A chilly start is predicted for sports this spring in Cedar Rapids. Even with the cold weather, the time has almost come for Xavier boys’ soccer to start up once again. The defeat from last year is still fresh in the minds of seniors Andrija Mijatovic and Kristijan Smolcic, who are both from Zagreb, Croatia. They both were foreign exchange students at Xavier as juniors and are excited for a fresh season of opportunity. For the two Croatians, the adjustment to the style...

Newbies often get overlooked. Christian Stanek did not as he made Xavier history by being the first freshman to place at state and reach the podium. Stanek wrestled in the 3A 132 pound division and placed eighth. “It felt awesome to reach the podium,” Stanek said. “It had been my dream for a long time, but to do it as a freshman was amazing.” Stanek made his state debut on Thursday, February 14 with a pin (1:02) against junior Duncan Delzell from Burlington. “Wrestling at state was an awesome experience,” Stanek said. “It wa...

At the beginning of every season, most teams and players set goals they want to accomplish. This is true for the Xavier girls’ bowling team. “Our biggest goal was to make it to state and that’s exactly what we did,” junior Olivia Nolte said. The girls’ bowling team punched their ticket to state on February 14. “The state bowling tournament is unlike any tournament I have ever been to,” Head Coach Russ Camacho said. The team finished seventh place overall. “Our...

Emotional investments of multiple sport athletes are part of the reason why coaches support their players. This is true for head varsity girls’ soccer coach Chris Higgins and head varsity football coach Duane Schulte who encourage their athletes to play more than one sport. “We (Schulte and his assistant coaches) feel being under pressure all year in multiple competitive situations enables athletes to perform when the time comes in any given sport,” Schulte said. Higgins...