Northeast Nebraska All-Star Volleyball Roster Announced
NORFOLK – The roster has been announced for the 2013 Northeast Nebraska All-Star Volleyball Classic.
The 16th annual event will be held Saturday, June 8 at 4 p.m. at the Cox Activities Center at Northeast Community College in Norfolk.
Members of the Dark Team include: Lindsey Appleby, O'Neill; Michaela Dendinger, Hartington; Anna Grovijohn, Howells-Dodge; K.C. Heimann, Howells-Dodge; Emily Knobbe, Guardian Angels Central Catholic; Amy Miller, Norfolk Catholic; Abby Ortmeier, Guardian Angels Central Catholic of West Point; Haley Roelle, Humphrey; Sydney Rose, Wakefield; Emily Schrempp, Hartington Cedar Catholic; Brittany Sullivan, Allen; and Mandi Uecker, Lutheran High Northeast. Head Coach is Sarah Edwards of Howells-Dodge. Assistant Coach is Nicole Renshaw of O'Neill St. Mary's.
Members of the Light Team include: Bridget Arens, Crofton; Michaela Barry, Norfolk Catholic; Katelyn Dickes, Hartington Cedar Catholic; Alyssa Frauendorfer, Humphrey; Carissa Gutz, Osmond; Bre Hagedorn, Norfolk, Krystina Koepke, Pierce; Alexis Steffen, Hartington Cedar Catholic; Nazya Thies, Winside; Kiley Thompson, Laurel Concord - Coleridge; Rachel Weiser, Norfolk Catholic; and Rachel Wiedenfeld, Pierce. Head Coach is Patti Cunningham of Laurel-Concord. Assistant Coach is Susie Johnson of Crofton.
Sullivan of Allen, and Thies of Winside are among the players in the All-Star Game who have signed to play volleyball at Northeast Community College this fall. The College has reinstated its volleyball program, with Amanda Schultze as head coach.
NVC-LVC All Star Games to be Played Friday
The O'Neill Rotary Club will be hosting the 2013 NVC-LVC All Star games. The games will be played at the St. Mary's High School gym on Friday, May 24th. The girls game will start at 6 p.m., with the boys game to be played afterwards (scheduled for 8 p.m.). There will also be a three point shootout between games for both boys and girls.
The coaches are selected on the basis of their finish in the NVC Tournament. The coaches of the runner-up teams serve as assistants to the coaches of the championship teams. The NVC girls coaches are Kari Boettcher and Jeff Hart, co-coaches from Boyd County, with Mike Pardun of St. Mary's assisting. Boys head coach is Gary Chvala, who is joined by Clearwater-Orchard's Shelly Mlnarik.
The girls team will be made up of: EPPJ's Chelsi Mescher and Sydney Schumacher; McKenna Rossmeier, Brittany Reiman and Samantha McCarthy of Boyd County; Tessa Ives and Shelby McCardle of Niobrara/Verdigre; St. Mary's Jessi Pongratz; CWC's Jordan Wietzki' Caitlin Kunz of Stuart; Laura Hynes of Ewing; and Kelsey Knust of Clearwater/Orchard.
The NVC boys team conists of: Ty Eiler and Connor Connot of St. Mary's; Boyd County's Dexter Black and Eric Lechtenberg; Travis Kester and Travis Martin of O/C; EPPJ's Ross Schindler and Zach Polk; Brady Dierks and Schylar Franssen of CWC; Andrew Broders of Stuart; and Carter Camp of North Central.
The games will be on KBRX, with the Dr. Pepper pregame starting just before six p.m. The games can be heard on 102.9 FM and kbrx.com with Mark Moser and Gary Hostert.
Our part of the state brought home their share of hardware from the State Track and Field Meet. With athletes competing in three different classes, the two days of State Track produced a team championship and several individual titles, with many others also winning medals.
The excitement was certainly high when the Lady Cardinals wrapped up the Class D girls title over Arapahoe with a 56-50 advantage at the end of Saturday on the strength of medalling in 12 of 17 events. This was the first title for the St. Mary's girls team, as they join the 1959 St. Mary's boys team as recipients of the first place team trophy. Hartington won the Class D boys race, as they outscored Paxton by 8.5 points.
Another remarkable feat by an area team was the CWC girls winning a thriling 4x100 relay despite moving up a class, as they have now brought home the gold for three straight years in that event.
There were many medals that came back to our area, gold, silver, bronze and other. We have compiled a list of medal winners from our area schools, separated by class and gender.
The O’Neill High School weight room will be open Monday - Thursday morning from 6:30-8:30 a.m. and Monday - Thursday evening from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
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Hours are as follows:
Month of June-
Girls 6:30-7:30 a.m. & 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Boys 7:30-8:30 p.m. & 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Month of July-
Boys 6:30-7:30 a.m. & 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Girls 7:30-8:30 p.m. & 7:30-8:30 p.m.
