Prairie High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Linn-Mar claims 4A state title

FORT DODGE - Daniel Murphy has lived with a nightmare the past year after collapsing at the state cross country meet in 2013 and needing medical attention.

Now he's living a dream.

Murphy and the Linn-Mar Lions raced to the first state title in school history Saturday when they captured top honors at the Class 4A meet in Fort Dodge.

The Lions nudged Cedar Rapids Prairie, 85-98, in the team standings. Prairie won the state title last year, making it back-to-back crowns for Metro schools.

Murphy finished dead-last in 2013 after he collapsed several times and staggered to the finish line, due to dehydration and a possible virus. Linn-Mar might have challenged Prairie for the state title last year if Murphy had been in top form.

"I felt like I let the team down," he said Saturday.

That's all in the past now. Linn-Mar came home with the top prize this time thanks to Daniel Murphy, Michael Mather, Ryan Murphy, Bryan Fogerty, Jay Halverson and the entire program of coaches, runners, trainers and managers.

"It's amazing," said Murphy, who finished sixth. "That's all you can say. Amazing."

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Xavier, Jeff, Prairie win matches

Xavier, Jefferson and Prairie won their matches in the regional volleyball tournament Thursday night and will play in the regional finals Tuesday.

The Xavier Saints blanked Fairfield, 3-0, and will face Clear Creek-Amana in the Class 4A regional finals at Marengo.

The Jefferson J-Hawks trimmed Marshalltown, 3-2, and will meet Ankeny Centennial in the Class 5A regional finals at Huxley.

The Prairie Hawks shut out Davenport West, 3-0, and will tangle with Iowa City High in the Class 5A regional finals at Linn-Mar.

The regional champions will advance to the state tournament at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Amanda Ollinger collected 35 kills for Jefferson despite battling leg cramps. Avery Guy contributed 49 assists. Sam Kitterman had 22 digs, Maddie Slagle 15 digs, Makenzie Tomkins 17 kills and Autumn Anderson 15 assists.

Kayla Torson led Xavier with 19 kills and 14 digs. Melanie Wertzberger had 20 assists, Rachel Sodawasser 13 assists and Charlotte Richards 10 kills.

Mallory Jones had 16 assists for Prairie. Kendra Gaskill had 15 assists, Kenzie Soeken 14 kills and Megan Sprengeler five aces.

Pleasant Valley tops Prairie in OT

BETTENDORF - Mike Morrissey nearly had a happy homecoming Wednesday night, but his Prairie Hawks fell just short in an agonizing defeat.

Pleasant Valley tripped Prairie, 31-24, in overtime in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs at Pleasant Valley.

Pleasant Valley scored a touchdown with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter and kicked the PAT to forge a 24-24 tie and force overtime.

The Spartans had the ball first in overtime and scored on a 5-yard run by Chase Kipper and Austin Adamson added the extra point. Prairie was not able to respond with a touchdown and went home with a tough defeat.

JoJo Simpson rushed for 203 yards for Prairie and scored two touchdowns, including an 89-yard jaunt to begin the scoring. Prairie took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter on a 5-yard touchdown by Keagan Pinter and Sam Drysdale's PAT, but Pleasant Valley rallied in the second half.

Brendon Bormann scored on a 20-yard run and Tyler Flanders tallied on a 27-yard run as Pleasant Valley grabbed a 17-14 advantage. Drysdale tied the game, 17-17, with a 44-yard field goal for Prairie.

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Lions are 'most improved' team in 4A

Linn-Mar football coach Bob Forsyth said in August that he was "cautiously optimistic" about the 2014 season and hopeful for a good year.

He may have underplayed his hand a bit.

Quite simply, Linn-Mar is the most improved team in Class 4A this year with a good chance of making a deep run in the playoffs.

The Lions finished with a 2-7 record in 2013 and improved to an 8-1 mark for the regular season this year. That's a gain of six victories and that plus-6 mark is the best among all 46 Class 4A teams in Iowa.

Lewis Central is next on the "most improved" list at plus-4, going from four victories in 2013 to eight wins in 2014.

Two Metro teams tied for third place in the "most improved" category at plus-3. The Washington Warriors jumped from 6-3 to 9-0 and the Jefferson J-Hawks climbed from 1-8 to 4-5.

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