Headlines in Local Sports

The D-3 District was full of drama until the end, with the top 3 teams all separated by only one stroke, and the fourth place team 4 strokes off. Ewing (above) was the 3rd place team on their home course while sporting the Hawaiian theme, and the Niobrara/Verdigre Cougars (below), while placing 6th as a team, put 3 golfers in the State Tournament.	Alex Fritz of West Holt was the lone Husky to qualify for State. Alex will pick up some great experience in his freshman year.

DISTRICT GOLF LIVE BLOG

 

NORFOLK, Neb. – Northeast Community College in Norfolk will host the 29th Annual Northeast Nebraska High School All-Star Classic basketball games on Friday, June 8. Tip-off time for the girls’ game is 6 p.m. while the boys will tip off at 8 p.m. in the Cox Activities Center gym. Admission is $6.00 per adult and $4.00 for students in grades kindergarten-12.

Four players, two males and two females, will be honored with the Fred Letheby Most Valuable Player Award. Coach Letheby coached at Sacred Heart in Norfolk, Wayne, Neligh, Stanton, and Madison and amassed 612 victories, the second highest total in Nebraska high school basketball history. In 1984, he was named the State High School Coach of the Year by the Omaha World-Herald. He helped inaugurate Northeast’s All-Star Classic in 1984 and coached in the first All-Star Classic.

Members of the Girls’ Light Team, with Nate Sims of Laurel-Concord High School and Joe Ortmeier of Osmond High School as coaches, include: Mandy Nelson and Jade Cunningham, both of Laurel-Concord/Coleridge High School; Jamie Kennedy and Jenna Lehmann, both of Boone Central High School in Albion; Alexia Henschke, Pender; Katie Hoskins, Wayne High School; Cami Oelsligle and Halle Dittrich, Elkhorn Valley High School in Tilden; Abigael Olson, West Holt High School in Atkinson; Kattie Savoy, Wynot High School.

Members of the Girls’ Dark Team, with Merlyn Tremayne, Homer High School, and Randy Eisenhauer, Elgin Pope John High School, as coaches, are: Cara Olerich and Kayla Brewer, both of Homer High School; Kelsey Dinkel and Liz Gebhardt, both of Lutheran High Northeast in Norfolk: Claire Phillips, Wisner-Pilger High School; Kelsey Appleby, O'Neill High School; Kaitlyn Janata, Howells High School; Andrea Weeder, Lindsay Holy Family High School; Andreana Sharpback, South Sioux City High School, and Brittany White, Plainview High School.

Members of the Boys’ Light Team, with Mark Anderson of Randolph High School and Terry Comstock of South Sioux City High School as coaches, include: R.J. Burtwistle, Wheeler-Central CWC High School, Bartlett; Jordyn Johnson, O'Neill High School; Ross Freudenburg, Lutheran High Northeast, Norfolk; Blake Heppner, Stanton High School; Ryan Mitteis, Creighton High School; Tait Sibbel, O'Neill St. Mary's High School; Garrett Sellhorst, Dodge High School; Cameron Krumwiede, Humphrey High School; Blake Krings, Humphrey St. Francis High School, and Joe Murphy, Homer High School.

The Boys’ Dark Roster is made up of Jalen Bradley, Alex Starkel, and Tremain Monroe, all of Norfolk High School; Bryce Potter, Elkhorn Valley High School in Tilden; Kyle Klug, Hartington Cedar Catholic High School; Brian Bayer, Howells High School; Trenton Peterson, Ponca High School; Gage Rethwisch, Wayne High School; Jon Alford, Spencer West Boyd High School, and Derick Hass, Wisner-Pilger High School. Matt Steffen, Hartington Cedar Catholic High School, and Brent Broberg, Elkhorn Valley High School in Tilden, are coaches of the Boys’ Dark Team.

OʼNeill Eagles Send 10 Individuals To State Track

Rachel Price will represent the Eagles Pole Vaulters in Omaha. (Photo courtesy of Michael Peterson)

Last week the OʼNeill Eagle Boyʼs team placed 3rd, in the Class B-4 district meet. The team scored 63 points. Ten teams competed at the district site to qualify athletes for the state meet.

Leading the Eagles was Tate Laursen who gained 2 two golds, a silver, and a 4th place. Laursen placed first in the 300 intermediate hurdles with a time of 41.3. Derrick Hostert was a district champion in the 1600 meter run with time of 4:37.17. Connor Peterson placed second with a time of 42.6 earning a place at state in the 300 intermediate hurdles. Brock Schueth placed second in the long jump with an effort of 20 foot 8.75 inches which also earned him a place at the state meet.

Both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 qualified with running season bests. The 4 x 100 earned 1st place by running 44.55. Qualifiers in the 4 x 100 were Tyler Knopp, Tate Laursen, Brock Schueth, and Connor Peterson. The 4 x 400 meter relay placed 2nd with a time of 3:29.48. Members of the 4 x 400 were Tate Laursen, Derrick Hostert, Michael Hedlund, and Brock Schueth.

Others events that had OʼNeill medallist were: Michael Hedlund placed 4th in the 800 meter run. Tate Laursen placed 4th in the 100 meter run. The 4 x 800 meter relay placed 6th.

“I couldnʼt be prouder of the Eagles, both boys and girls. We competed at a very high level. Even the athletes that didnʼt medal, most of them threw, jumped, or ran their personal best. I couldnʼt have asked anymore from the student athletes,” said Hilker.

