Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Eltze leads Kennedy girls in bowling

Sam Eltze had a 156 game and a 271 series to lead the Kennedy girls bowling team to a 1,854 to 1,427 win over Iowa City High on Thursday at the Cedar Rapids Bowling Center.

Ciarra Butikofer had a 210 series for the Little Hawks.

IOWA CITY HIGH: Ciarra Butikofer 109-101=210, Sara Lamarche 85-117=202, Jami Kendall 89-94=183, Alex Murra 94-88=182, Helen Cook 97-82=179.

KENNEDY: Sam Eltze 115-156=271, Mary Liscum 135-129=264, Alli Marshall 144-111=255, Stephanie Walton 112-123=235, Baileigh Allen 111-106=217, Madeline Dvorak 87-120=207.

Iowa City High: 956-471=1,427.

Kennedy: 1,242-612=1,854.

Kennedy dunked by No. 2 IC West

CORALVILLE – The Kennedy boys swimming team suffered a 110-60 loss to second-ranked Iowa City West on Tuesday at the Coralville Recreation Center.

Stefan Kitsos won the 100-yard backstroke in 1 minute, 5.58 seconds to lead the Cougars. He also led off the 200 medley relay team that won in 1:43.43 and included Reece Linder, Cade Schoenauer and Brady Gibson.

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Hayden helps Cougars top Wash in OT

Hitting a big 3-pointer in a clutch situation in a tense basketball game is a lot gentler on the nervous system than being the final shooter in a PK shootout in soccer, even though the outcome is hanging in the balance in both cases.

Just ask Kennedy senior Sydney Hayden.

"The last shooter in a PK shootout is a lot tougher, to be honest with you," said Sydney Hayden, who is an expert in both sports. "It's a little more nerve-wracking."

Hayden kept her cool Tuesday night and drilled a huge 3-pointer with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter to lift the Cougars into a 51-51 tie with Washington and force overtime in the Mississippi Valley Conference game at Washington.

Hayden then began the extra session with another 3-pointer to help steer the seventh-ranked Cougars to a 67-59 victory.

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Williams, Wills lift Wash by Cougars

New Cedar Rapids Washington coach Justin Decker thought Laveechie Williams would miss the first few weeks of the basketball season after Williams broke his nose in early November before practice began.

Decker may have underestimated the 6-foot-5 senior a little bit.

Williams slapped a mask on his face for the season opener and has been a major force with the Warriors, averaging a double-double with 13.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

The Masked Marvel did it again Tuesday night.

Williams scored 15 points and snared 11 rebounds with fierce work off the backboards to help Washington hold off the Kennedy Cougars, 55-51, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at the Washington gym.

Williams is making an early bid for all-conference honors despite having limited vision due to the mask. "My vision is so bad," he said. "When I look to my left or right, I can't even see."

He sees everything in front of him, however, and was a big reason the Warriors squared their records at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the MVC.

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Diggins wins Metro Spotlight Award

Derrick Diggins of Cedar Rapids Kennedy is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Diggins, just a 15-year-old sophomore, is a key member of the Kennedy basketball team and a rising star in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

Diggins scored 20 points in a victory at Spirit Lake last Saturday and poured in a career-high 25 points in a victory at Xavier Friday night. He is averaging 16.5 points and has scored in double figures in all four of Kennedy's games.

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Kennedy boys fall to Little Cyclones

AMES - The Cedar Rapids Kennedy boys basketball team scored only four points in the second quarter Saturday and lost to the Ames Little Cyclones, 53-43, in Ames.

Drake Brewster led Kennedy with 19 points. Derrick Diggins had 10 points for the Cougars (2-2).

Eric Steyer led Ames with 12 points. Michael Agbaje scored 10 points and Chuol Chuol grabbed nine rebounds for the Little Cyclones (3-1).

