Jeff Linder

State volleyball: Cedar Rapids Xavier has a new head coach and a lot of new faces. But the Saints remain a threat in Class 4A.

The Gazette’s Jeff Linder picks the outcomes of all 35 matches at the state volleyball tournament this week at Xtream Arena.

An in-depth look at the six teams in The Gazette’s coverage area that will be competing in the state volleyball tournament this week at Xtream Arena:

State cross country (Class 3A): Washington’s Micah Rees hangs with the front pack for nearly 2 miles, finishes 4th. Mount Vernon-Lisbon girls are runners-up.

Shortly after Mid-Prairie’s Danielle Hostetler was denied her fourth consecutive Class 2A girls’ state cross country championship, schoolmate Emmett Swartzentruber claimed the boys’ title.

In her final day as a Calamus-Wheatland student (she will open-enroll at Tipton on Monday), Noelle Steines pulls away from North Linn’s Meghan Wheatley and wins her third Class 1A state cross country title.

Led by Adam Gray’s sixth-place run, Cedar Rapids Kennedy settled for fourth place in the Class 4A boys’ team race at the state cross country championships Friday morning at Lakeside Golf Course.

It’s all about the playoffs now on the Prep Football Huddle podcast. After quickly reviewing the Round of 32, we preview the Round of 16 in all seven Iowa high school football classes on this week’s episodes. Plus, our picks for the 28 teams that will advance to the UNI-Dome.

Three months after the death of teammate Aidan O’Neil, the resilient, determined Iowa City Regina boys’ cross country team is peaking ahead of Friday’s state meet.

Capsules for the 2023 Iowa high school state cross country meet Friday and Saturday at Lakeside Golf Course.

Prep volleyball: Denver serves 17 aces, comes on strong after dropping Game 1 and denies West Branch in a Class 2A regional final.

A quick turnaround and tough regional-final tests await the West Branch, Edgewood-Colesburg and North Tama volleyball teams.

Pinpoint passing led to a balanced attack, and Cedar Rapids Xavier swept Waverly-Shell Rock to reach the state volleyball tournament for the eighth straight year.

All seven classes will compete in the Iowa high school football playoffs this week. The Gazette’s Jeff Linder, Jeff Johnson, K.J. Pilcher and Nathan Ford share their thoughts on topics related to the postseason.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is an Associated Press preseason women’s basketball All-American, unanimously.