The O'Neill Lady Eagle track and field team competed in the Class B-4 District in Pierce on Thursday, May 10th. O'Neill had a successful day as they qualified four girls in five different events. Rachel Price got the team going by placing 3rd in the pole vault with her personal best height of 9-2. Brandi Walters had a great day qualifying in the 100 high hurdles with a 2nd place finish. Brandi ran her best time of the year in prelims with a 15.5 clocking. She turned around and ran the 100 next and sped to a 3rd place finish with a fully automated time of 12.97. Brandi also finished 6th in the 300 low hurdles but qualified as one of the next six fastest times in all of the Class B districts to get another shot at running the event at State. Alex Hedlund continued competing well as she qualified in the 100 high hurdles running her best time of the year in prelims with a 15.4 and finished in 3rd place in the finals with an automatic time of 15.76. Alex then competed in the 300 low hurdles where she finished in 3rd place with a time of 47.89. Tasha Lechtenberg made the best of her first district medal ever as she placed 3rd in the 3200 run with a time of 12:53.65 sending her to the State meet.

Another highlight of the meet was the 4 x 100 relay team of Alex Hedlund, Randi Pinkerman, Rachel Price and Brandi Walters, who bettered their best time of the year by almost two seconds, running a 51.97 for a fourth place finish. The OHS throwers continued to improve also. Freshman Rahtaya Young saved her best throws for her last meet of the year as she placed 6th in the discus with a toss of 107-11. Teammate Kelsey Appleby also placed by throwing her personal best of 114-11 placing her one place out of going to State in 4th. Many of the throwers threw their personal bests and showed improvement at every meet.

Other placers for O'Neill were Dani Barelmann with a 6th place finish in the 1600 and a 5th place finish in the pole vault. Lizzie Price rounded out the placers by getting 5th in the 3200.

"Words can't describe how proud I was of our track team today. We came to compete and that is just what we did. We have one of the toughest districts in the state and our girls stepped up today and competed at a level I have not seen by our track teams in many years. I am really looking forward to taking this group to the State Track Meet in Omaha to see what they can accomplish," commented Coach Michael Peterson.

Next week the OʼNeill Eagles will compete at state meet which is in Omaha, held at Burke Stadium. The OʼNeill Eagles will compete in session one, the morning session.

Area JH Tracksters Compete at Statewide Meet

Gothenburg hosted the 2012 Nebraska Junior High All Class State Championship Track Meet on Saturday, May 12. There were over 1000 athletes in competition, representing 97 schools from across Nebraska. Several area athletes participated in the meet, which combines 7th and 8th grades from all school classes A-D. This is the third year for the event which continues to grow. To qualify for the event, coaches enter athlete's statistics during the season. They are then ranked across classes and only the top 24 athletes are entered into the meet.

These area athletes competed at the Junior State Track and Field Championships on Saturday in Gothenburg. They are also members of the area Bison-Runza basketball team that will play in Lincoln on Memorial Day weekend. From left to right: Brenden Pelster of CWC (3rd in shot put), Andy Kerkman of Clearwater/Orchard (2nd in high jump), Tyson Hostert of O'Neill (6th in 3200 relay), and Brady Delimont of Ainsworth (5th in 1600, 5th in 3200 relay).

O'Neill Junior High athletes Blake Johnston, Grant Johnston, Tyson Hostert, and Corbin Dean placed 6h in the 3200 meter relay at the Nebraska Junior Track and Field Championships that were held Saturday in Gothenburg. Their time of 9:31.64 was an O'Neill JH record. Seward won the race in a time of 9:12.

Placing 5th in the Girl's High Jump was Rebecca Hiatt of West Boyd with a jump of 4'9"

C-7 District Track @ West Holt LIVE BLOG

 

O'Neill High to Hold Concussion Training

O’Neill High School will host a training session on concussions.  All parents, JH, SH, and youth coaches, and students are invited to attend to learn more about the new Nebraska law dealing with concussions, the IMPACT testing that all 7-12 students at OHS are given, and the signs and symptoms of a concussion.  This is open to the public and anyone wanting to know more about concussions should attend.  The session will be hosted by Stefani Schuster, Certified Athletic Trainer at Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital and be held on Wednesday May 16 at 7 pm in the lecture hall (room 326) at O’Neill High School.   Please plan to enter through the East doors.

 

OʼNeill Eagles Competed Well at Norfolk Catholic Invite

Michael Collins unleashes the shot put at the Norfolk Catholic Invite (courtesy Michael Peterson)

Thursday, the OʼNeill Track Team competed at the Norfolk Catholic Invite. The Boys team placed 3rd behind Pierce and Norfolk Catholic.

The Eagle men were able to show a lot of improvement in the meet. Leading the Eagles were sprinters Tate Laursen and Connor Peterson. Both ran their personal best of 11.2 photo finish in the 100 meter dash. Then both ran the 300 intermediate hurdles. Laursen ran 40.6 and Peterson 42.3. They both ran the 4 x 100 placing 2nd with the teammates Tyler Knopp and Brock Schueth. The 4 x 100 ran 44.7.

Not to out done, the distance runners Derrick Hostert and Michael Hedlund ran and earned top honors. Hostert ran his personal best of 4:31.3 in the 1600 meter run, and Hedlund ran a strong 2:08.1 in the 800 meter run. Both were on the 4 x 400 meter relay with teammates Brock Schueth and Tate Laursen who ran 3:29.9. This is fastest time since 1989 ran by an OʼNeill Eagles relay team.

Other placers were Michael Collins 6th in the discus and and the 4 x 800 meter relay placed 6th.

“We ran well. The boyʼs team is getting ready to run their best times and distances next week. Overall, the has been working hard to get ready for May 10th,” said Coach Hilker. Next week the OʼNeill Eagles will run at the B-4 districts held at Pierce, May 4th. The field events will start at 10:30 am and running events at 1:30 pm.

