Jefferson High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Jeff girls, boys 8th at state bowling

The Prairie girls missed out on a top three finish by one pin Tuesday in the Class 2A state bowling tournament at Plaza Lanes.

Prairie turned in the best Baker round with a 1088 and finished in fourth place, one pin behind Muscatine. Waterloo West was champion and Bettendorf finished second.

The Jefferson girls were eighth.

Prairie's Amber Westemeier shot a 407 set in singles and Ashley Grady a 393. Jefferson was led by Rylea Bennett's 405 set.

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J-Hawks tipped by PV, 47-45

BETTENDORF - Ryan Spelhaug's tip-in at the buzzer lifted Pleasant Valley past Jefferson, 47-45, Monday night at Pleasant Valley.

Jefferson erased a 10-point halftime deficit and grabbed the lead in the fourth quarter, but the J-Hawks' bid for an upset in the Class 4A substate quarterfinals fell a bucket short.

Will Carius, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, scored 22 points to lead Pleasant Valley (14-8). Spelhaug added 12 points, including a putback of Carius' off-balance shot to win the game.

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Baker, Lembeck, Turner take 3rd at state

DES MOINES - One guy was elated, another guy philosophical in defeat and the third guy sorely disappointed.

That's what happens when you finish third at the state wrestling tournament. The level of happiness - or sadness - depends on your point of view.

Cole Turner (285) of Xavier, Ross Lembeck (152) of Linn-Mar and Brenden Baker (106) of Jefferson all placed third at the Class 3A state meet at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines Saturday afternoon.

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Olson, Larson lead J-Hawks to win

Jacob Olson scored 16 points and Lucas Larson added 15 to lead Jefferson to a 56-48 homecourt win over Cedar Falls Friday night in MVC boys basketball.

Brandon Wiederin added nine points for the J-Hawks (7-14, 5-11).

Keeon Johnson scored 17 points for Cedar Falls (6-15, 4-12).

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West's 2nd-half barrage buries J-Hawks, 50-30

IOWA CITY - Iowa City West outscored Jefferson 32-14 in the second half and pulled away for a 50-30 victory over Jefferson Wednesday night in a Class 5A girls basketball regional quarterfinal at West.

Amanda Ollinger scored 16 points to lead Jefferson (9-13).

West held an 18-16 lead at halftime. The Women of Troy matched their first-half point total in the third quarter and built a 36-25 lead.

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J-Hawk bowlers turn back the clock

Happy days are here again for the Jefferson J-Hawk bowlers.

Both the girls and boys teams won the all-metro regional qualifying meet Tuesday at Lancer Lanes and advanced to the Class 2A state tournament next Tuesday in Des Moines.

The Linn-Mar boys also qualified as an at-large team. In the early days of high school bowling, Jefferson dominated the local scene. But the J-Hawks have been challenged in recent years by up-and-coming programs like Prairie and Linn-Mar.

“It is not unusual for us to qualify both teams for state,” said venerable J-Hawk Coach Virg Cerveny. “But it's been a few years.”

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Olson nets 24 as Jeff rips Prairie

Jacob Olson poured in 24 points Tuesday night as Jefferson bopped Prairie, 63-39, in a Mississippi Valley Conference basketball game at Prairie.

Michael Mims scored 14 points for Prairie (5-15, 3-12).

Jefferson raised its records to 6-14 overall and 4-12 in the league.

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Jaciana works to J-Hawks' delight

For their final regular season game on Friday, each of the Jefferson girls basketball players got Valentines from their biggest little fan.

Coach Jason Edwards' daughter Jaciana, who points out she's “almost eight,” also gave all of the girls J-Hawk blue and white stretchy bracelets she'd made herself.

“She's a very creative little girl,” says freshman point guard Avery Guy. “She's also adorable.”

A fixture on the bench this year, Jaciana is the team's official water girl.

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J-Hawks claim district wrestling title

Cedar Rapids Jefferson Coach Dick Briggs looked like a one-armed ticket peddler at a popular sports event Saturday night, trying to meet demand and stuffing money in his pocket as quickly as he could until all the precious seats were gone.

Briggs had a tiny allotment of 60 tickets to sell for the state wrestling tournament in Des Moines next week and Jefferson fans lined up to get as many as possible.

They sold like hotcakes at $8 apiece.

"I'll try to get some more," he told disappointed parents and fans after he ran out.

The Jefferson wrestling community was in a buying mood Saturday after the fifth-ranked J-Hawks topped No.4 Linn-Mar for the Class 3A district title at the Jefferson gym.

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