Xavier High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Xavier girls get even with Prairie

The Xavier girls basketball team used more of its trademark defense  Friday night and trimmed Cedar Rapids Prairie, 39-35, in a Mississippi  Valley Conference game at Prairie.

The Saints evened the score with Prairie, which posted a seven-point  victory over the Saints at Xavier last month.

Caitlynn Daniels led Xavier with 11 points. Lexi Noonan scored 10  points and Kyle Brown had nine.

The Saints, who are ranked No. 6 in Class 4A, raised their record to  12-6 with their fifth straight victory.

Sidney McCrea led Prairie (6-12) with nine points. Sarah Schmitt and  Jenna Wagemester netted eight points apiece.

XAVIER (39): Stanek 1 0-0 3, Daniels 3 5-7 11, Brown 3 2-2 9, Noonan 5  0-1 10, Callahan 1 0-0 2, Stovie 0 0-0 0, Ivester 2 0-0 4, Jasper 0  0-0 0. Totals 15 7-10 39.

PRAIRIE (35): Schmitt 4 0-1 8, McCrea 4 0-2 9, Moenk 0 0-0 0,  McDermott 0 4-8 4, Sullivan 0 0-0 0, Kilpatrick 0 0-0 0, Kuch 0 0-0 0,  Wagemester 3 2-3 8, Person 3 0-0 6, Deahl 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-14 35.

Halftime - Xavier 23, Prairie 15. 3-point goals - Xavier 2 (Stanek 1,  Brown 1), Prairie 1 (McCrea 1).

Hart sparks Xavier bowlers by Lions

Charlie Hart had the hot hand Friday as the Xavier Saints topped  Linn-Mar, 2934 to 2723, in a Mississippi Valley Conference bowling  meet at May City Lanes.

Hart rolled a 269 game and 456 series to grab top honors. Jacob Fulton  posted a 227 game and 411 series for the Saints.

Blake Viers led Linn-Mar with a 227 game and 377 series.

Linn-Mar captured the girls meet, 2783 to 2539. Alexis Tschantz rolled  a 220 game and 403 series for the Lions. Tanya Zaugg had a 214 game  and 392 series for Xavier.

BOYS RESULTS
Xavier 2934, Linn-Mar 2723

Xavier: Charlie Hart 187-269=456, Jacob Fulton 184-227=411, Dale  Weaver 169-214=383, Michael Buenzow 182-193=376, Jackson Schuster  180-187=367, David Weaver 139-122=261.

Linn-Mar: Blake Viers 150-227=377, Alex Diercks 179-193=372, Mason  Soden 187-178=365, Zach Koeperich 169-169=338, Nolan Velazquez  191=136=327, Brandon Gloeckner 141-172=313.

GIRLS RESULTS
Linn-Mar 2783, Xavier 2539

Xavier: Tanya Zaugg 214-178=392, Ally Eipert 168-174=342, Ella  Schrader 191-147=338, Katie Langholz 156-176=332, Cheyanne Crane  143-183=326, Jamison Janson 138-164=302.

Linn-Mar: Alexis Tschantz 183-220=403, Mekena Diercks 178-210=388,  Sarah Velazquez 201-170=372, Katie Routhe 166-173=339, Tia Lawrence  180-152=332, Abbie Smith 146-136=282.

Confident Saints knock off Prairie

It took the Xavier Saints about two months to develop a new identity  this season and get on a roll.

Now they hope it will carry them all the way to the Class 3A state  tournament again.

The resurgent Saints marched to the foul line and topped Cedar Rapids  Prairie, 60-56, in an intense Mississippi Valley Conference game at  Ron Thillen Gymnasium.

The Saints have a modest 7-9 overall record at this point in the  season, but they've won three straight games and have looked good in  back-to-back wins over Cedar Falls and Prairie.

"We weren't playing well at the start of the year. To get a couple of  wins here is great for us," said Jackson Joens, a veteran of last  year's state champions. "We're just hoping to make another run down to  Des Moines."

Xavier won the spirited game at the foul line, outscoring the visitors  22-3 at the charity stripe. The Saints shot 19 free throws in the  second half and Prairie did not shoot any, a stat that did not escape  the attention of the Hawks.

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Gerke earns 150th win for Saints

If somebody asked Josh Gerke to run through a brick wall, his only question would be "Head first or feet first?"

Xavier wrestling coach Ryan Chambers was exaggerating when he made  that comment Thursday night, but not by much.

Gerke reached a major milestone Thursday when he collected the 150th  victory of his stellar career with a pair of wins against Waterloo  East and Waterloo West in a double-dual at Ron Thillen gymnasium.

Fittingly, the 150th victory came on a pin in 87 seconds against Joventay Burris of Waterloo West at 145 pounds. It was the 98th pin of  Gerke's career, extending his own school record and giving him a shot  at reaching the century mark before the year ends.

Xavier students came prepared with signs that said "150," and there also were big yellow balloons with the numbers 1-5-0 in his honor.

"It's pretty exciting. A lot of hard work and teammates pushing me,"  said Gerke. "The coaches have spent a lot of time with me. It's a big  milestone for all of us."

Gerke got a standing ovation after his 150th verdict.

"I had a big cheering section. A lot of my friends," he said. "It was  pretty exciting to be able to get a pin like that."

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