Washington High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Wash girls into rankings at No. 10

The Washington Warriors, winners of six straight games after a pair of season-opening losses, are ranked No. 10 in this week's Class 5A girls basketball poll released Thursday by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

The Warriors replaced Prairie, which dropped out of the rankings after a 46-23 loss at Dubuque Hempstead last Friday night.

Xavier (6-3) slipped one spot to No. 6 in the Class 4A rankings. The Saints have been ranked as high as No. 4.

Mason City, Sioux City Heelan, Davenport Assumption, Western Christian and Bedford held onto the top spots in each respective class.

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Saulnier helping Wash swimmers as freshman

Nick Saulnier grew up in the Cedar Rapids Washington school district and comes from a family of swimmers, so he was aware of the traditions at Washington when he joined the swim team this year as a freshman.

He was aware of the 28 state titles and the 49 straight district crowns coming into this season, one of the most remarkable streaks in Iowa prep history in any sport.

He's also aware the Warriors like to dye their hair bright blond to set them apart in any pool. He normally has dark brown hair, but not anymore.

"We got our blond hair Saturday," he said Tuesday with a smile. "It's a tradition that we do every year."

Saulnier is fitting into the team nicely this year, and not just because he went along with the dye job.

He won four events Tuesday as the Warriors dominated Linn-Mar, 117-52, by capturing 10 out of 11 events at the Coe College Natatorium.

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Warriors drub Regina for 6th straight

After opening the season with two losses, the unranked Cedar Rapids Washington Warrior girls are on a roll.

They soundly demolished previously unbeaten Iowa City Regina, 61-33, at home Tuesday night. The drubbing of the Class 2A 13th-ranked Regals was Washington’s sixth straight victory.

“Our goal is to go seven in a row into the (holiday) break,” said spitfire senior guard Colby Bjornsen. “Tonight, we came out and played hard right from the start.

"It’s all about defense, using our quickness to steal the ball and getting rebounds.”

Their next test comes Friday night when they host crosstown rival Jefferson.

The Warriors should be well-rested, since even the third wave of Warrior reserves saw considerable action Tuesday against the overmatched small-school visitors.

It was really no contest from the get-go as the Warriors raced off to a 10-0 lead and never looked back.

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Gillis wins title at DeWitt tourney

DEWITT -- Zac Gillis of Cedar Rapids Washington pinned Luke Bird of East Buchanan to win the 285-pound title at the DeWitt Central wrestling tournament Saturday.

Gillis collected three straight pins in the tournament and decked Bird in 2:45 in the finals.

Dax Dills finished second at 138 pounds for the Warriors. Noah Williams (182) and JP Mercado (152) placed third for Washington.

Tyler Burkle placed fourth at 160 pounds, Noah Fox was sixth at 195 and Jared Eicher finished sixth at 170.

The Warriors finished seventh out of 12 teams in the standings. Clinton won the title.

Team Standings

1. Clinton 206, 2. DeWitt Central 195.5, 3. Maquoketa 127, 4. East Buchanan 114, 5. Solon 107, 6. Riverside 105, 7. Washington 101.5, 8. Northeast Goose Lake 78, 9. Camanche 72, 10. Highland 49, 11. Davenport Central 41, 12. Davenport North 23.