Despite a valiant effort, the Elgin Public/Pope John boys basketball team’s upset bid was spoiled by Neligh-Oakdale, as the Warriors upended EPPJ, 67-42, Saturday in the first round of the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament at Ewing.
“We played a much better and improved EPPJ team,” stated N-O coach Ethan Larsen. “They played hard, they tried to slow us down and credit to them for giving us a good game that we had to work for. It didn’t come easy tonight. We’ll take the win, even if it was a little bit sloppy, and we’re excited to move on in the NVC tournament.” After an early slugfest, the Warriors pulled away to take a 35-24 lead into the locker room. RJ Lierman's first-quarter triple cut N-O's lead to 3, but the maroon and white answered with a 15-2 run. “Any game you play, having the momentum makes playing offense and defense a lot easier,” Larsen added. “That first quarter we were slow, it was going back-and-forth, shots weren’t going and we weren’t getting great looks. Once we did get it, it was all downhill from there and the guys did a great job of executing at times. They had a lot of fun once the momentum swung our way.” The Wolfpack ended the half on a 14-9 run to cut the deficit to 11 at the break. “We talked about coming out and withstanding their early game plan,” commented EPPJ coach Michael Becker. “They (N-O) have a tendency to come out and play really well early. I thought we did that in the first quarter and battled back in the second quarter. We came out a little flat at halftime and they jumped on us early. We couldn’t respond. Hats off to Neligh for putting together a good game plan out of halftime and making us work hard to try to put the ball in the hoop.” The Warriors put the contest away in the third with a 20-6 run. “Coach told us to be more disciplined, take better shots and work better as a team,” spoke N-O senior Austin Rice. “We all came out, played really hard - harder than we did in the first half- and it just came to us.” N-O put the game away in the fourth to advance in the NVC tournament. “We got a pretty good win,” Rice continued. “We had a lot of people on the floor and wanted to rotate guys in. We need all the help we can get the farther we go in this tournament. Hopefully we make a good run in the tournament.” Cole Belitz led the Warriors with 21 points. Rice netted 13 points, Hunter Charf tallied 8 points, Beau Murray and Garret Belitz each added 7 points, Isiac Kurpgeweit accumulated 6 points, Julien Heran notched 3 points and Gage Dawson contributed 2 points. The Wolfpack were led by Kyle Schumacher’s 14 points. Conor Ramold pitched in 12 points, Lierman recorded 6 points, Colton Wright and Adam Dreger each had 4 points and Blake Ofe notched 2 points. Elgin Public/Pope John travels to Chambers/Wheeler Central Feb. 5 “We have a good week off where we don’t have to worry about preparing for any other team,” Becker noted. “That gives us a chance to really focus on making ourselves better, both fundamentally and as a team, and not have to worry so much about anything else. I’m looking forward to seeing how the kids can respond and what we put out on the floor the next time we play.” Neligh-Oakdale (12-6) advances to the second round of the NVC tourney to take on Stuart Monday in Bassett at 8 p.m. “We got Stuart on Monday and luckily we’ve seen them already this year,” Larsen concluded. “I expect coach John Miller to have a wrinkle or two for us to have to deal with after our first contest. I’m looking for to us to continue to be disciplined, improve and continue to play good basketball. Hopefully we can be playing in the night game on Saturday this upcoming week.” Elgin Public/Pope John girls basketball team’s 52-31 win over Clearwater/Orchard was a special victory on Saturday. Not only did the win advance the Lady Wolfpack to the second round of the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament, EPPJ senior Allyson Wemhoff joined a select group.
“I always worry about Saturday games,” commented EPPJ coach Randy Eisenhauer. “You never know what they will come out like. We got off to a sluggish start right away. We talked and adjusted a few things at halftime. We played really good in the third quarter. We have to take what we did in the third quarter and apply that to Tuesday.” Points were hard to come by in the first quarter. The two county squads combined for 21 turnovers and just 14 points in the opening stanza. “We did what we could to stay close,” stated OC mentor Scott Leisy. “We were right there at halftime and we felt pretty good about where we were considering what had happened in the half. We just couldn’t score enough to stay with them in that third quarter.” An OC scoring drought allowed EPPJ to go on a 12-3 run to take a 23-11 advantage into the locker room. “I thought defensively we played real well,” Leisy continued. “We gave up a couple of offensive rebounds, but if you watch us we do that on a pretty regular basis because of our lack of size. We played hard defensively.” The Lady Wolfpack got their offense rolling in the third quarter thanks to a 19-6 run. During the run Wemhoff netted her 1,000th career point on a 3-pointer. “It means a lot to me,” Wemhoff spoke. “Not a lot of people get that accomplishment, but obviously I couldn’t have done it without my teammates since freshman year, my coaches - who made everything possible - and my parents and my dad getting me into the gym. A lot of people helped me get here, so it means the world.” EPPJ's stifling defense continued to hold the Lady Cyclones' offense on its way to a 21-point victory. “We pride ourselves on our defense,” Wemhoff added. “We knew Katie Stearns was a really good player and a key player we needed to stop. We were active on defense, we all worked really hard and defense made our offense work tonight.” Katie Stearns paced OC with 13 points. Julian Tuttle netted 8 points, Taylor Sanne pitched in 4 points, Julia Thiele had 3 points, Taylor Bolling notched 2 points and Brooke Knievel added a point. For EPPJ, Wemhoff led the way