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Friday, Feb. 26

Girls basketball district finals

Class C1-5 at Neligh-Oakdale: Lutheran High Northeast def. Ord, 54-29.

Class D1-4 at Battle Creek: Elkhorn Valley def. Osmond, 63-44.

Class D2-3 at Norfolk Catholic: Wynot def. O'Neill St. Mary's, 60-37.

Class D2-4 at Burwell: Chambers def. Pleasanton, 59-53.

Pairings for the girls state basketball tournament will be released late Saturday or early Sunday.

Thursday, Feb. 25

Boys basketball subdistrict finals

Class C1-9 at Norfolk: Norfolk Catholic def. Pierce, 67-40.

Class C1-10 at West Holt: Valentine def. Ord, 61-42.

Class C1-11 at Lexington: Minden def. Kearney Catholic, 75-63 in double overtime.

Class C1-12 at Alliance: Chadron def. Kimball, 61-31.

Class C2-8 at Neligh-Oakdale: Burwell def. Creighton, 50-43.

Class D1-7 at Wausa: Randolph def. Bloomfield, 57-42.

Class D1-8 at O'Neill: North Central def. West Boyd, 38-36.

Class D1-12 at Oshkosh: Sandhills/Thedford def. Creek Valley, 53-40.

Class D2-6 at Creighton: Lynch def. O'Neill St. Mary's, 51-47.

Class D2-7 at Ord: Ewing def. Chambers, 66-39.

Class D2-12 at Gordon-Rushville: Hay Springs def. Cody-Kilgore, 67-49.

Tuesday, Feb. 23

Boys basketball subdistrict semifinals

Class C1-10 at West Holt: Ord def. Ainsworth, 58-41; Valentine def. O'Neill, 66-47.

Class C2-8 at Neligh-Oakdale: Burwell def. Plainview, 79-43; Creighton def. West Holt, 60-49.

Class D1-8 at O'Neill: North Central def. Clearwater/Orchard, 51-48; West Boyd def. Elkhorn Valley, 55-48.

Class D1-12 at Oshkosh: Creek Valley def. Crawford, 39-30; Sandhills/Thedford def. Leyton, 85-30.

Class D2-6 at Creighton: Lynch def. Stuart, 56-52; O'Neill St. Mary's def. Verdigre, 51-44.

Class D2-7 at Ord: Chambers def. Greeley/Wolbach, 69-54; Ewing def. North Loup-Scotia, 82-39.

Monday, Feb. 22

Boys basketball subdistricts

Class C1-10 at West Holt: Ord def. Broken Bow, 50-49.

Class C2-8 at Neligh-Oakdale: Plainview def. Elgin/Elgin Pope John, 57-47.

Class D1-8 at O'Neill: Elkhorn Valley def. Neligh-Oakdale, 58-46.

Class D2-6 at Creighton: Verdigre def. Niobrara, 68-51.

Saturday, Feb. 20

Boys basketball - West Holt def. Winside, 62-29.

Class C State Wrestling

Ainsworth

Ainsworth senior Justin West wrestled fifth place after losing his consolation semifinal match at 160 pounds by a 14-6 major decision to Jacob Hinrichson of Syracuse. In the fifth-place match, West was pinned in 3:40 by Jeremiah Starostka of Grand Island Central Catholic. The match was a rematch of the tournament opener, with Starostka winning that match up as well.

Ainsworth junior Nathaniel Allen scored his first victory by decision of the season at 285 pounds, beating Alex Caples of Syracuse, 4-1. Allen, who set the Ainsworth single season pins record this year, had won all his previous matches by pin or forfeit. His five losses on the year have all come by decision. Allen wrestled Aaron Robertson of Wood River for third in the heavyweight division, losing a close 5-4 decision to end his junior year with a fourth-place medal.

Valentine

Eric Bopp was pinned in 2:22 of his consolation semifinal match at 125 pounds by Toby Thompson of Loomis/Bertrand. In the fifth-place match, Bopp scored a 6-4 decision victory over Brody Welchert of Fort Calhoun. Bopp earned the fifth-place medal with the victory.

West Holt

At 135 pounds, Wesley Cole lost by fall to Connor Blanco of Mitchell in 2:57. The loss sent Cole into the fifth-place match, where he lost a 6-2 decision to Drew Peterson of Central City to finish with the sixth-place medal.

Friday, Feb. 19

Girls Subdistrict basketball

Class C2-8 title game: Elgin/Elgin Pope John def. West Holt, 59-49.

Class D1-8 title game: Elkhorn Valley def. West Boyd, 52-46.

Boys basketball

Burwell def. Chambers, 51-40; Lynch def. Wheeler Central, 60-35; O'Neill def. Battle Creek, 66-48; North Central def. Stuart, 44-41; West Boyd def. Clearwater/Orchard, 51-35. 

Class C State Wrestling

Ainsworth

In the first wrestle-back round, freshman Keaton Gracey won a 6-3 decision over Yutan's Matthew Callahan at 103 pounds. Gracey advanced to the second round wrestle-backs against Seth Smedra of Ord, where he was pinned in 3:43, ending his tournament. At 152 pounds, senior Ty Shelbourn dropped an 11-9 decision to Roderick Wagner of Southeast Consolidated. Shelbourn's state tournament is over. At 160 pounds, senior Justin West picked up his first victory of the state tournament with an 8-1 decision over Travis Wright of Battle Creek. West advanced to the second round wrestle-backs against Kameron Lehnart of Central City, where he won a hard-fought 7-6 decision to advance to one win shy of the medal round. At 171 pounds, Taylor Gross advanced to the third-round consolation with a 10-2 major decision victory over Jordan Seidel of Sargent-Burwell. At 285 pounds, Nathaniel Allen needed just 10 seconds to dispatch Kyle Berglund of Creighton.

In the third round consolation Friday evening, West scored a 13-2 major decision victory over Roy Garza of Mitchell, giving the senior a state medal at 160 pounds. West wrestles Jacob Hinrichson of Syracuse Saturday morning. With a win, he will wrestle for third place. A loss sends him to the fifth-place match. At 171 pounds, Gross lost a hard-fought 4-2 decision to Jonathan Martin of Wood River. The junior's state tournament run is now over. Allen pinned Filipi in 1:24 to secure a medal in the heavyweight division. Allen wrestles Saturday morning against Alex Caples of Syracuse. With a win, Allen will wrestle for third place. A loss will send him to the fifth-place match.

Valentine

In the first wrestle-back round, Marcus Nelson advanced at 135 pounds with an 11-7 decision over Heath Maurer of Doniphan-Trumbull. At 145 pounds, Jess Shelbourn was pinned by Mitch Goering of Syracuse in 4:57, ending his state tournament. At 152 pounds, Colten Lamb was pinned in :58 by Jerrod Puncochar of Grand Island Central Catholic. At 215 pounds, Kethan Mercure forfeited his match against Alex Wessles of Weeping Water, ending his tournament. In the second wrestle-back round at 125 pounds, Eric Bopp advanced with a 3-2 victory over Eric Knight of Central City. At 130 pounds, Eric Arnold lost a 7-0 decision to Derek Holt of St. Paul, ending Arnold's tournament. At 135 pounds, Nelson's season came to an end in the second round wrestle-backs by a 7-3 decision at the hands of Seth Deinert of Malcolm.

In his third round consolation match at 125 pounds, Bopp picked up a 9-6 decision over Zachary Small of St. Cecilia. He now wrestles Toby Thompson of Loomis/Bertrand to determine if he will wrestle for third or fifth place.

West Holt

In the wrestle-back round at 285 pounds, Tyler Butterfield's tournament came to an end by a 7-0 decision at the hands of Joel Sahoulka of Weeping Water. In the second round wrestle-backs, Nicholas Schrunk's season came to an end with a 4-2 overtime loss to Luke DeLong of Fillmore Central. Wesley Cole is the final West Holt wrestler still alive.

In his semifinal match, Cole was beaten by major decision, 10-1, as Ryan Pohlman of Raymond Central punched his ticket to the championship match at 135 pounds. Cole faces Connor Blanco of Mitchell Saturday morning to determine whether he will wrestle for third or fifth place.

Thursday, Feb. 18

Girls basketball subdistricts

Class C1-10 title game - Ord def. Valentine, 38-35.

Class C2-8 semifinals - West Holt def. Creighton, 49-42; Elgin/Elgin Pope John def. Plainview, 38-22.

Class D1-8 semifinals - West Boyd def. North Central, 37-22; Elkhorn Valley def. Neligh-Oakdale, 73-24.

Class D2-6 title game - O'Neill St. Mary's def. Stuart, 53-31.

Class C State Wrestling

Ainsworth

Two Ainsworth wrestlers won their opening round matches at the Class C State Wrestling Championships in Omaha's Qwest Center. Junior Taylor Gross scored a 12-7 victory by decision over Spencer Steffen of Crofton. At 285 pounds, junior Nathaniel Allen pinned Weeping Water's Joel Sahulka in 3:46. Three Ainsworth wrestlers lost their first-round matches and will begin the wrestle-back rounds Friday. At 103 pounds, freshman Keaton Gracey lost a 14-5 major decision to Tristan Bettenhausen of West Point-Beemer. At 152 pounds, Bulldog senior Ty Shelbourn was pinned by Shelton Mozena of Weeping Water in a time of 3:17. At 160 pounds, Ainsworth senior Justin West lost by an 18-3 technical fall to Jeremiah Starostka of Grand Island Central Catholic.

In the quarterfinals, Gross dropped a 12-0 major decision to Nyle Bartling of Syracuse, who moves on to the semifinals with a record of 36-2. Allen was beaten by a 3-2 decision to Traygan Mumford of Thayer Central. The next matches for Allen and Gross will come Friday in the second round of wrestle-backs.

Friday, Gracey's first match at 103 pounds will come against Matt Callahan of Yutan in the wrestle-back round. Shelbourn will take on Rhoderick Wagner of South Central Nebraska Unified at 152 pounds. At 160 pounds, West will face Travis Wright of Battle Creek.

Valentine

Two Valentine wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinal round, as 125-pounder Eric Bopp scored a 17-9 major decision victory over Michael Printz of Syracuse. Joining Bopp in the quarterfinals is teammate Eric Arnold. Arnold picked up an 11-9 decision over Bradley Lanman of Battle Creek.

Four Badgers were beaten in the first round. At 135 pounds, Marcus Nelson found himself on the wrong end of a 6-0 decision to Christian Hawk of Battle Creek. Nelson faces Heath Maurer of Doniphan-Trumble Friday in the wrestle-back round. At 145 pounds, Jess Shelbourn lost by technical fall, 17-0, to unbeaten Austin Wilson of Hastings St. Cecilia. Shelbourn takes on Mitch Goering of Syracuse in the first round of wrestle-backs Friday. At 152 pounds, Colten Lamb was pinned by Dillon Bates of Wilber-Clatonia in 3:02, and will next wrestle Jerrod Puncochar of Grand Island Central Catholic. At 215 pounds, Kethan Mercure was forced to forfeit his match to Jacob Schwartz of David City due to injury. If he can wrestle Friday, Mercure will meet a district champion, Alex Wessles of Weeping Water, who was upset in the opening round.

In the quarterfinals, Bopp was pinned by Garrett Lambrecht of Wood River with just 11 seconds remaining in the match. Arnold found himself on the wrong end of a 10-2 major decision at the hands of Joseph Tickle of Hastings St. Cecilia. Both Bopp and Arnold will wrestle Friday in the second round consolation matches.

West Holt

Two of West Holt's three state qualifiers advanced to the quarterfinals. At 135 pounds, Wesley Cole pinned Justin Melia of Ord in 3:03. At 145 pounds, senior Nicholas Schrunk secured a 16-6 major decision win over Levi Likens of Tri County. At 285 pounds, sophomore Tyler Butterfield was pinned in :57 by Traygan Mumford of Thayer Central. Butterfield's wrestle-back opponent Friday is Joel Sahulka, who was pinned by Nathaniel Allen of Ainsworth in the opening round.

