This Class 4A substate clash featured two rising stars on the recruiting scene being pursued by multiple Missouri Valley Conference schools.
It took awhile for James Harrington and Jarrod Uthoff to make their presence felt last night. But once they got rolling, they put on a show for all in attendance last night, including Northern Iowa Coach Ben Jacobson and Creighton’s Dana Altman.
But Uthoff and Cedar Rapids Jefferson (18-4) got all the applause after a 47-42 comeback win over Cedar Falls that sent the J-Hawks to their first state tournament since …

Cedar Rapids Washington (13-8) vs. Iowa City High (10-12) at U.S. Cellular Center, 6:30 p.m.: These teams played in Rivalry Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center on Jan. 30, with City High winning, 77-63. Their seasons took opposite turns after that. Washington hasn’t lost since, winning seven straight, including a 43-41 substate semifinal victory last Friday night against Cedar Rapids Kennedy. Josh Oglesby hit a long 3-pointer to win the game, and he leads the Warriors in scoring at 16.1 ppg. Point guard Wes Washpun is second at 15.0 … …

MARION — At least Chris Robertson has a good sense of humor about his best player’s malady.
“I almost answered the phone with ‘Still day to day,’” the Linn-Mar boys’ basketball coach laughed Monday afternoon.
Yes, point guard Marcus Paige is “still day to day” and may or may not play tonight when second-ranked Linn-Mar (21-1) and Pleasant Valley (17-7) get together in their Class 4A substate final at the U.S. Cellular Center. Tipoff is approximately 8 p.m., following the Cedar Rapids Washington-Iowa City High substate final, which tips at 6:30.
“Honestly, Marcus …

It’s not perfect, yet. The Class 4A second-ranked Lions (19-1) have one more Mississippi Valley Conference game remaining, Thursday night at home against Cedar Falls.
The Tigers are 15-4 and ranked 10th in 4A, so this will be a tough, tough game.
The last team to go through the MVC unbeaten was Iowa City West in 2001-02. That team lost to Waterloo East by a point in the state tournament semifinals and went on to get third place.
Linn-Mar joined the Mississippi Valley Conference in the 1986-87 school year, by the way. In …

Bob Fontana let out a slight chuckle when asked if he found his basketball team again Tuesday night.
“I will say this,” the Cedar Rapids Kennedy coach said after his team upset Cedar Falls, 49-46. “I’m very proud of these kids the way they bounced back tonight.”
As well he should be. The Cougars recovered from an ugly 27-25 loss last Friday night to Cedar Rapids Jefferson with a comeback victory against the ninth-ranked team in Class 4A.
Kennedy (10-5) rallied from an 11-point second-quarter deficit with its usual tough defense and an …

CEDAR RAPIDS — There’s a young man in the Stu Crew, Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s student section, who habitually wears a large clock on a chain around his neck.
A Flavor Flav wannabe, perhaps, or maybe just a symbol for the boys’ basketball team he roots so heartily for. You know, as in it’s about “time” everyone took notice of these J-Hawks.
Jefferson posted its second impressive win in five days, using a strong second half to hand Class 4A seventh-rated Cedar Falls its first loss, 65-48, last night. This on the heels …

Waverly-Shell Rock improved to 9-1, going undefated in three duals at the Cedar Rapids Prairie Holiday Wrestling Classic on Saturday. The second-ranked Go-Hawks dominated Cedar Falls and Mount Vernon before handling the host Hawks, 40-24, in the final round.
WSR Coach Rick Caldwell said consistency was the key to the Go-Hawks’ final performance until after the holiday break. He said their more accomplished wrestlers did what they were supposed to but others, who don’t have the state meet experience, under their belt wrestled well.
Listen to him discuss the team’s performance.

Go-Hawks two-time …

CEDAR RAPIDS — Wrestling teams competing in duals resemble chains. They’re only as strong as their weakest link.
Waverly-Shell Rock has six elite wrestlers, favored to win almost every time out, but the rest of the lineup exhibited the Go-Hawks’ sturdiness.
Class 3A second-ranked Waverly-Shell Rock went 3-0, including a 40-24 win over No. 10 Cedar Rapids Prairie, to win the Holiday Wrestling Classic dual tournament Saturday at Prairie.
“I thought we were more consistent today than we have been,” Waverly-Shell Rock Coach Rick Caldwell said. “Those kids who aren’t the returning state …

(If you keep refreshing the page the updates will filter in)
I will be providing live updates from the Prairie Holiday Classic today, featuring Prairie, Waverly-Shell Rock, Mount Vernon and Cedar Falls. The fifth wrestling team scheduled for the field was Harrah, Okla., which is ranked #2 in Oklahoma’s Class 5A, however, they were comfortable with travel in possible winter weather and backed out earlier this week.
The first round match ups are Praire vs. Mount Vernon and Waverly-Shell Rock vs. Cedar Falls (Very weird seeing Jay Llewellyn coaching as an asst. …

Cedar Rapids Jefferson junior Conner Herman was absent from the J-Hawks varsity lineup the opening week of the season. Herman, ranked fourth by The Predicament, returned to action by winning the heavyweight bracket of Maquoketa’s Dwight Zimmerman Invitational.
Herman, who did not participate in the J-Hawks’ opening dual against Iowa City West or the Keith Young Invitational at Cedar Falls, was dominant last Friday. Herman scored two falls, including one in the finals against Monticello’s Brandon Smith, and an 11-3 major decision over Dubuque Hempstead’s Colin Johnson. The J-Hawks finished third …