with 17 points. Kirsten Krebs recorded 14 points, Kayce Kallhoff accumulated 9 points, Ally Selting tallied 8 points, Harlie Bode contributed 2 points, while Grace Rittscher and Lexi Bode each accounted for 1 points. Clearwater/Orchard (4-15) travels to Ewing Feb. 5, then hosts EPPJ Feb. 7. “They extended it on us in that third quarter,” Leisy said. “Their intensity and their grit got us frustrated.That’s what they’re good at, but we’ll see them again in nine days, we’ll make some adjustments and be ready for them.” Elgin Public/Pope John (13-4) advances to the next round of the NVC tournament, where the Lady Wolfpack take on the defending conference champions, North Central, at 8 p.m. at Ewing Tuesday. “North Central is a very good team,” Eisenhauer concluded. “They won it last year and are playing really good this year. Our girls are going to have to make sure they bring all the intensity and energy on Tuesday and we’ll see what happens.” A big second-half run propelled the Clearwater/Orchard boys basketball team past Santee, 82-65, in the opening round of the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament Saturday at Ewing,
“We knew coming in, Santee plays a little bit different basketball then the guys are used to seeing,” stated OC coach Jim Schutt. “It’s their style and it’s been successful. We told them what to expect in walkthroughs yesterday. In the first half, we played OK. In the second half we stepped our defensive pressure up after going man-to-man. They hit some shots against our zone and our zone is effective at times, but they hit shots. I’m super proud of the job they did in second half.” It was a choppy start to the game with both teams turning the ball over five times each. Two-straight steals and layups by Romeo White gave the Warriors a 9-8 advantage, OC used a 6-2 run to reclaim the lead. “The boys came out and played hard,” commented Santee coach Byron Tuttle. “We gave it the best we could. We came out, wanted to move the ball around and take some time off on offense. We found the open guys and they shot when they were open.” Leading 22-17 in the second, the Cyclones went on a 9-2 run. Santee kept the game close with a 12-4 run to end the half trailing, 35-31. OC came out on fire to start the second half. The green and black opened the third with a 19-7 run to put the contest firmly in their favor. “Coach always tells us to keep our heads up and watch how we play,” spoke OC senior Blake Hoke. “In the third quarter, we just knew we had to come out and shut them down. It was easy from there.” The Cyclones continued to roll in the fourth, outscoring Santee, 22-19, to advance in the NVC tournament. “In the first half we started out pretty slow,” Hoke added. “At halftime we went in and coach Schutt gave us a good talking. We changed our defense to man after they hit a lot of 3s on us to start the game. We started out rough, but came on pretty good in the third quarter.” Yamni Archambeau led the Warriors with 27 points. Romeo White scored 14 points, Michael Hoffman accumulated 11 points and Bianco White added 10 points. Four players scored in double-figures for OC led by Hoke’s game-high 32 points. Jacob Long tallied 18 points, Ryan Wilhelm netted 13 points and Chris Kester had 12 points. “We could have had more if we made our free throws,” Hoke remarked. “We moved the ball well, wore them down and it started to get easier.” Santee (2-10) hosts Cody-Kilgore Feb. 2. Clearwater/Orchard (11-7) advances to face Boyd County Monday at West Holt at 8 p.m. “We got back in the win column and got a nice little streak going,” Schutt concluded. “Win and advance and in this time of year, we’re not into style points. At the end of the 32 minutes if we’re on the right side of the scoreboard, this coach is happy.” Several local wrestling squads had a solid showing at the Central Valley Invitational on Friday.
Neligh-Oakdale took home the team title with 170 points. Clearwater/Orchard was third with 131.5 points, Elgin Public/Pope John scored eight points and Niobrara/Verdigre collected three points. Three Warriors brought home individual titles. Kaleb Pofahl (170), Andrew Herley (132) and Cameron Wilkinson (113) each won their respective weight classes. OC’s Clay Thiele pinned his way to the 195-pound crown with four falls. The Warriors’ Brock Kester (113) placed second, Cody Booth (106), Conor Dempsey (160) finished third, while Colton Klabenes (220), Dawson Kaup (195) and Caleb Payne (138) were fourth. For the Cyclones’ Donaven Nolze (220) earned runner up honors, Tommie Peed (285) and Codey Snider (182) took third and Houston Marino (152) and Eli Macke (160) claimed fourth-place honors. Cory Romej (145) led the Wolfpack with two wins. Luke Henn (132) and Norman Grothe (120) each picked up a win and River Romej (113) also competed for EPPJ. N/V’s Trey Sucha was the lone winner for the Cougars. Neligh-Oakdale competes at the Boone Central Invitational Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Niobrara/Verdigre travels to the Plainview Invitational Saturday at 10 a.m. Clearwater/Orchard hosts the OC Invite next Friday at 11 a.m., where Elgin Public/Pope John will compete. It was all Elkhorn Valley from the start, as the Lady Falcon basketball squad soared past St. Edward, 55-22, Thursday.
EV opened the game with a 17-2 run and cruised to its sixth-straight victory from there. Ten different Lady Falcons scored in the win, led by Hannah Ollendick’s 17 points, five rebounds three assists and two steals, Olivia Nall recorded 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals, Carney Black contributed 8 points and nine boards, Sierra Rystrom netted 8 points, Amber Miller tallied 3 points, five rebounds and four steals, Carleigh Greene, Haley Fleetwood, Kaylee Bacon and Johannah Tassemeyer each notched 2 points and Bria Gale added 1 point. Elkhorn Valley (15-2) opens up Niobrara Valley Conference tournament play Saturday at Bartlett against Santee at 2:30 p.m. The Clearwater/Orchard girls and boys basketball teams split two close contests to Wausa Thursday.
