There are six freshmen on the Cedar Rapids Washington varsity boys’ basketball roster this season. Three of them start, as does a sophomore. Another frosh came off the bench Monday night in Wash’s 59-55 season-opening win over Mount Pleasant.
Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior boys’ basketball guard Trey McKowen is a returning first-team all-stater. He plays for his father, Jon, who is Kennedy’s head coach. He’ll play college ball for his uncle, Brooks, at Upper Iowa. His grandpa, Marty, is a hall of fame coach who is about to begin his 42nd season at Wapsie Valley
Here is a quick synopsis of the conferences in the Gazette area and a prediction for each winner.
Boys’ basketball 2024-25: 15 area players to watch for the upcoming season.
Rivalry Saturday: Maquoketa snaps Clear Creek Amana’s 26-game win streak with a 63-57 victory.
Rivalry Saturday: Molly Shafer scores 28 points, and Ava Eastlick ties a Rivalry Saturday record with six 3-pointers in EBF’s 57-45 win over Cascade in a 2A top-five battle.
Rivalry Saturday: Scott DeJong earns his 700th career victory in Ankeny Centennial’s 39-26 win over Pleasant Valley.
Rivalry Saturday: North Linn veterans make winning plays late, and the Lynx stretch their win streak to 27 with a 52-51 win over Riceville in a 1A top-five thriller.
Rivalry Saturday: Emily Larsen nails five first-half 3-pointers, and Cedar Rapids Prairie hold off Sioux City Heelan, 59-54, to win Bruce Dall’s debut with the Hawks.
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Rivalry Saturday: No. 2 Mount Vernon avenges a Class 3A state-semifinal loss to No. 1 Estherville-Lincoln Central, 52-42.
Rivalry Saturday: Maquoketa Valley rallies from 9-point third quarter deficit, tops Montezuma, 38-35.
Rivalry Saturday: Williamsburg builds a 20-point lead, then holds off Monticello, 53-47, behind two late 3-pointers by Carly Rich.
Girls’ basketball: Reigning state champions Clear Creek Amana and North Linn take 26-game win streaks into Rivalry Saturday challenges.
Girls’ basketball: Tom Lilly will retire as Cedar Rapids Xavier coach following the 2024-25 season
Freshman Addie McLaughlin scored 26 in her varsity girls’ basketball debut, and 2A No. 9 Iowa City Regina played its “most complete game” in Mary Rogers’ six years, a 79-59 whipping of Cedar Rapids Kennedy.
Kennedy Cougars win in overtime against the Johnston Dragons in boy’s basketball Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025.
Here is The Gazette’s first 2024-25 installment of area high school boys’ wrestling individual rankings.
We’ve all seen and experienced it — kids playing more than one sport in a single season. The practice is controversial, to say the least.
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