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**During those hours the OHS Coaching Staff would appreciate that the patrons who use the weight room plan to respect these times and use the facilities at different periods of the day.
Governor Dave Heineman Featured Banquet Speaker For All-Star Classic
Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman has accepted an invitation to be the featured speaker at the inaugural Northeast Nebraska All-Star Football Classic Banquet on Friday night, June 7.
The banquet is being held in conjunction with week-long activities in preparation for the first All-Star football game, which will be played on Saturday night, June 8 at Norfolk’s Veteran’s Memorial Park at 7 p.m.
Burns Hall Gymnasium, which is on the campus of Norfolk Catholic High School, will be the site of the banquet. Doors will open at 6 p.m., with the banquet beginning at 6:30 p.m. The banquet will be limited to the first 300 tickets sold. No tickets will be sold at the door. Pre-paid tickets ($15) can be purchased at the Norfolk Area Visitors Bureau, 609 W. Norfolk Ave
Gov. Heineman is a well-known sports enthusiast. In fact, he regularly attends high school and college sporting events.
“Northeast Nebraska football players, coaches and fans are very excited about the upcoming All-Star game,’’ said Mike Fuehrer, Sports Development Manager for the Norfolk Area Sports Council. “The Board of Directors for the Classic wanted to go right to the top and get a high profile speaker for their banquet. Needless to say, you can’t get a more recognizable speaker than the Governor of Nebraska.’’
The Red vs. White All-Star Classic will be featuring 70 of the finest graduated high school seniors from a pool of 59 high school teams from throughout Northeast Nebraska.
The contest also features 12 coaches from the region, including retired National Hall of Fame football coach Bob Schnitzler, who will lead the White team. The Red team will be coached by long-time mentor, Rich Rethwisch.
Advance tickets can be purchased by contacting your local high school Booster Club, or, your local high school football coach. Adult tickets ($5) and Youth tickets ($4) will be sold at both the West Stadium and South Stadium ticket booths on Game Day. Ticket booths will open at 5:30 p.m.
A complete listing of Red and White rosters, coaching staffs and additional information can be found at the event website: www.nenallstarfootballclassic.com.
Area Golfers Throw Down at Districts, Prepare for State
Most tickets are scanned these days. However, it sounds better to say that several tickets were punched by area golfers to State Golf after quality performances at districts. Three districts were held on Monday, May 13, with another being played on Tuesday. Schools in the KBRX area were split into four districts throughout three classes.
In Class B, the O’Neill Eagles went to Quail Run Golf Course in Columbus. The Eagles shot a 378, which put them in a tie for seventh with GI Northwest. They were not able to put any individuals in the top ten to qualify for State. Aurora won the B3 district on the strength of their top two golfers, who shot 77 and 78 to take the District Champion and Runner-Up spots. Columbus Scotus and Seward claimed the other two team qualifying spots.
The C3 district held our area Class C teams, and was held at Indian Trails CC in Beemer. Former Pirate and defending Champion Mitchell Klooz of Laurel-Concord/Coleridge (LCC) finished one stroke behind Plainview’s top golfer Sam Meuret, who earned District Champion honors with a 76. Klooz led a stacked LCC club, who placed three other golfers in the top ten, to the team district title, with LCC compiling a 338 by the end of the day. Hartington CC and Stanton also qualified for State in the team division. The Mustangs were led by freshman Brook Klinetobe, grandson of Wally and Rod Schellpepper of O’Neill and alumnus of the KBRX Junior Golf Tournament. Brook carded an 83 to place fifth and earns the distinction of being the only freshman to make State as an individual from that district. Creighton junior Tanner Homan golfed an 88 to tie for tenth and earn a trip to State. This district only had two senior golfers qualify for State, so there is much talent returning next year. Plainview was edged out of the team qualifying by four strokes, while Creighton placed sixth with a 399. Bloomfield’s team shot 407, West Holt shot 417 as a team, and Niobrara/Verdigre compiled a 454 stroke round during the day as well.
The C4 District was held a day later than most districts in the state, and landed on the hottest day of the young spring. EPPJ was the only area team in our area to be golfing in Grand Island, and battled through the heat to place second as a team to continue a strong golf tradition in Elgin. The Wolfpack was just one stroke ahead of Ord in the team race. Gibbon won the district behind a strong outing by District Champion and college signee Rylee Reinertson. The junior, who has roots in Clearwater, easily captured the district title with a 69, seven strokes better than the runner-up. Individually, EPPJ placed two: Andrew Heithoff was fourth with a 78 and cousin Kyle Heithoff carded an 84 to tie for tenth. Several other Wolfpack members barely missed placing.