The O'Neill Lady Eagles had a successful day, bringing home the runner-up trophy. Leading the Eagles at this meet was senior, Alex Hedlund, who won the 300 hurdles with a personal best time of 47.1 and finished 2nd in the 100 high hurdles with another personal best of 15.6. Freshman Randi Pinkerman continues to improve in the 100 dash. Randi sped to a 13.0 clocking to finish in 2nd place. Catrina Spangler finished in 4th place in the 400 with her personal best time of 65.3.

The Lady Eagle vaulting trio again had a productive meet. Senior Rachel priced equaled her best vault of 9-0 again to finish 2nd. Dani Barelmann equaled her best vault of 8-6 to finish in 4th and Tiffany Finkral got over 8-0 finish in 5th.

The distance events were again represented well by Tasha Lechtenberg, Lizzie Price and Dani Barelmann. Tasha placed 2nd in the 3200 and 4th in the 1600. Lizzie finished right behind Tasha in the 3200 placing 3rd. Dani Barelmann ran her best time of the year in the 1600, 5:51.2, to place third.

Freshman McKenzie Adamson continued to improve in the triple jump. Her jump of 32-06 was good enough for a 4th place finish.

The O'Neill shot putters placed three in the top six. Alison Depko finished in 3rd with a toss of 34-00.5. Kelsey Appleby threw her personal best of 33-03.5 to finish in 5th and Toni Hamik threw her personal best of 33-00.5 to finish in 6th. Kelsey also placed 6th in the discus with a 103-2 throw.

"I was very pleased with our girls efforts today," commented Coach Peterson. "We battled through the heat and had several personal bests today. With a lot of our performances today we have put ourselves in a pretty good position for qualifying some girls for State at our District Meet next week in Pierce."

Eagles Golfers Continue Season's Success

The Eagles took 3rd at the Wayne Golf Invite on Thursday, continuing a run of team placings this season. The O'Neill golf team has placed 3rd or higher at every outing this year.

NENAC Track

 

Bronco Stampede Track Invite

Eagle Athlete to Play Volleyball For The Broncos

From left to right: Coach Matt Buttermore, Hastings St. Cecilia Libby Kissinger (libero), O'Neill High School Alex Hedlund (outside hitter), Lincoln East Bianca Fischer (setter), Papillion La-Vista Miranda Muhs (middle blocker)

Alexandria Hedlund of O'Neill recently signed with the Hastings Broncos to play college volleyball. KBRX congratulates Alex and wishes her the best in her college career!

Eagle Golf, Track Complete Busy Week

The Eagle squad finished up the week with a 1st place finish at West Holt on Saturday.

The O'Neill golf team had a busy week of golf this week competing in three tournaments and a triangular. On Tuesday the varsity squad traveled to Hartington to take part in the Hartington Invite. The weather was a perfect day for golf with little to no wind and temp in the mid 70's. This was a very full field with many good golfers in attendance. O'Neill knew that they would have to be on their game if the were going to continue their winning ways. The first nine had the Eagles playing okay, and in a tight battle with Hartington CC and Plainview. The Eagles shot a 157 in the first nine. The Eagles were able to bear down and get things running on all cylinders on the last nine. The Eagles shot a 150 on the back nine to score a 307 total team score. This was good enough to win the team title by three strokes over Plainview and ten strokes over Hartington CC. O'Neill was lead by Luke Loecker who shot a 73 and placed 2nd. Nate Gotschall shot a career low round shooting a 76 and placing 6th. Dalton Jackson fired in a 78 which placed him 8th. Cody Belzer carded a 80 which placed him 9th. Riley Chohon rounded out the scoring for the Eagles shooting a 91.

The Eagles traveled to Ewing on Thursday to participate in a triangular with Ewing and West Holt. The Eagles were able to keep up the consistent play scoring a 154 for the day. Cody Belzer was the medalist for the day shooting a 36. Dalton Jackson and Nate Gotschall were able to both shoot 39's. Luke Locker was close behind shooting a 40 for the Eagles. Riley Chohon ended the scoring for the varsity carding a 42. The JV was led by Tristan Strong who shot a 41. Adam Soukup shot a 47, Matt Kelly shot a 51. Jon Hofer was able to shoot a 61. Jordon Christensen shot a 107 for the Eagles.

The Eagles finished the week with the JV going to Pierce on Saturday while the Varsity traveled to Atkinson for the West Holt invite. The varsity knew they were going to have a battle again with Plainview. After nine holes both teams were tied after the first nine holes. The scores stayed very close and came down to the last group that was to come in off the course. In the end O'Neill shot a 309 while Plainview was only one shot behind shooting a 310. O'Neill was led by Nate Gotschall who carded another career round, shooting a 74 and placing 3rd. Luke Loecker placed 4th with a 77. Cody Belzer and Dalton Jackson both shot 79's and placed 6th and 7th respectively.

The JV team at Pierce was led by Matt Kelly who scored a 94. Tristan Strong shot a 100 while Adam Soukup was close behind with a 101. Jon Hofer rounded out the scoring shooting a 111.

The Eagles Varsity is next in action Thursday when they travel to Wayne to take part in the Wayne invite.

Click to view the West Holt Invite Results.

Brock Schueth improved on 2 personal bests at the Mid States meet

              The O'Neill Boys Track team started out with a freshman/sophomore meet held at Pierce.  Jackson Latzel showed his strength by placing 4th in the high jump, 6th in long jump, and 3rd in the 800 meter run.  Jon Marvin placed 2nd in pole vault, Jon Hunt 4th in 300 intermediate hurdles, Devon Davidson 4th on 400 meter run, and Shea Lueninghoener 5th in the 3200 meter run.