The OC boys rallied with a fourth-quarter run to upend Wausa, 55-49. After falling behind 28-26 heading into the locker room, the Vikings (10-6) claimed the lead with a 13-9 run in the third. The Cyclones responded with an 18-10 run to end the game and complete the comeback. OC (10-7) was led by Jacob Long’s double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Blake Hoke recorded 16 points and nine rebounds, Ryan Wilhelm notched 10 points and seven boards, Chris Kester had 5 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals and Gage Clifton put up 3 points and two steals. In the girls contests, Wausa (7-9) held on for a 31-26 win over OC in a defensive struggle. Trailing by 10 heading into the final stanza, the Lady Cyclones (4-14) made their comeback attempt with an 11-6 run, but fell short. Katie Stearns paced OC with 13 points and seven rebounds. Maryssa Long tallied 6 points and eight boards, Taylor Sanne pitched in 4 four points, five rebounds and three steals and Julia Thiele added 3 points, six rebounds and three steals. Wausa begins Lewis and Clark Conference tournament play. The Lady Vikings travel to Hartington to take on Homer Saturday at 6 p.m., while the boys face Allen at Wakefield Monday at 6 p.m. Clearwater/Orchard opens up the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament Saturday at Ewing. The OC boys face Santee at 11 a.m., while Lady Cyclones battle Elgin Public/Pope John at 12:45 p.m. Elkhorn Valley graduate Dillon Stewart is making big strides at Iowa Western.
Stewart was recently named to the NJCAA Region XI 2018 Fall Academic All-Region 2nd Team for wrestling. Those named to the Academic All-Region 1st Team have a 3.5 - 4.0 GPA, and those named to the 2nd Team have a 3.0 - 3.49 GPA. The Elgin Public/Pope John girls and boys basketball teams fell to a very tough Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family Thursday.
The Lady Wolfpack were defeated 74-46. Allyson Wemhoff led EPPJ (12-4) with 15 points. Kayce Kallhoff netted 10 points, Ally Selting contributed 9 points, while Grace Rittscher and Kirsten Krebs each added 6 points. In the boys contest, the Bulldogs upended the Wolfpack, 72-29. Kyle Schumacher paced EPPJ (1-14) with 16 points, three assists and eight rebounds. Adam Dreger collected 5 points and five boards, Conor Ramold and RJ Lierman each scored 3 points and Colton Wright pitched in 2 points. Elgin Public/Pope John participates in the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament starting on Saturday at Ewing. The Lady Wolfpack face Clearwater/Orchard at 12:45 p.m., while the boys take on Neligh-Oakdale 2:30 p.m. The Clearwater/Orchard wrestling went a perfect 2-0 Tuesday evening in the Cyclones tri-match against Niobrara/Verdigre and North Central.
OC opened with an 81-0 win over the Cougars, then defeated North Central, 42-37. N/V fell to North Central, 54-15, and went 0-2 Tuesday. Austin Pokorny (170), Codey Snider (182), Clay Thiele (195), Donaven Nolze (220), Tommie Peed (285), Rafe Grebin (120) and Alex Arroyo (145) each went 2-0 for the Cyclones. Anthony Ferris (106), Spencer Kester (113), Eli Thiele (126), James Kester (132), Tyson Rix (138), Houston Marino (152) and Eli Macke (160) each won a match. Beau Hrbek (195), Duta Thomas (285) and Trey Sucha (152) each picked up a win for N/V. Clearwater/Orchard and Niobrara/Verdigre both travel to Greeley to compete in the Central Valley Invitational Friday at 11 a.m. The Clearwater/Orchard and Elkhorn Valley girls and boys basketball teams took to the court Tuesday evening to determine who had bragging rights on the hardwood.
The Lady Falcons opened the night with a 64-32 triumph over OC. “I was happy to see our effort,” stated EV girls coach Brendan Dittmer. “It looked like we had a lot of fun out there. We played really well in transition in passing the ball ahead. We worked together as a team.” After jumping out to a 15-4 lead in the first quarter, the Lady Falcons used a 16-9 run to extend their lead 31-13 at the break. “Elkhorn Valley is a really solid team and coach Dittmer always has a really good program,” commented OC girls coach Scott Leisy. “As balanced as they were, and as well as they shot the ball tonight, they’re going to be hard to beat no matter who you are. We didn’t rebound well enough in the first half to keep with it. We hung around there until midway through the second quarter. Then it snowballed on us.” EV continued to roll in the second half and cruised to a 32-point victory. “At halftime he (Dittmer) told us to not take our foot off the gas pedal and keep pushing,” spoke EV senior Sierra Rystrom. “We’ve done that in a few games and that has hurt us coming out in the second half. We came out and got going. Just pushing and keep going through helped us get the win tonight.” The Lady Falcons stifling defense helped lead to easy baskets. Big green scored 27 points off of turnovers. “Our press really helped,” Rystrom added. “It started building into our offense. It made us work harder and we knew we could go really far this season. Our offense has picked up really well.” All three senior Lady Falcons (14-2) scored at least 9 points on senior night. “It made it special senior night for them,” Dittmer noted. “Its good to see them all go. If we can have a three or four-headed monster scoring like that, we’re going to be a dangerous team. It’s good to see the balance.” Amber Miller led the way with 13 points and three steals. Rystrom tallied 10 points and four rebounds, Hannah Ollendick accounted for 9 points, seven boards and two steals, Olivia Nall had 13 points, four rebounds and five takeaways, Carney Black netted 7 points, Kaylee Bacon notched 6 points and six boards and Bria Gale added 5 points and three steals. “It’s pretty nice,” Rystrom remarked on winning on senior night. “Having a lot of fans here and having them see what Elkhorn Valley basketball really is, it helps a lot. Having everyone here and seeing us get a big victory is really nice.” Katie Stearns paced OC (4-13) 24 points and six rebounds. Avery Cheatum recorded 