In the quarterfinals, Cole emerged with a 5-3 decision over Alex Stepanek of St. Paul. Cole will next wrestle Friday evening for a spot in the 135-pound championship match. Standing in the way is Ryan Pohlman of Raymond Central, who is now 44-1 on the year with two wins in the state tournament. At 145 pounds, Schrunk was pinned in the third period by Jed Fenske of Sargent-Burwell, and will wrestle Friday in a second round consolation match.

Wednesday, Feb. 17

Girls Subdistrict Basketball

Class D2-6: Stuart def. Lynch, 47-36; O'Neill St. Mary's def. Verdigre, 67-41.

Tuesday, Feb. 16

Girls Subdistrict Basketball

Class C1-10: Valentine def. Broken Bow, 51-34; Ord def. O'Neill, 41-29.

Class C2-8: Plainview def. Burwell, 62-41.

Class D1-8: Neligh-Oakdale def. Clearwater/Orchard, 45-36.

Class D2-6: Verdigre def. Niobrara, 47-27.

Monday, Feb. 15

Ainsworth 7th Grade Boy's Basketball Ainsworth def. Burwell 49-36.  Ainsworth 8th Grade Boy's Basketball Burwell def. Ainsworth 45-39.

Class C1-10 Girls Subdistrict: Broken Bow def. Ainsworth, 37-30.

Sunday, Feb. 14

The pairings have been released for the Nebraska State Wrestling Championships, which will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the Qwest Center at Omaha. Ainsworth has five wrestlers competing in Class C, Valentine is sending six wrestlers and three are competing for West Holt.

For the Bulldogs, freshman Keaton Gracey (21-15 record) will face district champion Tristan Bettenhausen of West Point-Beemer (32-3), also a freshman, at 103 pounds. At 152 pounds, senior Ty Shelbourn (23-19) meets district champion Shelton Mozena, a senior, of Weeping Water (39-2). At 160 pounds, Bulldog senior Justin West (27-11) faces sophomore Jeremiah Starostka of Grand Island Central Catholic (24-4), also a district champion. At 171 pounds, Ainsworth junior Taylor Gross (17-4) will meet third-place finisher Spencer Steffen of Crofton (33-9), a senior. At heavyweight, Nathaniel Allen of Ainsworth (32-4) will square off against Weeping Water junior Joel Sahulka (26-12), who finished third in district competition.

For Valentine, at 125 pounds,  senior Eric Bopp (26-10) faces Michael Printz of Syracuse (20-9). At 130 pounds, Badger sophomore Eric Arnold (27-11) meets Bradley Lanman of Battle Creek (34-8). At 135 pounds, freshman Marcus Nelson of Valentine (27-10) faces Christian Hawk of Battle Creek (27-13). At 145 pounds, Badger Jess Shelbourn (13-6) will take on unbeaten Austin Wilson of Hastings St. Cecilia (44-0). At 152 pounds, Colten Lamb of Valentine (12-10) faces Dillon Bates of Wilber-Clatonia (33-4), and at 215 pounds, Kethan Mercure (21-11) meets Jacob Schwartz of David City (30-10).

For West Holt, at 135 pounds, sophomore Wesley Cole (29-10) takes on Justin Melia of Ord (26-12). At 145 pounds, senior Nicholas Schrunk, West Holt (36-5) meets Levi Likens of Tri County (19-17). At heavyweight, sophomore Tyler Butterfield (14-17) faces Traygan Mumford of Thayer Central (29-5).

Saturday, Feb. 13

Ainsworth will send five wrestlers to the Class C State Tournament. The Bulldogs finished seventh in the C-4 District, which wrapped up Saturday at Hershey. For Ainsworth, Nathaniel Allen finished second at 285 pounds. Taylor Gross took second at 171 to qualify. Finishing fourth and securing a berth in the state tournament for Ainsworth were Keaton Gracey at 103 pounds, Ty Shelbourn at 152 pounds and Justin West at 160 pounds. Valentine finished as the district runner-up to Mitchell and qualified six wrestlers for state. Qualifying for the Badgers were Eric Bopp (second at 125), Eric Arnold (third at 130), Marcus Nelson (second at 135), Jess Shelbourn (fourth at 145), Colten Lamb (third at 152) and Kethan Mercure (third at 215).

C4 at Hershey
Team Scoring-Qualifiers: Mitchell 202.5-8. Valentine 135.5-6. Sargent/Burwell 123-5. Gordon-Rushville 114-6. Ord 112.5-5. Kearney Catholic 109-4. Ainsworth 104-5. Kimball 68-2. Southern Valley 68-4. Chase County 66-4. Loomis/Bertrand 59-2. Bridgeport 42-2. Hershey 37-1. Bayard 33-1. Hitchcock County/Wauneta-Palis 24-1.
Individuals
103-- 1. Brandon Trout, Mitchell, pinned Seth Smedra, Ord, 5:55; 3. Molly Glur, Southern Valley, def. Keaton Gracey, Ainsworth, 3-1.
112-- 1. Keagon Blanco, Mitchell, def. Jesse Retzlaff, Gordon-Rushville, 13-2; 3. Keithn Cochran, Chase County, def. Jesse Hays, Southern Valley, 12-4.
119-- 1. Shawn Nagel, Kimball, def. Anthony Pacheco, Kearney Catholic, 10-1; 3. Dan Proskocil, Ord, def. Chris Canseco, Mitchell, 16-11.
125-- 1. Toby Thompson, Loomis/Bertrand, pinned Eric Bopp, Valentine, 3:34; 3. Joseph Mendez, Bayard, pinned Logun Smolik, Sargent/Burwell, 3:59.
130-- 1. Michael Rogers, Kearney Catholic, pinned Geoff Foth, Ord, 1:30; 3. Eric Arnold, Valentine, def. Cyrus Thomas, Southern Valley, 12-3.
135-- 1. Connor Blanco, Mitchell, pinned Marcus Nelson, Valentine, 1:31; 3. Justin Melia, Ord, pinned Chance Hall, Bridgeport, 4:02.
140-- 1. Scott Matson, Kearney Catholic, def. Bryce Wiedeman, Mitchell, 15-11; 3. Jeremiah Lueth, Chase County, pinned Tyler Frederick, Hershey, 2:47.
145-- 1. Jed Fenske, Sargent/Burwell, def. Matt Klinginsmith, Kearney Catholic, 15-7; 3. Michael Robinson, Kimball, pinned Jess Shelbourn, Valentine, 1:25.
152-- 1. Tanner Balfour, Sargent/Burwell, pinned Jesse Richardson, Gordon-Rushville, 2:56; 3. Colten Lamb, Valentine, pinned Ty Shelbourn, Ainsworth, 1:54.
160-- 1. Blake Augustyn, Ord, def. Roy Garza, Mitchell, 22-6; 3. Andy Loy, Gordon-Rushville, def. Justin West, Ainsworth, 6-5.
171-- 1. Willie Schwartzkopf, Mitchell, won by default over Taylor Gross, Ainsworth; 3. Blake Peterson, Gordon-Rushville, def. Jordan Seidel, Sargent/Burwell, 7-5 OT.
189-- 1. Jordan Debus, Mitchell, won by default over Dexter Becker, Southern Valley; 3. Josh Hoxworth, Bridgeport, def. Jesse Metzger, Gordon-Rushville, 7-3.
215-- 1. Matt Pribil, Gordon-Rushville, def. Adam Simpson, Hitchcock County/Wauneta-Palis, 6-4; 3. Kethan Mercure, Valentine, def. Tyler Roenfeldt, Chase County, 7-3.
285-- 1. Clayton Olcott, Sargent/Burwell, def. Nathaniel Allen, Ainsworth, 4-1; 3. Dakota Vojta, Loomis/Bertrand, pinned Nathan Hinohosa, Chase County, 1:34.

West Holt will send three wrestlers to the Class C state meet after scoring 58 points Saturday in the Class C-2 District meet at West Point-Beemer. For the Huskies, Wesley Cole placed second at 135 pounds, Nicholas Schrunk took second at 145 pounds and Tyler Butterfield finished fourth at 285 pounds,

C2 at West Point-Beemer
Team Scoring-Qualifiers: Madison 220.5-11. Battle Creek 167.5-8. North Bend Central 127-5. West Point-Beemer 113.5-4. Crofton 98-5. Tekamah-Herman 91-5. Creighton/Verdigre 86-3. Newman Grove/Lindsay Holy Fami 86-4. Logan View 69.5-2. Lutheran High Northeast 59-3. West Holt 58-3. Pierce 48.5-1. Hartington Cedar Catholic 27-1. Norfolk Catholic 19-1.
Individuals
103-- 1. Tristan Bettenhausen, West Point-Beemer, def. Clay Roubal, North Bend Central, 15-2; 3. Cody Workman, Tekamah-Herman, def. Dylan Zoucha, Newman Grove/Lindsay Holy Fami, 6-3.
112-- 1. Lake Thompson, Battle Creek, def. Wyatt Chapman, North Bend Central, 4-3; 3. Dylan Gaudreault, Madison, def. Peter Inglehart, Lutheran High Northeast, 12-1.
119-- 1. Jeff Green, West Point-Beemer, def. Blake Eisenmann, Madison, 12-7; 3. Nicholas Young, Battle Creek, def. Braden McCurdy, North Bend Central, 7-1.
125-- 1. Karl Bonner, Battle Creek, def. Nathan Merchen, Crofton, 4-0; 3. Ricky Avila, Madison, def. Sheldon Boschen, Newman Grove/Lindsay Holy Fami, 2-1 OT.
130-- 1. Dominic Miller, Crofton, pinned Bradley Lanman, Battle Creek, 1:35; 3. Jared Krause, Tekamah-Herman, def. Gustava Avila, Madison, 4-2 OT.
135-- 1. Josh Eisenman, Madison, def. Wesley Cole, West Holt, 13-1; 3. Christian Hawk, Battle Creek, def. Jerret Sueper, Newman Grove/Lindsay Holy Fami, 4-2.
140-- 1. Alex Metzler, Tekamah-Herman, def. Jaime Gray, Battle Creek, 2-0; 3. Kyle Ruh, Madison, def. Jay Wolff, Lutheran High Northeast, 8-3.
145-- 1. Jake Smutny, Madison, def. Nicholas Schrunk, West Holt, 6-3; 3. Grant Potadle, Tekamah-Herman, pinned Collier Miller, Lutheran High Northeast, 3:44.
152-- 1. Kurt Ruh, Madison, def. Clay Konicek, West Point-Beemer, 3-2; 3. Kyle Eddy, Pierce, def. Dalton Jenkins, Tekamah-Herman, 8-4.
160-- 1. Tyler Going, North Bend Central, pinned Colin Crilly, Madison, 4:26; 3. Travis Wright, Battle Creek, won by forfeit over Alex Harrington, West Point-Beemer.
171-- 1. Landon Pospisil, Creighton/Verdigre, pinned Matthew Marx, Battle Creek, 1:09; 3. Spencer Steffen, Crofton, def. Tyler Popken, Logan View, 10-3.
189-- 1. Derek Mowinkel, Logan View, def. Chad Koch, Hartington Cedar Catholic, 5-4; 3. Calan List, Crofton, def. Nicholas York, Creighton/Verdigre, 2-0.
215-- 1. Eli Vosler, North Bend Central, def. Isiah Williams, Madison, 7-1; 3. Deryk Wortman, Crofton, def. Cody Stowe, Norfolk Catholic, 8-3.
285-- 1. Derek Stone, Newman Grove/Lindsay Holy Fami, def. Izzy Martinez, Madison, 7-4; 3. Kyle Berglund, Creighton/Verdigre, pinned Tyler Butterfield, West Holt, 1:57.

Thursday, Feb 11

Prep Basketball

Boys: Ewing def Stuart 71 to 34, Sandhills/Thedford def Arthur County 68 to 49, Valentine def North Central 54 to 36

Girls: Chambers def Burwell 49 to 37, Ewing def Stuart 59 to 34, Sandhills Thedford def Arthur County 54 to 36, Valentine def North Central 48 to 32.

Tuesday, Feb. 9

Ainsworth Middle School Boys Basketball:  7th Grade:  Ainsworth 35, Atkinson 20.  8th Grade Atkinson 40, Ainsworth 21.

