Metro Sports Report

No. 6 J-Hawks fall to No. 4 Mustangs

DUBUQUE – The sixth-ranked Jefferson wrestling team recorded four pins but lost to fourth-ranked Dubuque Hempstead, 42-29, in a Mississippi Valley Conference dual meet Thursday at Hempstead.

Joseph Sibomana (120 pounds), Brenden Baker (126), Tavian Rashed (160) and Nick Dreckman (195) had pins for the J-Hawks. Kyle Briggs collected a 21-6 technical fall in 5:06 at 152.

HEMPSTEAD 42, JEFFERSON 29
106 – Dillon Gottschalk (DH) pinned Jaden Collins :17.
113 – Joe Pins (DH) pinned Colten Mastin 3:05.
120 – Joseph Sibomana (J) pinned Hunter Foht :59.
126 – Brenden Baker (J) pinned Jacob Faber :20.
132 – Nathan Feldman (DH) dec. Zach Main 11-4.
138 – Kaleb Phillips (DH) dec. Dalton Mastin 2-0.
145 – Alex Ward (DH) pinned Cody Clendenen 3:00.
152 – Kyle Briggs (J) tech. fall over Jackson Rigdon 21-6, 5:06.
160 – Tavian Rashed (J) pinned Kent Kragenbrink 4:54.
170 – Brandon Haas (DH) dec.Matt Culver 7-4.
182 – Henry Tran (DH) dec. Taylor Viktora 9-7.
195 – Nick Dreckman (J) pinned Adam Rang 5:16.
220 – Alex Freiburger (DH) pinned Blake Owens 1:59.
285 – Gannon Gremmel (DH) pinnedDavid Bonner 2:42.

Perkins retires as Marion football coach

Tony Perkins has retired after 17 years as the head football coach at Marion High School, he said Monday morning.

Perkins compiled a 104-60 record with the Indians from 1999 through 2015, but his successful career ended with a 17-game losing streak and controversy surrounding his family.

Nick Perkins, the coach's younger brother, was fired as one of Marion's assistant coaches early this past season following an incident during the first game of the year and Tony Perkins was suspended for one game following that incident.

Tony Perkins won his 104th game as head coach at his alma mater in the season opener in 2014, drawing within one victory of tying Les Hipple for the most victories in Marion football history, but Perkins never won another game as the Indians went 1-8 in 2014 and 0-9 this year.

Metro Sports Report rises 1.3% for 2015

Some of you may have looked at the headline on this story and shrugged.

Why is Ecker writing a column about the Metro Sports Report having a modest gain of 1.3% in readership for the past year?

True, it's not a great surge in readers. But in today's market of fractured audiences and declining newspaper circulation, any gain for a media outlet should be heralded with great acclaim.

The Metro Sports Report had 1,039,220 pageviews in 2015. That's a gain of 13,626 pageviews from 2014, which represents an increase of 1.33 percent. I would have welcomed a bigger jump, of course, but it's still a move in the right direction.

Keep in mind that many of our readers are parents of high school students. When their son or daughter graduates from high school, the family might lose interest in its favorite school or team.

Wash boys fall to City High

The Cedar Rapids Washington boys basketball team began the new year with a 59-44 loss to Iowa City High in a Mississippi Valley Conference game Tuesday night at Washington.

Hunter Strait led the Warriors (2-4) with 12 points. Laveechie Williams had 10 points. The Warriors made only 15 of 53 shots for 28.3 percent.

Henry Mulligan paced Iowa City High (5-3) with 16 points. Micah Martin had 15 points and Naeem Smith added 13.

IOWA CITY HIGH (59): Smith 4 5-5 13, Mulligan 4 4-4 16, Johnson 3 2-2 8, Jones 3 1-2 7, Ringen 0 0-0 0, Dillon 0 0-0 0, Nkumu 0 0-0 0, Taylor 0 0-0 0, Olaguez-Duarte 0 0-0 0, Martin 6 3-7 15. Totals 20 15-20 59.

WASHINGTON (44): Wills 2 0-0 6, Straight 4 4-5 12, Dawson 0 0-0 0, Beard 0 0-0 0, Bennett 0 0-0 0, Hobbs 0 0-0 0, Thomas 3 2-3 9, Beard 0 1-2 1, Jackson 1 0-0 2, Williams 3 4-6 10, Potter 2 0-0 4. Totals 15 11-16 44.

Halftime - Iowa City High 26, Washington 15. 3-point goals - Iowa City High 4 (Mulligan 4), Washington 3 (Wills 2, Thomas 1).