Metro Sports Report

Looks like strong year for Metro boys track

Wed - 23 Mar Written by Jim Ecker

It looks like it could be a very interesting year, and a very successful year, for boys track teams in the Metro area.

The Metro Sports Report is launching its package of boys track stories today with a look at all seven Metro teams at Jefferson, Kennedy, Linn-Mar, Marion, Prairie, Washington and Xavier.

You'll find the story for each of those teams on the boys track page for each school. Simply click on your favorite school at the top of this page, go to the dropdown box where it says "select a team" and click on boys track. That will get you exactly where you want to go.

You'll find a series of stories that will get boys track fans ready for the outdoor season this spring. Each team has a story to tell, and more stories will develop as the season moves along.

Kyle Dunn is back for his senior year at Linn-Mar after winning the 400-meter hurdles and 400 dash last year at the state meet. He did not win the 110 high hurdles last season - he was upset in the finals and finished second - so he'd like to bring home the gold in that event, too, and possibly help the Lions capture the Class 4A title.

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Cedar Valley Christian adds 8-man football

Wed - 23 Mar Written by Jim Ecker

There will be a new high school football program in Cedar Rapids for the 2011 season.

Cedar Valley Christian School has decided to create an eight-man football program and has begun scheduling games, the school's athletic director said Wednesday. The season opener is scheduled for Aug. 19 at West Central.

Cedar Valley Christian, located at 3636 Cottage Grove Ave. SE, has joined the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) for the 2011-12 school year and has been looking to add sports.

Ed Betsworth, the athletic director at LaSalle Middle School in Cedar Rapids, will be the head coach of the Cedar Valley Christian football team.

"He has raised a large amount of money to support football at Cedar Valley," said Stephanie Hodge, the school's athletic director. "We have enough to get us going - buying uniforms and equipment - and we're working on sharing a field."

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World's a sadder place without Charipar

Tue - 22 Mar Written by Jim Ecker

I have sad news to pass along today.

Ken Charipar, an outstanding person and a great baseball guy, died Monday night in Cedar Rapids. He was 80. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Patricia, their daughters and their family.

Ken battled a long list of serious health problems in recent years, yet always kept a positive outlook and never complained. He survived a heart attack, bypass surgery, esophageal cancer and pneumonia, always bouncing back with determination and a smile.

He joked about it being the bottom of the ninth with two outs, but that he kept fouling off pitches to stay in the game. Well, they finally got him out, but not before a long, productive and inspirational life of giving and sharing.

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Roloff makes multi-year pact with Cougars

Wed - 23 Mar Written by Jim Ecker

Dennis Roloff loves to coach, which is why he's accepted an offer to keep coaching the Cedar Rapids Kennedy girls basketball program for at least several more years.

Roloff, 57, is taking early retirement from Cedar Rapids Community Schools as a teacher, but he'll be back for his 21st year with the girls basketball team next season and has made a commitment for more years after that.

Roloff also coaches the boys track program at Kennedy, but no decisions have been made about his future in that sport.

Aaron Stecker, the activities director at Kennedy, told Roloff he wanted a multi-year commitment to girls basketball.

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Girls hockey grows with Lady RoughRiders

Tue - 22 Mar Written by Sher Jasperse

Cedar Rapids Prairie sophomore Madeline Rainey is a three-sport athlete. She runs cross country and plays tennis for the Hawks, but leaves her classmates behind three evenings a week and nearly every weekend from late September through early April to play ice hockey with the Cedar Rapids Lady RoughRiders.

It is, “by far,” her favorite sport, she says. “When you get out on the ice, it’s so exciting, and there are so many things you can improve on, like skating and stick-handling. Nothing can compare to having fun on the ice.”

Like most of her teammates on the 20-member Lady RoughRiders squad, Rainey began playing hockey with her brother about the time she started kindergarten. “My dad and brother both played, and my brother was always at the rink, so it was kind of a family thing,” she says.

Rainey and other girls who fell in love with the sport at the newly opened Cedar Rapids Ice Arena played with the boys teams for several years.

That changed in 2008 with the arrival of Kevin Brooks as hockey director at the arena.

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