Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Xavier girls climb to 7th in 4A

The Xavier girls basketball team continued its climb in the Class 4A rankings by jumping from No. 9 to No. 7, the IGHSAU announced Thursday.

The Saints have compiled a 13-5 record, primarily against Class 5A competition.

The Marion Indians (16-4) remained 13th in the Class 4A poll. The Kennedy Cougars (13-5) stayed No. 8 in the 5A rankings.

The top-ranked teams are Waukee in 5A, Harlan in 4A, Mediapolis in 3A, Unity Christian in 2A and Burlington Notre Dame in 1A.

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J-Hawks stick Cougars, Rams

DUBUQUE - Dalton Kuehl, Seth Jellison, Matt Culver and Tavian Rashed were double-winners on the mat Thursday night as the Jefferson J-Hawks defeated Kennedy and Dubuque Senior in a Mississippi Valley Conference meet in Dubuque.

Jefferson clipped Kennedy, 52-19, and rolled by Dubuque Senior, 69-6. Kennedy knocked off Dubuque Senior, 51-21.

Jefferson finished the regular season with an undefeated record against Iowa teams in dual meets.

Kuehl and Culver had two pins for the J-Hawks. Jellison and Rashed both had a technical fall and a pin.

Logen Rodriguez collected two pins for Kennedy. Garrett Kubovec also won two matches for the Cougars.

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6 Kennedy athletes sign with colleges

Six Cedar Rapids Kennedy athletes will be recognized Thursday at the school for their college choices.

The ceremony and reception will be a 2:55 p.m in the school cafeteria.

Those signing include: soccer players Ryan walker (Loyola) and Nikolas Newcamp (Colorado-Colorado Springs), golfers Ross Grekoff (Iowa Central) and Davis Sutton (Indian Hills) and baseball players Blake Hargens (Southeastern) and Sammy Lizarraga (Wabash Valley College).

Balanced Cougars handle East

WATERLOO - Cedar Rapids Kennedy used a balanced offense, led by Brendon Manning's 14 points, to defeat Waterloo East, 73-63, on Tuesday night.

Four other Cougars, Bryton Heisler (13), Zach Daniels (11), Drake Brewster (11) and Cole Murdock (10). scored in double figures. Kennedy is now 11-5 overall, 8-3 in MVC play.

Leighton Nash paced East (1-15, 0-11) with 17 points.

KENNEDY (73): Daniels 2 5-6 11, Heisler 5 3-4 13, Murdock 3 2-2 10, Gardner 2 2-2 6, Techau 0 0-0 0 Diggins 3 0-0 8, Brewster 5 1-2 11, Manning 5 4-9 14, Gisling 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 17-25 73.

WATERLOO EAST (63): Clark 1 0-0 3, Gaffeny  3 0-0 6, Sales 0 2-2 2, O. Bradford 3 0-0 9, Todd 6 0-1 14, Sanders 2 0-0 4, Williams 1 0-0 2, Terry 2 0-0 4, Matlock 0 0-0 0, Campbell 1 0-0 2, Muhammad 0 0-0 0, Nash 6 5-9 17, Garrey 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 7-12 63

Halftime: Kennedy 36, Waterloo East 29. 3-point goals: Kennedy 6 (Daniels 2, Murdock 2, Diggins 2). East 6 (Clark, Bradford 3, Todd 2).

Prairie claims 3rd MVC title in row

DUBUQUE - There's nothing flashy about the Cedar Rapids Prairie wrestling team, but the program has been built on bed-rock principles that stands the test of time.

The Hawks captured the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament for the third straight year Saturday with another workmanlike performance at Dubuque Wahlert.

Prairie won back-to-back MVC crowns in 1994 and 1995, but this is the first time in school history the Hawks have claimed three MVC titles in a row.

"It's really cool to be part of that," said Marcus England, who took top honors at 106 pounds. "We've got a strong team, we work together well. I'm proud to get another victory."

Prairie nudged Jefferson for the championship, 217.5 to 208.5, in a battle of rivals from southwest Cedar Rapids.

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Cougars fall short against No.1 Trojans

The Kennedy Cougars slowed Iowa City West down a little, got them in foul trouble and made them sweat at the Kennedy gym Friday night.

The top-ranked Trojans won anyway, 64-54, with a balanced attack that saw all five starters score in double figures.

Coach Steve Bergman's club has won three Class 4A state titles in a row and could be heading for a fourth this season. The Trojans boast a phenomenal record of 90-3 the past four years and are standing at 15-0 this season and 11-0 in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

Kennedy (10-5, 7-3) pulled within 45-42 early in the fourth quarter and drew within 54-50 midway through the stanza, but the smaller Cougars were not able to finish the job.

"Too many lows. That's kind of been the story of our season," said Kennedy Coach Jon McKowen.

"There's times every single game where we play the way we feel we can play, but then we have too many down times. You can't play 16-minute games. I don't care who you're playing.

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Kennedy girls upset Iowa City West

IOWA CITY – The eighth-ranked Kennedy girls basketball team upset No. 5 Iowa City West, 60-54, Friday at Iowa City West.

The Cougars (13-5) jumped to a 17-6 lead in the first quarter and shot 30-of-44 from the free-throw line.

Stephanie Botkin scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Kennedy. Abby Hellweg had 11 points and Sydney Hayden added 10 points.

Dani Craig scored 15 points for the Women of Troy (15-2).

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Wempen lifts Lions by Cougars

Matt Wempen defeated Logen Rodriguez in the final bout of the match Thursday night to give Linn-Mar a 32-31 victory over Kennedy in a Mississippi Valley Conference wrestling meet at Linn-Mar.

Wempen trimmed Rodriguez, 8-4, at 145 points to give Linn-Mar three points and the verdict.

Manny Jeffery (160) and Alex Streicher (132) had pins for Linn-Mar. Toby Northrup (152) collected a technical fall for the Lions.

Shaun Beyer (195) and Dalles Jacobus (220) had pins for Kennedy. Nolan Hromidko had a technical fall for the Cougars.

Linn-Mar also defeated Cedar Falls, 51-17.