August 26, 2025
Football
A dozen seniors will lead the Cardinals into action this fall, hoping to improve on the team’s 6-3 record in 2024.
In small-school Iowa football, a team needs to be good in the trenches. Ability to control the tempo on both sides of the ball is critical. The Cardinals have a history of producing good offensive and defensive lines, and these units will be a strength again this season. Both lines will be big, and Coach Caskey and his coaches are helping them improve their agility.
“Sometimes big kids just rely on being ‘big kids,’ but I think our big kids also have quickness,” said the coach. “If they can get off the ball quick and get into people before they know what’s going on—not just being big but being quick—that’s the thing we’re trying to work on.”
The O-line is under the specific tutelage of Cory Houghton and Drew Evans. Houghton has coached in Earlham since 2014 and Drew Evans joined the Cardinal staff last season.
“They do a really good job with the offensive line,” said Coach Caskey. “I think sometimes kids get bored doing the same thing over and over, so the coaches try to mix it up a little bit. But you just have to repeat things to get good at. If you’re an offensive linemen, you’re involved in every single play. You have to be ready every play and you have to be locked in all the time. You can’t take a play off. So our offensive lines have been pretty good about that, and I think this one’s no different.”
The O-line rotation will consist of Konnar Stiles, Keeghen Reed, Ty Conry, Brady Steward, and Keegan Long.
Reed, Corbin Etter, and Long will anchor the D-line, as well as A.J. Dunsky.
Coach Caskey has been more ‘hands-on’ with the Cardinal defense in the past than he will be this year. Kaden Howard is the defensive coordinator again this season, and two new coaches, James Gulley and Joe Jansen, will help on that side of the ball.
“We have so many good coaches for defense,” said Coach Caskey, “I kind of said, ‘Okay, these are my non negotiables. Outside of that, go.’ They’re doing a great job.”
The defense philosophy won’t be overhauled entirely, but the Cards will be more aggressive at times.
“We wouldn’t blitz a lot because I didn’t want us to be out of position. I didn’t want us to give up a big play. I thought, bend but don’t break—the other team can get as many yards between the 20s as they want. Sometimes that was great and sometimes that meant the other team had the ball for a long time. We are going to mix in more blitzes and different coverages just to give teams a different look.”
Five of the top eight leading tacklers from 2024 are back this season: Josh Winey, Tayten Pickett, Cole Eitel, A.J. Dunsky, and Etter. Senior Blaine Tiedemann was injured last season, but is back this year and will be a force at linebacker.
On offense, the Cardinals will run the ball. That’s a given—they are good at it and have been for a long time. And running the ball well is necessary. Seven of the eight teams that reached the quarterfinals in the Class A playoffs last season were in the top 10 in rushing. The Cardinals were 14th.
Junior Brady Reynolds takes over at quarterback. He was a running back on the JV team last year, but has the skills to run the offense.
“We’ve been really lucky with our quarterbacks over the last several years,” said Coach Caskey. “They’re intelligent kids with a high football IQ. I can tell them one thing, and they can direct traffic in the backfield, they can tell people where to go, they know where the routes are. They start to figure stuff out. And they’ve also been really good runners.”
Senior Josh Winey will be the halfback. His biggest impact last season was as a receiver, catching 22 passes for 386 yards. He also rushed for 214 yards on 28 carries. As the main ball carrier this season, he’ll be tough to bring down.
“He’s a dynamic athlete,” said Coach Caskey. “We have good athletes in the backfield, but he’s one of those, if he gets a crease, it’s over. He’s quick and he’s fast.”
Junior Cole Eitel and sophomore Konnar Keller will share time at fullback and Junior Cash Eitel will play wing back. None of those guys are big, but they are quick—and pound-for-pound, they will pack a punch. The running backs, along with senior receiver Jaxen Speedling, will be the primary pass catchers.
With five capable guys, the Cardinals probably have the best kicking depth in the state. That comes from a culture of excellent special teams play that the Cardinals have established. Seniors Konnar Stiles is the leading candidate for onside kicks. Sophomore Chris Ridgely has a strong leg and made 12 of 13 PATs last season.
