SK’s Jon McLaughlin to the HOF

Former Sigourney-Keota standout Jon McLaughlin will be honored on Friday, Nov. 22 as one of the latest inductees into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Football Hall-of-Fame.

McLaughlin was a stellar running back for the Cobras, earning all-state honors while propelling Sigourney-Keota to the UNI Dome in back-to-back seasons. He led the Cobras to the Class 1A state semifinals in 2004 and the state championship in 2005.

Through his career, McLaughlin carded 4,878 yards and 77 touchdowns.

Opposite of the football field, McLaughlin was a three time state qualifier and two-time medal winner in wrestling.

After graduating, he attended Iowa Central before joining the U.S. Army, serving as special forces with tours in Afghanistan, including a 2016 incident with an improvised explosive device causing life-threatening injuries, and Iraq.

McLaughlin medically retired from the military in 2021 as Sergeant First Class and received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and numerous other medals for his service.

McLaughlin, will be joined by a handful of other former Iowa high school standouts in Marshalltown’s Chanse Creekmur, Lynnville-Sully’s Jeff Criswell, Central Lyon/George Little Rock Roger Meyer, West Lyon’s Luke Vander Sanden and Bishop Heelan’s Brandon Wegher as the newest class to be inducted into the IHSAA Hall of Fame.