Arcadia/Loup City sends three to state track meet

On Saturday of the NSAA Class C State Track and Field Championships, Arcadia/ Loup City’s Wyatt Stieb launched the discus in front of the largest crowd of his high school career.

In fact, at Burke Stadium in Omaha, Stieb likely had the chance to throw in front of the largest crowd to watch the Class C boys’ discus in state meet history.

Even with so many eyes looking on—one of the top throwers in the nation was a part of this year’s Class C field, Noah Rau of Chase County—Stieb didn’t miss a beat in the ring.

The Arcadia/Loup City senior, in his final throws as a Rebel, hit 135-04 on his best throw to finish the event sitting in twentieth place.

In the first flight of the event, Stieb logged early marks of 134-08 and 133-11 out of the ring. However, the Rebel switched gears on his last attempt, hitting the mark that cemented his spot on the leaderboard. With his last throw, Stieb avenged a district meet placing to Jax Campbell of Centura. The Rebel beat the Centurion by five inches at the state meet. Campbell finished the day sitting in twenty-first with a throw of 134-11.

Rau won the individual title in the boys’ discus. The Chase County senior set a new Class C meet record with a launch of 196-04. Thayer Central’s Cole Vorderstrasse came in second with a toss of 166-02.

Throwers from Lincoln Lutheran, Ravenna, and Johnson-Brock rounded out the top five.

Stieb’s performance in the discus came after the senior finished the shot put sitting in twelfth place the day before.

On Friday, the Rebel hit 51-00.50 in the Class C boys’ shot put. That heave was Stieb’s second of the event. The senior also landed marks of 48-09 and 47-03.50 on Friday. Stieb finished ahead of Trevor Lindauer of Hastings St. Cecilia, but behind Dayne Clark of Superior.

Ravenna’s Mannox Martin won the Class C shot put. The Bluejay sophomore finished the day with a mark at 61-10.75. Falls City’s Caleb Offner ended up in second with a heave of 60- 06.00.

Stieb was one of three Rebels to compete at last weekend’s state track and field championships in Omaha.

Rylee Kursave also competed in the discus at the state meet, while Dutch Miller battled in the boys’ 3200-meter run.

In the field of twenty- four throwers, Kursave finished Friday’s Class C discus sitting in sixteenth place. The Rebel landed a mark of 109-09 to earn her spot at state. That distance came after the senior’s first throw of the competition. Kursave fouled on her next two attempts. The Rebel beat Annika Glynn of Southern, who hit 109-08, but ended up one spot behind Ord’s Ellie Boettcher. The Chanticleer had a toss of 110-11.

Chelsea Kottich of Elm Creek started her sweep of the throws last weekend by hitting 14403 to win the individual title in the discus. The Buffalo beat Elsie Keller of Ponca, who hit 134-00 for the silver medal.

Miller found himself competing in one of the most talked about races of the entire state meet on Friday.

After dodging raindrops, the sophomore placed thirteenth in the boys’ 3200-meter run on Friday. Miller’s time of 10:15.51 put the Rebel in the middle of the pack, which featured twenty- four runners.

The sophomore completed the first mile at 4:56.59 and ran his last lap around the track at Omaha Burke Stadium in 1:18.07.

Friday’s two-mile run finished in thrilling fashion. Kaser Johnson of Doniphan- Trumbull beat Coltan Ham of North Platte St. Pat’s by .04 seconds. Johnson won the gold in 9:27.21, while Ham ended the race at 9:27.25 for the silver medal. Jacob Swanson of Nebraska Christian placed third in 9:37.32.

With no medalists, the Rebels didn’t hit the leaderboard at last week’s state meet on either the girls’ side of the competition or the boys’ side.

Kearney Catholic secured the girls’ team title after the Stars amassed seventy-nine team points. Bishop Neumann came in second with fifty-seven. Teams from West Holt, Cedar Catholic, and Lincoln Lutheran rounded out the top five.

Chase County won the Class C state title at the boys’ meet with 55.33 points, beating Battle Creek who was the runner-up with 37.33. Doniphan Trumbull came in third after the Cardinals corralled thirty-six points.

WYATT STIEB landed a heave of 51-00.50 in the boys’ shot put on Friday morning at the NSAA Class C State Track and Field Championships.

Last week, the Spartans were represented on the oval at Omaha Burke High School by a pair of runners.

Caydence Feldman had qualified for state in the 3200-meter run, while Kaycee Nelson had punched her ticket to Omaha via the wildcard, securing a spot at state in the girls’ 400-meter dash.

Nelson was the first Spartan to compete on Friday.

The freshman got her inaugural taste of the state competition by making one lap around the track in 1:04.01 to place twenty-third in the 400. Nelson beat Brynne McCully of Mullen in that race. The Bronco came in twenty-fourth in 1:04.22 to round out the field of competitors.

Clara Spargo of Dundy County/Stratton won the gold medal in the quarter-mile event last week. The Tiger completed her solo lap on the track at Burke Stadium
in 57.59. That time helped her beat Reagan Gillian of Wausa.

The Viking finished as the runner-up after she hit the finish line in 57.71.

Feldman was next on the track on Friday, with the senior capping her career as a Spartan in a race that featured some raindrops and a lot of strong competition.

In the field of twenty- four runners, Feldman managed to finish the two-mile race sitting in seventeenth.

The Spartan’s fastest 400-meter split of the race was at 1:25.52, her first lap. The senior finished the event with a split of 1:35.66 on her last lap.

The Spartan toured the track in 13:11.09, besting Micaela Loarca of Dorchester. The Longhorn ran the race in 13:14.11. Claire Wegener of Archangels Catholic bested Feldman. The Defender completed the eight laps in 13:09.58.

Kayleigh Betka of McCool Junction won the race in 11:37.26. The Mustang beat Lydia Mc-Gowen of Cambridge, who placed second in 11:44.24.

Dundy County/Stratton finished last week’s state meet as the team champions. The Tigers scored seventy points to run away with the crown. Wausa was the runner-up with forty- nine points. The Vikings secured a trophy by two points, besting McCool Junction who scored forty-seven.

When the Arcadia/Loup City Rebels loaded the busses on Thursday evening in Albion, they didn’t know if their track season had come to an end or not.

By the time they arrived back in Sherman County, they were greeted with the realization that some members of their team would have another week of competition.

Last Thursday, at the District C-6 Meet at Boone Central High School, Arcadia/ Loup City fell short of automatically qualifying for this week’s NSAA Class C State Track and Field Championships in Omaha. The Rebels, amid a field of talented competition, had secured numerous medals, yet the team had not punched a single ticket to Burke.

Thankfully, while in Albion, the Rebels logged strong enough performances to earn wildcards in three events, with Wyatt Stieb qualifying for the state meet in both the shot put and the discus, Dutch Miller earning his spot at Burke in the twomile run, and Rylee Kursave qualifying in the discus.

