Metro Sports Report

Olson fires no-hitter, Jeff sweeps

It was a potent 1-2 punch that helped power the Jefferson girls to a doubleheader sweep Tuesday night at Kennedy.

Young pitching phenom Alyssa Olson claimed the first no-hitter of her fast-rising career and came within a walk of a perfect game in the opener.

Her slugging catcher, Maddie Hansen, slammed two doubles in one inning to knock in three runs during a nine-run outburst in the 14-0 five-inning affair.

Then, in the nightcap, Hansen unloaded a deep two-run homer to left-center as the Class 5A No.9 J-Hawks strolled, 6-2.

Olson, a sophomore who threw only a few innings of junior varsity ball with Jefferson last year, struck out eight in raising her season mark to 16-2. The one blemish on an otherwise dominating performance was a third-inning walk to Kennedy’s Rylee Steinke.

No.7 Saints eye MVC softball title

It was Senior Night for the Xavier softball team Tuesday night and the Saints gave themselves a nice present by sweeping Cedar Falls, 5-4 and 10-2, in a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader.

Xavier raised its record in the Valley Division of the MVC to 18-6, giving itself a one-game lead over Prairie with two games left in the season. If the Saints sweep Washington on Monday, they'll be the outright Valley Division champs.

Xavier seniors Erica Miller, Sydney Galligan, Jenna Schulte and Jacey Wiebold figured heavily into the success.

Young Cougars swept by No.1 Ankeny

The Cedar Rapids Kennedy baseball team may have the youngest pitching rotation in Class 4A this year.

Coach Bret Hoyer has three sophomores and a freshman in the four-man rotation, a highly unusual situation for the Cougars, but the kids have done all right.

The young Cougars battled top-ranked Ankeny in a doubleheader at the Kennedy field Tuesday night and were saddled with a pair of losses, 7-4 and 6-1, but Hoyer likes what he's seen of his Kiddie Corps on the mound this year.

Gibbs granted 6th year by NCAA

Creighton University basketball player Grant Gibbs  was granted a sixth year of collegiate eligibility by the NCAA on Tuesday.

Gibbs, a 6-foot-5 guard, prepped at Linn-Mar. He is a two-year starter for the Bluejays, who are 57-14 with him in the lineup. He led the Missouri Valley Conference in assists the past two seasons.

Gibbs averaged 8.5 points, 5.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds last season. He and Syracuse's Michael Carter-Williams were the only two players in the nation with at least 300 points, 200 assists and 145 rebounds.