Saturday, Feb. 6

Wrestling - Valentine was crowned the champion of the Southwest Conference Wrestling Tournament, running away with the title by more than 50 points. The Badgers finished with 166.5 points and four conference champions. Gothenburg was a distant second with 110.5 points, 1.5 points better than third-place Ainsworth. Minden finished fourth, followed by Cozad, Ogallala and Broken Bow. For the Bulldogs, Garth Swett pinned his way through the 140-pound bracket, winning three matches by fall for the conference title. Nathaniel Allen added to his AHS single season pin record, winning both of his matches by fall for the 285-pound championship.

Individual results

103 - 1. Bart Miller of Valentine won by major decision over Mitch Spiegel of Gothenburg, 10-2. Keaton Gracey of Ainsworth finished third.

112 - 1. Logan Hunke of Cozad won by technical fall over Zane Smith of Broken Bow, 16-0. 3. James Garcia of Ogallala WBD over Dillon Larson of Gothenburg, 12-10.

119 - 1. Tanner Schwanz of Gothenburg won by default over Derek Hockenbary of Valentine.

125 - 1. Eric Bopp of Valentine WBF over Caleb Lucero of Cozad, 2:45. 3. Justin Larson of Gorthenburg WBD over Dalten Pflaster of Ainsworth, 8-2.

130 - 1. Bryce Eggelston of Gothenburg WBTF over Eric Arnold of Valentine, 17-2. 3. Dustin Dailey of Ainsworth won by default over Wilson Baker of Broken Bow.

135 - 1. Kyle Carson of Cozad WBD over Marcus Nelson of Valentine, 6-2. 3. Chris Hyde of Gothenburg WBF over Jed Birnie of Minden, 4:21.

140 - 1. Garth Swett of Ainsworth WBF over Garrett Folchert of Ogallala, 3:33. 3. Jay Brass of Broken Bow WBF over Sam Mercure of Valentine, :54.

145 - 1. Jess Shelbourn of Valentine WBD over Derek Pollock of Ainsworth, 10-4 (Pollock reached the title match with a 13-0 major decision win and a pin in his first two rounds). 3. Jordan Barta of Broken Bow WBF over Colt Washa of Ogallala, 3:25.

152 - 1. Jack Raffety of Minden WBF over Colten Lamb of Valentine, 2:53. 3. Ty Shelbourn of Ainsworth WBF over Jesse Larson of Gothenburg, 1:54.

160 - 1. Bryce Lewis of Minden WBMD over Justin West of Ainsworth, 12-3. 3. Tyson Lanka of Ogallala WBD over Cory Assarsson of Valentine, 11-6.

171 - 1. Mason Beel of Valentine WBF over Brodie King of Minden, 4:50. 3. Devin O'Brien of Broken Bow WBD over Cameron Frazho of Gothenburg, 7-3.

189 - 1. Tanner Sturgeon of Cozad WBF over Dan Sanford of Minden, 2:59. 3. Michael Gill of Ogallala won by default over Derek McCormick of Broken Bow.

215 - 1. Brandon Lewis of Minden WBMD over Tanner Collins of Ogallala, 13-0. 3. Kethan Mercure of Valentine WBD over Tommy France of Gothenburg, 10-4.

285 - 1. Nathaniel Allen of Ainsworth WBF over Pedro Garcia of Ogallala, 1:26. 3. Dane Ehlers of Gothenburg WBD over Brian Springer of Ogallala, 7-6.

Boys basketball - Class D-2 No. 1 Ewing defeated North Central, 84-47, to win the Niobrara Valley Conference Tournament championship. West Boyd def. Clearwater/Orchard in the consolation game.

Girls basketball - Class D-2 No. 1 Chambers defeated Elgin/Elgin Pope John, 45-31, to win the Niobrara Valley Conference Tournament championship. West Boyd def. Ewing, 46-45, in the consolation game.

Friday, Feb. 5

Prep Basketball

Boys - Gothenburg def. Valentine, 64-48; Cody-Kilgore def. Crawford, 49-25; O'Neill St. Mary's def. Lynch, 52-36. In the NENAC Tournament, Crofton defeated Creighton, 50-43, for the championship. Laurel-Concord won the consolation game over Elkhorn Valley, 51-46.

Girls - Gothenburg def. Valentine, 51-39; Cody-Kilgore def. Crawford, 51-32.

Thursday, Feb. 4

Prep Basketball

North Central beat West Boyd, 41-34, for the Niobrara Valley Conference Tournament west bracket title. The Knights face Class D-2 No. 1 Ewing at approximately 8 p.m. Saturday in Atkinson for the conference title. The Tigers defeated Clearwater/Orchard, 67-30, for the east title. In the girls games, Chambers def. West Boyd, 44-37, for the west title and Elgin/Elgin Pope John def. Ewing, 47-43, for the east title.

Boys - Ainsworth def. O'Neill, 63-48; Burwell def. Nebraska Christian, 42-31; In the Loup Valley Conference semifinals, Sandhills/Thedford def. Callaway, 55-41, and Mullen def. Sargent, 58-50.

Girls - O'Neill def. Ainsworth, 69-34; Burwell def. Nebraska Christian, 42-13; Crofton def. Laurel-Concord, 77-50, for the NENAC girls title. In the Loup Valley Conference semifinals, Mullen def. Sandhills/Thedford, 45-31, and Sargent def. Ansley, 48-46 in double overtime.

Wrestling - Ainsworth dropped a one-point decision at Neligh-Oakdale in a dual, 34-33. Ainsworth had to forfeit matches at 119, 171 and 189 pounds due to injuries. The Bulldogs received forfeits from Neligh-Oakdale at 103 and 112 pounds. In the matches wrestled, 125 pounds - Scott Kester, N-O, won by major decision over Dalton Pflaster, AHS; 130 - Levi Pofal, N-O, pinned Dustin Dailey, AHS, :50; 135 - Tanner Clark, AHS, WBD over Taylor Smith, 8-2; 140 - Taylor Drury, N-O, WBD over Riley Painter, AHS, 5-1; 145 - Derek Pollock, AHS, WBD over Alex Heithoff, N-O, 9-7; 152 - Ty Shelbourn, AHS, pinned Taylor Chance, N-O, 3:52; 160 - Justin West, AHS, WBD over Spencer Smith, N-O, 10-4; 171 215 - Preston Smith, N-O, WBD over Brandon Clark, AHS, 10-4; 285 - Nathaniel Allen, AHS, pinned Derek Delaney, N-O, 2:17.

JV Results - 130 - Kolton Knievell, N-O, pinned Lane Gambill, AHS, 4:50; 145 - Thomas McNair, AHS, won by technical fall over Zach Kester, N-O, 16-0; 215 - Cody Doyle, AHS, pinned Chad Henn, N-O, :50; 215 - Noah Graf, AHS, pinned Chad Henn, N-O, 1:30.

Wednesday, Feb. 3

The Nebraska Schools Activities Association has released the 2010-11 football schedules. The following are the two-year schedules for area schools.

2010-11 Football schedules
Class C-1
Ainsworth 2010 Schedule
Week 0 Gordon-Rushville
Week 1 Gibbon
Week 2 BYE
Week 3 @ O'Neill
Week 4 Cozad
Week 5 @ Broken Bow
Week 6 @ Mitchell
Week 7 Gothenburg
Week 8 @ Valentine

Ainsworth 2011 Schedule
Week 0 @ Gordon-Rushville
Week 1 @ Gibbon
Week 2 BYE
Week 3 O'Neill
Week 4 @ Cozad
Week 5 Broken Bow
Week 6 Mitchell
Week 7 @ Gothenburg
Week 8 Valentine

O'Neill 2010 Schedule
Week 0 BYE
Week 1 Pierce
Week 2 @ Valentine
Week 3 Ainsworth
Week 4 @ Battle Creek
Week 5 @ Central City
Week 6 Ord
Week 7 Boone Central
Week 8 @ St. Paul

O'Neill 2011 Schedule
Week 0 BYE
Week 1 @ Pierce
Week 2 Valentine
Week 3 @ Ainsworth
Week 4 Battle Creek
Week 5 Central City
Week 6 @ Ord
Week 7 @ Boone Central
Week 8 St. Paul

Valentine 2010 Schedule
Week 0 BYE
Week 1 @ Chamberlain, SD
Week 2 O'Neill
Week 3 Winner, SD
Week 4 @ Gothenburg
Week 5 @ Gordon-Rushville
Week 6 Cozad
Week 7 @ Broken Bow
Week 8 Ainsworth

Valentine 2011 Schedule
Week 0 BYE
Week 1 Chamberlain, SD
Week 2 @ O'Neill
Week 3 @ Winner, SD
Week 4 Gothenburg
Week 5 Gordon-Rushville
Week 6 @ Cozad
Week 7 Broken Bow
Week 8 @ Ainsworth

Class C-2
West Holt 2010 Schedule
Week 0 BYE
Week 1 @ Stanton
Week 2 Twin River
Week 3 @ Hartington Cedar Catholic
Week 4 Neligh-Oakdale
Week 5 Crofton
Week 6 @ Plainview
Week 7 @ Lutheran High Northeast
Week 8 Ponca

West Holt 2011 Schedule
Week 0 BYE
Week 1 Stanton
Week 2 @ Twin River
Week 3 Hartington Cedar Catholic
Week 4 @ Neligh-Oakdale
Week 5 @ Crofton
Week 6 Plainview
Week 7 Lutheran High Northeast
Week 8 @ Ponca

Class D-1

North Central 2010 Schedule
Week 0 BYE
Week 1 @ Sandhills/Thedford
Week 2 Cody-Kilgore
Week 3 @ Stuart
Week 4 Niobrara/Verdigre
Week 5 Burwell
Week 6 @ West Boyd
Week 7 @ Clearwater/Orchard
Week 8 Elgin Public/Pope John

North Central 2011 Schedule
Week 0 BYE
Week 1 Sandhills/Thedford
Week 2 @ Cody-Kilgore
Week 3 Stuart
Week 4 @ Niobrara/Verdigre
Week 5 @ Burwell
Week 6 West Boyd
Week 7 Clearwater/Orchard
Week 8 @ Elgin Public/Pope John

Sandhills/Thedford 2010 Schedule
Week 0 BYE
Week 1 North Central
Week 2 Mullen
Week 3 @ Wallace
Week 4 @ Crawford
Week 5 Hemingford
Week 6 Garden County
Week 7 @ Maxwell
Week 8 @ Arnold/Callaway
Sandhills/Thedford 2011 Schedule
Week 0 BYE
Week 1 @ North Central
Week 2 @ Mullen
Week 3 Wallace
Week 4 Crawford
Week 5 @ Hemingford
Week 6 @ Garden County
Week 7 Maxwell
Week 8 Arnold/Callaway

Class D-2

Stuart 2010 Schedule
Week 0 BYE
Week 1 West Boyd
Week 2 @ Wynot
Week 3 North Central
Week 4 @ SMC (Stapleton/McPherson County)
Week 5 @ Cody-Kilgore
Week 6 Mullen
Week 7 Sargent
Week 8 @ Anselmo-Merna
 

Stuart 2011 Schedule
Week 0 BYE
Week 1 @ West Boyd
Week 2 Wynot
Week 3 @ North Central
Week 4 SMC (Stapleton/McPherson County)
Week 5 Cody-Kilgore
Week 6 @ Mullen
Week 7 @ Sargent
Week 8 Anselmo-Merna
 

Tuesday, Feb. 2

Prep basketball

Girls - Winner, S.D., def. Ainsworth, 67-35; Wagner, S.D., def. O'Neill, 59-48.

Boys - Ainsworth def. Winner, S.D., 62-51; North Central def. Chambers, 57-52, in the semifinals of the Niobrara Valley Conference Tournament west bracket. The Knights will face West Boyd, a 43-41 winner over O'Neill St. Mary's. In the east bracket semifinals, Ewing def. Verdigre, 89-56, and Clearwater/Orchard def. Elgin/Elgin Pope John, 62-42. Wagner, S.D., def. O'Neill, 78-43. In the Loup Valley Conference Tournament, Sandhills/Thedford def. Arnold, 55-50, Mullen def. Loup County, 70-32, Sargent def. Litchfield and Callaway def. Anselmo-Merna, 42-41. In the NENAC Tournament semifinals, Creighton def. Elkhorn Valley, 78-50, and Crofton def. Laurel-Concord, 54-50.