The D3 District was the final district of the day to post results, and featured one team and many area individuals playing their way into State. Ewing had another strong showing on the day, placing second in the team race and adding to their streak of State appearances. The Tiger golf team has gone to State an amazing 16 years in a row, winning championships in ’03, then back-to-back in ’05 and ’06, with Craig Flenniken leading the charge in 2006 with an individual title. Hartington led with a 356 on their home course, while Ewing’s 380 just edged out Osmond by a stroke for second. Boyd County was fifth with a 399, followed by Clearwater-Orchard (402), North Central (420) and Neligh-Oakdale (425). CWC’s team posted a 431, and Santee shot a 482 to round out the team scoring. Individually, Hartington junior Ethan Steiner was District Champion with an 84. Andrew Lechtenberg will wrap up his Boyd County career at State after a second place finish, also shooting 84. Laura Hynes held her own and more with a third place 86 to lead Ewing. Fellow Tiger Robert Nordby placed seventh, while another Spartan golfer, freshman Mitchell Atkinson was two places behind. Osmond also placed two golfers in the top 10.
To see the full results from the C3 and D3 districts, check out the Pinnacle Bank Scoreboard. Good luck at State to all of our area golfers!
Here are a few shots taken by Mark Moser during the D6 District Track Meet in O'Neill last Wednesday.
Junior Eagles Compete at Jr. High State Meet
Kneeling from left to right: Allison Becker, Dillon Babutzke, and Tori Wendell. Standing from left to right Jason Alder, Jake Young, Corbin Dean, Coby Drueke, Nathaniel Jennings, and Mikayla Marvin.
These nine O'Neill Public School athletes qualified for the 4th annual Nebraska State Junior High Track and Field Championships held Saturday May 11th in Gothenburg. The Eagles picked up medals in three events. The 3200 meter relay team of Nathaniel Jennings, Coby Drueke, Jake Young, and Corbin Dean placed 3rd with a time of 9:46.01. Lexington won the event in 9:43.11. Dillon Babutzke placed 4th in the 100 hurdles. His time was 15.34. Lance Moore of Mullen won the event in the meet record time of 14.41. Mikayla Marvin finished 5th in the girls vault with an 8 foot effort. Jacee Pfeifer of Holdrege cleared 8-10 to win. Also competing for O'Neill were: Allison Becker in the triple jump, Jason Alder in the pole vault, and Tori Wendell in the 100, 200, and long jump.
The O'Neill Eagles traveled to Pawnee Park in Columbus to participate in the ten team B-4 District Track Meet on Thursday.
Although the Girls’ team only qualified one person for the State Track Meet, several personal bests were performed during the day.
Senior Brandi Walters had her best day of the year winning the 300 low hurdles with a personal best time of 47.46 for a district championship in that event. Brandi had qualified earlier for the State Meet with a 3rd place finish in the 100 high hurdles with a time of 15.82. Brandi also placed 5th in the 100 and anchored the 4 x 100 relay that ran their best time of the year, 52.73.
Dani Barelmann placed 6th in the 1600 where she ran 5:57.17. Senior Toni Hamik placed 6th in the shot put with a 34-09.5 toss. The Eagle discus throwers had some breakout throws also. Rahtaya Young threw her best toss of the year of 103-11 to finish 6th and Samantha Slack had a personal best throw of 105-00 to finish in 5th.
The 4 x 100 relay team of Ronnie Ross, Randi Pinkerman, Alex Atkins and Brandi Walters sped to their best time of the year in that event to place 4th. The 4 x 400 relay continued to run well and lowered their best time by running 4:40.53.
Coach Peterson was upbeat: "Although we did not qualify many athletes for the State Meet, I was proud of our efforts. Senior Brandi Walters is a three-time qualifier and she had a great day. I thought our younger athletes improved each meet and that is what we are striving for. We had many personal bests today. We look forward to seeing how Brandi will compete at the State meet."
The O’Neill Boys’ Team placed 5th overall.
Leading the Eagles was the 4 x 800 relay team. In the 4 x 800 the boy’s team earned top honors with a time of 8:21.29. They beat the district favorite Blair by eight seconds. The 4 x 800 team consisted of Michael Hedlund, Charley Burtwistle, Tyson Hostert, and Derrick Hostert. The team is seated in the top 8 times going into the state meet.
The next event Grant and Blake Johnston ran the 3200 meters. Grant placed 3rd earning a birth to state with a time of 10:33.83. Blake fell short with a great effort and placing fourth with a time of 10:36.01. Both ran well. Both gave a great effort.
Tate Laursen placed 5th in the 100 meter run, which was one the six fastest times that was not top three at a districts that qualified for the state meet. Tate earned a runner-up title and birth at state in the 300-intermediate hurdles. Tate's specialty events were extremely competitive compare to the rest of the Class B districts. Tate ran well all day.
Derrick Hostert was district champion in the 1600 meter run. Derrick ran a strong race with little resistance from fellow competitors, time of 4:38.66. Younger brother Tyson ran a time of 4:57.43 to place 6th.
