CLINTON – A handful of hours after his manager suggested the team's second-half turnaround was rooted in correcting the "little things," JD Osborne did a big thing.

A fourth martial arts Hall of Fame, it should almost feel like business as usual for taekwondo Master Shane Evan Nixon, right?

DES MOINES – Welcome to the Iowa state baseball tournament, where a first-round victory over a defending champion yields a team who has won the tournament the last two seasons.

With coaches and family watching on, 14-year-old Ali Monaghan sat on the ropes in the boxing ring in Madison, Wisconsin. In the last round and tired, Monaghan sat in the corner for a second. 

CLINTON – The Clinton High School baseball team was well-represented when the Mississippi Athletic Conference released its all-conference teams Wednesday, as the River Kings sent seven total players to the list.

When Clinton softball coach Nate Herrig talked about his five seniors after their season ending loss to Wahlert Catholic last week in Dubuque, he said that they had done their job: they left the program better than when they started.

MANCHESTER—The Central DeWitt softball team knew they had a tough task ahead of them in the regional final on Tuesday night. That didn’t make the 6-1 loss to West Delaware any less heartbreaking.

CALAMUS—Four different Prince of Peace pitchers couldn’t subdue the offense from Calamus-Wheatland baseball on Saturday night in the Class 1A District night cap, resulting in a 16-1 season-ending loss for the Irish.

CALAMUS—What looked like it was going to be an easy first round for the Easton Valley baseball squad turned into a heartbreaking season-ending loss on Saturday evening.

DYERSVILLE – Beneath the sting of defeat, there was a comfortable air surrounding the Northeast softball team following a season-ending loss Friday night.

CAMANCHE - It was just a tough night in Camanche on Friday. 

DUBUQUE—The Clinton River Queens saw a lead disappear and never found their offense again in a 8-3 loss to Dubuque Wahlert on Thursday night in the first round of Class 4A regionals.

As an eighth grader, she batted .338 with a team-high 25 RBIs for the varsity team.

The Camanche baseball team has a special fan who might inspire them more than anything else. 

CLINTON - Here comes the River Kings.

CAMANCHE - It took the No. 9 Camanche softball team 38 minutes to set the tone for the postseason. 

CLINTON – For the second time in as many years, the Clinton High School girls' basketball team has a new coach. 

The talent of the Davenport Assumption softball team is well-documented through state championships in the both of the past two seasons, and the Knights clinched a conference title with a sweep of Clinton by scores of 14-3 and 16-0.

The Camanche softball team is ranked No. 10 in Class 3A heading into the last games before the postseason commences. Head coach Kevin Roling has plenty of confidence, and for good reason.

CAMANCHE - Four different athletes placed balls over the outfield fence for the Camanche softball team, lifting them to a 19-7 win over Mid-Prairie at home on Monday night.

CAMANCHE – The Indians returned two punches from the Central DeWitt baseball team. But the third one left them on the ropes.

CAMANCHE - You could visibly see the disappointment on the faces of each and every member of the No. 10 Camanche softball team. 

BASEBALL

CLINTON – Both Clinton High School teams took to the diamonds at the Durgin Complex to host Mississippi Athletic Conference foe Bettendorf Thursday night.

CAMANCHE - The Camanche varsity baseball team rebounded from a week of adversity and held off an Easton Valley comeback on Friday night for a 7-5 win at home. 

Carie Kuehn/Clinton Herald

Former Central DeWitt baseball standout TJ Sikkema was drafted by the New York Yankees organization as the 38th selection of the 2019 MLB first-year player draft Monday night.

GOOSE LAKE – The Rebels have a new leader.

MUSCATINE – On several occasions, Molly Shannon had to turn and sprint towards the goal she was helping defend.

MOLINE, Ill. - It may not have ended how they wanted, but the Clinton girls’ tennis season was certainly a successful one.

Prince of Peace graduate Connor Evers decided four years ago to turn his passion for golf into a career. This year, that led him across the globe.

Amil Akiti was a huge asset to a growing Clinton boys soccer team.

FULTON – The Three Rivers Athletic Conference has released league honors, and members of both the Fulton baseball and softball teams were well-represented.

CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Morrison boys' track team is sending five to the finals on Saturday, including a couple of the top qualifying times. 

CAMANCHE – Chase Grim remembers doctors revealing the grave implications of an MRI test. Twice. He will not soon forget physical therapy, where he completed a series of sweat-inducing workouts. Twice.

CLINTON – A state banner hung from the door that leads to the courts at the River Cities Tennis Association's indoor complex on 4th Ave South in Clinton. The Clinton High School girls' tennis team will have to make room for another. 

FULTON, Ill. – It was a happy day on Saturday, with the town of Fulton welcoming home a whole group of state medalists back to town.

CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Fulton girls’ track and field team qualified three events for the finals this weekend during preliminary action Thursday afternoon on the campus of Eastern Illinois University.

SHERRARD – It is one thing to be favored to win an event on paper. The act of actually toeing the track and doing it, though, is a different story.

The Fulton track and field teams have something unique. They have a jumping-specific coach in Lee Salazar, and the benefits of that are showing.

Ulysses Patterson brings a little bit of everything to the Clinton boys track team.

DUBUQUE - In a tournament that was postponed due to weather, the Camanche boys tennis team fell just short of continuing a try for state at Dubuque Wahlert on Friday afternoon.

The Northeast track team is fast ... really. 

Freshman Brody Manemann is certainly turning heads on the tennis courts for the Clinton River Kings. 

Camanche sophomore Emy Seeser has been efficient all year in her prime event, the long jump. She's been hitting 16 feet meet after meet, consistently placing and winning the event.

Yes, it's yet another Chloe Lindeman story. 

CAMANCHE – Jesse Gabel had modest expectations for his first season as the Camanche girls' golf coach.

DAVENPORT – In the first doubleheader of the 2019 season the Clinton LumberKings walked away with a split - falling in game one 1-6 and taking game two 3-1. The LumberKings (12-10) win in game two was their first over the River Bandits (12-10) in Quad Cities since 2017.

CLINTON–The Camanche varsity team won another invitational on Saturday, and the Clinton River Kings continued prepping for their conference tournament during their home invitational. 

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – Thirteen young athletes from Great River Gymnastics traveled to Bourbonnais, Ill. for the Illinois State Gymnastics Championships, and they finished about as well as they could.