4 points and six boards, while Holly Schacht, Brooke Knievel, Maryssa Long and Taylor Bolling each scored 2 points. “We did some good things in the second half offensively,” Leisy said. “We’re going to build on them and take those into Wausa on Thursday.” In the boys contest, OC held on for a 66-58 victory over the Falcons. “I knew coming in here it would be tough,” commented OC boys coach Jim Schutt. “Elkhorn Valley always plays hard. In that holiday tournament we had our way with it (OC’s 82-45 win over EV in the Cyclone Holiday Tournament), but I told the kids it won’t even be close to what it will be like tonight. They were going to bust at us. I was proud the way we responded, especially in the third and fourth quarters. My kids did a good job.” EV got off to hot start with a 12-3 run to open the game. “It was nice, but then we gave the momentum right back to them,” said EV boys coach Derric Werner. “I always tell the kids they have to weather the storm. Both teams are going to have runs.” After an OC timeout, the Cyclones got things going and ended the quarter on a 12-0 run. “We got four seniors and a junior out there that start,” spoke OC senior Chris Kester. “We know what we’re doing and we’ve played enough that once we get into a bad spot, we’re calm enough to come back and out ourselves in a better spot.” Seven points by Brandon Evans put the Falcons back ahead, 21-19, to start the second, but the Cyclones ended the half on a 9-0 run. “Our kids played hard,” Werner remarked. “At times we show our age. At times we look like a team with two freshmen, a sophomore and a couple of juniors out there. Julio (Sierra) played hard. It was senior night for him and it’s always nice to see him play hard. The overall effort was good, we just need to get the ball in the hole a little better in the first half.” Both teams battled for the momentum throughout the second half, but OC (9-7) pulled away and broke a four-game losing skid. “After losing a few straight, we needed a confidence booster and to get a win,” Kester said. “It was pretty big to come in here and get one. It got us back on track for the rest of the season, especially going into conference and districts.” EV (6-10) was led by Braedyn Ollendick’s 19 points and seven rebounds,. Bryson Anderson netted 17 points, Evans scored 10 points, Carter Rautenberg tallied 6 points and eight boards and Julio Sierra had 4 points and five rebounds. Jacob Long recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Blake Hoke accumulated 21 points, five boards and three assists, Ryan Wilhelm contributed 14 points and eight rebounds, Kester accounted for 8 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals and Gage Clifton pitched in 3 points. “EV made some runs at us and knocked our lead down a few times,” Schutt noted. “We kept a nice margin where we could do some things (offensively). Second half, we moved the ball pretty well, we got some guys to the free throw and we hit some shots. The game is a lot easier when you hit shots and we did that tonight.” The Elkhorn Valley boys team gets ready for the Niobrara Valley Conference, where the Falcons open with St. Mary’s Saturday at 12:45 p.m. at Bartlett. “In the five years I’ve coaches here, we’ve never made it out of the first round,” Werner spoke. “That’s goal No. 1. If we can get the ball to go in the hole, there are not a lot of teams that will want to play us if we show up and play.” The EV girls travel to St. Edward’s Thursday at 6 p.m., before taking on Santee Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the opening round of the NVC tournament. “Our conference is one of the toughest in the state,” Dittmer said. “Our goal every year is to, and I’ve never done it since being in the conference, is to play four games and play on Saturday. You have to win the first two rounds to get there. That’s been our goal before and we’ll see if we can accomplish it.” Clearwater/Orchard travels to Wausa Thursday. “They got the same guys back from last year,” Schutt stated. “They move real fast. They’re not the tallest team around, but they move pretty well as a unit. We’ll go back to work tomorrow and try to go prepare for them. This time of year it’s a grind against everybody, but it’s why you play.” The Lady Cyclones tipoff at 6:30 p.m. against the Lady Vikings. “You want to build on that going into Saturday,” Leisy concluded. “Wausa has had a tough schedule like we’ve had. We’re going to see a pretty equal team to what we got. We have to rebound better and if we do, we got a pretty good chance to win.” The Warriors came away with a split in their road games against West Holt on Tuesday night.
Led by Carlie Wetzel's 26 points, the West Holt girls topped the Lady Warriors, 50-40, and the N-O boys left town with their 11th win of the season, 63-56. Trailing 29-18 at the break, the Lady Warriors came storming back with a 17-9 run to cut the deficit 3, but the Lady Huskies outscored N-O 12-5 in the final stanza. Wetzel recorded a double-double with game-highs in points with 26, and rebounds with 11. Paige Furstenau paced the Lady Warriors (5-13) with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. Claire Whitesel tallied 9 points and seven assists, Haley Kerkman had 8 points and four boards, while Brooke Frey, Trinity Kurpgeweit and Emma Boggs each added 2 points. In the boys contest, a hot start propelled N-O to the victory. The Warriors outscored West Holt, 21-10, to claim the early momentum and held on to improve to 11-6 on the year. Three players scored a double figures for the maroon and white led by Austin Rice’s 19 points. Beau Murray accounted for 16 points, Cole Belitz accumulated 15 points, six helpers and three take aways and Isiac Kurpgeweit snagged 14 rebounds. Neligh-Oakdale participates in the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament Saturday at Ewing. The boys squad take on Elgin Public/Pope John at 2:30 p.m., and Lady Warriors open with Boyd County at 4:15 p.m. Elgin Public/Pope John's girls and boys basketball games against Battle Creek has been postponed.
