Metro Sports Report

Kamin fires 72 for Valley title

DUBUQUE - Cedar Rapids Washington senior MJ Kamin tamed the stormy weather and The Meadows Golf Course Monday with an even-par 72 to claim medalist honors at the MVC Valley Division tournament.

Kamin collected six birdies during her round along with seven pars, four bogeys and one double-bogey. She was named the Valley Division Athlete ofthe Year.

Xavier senior Maddie Bertsch finished second with a 4-over 76 to help the Saints claim the meet with a 359 total, 15 shots better than Cedar Falls.

Coe softball season ends in tears

The seniors on the Coe College softball team will proudly receive their diplomas at 10 a.m. Sunday morning during a commencement ceremony in the Stewart Memorial Library Quad in the heart of campus in northeast Cedar Rapids.

But with all due respect to their academic achievements, they'd rather be across the street at Clark Field playing for the NCAA Division III regional title at the exact same time.

Unfortunately for the 11th-ranked Kohawks, No.13 St. Thomas College and No. 22 Augustana will be playing ball on the Coe campus while the Kohawks are dressed in their caps and gowns nearby.

Coe lost to Augustana, 5-1, in the second round of the NCAA tournament Saturday afternoon and then was bounced by St. Thomas, 7-3, in the loser's bracket finals.

Those two losses chased the Kohawks (35-10) out of the tournament.

Coe's Alger wins discus at IIAC meet

DECORAH - Coe sophomore Melissa Alger won the discus at the Iowa Conference track meet in Decorah Saturday with a toss of 146 feet, 9 inches.

Alger, from Lisbon, set the school record in the discus earlier this season at 149-11.

Erik Franklin of Coe finished second in the triple jump at 46 feet, 9 inches. Kenzie Drahn placed third in the women's triple jump at 36 feet, 7 inches.

The Kohawks placed seventh out of eight teams in the women's standings. The Coe men finished eighth and last in their standings.

Wartburg claimed both titles.

Arteaga puts Kernels pitchers in 'zone'

Ivan Arteaga is in his first year serving as the Cedar Rapids Kernels' pitching coach, but he’s far from being a rookie when it comes to working with young pitchers in the Twins organization.

After bouncing around the minor leagues for much of the 1990's with the Expos, Rockies and Mets organizations, the Venezuela native began coaching young pitchers for the Twins organization in 2001 and he’s been helping to develop the organization’s young arms ever since.

Arteaga spent several years as the pitching coordinator for the Twins’ Venezuelan Academy and coached at both Rookie League levels before serving as the pitching coach for the Class High-A Fort Myers Miracle a year ago. This season, he and Gary Lucas (the 2013 Kernels pitching coach) traded assignments, bringing Arteaga to Cedar Rapids.