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* Contact Metro Sports Report * Jim Ecker, President & Editor jim.ecker@metrosportsreport.com 319-390-4236 |
Cedar Rapids Jefferson graduates Maddie Hansen and Hannah Towns have been named to the Class 5A all-state softball teams by the Des Moines Register.
Hansen, a catcher, and Towns, an outfielder were named second team all-state in Class 5A.
Taylor Nearad of Solon, who is now a freshman outfielder at Kirkwood, has been named to the Elite All-State Team by the Register. Nearad led the state with 75 RBIs and helped Solon win the Class 3A state title.
SILVIS, Ill. - Two days, two demanding courses, two outstanding rounds of golf.
That's been the story this week for Cedar Rapids Washington junior Frank Lindwall, who fired a 3-under-par 68 Tuesday and claimed medalist honors at the Washington Warrior Invitational at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.
Lindwall nipped Tripp Kinney of Waukee by one shot Tuesday, just a day after the two premier golfers shared medalist honors with 3-under 69's in the Linn-Mar Invitational at Hunters Ridge.
Waukee won the team championship Tuesday at 294. Dowling took second place, followed by Linn-Mar, Washington and Xavier.
Max Thrune and Brent Larson of Linn-Mar tied for eighth at 5-over 76.
Zach Daniels and Sammy Lizarraga of Kennedy have been named to the 2015 All-State "Super Team" by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association, it was announced Thursday.
Daniels won the IHSBCA "Player of the Year" Award for his work as a hitter, pitcher and shortstop this season. He hit .519 for the Cougars and compiled a 4-2 record on the mound. He made the "Super Team" at shortstop.
Lizarraga compiled an 8-0 record and 0.70 ERA this season and made the "Super Team" as a pitcher. Lizarraga and Daniels are both headed to the University of Iowa to continue their baseball careers.
Trey Beckman of Prairie and Spencer VanScoyoc of Jefferson were named to the Class 4A All-State team. Beckman made the club as an outfielder and VanScoyoc, a top pitcher and outfielder, made the team as a utility player.
Beckman will play at Wabash Valley Community College. VanScoyoc, entering his senior year, has committed to Arizona State.
Daniels was named the captain of the Class 4A all-state team.
Jabe Gonder played in 15 golf tournaments this summer to get ready for his senior campaign with the Washington Warriors.
It paid off handsomely Thursday.
Gonder fired a 1-over-par 71 to finish second in the individual standings and lead Washington to the team championship of the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet at Jones Park.
The Warriors posted a four-man score of 295 and won the tournament by 12 shots over Iowa City West.
Gonder had a stoke average of 81.25 for 18 holes last year, but he hit the links during the summer and came out firing in the first meet of the 2015 campaign.
Five baseball players from Metro high schools have been selected to play in the 2015 IHSBCA All-Star Series that will be held Aug. 6-9 in Clinton.
Zach Daniels of Kennedy, Sammy Lizarraga of Kennedy, Lucas Larson of Jefferson, David Kuhn of Marion and Trey Beckman of Prairie will play for the Large Schools East Squad in the series, which is sponsored by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.
The team will play games against Large Schools West, Small Schools East and Small Schools West.
Marion High School Coach Steve Fish will serve as the head coach for Large Schools East.
The games will be played at Ashford University Field, the home of the Clinton LumberKings in the Midwest League.
Erin Kuba of Cedar Rapids Jefferson is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school girls this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday night.
Kuba, a junior, was a key member of the Jefferson softball team that compiled a 36-9 record this season and placed fourth at the Class 5A state tournament in Fort Dodge last week.
Kuba hit .433 with two home runs and 27 RBIs for the J-Hawks this season. She also did an excellent job on defense at third base with her glove and arm.
Cedar Rapids Jefferson softball coach Brian Erbe is rooting for all the other teams in the Mississippi Valley Conference to get better and better.
That may sound odd, but Erbe thinks stiffer competition from MVC teams would help the J-Hawks have a better chance of winning another state title in the years to come.
Jefferson lost to West Des Moines Valley, 6-5, in a consolation game at the state tournament Friday afternoon in Fort Dodge to finish fourth in the tournament after placing seventh in 2014 and fifth in 2013.
The third-ranked J-Hawks made a strong showing in Fort Dodge. They beat Linn-Mar, 6-3, in the opening round, then faced two of the best teams in the state and dropped one-run games on consecutive days.
Jefferson lost to second-ranked Johnston Thursday, 2-1, then lost to top-ranked West Des Moines Valley by a single tally Friday. The J-Hawks came close to beating a pair of elite teams, but fell a tad short both times.
Waukee played Johnston in the championship game Friday night in a battle of teams from the Central Iowa Metropolitan League, making this the 13th straight year a CIML team will win a state crown.
This year's state tournament featured No. 1 West Des Moines Valley, No. 2 Johnston, No. 5 Waukee, Urbandale and Ankeny from the CIML, which is loaded with outstanding clubs. Erbe feels they push each other to improve.
FORT DODGE - Erin Kuba dreamed about big situations like this when she was growing up in Palo across the street from the city ballpark.
State softball tournament, playing the defending champions, 1-0 ballgame, runners on second and third, two outs, time running out. A key base hit and her team probably wins the game.
"Yeah, I like being in that situation," she said Thursday evening.
Unfortunately, the dream did not have a happy ending. Kuba popped up, the inning ended and her team ended up losing by one run instead of winning by a run.
The third-ranked Jefferson J-Hawks were trimmed by second-ranked Johnston, 2-1, in the semifinals of the Class 5A state tournament Thursday at Harlan Rogers Park in a snappy 80-minute contest.
Cedar Rapids Jefferson senior Maddie Hansen would like to get a few good pitches to hit in the Class 5A state softball tournament Thursday evening in Fort Dodge.
That's not too much to ask, but the all-state catcher did not get much a chance in the opening round Monday when the Linn-Mar Lions gave her four straight intentional walks in a 6-3 Jefferson victory.
The third-ranked J-Hawks (36-7) face second-ranked Johnston (34-4) in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Thursday at Harlan Rogers Park and Hansen is anxious to swing the bat again.
Hansen is one of the most feared hitters in the state with a .504 batting average, 11 home runs and 46 RBIs. Linn-Mar walked her six times in a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader this year, then walked her four more times at the state tournament.
"It puts me on base for Erin (Kuba) behind me and Kennedy Dighton behind me, and so I'll take a base," said Hansen. "If they want to put me on I'll go for it, because I know my teammates can do the job behind me.
"It doesn't really bother me any more."
FORT DODGE - Alyssa Olson has pitched better games during her all-state career with the Jefferson J-Hawks, but few have felt as sweet as this one did Monday afternoon.
Olson tossed a complete game as the third-ranked J-Hawks topped Linn-Mar, 6-3, in the opening round of the Class 5A state tournament at Harlan Rogers Park in Fort Dodge.
Olson and the J-Hawks lost in the opening round of the state tournament in 2013 and 2014, so this was the last chance for Olson and the rest of the Jefferson seniors to reach the semifinals.
"It feels great," she said. "We knew coming into this game that it wasn't going to be easy, by any means. We knew that Linn-Mar was going to put up a fight and we were going to put up a fight."
Olson has enjoyed lots of big wins, including a 7-0 masterpiece with 13 strikeouts against Muscatine in the regional finals two years ago as a sophomore. Monday's victory was really big, too.
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