Saturday, Jan. 30

Prep basketball

Girls - Minden def. Ogallala for the Southwest Conference Tournament title. Gothenburg def. Valentine for third place in the Southwest Conference. St. Mary's def. North Central, 42-33, West Boyd def. Stuart, 67-21, and Wheeler Central def. Lynch, in the opening round of the Niobrara Valley Conference Tournament west bracket. In the east bracket of the Niobrara Valley, Clearwater/Orchard def. Niobrara, 56-21, and Verdigre def. Santee, 51-32. In the NENAC Tournament, Laurel-Concord def. West Holt, 39-34. Other NENAC first-round winners were Elkhorn Valley, Creighton and Crofton. In regular season play, O'Neill def. Twin River, 55-43.

Boys - Minden def. Ainsworth, 49-44, for the Southwest Conference Tournament title. Ogallala def. Broken Bow for third place. North Central def. Stuart, 55-33, Chambers def. Wheeler Central, 80-38, St. Mary's def. Lynch, 62-52, in the opening round of the Niobrara Valley Conference Tournament west bracket. In the east bracket of the Niobrara Valley, Elgin/Elgin Pope John def. Niobrara, 70-31, and Verdigre def. Santee, 72-24. In the NENAC Tournament, Laurel-Concord def. West Holt, 54-36. Other NENAC first-round winners were Elkhorn Valley, Creighton and Crofton.

Wrestling - Ainsworth's Nathaniel Allen scored the Tyler Bower Memorial fastest pin award with an 8-second pin in the semifinals, and 152-pounder Bryce Dibbern of Amherst was named the 30th annual tournament's outstanding wrestler. Amherst, rated the top team in Class D, won the team title with 208.5 points, finishing 30.5 points better than a strong Burke/Gregory, S.D., squad. Central City, despite four key injuries, finished third with 168 points, followed by Winside with 113, Ainsworth in fifth with 100.5, Valentine sixth with 99 points, Sargent/Burwell with 83 and Gordon/Rushville with 77.5. There were a total of 128 pins for the tournament.

Championship and third-place matches

103 - 1. Derek Stukel of Burke/Gregory WBD over Kolby Lehnart of Central City, 6-4. 3. Keaton Gracey of Ainsworth WBD over Levi Schonebaum of Burke/Gregory, 6-4.

112 - 1. Conner Bolling of Central City WBF over Tanner Taubenheim of Amherst, 3:22. 3. Paul Hansen of Winside WBD over Roudy McAllister of Burke/Gregory, 4-2.

119 - 1. Justin Taubenheim of Amherst WBD over Jake Anderson of Central City, 7-1, in a matchup of two unbeaten wrestlers. 3. Derek Hockenbary of Valentine WBF over Levi Lange of Winside, :55.

125 - 1. Lane Barry of Amherst WBTF over Logun Smolik of Sargent/Burwell, 16-0. 3. Eric Bopp of Valentine WBD over Kyle Sutton of Central City, 7-2.

130 - 1. Mat Braun of Burke/Gregory won by injury default over Josh Dickinson of Central City. 3. Jordan Shields of Amherst WBD over Eric Arnold of Valentine, 4-0.

135 - 1. Devyn Schake of Amherst WBF over Shelby Soesbe of Burke/Gregory, 3:00. 3. Drew Peterson of Central City WBF over Marcus Nelson of Valentine, 3:57.

140 - 1. Kalin Koch of Winside WBMD over Wyatt Schake of Amherst, 10-2. 3. Jake Brown of Central City WBF over Garth Swett of Ainsworth, :59.

145 - 1. Jed Fenske of Sargent/Burwell WBF over Cody Wylie of Winside, 4:19. 3. Gavin Kenney of Amherst WBD over Forrest Jones, Winside, 8-3.

152 - 1. Bryce Dibbern of Amherst WBD over Gavin Pochop of Burke/Gregory, 7-2, and was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler. 3. Tanner Balfour of Sargent/Burwell WBF over Jesse Richardson of Gordon/Rushville, 1:17.

160 - 1. Logan Loeffelholz of Amherst WBD over Justin West of Ainsworth, 7-3. 3. Andy Loy of Gordon/Rushville WBF over Andrew Steffen of Burke/Gregory, 2:48.

171 - 1. Blair Sinclair of Burke/Gregory won by injury default over Taylor Gross of Ainsworth, who was injured in his semifinal match but won a 9-7 decision. 3. Jordan Nelson of Winside WBMD over Matt Hilder of Central City, 9-0.

189 - 1. Tyson Sutton of Central City WBF over Kalen Pfeiffer of Amherst, :13. 3. Jesse Metzger of Gordon/Rushville WBF over Brent Bauer of Amherst, 3:54.

215 - 1. Matt Pribil of Gordon/Rushville WBF over Brock Sinclair of Burke/Gregory, 3:05. 3. Kethan Mercure of Valentine WBD over Anthony Nelson of Winside, 12-5.

285 - 1. Nathaniel Allen of Ainsworth WBF over Kyle Bachelor of Valentine, 2:23 (Allen's semifinal pin of Jonathon Smith of Valentine in 8 seconds earned the fastest pin award). 3. Jonathon Smith of Valentine WBF over Tanner Johnson of Gordon/Rushville, 2:41.

Friday, Jan. 29

Wrestling - Amherst defeated Ainsworth, 49-30, in a dual ahead of Saturday's Ainsworth Invitational. Amherst returned nine state qualifiers from its 2009 team and brought six ranked wrestlers to the duel as well as the No. 1 rated duel team in Class D. Ainsworth has two rated wrestlers in Class C.

Individual results

103 - Keaton Gracey, Ainsworth, won by forfeit.

112 - Tanner Taubenheim, Amherst, won by forfeit.

119 - Justin Taubenhein, Amherst, won by forfeit.

125 - Lane Barry, Amherst, pinned Dalton Pflaster, Ainsworth, 4:30.

130 - Jordon Shields, Amherst, pinned, Dustin Dailey, Ainsworth, :32.

135 - Devy Schake, Amherst, pinned Tanner Clark, Ainsworth, 2:31.

140 - Garth Swett, Ainsworth, pinned Wyatt Schake, Amherst, 1:51.

145 - Gavin Kenney, Amherst, won by technical fall over Derek Pollock, Ainsworth, 18-3.

152 - Bryce Dibbern, Amherst, won by technical fall over Ty Shelbourn, Ainsworth, 16-1.

160 - Logan Loeffelholz, Amherst, won by decision over Justin West, Ainsworth, 11-10.

171 - Taylor Gross, Ainsworth, pinned Kent Bramer, Amherst, 4:34.

189 - Kalen Pfeiffer, Amherst, won by forfeit.

215 - Brandon Clark, Ainsworth, pinned Dalton Kratzer, Amherst, 3:10.

285 - Nathaniel Allen, Ainsworth, won by forfeit.

Prep basketball

Boys - Sandhills/Thedford def. Cody-Kilgore, 61-53, for the Sandhills Conference Tournament title; Ansley def. Loup County, 54-41; Burwell def. Loup City, 38-36; Mitchell def. Gordon/Rushville, 87-76.

Girls - In the semifinals of the Southwest Conference Tournament, Ogallala def. Valentine, 50-36, and Minden def. Gothenburg, 47-37. Valentine faces Gothenburg at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lexington in the third-place game, and Minden and Ogallala will square off for the conference title at 4:30 p.m. Ansley def. Loup County, 49-31; Gordon/Rushville def. Mitchell, 70-23; Burwell def. Loup City, 54-41.

Thursday, Jan. 28

Prep basketball

Boys - Ainsworth def. Broken Bow, 53-45, and Minden def. Ogallala, 59-43, in the semifinals of the Southwest Conference Tournament. Ogallala and Broken Bow play at 2:45 p.m. Saturday at Lexington in the third place game. Ainsworth and Minden meet for the championship at 6:15 p.m.

Other boys scores - North Central def. Ansley, 60-36; Stuart def. St. Mary's, 45-41; Clearwater/Orchard def. Niobrara, 67-33; Chambers def. Lynch, 65-54 in overtime; Ewing def. Osmond, 65-42; West Boyd def. South Central, S.D., 79-47; Cody-Kilgore def. Arthur County, 49-38, in the semifinals of the Sandhills Conference Tournament. The Coyotes will face Sandhills/Thedford in the title game. Sandhills/Thedford defeated Mullen, 57-54, in the semis.

Girls - Ansley def. North Central, 34-33; O'Neill St. Mary's def. Stuart, 45-23; Chambers def. Lynch, 68-29; Clearwater/Orchard def. Niobrara, 46-18; Ewing def. Osmond, 41-31; South Central, S.D., def. West Boyd, 50-37; in the Sandhills Conference Tournament, Mullen def. Cody-Kilgore, 43-41, and SMC def. Sandhills/Thedford, 61-58 in overtime in the semifinals.

Tuesday, Jan. 26

Prep basketball

Boys - Ewing def. North Central, 55-39; West Holt def. Neligh-Oakdale, 70-51; Chambers def. Clearwater/Orchard, 59-52; West Boyd def. Spalding/Spalding Academy, 56-35; Sandhills Conference Tournament first round - Cody-Kilgore def. Brady, 57-29, Sandhills/Thedford def. Hyannis, 52-29, and Arthur County def. Stapleton/McPherson County, 72-42.

Girls - Ewing def. North Central, 43-23; West Holt def. Neligh-Oakdale, 61-26; West Boyd def. Spalding/Spalding Academy, 50-40; Norfolk Catholic def. O'Neill, 47-32; Chambers def. Clearwater/Orchard, 69-33; Burwell def. Palmer, 58-38; Southwest Conference Tournament first round - Ogallala def. Ainsworth, 66-37, Valentine def. Broken Bow, 46-44, and Gothenburg def. Cozad, 38-28. Gothenburg travels to top seed Minden Friday for the semifinals, and Ogallala hosts Valentine Friday. The finals will be played Saturday at Lexington.

Monday, Jan. 25

Prep basketball

Boys - Ainsworth def. Cozad, 58-49, in the opening round of the Southwest Conference Tournament. Ainsworth will host a semifinal game Thursday against Broken Bow, which defeated Gothenburg, 41-38. Ainsworth is guaranteed a game Saturday in either the championship or third-place game. Valentine, on the road in the first round, was defeated in double overtime by the fourth-seeded Ogallala Indians, 66-65. Ogallala moves on to play at top seed Minden Thursday.

Saturday, Jan. 23

Prep basketball

Girls - Ogallala def. Ainsworth, 73-34; West Holt def. Laurel-Concord, 60-42; Elgin-Elgin Pope John def. O'Neill St. Mary's, score unavailable; Kimball def. Gordon/Rushville, 57-50; Wayne def. O'Neill, 52-41; Wheeler Central def. Lynch, 44-41.

Boys - Ainsworth def. Ogallala, 49-44 in overtime; Laurel-Concord def. West Holt, 48-40; Lynch def. Wheeler Central, 63-52; O'Neill def. Wayne, 67-54; Valentine def. Broken Bow, 46-44; Burwell def. Heartland Lutheran, 54-43.

Friday, Jan. 22

Wrestling - Ainsworth finished 5-0 in its duel matches to win the Gothenburg Invitational. In the first round, the Bulldogs knocked off High Plains, 51-25. Ainsworth defeated Holdrege, 63-18, in the second round, clipped Gothenburg, 39-33, in the third round, scored a one-point victory over North Platte St. Pat's, 39-38, in round four, and beat Broken Bow, 48-30, to cap the perfect day. North Platte St. Pat's won its other four matches to finish second.

Ainsworth individual records (including forfeits)

103 - Keaton Gracey, 4-1, second; 112 - Ely Sharkey, 2-2; 119 - Open; 125 - Dalton Pflaster, 4-1, second; 130 - Dustin Dailey, 1-4; 135 - Tanner Clark, 2-3; 140 - Garth Swett, 4-1, second; 145 - Derreck Pollack, 3-2; 152 - Ty Shelbourn, 4-1, second; 160 - Justin West, 5-0, first; 171 - Taylor Gross, 5-0, first; 189 - Jake Gambill, 2-1 (injured in third match); 215 - Brandon Clark, 1-4; 285 - Nathaniel Allen, 5-0, first.

