Metro Sports Report

Prairie boys come up short against North Scott

If the game could have ended Thursday night right after the second half started, Prairie boys basketball fans would have gone home delirious.

The Hawks had taken their first lead over visiting North Scott with a minute to go in the first half when Jace Hanna stole the ball and hit Demetrius Harper for a driving lay-up.

Soon after, Hanna dribbled the length of the floor to score as the horn went off.

Prairie grapplers feature 7 state qualifiers

The Cedar Rapids Prairie wrestling team had a good season last year with a state champion and six other grapplers who reached the state tournament in Des Moines.

This year could be even better.

All seven of the state qualifiers are back, although 145-pound state champ Zach Witte begins the year on the disabled list with a broken arm. He hopes to return in a few weeks.

4 Metro teams in IGHSAU hoops polls

Washington and Kennedy are ranked in the top 10, and Xavier and Linn-Mar are in the top 15 in this week's Class 4A girls basketball poll released by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

Washington (1-0) is ranked No. 7 and Kennedy (1-0) is No. 10.  Xavier (3-1) is No. 12 and Linn-Mar (2-1) is No. 14.

Iowa City West (2-0) is ranked No. 1 in Class 4A. The other top-ranked teams are Williamsburg (3-0) in 3A, OA-BCIG (4-0) in 2A and North Mahaska (2-0) in 1A.

A.J. Puk commits to Florida for baseball

Cedar Rapids Washington junior A.J. Puk has accepted a scholarship to play baseball at the University of Florida, he told the Metro Sports Report Wednesday night.

Florida finished second in the College World Series this year and has won two straight Southeastern Conference titles.

Puk, a left-handed pitcher and first baseman, was offered a scholarship when he visited the campus in Gainesville, Fla., last week. He called Coach Kevin O'Sullivan Monday afternoon and accepted the offer.

"They've always been my No. 1 school throughout this whole process," Puk said. "I really like the coach and the facilities are great. I really like it down there."