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

Riding the momentum of that victory into Friday’s bout with St.

Paul, the Rebels handed the Wildcats a 41-38 loss and picked up their fourth win of the regular season.

St. Paul’s Maddox Quinn connected on a pair of three-pointers in the opening stanza, but seven first quarter points from Tyce Calleroz helped build a 10-9 advantage for Arcadia/ Loup City going into the second frame.

The Wildcats gained the upper hand over the following eight minutes, however. St. Paul would go on a nine-to-seven scoring run before the half, retaking the lead at 18-17 at the intermission.

That one-point deficit would hold steady until the fourth quarter, where a three from Ryan Kaslon, combined with some lights-out free throw shooting, helped the Rebels put together their best scoring stretch of the ballgame.

Jaixen, Calleroz, and Isaac Fitzgerald all made trips to the foul stripe late in the game and did not miss a shot, scoring eight points and holding off hopes of a comeback for the Wildcats.

Calleroz led all scorers with sixteen points while Jaixen joined him in double-figures with ten. Kaslon added six points, Fitzgerald finished with four, Brogan Setlik scored three points on a first quarter shot from beyond the arch, and Dom Barnes found the bottom of the net once to come away with two points.

Now sitting at 4-2 on the season, the Arcadia/ Loup City Rebels will travel to the Elm Creek Holiday Tournament on Monday, December 29th, where they will compete alongside the hosting Buffaloes and Bertrand.

Afterwards, on Thursday, January 8th, they will travel to Wood River for a 7:30 p.m. road battle with the Eagles.

After coming out of their opening slate of games with a 1-1 record, the Arcadia/Loup City Rebels remained at par last week with a pair of impressive performances against Gibbon and Central Valley.

In Friday’s showdown with the Buffaloes, the Rebels used a complete team performance on offense, paired with some stifling defense, to hand Gibbon a dominant 73-19 loss.

In total, on the defensive end, Arcadia/Loup City came away with fifteen steals, blocked three shots, and forced twenty-eight turnovers while limiting Gibbon to just seven made field goals.

Eight different Rebels scored points in the contest but nobody made a bigger splash than freshman Isaac Fitzgerald. While connecting on nine of his thirteen shot attempts, Fitzgerald finished with a game-high nineteen points to go along with three rebounds and three assists.

Joining him in double-figures, Eli Jaixen tallied fourteen points and six assists, while Tyce Calleroz added eleven points, six rebounds, and five assists. Other statistical leaders were Ryan Kaslon with nine points and a game-high nine rebounds, Dom Barnes with eight points, and Treven Setlik, Chayden Sekutera, and Kolton Friesen with four points apiece. Dutch Miller grabbed three rebounds and a steal.

That victory was a nice warmup for the following day when the Rebels traveled northeast for a meeting with Central Valley. The Cougars suffered their first loss of the season two nights prior and were looking to bounce back in a big way, but Arcadia/Loup City pushed them to their limit.

After one quarter of play, the Rebels, led by a standout performance from Jaixen, built a slim 18-15 lead. Then, before the halftime intermission, Arcadia/ Loup City remained hot on the offensive end and poured in twenty more points to bring a commanding 38-29 advantage into the third frame.

Central Valley came into the game scoring nearly sixty points per outing and at some point, were going to find their rhythm on offense. The Cougars caught fire in the third quarter and outpaced the visitors 18-11. Suddenly, with eight minutes left in regulation, Arcadia/Loup City’s lead was dwindled down to two points.

After posting their best scoring stretch of the game, Central Valley’s Zevan Wolf, Drex Dugan, and Oaklan Soto led the Cougars to an even more explosive offensive run in the fourth quarter. Despite scoring thirteen points of their own, the Rebels were unable to keep pace as they watched their lead slip away with the hosts scoring twenty-one points to close out the contest, 68-62, in favor of Central Valley.

