Cougar athletics complete first fall season

Student-athletes arrived at Northeast Iowa Community College's (NICC) campus in the middle of August, and this was the official start for Cougar athletics programs. Practices started almost immediately for the baseball and softball teams, while cross country, Esports and sports shooting athletes started their competitions.

Baseball
Head Coach Conner Klostermann, his staff and more than 50 baseball players competed in five scrimmages during the fall season against Western Technical College, Century College, two versus Clarke University and their final against the University of Dubuque (UD) at the Field of Dreams.

The scrimmage against UD at the Field of Dreams was a night of home runs for the Cougars. Andrew Rottinghaus put one into the cornfield early in the game, but the highlight of the night for NICC was when Dyersville native, Jake Schmidt, yanked a grand slam deep into the October night.

A crowd of nearly 1,300 gathered for this showdown of two Dubuque County colleges, creating a memorable matchup for both programs.

Cross Country
Head Coach Ty Troutman joined the athletic staff in August to lead the cross country team. During that small window, he was able to secure a few runners for the season which started at the John Kurtt Invitational on Aug. 31.

In their inaugural season, the Cougars competed in four meets - John Kurtt Invite, Luther All-American Invitational, Augustana Brisman-Lundeen Invitational and the NJCAA Regional 11 Championship.

Michael Gilbertson from Peosta, Iowa, and Hinckley Behunin-Simon from St. Olaf, Iowa, were the top performers in the 2025 season.

Dance
Cougar dancers and Head Coach Kylie Goedken Kirman began their practices in September and will soon start their competitive season at the College Team Championships, Dec. 3-5, in Des Moines, Iowa.

The dance team also hosted a Little Cougar Dance Camp in October. Youth dancers of all ages participated and learned from Coach Kirman and the Cougar student-athletes.

Esports
Esports athletes wrapped up their fall season in November, and the Call of Duty team of J.T. Lucius and Konner Allendorf qualified for postseason play. The duo lost their first match of the season to Amarillo College, but ripped off 10 straight victories to qualify for the playoffs.

During the opening night of of postseason play, they had to win three matches versus three different schools to advance. In match one against Herkimer County Community College, Allendorf and Lucius cruised by the Generals and swept them 3-0. They battled the powerhouse of Glen Oaks Community College in their second match and lost 3-0.

The Esports spring season will begin in February.

Softball

Cougar softball players competed in eight scrimmage days against six different schools this fall, which included a doubleheader in Calmar against Rochester Community and Technical College. This marked the first game action in softball program history.

Natalie Nenne had a few hits on the day and Addison Murilla dominated on the mound. NICC had a very strong first showing this day, and a few other scrimmages in the fall season.

Sports Shooting
12 sports shooters made up the NICC roster during the fall season. This coed team shot at six events plus the conference shoot and tallied two wins on the season.

The Cougars traveled to Kirkwood Community College on Sept. 6 and edged out a close 428-419 win. Elizabeth Ward, Alexis Elsbernd and Marshall Schiphoff were the top shooters for NICC, all of whom were the top scorers in the men's and women's division.

NICC's other victory came on Sept. 19 over Waldorf University. Head Coach Anthony Sisneros' squad defeated Waldorf by a decisive score of 464-430.

It was once again Ward, Elsbernd and Schiphoff at the top of the rankings, but Ty Kenan and Logan Frye also scored above 90. The 464 shot by the Cougars was a season high for the team.

NICC now turns its focus to the spring season. Several sports will be in action beginning in February, including baseball, Esports and softball, so stay up-to-date by visiting niccathletics.com.