Mid-Plains Community College will send seven members of its rodeo team to the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo. June 9-15.

The CNFR qualifiers are:

Men’s team:

§ Austin Madison, Whiting, Iowa

§ Clay Bauer, Arcadia

§ JD Draper, Oakley, Kan.

§ Koby Jacobson, Haiku, Hawaii

§ Marshall Still, Oconto

§ Wyatt Williams, Ord

§ Chance Williams, Ord (will serve as an alternate)

Women’s team:

§ Danielle Wray, Ord

The team ended its season in Dickinson, N.D. over the weekend. It took first place overall in the men’s team standings and claimed two individual wins by Jacobson, bull riding, and Madison, steer wrestling. Additionally, Madison and Draper tied for first in the steer wrestling in the regional standings.

“That’s pretty awesome to have two regional saddles come back to the college for one event,” said Garrett Nokes, MPCC Rodeo Team timed event coach. “JD stumbled a bit this weekend, but had a phenomenal fall and not a bad spring. That was enough to put him over the edge. Austin had a pretty rough fall, but all spring had gotten considerably better. He ropes well and steer wrestles well, but breaking barriers cost him. These last couple of weeks, he’s really turned it up a notch and did great.”

Danielle Wray, of Ord, came in fifth in the breakaway roping at Dickinson – helping the MPCC women’s team to finish fifth as well. Wray is currently the number one header in the Great Plains Region heading into nationals and will be the only woman representing Mid-Plains at the CNFR.

“Danielle is just a freshman, but she’s doing a great job,” said Nokes. “She stumbled a couple of times this spring, and it could have cost her the regional championship, so it’s great to see her go to nationals. She and her partner rope well enough that they could be contenders for the national title.”

Marshall Still, of Oconto, placed second in the steer wrestling at Dickinson. Nokes has been impressed with the progress Still has made this year.

“Marshall had a really tough fall and worked on a lot of things over the winter,” Nokes said. “No one has worked any harder than he has. To have three steer wrestlers from the same school make it to nationals – a person has to be proud of that, and I’m real proud of all of them. Any of them could be in contention for a national championship. They are good enough to do that. It wouldn’t surprise me if all three are top 10 finishers.”

Bauer and Draper joined forces to place second in the team roping at Dickinson. In addition to place third in the tie-down roping at Dickinson, Bauer is also sitting third in tie-down roping for the region.

“Clay had some horsepower problems early on,” said Nokes. “But, he borrowed a horse this spring and started roping smarter than he ever has. That new horse was the key factor in him getting the qualification for nationals.”

Jacobson’s bull riding win at Dickinson left him third in the region. Dustin Elliott, MPCC Rodeo Team rough stock coach, said the circumstances surrounding the competition in North Dakota made the win even more special.

“Koby was tied for third coming into the weekend,” Elliott said. “The kid that he tied with and the other that could have caught him both bucked off before him. So, all Koby had to do was ride his bull, and he had the college finals made. As a competitor, sometimes that’s the hardest situation to be in because of the pressure. I couldn’t be more proud of him based on what was on the line.”

Overall, MPCC will head to the CNFR second in the region in the men’s team standings and third in the women’s team standings.

“Six of the seven qualifiers will be coming back next year,” Nokes said. “Winning second as a team – we’ve got nowhere to go but up.”

It’s the third year in a row that MPCC has qualified for nationals and the second year in a row that it has finished second in the region with its men’s team.

“I thought we competed well all year on both ends of the arena,” Elliott said. “We didn’t quite pull it all together until Dickinson, but there we had a 790-point rodeo as a team, which was one of the higher points that any team got all year. Our guys really stepped up, and we were firing on all cylinders. We’re still riding that momentum. Who knows what will happen in Casper.”

A man who spent nine years at McCook Community College as an assistant coach with the men’s basketball team, will take over the head coaching post for the MCC women’s basketball program.

Brandon Pritchett has been named MCC’s Women’s Basketball Coach. He had been serving the college as the interim coach since late February after the resignation of former coach Kellen Fernetti. Pritchett took over a team that topped the 20-win mark for the third time in four years.

“We are extremely excited for Coach Pritchett to take over the women’s basketball program here at McCook,” said MCC Athletic Director Jon Olsen. “Brandon has done an excellent job in his nine years at the college in every role he has had, he is a great worker and someone that I can count on to get things done and is always there to help for the betterment of the college and our student athletes.”

This season, the Lady Indians finished 21-11 and claimed a Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference championship with a perfect 6-0 mark. The team finished in third place in the South Sub-Region and hosted a first round Region tournament game for the first time since going to the current play-in game format. The season ended with a one-point loss to Eastern Wyoming in the second round of the Region IX Tournament.

Since arriving at MCC in August of 2010, Pritchett began his assistant coaching duties with the men’s program under Brandon Lenhart which has included a wide range of responsibilities including recruiting and summer camp responsibilities.