              Then Thursday the O’Neill Boys competed in the Northeast Classic Invitational Track meet where only the top eight or twelve best athletes in the area competed against each other.  Tate Laursen placed second in the 300 intermediate hurdles, Derrick Hostert 2nd in the 1600 meter run, and Michael Hedlund 10th in the 800 meter run.  The 4 x 100 meter relay placed 5th with a time of 45.94.  That relay consisted of Tyler Knopp, Tate Laursen, Brock Schueth and Connor Peterson.  The 4 x 400 meter relay placed 3rd with a time of 3:32.07.  The relay consisted of Tate Laursen, Derrick Hostert, Michael Heldund, and Brock Schueth.

“I thought all the athletes ran well on Tuesday and Thursday.  We are going in the right direction,” said Hilker.

Then Saturday,  April 28th, O’Neill Boy’s team competed for the first time in the Mid-States Conference Meet.  There are currently nine teams in the conference with 5 teams being in the Class C and 4 Class B schools.

Leading the Eagles with a strong performance was Derrick Hostert.  Hostert ran his best 3200-meter run at a time of 10:17.3 and earning first place.  Then Hostert ran a strong race to win the 1600-meter run.  He sas also part of the winning 4 x 400. Tate Laursen earned top honors in the 300 intermediate hurdles with tying his personal best of 40.3.  He also ran on the 4 x 400 meter run, and 5th on the 4 x 100 meter relay. Sophomore Brock Schueth jumped 1 foot .25 inches further to get his personal best of 20 feet 5.25 inches placing him 2nd over all.  He also placed with a personal best of 53.0 seconds to place 4th in the 400 meter run.  Brock ran on the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 meter relay. Connor Peterson ran 6th in the 200 meter with a time of 23.5, and anchored the 4 x 100 meter relay. Jon Marvin placed 2nd in the pole vault with an 11 foot vault. The 4 x 800 also ran their personal best of 9:33.0 to place 6th and earned a point for the team and a medal.

“Overall the girls and boys team had 18 personal best at the meet.  The coaches couldn’t have been happier with the team,” said Coach Hilker.

Next week the team will compete at the Norfolk Catholic Invite Thursday, May 3rd. Field events start at 3:00 pm and running events at 5:00 pm.

Click to view the Boys Mid States Results.

Dani Barelmann won the conference 1600 Meter race

The O'Neill Lady Eagle track and field team had several individuals qualify for the annual Northeast Nebraska Track and Field Classic held each year in Norfolk. Participating this year were Dani Barelmann in the 1600, Tasha Lechtenberg in the 3200, Brandi Walters in the 100 high hurdles and the 300 low hurdles, Alex Hedlund in the 300 low hurdles and Rachel Price in the pole vault. Brandi Walters placed 5th in the 100 high hurdles and 4th in the 300 low hurdles.

On Saturday, the Lady Eagles competed in their first Mid State Conference meet held at the Norfolk Catholic Athletic Complex. Many girls turned in personal best performances. The Appleby sisters continue to do well in the discus event. Lindsey threw her personal best of 106 1/2 to place 4th and Kelsey threw 102-4 1/2 to place 6th. Lindsey also placed 6th in the shot put with a personal best throw of 32-9. Freshman McKenzie Adamson continues to improve in the triple jump with a leap of 32-2 1/2 which was good enough for 6th place. The pole vaulting tandem of Rachel Price, Dani Barelmann and Tiffany Finkral had a great day. Rachel placed 2nd in the event with her personal best with a vault of 9-0, Dani also vaulted her best ever going 8-6 which placed her 4th and Tiffany cleared 8-0 which was good enough for 6th.

One of the highlights of the day was Dani Barelmann winning the 1600 with a time of 5:51.6. Teammate Tasha Lechtenberg ran her personal best time of 5:57.5 which placed her 4th. Tasha also did well in the 3200 with a time of 12:36.2 placing her 3rd. Alex Hedlund had a good day in the hurdles placing 5th in the 100 high hurdles and running her personal time in the 300 low hurdles, 48.0, which placed her 3rd.

Comments from Coach Peterson: " felt we really competed at the level I want our team competing in order to be successful in Class B track and field. The Mid State Conference is a great test for how we will compete in our District, so I was very happy with our efforts. Our last regular meet of the year is at Norfolk Catholic on Thursday. We will then compete in the B-4 District Meet in Pierce on Thursday, May 10th."

Click to view the Girls Mid States Results.

Kyle Whitaker Graces The Cover of Rodeo News Magazine

The Rodeo News Magazine recently featured Kyle Whitaker on the cover, as well as a full length feature story. The magazine is available as a digital reader, which is a little hard to read, but can be found by clicking here.

EPPJ Hits The Low Round At NVC Golf

EPPJ's Evan Parks took the gold at NVC Golf on Tuesday

Seven full teams and several more JV teams took part in the NVC golf meet in Niobrara on Tuesday. With sunny skies, warm conditions and very little wind to deal with, golfers had a great day to get out on the course. EPPJ hit the low round, shooting a 320 as a team and putting 6 golfers from the Varsity and JV teams into the medals, including the top 3 individual performances of the day. Ewing was the runner up, doing so by topping North Central in a one hole playoff. To view the final leaderboard from the NVC golf meet, go to the Pinnacle Bank Scoreboard.

O'Neill Golfers' Sticks Continue To Sizzle

Coach Greg Buller's squad added a runner up trophy at the Mid States Conference Meet (picture courtesy of Leann Gotschall),

and the low score at Hartington to their season's haul.