In the throws, Stieb placed third in both events, falling one spot shy of automatically qualifying for state.

In the shot put, the recent Loup City High School graduate landed a heave of 50-09 for the bronze. Stieb finished behind Mannox Martin of Ravenna who won the shot put with a mark at 61-11.50 and Jace Campbell of Centura who hit 51-09.50 for the silver. In the finals on Thursday, Stieb was joined by his teammates, Kolton Friesen and Chayden Sekutera. Those two Rebels placed fifth and seventh, respectively, with Friesen’s best heave being 42-10.50 and Sekutera’s top mark being at 40-11.50.

Later in the day, in the shot put, Stieb was once again bested by Martin and a Centura thrower.

Out of the ring, amid varying winds, Stieb hit 146-05 for third place. Martin won the gold with a toss of 163- 01, while Jax Campbell capped his freshman season with a state bid after he launched the disc 148- 06.

Sekutera placed eighth in the discus, with the freshman hitting 125- 01.

On the girls’ side of the meet, Kursave placed third in a tight finish in discus.

The Arcadia/Loup City thrower hit 115-04 to earn the bronze in Albion, but throwers from St. Paul and Ord both logged further tosses than the senior. Annie Stepanek of St. Paul won the event after the sophomore hit 119-02, while Ellie Boettcher unspooled for a toss of 116-05 to place second.

On the track, Miller found himself battling with a stable of talented and familiar opponenents.

In the two-mile race, the sophomore placed third after he battled against Jacob Swanson of Nebraska Christian and Rylan Rasmussen of St. Paul. Swanson won the race in 10:02.56, while Rasmussen took second with a time of 10:13.26. Miller’s third-place finish wasn’t enough to automatically qualify the Rebel for state; however, his time of 10:21.45 would allow him to earn a wildcard.

Later in the day, in the mile run, Miller again met up with the same competition. This time, however, he was also beat to the finish line by Everett Hunnicutt, who placed third in 4:48.26 to earn a wildcat spot. Miller’s time of 4:52.19 was not quick enough to make the cut for the state meet.

Swanson won the mile race in 4:32.75, while Rasmussen finished the event in 4:40.16.

Together, Stieb and Miller combined for twenty-two of the Rebels’ thirty total team points at the district meet. Arcadia/Loup City finished last week’s competition in Albion sitting in eighth on the boys’ side of the competition. The Rebels bested the boys from Cross County and Twin River at the meet, but fell five points behind Ord.

Boone Central won the district title after the Cardinals scored ninety-one points. Grand Island Central Catholic came in second with ninety.

On the girls’ side of the meet, Kursave ended up being one of three Rebels to earn silver medals. Both Charlize Meyer and Tenley Panowicz also came home with bronzes. Meyer took third in the 800, while Panowicz placed third in the mile. The freshmen’s times of 2:36.01 and 5:47.07 were not fast enough, however, to earn either Rebel a spot at state.

Arcadia/Loup City finished the meet sitting in eighth place.

Ansley-Litchfield caught a break, and this week, two Spartans will be running at Omaha Burke.

Last Wednesday, the Spartans joined ten other teams at the District D-5 Track Meet at Burwell Senior High School. While on the track in Garfield County, Ansley-Litchfield was able to earn a handful of medals, with one member of the Spartans’ team— Caydence Feldman— automatically securing her spot at state.

Then, later in the day, a second Spartan punched her ticket, as Kaycee Nelson qualified via the wildcard system.

Feldman earned her spot in the two-mile run, while Nelson qualified in the 400-meter dash.

On the oval at the district meet, Feldman completed eight laps in 13:39.86 for the runner-up finish in the two-mile event. Lena Spencer of Burwell won that race in 12:55.88, while Bayler Clay came close to a top two finish after the Spartan finished in fourth with a time of 14:24.80.

In the previous event, Nelson had completed a solo lap in 1:02.63 to place fourth in the 400. The freshman ended up being one of two wildcard recipients from that district—Laurel Mann of Central Valley placed third and received the other. Notably, both Nelson and Mann also finished the 800 in fourth and third, with Mann again receiving a wildcard in that event, while Nelson’s time of 2:37.32 did not make the cut.

Mieke van der Walt of Burwell won the 400 in 1:01.73, while Abigail Uden of Grand Island Lutheran came in second in 1:02.04. In the 800, Burwell’s Addison Critel won the race in 2:20.42, with Kyla Elfgren of Overton placing second in 2:27.26.

Despite only qualifying two runners for state, Ansley-Litchfield managed to rack up points at the district meet.

The Spartans finished the meet sitting in fifth place on the leaderboard. Ansley- Litchfield tied with Shelton with forty-six points each for that spot in the eleven-team field. The Spartans and the Bulldogs both bested Sumner-Eddyville- Miller by ten points and Palmer by eleven.

Central Valley scored 96.5 points to win the district title, while Burwell came in second with ninety points.

On the boys’ side of the competition, the Spartans placed ninth after they netted fifteen points. Ansley-Litchfield had four medalists at Burwell, with Karson Moore having the strongest finish.

Moore placed third in the shot put after he landed a heave of 4006.50.

Michael Corliss, Owen Brott, and Kolten Clay also medaled for Ansley-Litchfield.

This week, both Feldman and Nelson will compete at the NSAA Class D State Track and Field Championships at Omaha Burke. The two will compete back-to-back on Friday afternoon, with Nelson running the 400 beginning at 4:05 p.m. and Feldman competing in the two mile run at 4:45 p.m.

Nobody had a bigger impact on that score than senior distance runner Caydence Feldman.

Feldman topped the field of 3200-meter runners to claim the Black and Gold’s lone gold medal on the day, winning with a time of 13:41.02.

In the 4x800-meter relay, the senior was joined by teammates Bayler Clay, Garittee Smith, and Kaycee Nelson for a silver medal time of 11:26.78.

Other top finishers for the Lady Spartans were Ava Paitz placing third in the 100-meter hurdles (18.33) and fifth in the 300-meter hurdles (52.67), Nelson finishing fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:03.43, and the 4x400-meter relay team of Kiera Bailey, Jenna Drahota, Nelson, and Paitz taking third place in 4:31.77.

On the track in Cairo, the boys also shined in the relays.

The team of Chance Evans, Michael Corliss, Adrian Nienaber, and Kolten Clay secured a silver medal in the 4x400-meter relay with their four-lap time of 3:56.16.

Evans also led the way individually for the Spartan boys, finishing fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.09 seconds. That time was 0.47 seconds better than Colt Hadenfeldt of Centura and fell just shy of topping the bronze medalist from Ravenna, Brendan Lockhorn.

Additionally, Clay landed eighth in the 3200-meter run (12:27.93, personal record), Owen Brott finished eighth in the 110-meter hurdles (19.22, personal record), and Corliss placed eighth in the high jump with a best mark of 5-04.