Pritchett served two years as Resident Life Assistant, Intramural Director, and basketball camp instructor. In March of 2012, he was named Area Assistant Director of Advising where his duties have included advising for MCC’s 450 on-campus, commuter and on line students as well as student recruitment for the 18 counties in the Mid-Plains Community College District.

In December of 2012 he launched the first McCook Community College Athletic website.

“Brandon has been a huge part of our athletic program during his time here, and now I am excited for him to take on his new role,” Olsen said.

Prior to coming to MCC he spent six seasons at Flagstaff High School. He graduated Cum Laude at Northern Arizona University in 2005 and received his master’s degree in Sports Science and Management at the United States Sports Academy in Daphne, Ala., in 2013.

COLUMBUS – The North Platte Community College softball team put the tying run at third base Sunday but fell 4-3 to Central Community College as the season ends in the first round of the Region IX Division II tournament. Sunday was the third game of a best-of-three, first-round series. CCC won the first game Saturday 6-5 in eight innings. North Platte came back to win the second game Saturday 10-0 to set up Game 3 Sunday.

“We fought all the way to the end and never gave up,” said North Platte Coach Janelle Higgins. “We knew it was going to be a battle all the way to the end and it was.”

North Platte came out Sunday with a first-inning lead. After the game started on a Raider error, Emily Marsden (Papillion) singled and both runners moved up on a Willow Chitty (North Platte) sacrifice bunt and the Knights took a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Hallei Morales (North Platte).

Central tied the game in the bottom of the first and took a 2-1 lead with a run in the third, and added runs in the fifth and sixth innings to lead 4-1.

“We missed opportunities to score almost every inning and that was the difference in the game,” Higgins said.

In the North Platte seventh, Morales led off with a walk, but after a strikeout and a fielder’s choice the Knights got down to their last strike twice but didn’t fold. Megan Hernandez-Bellew (Broomfield, Colo.) singled to center. Maddie Liddell (Glenwood, Iowa) got down 0-2 but worked a walk to load the bases for Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.) who singled on an 0-2 pitch to right field to drive home two runs and close the gap to 4-3, but the rally ended with runners on first and third.

Marsden pitched six innings and absorbed the loss, she allowed eight hits, and struck out four.

North Platte had seven hits in the game with two from Hernandez-Bellew and five singles.

With the win Central CC improves to 13-22 and advances to the Region IX Division II championship series at Beatrice against Southeast Community College – a best-of-three-game series.

North Platte finishes the season at 16-29.

“It’s always hard to lose but it’s harder when you know the season is over,” Higgins said. “This team left everything on the field today and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

GAME 1 (Saturday) – Central CC, 6, North Platte CC 5 (8 innings): The two teams traded leads five times before the Raiders scored the game winner in the bottom of the eighth inning.

North Platte took a 2-1 lead in the third inning on Emily Marsden’s two-run double. Central scored two in the third and one in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead.

The Knights responded with a run in the sixth on a single by Alea Binkly (Council Bluffs, Iowa) and a double by Ashylnn Krueger (Littleton, Colo.). With one out in the seventh, Mikayla Gibson (West Valley, Utah) and Marsden singled, then two outs Hallei Morales doubled to center to put North Platte in the lead 5-4.

Central scored a run in the seventh to tie and one in the eighth for the win.

Krueger pitched the first 6.1 innings, allowed five runs and six hits, one walk and she struck out one.

GAME 2 (Saturday) – North Platte CC 10, Central CC 0: The Knights rebounded from the walk-off loss by exploding for four runs in the first inning, two in the second, and finished out the game with three in the fourth and one in the fifth to polish off the Raiders in five innings.

Willow Chitty powered a two-run homer in the first and went four-for-four at the plate to drive in half of North Platte’s 10 runs.

Emily Marsden was the winning pitcher going four hitless, scoreless innings, striking out six. Hailey Wilkins (Tyler, Texas) recorded the last three outs to earn the save.

Hallei Morales went three-for-four and Kayleigh Bucio went two-for-two as North Platte outhit Central CC 11-1.

The North Platte Community College softball team lost a pair of games Monday against the Hastings College JVs, 15-0 and 9-1.

“It was a cold day for softball that’s for sure,” said North Platte Coach Janelle Higgins. “Mentally we struggled today, it got colder a lot faster than we were anticipating and didn’t adjust well.”

Early errors led to eight unearned runs in the first inning of Game 1 and North Platte was unable to get back on track.

“We fought and never gave up but we gave them too much too quick and couldn’t recover,” Higgins said.

North Platte goes to 14-26 on the season. The Knights close out the regular season Tuesday, weather permitting, with two games at McCook for the annual Purple Out games for epilepsy awareness.

“At the end of the day this team continues to push and get better — it might not show it in the win-loss columns — but they do and we know they are capable of greatness they just have to believe it,” Higgins said.

On Saturday, North Platte will go to Columbus to begin the Region IX Division II tournament against Central Community College. That is a best-of-three series with the winner advancing to the Region IX championship series the following weekend at Beatrice against Southeast Community College.

