O’Neill – This past Saturday Leprechaun Youth Sports hosted the Nebraska USA Wrestling Tournament District 3 Wrestling Tournament. One of 8 district tournaments held across the state this past weekend. Stretching from Valentine in the West to Columbus and Hartington in the East and South to Central City and St. Paul, District 3 is the largest of the 8 district events. With over 670 athletes, both male and female in grades preK-8th, they compete for a chance to advance to the Nebraska USA Wrestling State Folkstyle tournament held in Grand Island, March 20-22nd.
The Leprechaun Youth Sports (LYS) Wrestling team had 48 athletes entered and 36 of those athletes earned the right to compete in two weeks in Grand Island. This event has been held annually in O’Neill each year since 2010. In that time the LYS wrestlers have finished in the top 3 twice bringing home third place honors in 2016 and 2018. This year’s 2nd place team finish was the most successful in the club’s history.
“Our motto in our club is ‘Love The Fight’ so the thing I’m most proud of is 48 of our Leprechauns stepped up to compete in this tournament.” Commented LYS Coach Chuy Munoz. “With that said, getting such a big group onto the medal stand and bringing home a team trophy…That was pretty special,”
LYS Coach Philip Boshart said, “It’s just a really great event. Our kids honored Lauren Hoefer with their shirts that said, ‘Thank you Lauren’ on the front and ‘Big Hearts Run Small Towns’ on the back. That pretty much sums it up. Those kids and everyone that volunteered to make this thing happen. They’re doing it to grow and pay it forward.” Lauren Hoefer was a long time supporter and organizer for Leprechaun Youth Sports who recently lost her life to liver cancer. Coach Boshart continued,
“Folks in our area should take a lot of pride in what LYS is doing. From creating opportunities for young people, to bringing folks into our community for events, we are fortunate to have such a impactful volunteer led organization here in O’Neill. Lauren was everything to our Leprechaun club. I think after the success of this weekend all of us involved came to the same conclusion…It’s hard not to see Lauren’s hand in everything that happened here Saturday; from the event itself to the success of our club…She would have been very proud and we are forever grateful for her example.”
Team Results
1st – Columbus Wrestling Organization – 711.5 points
2nd – O’Neill Leprechaun Wrestling – 571 points
3rd – St. Paul Youth Wrestling – 547.5 points
9th – Neligh-Oakdale – 300.5 points
11th – Plainview Pirates – 226.5 points
13th – Crofton-Bloomfield – 196 points
18th – Elgin Wolfpack – 139.5 points
20th – Niobrara/Verdigre – 130.5 points