Nobody likes practicing in the excessive heat that has enveloped Iowa in the past few weeks, but it was done safely per guidelines from the IHSAA. So, it may end up being a case of ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’
“I think it’s a focus thing,” said Coach Caskey. “As coaches, we don’t have all the stuff on, but we’re like, ‘Okay, it’s pretty thick out here.’ And if it’s that way for us, it has to be that way for the kids. But the more they can focus up under those conditions, the better off they are going to be. Kids are resilient.”
Earlham is in a new district this year. Teams include (records from last season in parentheses) BGM 4-5), Colfax-Mingo (1-7), Lynnville-Sully (5-4), Madrid (9-3), Martensdale-St. Marys (0-8), and North Mahaska (4-4).
The Cardinals’ season opener is on August 29 on the road against South Central Calhoun.
Coach Caskey is assisted by Kaden Howard, Cory Houghton, Brian Sheffield, Drew Evans, James Gulley, Joe Jansen, and Cory Thompson.
Volleyball
With a lineup anchored by seasoned seniors hungry for one last run, the Cardinals enter the 2025 campaign with plenty of experience and the thrill of unfinished business.
“That was the conversation that was at the core of our senior meeting,” said Coach Harskamp. “‘This is it. This is your last chance. What do you want to do? How do you want to go out? We’ve been building the last couple of years, but now you have to do it. You either do it, or you don’t.’ They really want a green banner up there.”
Other current Cardinal coaches (Caskey, Braet, Williamson) have coached their own kids at some point. That’s never easy—and when the athletes’ senior seasons roll around, it gets even more emotional. Now it’s Coach Harskamp’s turn. She’ll be coaching her senior daughter, Kenna, one last time.
“She’s been in the gym since she was this little,” said the coach, making a hip-thigh motion with her hand. “And when she came to my first senior meeting I was thinking, ‘Holy moly!’ I’ve had a lot of seniors over the years but none of them have been my daughter. It’s pretty exciting. They’re a good group and they’ve played together for lots of years. We’re finally at the last season.”
The Cardinals have six seniors, Harskamp, Ava Harris, Ally Presler, Keeley Keller, Savannah Charlet, and Valerie Meyer—the most the Cardinals have had since 2021. This core group has been out for just about every sport since junior high, which seems a little more rare these days.
“They’re good friends,” said Coach Harskamp. “For every sport, they go out for each other. Maybe it’s not ‘their sport,’ but they know to be successful, they need to be out to be there for their friends. Because maybe it’s their favorite sport. And these guys want to win. They want to do it for each other. They’ve built good chemistry. It’s a pretty special group. Obviously, close to my heart.”
Having a six-footer or two certainly helps in the sport of volleyball. However, the Cardinals don’t have any of those. But they do have plenty of pound-for-pound punch. The Cardinals will be as athletic as any team on their schedule this year.
“We use what we have,” said Coach Harskamp. “I’d rather have quick, athletic kids than big kids that can’t move. So we really focus on just getting every ball up. Defensively, that’s our goal. And we’re smart. I think all of our kids have become smart volleyball players. And that just comes from playing all the time, which they do.”
Harskamp and Harris are setters in the Cardinals’ 6-2 (6 hitters and 2 setters) offensive scheme. They are both agile and accurate passers who are also capable of delivering a hard kill.
“They both can hit,” said the coach, “and they both do something a little different in the front row. They both are deserving of running the show out of the back. And they work well together.”
Presler will have the opportunity to hit a little more than she has in the past, and she has taken advantage of the opportunity with an excellent showing in early practices. Keller is good on the back row as the libero, and Charlet provides back row depth. Meyer has played on the JV team her first three years.
Junior Piper Koberg is a player primed to take a big step this season. She will be hitting from the outside—something she has been doing with authority in the pre-season.
“Piper’s gone to about every camp that she can possibly go to,” said Coach Harskamp. “She has just worked really hard at being good at this. You can just tell. She had skills, but she’s fine-tuned every single one of them over the winter. Last year to this year, it’s just such a huge jump.”
Coach Harskamp said that Presler and Koberg have been the target of the majority of the sets in practice.
Junior Shilyn Terrell has had a career plagued by injuries, but she should make an impact with her athleticism this season. Off the bench, Junior Payton Tiemeyer will provide steady back row play and sophomore Eden Forcht is a developing front row force.