The last event of the day, the 4 x 400, the boy’s team beat the district top rated team from Blair with a time of 3:29.24. The team of Tate Laursen, Derrick Hostert, Michael Hedlund, and Brock Schueth looked strong throughout the race.
“A lot of our athletes ran their personal best, even if they didn’t qualify for the state meet. I was happy with everybody’s effort. I also want to thank all the seniors for their leadership and dedication they have given to the program,” said Coach Hilker.
Next week the O’Neill Eagles will compete at the state meet in Omaha, Burke Stadium. O’Neill will be compete in the afternoon session with the 4 x 800 running the opening event on Friday, May 17th, at 3:30 p.m.
Frazier Selected for College Football Hall of Fame
Nebraska great Tommie Frazier is among 14 players and coaches who are part of the 2013 College Football Hall of Fame class. This year’s list of inductees was announced on Tuesday in New York City by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
Frazier will become the 16th Nebraska player in the College Football Hall of Fame, along with six former Cornhusker coaches. He and the other members of the 2013 Hall of Fame class will officially be inducted in New York City on Dec. 10. Frazier earned induction into the College Hall of Fame in his third year on the ballot. He is the third Husker in the past five years to be named to the Hall, joining 2009 inductee Grant Wistrom and 2011 honoree Will Shields.
Frazier is the first Nebraska quarterback to be selected for the College Football Hall of Fame. The Bradenton, Fla., native was a four-year starter at quarterback for the Huskers from 1992 to 1995, guiding Nebraska to three straight national title games in his final three seasons, including national championships in 1994 and 1995. Frazier posted a 33-3 record as a starting quarterback for the Huskers.
“This is quite an honor,” Frazier said. “You never play the game and think you are going to be in the Hall of Fame one day. You just go out and try to be the best you can be and whatever happens, happens. I was fortunate that good things happened, but it certainly was not me alone. I had great teammates and coaches that played a big part in this honor.
There have been a lot of great Nebraska quarterbacks before me, guys like Jerry Tagge, Dave Humm, Vince Ferragamo, Turner Gill, Steve Taylor. For me to be the first of that group is a quite an honor. Turner Gill is more deserving than me to be the first Nebraska quarterback in the Hall of Fame because he taught me everything I know. Eric Crouch is also very deserving of the honor and hopefully his time will come soon.”
Frazier was voted as the quarterback of Nebraska’s All-Century Team and was voted as one of the 10 greatest college football players of the century according to Sport Magazine. Frazier’s jersey was retired in the fall of 1996, and he was inducted in the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
“The support of the fans in Nebraska has been constant. The past two years when I didn’t get selected I wasn’t worried because you can only control what you can control. I appreciated all the fan support I received though. That means a lot because I wasn’t out there to play for myself. I played for the fans, my family, my coaches and my teammates.”
2013 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS
Players
· TED BROWN – TB, North Carolina State (1975-78)
* Selection from the FBS Veterans Committee
Coaches
· WAYNE HARDIN – 118-74-5 (61.2%); Navy (1959-64) and Temple (1970-82)
· BILL McCARTNEY – 93-55-5 (62.4%); Colorado (1982-94)
Huskers Announce Addition to 2013 Roster
Nebraska volleyball head coach John Cook announced on Monday that the Huskers will be adding Mary Pollmiller to the 2013 roster. Pollmiller joins the Huskers from the University of Tennessee.
A native of Littleton, Colo., Pollmiller produced a record-breaking freshman campaign as the 2011 SEC Freshman of the Year. She was just the second Lady Vol to be named the AVCA All-South Region Freshman of the Year. Pollmiller also earned second-team All-SEC and honorable-mention All-America accolades from the AVCA. She rewrote the Tennessee record books, setting single-season marks in assists (1,480) and assists per set (11.94). Pollmiller led all NCAA freshmen in assists per set, while ranking fourth in the nation and first in the conference. She was the team’s starting setter in all 32 matches, playing in all 124 sets. She also earned SEC Freshman-of-the-Week honors a league-best five times, which was the second-most in SEC history.
As a sophomore in 2012, Pollmiller played in all 30 matches and recorded 1,260 total assists and an average of 10.59 assists per set. She also tallied 294 digs on the year for an average of 2.47 digs per set. She posted 18 double-doubles on the season and became the seventh Lady Vol to eclipse 2,000-career assists with 45 against South Carolina on Sept. 23. Pollmiller also became the second player in program history to post a triple-double with 49 assists, 14 digs and a career-best 11 kills at Wichita State on Sept. 2. She led the Lady Vols to the NCAA Tournament where they closed the season with a five-set loss to eventual Final Four qualifier Michigan.
Pollmiller was one of four players to transfer from Tennessee after last season. She joins one of those transfers, former Vols teammate Kelsey Robinson, in the Cornhusker State. Robinson arrived during the winter and played sand volleyball this spring in the Huskers' inaugural season.
