Marion High School - Marion, Iowa

Glory and tragedy: The Hugh Leffingwell story

When a Marion boys basketball player approaches 1,000 points for his career it's a remarkable achievement. Only six Marion players have achieved that milestone.

And when a new player reaches it, as Kasey Semler did Saturday, Marion old-timers start to think again about a bulky, blond kid who scorched the nets for the Indians more than half a century ago.

His name was Hugh Leffingwell, and he is still remembered by many as Marion's greatest basketball player. He is also remembered as the most tragic. But that part of the story comes later.

Semler, the Indians' point guard, scored 42 points Saturday to join the exclusive 1,000-point club at 1,005. He's averaging 22.9 points a game, one of the top marks in the state.

Amry Shelby notched 1,126 points just two years ago as he led the Indians to the state tourney, where they lost by a single point in the first round. Scott Benest had 1,013 in 1993, and was named to the All-Metro team as both a junior and senior.

In 1983, Todd Twachtmann, who was listed as a varsity player for four years, ended with 1,214 points and was named to the fourth All-State team. Gregg Anderson finished with 1,088 in 1973, when Marion won the Wamac championship and Anderson was named to the third All-State team.

Hugh Leffingwell scored 1,308. Of these, 1,282 came in his junior and senior years. The rest were scored in his sophomore year, when he was brought up late in the season from the freshman-sophomore team.

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Semler vaults to the top of Class 3A scoring

Kasey Semler of Marion High School is now the leading scorer in Class 3A after his 42-point outburst against Center Point-Urbana Saturday at Marion.

Semler is averaging 22.9 points for the Indians. He joined the 1,000-point club Saturday and is sitting at 1,005 for his career.

Jarrod Uthoff of Jefferson continues to lead the entire state in scoring at 25.9 points per game. That means the Metro has the leading scorer in 3A (Semler), the leading scorer in 4A (Uthoff) and the leading scorer in Iowa (Uthoff).

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Lipsett signs with SW Minnesota State

Marion High School senior Curran Lipsett has signed a national letter-of-intent with Southwest Minnesota State as a punter and placekicker.

Lipsett punted 13 times for a 43.4-yard average for the Indians last season. He had 52 kickoffs, with nine touchbacks, and also hit a 37-yard field goal.

Lipsett said four players could be competing for the punting and placekicking chores at Southwest Minnesota State next season. "It's going to be pretty wide open," he said.

Lipsett said he also considered Upper Iowa, Coe, Buena Vista, Dubuque and Wisconsin-Platteville.

Southwest Minnesota State is an NCAA Division II school that competes in the Northern Sun Conference.

Semler's 42 points shoot down CPU

The top-ranked offense in the Wamac Conference, led by the league's top scorer, was too much for Center Point-Urbana to handle on Saturday at Marion.

Senior guard Kasey Semler hit a 3-pointer, a step back jumper, and converted on a fast break, all in the first 1:45 of the game, guiding Marion (11-7, 11-5 Wamac) to a 7-0 lead. The Indians led throughout in their 72-60 win over Center Point-Urbana (7-10, 7-9).

Semler had 15 points by the end of the first quarter and finished the game with 42 points, double his conference leading average.

"I was in a pretty good rhythm," Semler said. "I was looking to win the game and do whatever it took. My teammates were getting me the ball and setting some screens and I was hitting some shots tonight."

Semler did more than hit some shots however, he scored nearly every way possible from 3-pointers to drives and went 15-of-19 from the stripe.

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