Jefferson High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Bennett rolls 424 for Jefferson

Rylea Bennett had a 424 series to lead the Jefferson girls bowling team to a 2,612 to 2,389 win over Kennedy on Tuesday at May City Lanes.

Jamie Milota has a 358 series to lead the Cougars.

Jefferson (2,612): Rylea Bennett 233-191=424, Kattie Smith 203-177=380, Holly Miller 168-201=369, Hailey Kimble 164-131=295, Rachael Daugherty 129-116=245.

Kennedy (2,389): Jamie Milota 190-168=358, Alyssa Weidemeier 150-161=311, Kayla Sickles 158-140=298, Katie Slota 126-151=277, Abbie Haller 143-109=252, Sam Eltze 115-123=238.

Jefferson: 1,713-899=2,612.
Kennedy: 1,496-893=2,389.

Sturtz leads Jefferson to win

Hunter Sturtz rolled a 438 series as the Jefferson boys bowling team edged Kennedy 2,994 to 2,963 Tuesday at May City Lanes.

Aaron Smith led all scorers with a 492 series for the Cougars.

Jefferson (2,994): Hunter Sturtz 192-246=438, Victor Baccam 201-231=432, Noah Tiedtke 189-226=415, Tanner Bennett 168-191=359, John Gardner 189-155=344, Tyler Fowler 173-160=333.

Kennedy (2,963): Aaron Smith 275-217=492, George Goodwin 172-235=407. Davis Sutton 155-221=376, Doug Svoboda 156-204=360, James Jambois 142-203=345, Alec White 179-146=325.

Jefferson: 1,988-1,006=2994.
Kennedy: 1980-983=2,963.

Baker, Briggs, Rashed lead J-Hawks

ROCHESTER, Minn. - Brenden Baker, Kyle Briggs and Tavian Rashed won all three of their matches for the Jefferson J-Hawks at The Clash XIII wrestling tournament Saturday in Rochester, Minn.

Jefferson finished with a 1-2 record on the final day of the tournament. The J-Hawks lost to Minneota (Minn.), 38-36, lost to Parkston (S.D.), 36-31, and trimmed Jackson County Central (Minn.), 40-36.

The J-Hawks also finished with a 1-2 record in pool play Friday, giving them an overall 2-4 mark in the prestigious 32-team tournament.

Baker (113/120) collected two pins and a major decision. Briggs (132) had two pins and a regular decision. Rashed (152) matched Baker with two pins and a major decision.

Joseph Sibomana (120/126), Matt Culver (145), Luke Sedlacek (160) and Dalton Kuehl (285) went 2-1 Saturday. Kuehl had two pins.

Jefferson swimmers capture title

DES MOINES - Paul Hummell won the 100 breaststroke and swam on the triumphant 200 freestyle relay Saturday as the Jefferson J-Hawks claimed the top prize at the Ken Gaeth Invitational in Des Moines.

The J-Hawks finished with 310 points to nudge Boone (295) and Indianola (288) in the six-team field.

Max McChesney, Ryan Martin and Luke Hummell joined Paul Hummell on the 200 freestyle relay in 1:35.68.

McChesney placed second in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle. The J-Hawks also finished second in the 200 medley relay.

Hummell's winning time in the 100 breastroke was 1:04.23.

Team Standings

1. Jefferson 310, 2. Boone 295, 3. Indianola 288, 4. Council Bluffs Lincoln 181, 5. Des Moines East 163, 6. Grinnell 63.

Baker, Briggs lead J-Hawks at The Clash

ROCHESTER, Minn. - Brenden Baker and Kyle Briggs of Cedar Rapids Jefferson won all three of their matches at The Clash XIII wrestling tournament Friday in Rochester, Minn.

Jefferson finished with a 1-2 record in pool play in the 32-team tournament. The J-Hawks lost to Hastings (Minn.), 42-17, defeated Lake Crystal Memorial (Minn.), 36-23, and lost to Hononegah (Ill.), 35-24.

Baker collected two pins and a technical fall at 113 pounds for Jefferson. Briggs collected a pin, a technical fall and a regular decision at 132 pounds.

Joseph Sibomana (120), Tavian Rashed (152), Luke Sedlacek (160), Kelly May (182) and Dalton Kuehl (285) went 2-1 in their three matches.

The tournament concludes Saturday.

Read more...

Hembera tops state in scoring, rebounding

It was commonly assumed that Shelby Hembera's scoring average would dip a little this season now that Cedar Valley Christian has a much stronger basketball team, but that has not been the case so far.

