Xavier High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Vipond, Gerke lead Xavier wrestlers

WAVERLY - Jeff Vipond and Josh Gerke enjoyed perfect days for the Xavier wrestling team at the Waverly-Shell Rock tournament Saturday.

Vipond went 5-0 at 113 pounds with three pins, a major decision and a forfeit. Gerke finished 5-0 at 145 pounds with three pins, a technical fall and a major decision.

Clint Lembeck, who is ranked No. 1 at 138 pounds, went 4-1 in the tournament with four pins. Tommy Pudil finished 3-2 at 285 pounds with three pins.

The Saints finished with a 1-4 record in the dual meet event. They beat Marshalltown (53-21) and lost to Bettendorf (45-27), Ballard (40-37), Hempstead (64-18) and Waverly-Shell Rock (44-28).

No. 4 Saints dunk Davenport Assumption

The Xavier Saints poured in 30 points in the first quarter Tuesday night and began the game with a dunk by Ryan Stulken.

Unwilling to rest on their laurels, coach Ryan Luehrsmann designed a special play for Stulken to begin the second half and the 6-foot-7 senior threw down another jam to get the crowd revved up again.

The fourth-ranked Saints cruised to an impressive 78-52 victory over Davenport Assumption and headed into the holiday break with a 5-1 record.

Stulken's slam to begin the game came in transition, but his dunk to start the second half was concocted by Luehrsmann during the 10-minute intermission and took Stulken by surprise.

"He just drew it up at halftime," Stulken said. "We never ran it in practice or anything. That was the first time.

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Lilly nets 500th win of special career

Tom Lilly's remarkable career as a girls basketball coach had a humble beginning in 1980.

Lilly's girlfriend at the time -- "Who shall remain nameless" -- asked him to help her coach a 7th grade team at St. Matthew's school in Cedar Rapids and he accepted the chance to work at his alma mater.

He's come a long, long way since then.

Lilly collected his 500th victory as a varsity girls basketball coach Tuesday night when the Xavier Saints topped Davenport Assumption, 57-47, at the Ron Thillen Gymnasium at Xavier.

Lilly, 60, became the 32nd member of the 500 Club, according to the Iowa Girls' Athletic Coaches Association, and he's harvested four state titles and many fond memories along the way.

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Xavier girls trimmed by Rams

The Dubuque Senior girls bowling team edged Xavier by just 12 pins, 2,253 to 2,241, Friday at May City Bowl.

The Saints led 1,515 to 1,484 after the first round, but the Rams took a 769 to 726 advantage in the Baker rotation.

Tanya Zaugg had a 231 game and a 374 series to lead Xavier.

DUBUQUE SENIOR: Shanice Schmidt 175-157=332, Macy Schmidt 154-156=310, Sydni Kirk 154-134=288, Autumn Steadman 145-134=279, Montana Meyer 151-124=275, McKayla Spark 149-118=267.

XAVIER: Tanya Zaugg 161-213=374, Cheyanne Crane 188-180=368, Ally Eipert 138-136=274, Ella Schrader 138-127=265, Abby Scott 83-151=234, Katie Langholz 86-91=177.

Dubuque Senior: 1,484-769=2,253.

Xavier: 1,515-726=2,241.