After a sluggish first half, Iowa City West came out strong in the second to defeat Waterloo East, 35-14, on a beautiful opening night for Mississippi Valley Conference football.
West opened the scoring late in the first quarter with quarterback Charles Rogers scampering in from seven yards out on a broken play. West continued the scoring in the second quarter as Rogers hit sophomore Ezra Reiners on a 20-yard pass completion for a touchdown.
With a 14-0 lead at halftime, West Coach Brian Sauser said he got on his team.
“I challenged them …

DES MOINES — You’d have to say this one was over shortly after it began. Or maybe before it began.
Cedar Rapids Kennedy won its first state baseball championship last night by destroying Iowa City West, 11-1, in the Class 4A title game at Principal Park.

This much-anticipated battle of Mississippi Valley Conference rivals never materialized, perhaps in part because of who didn’t play as well as the actions of the guys who did. That’s not in the least meant to slight the Cougars (32-10), who played …

Three runs in the bottom of the sixth ended this one via mercy rule. Tommy Heinrich had a hit-and-run, two-run single to end it.
West plays Dubuque Hempstead in Friday night’s 4A semifinals at 6. The Trojans are 29-8.
North finished 29-11.
These teams played in last year’s 4A championship game, with North winning, 4-0, behind pitcher Dean McArdle, who pitched quite a bit this season for Stanford.
North got a two-out single to right by McGlauflin in the first but he was stranded there. Rumpf struck out two.
West picked up three consecutive …

If there was a comeback player of the year award in high school baseball, Neil Madsen would be a lock.
The Iowa City West senior had surgery last February for a torn labrum and partial rotator cuff tear in his right shoulder. Not only did he return to the Trojans lineup, he did so about three weeks ahead of schedule.
“I knew hitting wise, I’d be back sometime this season,” Madsen said after Iowa City West’s 6-4 win over Cedar Rapids Xavier last night in a terrific …

CEDAR RAPIDS — No balls. Two strikes. Clutch spot.
Kristen Winter’s mentality?
“I had to get the ball on the bat and move the runner over,” she said.
She did more. Much, much more.
Winter skied a two-run home run to left field in the top of the sixth inning and Jenny Drahozal did the rest as 10th-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier defeated No. 6 Iowa City West, 2-0, in a Class 4A regional softball final last night at Prairie High School.
Winter’s homer was the moment. Drahozal’s performance was the story.
The senior allowed only three …

IOWA CITY – A pair of offensive outbursts in the sixth inning propelled the Cedar Falls baseball squad to a sweep of highly regarded Iowa City West, as the Tigers won 7-3 and 7-3.
In each game, the Tigers scored six runs in the sixth frame.
In the opener Friday, Cedar Falls’ Mark Strempke went 3-for-5 while teammate Sean Boss went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a triple.
In the nightcap, Jack Sole’s squad pounded out nine total hits as a team. As a result, the first-place Tigers improved to 18-9 overall and …

Call it the great pinch hit that shouldn’t have been. Well, maybe.
Whether you think Ryan Raaf struck out in the sixth inning of last night’s prep baseball doubleheader opener at Cedar Rapids Kennedy is up to you. The Iowa City West senior swung at a two-strike pitch that sounded as if it hit something before squirting away from Kennedy catcher Sam Hunter.
Was it Raff’s bat, then Hunter’s gear? If so, that’s a foul ball. That’s what the home plate umpire ruled.
But Raaf said he never …

CEDAR RAPIDS – Cedar Rapids Kennedy Coach Joe Benedict said his girls tennis team not be the most polished tennis players, but he’ll take the results over style points any day.
The Cougars parlayed their tough, competitive natures into a near monopoly on state tournament berths, claiming five total spots at the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s Class 2A state singles and doubles meet at Johnston Thursday and Friday. They also earned another state team tennis berth Saturday at Johnston and Des Moines Hoover …

IOWA CITY — Bad weather couldn’t stop Kyle Dunn last week.
And a full day’s work couldn’t slow him last night.
Dunn continued to chip away at his 400-meter hurdles time, motoring through a 51.51-second lap at a Class 4A state-qualifying track and field meet last night at Trojan Field.
That ranks No. 4 all-time in Iowa. And he did it in his fourth race of the evening.
The junior credited a teammate.
“My buddy (Nick) Lucas goes really hard for the first 200, and that pushes me a lot,” said Dunn, who had run …

CLASS 4A
At Iowa City West
(The top 2 in each event automatically advance to the state meet, plus the next 12 best times/distances statewide, next week at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.)
Teams — 1. Iowa City High 193, 2. Iowa City West 188, 3. Burlington 89, 4. Linn-Mar 83, 5. C.R. Prairie 59, 6. C.R. Jefferson 58, 7. Davenport West 37, 8. Muscatine 26.
Shot put — 1. Micaela Haight (ICW), 45-0; 2. Courtney Fritz (ICW), 41-7 1/2; 3. Alicia Steffany (Burl), 40-6 3/4.
Discus — 1. Courtney Fritz (ICW), 139-9; 2. Amanda Piche …