The North Platte First Nationals Senior Legion baseball team went 3-0 on the weekend at the Seward Tournament to claim the tournament championship. North Platte defeated the host team Seward in the title game on Sunday evening, 10-7. The First Nationals are now 10-4 on the season. This week they’re scheduled to play at Kearney on Tuesday night at 8pm; Wednesday night vs. Lexington at 8pm at Bill Wood Field; and this weekend on Saturday and Sunday at home against Lincoln SE and Laramie.
Seward Tournament Results
Quarterfinals – Friday
North Platte 11, Waverly 2
Semifinals – Saturday
North Platte 13, Aurora 3
Championship – Sunday
North Platte 10, Seward 7
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North Platte First Nationals Junior Legion continued their perfect start to the season with a doubleheader sweep of Columbus at Bill Wood Field on Saturday. North Platte won game one 7-3 and won the second game of the doubleheader 7-2 to improve to 9-0 on the season. They’ll also play Tuesday at Kearney and Wednesday vs. Lexington at home. This weekend they’ll play in Kearney on Friday-Sunday.
Ricco Hall qualified for nationals in both the 200 meters and as part of the 4×100 relay. (Photo Courtesy Darren Miller)
Austin, Texas – The Nebraska track and field team earned eight more NCAA Championships bids on the final day of the NCAA West Preliminary Round on Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium. In all, the Huskers earned 17 bids with 19 athletes set to compete in Eugene, Ore., June 10-13.
The Huskers grabbed three bids in the women’s triple jump to begin the day. Junior Mollie Gribbin was fourth in the event with a first attempt jump of 42-8 (13.00m). Gribbin will make a repeat trip to outdoor nationals, albeit in a different event as she competed in the long jump last year. Senior Ellie Ewere placed sixth by jumping 42-3 1/2 (12.89m) and will look to repeat as a first-team All-American in the event. Sophomore Omaha North grad Danielle Jones is headed to nationals for the first time in her career after leaping a career-best 42-3 1/2 (12.89m) to lock up a bid. She entered the event seeded 36th but finished seventh with her career day. Freshman Angela Mercurio also set a PR of 41-10 1/2 (12.76m) but just missed the top 12.
Grand Island product Steven Cahoy will head to nationals after clearing through 17-6 1/2 (5.35m) in the pole vault. The sophomore also made indoor nationals this year for the first time in his career. Beau Simmons also narrowly missed a nationals bid, finishing 13th by clearing a personal-best 17-4 1/2 (5.30m).
After an hour-long weather delay, Nikita Pankins, Ricco Hall, Antoine Lloyd and Cody Rush ran a 39.86 in the 4×100 relay to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships with the final qualifying time.
Hall later ran a season-best 20.75 in the 200 meters to earn trip to nationals in that event as well. A four-time All-American with relay teams, Hall will make his second career nationals appearance in the 200 meters after also qualifying during the indoor season.
Sophomore Sarah Firestone clinched a national berth in the javelin for the first time in her career, reaching 163-10 (49.95m) on her last attempt to finish fifth in the event.
In the night’s final event, the men’s 4×400 relay team of Cody Rush, Drew Wiseman, Levi Gipson and Jake Bender earned a bid to nationals yet again with a time of 3:06.02 to win heat two. The Huskers were sixth at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships and second at the past two NCAA Indoor Championships in the event.
NCAA Championships Qualifiers (Eugene, Ore. – June 10-13) Mollie Gribbin (Triple Jump)
Ellie Ewere (Triple Jump)
Danielle Jones (Triple Jump)
Steven Cahoy (Pole Vault)
Men’s 4×100 Relay (Pankins, Hall, Lloyd, Rush)
Ricco Hall (200 meters)
Sarah Firestone (Javelin)
Men’s 4×400 Relay (Rush, Wiseman, Gipson, Bender)
Will Lohman (Hammer Throw)*
Will Lohman (Shot Put)*
Marusa Cernjul (High Jump)*
Drew Wiseman (400-meter hurdles)*
Nick Percy, Discus*
Tierra Williams, Long Jump*
Jazmin McCoy, Long Jump*
James White, High Jump*
Landon Bartel, High Jump*
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson out-muscled the competition at domestic movie theaters as Warner Bros.’ earthquake epic “San Andreas” hauled in an estimated $53.2 million over the weekend. It was his biggest debut for a movie where he’s the top-billed actor, according to box office tracker Rentrak.
“Aloha,” the critically maligned romantic comedy from director Cameron Crowe, opened in sixth place with $10 million.
After showings, audiences gave “San Andreas” 3.5 out of 5 stars on average, while giving “Aloha” just 2 out of 5.
Universal’s “Pitch Perfect 2” came in second with $14.8 million, Disney’s “Tomorrowland” was third with $13.8 million, Warner Bros.’ “Mad Max: Fury Road” came in fourth with $13.6 million and Disney’s Marvel superhero saga “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” which grossed $10.9 million, finished fifth.
CHICAGO (AP) — New research shows that the move to make cancer treatments gentler for children has paid a double dividend. More kids are surviving than ever before, and without the long-term complications that doomed many of their peers a generation ago.
Radiation and chemotherapy have saved countless children from cancers but some treatments can damage the heart or other organs, problems that prove fatal years later.
In the 1990s, a push began to try to prevent these “late effects” by giving smaller, more targeted doses of radiation, avoiding certain drugs and changing the way chemo is given.
The new study, which tracked more than 34,000 childhood cancer survivors over several decades, shows that despite the easier treatments, survival continued to improve.
Results were discussed Sunday at a cancer conference in Chicago.
CHICAGO (AP) — David Ross hit an RBI single with one out in the 11th inning Sunday, lifting the Chicago Cubs over the Kansas City Royals 2-1.
The Cubs and Royals split the abbreviated two-game series. Saturday’s game was rained out and will be made up at Wrigley Field during the last week of the regular season.
Ross delivered the fifth game-ending hit of his career, a bases-loaded single just beyond the reach of shortstop Alcides Escobar, who tried to make a sliding, over-the-shoulder catch.
Earlier in the inning, Dexter Fowler was thrown out at the plate by left fielder Alex Gordon when he tried to score on a single.
Zac Rosscup (2-1) struck out Salvador Perez with runners on first and third with two outs in the 11th.
Ryan Madson (0-1) walked Fowler to begin the 11th.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — For a conservative state, Nebraska lawmakers had a rather liberal-leaning list of accomplishments this legislative session.
But by the time lawmakers adjourned last week, they had repealed the death penalty, legalized licenses for certain immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, raised the state fuel tax and come close to approving a medical marijuana bill.
It was surprising in a state where Republicans hold all elected statewide offices and make up more than two-thirds of the 49-seat Legislature.
But Nebraska is different from other states. The Legislature is officially nonpartisan, leaders have far less control over bills and the small size encourages legislators to become friends.
Republican Sen. Laura Ebke says the nonpartisan rules feed the notion that senators need to research issues themselves and vote their conscience.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska judge has ordered a lawyer to pay $15,000 for filing frivolous motions in a long-running lawsuit dispute over a defunct insurance company’s assets.
The case that dates back to 1998 is far from over because that lawyer, Bill Gast, is appealing the latest ruling against his David Fulkerson’s estate and his former firm, Countrywide Insurance Agency.
Douglas County District Judge Peter Bataillon fined Gast Friday after deciding that several of his motions were frivolous.
Gast didn’t immediately respond to questions about the sanctions over the weekend. Gast has been critical of Bataillon’s past rulings, and he argues in his appeal that the judge didn’t have the legal authority to decide the case this spring.
Florida regulators are trying to recover at least $2.2 million in the case.
