DES MOINES — The Iowa Print Sports Writers Association (IPSWA) recently announced the 2023 boys basketball all-state teams. The teams were selected by Iowa print sports writers and basketball coaches during a Friday, March 10 meeting.
Waukee Northwest senior standout Pryce Sandfort was named 2023 Mr. Iowa Basketball.
Locally, Jake Benzing, a junior, was named to the Class 3A Second Team.
Benzing led the Spartans this season with 425 points and was a starter in all 24 games. He nailed 167 of 321 field goals for 52%, drained 47/102 three-point baskets for 46%, and hit 44/52 free throws to go 84.6% from the line. Benzing produced a team high 136 rebounds and made 20 assists and 26 steals.
The Spartans ended the season at 36-12 overall, 18-6 in the WaMaC, and 10-4 in the WaMaC East behind East Champion Marion (38-12, 12-2).
The IPSWA’s Mr. Basketball honor and all-state teams are voted on by both sports writers and high school basketball coaches who attended the meeting. Nominations were taken in advance of the meeting online, as well as made during the selection meeting. Only one vote was allowed per class from each newspaper or school.
Head Coach Jared Galpin commented on the Spartans’ season saying, “I’m very proud of how the team developed this season. We started the season as a young team and had to play through some growing pains. We started hitting our stride the second week of January and finished the season with a nine-game winning streak prior to the substate championship. The season ended earlier than any of us wanted. Newton was a quality opponent, but I thought we were in a good position to come out successful.” Newton ended Solon’s season with a 60-46 loss Feb. 28 at Oskaloosa (neutral site). The Cardinals were knocked out in the 3A State Quarterfinals 49-31 by North Polk.
“The season was full of highlights,” the coach said. “Beating Mount Vernon twice in the same year is no easy feat. They are a great team. We shot and played extremely well those nights. Rebounding after a disappointing effort the first time we played Williamsburg in December and beating them in February. Every tournament win is big.”
Galpin added seniors Sean Stahle and Oaken Foster will be greatly missed when they graduate this spring. “They were the remaining two seniors that participated in basketball all four years,” he said. “The leadership and what they brought to our program cannot be quantified. Besides what they can do on the floor, they are great young men. They led our young team this year and had finishes to their high school basketball careers that they should be proud of.”
Looking ahead the coach said the team brings back a lot of experience next season with three starters and the top-scorers returning.
“I know the guys are disappointed in how the season ended and are motivated for next season. The sophomore team had a lot of success this past season. They finished the WaMaC undefeated and with an 18-1 record.”
About the IPSWA – The Iowa Print Sports Writers Association was founded in February 2018 to carry on the tradition of newspapers selecting all-state teams for Iowa high school sports.