Waukee Northwest Claims 5A State Softball Crown

Sophia Schlader, seniors lead Wolves to thrilling 1-0 win

Sophia Schalder of Waukee Northwest helped her team to the Class 5A Iowa high school state softball title Thursday night. | IGHSAU/X

It took a little bit of luck, some key plays by seniors and the powerful pitching arm of Sophia Schlader for Waukee Northwest to lay claim to being the Class 5A Iowa high school state softball champions.

The Wolves scored a 1-0 victory in eight innings over Linn-Mar in a classic Thursday night at Rogers Park in Fort Dodge.

𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐍 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄! 🏆1️⃣

#1 Waukee Northwest defeats #2 Linn-Mar 1-0 in 8 innings to win the Class 5A State Championship game, presented by @iowafarmbureau. This is the Wolves second softball title in four years!

Final score brought to you by… pic.twitter.com/d6wdbN7Yu6

— IGHSAU (@IGHSAU) July 25, 2025

Schlader, one of the top freshman recruits, struck out 15 batters, including the final one in the top of the eighth with the bases loaded. She tied her own single-game 5A record with 15 strikeouts, and shattered the class tournament mark with 35 this week over three games.

Locked in a scoreless tie with the Lions, Waukee Northwest senior Aunya Van Zetten laced a ball into the outfield that was kicked away as the defender chased after it. Van Zetten sped into third base with one out.

The very next batter, fellow senior Laurel Richards, delivered the game-winning hit, setting off a wild celebration.

Waukee Northwest has now won two state titles, as head coach Carrie Eby picked up her third. Eby was the head coach at Waukee before the two schools split, winning gold in 2015 there and seven years later with the Wolves.

For Linn-Mar, senior pitcher Emily Koranda struck out six and allowed just six hits to a lineup that scored 11 runs in the semifinals. She also had two doubles at the plate and was intentionally walked to load the bases in the eighth.

Schlader was named captain of the all-tournament team, as Van Zetten, Meredith Thomsen and Alayna Schulte joined her. Koranda, Emma Barnes, Annie Cassidy and Karsyn Michael made it from Linn-Mar, with Jordyn Kennedy of Ankeny Centennial, Sydney Runyan from Cedar Falls and Mady Ott of Ankeny Centennial completing the squad.