“This is a great opportunity for both Mary and Nebraska volleyball,” Cook said. “After meeting with Mary, I think she is a great fit here at Nebraska and will embrace all the things we’re trying to do on and off the court.”
The varsity went to Hartington on Tuesday to take part in the Hartington Invite. Nate Gotschall led the Eagles shooting a 78 and placing 5th. Kyle Regan shot a career best round of 81 and placed 8th. Matt Kelly shot an 89 while Adam Soukup shot a 90. Cody Belzer shot a 93 to round out the scoring for the Eagles. The Eagles shot a 338 as a team and placed 3rd.
The JV golfers went to Albion on Monday and got another tournament under their belts. Jon Hofer led the team shooting a 96. Austin Hilker shot a 105. Baylee Colfack shot a 121.
A few pictures taken by Mark Moser during down time at the Stuart Invite in Atkinson on the last day of April.
Kaczor Named NWU Male Outstanding Senior Athlete
LINCOLN, Neb. – Brett Kaczor and Mallory Shanahan were named the Nebraska Wesleyan University Senior Outstanding Athletes for the 2012-13 school year at the NWU Student-Athlete Appreciation night. Kaczor, a member of the football team, was the Male Outstanding Senior Athlete while Shanahan, a member the women’s basketball team, was the Female Outstanding Senior Athlete.
Kaczor (Ewing, Neb.) was named an AFCA NAIA All-American at linebacker this season as a senior and was 1st-Team All-GPAC for the second consecutive year. He had 94 total tackles in nine games during his senior year to rank 14th in the NAIA in tackles per game (10.4). He also recorded 10.5 TFLs, forced two fumbles, recovered two fumbles, had three interceptions and blocked a kick. Remarkably, Kaczor played the final two games of the season with a sternum injury, including the final game where he earned NAIA National Player of the Week for his 16-tackles performance in a win over Hastings.
Kaczor becomes the first football player in NWU history to become a First-Team All-American and a CoSIDA Academic All-American as he earned that honor in 2011. He finishes his career with 253 total tackles to rank 10th all-time.
Eagles Gain Experience on the Links
The O'Neill Golf team was able to get on the course a couple times this week. On Friday they traveled to Hastings to compete in the Adams Central invite held at Southern Hills Golf Course. It was a great day for the kids with temps around 70 and little to no wind. The golf team had a little trouble with the course and with penalty shots, but the team got some valuable experience that they can use in the future to get better at golf management. Nate Gotschall led the eagles with an 86 and placed 11th. Tristan Strong had a strong back nine shooting a 39 and placing 12th with a 87. Matt Kelly, Adam Soukup, and Kyle Regan all shot 95's for the day. The team shot a 363 which placed them 4th.
On Saturday the golf team made a little bit shorter drive as the traveled to Atkinson to take part in the West Holt invite. The players had another very nice day with temps in the upper 70's and little wind to deal with. The golfers took what they learned from the day before and tried to manage themselves around the golf course better then they did the day before and the scores showed it. The team took 23 shots off the team score and placed 3rd with a 340. Nate Gotschall and Tristan strong led the Eagles both shooting 83's. Nate placed 7th and Tristan placed 8th. Adam Soukup also had a nice round shooting an 86 and placing 13th. Matt Kelly was just out of placing shooting an 88. Cody Belzer had a tough day keeping the ball in bounds and carded a 95.
The JV golf program was also in action on Saturday as they traveled to Pierce. Kyle Regan led the JV's shooting an 89 and placed 19th. Austin Hilker had his first round under 100 and carded a 99. Jon Hofer shot a 108 and also shot a round in the forties on his back nine for the first time this year. Baylee Colfack rounded out the scoring for the Eagles shooting an 118.
Eagles Compete at Mid-State Conference Meet
The O'Neill Eagles traveled to Madison for the Mid State Conference track and field meet this last Saturday. It was a beautiful day for track and field and many Eagles competed well.
The O'Neill girls team had many placers in this very competitive meet. In the field events, Toni Hamik placed 4th in the shot put with a throw of 35-0. Teammate Lindsey Appleby finished 6th with a toss of 33-6. In the discus, sophomore Rahtaya Young claimed 4th place with a throw of 101-6. McKenzie Adamson claimed 6th place in the triple jump going 31-7.75. Dani Barelmann finished in 3rd in the pole vault with a season-best height of 8-6. She came back later in the day to place 4th in the 1600 with her best time of the year, 6:00.08.
In the running events, Brandi Walters finished 4th in the 100, with a time of 12.9 and 5th in the 100 high hurdles, running a 16.1. Brandi came back later to finish 6th in the 300 low hurdles with a 49.2 clocking. Brandi was also part of the 400 relay team that finished 6th. The rest of the team members were Ronnie Ross, Randi Pinkerman and Alex Atkins.
