Metro Sports Report

No. 2 Lions bracing for different Warriors

Linn-Mar Coach Bob Forsyth has no idea how Monday night's playoff game against Cedar Rapids Washington will turn out, but he's pretty sure of one thing.

It probably won't be 56-7 again.

That's how badly the second-ranked Lions walloped the Warriors on Oct. 7 in the seventh game of the regular season.

There have been two major changes since then.

Number 1, Linn-Mar tailback Mitch Wantock broke his right ankle Oct. 21 and was lost for the playoffs, robbing the club of 1,109 yards and nine touchdowns (not to mention his good work on defense).

Number 2, Washington tailback Will Griffin is getting close to 100 percent after missing the first five games due to ankle surgery. Griffin played against Linn-Mar in the first meeting, but was still wobbly and contributed only 30 yards on 16 carries.

Evans runs 5th-best time in state history

FORT DODGE - Josh Evans ran the fastest race of his life Saturday and one of the fastest in state history.

Unfortunately for Evans, somebody else ran faster.

Ben Anderson of West Des Moines Valley broke the state meet record and captured the Class 4A cross country title in 15 minutes, 2 seconds at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course in Fort Dodge.

Evans finished in second place in 15:10, the fifth-fastest time in state meet history.

"It was a fun race," said Evans, a 5-foot-7, 112-pound sophomore from Linn-Mar. "I PR'd (set a personal record) by a ton, so it was a great race.

"He was just stronger than I was. I tried to hold on to him, but I was out out of gas."

Newhouse fights pain, helps Lions take 2nd

FORT DODGE - Imagine running more than three miles with sore knees and a stabbing pain in your foot.

Imagine competing against the elite distance runners in the state, trying to help your team win the championship.

Now you know how Linn-Mar senior Carolyn Newhouse felt Saturday at the Class 4A state cross country meet.

Despite her painful ailments, Newhouse finished 13th in the state meet to help the Lions capture the runnerup trophy at the Lakeside Municipal Golf Course.

Linn-Mar nips Kennedy in regional swimming

By many, few, or just one point a win is a win and the Lions of Linn-Mar will take it.

Linn-Mar won the regional swimming and diving championship Saturday afternoon at Kennedy by just one point. The ninth-ranked Lions edged the No. 8 host Cougars 457-456 to claim the title.

“I honestly had (Kennedy) winning, it was a good surprise (to win),” Linn Mar Coach Chad Derlein said. “Both teams swam lightning fast.”

Linn-Mar and Kennedy were joined by 28th-ranked Jefferson in representing the Metro in the regional meet. The J-Hawks finished fifth, behind Muscatine and Bettendorf.