Prep basketball

Girls - O'Neill def. West Holt, 46-43; Sargent def. Sandhills/Thedford, 56-53; O'Neill St. Mary's def. Lynch, 54-23; West Boyd def. Clearwater, 63-29; Wheeler Central def. Loup County, 61-33; Gordon/Rushville def. Cody-Kilgore, 35-29 in overtime.

Boys - O'Neill def. West Holt, 46-43; Wheeler Central def. Loup County, 58-43; Sargent def. Sandhills/Thedford, 59-37; Ewing def. Elgin-Elgin Pope John, 70-45.

Thursday, Jan. 21

Prep basketball

Girls - Valentine def. Ainsworth, 58-24; North Central def. Stuart, 42-22; Chambers def. Sargent, 74-41; Ewing def. Wheeler Central, 57-51; Sandhills/Thedford def. Arnold, 72-11.

Boys - Valentine def. Ainsworth, 55-40; Chambers def. Sargent, 43-39; Ewing def. Wheeler Central, 74-29; Sandhills/Thedford def. Arnold, 74-39.

Ainsworth wins the second installment of the Old Geezer Shootout, 31-17, to sweep the season series from the Badgers. Money raised in Valentine will be used toward college scholarships.

Tuesday, Jan. 19

Wrestling - Ainsworth dropped a one point dual to Ord, 39-38. A couple of wrestlers who missed some time due to injury were back in the Bulldog lineup, with the team open at only 119 pounds, where Tyler Walton is out with a leg injury.

Results

103 - Seth Smedra, Ord, won by decision over Keaton Gracey, Ainsworth, 15-8.

112 - Ely Sharkey, Ainsworth, pinned Lathan Petska, Ord, 5:18.

119 - Dan Proskocil, Ord, won by forfeit.

125 - Dalton Pflaster, Ainsworth, won by forfeit.

130 - Geoff Foth, Ord, pinned Dustin Dailey, Ainsworth, :44.

135 - Justin Melia, Ord, pinned Tanner Clark, Ainsworth, 1:40.

140 - Dusty Staub, Ord, pinned Garth Swett, Ainsworth, 5:34.

145 - Travis Dahlke, Ord, pinned Derek Pollock, Ainsworth, 1:54.

152 - Ty Shelbourn, Ainsworth, pinned Johnny Ference, Ord, 1:36.

160 - Blake Augustyn, Ord, pinned Justin West, Ainsworth, 5:41.

171 - Taylor Gross, Ainsworth, won by technical fall over Devin Cronk, Ord, 20-3.

189 - Jake Gambill, Ainsworth, won by decision over Blake Bandur, Ord, 7-6.

215 - Brandon Clark, Ainsworth, won by forfeit.

285 - Nathaniel Allen, Ainsworth, pinned Jarrod Visek, Ord, 1:23.

Prep basketball

Girls - Chambers def. Ainsworth, 66-35; Clearwater/Orchard def. Neligh-Oakdale, 45-23; Ewing def. Verdigre, 74-35; Plainview def. West Holt, 51-49; SMC def. Cody-Kilgore, 44-40; West Boyd def. Stuart, 54-12; Wheeler Central def. O'Neill St. Mary's, 57-40.

Boys - Ainsworth def. Chambers, 59-52; Clearwater/Orchard def. Neligh-Oakdale, 76-58; Cody-Kilgore def. SMC, 70-50; Ewing def. Verdigre, 69-36; Norfolk Catholic def. O'Neill, 64-46; O'Neill St. Mary's def. Wheeler Central, 70-49; Stuart def. West Boyd, 36-34 in overtime; West Holt def. Plainview, 64-40.

Saturday, Jan. 16

Prep basketball

Girls - Cozad def. Ainsworth, 53-37; Chambers def. West Boyd, 50-28; Creighton def. O'Neill, 60-54; Mullen def. Arthur County, 53-27; Ogallala def. Valentine, 53-29; Sandhills/Thedford def. Hyannis, 61-24.

Boys - Ainsworth def. Cozad, 60-46; Creighton def. O'Neill, 55-49; Mullen def. Arthur County, 54-49; Valentine def. Ogallala, 48-39; West Boyd def. Chambers, 65-54.

Wrestling

Ainsworth finished eighth in the West Holt Invitational, scoring 71 points. The Bulldogs are battling injuries at several weight classes, and were open at 119, 171 and 189 pounds on Saturday. Sargent-Burwell won the invitational with 181.5 points. O'Neill finished fifth with 131 points, and West Holt was ninth with 70 points.

Individually, Daniel Dominguez of O'Neill won the 103-pound title, with Keaton Gracey of Ainsworth finishing fourth. Nathan Wabs of O'Neill was second at 112 pounds, and teammate Brandon Baseggio placed fourth at 119. Dalton Pflaster picked up a third place medal at 125 pounds for the Bulldogs, pinning Zakk Thompson of Plainview in the third-place match. Wesley Cole of West Holt took third for the Huskies at 135 pounds, and teammate Nicholas Schrunk grabbed the silver medal at 145 pounds. Alejandro Vergara of O'Neill was third at 145. Justin West finished second for Ainsworth at 160 pounds, losing by pin to Derek Coufal of Howells in the championship match. Kurtis Mlinar of O'Neill placed third at 160. Ainsworth heavyweight Nathaniel Allen reached another championship match Saturday, but found himself on the wrong end of a 3-1 decision to Brandon Wills of Plainview. The loss was just the third of the season for Allen, who scored two wins by pin to reach the title match. Matt Maloun of O'Neill finished fourth in the heavyweight division.

Friday, Jan. 15

Prep basketball

Girls - Chambers def. O'Neill St. Mary's, 64-40; Cody-Kilgore def. Hyannis, 63-18; Elgin Pope John def. Stuart, 70-37; Humphrey def. Clearwater/Orchard, 60-37; Lynch def. Verdigre, 57-46; North Central def. Loup County, 46-18; Sandhills/Thedford def. Anselmo-Merna, 61-42; SMC def. Mullen, 54-47; West Boyd def. Niobrara, 80-20.

Boys - Anselmo-Merna def. Sandhills/Thedford, 58-47; Elgin Pope John def. Stuart, 52-36; Mullen def. SMC, 58-35; North Central def. Loup County, 59-23; West Boyd def. Niobrara, 84-16.

Tuesday, Jan. 12

Prep basketball

Girls - Burwell def. Cedar Rapids, 44-33; Lynch def. Clearwater/Orchard, 40-38; Sargent def. North Central, 43-41; O'Neill St. Mary's def. Santee, 61-40; West Holt def. Randolph, 55-35; Wheeler Central def. Stuart, 46-27; Winner, S.D., def. Valentine, 54-32.

Boys - Boone Central def. O'Neill, 69-58; Burwell def. Cedar Rapids, 51-37; Clearwater/Orchard def. Lynch, 61-44; North Central def. Sargent, 55-45; Randolph def. West Holt, 37-36; O'Neill St. Mary's def. Santee, 84-19; Stuart def. Wheeler Central, 38-29; Winner, S.D., def. Valentine, 70-53.

Monday, Jan. 11

Prep basketball

Girls - Crofton def. West Holt, 63-39; Ewing def. Wausa, 48-35; West Boyd def. Lynch, 47-27, in the Boyd County Tournament championship.

Boys - Crofton def. West Holt, 44-38; Ewing def. Wausa, 80-29; West Boyd def. Stuart, 52-28, in the Boyd County Tournament championship.

Saturday, Jan. 9

Wrestling - The Ainsworth wrestlers finished fourth Saturday in the Amherst Invitational, picking up that tournament in place of the Winside Invitational, which was cancelled due to poor road conditions in northeast Nebraska. Amherst won the team title in its home invitational, scoring 251 points. Kenesaw-Shelton finished as the runner-up with 150 points, followed by Neligh-Oakdale with 122.5 and Ainsworth with 99.5. A total of fourteen teams competed Saturday.

Ainsworth coach Phil Hoyt said the Bulldogs wrestled well early, but tough competition and a few injuries set the team back in the later rounds. "Overall, it was another good tournament for us," Hoyt said. "It was a great tournament to get into on short notice."

Individually, Keaton Gracey finished second for the Bulldogs at 103 pounds. Dalton Pflaster finished third at 125 pounds, and Justin West picked up a third-place medal at 160 pounds. Heavyweight Nathaniel Allen lost for just the second time this season, dropping a 6-2 decision in the championship match at 275 pounds to undefeated Arapahoe heavyweight Derek Helms. Others wrestling for the Bulldogs but not finishing with a medal were Tyler Walton at 119, Dustin Dailey at 130, Tanner Clark at 135, Derek Pollock at 140, Thomas McNair at 145, Ty Shelbourn at 152, Jake Gambill at 189 and Noah Graff at 215.

Ainsworth next participates in the West Holt Invitational on Saturday. Hoyt said the Bulldogs are dealing with several injured wrestlers right now, with injuries at 112 (Eli Sharkey), 119 (Tyler Walton), 135 (Tanner Clark), 171 (Taylor Gross) and 189 pounds (Jake Gambill).

Prep basketball

Girls - North Central def. Bloomfield, 40-22; Chambers def. Stuart, 81-23; Cody-Kilgore def. O'Neill St. Mary's, 43-26; Greeley/Wolbach def. Loup County, 73-22; Minden def. Valentine, 54-27; West Holt def. Elkhorn Valley, 38-31.

Boys - North Central def. Bloomfield, 62-46; Burwell def. North Loup Scotia, 67-51; Chambers def. Stuart, 50-41; Cody-Kilgore def. O'Neill St. Mary's, 42-15; Minden def. Valentine, 52-42.

Friday, Jan. 8

Prep basketball

Girls - Cody-Kilgore def. North Central, 36-27; Minden def. Ainsworth, 66-15; Gibbon def. Ord, 61-59 in two overtimes; Holdrege def. Broken Bow, 95-31; Mullen def. Sandhills/Thedford, 51-47; Valentine def. Gordon/Rushville, 43-36; Stuart vs. Chambers postponed to Saturday; Boone Central vs. O'Neill postponed; Crofton vs. West Holt postponed.

Boys - Cody-Kilgore def. North Central, 48-42; Minden def. Ainsworth, 65-48; Holdrege def. Broken Bow, 53-36; Mullen def. Sandhills/Thedford, 63-55; Ord def. Gibbon, 56-40; Wheeler Central vs. Ewing postponed; Stuart vs. Chambers postponed to Saturday; Boone Central vs. O'Neill postponed; Crofton vs. West Holt postponed.

Tuesday, Jan. 5

Prep basketball

Girls - West Holt def. Ord, 39-29; Lynch def. Stuart, 42-36; Chambers def. Wausa, 33-22; West Boyd def. Santee, 81-23.

Boys - Ord def. West Holt, 48-46; Stuart def. Lynch, 35-34; West Boyd def. Santee, 95-16; Chambers def. Wausa, 59-48; Clearwater/Orchard def. Coleridge, 52-39.

Wednesday, Dec. 30

Kearney Catholic Holiday Tournament

Girls consolation - Amherst def. Ainsworth, 40-36. Girls championship - Kearney Catholic def. North Platte St. Patrick's, 53-46. Boys consolation - North Platte St. Pat's def. Amherst, 56-55. Boys championship - Kearney Catholic def. Ainsworth, 61-43.

Tuesday, Dec. 29

Kearney Catholic Holiday Tournament

Girls: North Platte St. Patrick's def. Ainsworth, 75-36; Kearney Catholic def. Amherst, 67-31. Boys: Ainsworth def. North Platte St. Patrick's, 58-38; Kearney Catholic def. Amherst, 67-51.

Stuart Holiday Tournament

Girls consolation - O'Neill St. Mary's def. Stuart, 45-21. Boys consolation - North Central def. Stuart, 52-31. Girls championship - Cody-Kilgore def. North Central, 44-38. Boys championship - Cody-Kilgore def. O'Neill St. Mary's, 56-50.

Stanton Holiday Tournament

Girls consolation - Madison def. Stanton, 59-55. Girls championship - West Holt def. O'Neill, 54-42. Boys consolation - West Holt def. Madison, 57-38. Boys championship - O'Neill def. Stanton, 59-54.

