What Was the Top High School Sports Story of 2016 [POLL]

Our Cedar Valley high school sports teams had an incredible 2016 year. We saw several score championships, and a few records were broken. Tells us what you think the top story from 2016 should be.

There were a couple dozen noteworthy stories that made major headlines this year. We narrowed the stories based on the most viewed pages on all of our web sites. Vote in our poll below. You can cast your ballot once every 24 hours.

Here are the Top 5 stories (posted in chronological order).

WATERLOO WEST COACH HONORED:
In January, Dr. Anthony Pappas of Waterloo West was named as the 2015 National Coach of the Year for girls basketball by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Coaches Association.

A 37-year coaching veteran, Pappas has spent 34 of them at West. At the completion of the 2015-16 season, his coaching record sat at 533-341. Pappas has guided the Wahawks to seven state tournament appearances with two runner-up finishes in 1999 and 2002.
[READ MORE]

VOLLEYBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Two Cedar Valley Sports teams were crowned the 2016 Iowa High School Volleyball State Champions, and both championship matches featured an all Cedar Valley showdown.

Janesville had to defeat Hudson 3-0 (25-10 25-15 25-20) to earn the Class 1A title. Dike-New Hartford beat Union 3-1 (25-18 25-11 23-25 27-25) for the Class 3A title. A combined 10 players from those four teams made the All-Tournament Team.
[READ MORE]

RECORD EFFORT:
Trent Johnson ran his way into the Iowa High School record book while leading Dike-New Hartford to a first-round playoff victory Friday night (Oct. 28, 2016).

During the first round of the 2016 Iowa High School Football Playoffs, Johnson broke the state's all-time career rushing record. Needing 415 yards to tie the rushing record, he ran for 424 on 26 carries. Johnson reached and surpassed the total on a 35-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. He finished the year with 7,653 career rushing yards.
[READ MORE]

DON BOSCO WINS 8-PLAYER TITLE:
The Don Bosco Dons claimed the 2016 Iowa High School Football 8-Player State Championship in the UNI-Dome on Thursday (Nov. 17, 2016).

Led by the ‘Austin and Austin Show’, the Dons bested Harris-Lake Park (12-1) 48-21 during the 8-Player championship game. Austin Svoboda tallied four touchdowns and 183 rushing yards for Don Bosco, and Austin Hellman added 82 yards and one touchdown.
[READ MORE, VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS]

GLADBROOK-REINBECK GOES BACK-TO-BACK:
The Gladbrook-Reinbeck Rebels won a nail-biter for their second consecutive Iowa High School Football State Championship. The championship game was a battle of unbeaten teams.

It was a game that went down to the final seconds, but GR's defense held firm later to secure the 20-19 win over Bishop Garrigan, Algona.
[READ MORE, VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS]

The voting has now closed. See what was the top Cedar Valley High School Sports story of 2016 (web).