Coach Peterson had good things to say about the meet: "I was very happy with many of our performances. Even though some of our kids did not place, many of them had personal bests today. I was really impressed with freshman Ronnie Ross. She decreased her 100 time and qualified for the 200 finals running 27.2. That time would place her in most of the meets we go to. Dani Barelmann had a great day in both of her events. I thought our kids competed well and we look forward to our last regular season meet Thursday at Norfolk Catholic."
The O’Neill boys’ team placed 3rd overall behind Battle Creek and Norfolk Catholic.
In the field events sophomore Jon Marvin vaulted his personal best of 13 feet to earn top honors in the conference pole vault. Brock Schueth placed 2nd in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 10 inches.
In the running events the 4 x 800 ran 8:38 to place first. The relay was made up of Michael Hedlund, Charlie Burtwistle, Tyson Hostert, and Derrick Hostert. Freshman Grant Johnston and Blake Johnston once again ran their personal best in the 3200 with Grant being the individual champion and Blake placing 3rd. Seniors Derrick Hostert in the 1600 meters and Tate Laursen in the 300 intermediate hurdles, won their individual races. Michael Hedlund placed 4th and Charley Burwistle 6th in the 800 meter run. Tyson Hostert also ran well with a time of 5:01.2 placing 3rd in the 1600 meter run. Ending the meet the 4 x 400 with members Tate Lauren, Derrick Hostert, Michael Hedlund, and Brock Schueth placed 1st.
“We ran well, fell short in the team race but we gave a good effort. I felt like we made good improvements and just need to keep going forward. We need to be on top of our game come districts which is just two weeks away.” I know we will be running our fastest come May 9th,” commented Coach Hilker.
The Eagles last regular season meet is this Thursday, Norfolk Catholic Invite, which starts at 3 p.m.
A few shots taken during the West Boyd Track Invite
Unfortunate Injury Ends Husker Career
Unfortunately, last night we found out that Ewing's Hayley Thramer suffere an injury that will end her Husker volleyball career. Hayley has been a force in the middle for Nebraska over the last couple of years, and has ranked near the top of the Big Ten in blocking for the last two season. We hope Hayley can recover soon. Here is the official statement from the University of Nebraska.
Statement from Head Coach John Cook on Hayley Thramer
“We found out last night that Nebraska volleyball had its heart ripped out with the news of Hayley Thramer suffering a career-ending knee injury. It’s a sad day but we know Hayley will have the support of Husker nation. She is on track to graduate and as a leader on our team she will remain a vital part of our program and will be a great representation of Nebraska volleyball in 2013.”
Three Area Athletes Sign With Wayne State Track Team
Wayne, Neb. --- Wayne State College head track and field coach Marlon Brink announced today that Cassidy Tinsley-Hanika of Omaha, Tessa Ives from Verdigre and Jessica Pongratz of O’Neill have either signed letters of intent or committed to compete for the Wildcats and continue their track and field careers and attend Wayne State College in the 2013-14 academic year. The three join Mary Alderson from Fremont Bergan (sprinter), Michael Dendinger of Coleridge (throws), Andrea DeSimone from Plattsmouth (distance), Emily Kaup of Stuart (mid-distance), Cristina Murillo of Bertrand (distance) and Aryn Smidt of West Point-Beemer (dstance) as members of the 2013 women’s track recruiting class.
Tessa Ives is a multi-sport standout from Verdigre High School that will compete in the throws for the Wildcat track and field team. She is a two-year state track qualifier in the discus and has earned All-Niobrara Valley Conference honors in volleyball and basketball.
“Tessa is a very good all-around athlete that I think can become a good discus/hammer throw at WSC,” said Brink. “She will be a good addition to our throwers and should benefit with having some experienced throwers to train with.”
Jessica Pongratz is from O’Neill St. Mary’s High School and will compete in throws at Wayne State. She is a three year Class D State Track qualifier in the shot put and a two year state qualifier in the discus, medaling at state once in each event. Pongratz was fifth last spring in the Class D shot put and in 2011 as a sophomore finished fifth in the Class D discus. She also excels in volleyball and basketball, earning Class D-1 Omaha World Herald Second Team All-State honors as a senior and helped O’Neill St. Mary’s to a runner-up finish in basketball this spring with a 24-3 record.
“Jessica has potential to become a very good collegiate thrower,” commented Brink. “She has the size, strength and explosiveness that we look for and she has experience as a state meet qualifier. I think Jessica will be a big surprise to some people when they see what she can do in our program.”
Emily Kaup is a versatile runner from Stuart High School who committed to the program earlier this spring. She has competed in volleyball, basketball and track. Kaup has qualified for the State Track Meet in Class D the past two seasons and placed in the 800 meter run both times. She was second in Class D as a sophomore in 2011 with a time of 2:22.41 and fourth in 2012 in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:22.45. She has made appearances at the state tournament in volleyball as her team made the trip to state in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Kaup received All-Niobrara Valley Conference in track in both the 400 meter and 800 meter runs in 2010, 2011 and 2012. She also has academic success being named Principal's Niobrara Valley All-Conference Academic in 2011 and 2012.
