Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Carter tops all-Metro basketball team

Kennedy senior A.J. Carter has been named the Athlete of the Year on the 2014 All-Metro Boys Basketball Team, as selected by the Metro coaches.

Jon McKowen of Kennedy was named the Metro Coach of the Year in his first season with the Cougars.

Jacob Olson of Jefferson, Adam McDermott of Xavier, Jordan Bohannon of Linn-Mar, Michael Mims of Prairie, Jared Printy of Washington and Nic Uhlir of Linn-Mar joined Carter on the first team.

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Cook wins 2 events at MVC indoor

CEDAR FALLS - Famiek Cook of Cedar Rapids Kennedy captured the 200 meter dash and long jump at the Mississippi Valley Conference indoor track meet at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls Monday.

Cook took the 200 in 23.21 seconds and claimed the long jump at 21 feet, 3 inches.

Shawn Beyer of Kennedy won the high jump at 6 feet, 2 inches. The Cougars also claimed the shuttle hurdle relay (34.36 seconds) and captured the 4x400 relay (3:36.13).

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Cougars topped by Sioux City North

DES MOINES - The same hot shooting that contributed to Cedar Rapids Kennedy's four-game winning streak and Class 4A state basketball tournament berth nearly led to an upset victory over Sioux City North in a first-round contest Wednesday night.

But those shots stopped falling during a brief fourth-period stretch, allowing the Stars to pull away from the Cougars, 75-65, at Wells Fargo Arena.

It was a heartbreaking conclusion to head coach Jon McKowen's first season at the helm of the Kennedy program. His team never backed down, even after facing an early 10-0 deficit where nothing seemed to go right.

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Kennedy selling tickets for state tourney

Kennedy High School has an allotment of 500 tickets to sell for the Class 4A boys state basketball tournament.

The Cougars will play Sioux City North in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 12 at 8:15 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Kennedy will begin selling tickets in the Activities Office on Friday at 7:45 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Tickets also will be on sale from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, and from 7:45 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

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Washpun stars as No.1 City High stomps Cougars

DES MOINES - Kiera Washpun has not decided where she'll play college basketball next season, but one thing was perfectly clear Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

The 5-foot-6 point guard from Iowa City High is going to make a college coach very, very happy.

"I hope so," she said with a bright smile.

Washpun tied the Class 5A scoring record with 31 points Wednesday as the top-ranked Little Hawks bounced Kennedy, 68-34, in the quarterfinals of the state tournament.

Iowa City superstar Haley Lorenzen had a routine game (for her) with 16 points and nine rebounds, but Washpun destroyed the Cougars with her 3-point shooting, slashing drives and ballhawking on defense.

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Kennedy stuns North Scott for trip to state

CLINTON — As Marlon Stewart's potential game-tying 3-point shot at the end of regulation missed everything, Class 4A third-ranked North Scott again was denied a trip to the state tournament, falling to Cedar Rapids Kennedy 46-43 in the substate final at Yourd Gymnasium.

"I just shot the ball, hoped it would go in and it didn't go in," Stewart said. "That was it ... it's not a good feeling."

The junior-heavy Lancers (21-2) had steamrolled over the majority of their competition all year as North Scott looked to get back to the state tournament for the first time since 2003. The Cougars' aggressive zone-man combination defense had other plans, forcing 18 turnovers in the win.

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Cougars aiming for No.1 Little Hawks

Kennedy Coach Tony Vis did not shudder when he realized the Cougars had drawn top-ranked Iowa City High in the opening round of the Class 5A girls state basketball tournament.

Quite the contrary. He welcomes the challenge.

Kennedy (16-7) will try to upset the Little Hawks (23-0) on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

"If you want to win the whole thing, I think you have to beat them eventually," said Vis. "And why not play them first when you have the most prep time for them?"

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Cougars top Wash; No.3 Lancers next

Drew Heitland knows he'll become a full-time football player the next time Kennedy loses a basketball game, so he's determined to keep his roundball career going as long as possible.

He played like it Friday night.

Heitland scored 10 points, grabbed nine rebounds and provided some muscle as the Cougars topped Washington, 55-47, in the Class 4A substate semifinals at the Kennedy gym.

The Cougars (17-5) will face No.3 North Scott (21-1) in the substate finals Tuesday night at Clinton for a berth in the state tournament.

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Cougars nudge No.10 Muskies for state berth

IOWA CITY - The Cedar Rapids Kennedy girls basketball team saved the Metro area from being shut out of the state tournament this year.

The Cougars rallied for a 54-52 victory over 10th-ranked Muscatine in the Class 5A regional finals in Iowa City Tuesday night.

Kennedy (16-7) drew the short straw as the No.8 seed in the state tournament and will face top-ranked Iowa City High (23-0) in the quarterfinals next Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

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