With EPPJ cancelling school today, the game cannot be played. A rescheduled date has yet to be announced. Bartlett and Ewing will host first-round basketball games Saturday for the Niobrara Valley Conference. In girls action, No. 4 Elkhorn Valley will take on No. 13 Santee at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Bartlett. In Ewing, No. 6 EPPJ will play No. 11 Clearwater/Orchard at 12:45 p.m. in Ewing. No. 10 Neligh-Oakdale will take on No. 7 Boyd County at 4:15 p.m. In boys action, No. 5 Clearwater/Orchard will play No. 12 Santee at 11 a.m. in Ewing No. 6 Neligh-Oakdale will play No. 11 EPPJ at 2:30 p.m., also in Ewing. In Bartlett, No. 10 Elkhorn Valley will play No. 7 St. Mary's at 12:45 p.m. Click The Bracket To PrintThe temperatures reflected the shooting performances during the Neligh-Oakdale and Randolph girls and boys basketball games Monday.
The N-O boys held on for a 47-44 triumph over the Cardinals. “We’ll take the win when we can get them, especially on a Monday of a rescheduled game,” stated N-O boys mentor Ethan Larsen. “It throws a wrench in the game plan, but I thought the boys came in prepared as can be, We played a tough Randolph team in terms of their grit and work effort. I’m happy to come away with a win here on the home court.” The Warriors got off to a hot start with a 9-1 run to open the game. Isiac Kurpgeweit netted 6 of the first 9 points for N-O. “The early momentum really helps,” Kurpgeweit spoke. “It gets the team pushing and our team plays good together. They help with assists to get those points and the momentum going. It’s not just me, the team helps.” After a Kurpgeweit putback, the Cards made their comeback with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 2, but an Austin Rice and-one and a Cole Belitz triple, gave the Warriors a 24-17 advantage at the break. Both teams exchanged runs in the third quarter. Randolph opened the quarter with a 5-0 run before the Warriors answered with a 6-0 run. The Cards ended the third on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 1 heading into the final stanza. “We both made halftime adjustments, them offensively and us defensively,” Larsen noted. “We had a little bit of a loss of flow. We got that flow back and made sure the kids battled that adversity to finish the game. That was a good, gritty performance by all of them.” The fourth was a back-and-forth slugfest between the two squads. There were four different lead changes in the final six minutes of play. After falling behind 40-37, Julien Hearn drilled a corner trifecta to knot the game at 40. Facing a 1-point deficit with a minute remaining, Hearn converted another corner trey to put the Warriors ahead. “Adversity is a buzz word of mine,” Larsen said. “I talk a lot about winning in-between the ears before you even step on the court. When you get an opponent that can get in your head, now you’re your own worst enemy and your team is going to suffer. Battling that adversity especially with the conference tournament, sub-district and whatever maybe with the playoffs. That’s an important thing to make sure we have under control.” Trailing 47-44, the Cards had several shots at tying the game, but all of their attempts missed the mark and N-O (10-6) held on for the win. “It was a good win,” Kurpgeweit remarked. “They ran a good 1-3-1 defense and we had to come out right from the start and play pretty good. We worked as a team, played pretty good as a team and got the win.” A big key to the Warriors’ victory was the rebound battle. The maroon and white outrebounded Randolph, 37-24, “Rebounds always help and it gets us going,” Kurpgeweit continued. “When we can get the offensive rebounds, we go back up for more points or draw the foul. It keeps the momentum going.” Belitz led the way with 20 points. Kurpgeweit notched 12 points, Rice had 7 points, Hearn scored all 6 of his points in the fourth and Hunter Charf added 2 points. In the girls contest, a second half rally was not enough, as N-O fell to Randolph, 38-27. “We did not start off very well and we did not shoot the ball very well,” commented N-O girls coach Christy Knutson. “Those are things we need people to step up and shoot the ball. We started slow and it picked up in the second half, but it was a little too late.” It was a defensive struggle to start the game. In the first half, the Lady Cardinals shot 6 of 24 from the field - for 25 percent - and the Lady Warriors coughed up the rock 12 times in the first 16 minutes of play. A pair of Furstenau free throws and a Trinity Kurpgeweit jumper before the buzzer, cut Randolph's lead to 5 heading into the fourth. The Lady Warriors kept within striking distance the whole fourth quarter, but only drew as close as 5 points as the Lady Cards held on for the win. “We need to come out a little faster and a little harder,” Knutson added. “We sit on our heals to start games. It’s a learning process.” Furstenau paced N-O (5-12) with 11 points. Brooke Frey netted 8 of her 10 points in the fourth, Kurpgeweit accounted for 4 points and Haley Kerkman accumulated 2 points. Neligh-Oakdale has a busy week on the hardwood. The Warriors travel to West Holt Tuesday for a 4:45 p.m. contest, then open the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament Saturday. Several hundred youth wrestlers took to the mats on Sunday for the annual Neligh-Oadale Junior Wrestling Invitational. A photo gallery is below.
After breaking its long losing skid, the Clearwater/Orchard girls basketball team captured its second-straight victory with a 38-36 win over Osmond.
In a tightly contested ball game, the difference was the Lady Cyclones (4-12) 10-6 run in the second quarter. Katie Stearns paced the Lady Cyclones with 9 points, 17 rebounds, three steals and two assists. Julia Thiele scored 9 points, Maryssa Long collected 4 points and five boards, Avery Cheatum accounted for 2 points and five rebounds and Taylor Sanne notched 2 points and four boards. In the boys contest, Osmond’s hot start guided the Tigers to a 67-55 victory over OC. In the first three quarters of play, Osmond outscored the Cyclones (8-7) 57-38. Blake Hoke led the way with 21 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Jacob Long recorded 17 points and seven boards, Ryan Wilhelm tallied 9 points and seven rebounds, Chris Kester had 5 points and Gage Clifton added 3 points. OC travels to county foe Elkhorn Valley Tuesday at 4 p.m. The Elkhorn Valley girls and boys basketball teams went 1-1 Saturday afternoon against Boyd County.
