The Spirit Lake boys basketball team reached its first Class 2A substate final since 2021, but the Indians ran into tournament-tested Unity Christian on Saturday. The 67-43 loss in Sheldon ends the Indians’ season one win shy of Des Moines.

A late Spirit Lake charge came up just short as the Indians fell 51-46 to Wahlert Catholic in a back-and-forth quarterfinal Monday at the 2025 girls state basketball tournament in Des Moines.

“There’s no other team I’d rather go to battle with than this team,” senior Reese Keenan said. “'I’m so glad we get to pave the way for other teams in the future to come up and play in our shoes and know what this atmosphere feels like.”

Three Okoboji/Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn wrestlers climbed their way up to the 100th annual Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) State Wrestling Championships last week inside Wells Fargo Arena, but their ascents ended short of podium on day two of the tournament.

“Getting three guys down here is huge for any program,” Okoboji/HMS coach Nate Dau said. “It’s a milestone for any wrestler, and it's even amplified in the state of Iowa.”

Spirit Lake Park sophomore Tyson DeWall reached the Class 2A quarterfinals before two losses knocked him out of the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) State Wrestling Championships.

“It was a fun experience and I was glad I was down there,” DeWall said. “Things didn’t turn out the way I hoped for, but I’ll be ready for next year.”

No one wanted to see their basketball season end Wednesday night, least of all the three Spirit Lake seniors.

It didn’t.

The No. 12 Indians tamed the No. 8 Algona Bulldogs 61-53 Saturday to reach the Class 3A Iowa Girls High School State Basketball Tournament. The Indians play in Des Moines for the first time since 2015.

Turner recognized for 1,000 point milestone

First came the ceremony, then came the celebration as the Spirit Lake girls advanced with a resounding 57-19 win over Sheldon in the Class 3A Region 8 quarterfinal on Saturday.

By Matt Heinrichs

Sports Editor

Harris-Lake Park's girls basketball team — coming off a historic regular season — earned a hard-fought playoff win over South O'Brien in the first round of the regional tournament held Thursday, Feb. 13. The Wolves defeated the Wolverines 33-25 in Lake Park.

By Matt Heinrichs

Sports Editor

Okoboji's boys basketball team suffered a Siouxland Conference home loss to Central Lyon on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The Lions defeated the Pioneers 69-65 in Milford.

Okoboji girls basketball came to an end Saturday with a 51-42 loss to Siouxland conference rival Unity Christian. The nine-point gap was the tightest margin among three tries against the Knights.

The Harris-Lake Park boys snapped a four-game skid and — more importantly — advanced in the Class 1A District 1 bracket with a 75-25 win over Storm Lake St. Mary’s.

The Valentine’s Day home game in was never in doubt for the Wolves, who improved to 3-16 on the season.

“I was happy for our seniors to finish their home career with a win,” coach Neil Robinson said. “Justus Voss, Duane Ingham and Ethan Harper deserved to have a positive game to look back upon.”

Area girls and boys ages 9-14 participated in the 2025 Knights of Columbus district free throw championship Sunday, Jan. 16, and 11 earned the right to compete at the regional level.

Iowa Great Lakes Council 5043 in Spirit Lake and Paul Katzfey, EXIT Realty Midwest sponsored the local competition at the Bedell Family YMCA, drawing kids from Spirit Lake, Arnolds Park, Milford, Spencer and Sioux Rapids.

Everything has to fall into place for a top-five upset on the road. It wasn’t in the cards Friday night for the Pioneers, who ended the regular season with a 68-37 loss to Class 2A No. 3 West Lyon.

Okoboji’s 22-10 first-quarter deficit was a barometer for how the night was going to go.

 By Matt Heinrichs

Sports Editor

Spirit Lake's boys basketball team suffered a nonconference road loss to top-ranked (2A) Western Christian on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The Wolfpack defeated the Indians 73-59 in Hull.

Consistent games and consistent progress are adding up to a consistently good season for the Spirit Lake boys basketball team.

That includes consistent quarters en route to a 57-44 home win over Emmetsburg on Thursday, Feb. 13. The Indians scored 14 points in each of the first three quarters and added 15 points in the final frame.

The steady effort helped Spirit Lake gain some distance from the E-Hawks, who came into the contest with a 16-4 record.

By Matt Heinrichs

Sports Editor

Spirit Lake's girls basketball team closed out the regular season with a dominant nonconference road win over Western Christian on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The No. 12 (3A) Indians whooped the Wolfpack 68-36 in Hull.