Calm competitor drives success

At Creston Community High School senior awards night on May 8, nobody in the room had the perspective of Brian Morrison in hearing the announcement of the Outstanding Male Athlete award to Austin Evans ... and Cael Turner.

As head football coach, Morrison is the lone head coach who had both on his team — last fall’s record-setting, 11-1 state seminal team. Turner was the quarterback, and Evans an outside linebacker. Both were co-captains.

In other seasons, Evans wrestled and participated in track and field. Turner played basketball and baseball.

“Both of those kids are deserving, there’s no doubt,” Morrison said. “It’s tough to separate one from the other. They’ve participated in different sports, but just what they’ve contributed in everything they’ve been involved with has been outstanding. They are great leaders, great competitors and tremendous athletes.”

Sharing the outstanding athlete award runs in the family for Turner. His mother, Emily (Bruce) Turner, shared the 1999-2000 Outstanding Female Athlete award with Michelle Clausen. His father, Travis Turner, was part of a successful senior class of 1998-99 that included co-athlete award winners Brian Bucklin and Cory Gerleman.

“I knew my mom was female athlete when she was in high school, so it was exciting when they called my name right after they called Austin’s,” Turner said. “It takes a whole class effort to be successful like we were in the different sports, and there were a lot of people who could have been up for this award from our class. We were all really close coming up, with high goals since we started sports together in third grade.”

Turner said his class is proud of the accomplishments of teams like the state semifinal football team that had a huge following in the UNI-Dome; the state champion dual wrestling team; success at state track and field; and hopefully, this summer’s baseball team off to a promising start. Turner expressed those sentiments as one of 14 senior class valedictorians during the commencement on May 19.

“In my graduation speech I said my goal was to make Creston High School a better place when we left it,” Turner said. “We were always striving to get to the next level in our sports, and I think we did that.”

Football

Turner’s athletic versatility is demonstrated in earning all-district honors at both defensive safety and wide receiver as a sophomore and junior before inheriting the quarterback position from cousins Cole Strider and Kyle Strider.

In his lone season at quarterback, Turner flourished in the new fast-paced mix of carries by all-state running back Brennan Hayes and passes to a group of productive receivers including all-state senior Brandon Briley and Hayes. Those two finished first and second, respectively, on the school’s all-time single-season receiving chart with 897 and 881 yards and a combined 21 TD catches.

The school passing records of Alex Nielsen from the only previous UNI-Dome team in 2014 were surpassed by Turner last fall. Turner led Class 3A in completing 181 of 284 passes for 2,993 yards and 34 touchdowns. His 34 TDs ranks 35th in state all-time records.

Turner’s career path as a Panther is similar to Nielsen, who also played defense and served as the team punter while backing up quarterback starters Luke Neitzel and Brandon Phipps. Nielsen flourished as a senior behind center with 2,868 yards passing as the Class 3A first team all-state quarterback, like Turner.

“Alex and Cael were both great athletes with great arms and high IQ in the game of football,” Morrison said. “With Cael, we knew since middle school that athletically he was going to be a good one. We had Kyle (Strider) at quarterback and having Cael play in the secondary as a sophomore was not easy against the teams we play against. He was an all-district player at that position. His junior year he went from strictly defense to also playing receiver for us, and by the end of the season he was Kyle’s number one target. He was all-district as a receiver his junior year. He would still practice at quarterback and we knew he’d be a good one.”

When he was head coach at ADM, Creston offensive coordinator Garrison Carter had state sprint stars Aiden Flora and Brevin Doll at quarterback and running back. Both are headed to Division I schools, with Flora to Iowa State and Doll at Iowa. It was a different approach than the version of the offense directed by Turner last fall.

“I was used to having a lot of quarterback designed runs with Flora and that’s not what we did with Cael,” Carter said. “Cael allowed us to expand what we could do offensively because of his ability to pick things up and throw the ball with accuracy, and make the right decisions in both the pass game and run game. He really excelled in reading the defense and making good decisions. He didn’t have a pick until week six against Atlantic.”

Creston pulled out a two-point road victory against Class 4A state champion Lewis Central, rallied for regular-season wins against Winterset and Ballard in completing only the second 9-0 regular season in history; and fought back from a 19-0 deficit to defeat Webster City 50-27 in the quarterfinals to earn the school’s second trip to the UNI-Dome. Through it all, Turner was unflappable as the leader of the offense.

“He really enjoys the competition and does not get rattled by the environment or performance of the last play,” Morrison said. “He’s a easy-going kid and you can just tell from the sideline that he’s playing with confidence.”

Having Turner to operate his offensive scheme was a perfect match, Carter said.

“You could say this about several kids, but without Cael there’s no chance we’re playing in the UNI-Dome last year,” Carter said. “When you start talking about most valuable athlete, I think that needs to be considered. He was never too high or too low. We play fast with our no-huddle. We’re snapping again in 15 seconds so you don’t have time to think about it and feel sorry for yourself after a bad play. Cael was great at moving on to the next play.”

Phipps is the football team’s quarterback coach in addition to being Turner’s coach in baseball. After being an all-conference pitcher and shortstop for him for two seasons, Turner’s exploits on the football field last fall didn’t surprise him.

“I think it helped him playing on the defensive side of the ball at safety, and at receiver as a junior, because he understands the game so well,” Phipps said. “He has the instincts to make plays on the fly based on what he’s seeing. That will help him at the next level. He thrived in our system where he had a lot of decisions to make, and he made a lot of the right ones.”

Basketball

On the basketball court, Turner ended his career as the school record-holder in steals for a season (68) and career (168). Turner saw some varsity duty as a freshman before settling in at point guard as a three-year starter.

As a sophomore he received all-conference honorable mention, and was named to the Hawkeye Ten Conference second team in 2023 before securing first-team recognition last season.