Clearwater Holiday Tournament

Girls consolation - Ewing def. Clearwater/Orchard, 56-26. Girls championship - Chambers def. Elkhorn Valley, 58-52. Boys consolation - Chambers def. Elkhorn Valley, 70-44. Boys championship - Ewing def. Clearwater/Orchard, 85-61.

Great Northeast Nebraska Tournament at Wayne

Boys consolation semifinals - Pender def. Valentine, 61-60; Emerson Hubbard def. Wakefield, 53-39. Boys semifinals - Hartington Cedar Catholic def. Battle Creek, 62-34; Wayne def. Laurel-Concord, 42-38. Girls consolation semifinals - Battle Creek def. Pender, 50-48; Laurel-Concord def. Wakefield, 47-43. Girls semifinals - Hartington Cedar Catholic def. Valentine, 64-45; Wayne def. Emerson Hubbard, 48-24.

Litchfield Holiday Tournament

Girls consolation - Litchfield def. Arcadia, 42-25. Girls championship - Sandhills/Thedford def. Loup County, 54-29. Boys consolation - Arcadia def. Loup County, 37-34. Boys championship - Litchfield def. Sandhills/Thedford, 63-52.

Monday, Dec. 28

Stuart Holiday Tournament

Girls: North Central def. St. Mary's, 37-26. Cody Kilgore def. Stuart, 49-20. Boys: St. Mary's def. North Central, 59-55. Cody Kilgore def. Stuart, 44-34.

Clearwater Holiday Tournament

Girls: Chambers def. Elgin, 54-37; Elkhorn Valley def. Clearwater/Orchard, 53-23. Boys: Clearwater/Orchard def. Elkhorn Valley, 78-59; Ewing def. Chambers, 69-42.

Stanton Holiday Tournament

Girls: O'Neill def. Madison, 56-43; West Holt def. Stanton, 65-56. Boys: O'Neill def. Madison, 71-27; Stanton def. West Holt, 62-56.

Great Northeast Nebraska Holiday Tournament at Wayne

Girls: Valentine def. Battle Creek, 48-45; Wayne def. Wakefield, 57-30; Emerson-Hubbard def. Laurel-Concord, 39-30; Hartington Cedar Catholic def. Pender, 63-32. Boys: Battle Creek def. Valentine, 51-48; Hartington Cedar Catholic def. Pender, 72-48; Laurel-Concord def. Emerson-Hubbard, 55-44; Wayne def. Wakefield, 47-39.

Saturday, Dec. 19

Prep Basketball

Girls - Lutheran High Northeast def. Ainsworth, 95-29; North Central def. Clearwater/Orchard, 41-33; Bloomfield def. Lynch, 59-23; Boone Central def. West Holt, 56-46; Cody-Kilgore def. Hay Springs, 38-34 in overtime; Elgin Pope John def. West Boyd, 55-46; Loup County def. Elba, 38-12; Mullen def. Callaway, 54-40; St. Paul def. Broken Bow, 58-26; Chambers def. Cedar Rapids, 56-22;

Boys - Ainsworth def. Lutheran High Northeast, 55-53; Boone Central def. West Holt, 46-42; North Central def. Clearwater/Orchard, 65-55; Hay Springs def. Cody-Kilgore, 55-47; Loup County def. Elba, 45-43; St. Paul def. Broken Bow, 68-60; West Boyd def. Elgin Pope John, 49-28; Chambers def. Cedar Rapids, 59-41.

Wrestling - Ainsworth finished eighth in the Valentine Invitational, scoring 76 points on the day. The Bulldogs had one champion on the day, heavyweight Nathaniel Allen, who won his third straight invitational title. Pierre, S.D., won the 13-team tournament, running away with the crown with 209.5 points. Valentine was a distant second with 138 points, followed by David City, McCook, Chadron, Gordon-Rushville, Ord, Ainsworth and O'Neill.

103 - Keaton Gracey finished 1-2 for Ainsworth. Bart Miller was 2-2 for Valentine and placed fourth.

112 - Ely Sharkey won one of his three matches for the Bulldogs. Dillon Eklund of Valentine was pinned by Caleb Stoltenburg of Pierre in the championship match to finish with the silver medal.

119 - Tyler Walton finished fourth for Ainsworth, finishing 2-2 on the day. He lost a 6-3 decision to Brandon Dehling of Chadron in the consolation finals. Derek Hockenbary went 0-2 for the Badgers.

125 - Eric Bopp grabbed a second place medal for the Badgers, losing a 4-3 decision to Dusty Paulsen of Pierre in the finals. Dalten Pflaster was 0-2 for Ainsworth on the day.

130 - Eric Arnold picked up Valentine's third silver medal, dropping an 11-2 major decision to Colby Riesen of Chadron in the finals. Arnold started his day with a first-period pin over Ainsworth's Dustin Dailey, who finished 0-2.

135 - Another title match appearance, another runner-up for Valentine. This time it was Marcus Nelson winning his first two matches to reach the finals, where Rusty Sullivent of McCook scored a 15-0 technical fall over Nelson. Tanner Clark finished 0-2 for Ainsworth.

140 - Garth Swett finished one win shy of a medal for Ainsworth losing a 6-4 decision to Keldon Osterman of McCook in the semifinals to finish the day 1-2. Sam Mercure of Valentine also lost in the consolation semifinals to end his day 2-2.

145 - Jess Shelbourn finished fourth for Valentine, losing the consolation title match by a 13-5 major decision to Skyler Kalinski of McCook. Derek Pollock went 0-2 for Ainsworth.

152 - After losing his first match, Ty Shelbourn of Ainsworth wrestled his way back through the consolation bracket, winning two matches to reach the consolation semifinals. Shelbourn was stopped one win shy of a medal, losing by fall to Alejandro Vergara of O'Neill. Trent Osnes finished 0-2 for the Badgers.

160 - Justin West picked up a third-place medal for the Bulldogs, winning his consolation finals match, 12-5, over Pierre's Chase Lettau. On the day, West finished 3-1, with his only loss coming at the hands of champion Blake Augustyn of Ord. Cory Assarsson went 0-2 for Valentine.

171 - Mason Beel picked up a third-place medal for Valentine, ending the day 3-1. He pinned Blake Peterson of Gordon-Rushville in the consolation final. Ainsworth was open at 171 pounds.

189 - Jake Gambill won his first two matches for Ainsworth, reaching the championship semifinal before losing an 8-5 decision to Preston Smith of Neligh-Oakdale. Gambill pinned Brett Mayhew of Valentine in the consolation semifinals, but was then pinned by Tanner Schaefer of Pierre to finish the day 3-2 and in fourth place. Mayhew went 2-2 for the Badgers.

215 - Kethan Mercure picked up a bronze medal for Valentine, with his only loss coming to eventual champion Jacob Schwartz of David City in the championship semifinals. Mercure was 3-1 on the day, and scored a 7-4 decision in the third-place match over Tyler Sleicher of Broken Bow. Brandon Clark finished 0-2 for Ainsworth.

285 - Nathaniel Allen was Ainsworth's lone champion Saturday, sweeping his way through the bracket for his third straight tournament title. For the second time in as many weeks, Allen did not have to see the second period, winning all three of his matches in the first period. He pinned Brandon Barta of David City in 21 seconds, Jonathan Smith of Valentine in six seconds, and Zach Sandstrom of Chadron with four seconds remaining in the opening period during the championship match.

Friday, Dec. 18

Prep Basketball

Girls - Broken Bow def. Ainsworth, 70-57; North Central def. O'Neill St. Mary's, 34-32; Battle Creek def. O'Neill, 57-52; Cody-Kilgore def. Mullen, 44-37; Lynch def. Stuart, 51-43; North Platte St. Patrick's def. Valentine, 56-44; Sandhills/Thedford def. Litchfield, 51-34; West Boyd def. Ewing, 57-29.

Boys - Broken Bow def. Ainsworth, 64-39; North Central def. O'Neill St. Mary's, 45-42; Burwell def. St. Edward, 71-19; Cody-Kilgore def. Mullen, 47-45; Ewing def. West Boyd, 61-46; Lynch def. Stuart, 52-46; North Platte St. Patrick's def. Valentine, 50-42; Sandhills/Thedford def. Litchfield, 54-37.

Thursday, Dec. 17

NSAA Academic All-State fall selections

Ainsworth - Boys Cross Country: Justin Imm and Jose Martinez; Football: Skyler Jacobsen and Justin West; Girls Cross Country: Tessa Jacobsen and Kayla Klammer; Girls Golf: Claire Kozisek and Kellie Sholes; Play Production: Neiley Fernau and Kayla Klammer; Volleyball: Bailie Hoover and Jordyn Lechtenberg.

Sandhills -  Football: Brett Barnes and Matt Thomas; Play Production: Chelsea Holt and Sara Oberg; Volleyball: Shelby Saner.

West Holt - Boys Cross Country: Grant Garwood and Alex Lemburg; Football: Ethan Andersen and Eric Woita; Girls Cross Country: Katelyn Fredrick and Rylee Young; Girls Golf: Amy Thomassen and Lizzy Ziska; Play Production: Faith McAllister and Kendra Vanderbeek; Volleyball: Becky Frerichs and Morgan Kennedy.

Valentine - Boys Cross Country: Beau Billings; Football: Zane Parkhurst; Girls Cross Country: Kari Qualley and Sarah Simmons.

Tuesday, Dec. 15

Prep Basketball

Girls - Valentine def. Ainsworth, 67-32; South Central, S.D., def. North Central, 56-27; Chambers def. West Holt, 54-37; Clearwater/Orchard def. Stuart, 60-41; Loup County def. Litchfield, 45-33; O'Neill St. Mary's def. Neligh-Oakdale, 41-15; Pierce def. O'Neill, 52-43.

Boys - Ainsworth def. Valentine, 55-43; North Central def. South Central, S.D., 47-39; Clearwater/Orchard def. Stuart, 47-28; Litchfield def. Loup County, 55-26; O'Neill St. Mary's def. Neligh-Oakdale, 56-28; Pierce def. O'Neill, 46-29.

Saturday, Dec. 12

Prep Basketball

Girls - Brady def. Cody-Kilgore, 42-31; Gordon/Rushville def. Ainsworth, 71-36; Sandhills/Thedford def. Callaway, 51-29; Valentine def. Cozad, 56-50; West Boyd def. Wheeler Central, 52-43; West Holt def. Burwell, 56-27.

Boys - Ainsworth def. Gordon/Rushville, 80-72; Burwell def. West Holt, 55-46; Callaway def. Sandhills/Thedford, 55-53; Cody-Kilgore def. Brady, 58-51; Valentine def. Cozad, 70-52; West Boyd def. Wheeler Central, 75-19.

Wrestling

Ainsworth finished third in the Gordon/Rushville Invitational, scoring 119 points. The Bulldogs had two individual champions during the tournament and five total medal winners. Phillip, S.D., won the team title with 182 points and three champions, with Bulldog district foe Mitchell placing second with 123.5 points and three champions. Valentine was fourth with 115.5 points. Chadron 171-pounder Wil Brown was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler.

Individual results

103 - Keaton Gracey of Ainsworth finished third, scoring a 10-0 major decision over Sam Ireland of Bennett County, S.D., in the consolation finals. Gracey's only loss on a 4-1 day came to eventual champioon Lane Blasius Phillip, S.D. Blasius pinned Gracey in the second period in the championship semis. Bart Miller of Valentine placed second, losing by fall to Blasius in the first period.

112 - Dillan Eklund of Valentine picked up a silver medal for the Badgers, winning his first two matches before losing by decision to Keagon Blanco of Mitchell, 13-7, in the finals. For Ainsworth, Ely Sharkey finished one win shy of a medal, losing his first round match to Blanco. Sharkey pinned Jeff Red Tomahawk of Red Cloud, S.D., to reach the consolation semis, but he was pinned by Chandler Sudbeck of Phillip in the second period and finished the day 1-2.

119 - Tyler Walton picked up the first of Ainsworth's two titles, scoring a 7-1 decision over Dace Kelly of Phillip in the championship match. Walton won his first two matches by fall to reach the finals.

