Metro Sports Report

Bruce got early start in bowling

Crawl. Walk. Bowl.

That is how things went for Cedar Rapids Washington senior Quincy Bruce, or at least something very close to that.

Bruce, who will attend Grand View College and join the bowling team there next year, began bowling at age 4, or has he put it, “pretty much as soon as I could pick up a ball.”

Bruce grew up watching his family bowl, so it was only natural that he started as soon as he could. He credits his family for getting him started with bowling and he has a special appreciation for his parents' role in his development.

“My parents definitely had a big role,” he said. “Coach (Monica) Reeves and John Staub were very helpful, too.”

Now years later after getting on the lanes with his family, a lifetime of bowling has led Bruce to the record books.

Friday night in a match against Waterloo East, Bruce set school records with a 290 game and a 539 series. It was the first 500 series in Warrior history.

Prairie grapplers claim 2nd at Waterloo

WATERLOO -- The second verse was similar to the first for the Cedar Rapids Prairie wrestling team Saturday.

For the second straight week, the Hawks were defeated by West Delaware in the championship round of a major tournament.

Last week it was the Five Seasons Duals in Cedar Rapids. This week it was the prestigious Battle of Waterloo at Young Arena.

West Delaware clipped Prairie, 38-24, Saturday to leave Prairie with the silver medal again.

The final round of the 32-team tournament was a four-team round robin between four of the top wrestling programs in Iowa with West Delaware (No.1 in Class 2A), Davenport Assumption (No.2 in Class 2A), Linn-Mar (No.2 in Class 3A) and Prairie (No.4 in Class 3A).

The Linn-Mar Lions lost all three of their matches to finish in fourth place. Linn-Mar lost to Assumption (45-25), West Delaware (42-28) and Prairie (41-21).

Warriors nip Cougars on Drew Wall Night

The girls basketball teams from Cedar Rapids Washington and Cedar Rapids Kennedy engaged in a spirited battle at the Kennedy gym Friday night.

When it was over, the players and fans from both teams joined forces to celebrate the spirit and memory of Kennedy sophomore Drew Wall, who lost his battle with cancer last month.

Washington won the Mississippi Valley Conference game, 57-56, when junior Aleena Hobbs swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 33 seconds left, a fitting way to celebrate her birthday.

A few minutes later, both sides put the game behind them to honor the memory of Drew Wall before a sea of purple in the Kennedy gym, with fans from both teams wearing special purple "Just Drew It" shirts that have become a best-selling item all over Eastern Iowa.

More than 2,800 of the Drew Wall T-shirts and polo shirts have been sold. All told, more than $40,000 has been raised for the Drew Wall LIVESTRONG Fund with proceeds from the shirts and other activities.

Warriors upend Cougars to end drought

Cedar Rapids Washington High School's long nightmare in boys basketball has ended.

The Warriors snapped a 26-game losing streak Friday night by topping Kennedy, 53-50, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Washington had not won a game since February of 2011. The Warriors lost their final game of the 2010-11 campaign, lost all 21 games last season and lost their first four games this season under new coach Adam Sanchez.

Washington got off to a good start Friday, built a 23-10 halftime lead and held on at the end. There were hugs and high-fives outside the Washington locker room as they celebrated the victory.

"It's a great day to be a Warrior!," exclaimed senior David Rosenthal, who contributed eight points.