The first two weeks of practice for the Cardinals went well and culminated in a scrimmage with several conference teams on August 21.
The Cardinals open their season at home against Panorama on August 26.
Coach Harskamp is assisted by Cameryn Boyle and Kelcie Hale.
Cross Country
Inventor Charles Kettering once said, “High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.” While many of Kettering’s inventions are obsolete, his quote has stood the test of time—and it certainly describes the attitude of the Cardinal cross country teams.
You can’t talk about the Cardinals for too long without using the words ‘achievement’ and ‘expectation.’ A lot. In the last 20 years, the Cardinal girls have been to the state meet 11 times and the boys have made it 9 times. The girls have finished 2nd twice and won state titles in 2022 and again just last season. The Cardinal boys have finished as high as 2nd, and also have 3rd-, 4th-, and 6th-place finishes.
So those two magic words described by Kettering have gone hand in hand for the Cardinals.
“A lot of our seniors have been in this program for six years,” said Coach Dalton. “They’ve seen everyone showing up and putting in the work, so that expectation has been passed on from year to year.”
Coach Braet added, “Because they’ve had success and they like it, they know they have to work to continue it. It’s not difficult to get them to invest and push themselves. And that snowballs.”
Historically, Earlham kids have done the work because they understand where that industriousness can lead them. This year’s team will be no exception. Last Monday, Coaches Dalton and Braet put the team through what they termed a ‘mid season’ workout: 900 meter sprints, a lot of them. The team responded with mostly excellent individual workouts.
“We’re pushing the envelope with this group,” said Coach Braet. “You just kind of tweak things a little and hope you don’t push anybody over the edge. But with this group, I don’t think that’s a problem.”
Coach Dalton added, “It’s almost to the point now that, for some workouts, we’re like, ‘Hey, slow down. You can’t hammer everything.’”
Earlham’s summer running program is voluntary, but participation is nearly 100%. The coaches encourage kids to run, but it’s really the kids that get each other to show up day after day.
“It’s kind of become part of our culture that you show up in the summer and run,” said Coach Braet. “And that’s been going for 20 years. Kids think, “Yeah, I have to go run, “and I’m glad they do.”
Five of the seven girls who ran at state last season are back this year.
Girls
Kinsley Canoyer was brand new to the sport last season, but took to it right away and made dramatic improvement in nearly every meet. Her season culminated with an excellent performance at state, finishing 2nd for the Cardinals and 31st overall.
Seniors Mackenzie Harger and Amanda Smith finished 4-5 for the Cards at state last year. Both runners have a ton of accomplishments in track and cross country in the previous three years, and they are in terrific shape and ready for their final season of competition.
“They don’t say a whole lot. They lead by example,” said Coach Dalton. “And they’ve done that ever since 7th grade. Their work ethic is second to none. They want to do very well. They’re really good teammates and good friends. They feed off each other. If one of them is having a bad day, the other will pull them along.”
At state last year, senior CeCe Stanley finished 6th for the team and sophomore Shea Rogers was 7th. Stanley is currently nursing an injury, but will provide steady, strong performances when she is back. Rogers is improved and poised to break into the Cardinals’ top 5, and junior Lilah Aubert will have a chance to do that, too.
Boys
Five of the top seven Cardinal boys will return from the 6th-place 2025 team.
“The boys have pretty high expectations, as well,” said Coach Braet. “And they should.”
Juniors Dawson Braet and David Nichols finished 32nd and 33rd, respectively, at state last year. Nichols had a terrific summer’s worth of workouts and might be the Cards’ #1 at this point, but Dawson and others will push him. Donovan Braet and Griffin Messer were 4-5 at state last year.
Candidates to break into the Cardinal top 5 are Payton Dickson and Landon Sheffield. Dickson was the Cards’ #6 at state. Sheffield is out for cross country for the first time, but he’s a distance runner in track and will fit in well. Freshman Andrew Van Zee was 2nd at the junior high state meet last season. He’s also playing football this fall, but could have an impact on the team.
Both the girls’ and boys’ teams are ranked #4 in the Iowa Track Coaches Association pre-season poll.
Coaches Braet and Dalton are assisted by Jon Peterson and Kaitlyn Lindholm.
Earlham Echo 
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