The O'Neill Golf Team continues to play well this season. After a runner up finish at the Mid States Golf Invite, the Eagles took the gold at the Hartington invite Tuesday. Out of 16 full teams, O'Neill shot a 307, besting Plainview by 3 strokes. The Eagles also put 4 of their golfers in the top 10. Luke Loecker led the way with a 73 for 2nd, Nate Gotschall took 6th with a 76, Dalton Jackson and Cody Belzer went 9-10 with a 78 and 80, respectively, and Riley Chohon shot a 91.

Plainview had a great showing from their top 3 golfers, taking places in the top 5. Creighton was another area team at the Hartingon Invite. To view the results from the Invite, check out the Pinnacle Bank Scoreboard.

West Boyd Invite Track Meet - Live Blog

 

St. Mary's Activities Banquet To Be May 11 - Order Form For Tickets Here

4/24/12

The annual St. Mary's Activities Banquet will be held Friday, May 11 at the St. Mary's High School Gym.  The banquet will start at 6:00 pm.  This year St. Mary's alumni, Dr. Steve Schneider will be the speaker.  The meal will be catered by Westside Restaurant.

Tickets are on sale now and are $20 for adults and $10 for students.

Click here for ticket order form and more information.

Norfolk Track Classic Names Qualifiers

Garrett Farr of Stuart has the top long jump in the area heading into the Norfolk Classic.

The Norfolk Track and Field Classic released its field of qualifiers on Monday. The Classic takes the top athletes from around the area based on their best electronic times, distances, or heights. These athletes will be competing on Thursday, April 26th. The lineup may change due to scratches or any change from management. There are alternates for almost every event, so in the event of a scratch, the next best mark will be called up to fill the opening. The names underlined are alternates, while the highlighted names are the qualifiers from our coverage area.

NIOBRARA VALLEY CONFERENCE TRACK MEET LIVE BLOG

Walnofer Looks to Repeat in PAFRA

3/2/12

ERIC WALNOFER, formerly of Chambers, participated in a Bull Riding Competition last Saturday near Lawrence, KS. where he was able to stay on his bull for 8 seconds and receive the highest score of the evening. Walnofer will be working towards returning to Midland, TX again this fall to ride in the PAFRA (Professional Armed Forces Rodeo Association). Last November he won the Finals and the World Finals there and hopes to repeat! (the picture is Walnofer at the PAFRA).

O'Neill Small Ballers Finish Good Season

Pictured: Front Row (Left to Right) Eddie Rodriguez, Tye Hilker, Garrett Lake, and Wyatt Liewer.
Back Row (Left to Right): Coach Liewer, Alex Thramer, Shane Campbell, Justin Appleby, Trevor Dempster, Coach Hilker, Coach Appleby.

The O'Neill Eagle 6th grade boys basketball team recently completed their season with a 27-3 record. The team brought home championship trophies from tournaments in Norfolk, Battle Creek, Pierce, and St. Mary's, and came in 2nd in tournaments at West Holt & O'Neill.

Appleby Torches the Twine in 2nd Place Finish

Justin Appleby competed in the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest at Hastings on Sunday, March 25, 2012. Appleby won the local contest in O'Neill, the district competition in Spencer, and the regional contest in Wayne to advance to the State Competition in Hastings. Appleby finished as state runner-up in the 12 year-old division by knocking down 21-25 free throws and winning a sudden death playoff for 2nd place.

O’Neill Eagles Compete at Ainsworth Relays

Jon Marvin easily clears the bar at the Ainsworth Relays.

3/26/12

For results, check the Pinnacle Bank Scoreboard.

Last Friday, March 23rd, the O’Neill Eagles Boy Team competed in the Ainsworth Relays Meet.  Seven teams competed at the meet.  Every event in the meet was conducted as a relay including the field events.  The O’Neill Boy’s team were runners-up by eleven points. 

The O’Neill Boys team was able to place 1st in the pole vault, sprint medley, 195-shuttle hurdle relay, and distance medley relay.  Placing 2nd was the boy’s shot put and discus.  The boy’s 4 x 100 meter relay placed 3rd, and the 4 x 800 meter relay placed 5th.

“For the first showing, the team ran hard.  We are still getting into shape and we will keep improve with technique in the field events,” said Coach Hilker.

The O'Neill Lady Eagle Track Team opened up their season by competing in the Ainsworth Relays. The Lady Eagles finished in third in a tightly contested team title that changed hands with each event. Ainsworth finished as team champions with 94 points followed by Valentine with 92 and O'Neill with 81. The Lady Eagles would have finished with 10 more points after seemingly winning the 585 low hurdle shuttle relay, but were disqualified because of a runner leaving early.

All events were scored as relay events including the field events. The top three competitors distances were added together to score the events as a team. The Lady Eagles fared well winning the high jump, pole vault and the long jump. Freshman Randi Pinkerman and McKenzie Adamson both high jumped 4-6 to help their team to the victory. Alex Atkins finished with the best high jump of all competitors with a jump of 14-6.5 jump to lead her team to the win. The Lady Eagle pole vault crew fared well as they won their event. Team members Rachel Price, Dani Barelmann and Tiffany Finkral combined to win the event for O'Neill.

Other first place finishers for the Lady Eagles were the 4 x 100 relay team of Randi Pinkerman, Alex Hedlund, Rachel Price and Brandi Walters who tied the meet record with a time of 53.7. The high hurdle relay team of Katie Danielson, Brandi Walters and Alex Hedlund also won their event.
 

This week the O’Neill Eagles will compete at the Dan Lennon Invitational Track Invite, which is an indoor meet.   The Dan Lennon Track meet, held at the Dakota Dome, March 27th.  Then Friday, March 30th, the O’Neill Eagles will compete at the Plainview Invitational.

Eagles Hit the Links With Dual Win

The O'Neill Eagles and Plainview Pirates held a dual on Thursday at the O'Neill Country Club.

