Metro Sports Report

Cedar Valley rejected by Tri-Rivers Conference

Cedar Valley Christian will have to keep looking for a new league after being rejected by the Tri-Rivers Conference.

"We have officially applied and been officially denied," Cedar Valley Christian principal Jeff Pospisil told the Metro Sports Report on Monday.

Cedar Valley Christian left the Northern Illinois Christian Conference after the 2010-11 school year and formally joined the IHSAA and IGHSAU this year as an independent. The Huskies had been hoping to join the Tri-Rivers for the 2012-13 school year, but the Tri-Rivers superintendents met Dec. 1 and turned them down.

Pospisil received a letter from Larry Boer, the superintendent at North-Linn High School, informing him that the league had voted against Cedar Valley Christian. "They didn't give us any reason," said Pospisil.

Disability doesn't slow Marcus Morgan

Marcus Morgan is a polite young man who calls people "Sir," smiles freely, enjoys his classes in money management and biology, loves to play basketball, believes strongly in God and certainly does not feel sorry for himself.

"He's one of the nicest kids to be around," says Dan Rhine, his coach on the sophomore basketball team at Cedar Rapids Washington. "Very positive with his teammates."

Marcus plays basketball with one arm, essentially. And he plays it well, with passion. His left arm is not fully formed and is bent permanently at the elbow, a nerve-related birth defect that hasn't prevented him from succeeding on the court.

"I love basketball," he says simply. "I just don't let anything keep me down."

Marcus had two operations when he was younger in an attempt to improve his physical condition, but neither operation was a success. "After awhile I was like, 'Mom, God made me this way for a reason. Let's just keep it like this.'"

Linn-Mar drops to 3rd in boys poll

Linn-Mar fell two spots to No. 3 in the Associated Press Class 4A boys basketball poll released Monday.

The Lions (2-1) suffered their first home court loss since 2007 last Friday against Iowa City West, 75-63. The Trojans vaulted from No. 4 to No. 1 on the strength of that win.

Kennedy (3-0) moved up one spot to No. 9 and Jefferson (4-0) broke into the poll tied for No. 10 with Cedar Falls.

Ankeny (4-0) is ranked second in Class 4A. Mississippi valley Conference member Dubuque Senior (3-0) is No. 5.

Waverly-Shell Rock (4-0) is still ranked first in Class 3A and Danville (5-0) is No. 1 in 1A. Monroe PCM (4-2), ranked No. 1 in last week's 2A poll, fell completely out of the rankings after losing two of three games last week.

Gould helps Prairie trim Linn-Mar

Cedar Rapids Prairie junior Austin Gould spent three weeks in the former Soviet Union this past June as a member of a U.S. wrestling team organized by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

He came home a better wrestler with a broader view of the world.

The U.S. team competed in the Ukraine, Chechnya and other countries in the region and wrestled in a tournament near the Black Sea. "We actually stayed in old Soviet hotels," Gould said.

The trip cost $3,500 per person, but it provided memories and an experience of a lifetime. "It was worth it," he said. "It was a great experience. It was awesome."