Metro Sports Report

No.1 Kennedy tips Prairie in rugged MVC

Mississippi Valley Conference boys soccer this season seems to come down to the survival of the fittest in each and every game.

With the MVC boasting six of the top seven rated teams in this week’s Class 3A poll, there are few easy matches.

Pity the sixth-ranked Prairie Hawks, for instance.

They started the year with eight straight wins and climbed to the No.1 ranking. They’ve since lost four out of five, but their last six games have been to ranked foes.

The Hawks dropped yet another nail-biter Monday night at home, this time a hard-fought 1-0 loss to top-rated Kennedy (10-0, 7-0).

Evans wins top award from Drake Relays

Linn-Mar High School junior Josh Evans has won the Robert Kramme award as the outstanding performer among high school boys at the 104th Drake Relays.

Evans set a meet record when he captured the 1600 meter run in 4:10.86, breaking the old mark of 4:11.57 set by Steve Griener of Pekin in 1979. That was the oldest Relays record in a currently staged boys' event at Drake.

Evans' clocking of 4:10.86 is also the fastest in Iowa prep history in the 1600. Ed DeLashmutt of Fort Madison is listed as the all-time leader in the event with a 4:05.6 in 1976, but DeLashmutt ran the mile when he set the record and his time has been converted to a 1600.

Lassen plans to sign with Kirkwood

Linn-Mar High School senior Matt Lassen plans to sign a letter-of-intent Tuesday to play basketball at Kirkwood Community College, according to Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson.

Lassen, a 6-foot-5 swingman, averaged 10.6 points and 3.1 rebounds for the Lions this season and was named first-team on the Mississippi Valley Conference honor squad.

Lassen originally committed to Albany (N.Y.) as a junior, but changed his mind about attending the NCAA Division I school this winter and began looking for a new destination.

Local players in pro baseball

SCOTT SCHEBLER (Prairie, Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers)) - The Quakes were not scheduled to play Monday. Season stats: G - 20, Avg. - .292, AB - 72, H - 21, HR - 3, RBI - 13, SB - 1.

KELLEN SWEENEY (Jefferson, Lansing (Blue Jays)) - Started at first base Monday and was 0-for-3 in the Lugnuts' 9-1 loss at Cedar Rapids. Season stats: G - 19, Avg. - .161, AB - 62, H - 10, HR - 1, RBI - 3, SB - 0.

RYAN SWEENEY (Xavier, Iowa (Cubs)) - Started in right field Monday and was 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the I-Cubs' 10-9 loss to Round Rock. Season stats: G - 19, Avg. - .377, AB - 69, H - 26, HR - 6, RBI - 16, SB - 1.