Metro Sports Report

Kennedy's Dylan Casey punches the air in triumph after anchoring the Cougars' 400 freestyle relay team to victory, helping to rally Kennedy to an 86-84 win over Jefferson on Tuesday night at the Cougar pool. (Photo by Margaret O'Banion)

Cougars sneak by J-Hawks in final race

Wed - 21 Dec Written by Sher Jasperse

Jefferson won just about everything Tuesday night – except the swim meet.

Battling the Cougars at the Kennedy pool, the J-Hawks swept first place in 10 straight events. The Cougars nipped at their heels the whole night with a battery of second and third places, then raced to first and second place in the final relay to snatch an 86-84 victory.

“The moral of this story is that no matter where we’re at, we always have the mental strength to battle down, know what our strengths are, know what our weaknesses are, and make our strengths shine,” said Kennedy Coach Shawn Thomsen as his team celebrated its third win of the year.

Jefferson was led by its power pack of Kristian Anderson, Jake Inghram, Alex Kleinheinz and Lance Scallon, who won two individual events apiece and joined forces to take two of the three relays.

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Xavier's Carter Valentine (white jersey) drives for an easy basket during the fourth quarter of Tuesday's basketball game at Xavier. Valentine scored 14 points to complement Ben McDermott's 15 markers and the Saints upset Class 3A No. 3 Davenport Assumption, 63-51. (Photo by Ken Gilchrist)

Saints pull away late, beat No. 3 Knights

Wed - 21 Dec Written by Jake Koolbeck

The Xavier boys kept making runs, but they just couldn't shake Davenport Assumption.

The Saints would get a lead, the Knights would catch back up.

That was the way it went until about 4 1/2 minutes were left in Tuesday night's basketball game at Xavier.

But that's when senior Ben McDermott hit a 3-pointer with a hand in his face to give the Saints the lead for good. And then he added another 3.

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Washington's Danielle Franklin goes in for a rare easy basket Tuesday night against Waterloo West at Washington. The fifth-ranked Warriors committed 37 turnovers and were beaten, 83-80, in overtime. (Photo by Sam Stuer)

No. 5 Wash girls stunned by Wahawks in OT

Wed - 21 Dec Written by Carl Gonder

Turnovers and free throws. That’s pretty much all you need to know.

Waterloo West shot a remarkable 47 free throws and forced Washington into a jaw-dropping 37 turnovers Tuesday night in an exciting Mississippi Valley Conference game at Washington.

Those numbers helped Waterloo West stun the fifth-ranked Warriors, 83-80, in overtime.

Washington (5-1, 5-1) lost for the first time this season, while Waterloo West moved to 6-4 overall and 2-4 in the MVC.

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Xavier's Katlyn Anderson (white jersey) muscles a shot up for two points and is fouled during the fourth quarter of Tuesday night's game at Xavier. The Class 4A No. 8 Saints beat the Class 3A second-ranked Knights, 52-46. (Photo by Ken Gilchrist)

No. 8 Xavier girls trim Assumption, 52-46

Wed - 21 Dec Written by Don Taylor

Katlyn Anderson worked her way into the lane and kissed the ball off the board with 1:38 remaining to tie the game and hit her free throw to complete the three-point play to give Xavier a 45-44 lead Tuesday night.

That was the play of the night.

The Saints outscored Davenport Assumption 7-2 from there and gave Assumption its first loss of the season, 52-46, at Xavier.

“It was just a regular play,” said Anderson. “Just like we run in practice and I got fouled, too. I have to focus on free throws, I can’t make them bigger than they are, just shoot them.”

Xavier, ranked No .8 in Class 4A, raised its record to 9-2 heading into the holiday break. Assumption, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A, fell to 6-1.

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Jamie Zaruba, 37, is taking one final fling down the lanes in his senior year at Mount Mercy University. Zaruba graduated from Jefferson in 1993. After serving several jobs, including a stint in the Army, Zaruba returned to school and is now on track to graduate this spring. (Photo by Ken Gilchrist)

Jamie Zaruba living life in the fast lane

Mon - 19 Dec Written by Tom Fruehling

Jamie Zaruba is making up for some of the things he missed from high school.

He's studying theater arts and hopes to teach it some day soon. He sings in two school choirs. And here's something he wasn't able to do back when he was a student at Jefferson High School 20 years ago: He is a full-fledged member of his school's bowling team at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids.

Zaruba is 37 years old, married and the father of two children. He's an Army veteran with all kinds of experience in civilian jobs. And he's a senior at Mount Mercy about to launch a whole new career.

"I'm about 18 years behind the curve," he says of reliving, or re-inventing, his youth.

Bowling wasn't a sanctioned high school sport until a few years ago. There were club teams that competed on a friendly basis when Zaruba was in high school. Not like today, with eligibility rules, state-certified coaches, conference schedules and state tournaments.

College teams were unheard of when Zaruba attended Jefferson. Now, promising prep bowlers can earn four-year scholarships.

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