The Lady Falcons held on for a 55-49 victory Boyd County. Leading 16-14 after the opening quarter, EV (13-2) used a 22-4 run in the second to take a 20-point advantage into the break. The Lady Spartans came storming back with a 31-17 run in the second half, but the first-half deficit was too much. Hannah Ollendick had a big game for the Lady Falcons, recorded 25 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Amber Miller and Carney Black each netted 9 points, Sierra Rystrom tallied 7 points and Olivia Nall added 4 points, six boards, three assists and five steals. In the boys contest, Boyd County cruised to a 64-43 win over EV. Braedyn Ollendick paced the Falcons (6-9) with 19 points, four boards, two steals and two assists. Carter Rautenberg accumulated 10 points and four assists and Derek Hahne notched 9 points, three helpers and two take aways. Elkhorn Valley hosts county foe Clearwater/Orchard Tuesday at 4 p.m. After going 4-0 in the toughest weight class at the Neligh-Oakdale Invitational Saturday, Elkhorn Valley senior Josh McFarland was selected as the Steve Jessen Memorial Most Valuable Wrestler.
“Wrestler of the meet is something I have wanted to get since my freshman year,” McFarland stated. “I’m really glad I finally got one. I felt good, I wrestled good and I came out on top.” McFarland, who normally wrestles 160 pounds, bumped up to the tougher 170-pound weight class and faced several state ranked wrestlers. The senior Falcon pinned his way to the title tilt, and defeated the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 170 pounds, Randolph’s Noah Scott, 6-3, to win the individual title and lead EV to a third-place team finish. Jessen, who died in December 2015, was a guidance counselor at Neligh-Oakdale from 1992-2010, after spending nearly 20 years at Osmond. He was a part of the Warrior wrestling coaching staff from 1995-2006. All 21 coaches at the meet voted on the award. Antelope County was well represented at the the very tough Neligh-Oakdale Invitational Saturday.
Three Elkhorn Valley wrestlers won individual titles to help lead the Falcons to a third-place team finish. “We had it in our minds that we really had to get something going today after what happened at the conference meet (on Thursday),” commented EV senior Brock Schaecher. “We had that mindset and yesterday we had a meeting about coming here and dominating.” Clearwater/Orchard placed fourth, Neligh-Oakdale was fifth, Creighton took 11th, Elgin Public/Pope John finished 18th, West Holt was 17th, O’Neill St. Mary’s placed 20th and Niobrara/Verdigre fished 22nd. After EV’s Hunter Bennett (106) and Adam Miller (120) fell in their championship contests, Prestin Vondra captured the 145-pound individual crown with a 7-3 decision over Amherst’s Samuel Florell. Falcon senior Josh McFarland, bumped up a weight class to wrestle at 170, which included four wrestlers ranked in the top six in the state. “I just went into each match with the same mindset,” McFarland noted. “This is a good kid and I have to wrestle smart and to my best ability to win.” After recording pins in his first three matches to advance to the finals, McFarland squared off against No.1 ranked Noah Scott out of Randolph. McFarland scored an early takedown in the first period, then reversed Scott twice to win the 170-pound title, 6-3. McFarland’s perfect 4-0 record at 170 earned him the Steve Jessen Memorial Most Valuable Wrestler Award. “Wrestler of the meet is something I have wanted to get since my freshman year,” McFarland spoke. “I’m really glad I finally got one. I felt good, I wrestled good and I came out on top.” Schaecher wrapped up EV’s championships with a 6-5 decision over Clearwater/Orchard’s Codey Snider. Late in the third period and trailing 5-1, Schaecher reversed Snider to cut the deficit to two and with under 20 seconds remaining in the match, the senior Falcon locked up a cradle and scored three-back points to complete the comeback. “It was last minute and I had to figure out something to do,” Schaecher recalled. “I saw an opening for it (the cradle) and I had to use it.” The individual title wrapped up a memorable week for Schaecher, who picked up his 100th career victory at the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament on Thursday. “Since it’s my senior year I wanted to wrestle my heart out,” Schaecher continued. “It’s something I’ve done since I was little and my dreams are finally coming true.” Neligh-Oakdale senior Cameron Wilkinson had an illustrious day, celebrating his 150th career win and pinning his way to the 113-pound championship. “It played out just the way we were hoping,” Wilkinson said. “It feels good for all the hard work I put in to get the 150th. I just have to keep rolling with it. I love wrestling here and feels good to sleep in my own bed." OC senior Tommie Peed won the 285-pound crown with a 5-2 decision over Elkhorn Valley senior Christian Yaw. Peed nearly fell in his opening match to start the day. Tied at 2-2 late in the third, Peed scored the decisive takedown and held on for a 4-2 victory over West Holt’s Jordan Moore. “That first match was rough,” Peed remarked. “I couldn’t get anything going and I couldn’t get the momentum in my favor. I came back, and bounced back in the next match and won. Then my last match against Christian Yaw was hard fought and I won 5-2.” OC’s Snider and Clay Thiele (195) placed second, Donaven Nolze (220) finished third, Rafe Grebin (120) and Tyler Bellar (170) took fifth and Anthony Ferris (106) was sixth. Elgin Public/Pope John’s Luke Henn (132) and Cory Romeo (145) each captured sixth-place honors. For EV, Mitchell Petersen (160) placed third. N-O senior Andrew Herley celebrated his 150th career win and took runner-up honors at 132. Jayden Arehart (182) finished third, Dawson Kaup (195) and Colton Klabenes (220) placed fifth, while Brock Kester (120) and Kaleb Pofahl (170) were sixth. Pofahl also captured his 100th career victory during Saturday’s invite. Sam Vortherms (145), Bode Wortman (152) and Brenden Waldow (160) placed fifth for Creighton. Terance Burrell (182) and Brody Vrooman (285) were sixth for the Bulldogs. Trey Sucha (152) and Toby Ives (126) each recorded a win for the Cougars. West Holt’s Cole Liable (138) was recognized for his 100th career win on his way to a third-place finish. St. Mary’s Cole Rosenkrans took fourth at 220 pounds. St. Mary’s returns to the mats Feb. 1 at the Clearwater/Orchard Invite. OC hosts Niobrara/Verdigre and North Central Tuesday at Orchard. Creighton and West Holt wrestle at the Plainview Invitational Saturday. Elkhorn Valley competes at the Boone Central Invitational Saturday. EPPJ and N-O travel to the Central Valley Invitational Friday. Neligh-Oakdale 113Cameron Wilkinson (33-1) placed 1st and scored 30.0 team points.
