Jefferson High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Niemeyer has done everything but drive bus

For a coach who never intended to devote his life to girls sports, Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Larry Niemeyer has done pretty well.

He not only has the most wins of any high school softball coach ever, but his lifetime record of 2,054-422 going into Monday night's substate home game with Waterloo East puts him more than 900 victories ahead of his nearest competitor, according to the national record book.

And as a girls basketball coach, his 861-328 mark ranks second in Iowa and 13th in the nation.

Those milestones span a 52-year career that began when the only teaching position he could land after college graduation in 1959 had girls coaching duties tacked on.

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Schotterback resigns teaching post

Byron Schlotterback has officially resigned as the varsity baseball coach at Cedar Rapids Washington High School, a spokesman for Cedar Rapids Community Schools confirmed Monday.

Schlotterback also has resigned as the director of vocal music at Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School.

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Furnish wins the round, Askelson the title

There are two names to remember when it comes to girls golf in the Metro area this year.

They are Kimmy Askelson and Megan Furnish, and they both distinguished themselves Monday at the Mississippi Valley Conference division meet at Twin Pines Golf Course.

Askelson won the Valley Division title with a 36-hole score of 77-78-155 to claim medalist honors, while Furnish tied for the day's low round at Twin Pines with a 3-over-par 76.

Askelson won the MVC Valley title on the strength of her 77 at Brown Deer Golf Course in Coralville at the MVC Super Meet last Monday and her 78 at Twin Pines in Cedar Rapids on Monday. Furnish shot an 82 at Brown Deer for a 36-hole total of 82-76-158, good for third place overall.

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J-Hawks 4x200 relay 2nd at Drake

DES MOINES - The 102nd Drake Relays brought out the best in Metro track athletes Friday.

Sam Joens of Cedar Rapids Prairie won the boys discus title (see separate story), but he had lots of company in the spotlight on a breezy, 70-degree day in Des Moines.

Caleb Mere of Cedar Rapids Kennedy finished a strong second in the boys long jump at 23 feet and set a school record in the process.

Will Griffin and Alex Carr of Cedar Rapids Washington officially tied for second place in the 100 meter dash, but Griffin was actually one-thousandth of a second faster than Carr.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson finished second in the girls 4x200 relay with Malya Rattliffe, Summer Carber, Taylor Jacobson and Rachel Broghammer passing the baton in style.

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Herman picks Coe for football, wrestling

Conner Herman believed in keeping busy at Cedar Rapids Jefferson with a full schedule in football, wrestling, show choir and a part-time job at Target.

It won't be much different when he enrolls at Coe College this summer, although he'll probably cut back on the singing.

Herman said Tuesday night he'll play football and wrestle for the Kohawks, which will make him a busy athlete at the NCAA Division III school in northeast Cedar Rapids.

Herman's older brother, Jeremiah, also plays football at Coe, so they'll be teammates this season. Jeremiah Herman will be a junior for the Kohawks this year.

Herman narrowed his college choices to Coe and Luther. He wrestled with the decision for more than a month before deciding to stay close to home for college.

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Furnish, J-Hawks win CRANDIC

Megan Furnish missed qualifying for the Class 4A state golf tournament by a single shot last year, but it looks like she could be on course for a trip this season.

Furnish won top honors at the CRANDIC meet Wednesday and helped Cedar Rapids Jefferson claim the team championship on a cold, gray day at Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion.

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Tanner Unkel commits to NIACC baseball

Cedar Rapids Jefferson infielder Tanner Unkel plans to play baseball at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) next year.

Unkel, 5-foot-7, 150 pounds, hit .395 with four homers and 19 RBIs for the J-Hawks last season as a junior.

Uthoff on Register all-state 1st team

DES MOINES -- Jarrod Uthoff of Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Marcus Paige of Linn-Mar and Josh Oglesby of Cedar Rapids Washington were named first team all-state by the Des Moines Sunday Register on its Class 4A all-star basketball squad.

Matt Bohannon of Linn-Mar was a third-team pick in Class 4A and Kasey Semler of Marion was a second-team selection in Class 3A.

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Ugly, ugly, ugly loss for J-Hawks at state

DES MOINES - Cedar Rapids Jefferson picked the wrong time for an ugly date with futility.

The J-Hawks scored only 16 points in the first three quarters Wednesday night and lost to Des Moines Hoover, 45-39, in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.

Jarrod Uthoff was the only Jefferson player to make a field goal during the first three quarters of the game. He had 15 points after three quarters and the rest of the J-Hawks had one lonely, solitary point after 24 minutes of basketball.

Jefferson scored 23 points in the fourth period, thanks partly to three 3-pointers by sophomore Creighton Robinson, but the J-Hawks never managed to catch up. Robinson, listed generously at 5-foot-10, was playing in only his third varsity game and hadn't scored a point prior to the state tournament.

Jefferson Coach Stu Ordman turned the game into a free throw contest in the fourth quarter, knowing Hoover was a weak foul shooting team at 60.9 percent, but the Huskies made 17 of 29 free throws in the final period to stay ahead.

The eighth-ranked J-Hawks (17-6) shot 11 for 45 from the field (24.4 percent) and lost in the first round of the state tournament for the second straight year. Uthoff finished his prep career with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but hit only 6 of 16 shots and was 0-for-3 on 3-pointers.

Des Moines Hoover is a strong defensive team and held opponents to just 35.6 points per game this season. Jefferson was averaging 60.5 points, but the Huskies asserted their will against the cold-shooting J-Hawks.

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