Jaixen led all scorers with nineteen points on fourteen field goal attempts. In addition to his scoring efforts, the junior tallied five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Calleroz racked up thirteen points and four steals, Fitzgerald finished with thirteen points and three assists, and Brogan Setlik added nine points and three assists.

Wolf topped the box score for Central Valley with twenty points while Dugan and Soto finished with eighteen and seventeen points, respectively.

After a Tuesday (12/16) evening battle with the Amherst Broncos, the Rebels will be back on their home court for a showdown with St. Paul on Friday, December 19th, at 7:30 p.m. Afterwards, on Monday, December 29th, they will travel to Elm Creek for the Buffaloes’ annual Holiday Tournament.

All that stood between seventh-seeded Ansley-Litchfield and their first state tournament appearance since 2016 was tenth-seeded Maywood/Hayes Center in Saturday’s D1-7 District Final.

The Wolves came into the meeting boasting a 23-9 record but, on the court in Litchfield, would suffer their tenth loss of the season as the Black and Gold secured their spot in Lincoln with a sweep.

The match’s opening set was competitive with the Black and Gold edging out a 25-19 victory.

That set, however, would end up being as close at Maywood/ Hayes Center would get to a win.

Determined to earn a trip to Lincoln, the Spartans closed out the second and third sets in impressive fashion, both by a tally of 25-14.

Kiera Bailey and Jenna Holm spiked in eight kills apiece to lead the Ansley-Litchfield attack. Asia Lyon added five kills while Kaycee Nelson and Bailey Hawkins each chipped in four.

Lyon, Bailey, Caydence Feldman, and Ava Paitz each dropped in two ace serves, helping the Spartans to ten aces overall.

On the defensive side of the net, Nelson topped the box score with three blocks, Bailey finished with thirteen serve receptions, and Garittee Smith led the way with twenty-one digs.

Feldman assisted on twenty-four of Ansley- Litchfield’s thirty total digs.

The Spartans will now turn their attention towards the NSAA Class D-1 State Volleyball Championships where they enter the bracket seeded fifth. They are scheduled for a first round matchup with fourth-seeded Exeter-Milligan-Friend (25-5) on Thursday, November 6th, at 3:00 p.m. on Pinnacle Bank Arena’s north court.

Should Ansley-Litchfield win in the quarterfinals, they will advance to a showdown with the winner of top-seeded Amherst and eighth-seeded Cross County on Friday, November 7th, at 9:00am on Pinnacle Bank Arena’s South Court.

The Black and Gold came out with a bang, dominating the opening set 25-12 before going up two sets with a 25-17 victory in the second.

To close out the game, the Eagles played their best volleyball of the match but the Spartans still came out on top, 2521, to complete the sweep.

Six different Spartans earned kills in the match with Asia Lyon coming away with ten to lead all hitters. Jenna Holm and Kiera Bailey finished with eight kills apiece and Kaycee Nelson and Bailey Hawkins each added three.

Alongside her hitting efforts, Lyon dropped in five total ace serves.

Defensively, Garittee Smith led the way with seventeen serve receptions and twenty digs.

Setter Caydence Feldman assisted on twenty-eight of Ansley-Litchfield’s thirty-four total kills.

The victory comes on the heels of an opening round subdistrict win over Sandhills Valley.

Led by nine kills from Holm, the Spartans swept past the Mavericks in straight sets, 25-15, 25-8, and 25-8.

ARCADIA/LOUP CITY FOOTBALL: Members of the 2025 Arcadia/Loup City football team include (back row): Clayton Dethlefs, Jake Hunter, Cody Chilewski, Aaron Habe, and Tony Kaslon; (fourth row): Treven Setlik, Braxton Galloway, Justin Conner, and Hudson Obermiller; (third row): Chayden Sekutera, Keegan Sweigert, Brent Lueck, Knight Dodson, and Isaac Fitzgerald; (second row): Kade Dorsey, Austin Conner, Eli Jaixen, Conrad Kaminski, Will Krolikowski, and Kolton Friesen; (front row): Ryan Kaslon, Brogan Setlik, Joe Kursave, Tyce Calleroz, Wyatt Stieb, and Josiah Sklenar; (not pictured): Sutton Lambrecht and Tristan Erasmus.