Elkhorn Valley 106Hunter Bennett (27-6) placed 2nd and scored 21.5 team points.
Clearwater-Orchard 106Anthony Ferris (10-16) placed 6th and scored 7.0 team points.
Elgin Public/Pope John 113River Romej (3-13) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.
The Neligh-Oakdale Wrestling Invitational will be pushed back two hours on Saturday due to the weather.
Weigh-ins will begin at 10:00 a.m. and wrestling will begin when Trackwrestling is ready. Organizers hope to begin wrestling by 11:00 a.m Neligh-Oakdale's home basketball games against Osmond on Friday will now be Monday, January 21, due to the weather.
The JV girls will kick off the games at 4 p.m. and play two quarters. JV boys will follow with varsity teams wrapping up the action. Several athletic contests have been effected by Friday's inclement weather.
The Elkhorn Valley vs. Creighton basketball matchup has been postponed to a later date. Clearwater/Orchard rescheduled Friday's basketball game against Osmond for Saturday. There will be no JV games. The boys tipoff at 6:15 p.m., followed by the girls game, at Osmond. The Neligh-Oakdale girls and boys basketball game against Randolph was postponed to Monday, Jan. 21. Elgin Public/Pope John's girls hoops contest against Ewing was also postponed. A later date has yet to be set for the makeup contest. The OC Cyclones' basketball games at Osmond on Friday have been postponed to Saturday. There will be varsity only. Boys at 6:15 p.m. with girls following. For more postponements and cancellations make sure to stay locked in to ACN for all of your local news and sports updates. A hot start propelled the Clearwater/Orchard girls basketball team to a 44-42 victory over Plainview Thursday.
The Lady Cyclones used a 25-12 run to open the game in the first half. The Lady Pirates cute the deficit to 2 with a 20-9 run in the third, by OC (3-12) held on to break its 11-game losing skid. Katie Stearns recorded a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Julia Thiele tallied 7 points and eight boards, Avery Cheatum collected 7 points and six rebounds and Holly Schacht added 4 points and seven steals. In the boys contest, a late fourth-quarter rally was not enough as the Cyclones fell, 49-44. After falling behind 18-11 in the first quarter, OC (8-6) outscored the Pirates, 31-23, but did not complete the comeback. Blake Hoke had a double-double with 19 points and 12 boards. Ryan Wilhelm netted 11 points, Jacob Long accumulated 8 points and seven rebounds and Chris Kester pitched in 6 points, five boards, two steals and two assists. Clearwater/Orchard travels to Osmond today at 6:30 p.m. The Neligh-Oakdale wrestling team took home some hardware, along with bragging rights, after winning the Niobrara Valley Conference championship Thursday at Elgin’s Pope John gym.
After winning their first three dual matches, the Warriors and Elkhorn Valley met in the final match of the evening to determine the conference champ. Pins by Falcon seniors Mitchell Petersen (160) and Josh McFarland (170) opened the dual. At 182 pounds, N-O’s Kaleb Pofahl held on for an 8-6 decision over Brock Schaecher. A takedown and two-point near fall in the opening period gave Pofahl the early momentum, who then fended off Schaecher’s furious comeback for the win. “It felt great,” Pofahl said. “I had a bad match (before) and I came out and did my thing. It was nice to finish the night with a win and everyone else seemed to follow along.” The Warriors knotted the match at 12 after a Dawson Kaup (195) forfeit and a Colton Klabenes (220) decision. EV’s Christian Yaw (285) and Hunter Bennett (106), along with N-O’s Griffin Claussen (113) and Cameron Wilkinson (120), each recorded forfeit wins. Falcon sophomore Adam Miller put big green back ahead with a 3-2 decision over Brock Kester at 126 pounds. Andrew Herley gave the Warriors their first lead with a forfeit at 132, and Caleb Payne scored a second-period pin at 138, to give N-O a 39-27 advantage with two matches remaining. Prestin Vondra gave EV a chance to rally with a first-period fall at 145 pounds, but Cade Wilkinson sealed a title for N-O with a 15-0 technical fall at 152. “It feels good,” Pofahl spoke. “We’ve been looking forward to this all week and coach (Gary Davis) looks forward to this (meet) all year. We came in, tried to perform at our best and brought it tonight.” The Falcons claimed runner-up honors at the NVC tournament after going 3-1 as a team. “We’re not built for a dual, but these guys wrestled their butts off tonight,” stated EV coach Joey Tegeler. “I’m proud of them. We had a couple of swing matches there (against Neligh-Oakdale) that they got us." After winnings its opening round match, EV handed Clearwater/Orchard its first dual loss of the season with a 40-34 victory in the first round of the championship pool portion. “That was a feel good thing,” Tegeler added. “A lot of that win came from guys like Caden (Reikofski) and Hunter Klinetobe not getting pinned. They fought through and forced a decision. That’s a big deal and that’s what swung that dual for us. That was really good.” The Warriors opened the day with a 72-6 triumph over Elgin Public/Pope John, then defeated North Central, 48-30. N-O then rallied past OC, 42-30, to setup the battle of unbeatens against EV. Trailing 30-12 with five matches remaining, the Warriors won all five matches by pin or forfeit. In the final round, the Cyclones fell to North Central, 46-36, to place fourth. “Team wise we came in with a goal, and we had lofty goals, and