Up next for the Spartans is the District D-5 meet in Burwell. They will compete alongside Burwell, Central Valley, Elba, Grand Island Lutheran, Overton, Palmer, Pleasanton, Shelton, Sumner-Eddyville-Miller, and Twin Loup.

On the track at Centura High School, the Rebels broke a pair of program records.

On the boys’ side of the meet, the Rebels’ 3200-meter relay team of Brogan Setlik, Dutch Miller, Carter Schmidt, and Eli Jaixen broke their own record when they tackled the four legs of the race in 8:35.91. That effort broke a twoweek old record that the four had set at the Palmer Invite in Fullerton.

The Rebels’ 3200-meter relay team placed third at the conference meet, with Doniphan- Trumbull winning the race in 8:23.78 and St. Paul placing second with a time of 8:31.77.

Tyce Calleroz also reshuffled the Rebels’ record books when he placed second in the 400-meter dash. The senior hit the line in 51.34 for silver medal. That effort broke a program record that was set in 2014 by Jordan Hovie. The previous record had been 51.73.

Jaxon Hammond of Doniphan-Trumbull beat the senior in the race. The Cardinal clocked in at 50.29.

Calleroz was one of the Rebels’ top performers at the conference meet.

In addition to his record-setting time in the 400, Calleroz placed sixth in the 100 at 11.23 and joined Ryan Kaslon, Jaixen, and Setlik in a fourth-place finish in the 1600-meter relay. The Rebels completed the relay race in 3:35.16, with Central City winning that race with a time of 3:29.55.

Individually, Setlik and Schmidt added some additional medals to the team’s cache after they placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 800-meter run. Setlik clocked in at 2:11.87 to place fifth in that race, while Schmidt hit the line in 2:13.30.

Miller also earned an individual medal. The sophomore placed fifth in the two-mile run with a time of 10:22.24.

Wyatt Stieb had Arcadia/Loup City’s only medals in the field. Stieb placed fifth in the shot put and sixth in the discus. The senior had throws of 42-08 and 13202, respectively at the conference meet for the hardware.

On the girls’ side of the meet, multiple Rebels picked up hardware in the field events.

Rylee Kursave came out of the shot-put ring with a fifth-place medal after she hit 34-00. The senior then placed fourth in the discus, landing a best toss of 108-07. In the discus, Morgan Rademacher finished in the shadow of the medals, with the junior hitting the grass at 97-06 for eighth.

Savannah Griess and Hadley Rademacher each had sixth-place finishes in the jumps.

Greiss cleared the bar at 4-09 for sixth in the high jump. Rademacher also snuck into the medals with a mark at 15-10.50 in the long jump. That was the freshman’s best jump of her career, thus far.

Later in the meet, Rademacher placed third in the 100-meter hurdles. The freshman completed that race in 17.43 for the bronze. Hurdlers from St. Paul won both the gold and the silver in those races with times of 15.45 and 15.94.

Arcadia/Loup City’s top finish of the conference meet on the girls’ side of the competition was in the 3200-meter relay.

In that race, LaMor Santos, Charlize Meyer, Tenley Panowicz, and Tayler Obermiller placed second at 10:25.30. The Rebels were only bested by the girls from Central City. The Bison won the race in 10:21.35, with Ord finishing in third. Santos, Panowicz, Meyer, and Obermiller also competed in the 1600-meter relay. Those four ran that race in 4:22.90 for fourth.

Panowicz, earlier in the meet, secured a silver medal in the mile run. The freshman hit the finish line in 5:53.26 to secure the hardware in that race. Meyer would place sixth in the 800 with a time of 2:36.57, while Obermiller just missed the medals, running the one-lap 400 in 1:03.70.

Both Arcadia/Loup City’s boys’ team and the girls’ squad ended Friday’s conference meet sitting in sixth place in the team standings.

In the girls’ competition, the Rebels scored 34.5 points to handedly eclipse the teams from Gibbon, Wood River, and Ravenna. Central City won the girls’ team title after the Bison beat St. Paul 153-131.

The Rebel girls tallied twenty-seven points to finish the meet tied with Centura. The Rebels beat the boys from Ord and Gibbon, while Doniphan- Trumbull secured the conference crown after the Cardinals notched 126 points at the meet.

The Arcadia/Loup City boys’ track team won four gold medals at the Palmer Invitational last week.

However, the feather in the Rebels’ cap after the Tigers’ meet came after one group of runners secured the silver.

On Thursday, on the track at Fullerton High School, the Rebels’ two-mile relay team of Eli Jaixen, Dutch Miller, Carter Schmidt, and Brogan Setlik set a new school record in the 3200-meter event. The four Rebels exchanged the baton three times in 8:42.88, breaking an elevenyear- old record.

The previous record, set in 2015, was with a time of 8:53.84.

Nebraska Christian won the relay in 8:35.55, while Fullerton finished in third with a time of 8:49.15.

After the Rebels had celebrated their relay race record, Arcadia/Loup City fans soon had something else to cheer about.

Senior Tyce Calleroz swept the sprints at Thursday’s meet. The Rebel won the 100-meter dash in 11.49 and secured the title in the 200-meter event with a time of 23.46. Kaslon had strong showings in both of those races as well, placing tenth and twelfth, respectively.

Miller continued to battle two familiar opponents in the mile run.

The sophomore fought Nebraska Christian’s Jacob Swanson and Newman Grove/St. Edward’s Micah Cuevas throughout the two-mile run at the Tiger’s meet. While Miller narrowly missed besting the Panther— Cuevas placed second in 4:51.55 and Miller came in third in 4:51.91—Swanson handedly won the race. The Eagle secured the individual title in 4:48.62.

Justin Conner, Schmidt, and Setlik all battled in the middle-distance events, finishing just shy of earning hardware in those races.

Capping off the Rebels’ day on the track, Setlik, Jaixen, Kaslon, and Calleroz placed second in the mile relay in 3:37.30. Nebraska Christian won that race with a time of 3:36.44.

Wyatt Stieb won two individual gold medals in the field.

The senior secured the title in the shot put with a heave of 46- 01, while in the discus Stieb unspooled for a toss of 136- 00.25. In both events, the Rebel finished feet ahead of the runner-up. Cal Seip of Nebraska Christian took second in the shot put at 43-05, while Adrian Kanter of Palmer placed second in the discus with a toss of 129- 05.50.

Also in the field, Isaac Fitzgerald placed fourth in the high jump at 5-07, while Hudson Obermiller cleared the bar at 5- 03.

The Rebels’ girls’ team also had a strong showing in the 3200-meter relay.

The team of LaMor Santos, Tenley Panowicz, Charlize Meyer, and Tayler Obermiller on that race in 10:29.30. Arcadia/Loup City’s team handedly beat the team from Nebraska Christian, which took second in 10:46.0.

Rylee Kurzave and Morgan Rademacher also had early success at the meet on Thursday.