“Emily has a great range running everything at her high school from the 200 to the mile,” commented Brink. “I think she will really shine as a middle distance specialist for us. She has the potential to really develop at the college level with a year round training program. She should make an immediate impact on our team next year.”
Wayne State College competes in the 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
O'Neill Golfers Able to Get on the Course Last Week
With snow falling during play at the Mid-State Tournament, Frosty joined the Eagle golfers in Battle Creek for a round. Due to NSAA regulations Frosty's score couldn't help the Eagles, but it was rumored he shot well. (thanks to Leann Gotschall for the pic)
It hasn't happened much, but the O'Neill boys golf team was able to get out twice this week. Tuesday brought a dual with Plainview, which saw O'Neill beat Plainview by a score of 163 - 202. The JV also won with a score of 220-250. Top medalist for the dual was Nate Gotschall shooting a 35. Cody Belzer had the second best sore with a 40. Matt Kelly shot a 43, while Tristan Strong shot a 45. Adam Soukup and Kyle Regan both shot 46's. Austin Hilker shot a 56, Baylee Colfack shot a 59, and Jon Hofer shot a 60.
On Saturday the golf team was able to get in an 18 hole tournament that was the Mid States conference meet at Battle Creek's Evergreen golf course. It was a very cold and windy day that actually saw the players playing golf while the snow was falling. There were some very good scores for the conditions. Cody Belzer Led the team with a 77 and placed second. Nate Gotschall won a playoff and place 7th shooting a 84. Adam Soukup and Matt Kelly both shot 92's. Kyle Regan shot a 95 while Tristan Strong shot a 96. Jon Hofer shot a 120, and Austin Hilker shot a 128. The Eagles placed third as a team shooting a very respectable 345 for the conditions. The Eagles have a very busy week this week with four tournaments in five days if the weather cooperates, including their own invite, which was postponed until Thursday the 25th.
Tracksters Endure Outdoor Meets
The weather wasn't great, but the competition was as usual at the NVC meet in Atkinson.
Tad Fry got the win in the 300 hurdles as Travis Kester, Schylar Franssen and Jared Tomjack all stretch for 2nd.
Some of the first full outdoor track meets were held on Saturday all over Northeast Nebraska. The conditions were far from perfect, but the idea was to get times and scores for the Norfolk Classic Track Invite on Thursday. The qualifiers have been announced, and are here on the KBRX sports page. Meanwhile, all results from the track meets held on Saturday, as well as the Mid-State Golf Meet, have been compiled. Check them out in the Pinnacle Bank Scoreboard.
Rosters Announced For All-Star Football Classic
Team rosters have been announced for the first Northeast Nebraska All-Star Football Classic, which will be played on June 8, 2013 at Norfolk’s Veteran’s Memorial Park.
Mike Fuehrer of the Norfolk Area Sports Council said the coaching staffs have spent the past 30 days putting their rosters together. “The coaching staffs will start the process of communicating with their teams,’’ he said. “Both teams will arrive in Norfolk on June 3. The Red team will practice at Norfolk High and the White team will practice at Norfolk Catholic.’’
The Red and White teams were broken down from a pool of 59 high school squads representing the greater Northeast Nebraska area. All players participating were nominated by their respective high school football coaches.
Click to view the list of KBRX area athletes who were selected to play in the All-Star Football Classic.
Click to view the full Red team roster.
Red team Head Coach Rich Rethwisch will be assisted by Jeff Jensen of Creighton, Jeff Bellar of Norfolk Catholic, Tim Kassmeier of Norfolk Catholic, Greg Warneke of Pierce and Doug Konopasek of Niobrara/Verdigre.
The Red team’s roster includes the following area players: Chet Beckmann of Bloomfield; Trevor Krugman of Boyd County; Levi Nielsen of Creighton; Eli Schreier of Niobrara/Verdigre; Ty Eiler of St. Mary’s; Marcus Claussen of Wausa; Caleb Akins, Ben Borer and Marcus Marcellus of West Holt.
Click to view the entire White team roster.
White team Head Coach Bob Schnitzler will be assisted by Bill Mimick of Lindsay Holy Family, Carlie Wells of Elgin/Pope John, Joe Anderson of Oakland-Craig, Rod Brummels of Osmond and Steve Porter of Norfolk.
The White team’s roster comprises of area players: Beau Bremer, Tanner Mazour and Blake Slizoski of Boone Central/Newman Grove; Travis Kester of Clearwater/Orchard; Blake Anderson, Andrew Heithoff and Ross Schindler of Elgin/Pope John; Michael Hedlund, Derrick Hostert and Tate Laursen of O’Neill; Andrew Folkers and Carlin Krienert of Osmond; and Frank Hartley of Spalding/Spalding Academy.