Hembera's scoring average has actually climbed from 33.2 points last year to 34.0 this season through eight games.

Hembera's rebounding average has dropped from 16.4 per game last season to 14.6, but she still leads the state in scoring and rebounding by comfortable margins in both departments. She led the state in scoring and rebounding as a junior last year as well.

The big change at Cedar Valley Christian this season has been in the won/loss column. The Huskies have a 6-2 record heading into the new year after finishing with a 1-21 mark last season.

Hembera obviously leads all Metro players in scoring with her 34.0 average. Amanda Ollinger, who is the process of transferring from Jefferson to Linn-Mar, ranks second among Metro players at 17.8 points per game. Ollinger also ranks second in Metro rebounding at 11.8 per game.

Olivia Usher of Prairie leads Metro girls basketball players in assists (37) and Sydney Hayden of Kennedy is tops in 3-pointers (20).

In Metro boys basketball, there is a tight race in the scoring derby among four players heading into the new year. Nic Uhlir of Linn-Mar has a slight lead at 17.3 points per game, followed by Craig Engle of Marion (17.0), Adam McDermott of Xavier (17.0) and Jordan Bohannon of Linn-Mar (16.7).

Keegan Moore of Washington has the Metro rebounding lead at 9.2 per game. Engle leads in assists (26) and 3-pointers (18).

Read more...

Dyrland is 'The Voice of J-Hawks'

Although he’s been the announcer at Jefferson High School sporting events for two decades, it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that David Dyrland was first called by the title that suits him so well.

“I was at a Hawkeye basketball game and saw (former Jeff star) Jarrod Uthoff before the game,” recalls Dyrland, 64, a retired Cedar Rapids electrician with 40 years in the trade. “I said, ‘Remember me?’ And he said, ‘You’re The Voice of the J-Hawks.’ And that really pleased me.”

He’s much more than the anonymous guy that reads the starting lineup, though. Before nearly every Jeff home game – basketball, baseball and sometimes football – he also sings the National Anthem.

And while untrained as a singer but with a lifetime of experience, he sings it with such gusto that it’s a crowd-pleaser every time.

“I’ve had other teams’ coaches come up and ask me if I was going to sing that night,” Dyrland says. “And there are refs who will say to me, ‘Are you going to go for the high note tonight?’ I’d say 90 percent of the time I hit the high note at the end, unless I have a cold.”

Read more...

Urbi, Kitsos power Kennedy swimmers

Brennan Urbi and Stefan Kitsos of Cedar Rapids Kennedy have their names written all over the state leader board in boys swimming this year.

Urbi ranks 10th to 22nd in three events, Kitsos ranks 12th to 25th in three other events and they are members of three relay teams that rank 13th to 21st.

That's not bad for now, but they both think they can climb even higher as the season moves toward the state meet in February.

"I definitely think we have the potential to move up," Urbi said Monday night. "I think it's just going to come down to what we want to put in at practice and how much we really want to buckle down and make ourselves get better, no matter how much it's going to hurt during those weeks of training."

Urbi and Kitsos, both juniors, had a hand in four victories Monday as the 16th-ranked Cougars topped No. 27 Jefferson, 104-66, in a Mississippi Valley Conference meet at Jefferson.

Read more...

Sibomana, Briggs triumph at SE Polk

RUNNELLS - Joseph Sibomana and Kyle Briggs of Cedar Rapids Jefferson captured titles at the Red Owens Holiday Classic wrestling tournament at Southeast Polk High School Saturday.

Sibomana claimed the 120-pound title with a pin in the finals. Briggs took top honors at 132 pounds with a 2-1 victory in the championship match.

Southeast Polk dominated the tournament with 323.5 points. Jefferson finished second with 223 points.

Brenden Baker of Jefferson lost to Nathan Lendt of Southeast Polk, 8-7, in the finals at 113 pounds. Baker is ranked second in the weight class and Lendt is ranked seventh. It was Baker's first loss of the season.

Matt Culver (145), Tavian Rashed (152), Nick Dreckman (170), Kelly May (182) and Dalton Kuehl (285) placed second for the J-Hawks. Zach Main (106) and Luke Sedlacek (160) finished third.

Team Standings

1. Southeast Polk 323.5, 2. Jefferson 223, 3. Glenwood 173, 4. Atlantic 157.5, 5. Creighton Prep 133, 6. Southeast Polk JV 129, 7. Odebolt Arthur 125, 8. Des Moines Roosevelt 49.