KENNEDY (43): Brewster 8 2-3 19, Gardner 1 4-4 6, Diggins 4 2-4 10, Girling 0 2-2 2, Schultejans 0 2-2 2, Duehr 0 0-1 0, Wall 1 0-2 2, Berst 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 12-16 43.

AMES (53): Chuol 3 2-4 8, Mumm 0 1-2 1, Stohlmeyer 1 0-0 3, Agbaje 3 4-5 10, Shane 2 5-6 9, Evans 0 5-6 5, Steyer 4 2-2 13, Downs 2 0-0 4. Totals 15 19-25 53.

Halftime - Ames 29, Kennedy 15. 3-point goals - Kennedy 1 (Brewster 1), Ames 4 (Steyer 3, Stohlmeyer 1).

No.7 Kennedy girls top Ames

AMES - The Cedar Rapids Kennedy girls basketball team won its sixth straight game Saturday with a 49-38 victory over the Ames Little Cyclones in Ames.

Lela Sellers scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the seventh-ranked Cougars raised their record to 6-1. Sydney Hayden popped in five 3-pointers and added 15 points.

Hailey Dolphin contributed seven points and six rebounds to the victory. Linden Runels had seven rebounds.

Kelly Friedrich scored 12 points for Ames (4-2).

KENNEDY (49): Langhurst 2 1-2 5, Hamilton 1 0-0 3, Hayden 5 0-0 15, Sellers 8 0-1 17, Hellweg 0 0-0 0, Dolphin 2 2-2 7, Runels 1 0-2 2, Maier 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 3-7 49.

AMES (38): Weiss 4 0-0 11, Friedrich 4 2-2 12, Frisk 1 1-2 3, Barnes 0 0-0 0, Alvarez 0 0-0 0, Lipsey 2 0-0 5, White 2 3-4 7. Totals 13 6-8 38.

Halftime - Kennedy 31, Ames 20. 3-point goals - Kennedy 8 (Hayden 5, Hamilton 1, Sellers 1, Dolphin 1), Ames 6 (Weiss 3, Friedrich 2, Lipsey 1).

Thompson's sad day ends with title

New Cedar Rapids Prairie wrestling coach Kane Thompson ran the gamut of emotions Saturday with deep sadness, some happiness and a bittersweet victory all rolled into a short period of time.

Thompson helped bury his 82-year-old grandfather Saturday morning in Brooklyn (Iowa), then drove back to Cedar Rapids Saturday afternoon with a heavy heart and saw his Prairie Hawks win the championship of the Five Seasons Duals at Kennedy High School.

Ironically, Prairie defeated Thompson's former team in the finals when it topped Alburnett 40-34 in a tight battle for the crown.

Thompson missed Prairie's first three matches Saturday before arriving in time for part of its fourth match and all of the finals against Alburnett, where he coached for the last eight years.

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Lions, Cougars climb in rankings

The Linn-Mar Lions and Kennedy Cougars made big jumps in the IGHSAU girls basketball rankings Friday.

The Lions climbed four spots to No. 6 in Class 5A and the Cougars jumped five spots to No. 7.

The Marion Indians fell two places to No. 6 in Class 4A. The Xavier Saints dropped out of the Class 4A rankings.

CLASS 5A
1. Waukee, 2. Johnston, 3. Ankeny Centennial, 4. Dowling Catholic, 5. Indianola, 6. Linn-Mar, 7. Kennedy, 8. Southeast Polk, 9. Iowa City High, 10. West Des Moines Valley, 11. Cedar Falls, 12. Davenport North, 13. Pleasant Valley, 14. Sioux City West, 15. Iowa City West.

CLASS 4A
1. Ballard, 2. Mason City, 3. Harlan, 4. Western Dubuque, 5. Fairfield, 6. Marion, 7. Keokuk, 8. Dallas Center-Grimes, 9. Lewis Central, 10. Bishop Heelan, 11. Waverly-Shell Rock, 12. North Scott, 13. Carlisle, 14. Pella, 15. Spencer.