The two each medaled in the discus, hitting 104-11 and 100-02 to place fourth and sixth, respectively. Nebraska Christian throwers Hananiah Peters and Piper Norris both led that event. The duo landed tosses of 117-07 and 106-11 to secure the gold and the silver.

In the shot put, Kursave placed third behind and Eagle duo with a mark at 35-01.50. The winning put by Nebraska Christian’s Alexis Perry hit 36- 09.

Savannah Griess and Hadley Rademacher both also medaled in the field.

Griess, a freshman, cleared the bar at 4- 09 to place fifth in the high jump. Marlea Donahey, the Class D defending champion in the high jump, won that event after she got over the bar at 5-01. Rademacher, also in her inaugural year of prep track, took second in the long jump landing at 15-03. Nyla Beller of Humphrey won that event with a jump of 15-09.25.

Rademacher had an impressive performance on the track, placing second in the 100-meter hurdles in 18.22.

Joining the freshman on the oval was her classmate, Tenley Panowicz who placed third in the mile at 6:00.77 and Obermiller and Meyer who took third and sixth, respectively, in the 800. Obermiller secured the bronze in that race in 2:33.69 while Meyer completed the two-lap event in 2:47.61.

Taelyn Kuszak and Griess both had top-ten finishes in the two-mile as well last week.

Santos also earned an individual medal on the track. The junior placed third in the 200 at 28.71.

Last Thursday’s meet served as the perfect primer for this week’s LouPlatte Conference competition.

The Rebels will join the rest of the conference field at Centura High School on Friday for the annual conference fray. Then, the following week, Arcadia/Loup City will complete its regular season at the Ord Invitational.

The Ansley-Litchfield Spartans didn’t have to look far to find some competition on the track last week.

On Thursday, the Spartans joined seven other teams at the Ravenna Invite. Ansley- Litchfield placed sixth on the girls’ side of the meet and finished the boys’ team race in seventh.

Headlining the Spartans’ time on the track in Buffalo County was Bayler Clay.

Clay won the girls’ twomile run at the Bluejays’ annual invite. The Spartan completed the eight-lap race in 14:52.37 for the gold. Clay beat Sadie Lorenze of Axtell, Aubree Hervert of Ravenna, and her teammate, Freyja Lawrence. Lawrence placed fourth in the event, hitting the line at 17:59.22.

Clay and Garittee Smith also competed in the mile race at Ravenna. Clay placed fourth in that event in 6:54.58, while Smith took seventh in 7:09.80.

Smith made the medals in the girls’ pole vault The junior cleared 8-05 to place fourth in that event. Lauren Suntych of Centura won the pole vault after she got past the bar at 10-05.

Adding to the Spartans’ medal count last week was Kiera Bailey.

The Spartan junior placed third in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 18.88. Jaycee Vogel also medaled in that race, with the Spartan taking sixth at 20.17. Later in the meet, Bailey would place fourth in the girls’ 300-meter race. The junior clocked in at 54.34 for the hardware in that event. Vogel again placed sixth last week in the 300, hitting the line in 57.36.

Kali Phillippi of Axtell won the shorter hurdle race in 17.61 and took the longer win in 51.21.

Kaycee Nelson made an impact on the Spartans’ efforts at Ravenna when the freshman placed second in the 400-meter dash. Nelson secured the silver in that race in 1:02.59. Nelson was bested on the oval by Sevyn Russell of Doniphan-Trumbull. The Cardinal won the race in 1:00.23. Nelson also medaled in the 800, placing fifth with a time of 2:43.87.

Ansley-Litchfield also earned points in both the 400-meter and 1600-meter relay races. The Spartans placed sixth in the shorter race in 1:07.83 and took fifth in the longer event at 4:49.90.

The Spartans finished the meet with forty-seven points to beat the girls from both Gibbon and Kearney Catholic at Ravenna. Centura won the team title at the Bluejays’ meet with 117.5 points.

Doniphan-Trumbull came in second after the Cardinals racked up ninety-three.

Headlining the boys’ side of the meet for the Spartans was Owen Brott.

The sophomore placed fourth in both the 110-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles. In the shorter race, Brott hit the line in 19.83 while his time in the longer event was 47.94. In the 300-meter hurdles, Brott finished one place better than his teammate, sophomore Chance Evans. Evans placed fifth in 48.32 Ravenna’s Jack Kucera and Tyce Coufal took the top two spots in both the hurdle events. Kucera won the races in 16.01 and 41.51, respectively, while Coufal’s times were 17.24 and 41.51.

Evans’s effort in the hurdles earned the Spartan another medal during the meet. Earlier in the day, in the 400-meter dash, Evans placed fifth in 56.20.

In addition to the Spartans placing fourth in both the mile and two-mile relays— 3:57.62 and 11:42.40— Kolten Clay also placed in the mile run. Clay finished that race in 12:38.93.

Program records tumbled last Tuesday, as members of the Arcadia/Loup City track team put up new best marks.

On the oval at Wood River Rural High School, two Rebel athletes—Tyce Calleroz and Dutch Miller—both broke program records on the track, with Calleroz’s efforts helping the senior to a gold medal at the Eagles’ meet.

Calleroz secured the top spot on the medals stand in the boys’ 100-meter dash last Tuesday. The senior hit the line in 11.07 for the gold, besting Amherst’s Isaac Chavez who finished the race in second at 11.08. The Rebels’ Ryan Kaslon ended up just outside the medals in that event, placing seventh at 11.70.

Later in the meet, Miller set new program bests in both the mile and two-mile races.

Miller’s time of 4:56.79 in the mile secured the sophomore the Rebel record in that event. However, Miller finished the race in second behind Jacob Swanson of Nebraska Christian. The Eagle won the mile event in 4:44.92.

In the two-mile, Miller clocked in at 10:24.56 for another record-setting performance. The Rebel, however, was again bested by Swanson. The Eagle racer completed eight laps around the oval in 10:14.63 for the gold, leaving the Rebel with the silver.

Elsewhere on the track last week, Eli Jaixen placed fifth in the 400 with a time of 55.97 and Brogan Setlik secured the silver in the 800 after he clocked in at 2:12.53. Setlik was bested in that race by Cole Haahr of Kenesaw. The Blue Devil earned the gold in 2:11.41.

Setlik, Miller, Isaac Fitzgerald, and Carter Schmidt teamed up to place fourth in the 3200-meter relay. Those four finished the event in 9:24.66.

Late in the day, Calleroz, Kaslon, Jaizen, and Setlik capped the meet with a runner-up finish in the 1600-meter relay. The four Rebels completed the event in 3:43.71, finishing only behind the boys from Nebraska Christian. The Eagles won the relay in 3:42.26.

In his second outing of the season, recent Chadron State commit Wyatt Stieb won the boys’ shot put.

