The Little Hawk

26/12/2025

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If you still don’t have a senior photo submitted, this is your last chance.

FREE senior photos 📸
Daytime • takes 5 minutes 🕒
Limited spots available 📅
Deadline: January 9 ⏳

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20/12/2025

Happy Holidays Little Hawks from LH STAFF. Have a wonderful break ‼️ See you in the New Year 🎉

19/12/2025

GAMEDAY PREVIEW: City High Boys Basketball Faces off Against West High
Girls tip at 6:00 PM, Boys tip at 7:30 PM in the Little Hawk Arena.
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After the Little Hawks dropped their first two games against Ames and Muscatine, they picked up a bounce-back win against the Marion Wolves. Days later, the team suffered a heartbreaking loss against the Liberty Lightning. This Friday, they face off against their more historic rival, the West High Trojans. The last time the Little Hawks beat the Trojans was their first of two meetings in the 2022-2023 season, where it came down to the final buzzer, winning a close one in Xtream Arena. The overall record of the rivalry since 2006 is 31-5 in favor of the Trojans. West High also defeated the Little Hawks seven years in a row from 2009 to 2016.
The keys to the game for the Little Hawks will be utilizing the height advantage they have. The team’s best player, Chris Wakins ‘26, is 6’6, compared to West High’s tallest player, who is only listed at 6’3. The statistical team leaders are Watkins, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging nearly a double-double with 12.8 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game. Jack Lampe ‘26 is second in scoring, averaging 9.5 points per game. Newcomer, Coden Kurtz ‘28, is third in scoring with 8.2 points per game and has started every game for the team. Two of the team’s five starters are only sophomores and have been significant contributors to the team.
Second-year Head Coach Bill McTaggart is no stranger to rivalry games. On the girls’ side, McTaggart played them 46 times, winning the majority of the time. He also went 2-0 a season ago against the other cross-town rival, Liberty High. West High also has a new face with a 1st year coach, Jason Kern. Kern has served as the head coach at West Branch since 2018, with an overall record of 105-54. His teams earned three River Valley Conference titles and the RVC coach of the year three times.
The game will be played at 7:30 in the Little Hawk arena on Friday, December 19th.

📸 Rose Nkumu
📝 Jack Rogers & Jack Lampe

Read the full preview on TheLittleHawk.com 🦅

19/12/2025

Symphony Orchestra and Choirs Hold Biennial Masterworks Concert
City High music department performed Mozart’s Requiem featuring soloists from the community
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On Wednesday night, the music department held their Masterworks Concert in Opstad auditorium, which is a performance that is held every two years. Symphony orchestra and choir collaborated on the Requiem, Mozart’s final work. The Piece was composed only weeks before Mozart’s death, commissioned by a patron to compose a Requiem Mass.
“It’s an epic work that it’s important that students are exposed to at some point in their lives. It’s really bona fide legitimate music; it’s not watered down. There are a lot of notes that we have to learn, and learn them well,” City High Orchestra Director Megan Stucky said. “Mozart is challenging in and of itself, and when you put a mass together that’s almost an hour long, it’s extremely difficult.”
The Symphony Orchestra has been preparing for this concert for a couple of months, with several rehearsals combined with the choirs.
“The hardest part was definitely just actually getting through the materials. It’s such a large work, and with simply so much music to learn, it’s hard to find the motivation to slog through practicing it all, whether on your own or during rehearsals. It overloads your brain the first time you give it a read, but the longer you play, the easier it becomes,” Abigail Sigafoose, concert master, said.
The choice of Mozart’s Requiem was a collaboration between the choir and Orchestra directors, and the work featured several soloists from the community.
“The concert overall felt like a success. The orchestra and choir really came together right when it counted, and our performance last night was the best we ever sounded, which is always the goal in a performance. Afterwards, we were just in awe that we had actually pulled that off, and I’m so proud of both ensembles for putting in so much time and effort,” Sigafoose said.

📝 Estelle Hartz
Read more on TheLittleHawk.com 🦅

17/12/2025

PREVIEW: City vs. West and USA vs. Ukraine at Xtream Arena
Admission to the event is a non-perishable food item that will go to the Coralville food pantry
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The City girls’ wrestling team is the opening event for a “friendly” match between Team USA and Team Ukraine. Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, many training centers have been shut down. They have decided to come to “Wrestletown, USA” aka Coralville and Iowa City.
“It’s really great that we get to wrestle before such a cool match-up,” said Martha Willard ‘27. “I’m really grateful for the opportunity to watch and learn from Team USA and Ukraine’s national team.”
The matches will take place at Xtream Arena in Coralville on December 18, starting at 5:00 p.m. The City High wrestling team will face off against Cedar Rapids Washington in a dual meet. Then, beginning at 6 pm, City will battle against West High’s wrestling team. At 7 pm, the matches begin, featuring Team USA and Ukraine competing. 
“I think our team is wrestling very hard in their matches, and the intensity of practice has increased, which will directly help your performances in matches,” said Coach Alhers.
The USA Team and the Ukraine Team have been in joint training for two weeks with the University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling program, which will end in this “friendly” dual.
“I’m looking forward to our team wrestling in an exciting and energetic atmosphere.  We keep focusing on getting better and wrestling in all positions, and this will continue to give us a good look at our improvements,” said Coach Alhers.
To support the Coralville Community Food Pantry, the admission is one nonperishable food item. Fans are encouraged to bring more to donate.

