Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

No. 2 Cougars sweep Dubuque Wahlert

DUBUQUE - Sammy Lizarraga and Zach Daniels pitched strong games Friday as No.2 Kennedy swept a Mississippi Valley Conference twinbill from Dubuque Wahlert, 4-0 and 6-1.

Lizarraga tossed a three-hit shutout with five strikeouts in the first game. Derek Jacobus, Matt Stevens and Ben Sass had RBIs.

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Garcia tops all-MVC soccer team

Olivia Garcia of Linn-Mar has been named the Athlete of the Year on the Mississippi Valley Conference all-star soccer team in the Valley Division, as selected by MVC coaches.

Jensen Sevening, Claire Larson and Rylie Frese joined Garcia as first-team selections in the Valley Division from Linn-Mar.

Meleah Baloch, Andrew Reutzel and Hannah Kousheh of Prairie were first-team picks in the Valley Division. Elizabeth Bailey and Marisa Berutti of Xavier made the Valley first team, along with Hannah Schroeder and Annee Cooper of Washington.

Steve Dickinson and his assistants were named the Staff of the Year in the Valley Division.

Sydney Hayden, Kaela Dickerman and Jordan Holmes of Kennedy were first-team selections in the Mississippi Division.

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6 Lions make girls all-state soccer

Six players from Linn-Mar High School have been named to the Class 3A all-state girls soccer team, matching Waukee for the most selections.

Steve Dickinson of Linn-Mar was named the Class 3A Coach of the Year, as selected by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association. The Lions went undefeated during the regular season and were ranked No.1 before losing to Kennedy in the regional finals.

Jensen Sevening, Olivia Garcia and Rylie Frese of Linn-Mar were named first team all-state. Claire Larson of Linn-Mar was named second team all-state. Emily Menges and Malory Garman received honorable mention for the Lions.

Kaela Dickerman, who helped Kennedy win the Class 3A state title, was named first team all-state. Hannah Kousheh of Prairie received honorable mention.

Three players from Xavier High School were named all-state in Class 2A. Marisa Berutti was named first team all-state. Katie Ives and Holly Hazelton received honorable mention for the Saints.

Madison Bach of Marion also received honorable mention in Class 2A.

Neuhaus boosts Kennedy pitching staff

Sawyer Neuhaus was not an overnight sensation in the Kennedy youth baseball program when he was growing up, unlike some of the other players on the varsity this year.

He began playing in the Hiawatha Kids League before joining the Junior Cougars, then played for Junior Cougar Green teams before joining the upper level Gold squad with guys like Zach Daniels and Sammy Lizarraga.

Now he's an important member of the all-junior starting rotation for the Kennedy Cougars, who are ranked No.2 in the state in Class 4A.

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Hamilton lifts Cougars by Linn-Mar

Ashley Hamilton belted a walk-off two-run homer to give the Kennedy Cougars a 4-3 victory over Linn-Mar in a Mississippi Valley Conference softball game at Kennedy Monday night.

The contest was the continuation of a suspended game from June 3.

Andrea McEachran was the winning pitcher for Kennedy.

Kennedy raised its records to 12-6 overall and 8-4 in the MVC. Linn-Mar fell to 15-4 overall and 11-3 in the league.

Cougars climb to 2nd in baseball poll

The Kennedy Cougars jumped one spot to No.2 Monday in the Class 4A baseball rankings compiled by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Dubuque Hempstead is the No.1 in Class 4A, putting two Mississippi Valley Conference teams at the top of the poll.

The Xavier Saints are ranked No.9 in Class 3A.

CLASS 4A

1. Hempstead, 2. Kennedy, 3. Dowling Catholic, 4. Des Moines East, 5. Waukee, 6. Urbandale, 7. Fort Dodge, 8. Ankeny Centennial, 9. Cedar Falls, 10. Dubuque Senior.

CLASS 3A

1. Sioux City Heelan, 2. Clear Lake, 3. West Delaware, 4. Waverly-Shell Rock, 5. Wahlert, 6. Assumption, 7. Fairfield, 8. ADM, 9. Xavier, 10. Harlan.

Zach Daniels wins Metro Spotlight Award

Kennedy junior Zach Daniels is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Daniels has excelled for the third-ranked Cougars this season as a pitcher, hitter and second baseman.

Daniels has pitched three straight shutouts, giving him a 3-0 record and 0.00 ERA in 21 innings. He has struck out 14 batters and walked only four. Opposing batters are hitting a meager .176 against him with just 13 hits.

Daniels began the year by beating Mitch Keller and the Xavier Saints, 5-0, on a one-hitter in the Metro tournament. Less than two weeks later, Keller was selected in the second round of the Major League draft and got a $1 million signing bonus from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Kennedy girls win Metro Spotlight Award

The Kennedy girls soccer team laughed and joked and danced its way to the Class 3A state title in Des Moines this past week.

The unranked Cougars also played exceptionally well on the field with precise passing and a relentless attack.

As a result, the entire team of state champions was saluted Sunday by the Metro Sports Report as winners of a Metro Spotlight Award.

Kennedy dominated Dubuque Hempstead, 5-2, in the finals Saturday, culminating an historic run of victories in the post-season tournament.

The Cougars beat No.1 Linn-Mar in the regional finals, knocked off No.2 Bettendorf in the opening round of the state tournament, tripped No.6 Waukee in the semifinals and bounced No.4 Hempstead in the championship game.

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Metro softball enjoying strong year

High school softball in the Metro area is enjoying a strong year this season  and there's a mad scramble to see who has the best record.

The Linn-Mar Lions have the most wins with a 15-3 overall record, but Xavier, Jefferson and Prairie all all right behind with 14 victories.

Washington and Kennedy have rebounded this season and have 11 wins apiece.

Here are the Metro records through Sunday:

Linn-Mar          15-3 overall, 11-2 MVC
Xavier              14-2 overall, 11-1 MVC
Jefferson          14-4 overall, 9-3 MVC
Prairie              14-7 overall, 9-3 MVC
Washington       11-4 overall, 8-4 MVC
Kennedy           11-6 overall, 7-4 MVC
Marion              5-9 overall, 3-5 Wamac