Stieb hit 49- 06.25 for the gold medal, beating Gavin Whitefoot of Centura. The Centurion earned the silver with a mark of 46-06.50. Stieb later placed fourth in the discus. The senior’s best mark was 127-04.

Arcadia/Loup City’s Kolton Friesen also medaled in the shot put. Friesen hit 42-11 for fourth.

Arcadia/Loup City placed third in the team race at the Eagles’ meet.

The Rebels scored 74.5 points, finishing just behind Nebraska Christian who earned 77.5. Wood River won the team title at their home invite. The Eagles paced the nine-team field with ninety- two points.

A two-team race quickly emerged on the girls’ side of the competition at Wood River—Nebraska Christian and Elm Creek combined to score 289 points at the meet. However, that didn’t mean that the Rebels weren’t able to rack up some points of their own.

Leading the Rebels on Tuesday was Tayler Obermiller.

The junior won the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:03.53, besting Adelaine Mankin of Nebraska Christian. The Eagle finished the race in 1:03.70.

Later in the meet, both Tenley Panowicz and Charlize Meyer also secured medals on the oval. The duo clocked in at 2:44.79 and 2:44.82 to place fifth and sixth, respectively in the 800. Emma Rathjen of Nebraska Christian won that race in 2:31.43.

Hitting her stride in the hurdles was freshman Hadley Rademacher. The Rebel placed second in the 100-meter race in 17.46 and took sixth in the 300-meter competition with a time of 55.30. Sheridan Falk of Nebraska Christian won both those events, clocking in at 15.55 and 49.92.

The Rebels also medaled in the 1600- and 3200-meter relays.

In the shorter race, Obermiller, Panowicz, LaMor Santos, and Meyer placed third in 4:28.36. In the longer race, Obermiller, Panowicz, Meyer, and Savannah Griess exchanged the baton three times in 11:03.62 for third.

Rylee Kursave added to the Rebels’ point total with third place finishes in both the shot put and the discus. Kursave hit 33-10 for the bronze in the shot put, while the senior landed a toss of 113-11 for the bronze in the discus. Chelsea Kottich won the shot put with a heave of 40- 01.25, while the Buffalo took the gold in the discus with a mark of 143-04.

The Rebels’ girls team scored forty-six points to finish in fourth at Wood River. Nebraska Christian outscored Elm Creek 151-147 for the gold, while Centura put away seventy points to place third.

Mother Nature may not have fully cooperated last week, but the windy weather and cool temperatures weren’t enough to keep the Arcadia/Loup City Rebels off the links last week.

On Tuesday, the Rebels joined three other teams— Ravenna, Central Valley, and Riverside—for a quadrangular at the Ravenna Golf Course. From that field of four teams, the Rebels placed third, with Arcadia/Loup City combining to hit a 200 for the nine-hole event.

The Rebels finished the outing just thirty-three strokes off the leaders, Ravenna.

The Bluejays capitalized on home course advantage to shoot a 167 to win the quadrangular. Central Valley came in second with a 198, besting the Rebels by two strokes. Riverside, the fourth team in the field, fired a 205 to end up sitting in fourth.

Arcadia/Loup City’s links squad was led by Domanik Barnes. The Rebel fired a forty-six in Ravenna to place tenth. Barnes finished a stroke behind Ravenna’s Aaron Coulter.

At the Bluejays’ event, Ravenna had a strong showing in the top ten. Of the ten best scores last week, the Bluejays’ links squad accounted for eight of them.

Cooper Todd won the quadrangular with the low score of thirty-eight. Kash Lutz, in the first outing of his prep career, fired a forty-three. That score was matched by that of Central Valley’s July Gotschall. The Cougar placed third, one of just two non-Bluejays to finish in the top ten.

Others leading the pack included Weston Schirmer, Trent Wedemeyer, Bryce Rasmussen, Robbie Gentrup, and Hayden Bock.

Also competing for the Rebels last week, Kale Dorsey finished just outside the medals with a forty-eight, while Joseph Ducker fired a fiftyone. Other Rebel notables included Baylon Kohler with a fifty-five and Jackson Gries who shot a fifty-seven.

This week, the Rebels had the chance to golf their first complete round of the season on Wednesday. Arcadia/Loup City joined a large field of golfers at the Ord Invite. Following that meet, Arcadia/ Loup City is scheduled to host the Rebel Invite on Thursday before returning to Ravenna on Tuesday for a triangular with the Bluejays and Kearney Catholic.

On the track at Loup City High School, the Rebels benefited from a series of strong performances to pick up hardware at the Arcadia/ Loup City Invite. Among those that made strides from the Red and Black was Wyatt Stieb, with the senior securing a pair of silver medals.

Stieb took second in both the shot put and the discus.

The Rebel hit 47-02 in the shot put, while in the discus ring, the Loup City senior logged a toss of 138-08 for the silver. Kolton Friesen also medaled in the shot put. Friesen placed sixth with a mark at 38-10.

In both events, Ravenna’s Mannox Martin secured the gold. Martin won the shot put after he landed a heave of 5910. In the discus, the sophomore hit 138-08.

Dutch Miller made an impact for Arcadia/Loup City, placing second in the 3200-meter run and third in the mile event.

In the longer race, Miller clocked in at 14:48.93 for the silver. Later in the meet, the sophomore hit the line at 5:06.54 to net the bronze in the 1600-meter run. Micah Cuevas of Newman Grove-St. Edward won both races. The Panther completed the two-mile event in 10:46.55, while he won the shorter race in 5:00.61. In the 1600 meters, Elijah Cool of South Loup took second at 5:01.57.

Ryan Kaslon was the Rebels’ other medalist. The senior clocked in at 24.79 to place sixth in the 200-meter dash on Thursday.

On the girls’ side of the meet, Arcadia/Loup City’s 4x400-meter relay team of Hadley Rademacher, LaMor Santos, Savannah Griess, and Charlize Meyer placed third in that event. The team recorded a time of 4:52.71, finishing just behind the champions from St. Paul and the runners-up from Central Valley.

Rademacher and Meyer both medaled as well in the long jump. The freshmen placed third and sixth, respectively, recording jumps of 15-03.50 and 14-10. Grace Mahoney of Riverside won that event after the Charger landed at 16-04.

Other medalists for the Rebels included Santos placing sixth in the 200 at 29.97, Tenley Panowicz taking fifth in the 800 with a time of 2:49.41, and Rademacher earning medals in both hurdle races.

The freshman took sixth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.69, while she placed sixth in the 300-meter event in 55.62.

On Thursday, both the Rebels’ boys’ team and the girls’ teams finished the meet sitting in eighth place.

On the girls’ side of the competition, Arcadia/Loup City scored thirty-three points to beat teams from Ravenna, Ansley-Litchfield, Elba, and Newman Grove/St. Edward.

Ord won the team title at the Rebels’ meet, with the Chanticleers securing 138 points. St. Paul was the runner- up with 120.

