Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Daniels, Lizarraga are 'super' all-staters

Zach Daniels and Sammy Lizarraga of Kennedy have been named to the 2015 All-State "Super Team" by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association, it was announced Thursday.

Daniels won the IHSBCA "Player of the Year" Award for his work as a hitter, pitcher and shortstop this season. He hit .519 for the Cougars and compiled a 4-2 record on the mound. He made the "Super Team" at shortstop.

Lizarraga compiled an 8-0 record and 0.70 ERA this season and made the "Super Team" as a pitcher. Lizarraga and Daniels are both headed to the University of Iowa to continue their baseball careers.

Trey Beckman of Prairie and Spencer VanScoyoc of Jefferson were named to the Class 4A All-State team. Beckman made the club as an outfielder and VanScoyoc, a top pitcher and outfielder, made the team as a utility player.

Beckman will play at Wabash Valley Community College. VanScoyoc, entering his senior year, has committed to Arizona State.

Daniels was named the captain of the Class 4A all-state team.

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Gonder leads Warriors to MVC title

Jabe Gonder played in 15 golf tournaments this summer to get ready for his senior campaign with the Washington Warriors.

It paid off handsomely Thursday.

Gonder fired a 1-over-par 71 to finish second in the individual standings and lead Washington to the team championship of the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet at Jones Park.

The Warriors posted a four-man score of 295 and won the tournament by 12 shots over Iowa City West.

Gonder had a stoke average of 81.25 for 18 holes last year, but he hit the links during the summer and came out firing in the first meet of the 2015 campaign.

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Lizarraga will pitch for Hawkeyes

Sammy Lizarraga was all set to pack his bags and leave for Wabash Valley Community College later this month, but then he threw a bunch of 94 mph fastballs in the state tournament and things changed.

A school in the Big 12 Conference offered him a full scholarship, but he didn't want to go there. Another school that has made several trips to the College World Series in recent years came calling, but it didn't work out.

Then Iowa Coach Rick Heller, who has been chasing Lizarraga for quite some time, called and made a substantial offer that made Lizarraga smile from ear to ear on his 6-foot-5 frame.

"I verbally committed to Iowa yesterday morning," the Kennedy all-state pitcher said Tuesday afternoon. "It's really exciting. I'm excited to play DI baseball."

Lizarraga committed to Wabash Valley, a top junior college, after the high school football season last year (he was Kennedy's quarterback) and fully intended to join the team this year as a freshman.

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Japan-Metro Classic: Zach Daniels

CLINTON - Zach Daniels heard some of the snickers when he was younger.

Some people thought he wasn't big enough, strong enough or good enough to be a successful high school baseball player.

Boy, were they wrong.

Daniels just finished one of the most successful high school careers in Metro history as an accomplished hitter, pitcher, middle infielder and base-stealer for the Kennedy Cougars.

His crowning achievement came Saturday morning when he was named the Player of the Year for the entire state by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Daniels hit .438 during his career at Kennedy, topped by an eye-popping average of .519 this season. He recorded a 17-5 record on the mound with a career 1.85 ERA. He stole 59 bases in 63 attempts, made dazzling plays on defense and helped the Cougars make two straight trips to the Class 4A state tournament.

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Beyer commits to North Dakota State

Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Shaun Beyer plans to continue his college football career next year at North Dakota State, Kennedy Coach Brian White said Saturday.

Beyer, a receiver and linebacker, led the Cougars in receptions and tackles last season when Kennedy finished with a 3-8 record. He caught 35 passes for 471 yards and eight touchdowns and made 73 tackles.

North Dakota State has won four straight FCS national titles.

Jacobus transfers from UNI to Arkansas

Derek Jacobus has decided to continue his promising college track career at the University of Arkansas.

Jacobus, a former Cedar Rapids Kennedy athlete, won the decathlon as a freshman for the University of Northern Iowa at the Missouri Valley Conference meet this year. Since then, UNI coach Dan Steele left the Panthers to become the associate head coach at Iowa State and now Jacobus has decided to change schools as well.

"After my head coach decided to move on and coach at Iowa State, I wanted to explore my options both academically and athletically," Jacobus announced on his social media account. "With that being said, I am very excited to announce that I will be going down to Fayetteville this fall to continue my track career at the University of Arkansas.

"I will miss everyone back home, but could not let an opportunity like this slip away."

Former UNI coach Chris Bucknam is the head track coach at Arkansas, which is national power in men's track.

Kennedy falls to IC West in semis

DES MOINES - The 30 Herkelmans on the Kennedy baseball team walked slowly out of Principal Park in Des Moines Friday night with a whole bunch of crazy mixed-up emotions running through their souls.

There was sadness and disappointment, naturally, but also a great deal of pride for surviving a traumatic week that included the sudden death of assistant coach Bill "Herk" Herkelman.

The sixth-ranked Cougars made too many errors and too many mistakes and lost to eighth-ranked Iowa City West, 5-2, in the semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament.

Kennedy (30-12) committed three errors in the second inning, handing Iowa City West a gift 3-0 lead, and the Cougars were never able to overcome their early mishaps.

Herkelman, 77, died last Friday. His funeral services were Tuesday and the Class 4A state tournament began Wednesday, quite a task for a bunch of high school kids who loved the man.

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Lizarraga has D-I coaches buzzing

Sammy Lizarraga's phone has been ringing following his sensational performance at the Class 4A state baseball tournament Wednesday night in Des Moines.

Lizarraga struck out 14 batters with a 94 mph fastball and a crackling curveball as the sixth-ranked Kennedy Cougars trimmed Davenport North, 3-2, in the quarterfinals at Principal Park.

Lizarraga, a 6-foot-5 right-hander, has signed with Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel, Ill., and plans to enroll at the junior college in a few weeks, but some big-time NCAA Division I programs are making a late pitch to see if he'll change his mind.

"Kansas State called me last week and they called me again last night," Lizarraga said Thursday afternoon. "And then I got call from Coach (Eric) Snider at Louisville last night."

Snider, who played at Northern Iowa, is an assistant coach at Louisville following a long stint at Illinois.

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Lizarraga sparkles as Cougars win for Herk

DES MOINES - A traumatic few days for the Cedar Rapids Kennedy baseball team ended with a magnificent performance by Sammy Lizarraga at the Class 4A state tournament Wednesday night.

Lizarraga sizzled on the mound with 14 strikeouts and the Cougars made a heart-felt tribute to Bill "Herk" Herkelman with a tense 3-2 victory over Davenport North at Principal Park in Des Moines.

Kennedy (30-11) will face Iowa City West (33-11) in the semifinals Friday night at 7:30.

The emotional week for the Cougars began last Wednesday night with an 18-1 victory over Cedar Falls in the substate finals. Two days later, they learned the horrible news that Herkelman - their beloved 77-year-old assistant coach - had died after suffering a stroke.

All the Cougars attended Herkelman's funeral service on Tuesday, then got on the bus Wednesday and traveled to Des Moines for the state tournament.

"The last week has been like a roller-coaster," said Lizarraga. "It's been an emotional week for all of us. We're on a high right now and we plan on keeping it that way."

Lizarraga tossed a three-hitter with a blazing fastball and sharp breaking ball. He just missed matching the all-time record of 15 strikeouts in a state tournament game, shared by six pitchers.

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