Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Jacobus won league title in decathlon

Derek Jacobus had a goal of winning the Missouri Valley Conference title in the decathlon before he graduated from the University of Northern Iowa.

The Kennedy grad did it this year as a freshman at UNI.

Jacobus edged Northern Iowa teammate Jayvon Mathews, 6921 to 6913, for the decathlon title at the MVC meet in Normal, Ill., earlier this month.

Jacobus won the 100 meter dash in 10.96 seconds, took the 400 meter dash in 48.79 seconds and captured the long jump at 7.05 meters as part of the decathlon. He was a state long jump champion at Kennedy.

Kennedy girls 3rd at regional golf

Sierra Hargens shot an 86 Tuesday to help the Kennedy girls golf team place third out of 10 teams at the Class 5A regional tournament at Gardner Golf Course.

Maddie Hawkins of Dubuque Senior took medalist honors with a 10-over-par 82. Cedar Falls won the team championship.

The top five individuals and top two teams advance to the state tournament.

Hargens finished eighth in the standings. Mady Goodwin of Washington placed 10th with a 90. Emily Machula of Prairie finished 12th with a 91.

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Behn gives Cougars another live arm

Cedar Rapids Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer already had a treasure chest filled with excellent pitchers.

Now he has another one.

Jackson Behn tossed six strong innings Monday night as the Cougars topped Marion, 10-1, in the semifinals of the Bob Vrbicek Metro Tournament at Kennedy.

Behn pitched well for the Kennedy varsity as a freshman in 2013, but his family moved to Omaha and he played for Millard South High School last year as a sophomore.

The Behns moved back to Iowa this January and now the Cougars have another live arm to join Blake Hargens, Zach Daniels, Sammy Lizarraga, Jacob Henry, Tyler Dralle and others.

The rich have gotten richer.

"It's good to be back," said Behn. "I'm happy about it."

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Kennedy makes 'pitch' for Metro title

The Kennedy Cougars boasted one of the top pitching staffs in the state last year when they finished 31-7 and reached the Class 4A state tournament.

Here's bad news for their opponents: They're all back this year after posting a staff ERA of 1.66, the best in Class 4A.

All that strong pitching makes Kennedy the favorite to win the annual Bob Vrbicek Metro Baseball Tournament that begins Monday.

The opening-round games at Kennedy feature Marion against Linn-Mar at 10 a.m. and Kennedy against Xavier at noon. The first-round games at Washington feature Jefferson against Mount Vernon at 10 a.m. and Washington against Prairie at noon.

All eight teams will play twice on Monday, with first-round losers meeting at 2 p.m. and first-round winners battling at 4 p.m. at both sites.

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No.3 Cougars kick 2 ranked foes

WEST DES MOINES - The third-ranked Kennedy girls soccer team defeated two ranked opponents at the West Des Moines Valley tournament this weekend.

The Cougars trimmed No. 4 West Des Moines Valley, 2-1, on goals by Alyssa Drewelow and Sydney Hayden. Olivia Hellweg collected an assist.

Kennedy blanked 10th-ranked Johnston, 1-0, on a goal by Linden Runnels with an assist from Hayden.

Kennedy girls fall to City High

ELDRIDGE - The Kennedy girls tennis team lost to Iowa City High, 5-0, in the Class 2A regional semifinals in Eldridge Saturday.

Eve Small defeated Shelby Cook, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 1 singles.

IOWA CITY HIGH 5, KENNEDY 0

Singles

1. Eve Small (ICH) def. Shelby Cook, 6-0, 6-0
2. Innes Hicsamaz (ICH) def. Veena Venkatesh, 6-0, 6-2
3. Susanna Gianola (ICH) vs. Gabby Olejniczak, 6-0, 3-3 (did not finish)
4. Kit Finley (ICH) def. Lydia Yang, 6-1, 6-1
5. Lucy Wagner (ICH) def. Renee Mittelberg, 6-1, 6-0
6. Bihotza James (ICH) def. Aubree Langhurst, 6-2, 6-0

Scott helps Linn-Mar take 4x200

DES MOINES - Linn-Mar senior Perrion Scott wanted to make a last hurrah at the Class 4A state track meet before heading off to college.

He got it Friday.

Scott ran a sensational anchor leg on the 4x200 relay and led the Lions to victory in a bang-bang finish at Drake Stadium.

Scott seemingly came out of nowhere and leaned across the finish line to give Linn-Mar the victory in 1 minute, 29.13 seconds in one of the closest races in state history.

Ankeny Centennial finished second in 1:29.14 and Cedar Falls was third in 1:29.17, with only four-hundredths of a second separating the top three finishers.

Sean Zimmerman, Tristan Freese and Daniel Gorsich joined Scott on the 4x200 relay.

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Scott helps Linn-Mar take 4x200

DES MOINES - Linn-Mar senior Perrion Scott wanted to make a last hurrah at the Class 4A state track meet before heading off to college.

He got it Friday.

Scott ran a sensational anchor leg on the 4x200 relay and led the Lions to victory in a bang-bang finish at Drake Stadium.

Scott seemingly came out of nowhere and leaned across the finish line to give Linn-Mar the victory in 1 minute, 29.13 seconds in one of the closest races in state history.

Ankeny Centennial finished second in 1:29.14 and Cedar Falls was third in 1:29.17, with only four-hundredths of a second separating the top three finishers.

Sean Zimmerman, Tristan Freese and Daniel Gorsich joined Scott on the 4x200 relay.

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Kennedy boys net 22 in rout of East

Ten different players scored, and four finishing with hat tricks, as Kennedy blasted Waterloo East, 22-0, in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys soccer match Thursday at Kennedy.

Goals were scored by: Sameeullah Jung (3), Yusef Igram (3), Dylan Anderson (3), Connor Peterson (3), Andrew Sheeley (2), Skylar Showalter (2), Freddie Borbor (2), Jacob Sarasin (2), Amadou Kujabi and Alex Stone.

Assists were by: Borbor (5), Sam Hanzelka (4), Stone (4), Finn Duffy (4), Igram (3), Showalter (3), Kujabi (3), Sheeley (2), Jung (2), Michael Leventhal (2), Luis Granadillo, Anderson and Sarasin.

Kennedy is now 8-8 overall and 6-7 in the MVC.