In the boys’ competition, Arcadia/Loup City netted forty points. That helped the Rebels best the boys from Ravenna, Riverside, Elba, and Ansley-Litchfield.

Grand Island Central Catholic dominated the team race in the boys’ competition. The Crusaders scored 174.5 points, nearly 100 more than the runners-up from St. Paul. The Wildcats placed second with seventy-five.

This week, the Rebels were in action at the St. Paul Invite on Tuesday afternoon. Following that outing, Arcadia/ Loup City will head to Wood River on April 7th for the Eagles’ annual meet.

The Ansley-Litchfield Spartans impressed on the track during their first outing of the 2026 track season.

On Thursday, the Spartans joined a host of other teams from across the Cornhusker State at the University of Nebraska—Kearney (UNK) Class D High School Invite. At the Lopers’ prep meet, the Spartans had strong times, with several members of both the girls’ and the boys’ team earning hardware.

Pacing the Spartans on the girls’ side of the meet was Kaycee Nelson.

The Ansley-Litchfield junior placed fifth in the girls’ 200-meter run with a time of 30.06. Not far behind Nelson was Taryn Cole, her teammate who clocked in at 31.21. Addie Boyles was also one of the fifty-one runners that competed in that event.

In the shorter sprint last week—the 60-meter dash—Cole came in nineteenth at 9.11, while Boyles placed thirty-ninth and Kinzlie McAuliff ended up in forty-sixth.

Central Valley’s Taylor McIntyre won the two shortest races of the day. The Cougar clocked in at 26.58 and 7.94, respectively.

In the 400, Jenna Drahota placed eleventh in 1:12.22, while Baylor Clay and Garittee Smith both competed in the mile run.

In the two mile, Caydence Feldman secured sixth place with a time of 14:53.46, while Clay came in seventh at 15:03.08. Freyja Lawerance placed ninth in that race with a time of 17:45.59.

Capping off their performance on the track were Kiera Bailey, Drahota, and Jaycee Vogel, all of whom battled in the 60-meter hurdles.

In the relays, Bailey, Drahota, Nelson, and Cole teamed up to place sixth in the mile event. The four Spartans exchanged the baton three times in 4:51.65 to beat the girls from Bertrand. Pleasanton’s team won that race in 4:33.57, beating the girls from Ainsworth.

Earlier in the day, Clay, Smith, Addilyne Rohde, and Nelson placed fifth in the twomile relay. The team completed that event in 12:08.05.

Lauren Fernau had the Spartans’ strongest showing in the field. The junior hit 25-04 for twenty-seventh in the shot put. Fernau finished just ahead of Gracie Reitz and Isabella Plunkett; both of whom also competed in the day’s only throw.

The shot put was the epicenter of success for Ansley-Litchfield’s boys’ team.

On Thursday, Karson Moore landed a heave of 40-05 to place eighth in that event, leading the Spartans’ effort in the field. Owen Hawkins and Cooper Fletcher also competed in the shot put. Brady’s Canin Golter won that event with a heave of 44-03.

Last week, Owen Brott placed twenty-second in the long jump— 16-09—while Michael Corliss and Kamden Barker represented in the high jump.

On the track, Corliss placed twenty-second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.88. The junior would then be joined by Brott in the 200, with the two clocking in at 26.68 and 28.11, respectively, in that event.

In the 400, Chance Evans placed twelfth with a time of 59.90. Barker would end up in thirty-first in the 800 after he hit the line in 2:50.01 in that event. Knox Feldman was also a participant in the half-mile race.

Kolten Clay and Kaleb Aguilar came in back-to-back in the mile with times of 5:45.90 and 5:46.16. Luke Soukup placed thirtieth in that event at 7:07.48.

Clay medaled in the two-mile race with a time of 12:31.10, putting the Spartan in sixth. Aaron Reitz placed fifteenth in the two-mile at 15:19.81.

The Spartan boys competed in both relays last week Barker, Corliss, Evans, and Brott exchanged the baton three times in 4:13.27 to place seventeenth in the mile event. In the two-mile relay, Aguilar, Cooper Fletcher, Donny Lawrence, and Barker placed seventh in 10:28.37.

This week, the Spartans will get their first shot at competition outdoors when they compete at the Arcadia/ Loup City Invite on Thursday at Loup City.

The Arcadia/Loup City Rebels will have a pair of wrestlers at the NSAA Class D Boys State Wrestling Championships, with both Joseph Ducker and Wyatt Stieb earning gold medals at the District D-2 Tournament last week.

From the district fray at Elm Creek High School, Ducker secured the title at 175, while Stieb picked up the gold medal at 215. Together, the two Rebels combined to earn 55.5 of Arcadia/Loup City’s 65.5 points, helping the Rebels finish the tournament in the top ten.

Arcadia/Loup City ended up sitting in eighth place on Saturday, with the Rebels beating Bertrand by four points. Plainview won the team title with 160.5 points, while Southern came in second with 148.5. Teams from Twin Loup, Elm Creek, and Ravenna rounded out the top five, scoring 115, 114.5, and 112 points, respectively.

Ducker opened the tournament at 175 with a 16-0 tech fall over Jaxson Young of Southern. Following that win, the Rebel pinned both Jackson Gehrig of Alma and Jackson Gerdes of Sandy Creek to secure his spot in Saturday’s championship round. In the finals, Ducker needed just over two minutes to pin Rocco Hageman of East Butler, allowing the Rebel to finish the meet with a 35-4 record and by standing tall on the top of the medals stand.

At 215, Stieb also blew through the competition at the district meet.

The senior took down Mickal Crisman of Ainsworth to open the tournament and then pinned Luke Soucie of Sandy Creek in the quarterfinals. On Saturday, Stieb pinned Jaegar Frahm to secure his return ticket to Omaha. After that win, the Rebel claimed the gold with a first-period pin against Blake Bottorf of Twin Loup.

Three other wrestlers competed for Arcadia/Loup City last week, with Hudson Obermiller making the biggest run at the district meet.

At 144, Obermiller won his first match when he pinned Noah Meister of Twin Loup. After that victory, the Rebel was locked up by Blaze Barleen of Southern, putting Obermiller in the consolation bracket.

Despite a pair of wins— Obermiller pinned Joe King of Ravenna and Grady Zeckser of Hastings St. Cecilia— the Rebel fell one victory shy of punching his ticket to Omaha.

In the heartbreak round, Obermiller was pinned by Ryder Anderson-Ray of Guardian Angels Central Catholic. The Bluejay won the match in the second period.

Justin Conner and Austin Conner both battled as well last week, with both Rebels losing each of their matches at Elm Creek.

This week’s NSAA Class D Boys State Wrestling Championships are scheduled to get underway on Thursday afternoon at the CHI Health Center in Omaha.