📸 Martha Willard
📝 Louisa Berry-Stoelzle
Read the full story on TheLittleHawk.com 🦅

12/12/2025

GameDay! #3 vs #10 double header at 6
Graphic by

12/12/2025

Top Ten Most Viewed Stories of 2025 on TheLittleHawk.com

Eight of the Dumbest Bills in the 2025 Iowa Legislature, by Lily Rantanen, Martha Willard, Ethan Lalumiere, and Ben Clifton 5 Candidates Competing for three seats, by Martha Willard The bad history of project 2025 and why it matters, by Melody Ross Targeted: New Evaluation System Drops All ICCSD Hig...

12/12/2025

Good Morning City High!

Your donation will support the student journalists of Iowa City High School. For 2025, we are trying to update our video and photo studio, purchase new cameras and attend journalism conferences.

11/12/2025

Read DUMB BILLS and more at thelittlehawk.com!

MOST VIEWED STORIES OF 2025
1. Eight of the Dumbest Bills in the 2025 Iowa Legislature by Lily Rantanen, Martha Willard, Ethan Lalumiere, and Ben Clifton
2. 5 Candidates Competing for Three Seats by Martha Willard
3. The Bad History of Project 2025 and Why it Matters by Melody Ross
4. Targeted: New Evaluation Drops All ICCSD High Schools’ Ratings by Tai Caputo and Lily Rantanen
5. PERFORMER PROFILE: Abigail Sigafoose by Lily Rantanen
6. Dancing into Show Choir Season by Yomi Hemley
7. PERFORMER PROFILE: Brody Clarke by Yomi Hemley
8. Local Business Spotlight: Kitty Corner Social Club by Martha Willard and Lily Rantanen
9. City Orchestras Hold Annual Mid-Winter concert by Estelle Hartz
10. City High State Champion Matt Gatens Returns to Coach the Hawkeyes by Ahmed Basher and Jack Rogers

09/12/2025

191 STUDENTS INDUCTED INTO THE NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY

STORY AND PHOTO BY RAYAN AHMED

City High held its annual induction ceremony for the National Honor Society. It was chartered and inducted its first members in the spring of 1958. The purpose of the National Honor Society is to encourage enthusiasm for learning and recognize students who demonstrate excellence in the four foundations of the National Honor Society: scholarship, leadership, service, and character. City High Librarian Jenahlee Chamberlain is the current NHS advisor at City High. She helps lead the program and supports students.

”I thought it would be a good opportunity to connect with students,” Chamberlain said. “In the library, I see all kinds of kids. I get to meet anybody who comes through here, but I don’t necessarily have kids that I see every single day, so I just wanted to have a way to connect and give back to the school.”

Each year, suniors and seniors with a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above are eligible for membership consideration into the National Honor Society.

09/12/2025

CITY HIGH QUIZ BOWL TEAM FINISHES SECOND AND QUALIFIES FOR NATIONALS

Story by Jonah Hefti
Photos by Nico Vergara-Vanegas

The City High quiz bowl of Jethro Michaelson, Felix Cook, Daniel Drollette, and Jonah Hefti placed second at a tournament in Epworth, Iowa, allowing them to attend nationals this spring. The other two teams placed 5th and 10th in the competition, and both the A and B teams went 5-1, an improvement on their previous tournament.

“Although we didn’t get first, that’s our qualification for nationals,” Felix Cook ’28, a club member, said. “I absolutely loved the competition. It was the first quiz bowl competition I went to, and it was a total blast.”

With this performance, they will be able to send a team to the national competition in Georgia if they can secure enough funding. But quiz bowl is not always all about the competition. Felix Cook believes that some of what makes quiz bowl fun is the payoff of knowing something immediately, and when some of your outside knowledge comes up in a question.

“My favorite question was Baker Miller Pink,” Felix Cook said, “The first clue to the question was something like one shade of this color called the Baker Miller variety. After that, I buzzed in and said pink. I believe I read a book on colors that I learned Baker Miller pink from.”

The team will continue to attend competitions this year and hopes to qualify a second team for the nationals competition as well as to score a victory in the state competition. They also hope to fundraise enough to be able to send a team to the national competition in Atlanta.