Playing for others yields All-State honor for Rung

FORT MADISON - Layne Rung is the latest addition to what is becoming a streak of Holy Trinity boys basketball selections to the all-state teams.
Rung was named to the Class 1A third team by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association on Tuesday, the third consecutive year a Crusader has been honored.
“It’s pretty special, really,” Holy Trinity coach John Hellige said. “We've managed to take a school with low numbers and really try to develop the players’ skills as well as teaching the most important thing is playing for each other. And I think when kids in programs figure out how to play for each other versus as individuals, you start to see success team-wise, and then those individuals are going to be rewarded.”
Hellige’s son, Luke, was a first-team selection the last two seasons. Blake Hellweg was an all-state selection for the Crusaders in 2015.
Rung led the Crusaders in scoring at 19.5 points per game. He also averaged 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

“It shows that he's been the definition of consistency with the Holy Trinity program,” Hellige said of Rung’s honor. “He’s a four-year starter, part of 63 wins in his career. And it  just says a lot about the type of player and teammate that he is to have such a great honor to be an all-state player.
“The last few years he played alongside some great players, like his brother Maddox, players like Luke (Hellige), Adam Sobczak, and Conner Gehling. Those guys were just tremendous players. This year was his turn to be the guy. And he really embraced that role from the end of last year. He just really took the team upon himself. And that's probably what I'm most proud of with Layne, is he just really showed that leadership throughout the season. He set the tone for us every day, with his work ethic and his toughness.”
Rung’s numbers were more impressive, Hellige said, given the attention given to him by opposing defenses.
“He was definitely the focal point of probably everybody's scheme,” Hellige said. “And I was super proud of his final game at Notre Dame (in the Class 1A district final) — he stepped up and scored 26 points against a team that went to the state tournament.”
Rung was one of four southeast Iowa players to be named to all-state teams.
Keokuk’s Jaxon Clark was a first-team selection in Class 3A. Notre Dame’s Shay Stephens was a first-team pick and teammate Griffin Kies was a third-team selection in Class 1A.