Okoboji’s boys basketball team suffered a nonconference home loss to Estherville Lincoln Central on Saturday, Dec. 9. The Midgets defeated the Pioneers 70-52 in Milford.

Okoboji made 21 of 51 shots from the field, including 5 of 20 from beyond the arc. The Pioneers made 5 of 13 free throw attempts, pulled down 28 rebounds and had 21 turnovers.

Okoboji’s girls basketball team dropped a nonconference home game to No. 5 Estherville Lincoln Central on Saturday, Dec. 9. The Pioneers fell 64-29 to the Midgets in Milford.

Spirit Lake Park’s boys wrestling team took part in the 2023 Bob Roethler Invite held Saturday, Dec. 9 at Emmetsburg. The Indians scored 35 total points on the day to place 17th as a team.

Tyson DeWall earned the Indians’ only spot on the podium, going 2-1 to place second at 106 pounds.

Spirit Lake’s girls basketball team dropped a nonconference road game to No. 13 Decorah on Saturday, Dec. 9. The Vikings were victorious over the Indians 51-45 at Luther College in Decorah.

The Okoboji/HMS boys wrestling team placed 10th as a team and had two top-three individual finishes at the 2023 Bob Roethler Invite held Saturday, Dec. 9 at Emmetsburg. The Pioneers totaled 81 team points on the day. Tyce Hanson and James Gellerman led the way with a pair of third-place finishes.

Hanson went 4-1 to place third at 132 pounds.

Spirit Lake’s boys basketball team suffered a Lakes Conference road loss to Storm Lake on Friday, Dec. 8. The Tornadoes topped the Indians 74-70 in Storm Lake.

Okoboji’s boys basketball team earned its first victory of the 2023-24 season with a narrow home win over Sibley-Ocheyedan on Friday, Dec. 8. The Pioneers edged the Generals 68-61 in Milford.

“Multiple lead changes in this game,” Okoboji coach Alex Spielman said. “Our team did a great job taking care of the basketball. We had a season low of five turnovers and forced (14).”

The Okoboji/HMS boys wrestling team split a double-dual with Le Mars and Sioux Center on Thursday, Dec. 7. The Pioneers earned a 51-24 victory over Le Mars and fell 64-21 to the Warriors in Milford.

In their win over the Bulldogs, the Pioneers 5 of 10 contested matches.

The Okoboji/HMS girls wrestling team earned a 60-0 dual win over Sioux Center on Thursday, Dec. 7. The Pioneers took advantage of several open weights and won both of the contested bouts on the night.

At 135 pounds, Kimberly Bergeson pinned Sioux Center’s Holly Martinez Moreno in 2 minutes, 44 seconds. At 140 pounds, Avery Ballis pinned Sioux Center’s Beneranda Morales Martin in 31 seconds.

Harris-Lake Park’s boys basketball team struggled in the final three quarters of a War Eagle Conference road loss to MMCRU on Tuesday, Dec. 5. After trailing 15-11 through the first quarter, the Wolves scored just 12 points the rest of the way in a 63-23 loss to the Royals in Marcus.

Harris-Lake Park made 10 of 35 shots from the field, including 1 of 15 from beyond the arc. The Wolves made 2 of 4 free throw attempts, pulled down 24 rebounds and had 25 turnovers.

Harris-Lake Park’s girls basketball team earned a War Eagle Conference road victory over MMCRU in overtime on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The Wolves topped the Royals 56-55 in Marcus.

Okoboji’s boys basketball team dropped a Siouxland Conference road game to Sioux Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The Warriors edged the Pioneers 57-54 in Sioux Center.

Okoboji’s girls basketball team dropped a Siouxland Conference road game to No. 13 Sioux Center on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The Warriors got out to a fast start and whooped the Pioneers 52-33 in Sioux Center.

All boys and girls ages 9 to 14 are invited to participate in the local level of competition for the 2024 Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship. The local contest will be held at 12:30 p.m., Sunday, Jan 7 at the Bedell Family YMCA in Spirit Lake. Registration and practice begin at 11:30 a.m. Age levels have been extended to include 9-year-olds.

Ice fishing, anyone? I’m certainly ready, but the ice certainly isn’t. Small ponds have ice and even shallow lakes, but safe for fishing? Not so much.

While the north end of East Okoboji is frozen over and so are Upper Gar and Lake Minnewashta, there’s been no sign of ice being safe enough to venture out. Big Spirit is mostly open and West Okoboji most certainly is.