More than half of the Class 1A state baseball titles in the 21st century have been won by private schools. Six of those, including the most recent three, are Mason City Newman’s. Three private schools were in this year’s semifinals.
The Class 1A state football final has been private school against private school four times since 2012, and private schools won five in a row from 2012-17. Last fall was the first time in a decade that Iowa City Regina, bouncing between Class 1A and Class 2A, wasn’t in a final.
The Class 1A boys’ state basketball tournament has been half private schools two years in a row, and a private school (Grand View Christian) is on a three-year championship streak.
Of the 24 spots in the last three Class 2A state volleyball tournaments, 11 have gone to private schools. In 2015, all three of North Linn’s state opponents were private schools.
(And yes, Newman has ended North Tama’s football season three times in the past 11 years. The one time it didn’t, NT won the state title. Three of North Tama’s six state baseball games this century have been against private schools, including a 2002 pasting from Newman in the championship.)