Metro Sports Report

Indoor track season starts Tuesday

Four Metro high school teams will start the indoor track season at the Wartburg Indoor Meet Tuesday in Waverly.

Linn-Mar and Prairie are sending members of their boys teams to the Hoover Fieldhouse at Wartburg College. Members of the Washington and Prairie girls teams also will compete.

There are 13 indoor meets on Metro schedules around the state this March with events in Waverly, Cedar Falls, Iowa City, Ames, Mount Vernon and Pella.

The outdoor track season will begin in late March and early April. Coaches use the indoor meets to prepare for outdoor competition.

"It gives us an opportunity to get together," said Prairie boys coach Bill Schwarz. "It makes it easier to get this kind of work done this early in the season."

Teams were allowed to begin official practices Feb. 14, allowing only two weeks of workouts before the first meet. As a result, coaches are inclined to ease into the indoor meets.

Marion boys chasing 4th state trip

The Marion Indians will be seeking their fourth trip to the boys state basketball tournament in school history Monday night when they face Benton in the Class 3A substate finals at the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

This is the rubber match between the two Wamac Conference teams this season. The Indians (16-7) and Bobcats (16-7) split two games during the regular season, with each team winning at home.

Benton won the first game in a squeaker, 57-56, in early January. Marion prevailed in the second meeting in a lopsided game, 61-40, just three weeks ago.

Marion reached the state tournament in 1950 and 1952, then had to wait 57 years before making a return trip in 2009 when Kasey Semler, Dusty Albaugh and Tyler Fisher were sophomores. Semler leads the Indians at 21.8 points per game and Albaugh contributes 12.1 per contest.

Semler has dropped into second place in Class 3A scoring after holding the top spot for much of the season. Cole Darrow of Underwood is the new leader at 22.1 points.

Benton is led by seniors Zach Twedt (15.4 points) and Mitch Lester (12.6).

There is a Class 3A substate doubleheader at the U.S. Cellular Center. Fifth-ranked Solon (21-2) faces 10th-ranked Dubuque Wahlert (17-6) at 6:30.

Toothless Lions whipped by Waverly-SR

The Linn-Mar Lions tried to wrestle Waverly-Shell Rock with a depleted lineup Saturday at the Dual Team Championships.

The result was predictable.

The toothless Lions got trounced by the Waverly wrestling machine, 58-10, in the Class 3A quarterfinals at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Waverly-Shell Rock finished third after losing to Bettendorf in the semifinals and beating Southeast Polk. Iowa City West beat Bettendorf, 33-19, for the championship.

Linn-Mar had only four wrestlers at their accustomed spots in the 14-man lineup due to injury, illness and an inability to make weight at the end of a grueling campaign.

It was a recipe for a wipeout against Waverly-Shell Rock, which won the traditional state wrestling tournament in Des Moines last week and has one of the top programs in the state.

"That was the best (lineup) we had," said Linn-Coach Doug Streicher.

Linn-Mar nudged North Scott, 30-29, in the regional tournament Tuesday to qualify for the state duals, but Streicher knew it would be tough to hold the lineup together.

"A couple of guys were really, really hurting on Tuesday," he said. "We knew they probably weren't getting down (to make weight) twice this week. Then we had some sickness going through the lineup with the other guys and a couple of injuries, I guess."

Saunders hustles J-Hawks into substate final

If Jarrod Uthoff is Iowa’s “Mr. Basketball”, then Alec Saunders should get votes for the “Mr. Hustle Award.” If there is such a thing.

The No. 8-ranked Jefferson J-Hawks got a stellar 27-point, 15-rebound performance from MVP-candidate Uthoff and a blue-collar-lunch-bucket display from Saunders to defeat a pesky Western Dubuque team, 60-50, in a Class 4A substate semifinal at Jefferson High School Friday night.

Jefferson (16-5) plays Waterloo West (9-14) Tuesday night at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls in the substate final for the right to go to the state tournament. Waterloo West upset Cedar Falls, 52-49, Friday night.

Saunders drained two 3-pointers and had 11 points, three steals and three assists, including a number of outstanding “effort plays” that won’t show up in the boxscore.