We are proud of you!

The Ansley-Litchfield Spartans took home a fourth-place finish in last week’s Fort Kearny Conference Volleyball Tournament after falling to the eventual conference champions from Amherst and the Sumner-Eddyville-Miller (S-E-M) Mustangs.

The Broncos, led by a standout performance from Libby Mitchell, had the upper hand at the net right away in Tuesday’s semifinal round. Amherst never trailed in the opening set and ran away with a 25-16 victory, despite a late surge from the Spartans.

Set two and three followed a similar trajectory. The Broncos overpowered Ansley-Litchfield at the net and coasted to 25-13 and 2512 set wins to complete the sweep.

Kiera Bailey led the Spartans with seven kills, Jenna Holm added four, and Asia Lyon and Bailey Hawkins came away with three apiece. Mitchell led all hitters with fifteen kills.

Additionally, Bailey topped the box score with seventeen digs while Garittee Smith was close behind with fifteen, Ava Paitz led the way with twenty-six serve receptions, and Caydence Feldman assisted on sixteen of Ansley-Litchfield’s twenty-one kills. That loss put the Spartans into the consolation match where second-rated S-E-M was waiting for them.

The Mustangs, powered by all-state-caliber hitter Taryn Arbuthnot, pounced on the Spartans early on and built a two-set lead, winning 25-19 and 25-22.

However, the Black and Gold weren’t going down without a fight.

Lyon and Bailey caught fire and propelled Ansley-Litchfield to back-to-back 25-16 wins, forcing a fifth and final set.

The two FKC heavyweights went back and forth, but ultimately it was the Mustangs who saved enough gas in the tank to edge out a 15-10 victory.

Lyon posted fourteen kills to lead the Spartans. Bailey was close behind with twelve and Holm added eight kills to go along with a team-best five blocks. Arbuthnot finished the match with a season- best thirty-two kills to lead all hitters.

Smith netted thirty- one digs and thirty- two serve receptions, Feldman picked up thirty-four assists, and Lyon led the way with four ace serves.

This week, Ansley-Litchfield will close out their regular season schedule on their home court against Pleasanton on Friday, October 24th, at 6:00 p.m.

Last Thursday night, on the gridiron in Loup City, the Rebels pounded the rock against South Loup. Despite a slower-than-anticipated start, Arcadia/Loup City racked up 227 yards on the ground on their way to a 32-14 victory over the Bobcats.

While the Rebels ended the night celebrating both a victory and a 7-1 regular season record, it was South Loup that got on the board first during the game.

Late in the first quarter, the Bobcats broke the floodgates with a two-yard touchdown carry by Conner Paulsen. The South Loup senior had thirty-five touches against the Rebels and accounted for 120 of the Bobcats’ 168 yards rushing last week. While Paulsen made a statement early, the visitors were held from the goal line on the conversion, leaving the score 6-0 in South Loup’s favor heading into the second quarter.

Facing a deficit, the Rebels found some magic before the break.

Arcadia/Loup City strung together a lengthy drive, which was jumpstarted by a twenty-three-yard reception by Tyce Calleroz. That drive, despite being plagued by penalties for both sides, included a first down on the Bobcats’ one-yard line after the Rebels converted on fourth down with a pass to Calleroz.

The Sherman County kids got on the board with just over two minutes to play on a six-yard touchdown run by Quarterback Brogan Setlik. That carry, one of fourteen by the senior, helped Arcadia/ Loup City tote an 8-6 lead into halftime.

While the Bobcats would score just once more on Friday night, the Rebels managed to get multiple players involved en route to their seventh win of the season.