O'Neill Varsity shot a 160, while Plainview shot a 165. Mitch Klooz and Sam Mueret from Plainview tied for the low round of the dual shooting 36. Nate Gotschall lead the Eagles with a 38. Luke Loecker was close behind with a 39. Cody Belzer and Dalton Jackson rounded out the scoring for the Eagles Varsity shooting 41 and 42 respectively. O'Neill's young JV squad got off to a great start to the year with a strong showing in their first dual. The JV was lead by Jon Hofer shooting 48, while Tristan Strong shot a 49. Adam Soukup and Matt Kelly were able to both shoot 52's to round out the scoring for the JV. They were able to score a team total of 201 while Plainview's JV shot a 240. The Eagles are next in action on the 3rd of April when they host Neligh in another dual at the O'Neill Country Club.

2011-2012 NVC BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE

BOYS 1st TEAM

NAME                                                        SCHOOL                                                   GRADE

Tait Sibbel                                                 St. Mary’s                                                   12

R. J. Burtwistle                                          CWC                                                           12

Jon Alford                                                  West Boyd                                                  12

Ty Eiler                                                       St. Mary’s                                                   11

Ryan Larabee                                           Stuart                                                           12

Ryan Kaczor                                              West Boyd                                                  12

Adam Moon                                               St. Mary’s                                                   10

Jon Alstrom                                                North Central                                              12

BOYS 2nd TEAM

NAME                                                        SCHOOL                                                   GRADE

Carter Camp                                             North Central                                              11

Charley Burtwistle                                    CWC                                                            10

Blake Cunningham                                   Ewing                                                          10

Tom Chvala                                               St. Mary’s                                                    12

Dexter Black                                              West Boyd                                                  11

Aaron Cronk                                              Clearwater / Orchard                                 12

Josh Kemp                                                Niobrara / Verdigre                                    12

Tyler Timmerman                                      St. Mary’s                                                    12

BOYS HONORABLE MENTION

NAME                                                        SCHOOL                                                   GRADE

Will Burtwistle                                            CWC                                                           12

Travis Kester                                             Clearwater / Orchard                                 11

Jesse McKillip                                           Clearwater / Orchard                                 12

Dalton Schafer                                           Stuart                                                          12

Robert Nordby                                           Ewing                                                          10

T. J. Whipple                                              Santee                                                          9

Drew Schindler                                          EPPJ                                                           12

Evan Parks                                                 EPPJ                                                           12

Beau Purviance                                         Lynch                                                           11

Eric Lechtenberg                                       West Boyd                                                  11

Maurice Marbach                                      West Boyd                                                  12

Jacob Bathke                                             Niobrara / Verdigre                                   12

2011-2012 NVC GIRLS BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE

GIRLS 1st TEAM

NAME                                                        SCHOOL                                                   GRADE

McKenna Rossmeier                                 Lynch                                                          11

Brooke Bauer                                             St. Mary’s                                                   10

Chelsi Mescher                                          EPPJ                                                          11

Taylor Twibell                                              Clearwater / Orchard                                12

Darcy Hagberg                                           West Boyd                                                 12

Riley Funk                                                   Ewing                                                          10

Stephanie Bode                                         EPPJ                                                          10

Bridget Schneider                                      St. Mary’s                                                     9

GIRLS 2nd TEAM

NAME                                                        SCHOOL                                                   GRADE

Marissa Koenig                                         CWC                                                             9

Megan Schneider                                      St. Mary’s                                                    12

Ashli Kunz                                                   Stuart                                                           12

Hannah Sobotka                                        West Boyd                                                  10

Jessi Pongratz                                           St. Mary’s                                                    11

Ryann Ickes                                                Clearwater / Orchard                                 10

Lauren Selting                                            EPPJ                                                           12

Rebekah Binder                                         West Boyd                                                  12

GIRLS HONORABLE MENTION

NAME                                                        SCHOOL                                                   GRADE

Harlee Hollenbeck                                     North Central                                              12

Jamie Turpin                                              North Central                                              10

Kelsey Knust                                              Clearwater / Orchard                                 11

Hannah Rittscher                                       Clearwater / Orchard                                 10

Emily Filsinger                                           Clearwater / Orchard                                 10

Kortney Kasselder                                     CWC                                                           10

Jordan Wietzki                                           CWC                                                           11

Monica Vogel                                             Stuart                                                          12

Caitlin Kunz                                                 Stuart                                                          11

Macy Ahlers                                                West Boyd                                                  10

Tessa Ives                                                   Niobrara / Verdigre                                   11

Ashley Chinana                                          Niobrara / Verdigre                                    12

Laura Hynes                                               Ewing                                                           11

Natasha Koenig                                         Ewing                                                           12

Katie Koenig                                              Ewing                                                             9

Carey Eischeid                                          EPPJ                                                            12

Ashley Bode                                               EPPJ                                                            12

Justine Blumenstock                                 St. Mary’s                                                      10

Huskers to Meet North Dakota State in Norfolk

Lincoln- The Nebraska volleyball team announced on Thursday that it will play North Dakota State on Saturday, April 7 at the Cox Activities Center on the campus of Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Neb., as part of the Huskers’ spring schedule. The match is set to start at 3 p.m., with doors opening 90 minutes prior to serve.

Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, March 14 at Northeast Community College. They are $10 and can be purchased on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. by calling (402) 844-7272. There will be 1,500 tickets sold through Northeast Community College, while 500 tickets will be sold through the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office starting on Friday, March 9. Tickets can be purchased on Huskers.com, by calling 800-8-BIGRED or by visiting the NU Ticket Office in person 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Huskers have previously announced another spring match with Wichita State at the NU Coliseum on Saturday, April 14. The contest will feature side-out scoring. Both reserved and general admission tickets are currently on sale at Huskers.com, by calling the NU Ticket Office at 800-8BIGRED or by visiting the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office in person weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Reserved tickets are $10 with GA tickets set at $8. All currently enrolled UNL students are eligible to receive one free ticket to the spring match, but must secure a ticket in advance either online at Huskers.com, by phone at 800-8BIGRED or in person at the Athletic Ticket Office located just west of Memorial Stadium, while supplies last.

Wayne State College "All-Area" Team

In the back row from left to right: Jessica Heithoff (Elgin High School), Laura Burtwistle (Chambers High School), Kyla Walnofer (Chambers High School), Amber Johnson (Stuart High School), Montana Libolt (Chambers High School), and Amber Classen (West Boyd High School)
Front row from left to right: Shelby Gutshall (O'Neill Public High School), Michelle Bauer (Elgin High School),

Katie Matthews (O'Neill Public High School), and Karmen Rust (West Boyd High School)

The Wayne State Intramurals saw a heavy dose of Northeast/North Central Nebraska talent in the championships, as the 1st place team was made up entirely of girls from the KBRX coverage area. Most of these girls were also on the same team last year, and were able to put together back-to-back championships. Almost all of these girls competed against each other in high school, but came together to play as one team. Every coach in the area touts the NVC as being a tough conference, and here is living proof, as 4 NVC schools are represented on this team. The addition of two O'Neill High graduates rounds out the roster, making these girls the queens of Wayne State Intramural Basketball.

Huskers' Burkhead Named 2012 Uplifting Althletes Rare Disease Champion

BETHESDA, Md. (February 29, 2012) – Nebraska Running Back Rex Burkhead is named the 2012 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion after inspiring a young fan battling a rare brain cancer. The announcement was made Wednesday during a special event held in Bethesda, Md., at the National Institutes of Health’s annual Rare Disease Day.    

Uplifting Athletes is a nonprofit organization uniting college football teams under the common goal of raising awareness and funds in the fight against rare diseases. A rare disease is defined as one that affects less than 200,000 people. Because of their rare designation, these diseases often receive little or no funding to support awareness and research to treat or cure illnesses. With more than 7,000 rare diseases in existence, the organization impacts more than 30-million Americans.

Nebraska Running Back Rex Burkhead didn't realize lunch with a stranger in September this past year would change his life.  It was then that he met 6-year-old Jack Hoffman.  Hoffman had been diagnosed with a rare pediatric brain tumor called a low grade glioma; Jack's ultimate dream was to meet Burkhead.  “I couldn’t believe how positive he was,” Burkhead said.  “He didn’t feel sorry for himself, whatsoever.” Jack’s father, Andrew Hoffman says Rex took an interest in Jack, almost instantly palling around with him.  It was as if at least for that day, there was not a care in the world for Jack.  Rex and his teammates wear wristbands in honor of Jack.

Rex has followed up with Jack numerous times on the phone and in person, even calling Jack days before a second scheduled surgery in Boston.  It has meant the world to Jack, knowing that Rex cares so much.  The Hoffmans are confident that Rex is making a difference in their son’s life.  Although the road ahead is long, they say doctors believe the prognosis is favorable.

"Rex is a shining example of a college football player who realizes the position he's in to make a difference," said Uplifting Athletes founder and Executive Director Scott Shirley.  "The friendship he's forged with Jack has inspired him and his family with hope and has brought much needed attention to a rare disease cause.  It's fitting to recognize him with this honor and place his name along side of our former winners."

The Rare Disease Champion Award, determined by an online vote among four finalists nominated by their schools or organizations, is presented annually to recognize a leader in the world of college football who has made a positive and lasting impact on the rare disease community.  A record number of votes - more than 76,000 - were cast for this year's award. 

Other finalists for the 2012 Rare Disease Champion Award included North Carolina State's Wayne Crawford, UCLA's Luke Gane and Florida's David Lerner.  Burkhead will receive the sculpture at a date to be announced later.

Cardinal Inks Letter of Intent

2/24/12

Tait Sibbel, son of Jim and Carol Sibbel, signed a letter of intent to attend college and play football at Concordia University. The St. Mary's Cardinal student made the decision several weeks ago, and signed with the Bulldogs on Friday. KBRX wishes Tait the best of luck in his college career.

O'Neill Kids Wrestling Tournament

2/14/12

The 2012 O'Neill Kids Wrestling Tournament sponsored by the O'Neill Wrestling Club is right around the corner.  It will be held Friday, February 24 at the O'Neill High School.  There will be a $10 entry fee with registrations for grades PreK-8th grade due Friday morning no later than 11 a.m. (we will not accept late entries).  The tournament will start at 5:30 p.m. with wrestlers needing to check in 1/2 an hour before their start times.  You can find the entry form on the O'Neill Leprechaun Youth Sports Facebook page.  If you have any questions please feel free to call (402) 336-1544 or (402) 336-2812.

The Leprechaun wrestling club would also like to congratulate our State Qualifers!

O'Neill Grapplers Send 8 to State

David Fox scores near-fall on Madison's Trae Deader in the 152 lbs. finals at the C-2 District Tournament held at Norfolk Catholic (Photo by Kathy Marvin)

With their second trip to the Norfolk Catholic High School in a weeks time the O’Neill Eagle grapplers ushered in the start of the post season with their participation in the C-2 District Wrestling Tournament held in the Norfolk Catholic Activities Center.  The young Eagle squad competed against wrestlers from 15 other schools in and around Northeast Nebraska for a chance to punch their ticket to the newly renamed Century Link Center in Omaha and the 2012 NSAA State Wrestling Championships.  Only the top four wrestlers in each weight class earn this opportunity.  The Eagles sent a full and healthy line-up into action on Friday and Saturday. These wrestlers who finished in 3rd a week previously to champion Madison and runner-up Battle Creek at the Mid-states Conference tournament got off to a very quick start and never looked back.  The Eagles placed 4 wrestlers into the championship finals and brought another 4 through to the consolation finals for a total of 8 state qualifiers.  They scored 171.5 team points to finish in 2nd behind Madison’s 206 points and ahead of 3rd place Battle Creek’s 118.5 points and 4th place West Point-Beemer’s 118 points.

