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. Tell 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.
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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.
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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.
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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-bitter 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]