Bellar, who serves as President of the Board of Directors, said more than 120 student-athletes were nominated by their head football coaches. “We are very excited to have the first teams selected to play in the Northeast Nebraska All-Star Football Classic,’’ Bellar said. “The game will represent many of Northeast Nebraska’s best football players and quality young men.
“We think it will be a great experience for these players as well as their families. We’re also looking forward to show casing our great facility at Veterans Memorial Field as well as bringing many people into our great community on game day. This should be a great week for the players and a great event for all to enjoy.’’
Did you know that there is a town called Mascot in Nebraska? Apparently, there is (or used to be). It is located in Harlan County and used to have a school. The mascot of Mascot was the Eagles. Did you know that Farnam was the only school in the nation known to have their mascot name at the time?
This fall we began down memory lane, coming up with names of all of the small towns in our area we could think of. As entertained as we were by the few towns in our area, we turned to the HuskerlandPreps message boards to tap the knowledge of folks across the state, asking about the history in their areas. It took off, and a huge list of Nebraska history was compiled.
We decided to post the list here. To see the entire thing, please click on the title of this article to open it up.
The O'Neill Rotary Club will be hosting the 2013 NVC-LVC All Star games. The games will be played at the St. Mary's High School gym on Friday, May 24th. The girls game will start at 6 p.m., with the boys game to be played afterwards (scheduled for 8 p.m.). There will also be a three point shootout between games for both boys and girls.
Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman has accepted an invitation to be the featured speaker at the inaugural Northeast Nebraska All-Star Football Classic Banquet on Friday night, June 7.
Gov. Heineman is a well-known sports enthusiast. In fact, he regularly attends high school and college sporting events.
Although the Girls’ team only qualified one person for the State Track Meet, several personal bests were performed during the day.
Leading the Eagles was the 4 x 800 relay team. In the 4 x 800 the boy’s team earned top honors with a time of 8:21.29. They beat the district favorite Blair by eight seconds. The 4 x 800 team consisted of Michael Hedlund, Charley Burtwistle, Tyson Hostert, and Derrick Hostert. The team is seated in the top 8 times going into the state meet.
Nebraska great Tommie Frazier is among 14 players and coaches who are part of the 2013 College Football Hall of Fame class. This year’s list of inductees was announced on Tuesday in New York City by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
A native of Littleton, Colo., Pollmiller produced a record-breaking freshman campaign as the 2011 SEC Freshman of the Year. She was just the second Lady Vol to be named the AVCA All-South Region Freshman of the Year. Pollmiller also earned second-team All-SEC and honorable-mention All-America accolades from the AVCA. She rewrote the Tennessee record books, setting single-season marks in assists (1,480) and assists per set (11.94). Pollmiller led all NCAA freshmen in assists per set, while ranking fourth in the nation and first in the conference. She was the team’s starting setter in all 32 matches, playing in all 124 sets. She also earned SEC Freshman-of-the-Week honors a league-best five times, which was the second-most in SEC history.
The varsity went to Hartington on Tuesday to take part in the Hartington Invite. Nate Gotschall led the Eagles shooting a 78 and placing 5th. Kyle Regan shot a career best round of 81 and placed 8th. Matt Kelly shot an 89 while Adam Soukup shot a 90. Cody Belzer shot a 93 to round out the scoring for the Eagles. The Eagles shot a 338 as a team and placed 3rd.
LINCOLN, Neb. – Brett Kaczor and Mallory Shanahan were named the Nebraska Wesleyan University Senior Outstanding Athletes for the 2012-13 school year at the NWU Student-Athlete Appreciation night. Kaczor, a member of the football team, was the Male Outstanding Senior Athlete while Shanahan, a member the women’s basketball team, was the Female Outstanding Senior Athlete.
Unfortunately, last night we found out that Ewing's Hayley Thramer suffere an injury that will end her Husker volleyball career. Hayley has been a force in the middle for Nebraska over the last couple of years, and has ranked near the top of the Big Ten in blocking for the last two season. We hope Hayley can recover soon. Here is the official statement from the University of Nebraska.
Wayne, Neb. --- Wayne State College head track and field coach Marlon Brink announced today that Cassidy Tinsley-Hanika of Omaha, Tessa Ives from Verdigre and Jessica Pongratz of O’Neill have either signed letters of intent or committed to compete for the Wildcats and continue their track and field careers and attend Wayne State College in the 2013-14 academic year. The three join Mary Alderson from Fremont Bergan (sprinter), Michael Dendinger of Coleridge (throws), Andrea DeSimone from Plattsmouth (distance), Emily Kaup of Stuart (mid-distance), Cristina Murillo of Bertrand (distance) and Aryn Smidt of West Point-Beemer (dstance) as members of the 2013 women’s track recruiting class.
