State News

Linn-Mar girls climb to 6th in poll

The Linn-Mar girls basketball team jumped two spots to No. 6 in the final Class 5A poll of the regular season Tuesday.

The Lions (17-4) have won eight straight games and 11 of 12 heading into the postseason tournament Saturday night.

The Kennedy Cougars (17-4) fell four spots to No. 11 in Class 5A. The Cougars have a 3-3 record in their last six games, coming on the heels of a 14-game winning streak.

The Washington Warriors (14-7) remained No. 15 in Class 5A.

The Marion Indians (17-4) are ranked No. 7 in Class 4A again this week. The Indians have won 10 straight games heading into the postseason.

CLASS 4A

1. Western Dubuque (22-0), 2. Lewis Central (18-1), 3. Harlan (19-2), 4. Ballard (20-1), 5. Keokuk (19-2), 6. North Scott (17-4), 7. Marion (17-4), 8. Pella (19-2), 10. Waverly-Shell Rock (18-3), 11. Dallas Center-Grimes (16-5), 12. Fairfield (15-6), 13. Boone (17-4), 14. Grinnell (15-6), 15. DeWitt Central (14-6).

CLASS 5A

1. Johnston (18-3), 2. Iowa City High (18-3), 3. Ankeny Centennial (18-3), 4. Cedar Falls (19-2), 5. Indianola (20-1), 6. Linn-Mar (17-4), 7. Waukee (15-5), 8. Davenport North (19-3), 9. Southeast Polk (16-5), 10. Dowling (14-7), 11. Kennedy (17-4), 12. Pleasant Valley (16-5), 13. Iowa City West (14-7), 14. West Des Moines Valley (15-6), 15. Washington (14-7).

Lions climb, Saints fall in rankings

The Linn-Mar Lions climbed back into the boys basketball rankings Monday with the No. 10 spot in the new Class 4A poll by the Associated Press.

The Lions, who were ranked earlier this season, have a 14-5 record heading into the final two games of the regular season this week.

The Xavier Saints, who have lost four straight games while battling injuries, dropped four spots to No. 8 in Class 3A. The Saints have a 13-6 record with two games left in the regular season.

CLASS 4A

1. Des Moines Hoover (17-1), 2. Pleasant Valley (18-1), 3. Council Bluffs Lincoln (18-1), 4. West Des Moines Valley (17-2), 5. Iowa City West (15-4), 6. Dowling Catholic (16-3), 7. (tie) Ankeny (16-4), Ames (14-4), Cedar Falls (15-4), 10. Linn-Mar (14-5).

CLASS 3A

1. Pella (19-1), 2. Dubuque Wahlert (14-5), 3. Spirit Lake (18-3), 4. MOC-Floyd Valley (18-3), 5. Harlan (16-3), 6. Chariton (19-1), 7. Glenwood (16-4), 8. Xavier (13-6), 9. Waverly-Shell Rock (16-5), 10. Atlantic (15-4).

Jean Berger named director of IGHSAU

The Board of Directors of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union have selected Winterset native Jean Berger as the organization’s fifth executive director.  Berger succeeds Mike Dick, who is retiring Aug. 31.

“We are pleased to announce that Jean Berger will be the next leader of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union,” said IGHSAU Board of Directors president Roger Francis. “Jean brings a wealth of administrative experience to the IGHSAU. The future of the Iowa Girl is very bright with Jean leading our organization.”

Berger currently serves as the Interim Director of Athletics at the University of Northern Iowa, succeeding former IGHSAU Executive Director Troy Dannen.

“I am honored, humbled and very excited to be selected as the next Executive Director of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union” said Berger. “I am looking forward to working with the IGHSAU board of directors and staff along with all of the athletic administrators and coaches in Iowa.”

Berger has been at Northern Iowa since 2008. She is the supervisor for five Panther sports: women’s basketball, softball, tennis, soccer and volleyball. She oversees academic services and athletic training while monitoring Northern Iowa’s gender equity plans.

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Prairie, Kennedy hosting regional duals

The Cedar Rapids Prairie and Kennedy wrestling teams will host Class 3A regional dual meets on Wednesday, Feb. 10, and have drawn opening-round byes in the semifinals.

Prairie will meet North Scott or Ottumwa in the regional finals. Kennedy will face Clinton or Iowa City High in the finals.

The Jefferson J-Hawks will face West Des Moines Dowling in the semifinals of a regional meet at Johnston, with the winner facing Johnston in the regional finals.

Linn-Mar will meet Bettendorf in the semifinals at Dubuque Hempstead, with the winner facing Hempstead in the finals.

The eight regional champions will advance to the state dual meet tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 17.

The top 24 teams in Class 3A, according to the Iowa Wrestling Coaches Association rankings, were selected for the regional dual meet tournament. Three teams were assigned to each regional site. The top eight seeds drew opening-round byes.

Prairie is ranked No. 6 and Kennedy is ranked No. 7. Jefferson is ranked No. 9 and missed drawing a first-round bye by one spot. Linn-Mar is ranked 18th.

Here are the pairings:

AT KENNEDY

No. 13 Clinton vs. No. 20 Iowa City High
No. 7 Kennedy vs semifinal winner

AT DUBUQUE HEMPSTEAD

No. 16 Bettendorf vs. No. 18 Linn-Mar
No. 4 Dubuque Hempstead vs semifinal winner

AT FORT DODGE

No. 10 Indianola vs No. 21 Dallas Center-Grimes
No. 3 Fort Dodge vs semifinal winner

AT JOHNSTON

No. 9 Jefferson vs No. 24 West Des Moines Dowling
No. 5 Johnston vs semifinal winner

AT PRAIRIE

No. 14 North Scott vs No. 23 Ottumwa
No. 6 Prairie vs semifinal winner

AT SOUTHEAST POLK

No. 15 Norwalk vs No. 17 Ankeny Centennial
No. 1 Southeast Polk vs semifinal winner

AT WEST DES MOINES VALLEY

No. 12 Waukee vs No. 22 Council Bluffs Jefferson
No. 2 West Des Moines Valley vs semifinal winner

AT WAVERLY-SHELL ROCK

No. 11 Western Dubuque vs No. 19 Iowa City West
No. 8 Waverly-Shell Rock vs semifinal winner