Xavier High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Saints hang tough, but Linn-Mar prevails

It wasn’t a real pretty game.

Linn-Mar’s Lions, the state’s top-ranked boys team, weren’t as sharp as usual.

The gritty Xavier Saints, meanwhile, played tough as always. They tested the visitors in their home gym Friday night but fell to the better team, 52-33.

“The thing about Linn-Mar is that they always seem to be in control,” said Xavier Coach Matt Jenkins.

“Even when they’re having an off night like tonight, you never get the feeling that they’re going to lose. They’re just a great team.”

Linn-Mar Coach Chris Robertson saw some good things from his squad despite the sub-par overall performance.

“Defensively, we played really well,” he said. “We were aggressive and made them work for their shots. But we were a little stagnant on offense.”

Neither team shot well to start the game, and Linn-Mar (16-0, 11-0 Mississippi Valley Conference) led by only 10-5 at the end the first quarter.

Then, in a three-minute stretch in the second quarter, Linn-Mar scored nine straight points to stretch its lead to 21-9.

“We had good looks around the basket,” Jenkins said. “We just couldn’t connect. We couldn’t buy a bucket.”

For the game, the Saints (4-13, 3-9 MVC) made just 11 of their 30 shots.

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Saints pinned by 2 MVC foes

It was raining pins in the Kennedy gym Thursday night.

Kennedy won over both Xavier and Hempstead. Xavier lost both meets.

Kennedy defeated Hempstead in the first meet, 48-36. Every match wrestled resulted in a fall. Senior Zach Deitrich, who moved down to wrestle 171, had a pin in 58 seconds. Nick Waterhouse (112) pinned Ian Hurst in 1:00. All of the other Kennedy falls occurred in the second period. JD Ruzicka (125), Ben Feuerhelm (130), Jordan Baskerville (160), and Ryan Sheldon (189) rounded out the seven Kennedy pins.

The pins continued in the second meet, with Hempstead defeating Xavier 48-30. Twelve of the 14 matches were falls — three for Hempstead, and five for Xavier. Nick Drahozal (119), Mitch Downey (125), Braxton Chicchelly (130), Jared Joens (160) and Peter Ickes (171) recorded pins for the Saints. Xavier had more pins, but forfeits and decisions resulted in Hempstead’s win.

Chicchelly had not wrestled Mark Ciesielski of Hempstead before, and he recorded a fall in 1:01.

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Trcka has it rolling again in Saints win

Sophomore Tara Trcka had the hot hand once again for the Xavier girls bowling team Friday. Trcka fired games of 255 and 228 for a 483 series that led the Saints to their third straight victory. They beat Waterloo East, 2578-2338, in a Mississippi Valley Conference meet at May City Bowl.

Trcka was the MVC female bowler of the week last week after rolling a 514 series in a win over Washington. She ranked ffith in the state with a 212.3 game average before Friday's meet.

Molly Behounek rolled a 181 game and Alyssa Schuster a 328 series for Xavier (4-7, 4-5 MVC).

East is 2-7, 2-7.

WATERLOO EAST (2338): Rachel Button 168-324, Mikeala Murray 166-289, Alexis Loftus 144-279, Shilo Luitjen 165-304, Breanna Fecht 176-343.

XAVIER (2578): Molly Behounek 181-319, Tyler Weger 154-308, Alyssa Schuster 169-328, Aileen Conway 164-300, Tara Trcka 255-483.

First round -- Xavier 1738, East 1539. Baker round -- Xavier 840, East 799.

Unbeaten East keeps Saints winless

Nathan Wright rolled games of 269 and 267 for a 536 series and Waterloo East walloped Xavier, 3418-2495, Friday in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys bowling meet at May City Bowl.

East (9-0, 9-0 MVC) clinched a tie for the Valley Division title. The Trojans have a two match lead over Prairie with two to play.

Alex Gibney rolled a 214 game and 371 series, both highs for the Saints (0-11, 0-9). Jason Beer had a high game of 199 and 364 series.

WATERLOO EAST (3418): David Orona 237-431, Austin Patterson 243-477, Justin Weber 213-415, Nathan Wright 269-536, Jeff McCann 247-420.

XAVIER (2495): Ryan DeWit 162-308, Jason Beer 199-364, Logan Buschette 172-314, Alex Gibney 214-371, Kyle Elliott 158-300.

First round -- East 2279, Xavier 1657. Baker round -- East 1139, Xavier 838.