second day of wrestling.

At the start of the third day of state wrestling, both Boone boys had lost their chance at a state championship, but that would not stop them from making podium appearances. Hulse would take the mat first with Nick Graham (23-1), a sophomore from Johnston. Hulse would struggle again with this grappler and would lose by way of decision 8-5. He would then wrestle for 5th place against Trevor Anderson (42-6), a junior. 

Hulse held his own against Anderson but would lose by way of decision 9-7. Hulse would finish at 6th on the podium, and his final record would be (41-6).

Melton would be the final wrestler from Boone to wrestle Alex Francois (24-19), a senior from Xavier. The high scoring back and forth match ended with Jacob Melton winning by way of decision 15-10. Melton would finish off his high school wrestling career on the podium placing 7th out of 16 wrestlers. His final record of the year would be (29-7).

​With a very successful season thus far Boone Boys Basketball looked to continue that success as they faced the Nevada Cubs this past Monday night. The Toreadors were sitting at a 14-5 record with an eight-game win streak. The Cubs had a 15-6 record with a six-game win streak.

In the first quarter, the Nevada Cubs seemed as if they were going to hold onto the early momentum which they created, but Boone junior John Herrick lead Boone’s offense and the game remained even throughout the first quarter.

Nevada’s momentum died off quickly and the Toreadors took advantage of it. Boone would put up points in a quick fashion to create a lead but Nevada narrowed it down to just three and at the halftime break with Boone leading 28-25.

Boone continued the high-powered offense fueled by forced turnovers and fast break points to open the half.  Led by Herrick, who had 27 points through 3 quarters, the Toreadors opened up what proved to be an insurmountable deficit for the Cubs.

With no offensive flow and low energy defense, Nevada wouldn’t make a dent into the lead and the Toreadors would move on to win with a final score of 67-47. This win improved Boone to 15-5 and put the win streak at nine games.

Boone’s last regular season game will be this Thursday at Webster City. Tip-off at 7:30 pm. 

​By Lane Losh

On Monday, February 13th the Toreador boys’ basketball team will look to pick up a non-conference win against the Cubs of Nevada. Boone is currently on an impressive run in the past month, rattling off eight consecutive victories and recently clinching the conference title. Nevada has also achieved a lot of success of late, winning nine of their last ten games.

Boone is led by senior sharpshooter Ethan Lewis, who is shooting a red hot 45% from three-point range this season. Lewis is also shooting a stellar 90% from the free-throw line. The Toreadors have two more double-digit scorers in senior Tanner Schminke and junior John Herrick. 

However, perhaps the most important piece has been senior Gabe Krafcisin. He is averaging over five rebounds per game and has blocked 33 shots this season. His inside presence has been a key component for Boone’s defensive success during their hot streak.

For Nevada, they are led in scoring by junior Trent Stahl, who is averaging 14 points per game. Junior Luke Merfeld will be a challenge for Krafcisin in the post, as he has pulled down a team-high 128 rebounds for the Cubs this year.

One team will continue their hot streak Monday night, and the other’s will be ended. Catch Nevada vs Boone at 7:30 in the Boone High gym.

By Sammi Crouse @sammijo019

Last Saturday,  the Boone wrestlers traveled to Fort Dodge for the last meet of the season (for most of them). All of the boys wrestled at their best, and are hoping to improve for the next season.

Junior Mason Hulse placed 2nd and qualified for state in weight class 145. Hulse got a tech fall against opponent Luke Ferguson (Nevada), the final score being 16-1. In semi-finals, Hulse won with a final score of 5-3 against Levi Trenary (Fort Dodge). Hulse wrestled for first place but lost the match against Nick Graham (Johnston), the final score being 9-4.

Senior Jacob Melton also qualified for state and placed first in weight class 220. In the first round, Melton received a bye. In the semi-final round, Melton won over Ben Standish (Johnston), pinning his opponent in 1 minute and 51 seconds. In the first place match, Melton wrestled Travis Theisen (Le Mars) and pinned Theisen in 31 seconds. After 3 years of trying, Melton finally qualified for state. 

“It feels good to finally make it. I’ve worked hard for it all year. It feels great.” says Melton. 

Juniors Jimmy Boustead and James Runestad placed third in the tournament, missing the qualification by one match. 

The class 3A state wrestling tournament will begin on Thursday, February 16th at 9:00 am.