Jefferson High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Van Oort wants J-Hawks to enjoy competing

First-year Jefferson volleyball coach Mary Kay Van Oort knows what it’s like to be a star and what it’s like to be the kid who barely made the cut, and she wants to make sure both kinds of girls feel at home on her team.

“I really care about everybody in the gym,” she says. “The star player is no more important than the 12th player on the team. They all contribute to what we’re doing. I worry about everybody’s experience.”

She also wants to make sure a team that struggled through a 4-32 season last year knows the heady, confidence-building feeling of getting a key win. A sweep of Dubuque Senior in the team’s first outing this past Tuesday — including a come-from-behind triumph after a deep deficit in the third game — set a nice stage for accomplishing both goals.

It was an early boost for the team and for Van Oort, an accomplished former volleyball player and coach who is returning to the head coaching role after a lengthy hiatus during which she turned her attention to family and career.

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No.1 Saints stuff J-Hawks, 44-0

The Xavier Saints are ranked No.1 in the state by the Des Moines Register, the Associated Press and The Gazette, but that can't be right.

Surely the Northern Iowa Panthers, Iowa Hawkeyes, Iowa State Cyclones and Coe Kohawks are better than the Saints.

But if you're looking for the No.1 high school football team in the state, you won't get any arguments from Jefferson Coach Brian Webb.

"I haven't seen the teams on the west side (of the state), but I don't know who's better than this team on the east side," Webb said Friday night. "Xavier is where we want to be."

The Saints rolled to a 37-0 lead at halftime and smashed the J-Hawks, 44-0, on Senior Night at the Xavier field.

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Prairie edges Jeff golfers

Prairie nudged Jefferson by two shots Thursday to win a quadrangular boys golf meet at Jones Park.

Prairie's Cooper Reittinger was co-medalist with Jefferson's Zach Denny. Both shot two-over par 35.

The Hawks finished with a 147 score to Jefferson's 149. Dubuque Senior was third and Waterloo West a distant fourth.

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J-Hawks sweep Rams in volleyball

DUBUQUE — Amanda Ollinger collected 27 kills and Kaylie Zitek had 36 assists Tuesday night as Jefferson clipped Dubuque Senior, 25-16, 25-16, 31-29, in a Mississippi Valley Conference volleyball match in Dubuque.

The J-Hawks trailed 20-11 in the third set, but they rallied to tie 23-23 and ultimately prevailed to win their season opener.

Brenna Parke finished with six kills for Jefferson, including several at key moments of the third set. Hannah Carter contributed a key solo block during the final stretch of the third game.

Ollinger finished with 19 digs, Parke had 14 digs and Keke Pledge had 13 digs.

J-Hawk girls run 3rd at IMS meet

KALONA — The Cedar Rapids Jefferson girls cross country team placed third out of 12 teams at the Iowa Mennonite School Early Bird Invitational in Kalona on Tuesday.

The Jefferson boys placed fifth out of nine teams in their race.

Megan Ely finished seventh in the individual standings for the Jefferson girls, and Sarah Hanna was just a second behind in eighth place for the J-Hawks.

Jason Chung led the Jefferson boys in 18th place.

Muscatine won the girls' championship by finishing an impressive 1-2-3-5-6. Iowa City High won the boys' title by finishing 2-3-5-6-7.

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Drake, Chung help J-Hawks sink Wash

Kelsey Drake and Jaylee Chung won four events apiece Tuesday night as Cedar Rapids Jefferson clipped Cedar Rapids Washington, 98-82, in a Mississippi Valley Conference swimming meet at Washington.

Drake won the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke titles. She also swam on the victorious 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.

Chung claimed the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly. She also swam on the triumphant 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay.

Olivia Northrup was a triple winner for the J-Hawks in the 200 medley relay, 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle relay. Hailey Sullivan and Ashley Anderson were double-winners for Jefferson.

Kaitlyn Nemickas captured the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke for Washington.

Jefferson won 9 of 12 events.

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Prairie clips J-Hawks in opener, 24-7

The Prairie Hawks were struggling with their running game Thursday night when they decided to put 630 pounds of muscle on the right side of the offensive line.

Their names are Bryce Meeker and Christian Ohrt, and the two behemoths helped Prairie grind out a 24-7 victory over Jefferson in the season opener at Kingston Stadium on a humid night in southwest Cedar Rapids.

Meeker, who stands 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds, normally plays offensive tackle, but he shifted to guard to make room for Ohrt, a Jefferson transfer who measures 6-foot-8 and 345. They helped pave the way for a rushing attack that netted 246 yards as "Air Prairie" took most of the night off.

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J-Hawks receive Wall/Found spirit award

The Cedar Rapids Jefferson football program will receive a "Just Drew It/Live Like Line" award for its support of the Eivins family.

Gail Eivins, 50, a Jefferson parent, booster and youth coach, died Aug. 14 following a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Members of the Jefferson community and football program supported the family the past year by helping with meals and chores. Ryan Eivins, one of Gail's sons, is a freshman football coach at Jefferson. Jared, another son, plays on the sophomore football team.

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Drake, Chung shine for J-Hawks in losses

CORALVILLE - The Jefferson girls swimming team lost a pair of meets Tuesday night to open the season at the Coralville Recreation Center.

But the J-Hawks got some fine swims from freshmen Kelsey Drake and Jaylee Chung in losses to Iowa City West and Dubuque Wahlert. The J-Hawks were beaten by West, 112-57, and by Wahlert, 88-79.

Drake won the 200 individual medley and 100 freestyle, and swam on the winning 200 free relay. Chung won the 200 free and also swam on the 200 free relay.

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