Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Wash, Kennedy advance on shootout wins

On a miserable night of marathon boys soccer at Kingston Stadium Wednesday, highly ranked Washington and Kennedy both survived scares from lesser foes to make into Saturday substate finals.

Each Class 3A semifinal game was tied 1-1 after two overtimes and decided in shootouts.

In the contest that started in drizzle at 5 p.m., fourth-ranked Washington escaped a scrappy Waterloo West bunch 5-4 on penalty kicks.

And in the nightcap that ended at 10:15 in a misty fog, fifth-ranked Kennedy squeaked by a young Dubuque Hempstead crew 4-2 in the shootout.

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Cougars, Lions battling for 4A state title

DES MOINES - The Kennedy Cougars and Linn-Mar Lions have banged heads many times over the years for bragging rights in the Mississippi Valley Conference in a variety of sports.

Now they're banging heads for top honors at the Class 4A boys state track meet in Des Moines.

The surging Cougars got a sweet victory from Derek Jacobus in the long jump Friday and lead the 4A standings with 37 points heading into the final day on Saturday.

The talented Lions got impressive victories in the 4x200 relay and 1600 medley and stand in second place with 31 points with eight more events to be settled Saturday.

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Pedersen & Lasecki headed to state meet

BETTENDORF - The Kennedy doubles team of Jessica Pedersen and Sarah Lasecki are headed for the girls state tennis tournament.

Pedersen and Lasecki beat Ashton Stopplemoore and Virginia Meurer of Dubuque Senior, 6-2, 6-3, to win the doubles championship Thursday in the Class 2A regional tournament at Pleasant Valley.

Both teams advance to the state tournament at Veterans Memorial Tennis Center in Cedar Rapids on May 30-31.

Pleasant Valley's Katie Melbourne beat Ellena Wolff of Dubuque Senior, 6-4, 6-1, in the singles final. They also advance to the state meet.

No.1 Cougars end 2-game skid

WATERLOO - No.1 Kennedy scored a pair of first-half goals and beat Waterloo West, 2-1, Monday in a boys soccer game at the Cedar Valley Soccer Complex.

The win snapped a two-game skid for the Cougars (12-2, 9-2 MVC).

Kennedy's first goal was scored by Eric Bertroche in the 18th minute and was assisted by Sameeullah Jung and Andrew Sheeley.

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Metro teams loaded for state track meet

First Drake, now state.

That could be the motto for Metro athletes this week as they eagerly prepare for the state track meet in Des Moines.

Metro athletes won six gold medals at the Drake Relays, where they competed against the top performers from all around the state regardless of school population.

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Kennedy girls make regional semifinals

Jessica Pedersen defeated Kelsey Granneman, 6-0, 6-1, at No.1 singles Saturday as Kennedy topped Ottumwa, 5-1, in the Class 2A regional quarterfinals at Kennedy.

Sarah Lasecki, Anna Riester and Marisa DonDiego also won their singles matches for the Cougars.

Kennedy will play Bettendorf in the regional semifinals this Saturday at Bettendorf.

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No.1 Cougars tripped by IC West, 1-0

IOWA CITY - The Cedar Rapids Kennedy boys soccer team woke up Friday morning with an undefeated record and the No.1 ranking in Class 3A.

Then came trouble.

Kennedy lost to Xavier, 1-0, Friday night and lost again Saturday to Iowa City West, 1-0, in a pair of Mississippi Valley Conference matches.

Xavier is ranked No.1 in Class 2A and Iowa City West is ranked No.3 in Class 3A, so the Cougars faced a steady diet of top-flight competition.

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Armstrong helps Saints kick Cougars

With her top-ranked team trailing Kennedy 1-0 after 40 minutes at home Friday afternoon, Xavier girls soccer coach Bailey Dorrington used it as a teaching tool.

“It’s the first time we’ve been behind at halftime all year,” said the mild-mannered first-year coach. “I told the girls it was a great learning experience and to pretend that we were in the state tournament, where if we lose we’re done.”

The Saints came out on fire after the intermission.

Besides holding the powerful Cougars at bay the rest of the way, they scored four goals in a flurry to win their sixth straight game, 4-1.

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No.1 Saints trip No.1 Cougars

The boys who play soccer at Xavier and Kennedy pass each other on the way to school in northeast Cedar Rapids every day and they're all entitled to raise their index finger as the No.1 soccer team in Iowa.

The Saints are No.1 in Class 2A and the Cougars are No.1 in Class 3A, but now the Saints are No.1 on 42nd Street.

At least for now.

Isaac Frisch scored midway through the first half and Paul Cavin made a series of acrobatic saves as Xavier handed Kennedy its first loss of the season, 1-0, Friday evening at the Kennedy field.

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