GAME 1 – Hastings College JV, 15, North Platte CC 0: The junior Broncos came out and scored eight runs in the top of the first and put the game away in five innings, added two runs in the second inning, one in the fourth and four in the fifth inning.

North Platte was out-hit 10-2 and the Knights committed four errors leading to 10 unearned runs.

Mikayla Gibson (West Valley, Utah) had a third inning double and Maddie Liddle had a fourth-inning single.

Ashylnn Krueger (Littleton, Colo.) started in the pitching circle and went 2.2 innings. She allowed one earned run and five hits, one walk and three strikeouts. Hailey Wilkins (Tyler, Texas) went the final 2.1 innings allowing four earned runs on five hits, four walks and one strikeout.

GAME 2 – Hastings College JV 9, North Platte CC 1: While the Knights kept Hastings College JV off the scoreboard in the first inning of this game, the Broncos scored two in the second and scored in five straight innings.

After Hastings took a 2-0 lead in the second, North Platte got on the scoreboard for the first time on the day in the bottom of the inning. Megan Hernandez-Bellew (Broomfield, Colo.) led off with a bunt single, went to second on a bunt from Maddie Liddle and scored on a Bronco error.

The Hastings JV’s added three runs in the third, one in the fourth, two more in the fifth and a run in the sixth.

Emily Marsden (Papillion) went six innings for the Knights, allowed 12 hits, six earned runs, two walks and she struck out five.

NPCC had five hits in the game – all singles, from Mikayla Gibson, Willow Chitty (North Platte), Marsden, Hernandez-Bellew, and Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.).

GOODLAND, Kan. — The North Platte Community College softball team swept a pair of games Saturday against Northwest Kansas Technical College, 7-5 and 11-2.

The Knights came out with an early lead in Game 1 and rode the offensive momentum of Willow Chitty’s three doubles to win the first game. In Game 2, NPCC trailed 2-0 in the third inning but scored 11 unanswered runs to put the game away in five innings.

“We played solid all the way around today,” said North Platte Coach Janelle Higgins. “Our pitchers spun the ball well with the wind blowing out.”

Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.) enjoyed a five-for-seven day at the plate.

“Defensively we stepped up and made some great plays and didn’t play on our heels,” Higgins said. “I am proud of the fight we continue to show.”

Northwest Kansas Tech finishes the season 1-46.

North Platte is 13-23 with two regular season doubleheader dates remaining – Monday at home against Hastings College JV at 4 and 6 p.m. and Tuesday at McCook at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The Knights are the No. 3 seed in the Region IX, and will travel to Columbus Saturday to take on No. 2 seed Central Community College starting at 1 p.m., in a best-of-three series. The winner will play at Southeast Community College the following weekend in the regional championship series.

You can follow homes games broadcast on 98.1 FM / 1410 AM or on the Internet at www.northplattepost.com.

Game 1 – North Platte CC 7, Northwest Kansas Tech 5: The Knights came out with a pair of runs in both the first and second inning to take a 4-0 lead.

In the NPCC first, Willow Chitty (North Platte) started things off with an RBI-double and Alea Binkly (Council Bluffs, Iowa) followed with a run-scoring single to make it a 2-0 game. Kayleigh Bucio (Rialto, Calif.) led off the North Platte second with a single and later came in to make it 3-0 on a Maverick error. Chitty doubled in the fourth run.

After Northwest Kansas Tech scored three runs in the third inning, the Knights responded getting those three runs back in the top of the fourth. Bucio led things off with a single and scored on an RBI-single by Emily Marsden (Papillion). With two outs, Chitty banged out her third straight double to give the Knights a 6-3 lead and Binkly singled home Chitty to put North Platte up 7-3. NWKT scored two unearned runs in the seventh inning.

“We did a good job adjusting to their pitchers and hitting every inning,” Higgins said.

Hailey Wilkins (Tyler, Texas) went six innings, she allowed one earned run on nine hits, one walk and seven strikeouts. Masden pitched the final inning and allowed two hits and no earned runs.

Game 2 – North Platte CC 11, Northwest Kansas Tech 2: Trailing 2-0 in the third inning Mikayla Gibson (West Valley, Utah) got the Knights on the scoreboard with an RBI double and a Maverick led to another run to tie the game 2-2.

Megan Hernandez-Bellew (Broomfield, Colo.) and Sienna Pfaff (Salem, Utah) had singles in the fourth inning when the Knights scored three unearned runs.

Hernandez-Bellew tripled in the fifth-inning to give North Platte a 7-2 lead and the Knights “kept the line moving” in the six-run fifth that included seven hits.

“Our offense came alive in Game 2 when we executed the circus play,” Higgins said.

Emily Marsden twirled a three-hitter allowing two runs and striking out three in five innings of work to pick up the win.

Hernandez-Bellew led the offense with three hits. The Knights also got two-hit games from Gibson, Pfaff, Marsden, and Kayleigh Bucio.