As a senior, Turner averaged 14.0 points, 3.0 steals, 2.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds. He shot 71.1% at the free throw line and 44.5% from the field.

Turner’s steady play down the stretch helped the Panthers end a four-year postseason losing streak in a 56-51 substate opening-round victory at Harlan, just a few months after the Panthers knocked the Cyclones out of the football playoffs. Creston lost in the second round to Bondurant-Farrar, which gained a state berth in beating No. 1-ranked ADM.

“Cael started at point guard for three years and probably could have been a 20-point scorer, but his role was to facilitate everything to put his teammates in the best possible situation to be successful,” Schafer said. “In year 14 of being a head coach, I would say Cael is in the top three or four of basketball IQ of anybody I’ve coached. It’s one thing to know the plays, but when something went awry he could feel something and sense how a teammate could be available.”

Schafer said Turner has all the attributes of the outstanding athlete award.

“Of all the individuals, I believe Cael had the greatest impact on the most programs,” Schafer said. “He holds school records in football, baseball and basketball, and not many athletes can say that. And, he’s such a good golfer that had he chosen to play on the high school team he would have been our best golfer, and been a 4X4 guy. That speaks to the type of athlete that he is.”

Baseball

Until his breakthrough senior season at quarterback, which led to accepting an offer to play football at Northwest Missouri State University, baseball was considered the pathway to collegiate competition for Turner. He started seeing varsity playing time as an eighth-grader and has been a starter for four seasons at shortstop and pitcher. He has also played some third base.

“Some of the Division III schools that were talking to me said I could try both football and baseball, and the junior college baseball coaches I talked to like DMACC and SWCC said I could come in and play shortstop and pitch, at least at first,” Turner said. “It was intriguing to think about, but I just wanted to concentrate on one sport in college and see what I can do with it.”

As a freshman Turner received Hawkeye Ten baseball honorable mention, moving up to second team as a sophomore and first team last year. He batted .345 with 27 RBIs and two home runs in 36 games. On the mound he was second on the team in innings pitched (54.1) with 69 strikeouts, 19 walks and 51 hits allowed, with a 2.96 ERA. His record was 2-7 for the 14-21 Panthers, often matched up against the toughest opponents. His four saves tied Kurt Belger’s single-season school record, and he’s approaching several career marks.

“He’s always one of our guys throwing against the best teams,” Phipps said. “In the big games, like Indianola, the Lewis Central doubleheader, or Harlan, he knows he’s going to have the ball. As good as he is at shortstop, he’s one of the best pitchers in the conference.”

Turner is off to a great start for the 5-2 Panthers this season. He started with a complete game, 1-0 shutout victory over a strong Winterset team. For the season he’s 1-1 with a 0.64 ERA. In 11 innings he has 15 strikeouts, four walks and 12 hits allowed. Offensively, he’s batting .500 in 20 at-bats going into this week with five RBIs and eight runs scored in seven games. He leads the team with five stolen bases.

In the field, Turner is errorless in 14 total chances.

“Everything about him at shortstop is outstanding,” said Phipps, who also played shortstop and pitched for the Panthers under coach Steve Birchard. “He has arm strength — he throws 87 miles per hour across the diamond — and he has the cleanest glove and feet of anyone I’ve been around. At the plate he has consistent at-bats and hits the ball hard nearly every time. He’s a tough out in our three-spot.”

Football future

Phipps said he communicated with several college baseball coaches interested in Turner during his career, until he had a change of heart after the football season. Phipps is a former athlete at Northwest Missouri State as a distance runner in track and cross country.

“I can’t blame him one bit,” Phipps said. “He has the potential there, too. Baseball people were looking at him as a special talent as a two-way pitcher and infield guy. He showed he’s a special talent at quarterback last fall, too. Cael has an extremely high ceiling. He’ll show up and work hard and he’ll be patient, just like he was here waiting to play quarterback. When he gets his opportunity he’ll run with it.”

Midway through the past football season, when Creston’s high-powered offense was leading Class 3A and Turner was on top of the passing chart, he became interested in playing football after high school. He visited the Northwest Missouri State campus in January, and committed the next day.

“I hadn’t played quarterback in high school going into my senior year, so I didn’t know how it would go,” Turner said. “I know I had high expectations and goals for myself, and we all did as a team. When the season was about halfway through, I thought, I can do this at a high level. That last football season was the most fun I’d had playing a sport. I knew that football would be something I’d enjoy, so I decided to go with it. When I visited I knew that was a place I wanted to be. It’s a program with prestige and they produce talent at a high level. It’s like a Division I school on game day, just smaller. People tailgate and they’re passionate about their team. It’s a fun environment.”

Turner is not only following in his mother’s footsteps as an athletic award winner, he’s thinking of a similar career path. Emily Turner is a nurse practitioner at Greater Regional Medical Center. Cael plans on a biomedical, pre-medicine major in hopes of entering medical school someday to become an anesthesiologist.

“My mom is in the medical field and I’ve heard her talk about her experiences, and I knew it would be something that would interest me,” Turner said. “It’s something I would look forward to doing every day, helping people in need.”

It doesn’t seem that long ago that Cael Turner and his friends at Creston Elementary School stood in a line outside the school and waved good-bye to the 2014 Panther football team departing in buses for the UNI-Dome. Last fall, his fifth-grade brother Ben was among those supporting the 2023 Panthers on their way to the UNI-Dome. Cael and his teammates are the latest role models of success, inspiring the next generation of players. Cael also has a sister, Ella, who just finished her sophomore season as a multi-sport athlete.

Along the way, he’s collected a treasure-trove of memories.

“The best part of high school was the relationships in the different sports, and the memories that we made the along the way,” Turner said. “We have big things in mind as we go out with this baseball season.”