we didn’t accomplish it today,” commented OC coach Dan Roeber. “From an individual standpoint, we had a lot of wrestlers win matches, but we just didn’t get the pins. Pins win duals and we gave up too many of those today. We had some big wins, but we couldn’t get the pins. I’ll take wins every day, but we’ll scratch this goal off the goal sheet and go after another one now.” In the consolation pool, West Holt bounced back and went a perfect 3-0 in pool play after its opener loss to North Central. “I thought they did pretty good job,” said West Holt coach Randy Schroeder. “There was no lack of effort, they worked their tails off. I’m proud of them.” Niobrara/Verdigre ended the tournament with a 2-2 record. “I thought we wrestled well at times,” noted N/V coach Jason Simons. “I’m a little disappointed with some things that happened with our leadership role, and we’ll have to address that this week in practice. I hope they get time between now and Saturday to watch their matches. We got all of them on film.” EPPJ defeated O’Neill St. Mary’s for its lone dual win of the evening. “We made a lot of improvements from where we have been,” remarked EPPJ coach Trey Rossman. “Everything we’ve been practicing is starting to carry over. I just tell the guys to trust the process and the process will fall in love with you. It’s not fun going out and getting your butt kicked at a whole bunch of tournaments, but tonight I was happy because the stuff we’ve been working on is starting to translate over.” Several wrestlers surpassed milestones on Thursday. Schaecher and Vondra for EV, along with OC senior Clay Thiele, each recorded their 100th career win. “It’s a big achievement and I’m glad to get it,” Thiele spoke. “I’m the second person in the OC program (to win 100 matches). The hard work pays off and it gives you something to strive for. Hopefully it gives some of the younger kids something to strive for too.” “It’s been one of my goals since I was a freshman,” Schaecher said. “Having it accomplished really takes the monkey off my back.” Cameron Wilkinson and Herley each went a perfect 4-0 for N-O. Klabenes, Kaup, Pofahl, Jayden Arehart, Cade Wilkinson, Payne and Kester each won three matches, Cody Booth (106) won two matches and Jose Luna (152) and Claussen each won a match. For EV, Petersen, McFarland, Vondra, Miller and Hunter Bennett each went 4-0. Schaecher and Yaw each collected three wins, Gavyn Clause (182) and Reikofski each won two matches and Reed Bennett (126) and Michael Glynn each won a match. “Every match I try to take away something I need to work on,” Petersen stated. “I thought I wrestled alright, but I know there’s things I can do to improve. I just have to get to practice and work my hardest. The guys did good tonight. They didn’t quit and we showed that we never give up.” Clay Thiele and Tommie Peed (285) each went unbeaten for the Cyclones. Donaven Nolze (220), Codey Snider (182) Houston Marino (152) and Spencer Kester (113) each picked up three wins, Austin Pokorny (170) Rafe Grebin (120), Eli Thiele (126) Tyson Rix (138) and Eli Macke (160) went 2-2 and Anthony Ferris (106), James Kester (132) and David Arroyo each accounted for one win. “We want to wrestle the best in February and that’s where we’re putting ourselves right now,” Roeber commented. “We’ve been harping on them and working all year. The loss is a good thing, as long as you learn from it. We’re going to refocus and get that goose egg out of the dual column. Now we just get back to focus on wrestling.” All four Wolfpack wrestlers won at least three matches, led by Norman Grothe (120) with four wins. Luke Henn (132), Cory Romej (145) and River Romej (106) each tallied a 3-1 record. “The message was clear last week, it’s always darkest before dawn,” Rossman noted. “Last week we almost hit rock bottom, but I was proud with how we came back tonight.” Beau Hrbek (195), Evan Ruzicka (160), Gavin Chohon (170) and Toby Ives (126) each won three matches for the Cougars. Emil Brandt (220), Trey Sucha (152) and Hudson Brobny (145) each accumulated two wins. “What a day for Evan Ruzicka,” Simons spoke. “He went 4-1 with that exhibition match and his only loss was to Josh McFarland. I’m proud of him. He’s never won a match other than a hand raise (forfeit).” Jade Buss led the Huskies with four wins. Jeremiah Kaup (170), Ben Slaymaker (160), Martin Wentworth (152) and Cole Liable (138) each won three matches, Casey Coburn (220) won twice and Jaegher Ogden (132) won once. Cole Rosenkrans (220) went a perfect 4-0 for O’Neill St. Mary’s, while Andrew Koehlmoos (285) and Will Schmitz (132) each captured two wins. EPPJ competes at the Madison Invite today at 1 p.m. “ We got two more meets this week and it’s tough going three tournaments in a row,” Rossman remarked. “I know they’ll bounce back and tonight was a pretty good warmup for us. We just have to keep getting better.” All eight teams will wrestle at the Neligh-Oakdale Invite Saturday at 10 a.m. “Neligh-Oakdale is going to be a barn burner,” Simons said. “There’s 25 teams, no pools or anything like that. It’s just double elimination. If you go 0-2, you’re done.” “We’re pumped,” Tegeler concluded. “They’re confident and we know we’re better in tournaments. We’ll be ready to go." The Clearwater/Orchard basketball team celebrated parents night between the girls and boys varsity games against Neligh-Oakdale on Tuesday night.
See our full gallery of seniors with their parents below: |
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