Metro Sports Report

Warriors claim 50th straight district title

IOWA CITY – The last time the Cedar Rapids Washington boys did not win the district swimming championship John F. Kennedy was the President, a first class stamp had just been raised a penny to five cents and the Beatles were still an unknown British bar band.

They’ve captured the title for 50 years straight since 1964, capping the milestone Saturday afternoon with a decisive 114-point victory at the Mercer Park Aquatic Center.

“It’s quite an accomplishment,” said Warrior Coach Chris Cruise, who swam on four on those teams as a record-holder in the breaststroke and now has coached 15 of them. “And I’m just tickled to death for these kids. They swam an absolutely fantastic meet today.

Semler sparkles as Eagles top Ellsworth

Kasey Semler has been a very good basketball player for a very long time, but Saturday he was spectacular.

Semler raised his game to a new level and helped Kirkwood tame 18th-ranked Ellsworth, 73-57, in an ICCAC conference outing at Johnson Hall.

The 6-foot-1 sophomore from Marion scored 19 points, collected eight assists, committed only one turnover, grabbed four rebounds and provided the spark as the Eagles (13-10, 5-3) handed Ellsworth its first loss in the league.

Faber helps No.3 Eagles belt Ellsworth

Haley Faber took a little good-natured teasing from her teammates Saturday afternoon as she chatted with a reporter.

Faber had just helped No.3 Kirkwood pound Ellsworth, 78-42, with a nice flurry in the second half, but the 6-foot freshman has rarely been interviewed this year as she's adjusted to life as a reserve with modest stats.

That led to the teasing as teammates reached for their cell-phone cameras to capture the moment of Faber talking about her role on the team.

Prairie girls clip Wash, tie for MVC lead

Washington girls basketball coach Frank Howell said Prairie didn’t do anything unexpected to pull off a mild but convincing 75-61 upset Friday night on the Warriors’ home court.

“They just did what I feared,” he noted. “They pushed the ball hard. They have a lot of people who can hit 3-point shots, so they spread your defense out.

“They can beat you off the dribble, make open passes and then knock down their shots. When they had the ball, we just couldn’t stop them.”

As a result, there’s now a logjam atop the MVC Valley division standings. Washington (14-5 overall and ranked ninth in Class 5A) and Prairie (13-6) are both 8-3 in conference play, as is Waterloo West (14-5).