Top 10 sports stories of 2019, 6-10

Last-minute victories, heart-breaking losses and state qualifiers. This was 2019 in local sports.

Today we start the countdown of the top 10 sports stories in 2019. The plays that changed games, the games that changed seasons and the teams and individuals who ended their seasons with the highest honors.

In this two-part series, the Union Sports team has made a list of 10 stories that captivated fans in Southeast Iowa.

Today we will countdown Nos. 10-6, and Thursday we'll release our top five.

Without further ado, we look back at five of the top 10 local sports stories from the year that was.

10. One game away - Three of the Union coverage area's high school basketball teams were just a win away from the state tournament last winter, but all three squads came up just short.

The WACO boys played an instant classic against eventual state runner-up Alburnett in Iowa City. After coming back from a four-point deficit at the beginning of the first quarter, the Warriors had a potential game-winning shot by Nik Coble rim out at the buzzer. Then in overtime, with the starting back court of Drew Kissell and Colton Horak both sidlined with five fouls, Alburnett squeaked out a 60-54 victory.

The Fairfield boys saw the careers of an all-senior starting five end at the hands of eventual Class 3A champion Oskaloosa. The Indians, led by two Division 1 prospects, ran away from the Trojans 58-37 in a district final played at Mt. Pleasant High School.

The Van Buren girls ran into a buzzsaw at Chariton High School. The Warriors were upended 68-30 by Central Decatur, a team that went on to the state semifinals.

9. IMS soccer makes return trip - The Iowa Mennonite boys set the school record for wins in 2018 at 18-3 with a trip to the state tournament, then returned to state in 2019. A 2020 trip may be in the works but it will be as Hillcrest Academy after the school changed its name a few days before this newspaper did the same thing. A loss in the first round at state both years does not diminish the amazing accomplishment.

8. New faces, same result - The Washington girls golf team lost one of the best golfers in state history when Sarah Nacos graduated, then lost her sister Anna, who played for another school. The Demons welcomed three new golfers to the team and still made another trip to the state tournament. Every Washington player improved their score on the second day as the Demons placed sixth, led by Kiki Guo's fourth-place score of 77-76-153.

7. Pekin baseball shows its claws - The first trip to state for a school is always special. The Pekin baseball team made it more special with an exciting run through the postseason. Then at state, the Panthers fell behind Mason City Newman Catholic by seven runs before rallying to lose just 8-7, the closest game the state champions had, winning their next two by 10 runs each. The Panthers finished the season with a 17-9 record after winning the Class 1A Distict 8 title with victories over Keota, Burlington-Notre Dame and Iowa Mennonite before claiming the Substate 4 crown with an impressive 7-0 combined no-hit victory over No. 4 ranked Calamus-Wheatland.

6. Chaotic final day of regular season football - Four local football teams took the field on Friday, Oct. 25 with their seasons hanging in the balance. Washington hosted Mt. Pleasant, Sigourney-Keota hosted Mediapolis and New London hit the road to play at Montezuma with all four teams needing just one win to make the playoffs.

It was the Demons and Tigers who walked off the field victorious. Washington edged Mt. Pleasant 64-61, on a last-minute touchdown run by senior quarterback Luke Turner, to win one of the best games of the rivalry's history. Shae Summerfield's eight-touchdown day led New London to a 94-68 trouncing of Montezuma and S-K was upset 28-6 by Mediapolis.

The Demons and Tigers were off to the playoffs one week later, and both the Panthers and Cobras found themselves on the outside looking in. When the final RPI rankings came out, Mt. Pleasant was one spot away from an at-large bid, and S-K became the first one-loss team to get left out of the playoffs since the RPI system was put in place two years prior. SK led Class 1A in rushing at 390 yards per game and JD Stout was fourth in rushing yards with 1,490 and first in average per carry at 11.0 per rush.