Undefeated Season

FEATURED PHOTO · Kiah Stokes gets fouled on a drive against Cedar Rapids Kennedy in a 4A semifinal game. The 4A All-Tournament Captain scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Lions moved to the championship game with a 58-53 win over the Cougars. | Ken Gilchrist

Lions stay undefeated en route to first championship in a quarter century
by Jeff Dahn · March 10th, 2010
The opponent was familiar, the outcome unpredictable. But when push came to shove, Linn-Mar junior Kiah Stokes and senior Kayla Klopfenstein took control, and the outcome was ultimately the one everyone in "Lion Land" desired and anticipated.

Stokes, Norman, Klopfenstein named to INA All-State teams
by Jeff Dahn · March 10th, 2010
The accolades continue to pour in for Linn-Mar standout Kiah Stokes. Everyone better get used to it.

Marion girls fall to Bishop Heelan in first round at State
by Jeff Dahn · March 10th, 2010
The Marion girls' basketball program turned a couple of significant "Paiges" at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines last week.

Linn-Mar boys earn seventh straight trip to State tourney
by Jeff Dahn · March 10th, 2010
It's a fact of life those affiliated with the Linn-Mar boys' basketball program accepted and ran with at least seven years ago: There is no better place to be during the second week of March than beautiful downtown Des Moines.

No. 1-ranked Lion girls make third straight trip to State
by Jeff Dahn · March 5th, 2010
These early March trips west down I-80 to the state capital to prolong the girls' high school basketball season are becoming somewhat routine for the Linn-Mar Lions.

Indians up against Heelan in first round of State play in DM
by Jeff Dahn · March 5th, 2010
Led by outstanding play from its senior stalwarts last week, the Marion girls' basketball team punched its ticket to this week's Iowa Girls' State Basketball Tournament, its second trip to Des Moines for the "Big Dance" in the last three years.

Pleasant Valley only team standing between Lions and State appearance
by Jeff Dahn · March 5th, 2010
The official stat sheet showed that Linn-Mar stand-out junior Matt Bohannon went into Tuesday night's Class 4A substate tournament final against Pleasant Valley averaging a nifty 17.2 points per game.

Marion boys fall short of State bid
by Jeff Dahn · March 5th, 2010
Not long after the Marion boys' basketball team knocked off Vinton-Shellsburg in its first-round district tournament game Feb. 22 at Marion, Indians Coach Mike Manderscheid was already looking ahead to his team's district tournament final three days later.

Marion girls clinch third consecutive WaMaC title against Vinton-Shellsburg
by Jeff Dahn · February 11th, 2010
A full two hours before last Friday night's game against WaMaC Conference rival Vinton-Shellsburg, Marion girls' basketball coach Sheryl Gaffney-Paige was helping tie balloons to gift-bags that would be handed out later that night to the team's seniors.

Dual conference wins propel No. 2 Linn-Mar boys to Tuesday game versus No. 3 Jefferson
by Jeff Dahn · February 11th, 2010
The Class 4A second-ranked Linn-Mar boys' basketball team took a 15-game winning streak into its biggest game of the regular season Tuesday night and, due to printing deadlines, the result of that contest won't be reported on these pages until next week.

Indians wrap up regular season this weekend
by Jeff Dahn · February 11th, 2010
The Marion boys' basketball team wasn't about to be overshadowed by the Indian girls' team, even as they toiled in a hostile gym in Benton County, while the girls enjoyed the friendly confines of their own gym on the Marion High School campus.

Wrestling teams prepare for district tourney
by Jeff Dahn · February 11th, 2010
The wrestling teams from Linn-Mar and Marion high schools will both compete at the Class 3A district tournament Saturday at Cedar Rapids Jefferson.