David Fox who went in as fourth seed had a break out performance wrestling his way through a very tough bracket to District Championship honors at 152 lbs.  David avenged a loss from the previous week when he scored a 13-3 victory over Trae Deader of Madison in the finals.  Freshman classmate Blake Walters, who came in as the number two seed, joined him at the top of the medal stand, after defeating Colby Wolff of Stanton in his final match of the tournament at 120 lbs.  Jon Marvin and Joe Gillham took home runner-up honors in the 106 lbs. weight class and 113 lbs. weight class respectively; while Spencer Knopp placed 3rd at 182 lbs.  O’Neill had 3 individuals placing 4th:  Cory Rowse, at 132 lbs; Morgan Sterns, at 195 lbs; and Thomas Schipporeit, at 220 lbs.

“Our kids really responded well to what we went through last week.  We spent a lot of time talking about how if we wanted to be a good team we needed everyone to contribute.  We couldn’t just expect a handful of guys to be our point scorers and expect to have a chance at a district plaque.  I’m really proud of the fact that all of our wrestlers contributed in this result.  I know I’ve got some guys with some heavy hearts after falling a little short individually but they were huge in pushing us past West Point and Battle Creek.  Our boys won a lot of matches that on paper they weren’t suppose to win; they showed a lot of heart.  Overall, I’d say it was a good day to be an Eagle,” commented coach Bryan Corkle.

The Eagles will be in action on Thursday morning at the Century Link Center in Omaha starting at 9:30 am.  The tournament concludes with the finals, which begin on Saturday starting at 2 pm and air on NET.

District Wrestling Results

Congratulations to the area wrestlers to make the State Tournament. For detailed results, check the Pinnacle Bank Scoreboard.

O'Neill Tournament Program From 1944

Thanks to Sandy Osborne for sending us images of a program from a 1944 basketball tournament held in O'Neill.

2/10/12

O'Neill Golfer Signs To Be A Warrior

2/9/12

(L to R): Patti Depko, O'Neill Coach Dan Fernau, Allison Depko, Midland Coach Warren Kuhl, Mike Depko

Allison Depko of O'Neill signed a letter of intent to play golf for Midland University on Thursday. Depko finished an outstanding career at O'Neill, placing inside the top 5 in every outing her senior year, culminating in a 9th place finish at State. KBRX congratulates Depko and wishes her the best with her college career.

O'Neill Wrestlers Place 3rd at Mid-States

Angel Rodriguez works for a fall against Nathan Brtek of Norfolk Catholic (Photo by Kathy Marvin)

The O’Neill wrestlers participated in their first Midstates Conference tournament this past Friday.  The tournament was scheduled to take place Saturday but with the impending winter weather the tournament was moved up to Friday afternoon.  The Eagles placed third overall as a team behind champion Madison and runner-up Battle Creek.  The Eagles finished with 139.5 team points, just 1.5 points behind Battle Creek.  Medalists for the Eagles were as follows:  Jon Marvin 1st, Joe Gillham 2nd, Blake Walters 1st, Cory Rowse 4th, Angel Rodriguez 1st, David Fox 2nd, Spencer Knopp 3rd, and Morgan Sterns 2nd.  O’Neill Senior Angel Rodriguez’s conference championship was the first tournament championship of his career.  Rodriguez notched the victory in dramatic fashion, avenging a loss from earlier in the season with a come from behind victory over Jacob Meyer from Boone Central.  The O’Neill wrestler was down by one point in the waning seconds of the match before he was able to take Meyer down to his back securing the near-fall in a 9-5 victory.  O’Neill assistant coach Tyler Cole had the following to say about the Eagle’s performance:  “We had some very good individual performances today.  Team wise, it was disappointing to finish behind Battle Creek by such a slim margin.  The one and a half points that separated us is basically one more win in the tournament or even a pin when we just won by decision.  We need to find a way to get those.  Hopefully our guys recognize this and we’ll see some improvements going into districts.”  The Eagles will be back in Norfolk this Friday for the C-2 District tournament.

Niobrara Valley Conference Tournament Consolation & Championship Games Held

St. Mary's Girls NVC Champions 2012

ELGIN PUBLIC/POPE JOHN 2nd Place

No Picture Available

West Boyd Spartants NVC Girls 3rd Place

Ewing Tigers NVC Girls 4th Place

St. Mary's Cardinals NVC Boys Champions

CWC Renegades NVC Boys Second Place

West Boyd Spartans NVC Boys Third Place

KBRX snapped a few pictures of this contest. Click here to see them.

Stuart Broncos NVC Boys Fourth Place

Robert Kokesh on the Dawg Pound

The KBRX crew was excited to have Robert Kokesh join us on the Dawg Pound Sports Show on Wednesday. Kokesh is from Wagner, South Dakota. A standout wrestler in high school, Robert joined the Husker wrestling squad at 165 lbs. He won Nebraska's first Big Ten Wrestler of the Week award for a 5-0 upset over then #3 ranked Wyoming wrestler Shane Onufer. Kokesh has since risen to #6 in the national rankings. To listen to the interview, click here.