According to the brackets released by the Nebraska School Activities Association, Ducker will open the tournament against Jacob Motacek of Niobrara/Verdigre at 175. At 215, Stieb will see Kwyntin Kampa of Lyons-Decatur in the opening round.

WYATT STIEB was able to pin Jaegar Frahm of Plainview in the semifinals at 215 pounds on Saturday, helping the Arcadia/Loup City senior punch his ticket to the NSAA Class D State Wrestling Championships in Omaha this week.

Ansley-Litchfield wrestler places third at districts

A sudden victory capped off a strong tournament for Ansley-Litchfield’s Clysta Brott on Saturday, helping the senior secure a return trip to the NSAA Class B Girls State Wrestling Championships.

Last Saturday, on the mats at Columbus Lakeview High School, Brott won four matches, with the Spartan’s only loss of the tournament coming in the semifinal round of the bracket at 130. Those four wins, including a 6-1 sudden victory over Payton Becker of Boone Central, helped the Spartan finish the tournament in third.

Earlier in the bracket, the senior pinned Tayleigh Strickland of Holdrege and Claire Kester of Summerland but lost to Meredith Bargen of Lakeview in the semifinal round. Brott later pinned Peyton Weddle of Falls City before she met up with the Cardinal in the bronze-medal match.

The senior’s wins over Strickland and Weddle were recorded in twenty-six and fifty-six seconds, respectively.

While Brott had success emerging from the consolation bracket and earning hardware, two members of the Spartans’ team—Jaycee Vogel and Isabelle Plunkett— both fell one win shy of punching their tickets to Omaha.

At 155, Vogel lost her consolation semifinals match to Briley Koehler of Battle Creek. At 190, Plunkett was pinned by MayCee Beat of Holdrege in the heartbreak round.

Vogel finished the meet with a 3-2 record, including a thirty-three-second pin against Allison Fulmer of Axtell. Plunektt ended up 3-2 as well, with the Spartan having beaten Lynley Leonard of North Central in fifty-three seconds.

Other members of the Spartans’ team to have competed at last week’s district tournament included Addie Boyles, Bayler Clay, Jenna Drahota, Gracie Reitz, Koy Zulkowski, and Aliza Ellison.

With multiple wrestlers scoring points for the Spartans last weekend, Ansley-Litchfield finished the tournament sitting on the top half of the leaderboard. The Spartans scored fifty-six points to end up in eleventh, beating the girls from both Boone Central and Central City.

Ansley-Litchfield finished a spot behind their Fort Kearny Conference foes from Sumner-Eddyville-Miller. The Mustangs netted sixty- nine points to place ninth.

Battle Creek secured the team title at the District B-2 Tournament. The Braves scored 163 points, while the runners-up from Columbus Lakeview earned 142.5. Teams from ord, Falls City, and Auburn rounded out the top five.

The Arcadia/Loup City Rebels saw their LouPlatte Conference Tournament lives come to an end in last Tuesday’s quarterfinal matchup with the tournament’s eventual champions, the Central City Bison.

Prior to that meeting, the Lady Rebels faced off with Gibbon in a rematch, after the Buffaloes handed the Red and Black a 39-29 loss early in the regular season. This time around, behind fourteen points from Morgan Rademacher and ten from Tayler Obermiller, the Rebels powered their way to a comfortable 48-21 victory.

On Tuesday, however, the Arcadia/Loup City girls struggled to find their footing on the offensive end against a stout Bison defense.

Central City started to heat up early, scoring seventeen first quarter points while limiting the Rebels to just four. That heat turned into a fire in the second as a 22-6 run by the Bison gave Central City a commanding 39-10 advantage at the halftime intermission.

While the Rebels found some answers on the defensive end after the break, those scoring woes persisted in the second half.

The Bison outpaced Arcadia/ Loup City 12-1 in the third quarter and 8-3 in the fourth, cementing their fortyfive- point win.

Morgan Rademacher led the Rebels in scoring with six points to go along with five points and two blocks. Hadley Rademacher finished with five points and two rebounds, Tenley Panowicz added two points, and Lillian Hurlburt tallied three rebounds and an assist.

Central City’s Reagan Fousek led all scorers with eighteen points.

Up next for the Lady Rebels is a home battle with Ansley/Litchfield on Tuesday, February 10th, and a regular season finale on the road against the LouPlatte Conference runners-up, Centura. Tip off between the Rebels and the Centurions is slated for 6:00pm on Friday, February 13th.

TAYLER OBERMILLER fights her way to the basket during the Arcadia/Loup City Rebels’ quarterfinal game against Central City last Tuesday night.

On their home mats at Ansley High School, Clysta Brott secured the gold medal at 130 and Gracie Reitz placed second at 125. Together, those two Spartans scored forty- six of Ansley-Litchfield’s 75.5 team points, helping the Spartans to a seventh-place finish on the leaderboard.

Ord won the team title at last week’s meet, with the Chanticleers securing 123 points. Southern Valley picked up 107 points to come in second, while the Spartans’ Fort Kearny Conference foes from Sumner-Eddyville-Miller came in third with 103.5.

Teams from Wilcox-Hildreth, Alliance, and Thayer Central rounded out the top six. The Bulldogs and the Titans tied for fifth with 90.5 points apiece.

Brott’s march through the bracket started with a twenty-four-second victory against Jocelyn Dunse of Alma. After that win, the Spartan pinned Avery Cyboron of Chase County before she secured the gold with a twenty-eight-second victory over Sawyer Waltemath of Loomis.

Reitz won her first match against Dakota Svoboda of Thayer Central in ninety- nine seconds. After that win, the Spartan took down Ensely Lawless of Wauneta- Palisade before she met up with Lily Hrasky of Sumner-Eddyville-Miller in the finals at 125. The Mustang won that match by a 9-2 decision, leaving Reitz on the second step of the medals stand.

Bayler Clay was the Spartans’ third medalist.

At 105, Clay placed fourth in a nail-biter of a match. In the consolation finals, the Spartan met up with Rayna Kolar of Ord, with the Chanticleer winning the bronze medal on Saturday with a 12-9 sudden victory.

Earlier in the meet, Clay logged wins over Brooklyn Nejezchleb of Fillmore Central and Loralie Hernandez of Elm Creek. However, the Spartan lost a 10-8 decision to Alexie Solis of Alliance in the semifinal.

Clay rebounded in the consolation bracket by beating Aydrian Meyer of Thayer Central, allowing the Spartan to meet up with Kolar in the bronze-medal bout.

Also competing on Saturday for the Spartans were Jenna Drahota, Addie Boyles, Koy Zulkowski, Jaycee Vogel, Aliza Ellison, and Isabella Plunkett.

Saturday’s meet, which had dual billing as the girls’ Fort Kearny Conference meet, was the Spartans’ final outing of the regular season.

This week, Ansley-Litchfield will join a deep field at the District B-2 Tournament at Lakeview High School in Columbus.