125 - Eric Bopp of Valentine finished second for the Badgers, losing a 12-7 decision to Chance Bila of Chadron in the championship match. Dalten Pflaster was one win shy of a medal in the division, losing a 6-2 decision to Tony Canseco of Mitchell in the consolation semis.

130 -  Dustin Dailey of Ainsworth won two of his first three matches to reach the consolation semifinals, but he was pinned by Eric Arnold of Valentine in 2:40 to finish one match shy of a medal. Arnold won the third-place match, 9-2, over Reed Johnson of Phillip. Colby Riesen of Chadron was the champion of the class, earning an 8-5 decision in the title match over Jared Simonson of Mullen.

135 - Tanner Clark of Ainsworth finished 0-2 on the day, losing in the consolation semis to Marcus Nelson of Valentine. Nelson pinned Justin Broberg of Chadron to finish third, with Ryan Roach of Sidney the champion of the division.

140 - A week after winning the 140-pound title at the O'Neill Invitational, Ainsworth's Garth Swett finished 0-2, losing a 7-6 decision to Justin Schremmer of Chadron in his opening match and losing by fall to Christian Miyamoto of Perkins County in the wrestlebacks.  Shannon Richardson of Gordon-Rushville won the division.

145 - Jess Shelbourn of Valentine scored a 10-6 decision over Derek Pollock of Ainsworth in the consolation finals, earning a third-place medal. Pollock finished the day 2-2 and in fourth place. Bryce Wiedeman of Mitchell won the title.

152 - Ty Shelbourn of Ainsworth finished one win shy of a medal, winning three of his first four matches, all by fall, to reach the consolation semifinals. His one loss in the stretch was to eventual champion Blake Lobdell of Phillip. In the consolation semis, Shelbourn was pinned by Jesse Richardson of Gordon-Rushville. Trent Osnes finished 0-2 for the Badgers, and was pinned by Shelbourn in his second match.

160 - Justin West grabbed a bronze medal for the Bulldogs, pinning two opponents sandwiched by a loss to eventual champion Bodhi Lytle of Phillip in the championship semis. West pinned Cory Assarson of Valentine in the final second of the first period to reach the consolation finals, where he squeezed out a 6-5 decision over Tyson Lanka of Ogallala.

171 - Taylor Gross of Ainsworth scored a first period fall over Valentine's Mason Beel in his opening match, but then lost by fall to eventual runner-up Willie Schwartzkopf of Mitchell in the championship semis. Gross forfeited his consolation semifinal match due to injury. Beel wrestled his way back to the consolation semis, but was pinned by Troy Guptill of Phillip one win shy of the medal match.

189 - Brett Mayhew of Valentine finished 1-2 on the day, losing to eventual champion Jodan Debus of Mitchell in the opening round. Jake Gambill of Ainsworth did not wrestle Saturday.

215 - Brandon Clark of Ainsworth finished 0-2 on the day, losing by pin to eventual champion Matt Pribil of Gordon/Rushville in the opening round.

285 - Nathaniel Allen pinned his way through the division, giving Ainsworth its second champion on the day. Allen did not see the second period in any match, pinning his opponents in 38 seconds, 18 seconds and 1:53 to reach the title match, where he pinned Zach Sandstrom of Chadron in 1:46 to win the title. Kyle Bachelor of Valentine finished 2-2, one win shy of a medal.

Friday, Dec. 11

Prep Basketball

Girls - West Holt def. Ainsworth, 58-32; Stuart def. Loup County, 24-21; Valentine def. Todd County, S.D., 41-39; Ansley def. Sandhills/Thedford, 47-32; Chambers def. North Central, 57-21; Clearwater/Orchard def. Verdigre, 49-31; Cody-Kilgore def. Arthur County, 62-38; Ewing def. Niobrara, 87-13; Hershey def. Cozad, 54-39; West Boyd def. Lynch, 49-26; Minden def. Broken Bow, 58-38.

Boys - West Holt def. Ainsworth, 74-63; Chambers def. North Central, 53-37; Stuart def. Loup County, 61-48; Clearwater/Orchard def. Verdigre, 54-42; Cody-Kilgore def. Arthur County, 41-38; Cozad def. Hershey, 71-60; Ewing def. Niobrara, 65-28; Hartington Cedar Catholic def. O'Neill, 51-27; Sandhills/Thedford def. Ansley, 72-26;  West Boyd def. Lynch, 55-37.

Saturday, Dec. 5

Wrestling - Ainsworth was crowned the team champion Saturday in the O'Neill Wrestling Invitational, scoring 178 points to distance itself from runner-up O'Neill (135). Valentine finished third in the team standings with 124 points. West Holt was seventh in the 11-team invitational, scoring 67.5 points.

Individual results

103 - Keaton Gracey of Ainsworth placed second, losing to Daniel Dominquez of O'Neill, 7-2, in the championship match. Wacey Gallegos was fourth for the Ainsworth junior varsity.

112 - Dillan Ecklund of Valentine was the champion, scoring a 6-0 decision in the finals over Nathan Wabs of O'Neill. Ely Sharkey finished 0-2 for Ainsworth.

119 - Tyler Walton finished third for the Bulldogs, pinning Russel Felicia of Chamberlain, S.D., in 4:12 in the consolation finals. Walton finished 3-1 on the day. Jeff Green of West Point/Beemer pinned Tony Hipke of O'Neill in the title match.

125 - Eric Bopp of Valentine was the champion, scoring a 10-2 major decision victory of Seth Clark of Dakota Valley in the title match. Dalton Pflaster finished fourth for Ainsworth, losing by fall in the consolation finals to Benji Hammell of Chamberlain. Pflaster finished the day 2-2.

130 - Dustin Dailey defeated Ainsworth teammate Lane Gambill for third place in the division, pinning Gambill in 3:32. Eric Arnold of Valentine was the champion, earning a 5-3 decision over Trevor Olson of Chamberlain in the finals.

135 - Wesley Cole of West Holt was the champion, clipping Marcus Nelson of Valentine, 2-1, in the championship match. Tanner Clark placed fourth for Ainsworth, losing to Nathan Glanzer of Dakota Valley, 7-1, in the consolation finals. Clark finished 2-2 on the day.

140 - Garth Swett of Ainsworth was crowned the champion, pinning Sam Mercure of Valentine in the championship match early in the second period. Valentine JV wrestlers John Graham and Jess Shelbourn finished third and fourth respectively.

145 - Nicholas Shrunk of West Holt won the division, scoring a 5-0 decision over Shelton Dvorak of Pierce in the championship match. Cole Batenhorst of West Point/Beemer beat Sam Gillham of O'Neill, 2-1, for third place.

152 - Derek Pollock of the Ainsworth junior varsity beat teammate Ty Shelbourn by major decision, 14-5, for third place in the division. Pollock was 3-1 on the day, with Shelbourn finishing 2-2. Alejandro Vergara of O'Neill pinned Trent Osnes of Valentine for the title.

160 - Justin West of Ainsworth was pinned in the second period of the championship match by Clay Konicek of West Point/Beemer. West finished 2-1 on the day. Kurtis Milnar of O'Neill finished third.

171 - Taylor Gross of Ainsworth lost by fall in the final three seconds of the championship match to Jon Curran of Dakota Valley. Gross won his first two matches by fall to reach the finals. Daniel Rentschler of West Holt was fourth.

189 - Jake Gambill placed third for the Bulldogs, scoring a 9-2 decision over Trevor Knippling of Chamberlain in the consolation finals. Elliot Mitchell of West Point/Beemer was the champion.

215 - Clinton McQuistion of Chamberlain won the title match over Ron Sterns of O'Neill. Brandon Clark of Ainsworth finished 1-2 on the day.

285 - Nathaniel Allen of Ainsworth pinned four wrestlers on his way to the championship. Allen pinned Matt Maloun of O'Neill at 1:28 in the first period in the title match.

Prep Basketball

Girls - West Holt def. Valentine, 45-36; Hay Springs def. Cody-Kilgore, 70-39; Sandhills/Thedford def. Loup County, 57-32.

Boys - Valentine def. West Holt, 63-56; Sandhills/Thedford def. Loup County, 95-26; Hay Springs def. Cody-Kilgore, 54-45.

Friday, Dec. 4

Prep Basketball

Girls - Chambers def. Spalding/Spalding Academy, 63-36; Ewing def. Lynch, 55-29; North Central def. Burwell, 44-33; North Platte St. Pat's def. Broken Bow, 70-43; Ord def. Ainsworth, 54-37; SMC def. Sandhills/Thedford, 55-46; Stuart def. Niobrara, 55-32; West Holt def. Creighton, 48-47 in overtime.

Boys - Broken Bow def. North Platte St. Pat's, 59-42; Burwell def. North Central, 72-50; Creighton def. West Holt, 61-55; Ewing def. Lynch, 61-39; Gothenburg def. Hershey, 52-46; Ord def. Ainsworth, 44-32; Stuart def. Niobrara, 44-33;

Thursday, Dec. 3

Prep Basketball

Girls - Ewing def. Neligh-Oakdale, 70-44; O'Neill def. Valentine, 53-39; Sargent def. Burwell, 55-36; O'Neill St. Mary's def. Clearwater/Orchard, 40-37; Stuart def. Verdigre, 48-46; West Boyd def. North Central, 57-18.

Boys - Burwell def. Sargent, 48-33; Clearwater/Orchard def. O'Neill St. Mary's, 50-37; Ewing def. Neligh-Oakdale, 74-43; Stuart def. Verdigre, 51-45 in overtime; West Boyd def. North Central, 51-39; Valentine def. O'Neill, 51-48.

Wrestling - Ainsworth and West Holt competed in a quadrangular at Sargent-Burwell to open the season. KBRB received the results from the Ainsworth wrestlers only. For the Bulldogs, Keaton Gracey finished 2-1 at 103 pounds; Eli Sharkey went 1-1 at 112 pounds; Tyler Walton was 1-1 at 119; Dalton Pflaster was 0-2 at 125; Dustin Dailey finished 0-3 at 130 pounds; Tanner Clark was 0-2 at 135; Garth Swett won two of his three matches at 140 pounds; Thomas McNair went 1-2 at 145; Ty Shelbourn was 1-1 at 152; Taylor Gross won all three of his matches at 171 pounds; Jake Gambill won both his matches at 189; Brandon Clark was 0-2 at 215; and Nathaniel Allen pinned two opponents in less than 1 minute at 285 pounds, but lost a 2-0 decision on a third-period takedown against a rated Sargent-Burwell wrestler. In junior varsity action for Ainsworth, Wacey Gallegos was 1-1 at 103 pounds; Lane Gambill went 1-1 at 130 pounds; Riley Painter was 0-3 at 135 pounds; Derek Pollack won all three of his JV matches at 152 pounds; and Nate Yankowski finished 0-2 at 215 pounds. Ainsworth competes in the O'Neill Invitational on Saturday.

Wednesday, Dec. 2

Michael Schumacher and Jose Martinez have been named to the 2009 Nebraska Coaches Association All-State Cross Country team. Schumacher and Martinez, both juniors, placed among the top 5 during the Class D State Cross Country Meet, helping the Bulldogs to the runner-up trophy. Schumacher took home third place while Martinez was fourth in the race. Martinez becomes a two time All-State selection, as he was named to the all-state team last fall as a sophomore.

Tuesday, Dec. 1

Ainsworth junior Claire Kozisek has been selected as a member of the 2009 All-State Girls Golf Team by the Nebraska Coaches Association.
The Board of Directors and Sports Advisory Committees of the Nebraska Coaches Association have established guidelines for choosing All-State teams in those sports not receiving recognition by the daily newspapers.
Kozisek finished the golf season with a fourth place medal at the Class C State Tournament in Grand Island.

Tuesday, Nov. 24

All-District football and Southwest Conference volleyball teams were recently announced by the coaches of the district.

In volleyball, Ainsworth junior Haley Harthoorn received second team all-conference recognition from the coaches. Seniors Jordyn Lechtenberg and Kirsten Peterson received honorable mention recognition.

For Valentine, sophomore Amanda O'Kief was named to the second team, with Michaela Peterson and Skylar Mathis earning honorable mention.

