Metro Sports Report

Jefferson's Will Orr (rear) works to turn Kennedy's Trevor Bunk during the first period of their 285-pound bout Thursday at Jefferson. Orr pinned Brunk and the J-Hawks rolled to a 66-12 win. (Photo by Ken Gilchrist)

Jeff matmen honor McNiel with big win

Thu - 23 Jan Written by Jim Ecker

The Jefferson wrestling team dragged out their old-fashioned uniforms from the 1970's Thursday night to honor Hall of Fame coach Bill McNiel.

Then the J-Hawks gave Kennedy an old-fashioned whipping, leggings and all.

Jefferson collected four pins, a technical fall and a major decision while piling up a 66-12 victory in a Mississippi Valley Conference meet at Jefferson.

McNiel, 74, led the J-Hawks to state wrestling titles in 1973 and 1974, rolled up a 105-24-1 record in dual meets during his 11-year career and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1998. He and his wife, Judy, were honored in a ceremony that featured former wrestlers, assistant coaches, students, friends and opponents.

"It was great. Amazing there were that many people that were here," said McNiel, who lives just a few blocks from Jefferson. "It's pretty overwhelming."

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Saints clip Waterloo West, 58-56

Thu - 23 Jan Written by Nick Petaros, Waterloo Courier

WATERLOO - Waterloo West Coach John Curta had little to fault with the way his team played for all but the final five minutes of Thursday's makeup game with Xavier at Siddens Gymnasium.

West valued the basketball on offense and held Xavier in check on defense as it built a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter. But after turning the ball over just five times in the first three quarters combined, West turned the ball over five times in the final five minutes.

The Saints turned those miscues into points as it outscored West 12-4 down the stretch to secure a hard-fought, 58-56, Mississippi Valley Conference road win.

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Metro football teams put in districts

Thu - 23 Jan Written by Jim Ecker

The suspense ended at high noon Thursday when the Iowa High School Athletic Association announced the new district football assignments for the 2014 and 2015 campaigns.

The Xavier Saints, who are dropping from Class 4A to Class 3A next season, were placed in Class 3A District #4 with the Marion Indians, DeWitt Central, Western Dubuque, Maquoketa, Solon and Dubuque Wahlert.

Kennedy, Jefferson and Linn-Mar were assigned to Class 4A District #5 with Cedar Falls, Waterloo East and Waterloo West. All six of those teams are from the Mississippi Valley Conference.

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3 Metro teams make dual meet tourney

Thu - 23 Jan Written by Metro Sports Report

Prairie, Linn-Mar and Jefferson have been selected to participate in the 2014 regional dual team wrestling tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

The top 16 teams in Class 3A, as ranked by the Iowa Wrestling Coaches Association, were picked for the event.

The No.4 Prairie Hawks will host No.14 Mason City. The No.5 Linn-Mar Lions will host No.12 Dowling Catholic. The No.9 Jefferson J-Hawks will visit No.8 North Scott.

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Kirkwood freshman Taylor Silva dribbles the baall and looks for a teammate to pass to in Wednesday's game against Southwestern at Johnson Hall. Silva made three 3-pointers and dished out six assists in the Eagles' 66-44 win. (Photo by Margaret O'Banion)

Silva helps No.4 Eagles to easy win

Wed - 22 Jan Written by Jim Ecker

Kirkwood Coach Kim Muhl occasionally complains about his players and their perceived lack of effort at times, but he rarely complains about Taylor Silva.

If anything, Muhl thinks Silva sometimes tries too hard.

"She brings effort every day," Muhl said Wednesday night. "Her biggest problem, she brings too much effort sometimes and gets herself in trouble, but she's working on it.

"Great attitude," he said. "The mistakes she makes are usually because of playing hard, so it's hard to fault that a lot. You just try to correct it."

Silva made her second start of the season Wednesday at point guard and helped the Eagles defeat Southwetern, 66-44, in an ICCAC game at Johnson Hall.

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