Arcadia/Loup City didn’t dodge the competition last week when they traveled to Elm Creek for the Buffaloes’ annual invitational.

In western Buffalo County, the Rebels were forced to navigate strong brackets at the nineteen-team meet, with Arcadia/Loup City finishing the day near the middle of the fray.

On Friday, the Rebels scored 54.5 points to place twelfth at Elm Creek. Arcadia/Loup City bested the boys from Centennial and Fullerton, who scored fifty-three and thirty- nine points, respectively, but fell a half-apoint shy of matching Alma’s effort on the mat. The Cardinals scored fifty-five points to place eleventh.

The boys from Sedgwick County/Fleming won the team title at Elm Creek with 170.5 points. Burwell came in second while the host Buffaloes finished the day in third.

For the third time in three weeks, Arcadia/ Loup City’s Wyatt Stieb found himself facing a top-ranked wrestler in the finals.

On Friday, Stieb competed at 215 pounds, with the senior matching up with Dalton Herley of St. Mary’s in the gold-medal match. In that bout, the Cardinal bested the Rebel 5-4. Earlier in the day, prior to securing the silver medal, Stieb won matches over Daniel Cisneros of Lexington, Owen Stevenson of Burwell, and Miles Kohmetscher of Kenesaw.

Also finishing the day sitting in second place was Joseph Ducker. The Rebel had just three matches at 175 pounds on Friday.

After an early bye, Ducker pinned Kamryn Carroll of Hi-Line in fifty-nine seconds to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinal round, the Rebel met up with Sedgwick County’s Levi Reichman. In that match, Ducker punched his ticket to the championship bout with a 10-4 victory. In the finals, the Rebel went all three periods against Cauy Meyer of Loomis, but the Wolf won the match 2-0.

Justin Conner, Hudson Obermiller, and Austin Conner all also competed for the Rebels last week at Elm Creek.

At 144, Obermiller came one win shy of securing some hardware, with the freshman having competed in five matches at last week’s meet.

At 144, Obermiller beat Axel Godoy of Lexington in the opening round, but was pinned by Keston Beavers of Elm Creek in the quarterfinals. Following that loss, the local secured victories over Wyatt Strayer of Kenesaw and Timothy Hittner of Fullerton before he met up with Bowen Backer of Sutherland in the consolation semifinals.

Against the Sailor, Obermiller made it to the second period before he was pinned, ending the day with a 15-12 record.

Justin Conner had an opening round bye on Friday, but lost his next two matches. The Rebel was pinned by Brody Jensen of Burwell in the first period in the quarterfinals— the Longhorns sported a 36-1 record after Friday— and then fell to Dylan Bownell of Sutherland on the backside of the bracket.

At 157, Austin Conner scored five team points for the Rebels after he won his first round bout against Zane Cole of St. Mary’s. After the Rebel beat the Cardinal 7-3, he fell to Owen Harris of Sedgwick County in the third period.

In the consolation bracket, Austin beat Wyatt Beed of Fullerton but was pinned by Jayden Meier of Elm Creek a minute into his last match of the day.

Prior to competing at the Buffaloes meet on Friday, the Rebels went 2-1 at their home quadrangular on Thursday night.

In Loup City, the Red and Black opened the meet by beating Centura 30-18. Then, the home team took down Palmer 30-12. In the nightcap, Arcadia/Loup City fell to Ravenna, with the Bluejays winning the quadrangular with a 55-12 victory over the Rebels.

Against the Bluejays in the final round of the quadrangular, both Ducker and Stieb secured victories. Ducker pinned Jack Kucera at 175, while Stieb locked up Jesse Washington in the bout at 285. That latter match lasted less than two minutes.

In the other three contested matches, Clay Adams of Ravenna beat Justin Conner 8-6, while Trenton Wedemeyer pinned Obermiller in the first period. Logan Spotanski had Ravenna’s other win, with the Bluejay dealing Austin Conner an 11-0 major decision loss at 175 pounds.

Following slow start, Rebels find their footing against ’Cats

After eight minutes of play in last Friday’s game between Arcadia/ Loup City and St. Paul girls, the Rebels and Wildcats combined for just three made field goals. Despite that sluggish start, the Red and Black, led on offense by Tayler Obermiller, found momentum and came away with a 3733 victory.

“It took us a little while to get into it,” Arcadia/ Loup City Coach Caitlin Orton said. “We started off okay, then we got tired, and we tend to get a little bit lazy, but our girls do a good job of holding each other accountable and pushing each other. They did that tonight.”

First quarter baskets from Morgan Rademacher and Brianna Lueck gave the Rebels a 4-2 lead going into the second quarter, then both teams picked up the pace and scored ten points in the second. Arcadia/Loup City went into the break holding a slim 14-12 advantage.

“We were playing like we were losing,” Orton said. “I told them to look at the score and not to panic.

They worked hard and pushed through it.”

Obermiller was limited to just two points in sixteen minutes to begin the contest but started to find her footing in the third frame.

Obermiller and Lueck combined for nine of the Rebels’ ten points in the period, while St.

Paul struggled to navigate the Arcadia/Loup City defense. Going into the fourth quarter, the Rebels boasted a more comfortable 24-17 lead.

“We talked in the locker room about how our theme was ‘back to business,’” Orton said.

“This is the first time we’ve had our whole team in three weeks.

Once we had everybody today, we were back to what we were planning to do.”

The Wildcats posted their best offensive stretch of the evening in the fourth, scoring sixteen points behind eleven fourth-quarter points from Katlyn Oakley. However, the Rebels had an answer of their own.

Obermiller poured in eight more points to help power a thirteen- point effort for the Rebels, staving off a St.

Paul comeback.

“We made a nice comeback when we were down ten or twelve in the third quarter,” St. Paul Coach Kevin Brandt said. “They scored thirty- seven points, and I’ll take that defensive effort most nights, but we have to better on the offensive end.

“In the second half, I thought our press rotated better, I thought we took a few more chances, and it rattled them.

That’s what got us back in the game,” added Brandt.

Additionally, Morgan and Hadley Rademacher, along with Lueck, would find the bottom of the net once in the final frame to help cement the four-point win.

Obermiller led the Rebels on offense with fourteen points, twelve of which came in the second half. Morgan Rademacher joined her in double-figures with ten points, and Lueck scored nine.

St. Paul’s Oakley led all scorers with nineteen points to go along with fourteen rebounds and twelve steals to complete the triple-double.

T he win brings the Lady Rebels’ season record to 2-5, and they will look to build on that mark next week as they travel to Elm Creek for the Buffaloes’ annual holiday tournament on Monday, December 29th, where they are set to battle Bertrand and the hosting Buffaloes. After a short break from the court, they will be back in action on Thursday, January 8th, as they travel to Wood River for a showdown with the Eagles at 6:00 p.m.

“I told them to look at the score and not to panic. They worked hard and pushed through it.”

— Caitlin Orton