The all-conference first team was dominated by seniors, led by three Minden Whippetts - Katelyn Jelden, Kenna tenBensel and Neale Stadler. Ogallala seniors Sydney Schroer and Lisa Havermann were named to the first team, as were seniors Emily Max of Gothenburg and Kendra Harbison of Cozad.

In football, Ainsworth senior Matt Walton was named to the all-district first team offense as a wide receiver. Junior Nathaniel Allen received first team defensive recognition as an interior lineman, and classmate Cody Hollenbeck was selected as a first team defensive back. Seniors Reilly Hoch, Eric Rempfer and Jake Gambill garnered honorable mention recognition.

For Valentine, senior Kethan Mercure was named to the all-district defensive team as a linebacker. Senior Seth Osnes is an all-district offensive lineman, and Jeff Borer was named to the team as a wide receiver. Honorable mention recognition for Valentine went to juniors Caleb Kluender and Brandon Yost and senior Matt Bachlor.

C1-9 All-District First Team

Offense - OL Mitchell White of Broken Bow, OL Collin Chytka of Broken Bow, OL Seth Osnes of Valentine, OL Brady Preitauer of Gothenburg, OL Tyler Sheets of Gothenburg, TE Shane McCormick of Broken Bow, WR Spencer Goodman of Broken Bow, WR Matt Walton of Ainsworth, WR Jeff Borer of Valentine, RB Conrad Hueftle of Broken Bow, RB Landon Haake of Gothenburg, RB Mason Fisher of Cozad.

Defense - DL Adam Pracht of Broken Bow, DL Jon Kuklis of Cozad, DL Nathaniel Allen of Ainsworth, DL Patrick Reeves of Gothenburg, LB Josh Arnold of Broken Bow, LB Kethan Mercure of Valentine, LB Tanner Sturgeon of Cozad, LB Doran Johnson of Gothenburg, LB Johnathan Jones of Broken Bow, DB Jed Paulsen of Cozad, DB Mark Hilderbrand of Gothenburg, DB Tannor Mroczek of Gothenburg, DB Cody Hollenbeck of Ainsworth, DB Jacob Holcomb of Broken Bow.

Monday, Nov. 16

Humphrey St. Francis def. Ewing in the Class D-2 semifinals, 49-14.

Thursday, Nov. 12

Winner, S.D., def. Tri Valley, 12-6, on a last-second touchdown pass to capture the South Dakota Class 11-B state title.

In Nebraska State volleyball, Chambers advanced to the semifinals with a thrilling five-game victory over Falls City Sacred Heart, 14-25 25-22, 17-25, 25-18, 15-11. The Coyotes face Clay Center at 9:30 a.m. Friday in the semifinals. Clay Center defeated Mullen in three games Thursday.

Tuesday, Nov. 10

Prep Football Quarterfinals

Class C-1: Broken Bow def. Chadron, 13-7; Hastings St. Cecilia def. Crofton, 46-14; Boys Town def. Syracuse, 35-26; Norfolk Catholic def. Wahoo Neumann, 21-6.

Class C-2: David City Aquinas def. Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer, 39-17; Cambridge def. Sutherland, 37-14; Hartington Cedar Catholic def. Creighton, 48-0; Ponca def. Elmwood-Murdock, 20-19.

Class D-1: Giltner def. Overton, 58-31; Howells def. Exeter/Milligan, 64-12; Johnson-Brock def. Bancroft-Rosalie, 46-34; Palmer def. Amherst, 44-8.

Class D-2: Ewing def. Hampton, 28-12; Humphrey St. Francis def. Elgin Pope John, 52-20; Hayes Center def. Chambers, 49-6; Pleasanton def. Sargent, 34-6.

Saturday, Nov. 7

South Dakota Football Semifinals

Winner def. Wagner, 13-12. Winner will face two-time defending champion Tri Valley for the Class 11-B Title. Both teams are undefeated.

Thursday, Nov. 5

District Volleyball Finals

Class D-2 - Chambers def. Stuart, 25-18, 27-25, 25-11. Other state qualifiers in Class D-2 are Clay Center, Dodge, Greeley-Wolbach, Wallace and Mullen.

Class D-1 state qualifiers are Pawnee City, Winside, Meridian, Howells, Ansley and Leyton. Wildcards will be announced soon.

Wednesday, Nov. 4

Prep Football Playoffs

Class C-1: Chadron def. St. Paul, 21-14 in four overtimes; Hastings St. Cecilia def. Gordon-Rushville, 28-0; Broken Bow def. Gothenburg, 19-0.

Class D-2: Ewing def. Wynot, 28-24; Chambers def. Anselmo-Merna, 26-22; Sargent def. Mullen, 34-16.

Tuesday, Nov. 3

Subdistrict Volleyball

Class C1-10 – Ord def. O’Neill, 25-20, 25-19, 27-25. Ord advances to take on Lutheran High Northeast in the C1-5 final.

Class D1-8 – Hartington def. West Boyd, 25-23, 25-22, 30-28. Hartington will face Winside in the D1-4 title game.

Class D2-5 – Stuart def. O’Neill St. Mary’s, 25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 26-28, 15-7. Stuart advances to face Chambers in the D2-3 final for a trip to state.

Class D2-6 – Chambers def. Wheeler Central, 25-17, 25-11, 25-13. Chambers meets Stuart for the D2-3 title. Win or lose, Chambers will punch a ticket to the state tournament, as the Coyotes are leading Class D-2 in wild card points.

Monday, Nov. 2

Subdistrict Volleyball

Class C1-10 - Valentine def. Ainsworth, 25-20, 25-17, 24-26, 26-18; O'Neill def. Broken Bow, 25-13, 25-20, 25-18; Ord def. Valentine, 25-10, 25-16, 25-19.

Class C2-6 - Hartington Cedar Catholic def. Plainview, 27-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-16; West Holt def. Laurel-Concord, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18; Hartington Cedar Catholic def. Creighton, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18.

Class D1-8: Randolph def. Osmond, 23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16, 15-7; Hartington def. Bloomfield, 25-17, 20-25, 25-14, 25-12; West Boyd def. Randolph, 25-19, 25-16, 25-12.

Class D1-9: Sandhills/Thedford def. North Central, 25-9, 25-19, 25-18; Loup City def. Callaway, 25-21, 25-23, 25-20; Ansley def. Sandhills/Thedford, 25-14, 25-12, 25-6.

Class D2-5: Lynch def. Niobrara, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-16; St. Mary's def. Verdigre, 25-10, 19-25, 19-25, 25-5, 15-8; Stuart def. Lynch, 25-20, 25-12, 25-12.

Class D2-6: Pope John def. Elgin, 25-18, 25-9, 25-22; Wheeler Central def. Ewing, 25-21, 12-25, 25-13, 19-25, 15-9; Chambers def. Pope John, 25-12, 25-22, 25-11.

Friday, Oct. 30

Prep Football Playoffs

Class C-1: Gordon-Rushville def. Valentine, 30-12; Chadron def. Boone Central, 21-8.

Class D-2: Mullen def. Lynch, 52-16.

Thursday, Oct. 29

Prep Football Playoffs

Class C-1: Norfolk Catholic def. Wayne, 49-7; Broken Bow def. Mitchell, 54-14; Gothenburg def. Minden, 24-0; St. Paul def. Pierce, 15-12.

Class D-1: Axtell def. Burwell, 39-20; Overton def. Clearwater/Orchard, 49-8.

Class D-2: Chambers def. Stuart, 50-22; Ewing def. Lindsay Holy Family, 54-22; Loomis def. O'Neill St. Mary's, 50-14.

Prep Volleyball - Sargent def. Ainsworth, 25-23, 25-15, 25-11.

Tuesday, Oct. 27

NENAC Volleyball Tournament - Laurel-Concord def. West Holt, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 15-10; Creighton def. Elkhorn Valley, 25-17, 23-25, 25-18, 25-14.

Niobrara Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament - Chambers def. Pope John, 25-9, 25-15, 25-13; Wheeler Central def. Ewing, 25-21, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23.

Prep volleyball - O'Neill def. Valentine, 25-9, 25-13, 25-15; Ansley def. Sandhills/Thedford, 25-16, 23-25, 25-15; Brady def. Sandhills/Thedford, 25-15, 25-8.

Monday, Oct. 26

NENAC Volleyball Tournament - West Holt def. Randolph, 25-9, 25-20, 25-20; Laurel-Concord def. Plainview, 25-12, 25-12, 25-10; Elkhorn Valley def. Crofton, 25-21, 25-18, 25-20; Creighton def. Neligh-Oakdale, 17-25, 25-9, 25-21, 25-16.

Niobrara Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament - West Bracket: Stuart def. O'Neill St. Mary's in five games, then lost to top seed Chambers in three games; West Boyd def. Lynch, 25-8, 25-13, 25-16; Wheeler Central def. North Central, 25-11, 25-15, 25-16; Wheeler Central def. West Boyd, 25-22, 17-25, 27-25, 25-22. East Bracket: Elgin def. Clearwater/Orchard, 26-28, 25-22, 25-15, 11-25, 15-10; Ewing def. Elgin, 25-12, 26-24, 25-19; Niobrara def. Santee, 25-20, 25-18, 19-25, 25-15; Pope John def. Niobrara, 25-15, 25-19, 25-10.

Niobrara Valley Conference semifinals Tuesday - Ewing vs. Pope John; Chambers vs. Wheeler Central. Both matches at Santee.

Saturday, Oct. 24

Area prep football playoff matchups

Class C and Class D games scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29

Class C-1 - Wayne (4-4) at Norfolk Catholic (8-0); Boone Central (3-5) at Chadron (7-0); St. Paul (5-3) at Pierce (5-3); Minden (5-3) at Gothenburg (7-1); Mitchell (4-3) at Broken Bow (8-0); Cozad (3-5) at Crofton (7-1); Valentine (4-4) at Gordon-Rushville (7-1).

Class D-1 - Axtell (6-2) at Burwell (7-1); Clearwater/Orchard (5-3) at Overton (7-1).

Class D-2 - Stuart (4-4) at Chambers (6-2); Lynch (4-4) at Mullen (7-1); Ansley (5-3) at Sargent (6-2); Loomis (5-3) at O'Neill St. Mary's (5-3); Lindsay Holy Family (4-4) at Ewing (8-0).

Friday, Oct. 23

Cross Country - Behind top four finishes from juniors Michael Schumacher and Jose Martinez, the Ainsworth boys cross country team captured the Class D runner-up trophy Friday during the State Cross Country Championships, held at the Kearney Country Club. Schumacher finished third in a time of 17:14 to lead the Bulldogs, one spot ahead of teammate Martinez, who was one second behind Schumacher in 17:15. Freshmen Keaton Gracey (33rd in 18:35) and Nick Martin (46th in 18:54) completed the Bulldogs' team score of 57 points, just seven shy of state champion Hastings St. Cecilia. The Blue Hawks had four runners between eighth and 15th to capture the Class D title. The Class D individual champion was Dillon Eckel of Gibbon, who finished in 16:55. For the West Holt Huskies, freshman Brett Pacha ran 21st in a time of 18:16. Senior Grant Garwood finished 69th in 19:21.

In the Class D girls race, Ainsworth finished third in the state behind a 14th place medal from junior Mattea Gallegos. Gallegos finished the course in 16:20. Freshman Alyssa Kinning was 31st in 17:07, followed by sophomore Ashley Appelt (33rd in 17:10) and junior Jessica Parker (61st in 18:00). Also running for Ainsworth were seniors Tessa Jacobsen (77th in 18:19) and Kayla Klammer (111th in 19:24). The Class D team championship went to Crofton with 30 points, 20 ahead of runner-up Lindsay Holy Family/Newman Grove. The Bulldogs were third with 93 points. West Holt finished sixth in the team race with a score of 127 behind a 19th-place finish from freshman Shaely Thiele in 16:34. Others running for the Lady Huskies included Oasis Wentworth (43rd in 17:35), Rylee Young (67th in 18:07), Alison Klinger (74th in 18:16), Katelyn Fredrick (75th in 18:17) and Paige Osborne (123rd in 23:00). Andrea Weeder of Lindsay Holy Family/Newman Grove was the Class D State Champion, winning by 13 seconds in a time of 15:18.