Arcadia/Loup City benefited from scoring runs by Ryan Kaslon and Joseph Ducker during the game.

Setlik led the team on the ground. The quarterback rushed for seventy-six yards opposite the Bobcats. Kaslon netted seventy-five yards after the senior carried the rock six times in the game. Ducker had eight touches for fifty-seven yards, while Calleroz picked up nineteen yards on the ground, having had the ball in his hands on seven occasions.

Arcadia/Loup City completed four of the nine passes the Rebels attempted, with Setlik having all four completions for forty-nine yards. Calleroz caught two of those passes to pick up thirty-four yards, including that twentythree- yard reception in the second quarter, while Ducker made a pair of catches for fifteen yards.

Ducker led the Rebels’ offense with seventeen tackles, while Setlik earned fifteen.

With last week’s win, the Rebels advanced to the NSAA Class D-1 State Football Playoffs. First round action will take place on Thursday, with the team scheduled to play McCool Junction in York County. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Last Tuesday, the Rebels joined the rest of the conference field at Gibbon’s Valley View Municipal Golf Course for the annual meet. From the fray, Dutch Miller managed a top-three finish in the boys’ competition.

Miller completed the course in 17:37.66 for the bronze. Doniphan-Trumbull’s Kaser Johnson and Wood River’s Hector Bonilla Betancourt took the top spots. The Cardinal finished the race in 16:23.02, while the Eagle clocked in at 17:33.05.

Carter Schmidt, Domanik Barnes, Collin Rice, and Baylon Kolar all competed for the Rebels as well last week.

Schmidt placed twenty- seventh in 21:09.05, while Barnes came in thirty-first with a time of 22:10.91.

On the girls’ side of the meet, Ella Rice clocked in at 34:24.16 to place twenty- sixth, while Camarha Cox hit the line in 35:16.82 to end the day sitting in twenty-ninth.

Sevyn Russell won the individual title in the girls’ competition. The Doniphan-Trumbull runner completed the course in 21:21.74.

Last Tuesday against Central City, the Rebels suffered a three-set loss to the Bison, falling 25-16, 25-20, and 25-14.

Hadley Rademacher led the Arcadia/Loup City attack with seven kills while Charlize Meyer topped the box score with seventeen assists and nine digs.

That led into a showdown with the Ord Chanticleers and, despite eight kills from Rademacher, the Rebels fell in straight sets, 25-15, 25-19, and 25-22.

Arcadia/Loup City was hungry for a victory and their home court, and against Lou-Platte Conference competition their home gym the perfect venue to put a check in the win column.

In the Rebels’ home tournament battle with Ravenna, junior Tayler Obermiller put together a season-best performance of seventeen kills to lead her team to victory. Arcadia/ Loup City took the opening set 25-13 but the Bluejays clawed their way back to an even count with a 26-24 win.

In the third and final set, the Red and Black built some late momentum to edge out a 25-21 victory to cement the 2-1 win.

Obermiller led all hitters with seventeen kills and Jillian Hurlburt finished with seven. Meyer netted twenty-six kills and Amie Rose took charge of the defense with fourteen serve receptions.

Additionally, the Lady Rebels suffered tournament losses to Sandhills/Thedford (8-25, 18-25) and West Holt (18-25, 16-25), before falling in a close bout with Doniphan-Trumbull in the first round of the Lou-Platte Conference Tournament Monday evening.

The Rebels claimed set one 25-18 and the Cardinals answered back with 25-11 and 25-15 wins to take a 2-1 advantage. Arcadia/Loup City battled back to a 25-19 victory in the fourth, but were narrowly bested in the deciding set, 15-11.

After the conclusion of the LouPlatte Conference Tournament, the Lady Rebels will travel to Sumner for a regular season finale triangular with Sumner-Eddyville-Miller and Twin Loup on Tuesday, October 21st, at 5:00 p.m.