Jefferson High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Paulson tops all-Metro tennis team

Linn-Mar senior Tim Paulson has been named the Athlete of the Year on the 2015 All-Metro Tennis Team, it was announced Friday.

Chris Wundram of Linn-Mar was named the Metro Coach of the Year. The Lions are undefeated this season and ranked No. 1 in the state.

Jackson Hoyt of Washington, Trevor McCann of Linn-Mar, Ben Curley of Xavier, Rami Hemaiden of Kennedy and Caleb Scott of Marion joined Paulson on the first team.

SECOND TEAM

Parker Muller (Washington), Oliver Hammond (Washington), Ben Myers (Linn-Mar), Jon Lansing (Xavier), Alex Tvedte (Jefferson), Evan Gaskill (Prairie).

HONORABLE MENTION

PRAIRIE: Jason Niccolls, Jake Crumbo

XAVIER: Charlie Esker, Jack VanKampen

KENNEDY: Corey Duncan, Kyle Butler

WASHINGTON: Dane Van Antwerp, Will Rizer

LINN-MAR: Kyle Brendes, Shane Skvor

JEFFERSON: Chris Weisbein, Kellen Brown

MARION: Nate Meister, Peter Ward

No. 9 J-Hawks upset by Solon

The Solon Spartans erupted for seven runs in the sixth inning Thursday and knocked off Jefferson, 8-5, in a non-conference baseball game at the Jefferson field.

The ninth-ranked J-Hawks owned a 5-1 lead entering the fatal sixth inning, but never recovered.

Spencer VanScoyoc went 2-for-3 and belted a solo home run for Jefferson (2-2). Brayden Frazier went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs.

Patrick Mason had two RBIs for Solon.

Solon      001 007 0 - 8
Jefferson  004 010 0 - 5

W - Kessler. L - Roeder.

Jefferson girls roll by Cedar Falls

Alyssa Olson tossed a perfect game and Alissa Good pitched a one-hitter Thursday as the Jefferson softball team spanked Cedar Falls in a Mississippi Valley Conference twinbill at Jefferson, 12-0 in four innings and 10-0 in six innings.

Olson collected nine strikeouts and pitched her perfect game in the 12-0 victory in the season opener. Hannah Towns went 3-for-3 with a single, double, grand slam and five RBIs. Tori Brandon, Liv Erickson and Maddie Hansen had two hits for the J-Hawks. Brandon and Erickson had two RBIs.

Good had five strikeouts and pitched her one-hitter in the 10-0 verdict. Avery Guy, Towns and Taylor Holub had two hits. Holub drove in two runs.

No. 1 Cougars nip J-Hawks for Metro title

If the Kennedy Cougars are truly the No. 1 baseball team in Class 4A this year, then the Jefferson J-Hawks must by No. 1A.

Round 1 went to the Cougars Wednesday night, by a whisker.

Sammy Lizarraga ripped a game-winning single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Kennedy a dramatic 5-4 victory over Jefferson in the championship game of the Bob Vrbicek Metro Tournament.

Lizarraga said he's never had a bigger hit in his career, not even when the Junior Cougars won the USSSA World Series a few years ago.

"That was a big one," he said after his walk-off screamer to right-center. "Senior year, Metro tournament. That was a lot of fun."

Kennedy and Jefferson are now tied for the most titles in Metro Tournament history with 13 apiece.

The J-Hawks scored four runs against Kennedy ace Zach Daniels in the early going and it was tied, 4-4, after three innings. But it stayed that way for a long, long time.

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Kennedy ranked No.1 in baseball poll

The Kennedy Cougars have been ranked No. 1 in the first Class 4A baseball poll for the 2015 season by the Iowa Baseball Coaches Association.

Kennedy finished 31-7 last year and reached the quarterfinals of the state tournament.

The Jefferson J-Hawks are ranked No. 9 in Class 4A. The J-Hawks and Cougars are scheduled to meet in the championship game of the Metro Tournament Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Washington High School field.

The Xavier Saints are ranked No. 7 in Class 3A.

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Van Scoyoc no-hits Prairie

Spencer Van Scoyoc watched younger brother Connor throw a gem in Jefferson's opening-round win over Mount Vernon in the Bob Vrbicek Metro Baseball Tournament on Monday.

Connor, a freshman, tossed a five-hit shutout as the J-Hawks advanced with a 5-0 win.

That left Spencer with a tough act to follow in Monday evening's semifinal match-up with a highly regarded Prairie team. The Hawks rolled to a 15-0 win over Washington in their first-round game.

Not only did Spencer Van Scoyoc follow up his brother's effort, he bettered it. The junior left-hander tossed a no-hitter, striking out eight as Jefferson advanced to the title game for the second straight year with an 10-0, five-inning win at Washington.

The J-Hawks will once again meet Kennedy for the tournament title. The Cougars advanced with wins over Xavier and Marion. Kennedy defeated Jefferson on the 2014 final.

To say there is a little competition in the Van Scoyoc household would be an understatement.

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Morgan Meese wins Metro Spotlight Award

Morgan Meese of Cedar Rapids Jefferson is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school girls this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Meese, a senior, has been a member of record-setting sprint relay teams that have starred at the Drake Relays and state track meet during her career.

Jefferson shattered the Iowa all-time record in the 4x200 relay at the state meet this year in 1 minute, 39.24 seconds, breaking a mark that a Jefferson quartet set in 2013.

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Jefferson girls carved names in history

DES MOINES - Their names are Lucy, Morgan, Jasmine and Abbie and they've carved their names into the history books of Iowa girls track.

"We wanted to stake our claim as the greatest relay team ever," Cedar Rapids Jefferson Coach Bill Calloway said Saturday at the state meet. "I think we've done that with two all-time bests."

Lucy Schneekloth, Morgan Meese, Jasmine Blue and Abbie Ranschau set an Iowa all-time best in the 4x200 relay Friday at the state meet, just a few weeks after tying the all-time best in the 4x100 relay at the Drake Relays.

The sleek J-Hawks, who call themselves the "Cheetah Girls," were hoping to snap the all-time best in the 4x100 relay Saturday at state but had to settle for an ordinary (for them) victory.

Ranschau stepped away from the relays Saturday and captured the 100 hurdles in 14.96 seconds, giving her three gold medals and a silver at the state meet this year.

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Lions win medley, lead 4A standings

DES MOINES - Amber Decker has been collapsing after races ever since she began running for Linn-Mar High School as a freshman two years ago.

She collapsed -- and celebrated -- again Friday.

Decker ran the anchor leg as the Lions claimed the distance medley relay at the Class 4A state meet and stayed ahead of the pack in the race for the title.

Decker runs to the point of exhaustion, and sometimes beyond. She spent a few minutes bent over on the track at Drake Stadium on Friday after the medley, got to her feet, walked off the track and then reclined on her back on the field turf while her teammates hovered around.

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