North Platte – This year’s annual Blitzy awards were a little less than usual with the leaving of one sports director and the arrival of a new one. Rest assured area sports fans that next year will be the biggest and best Blitzy’s yet! The North Platte Post and ESPN Radio 1410 want to thank Wyman and Sons welding for providing the trophies as well as our two sponsors: Natural Nutrition House and Jack Morris-State Farm Insurance. Without local contributions we wouldnt be able to bring you the coverage that we do!

That being said we still did have two winners, our Female and Male Athlete of the year!

Female Athlete of the Year: Baylee Steele

Baylee is now a Sophmore at North Platte High School. During her Freshman year, she had an impressive run as part of the NPHS Girls Golf team that took 4th place in the State Tournament. Baylee also had previously played basketball and softball but

Baylee herself had a fantastic season coming in third overall in A-1 district play which was followed up by third overall in State Championship play:

You can hear Baylee chatting with Kyle and Scotty C on the blitz here:

Male Athlete of the Year: Cameron Riggs

Cameron is an outgoing senior wrestler who spent three years at North Platte St. Pat’s before transferring to Maxwell. He was selected as a USA Wrestling honorable mention All-American this year after going undefeated in his entire high school career (204-0) and winning four straight state championships. He will be attending St. Cloud State University this fall as a freshman and hopes to add to his championship pedigree by joining a program that is fresh off a D2 National Championship.

Here is his final State Championship run as a senior:

Championship Finals

• 1st Place Match – Cameron Riggs (Maxwell) 57-0 won by fall over Darren Stewart (Elkhorn Valley) 37-6 (Fall 2:33)

3rd and 5th Place

• 3rd Place Match – Ryley Spatz (East Butler) 50-5 won by major decision over Seth Simants (Stapleton) 44-9 (MD 14-4)
• 5th Place Match – Jefferson Mcneill (Oakland-Craig) 43-10 won by fall over Blake Racicky (Ansley/Litchfield) 39-12 (Fall 1:54)

4th Wrestleback (16 Man)

• Cons. Semi – Seth Simants (Stapleton) 44-9 won by decision over Jefferson Mcneill (Oakland-Craig) 43-10 (Dec 13-7)
• Cons. Semi – Ryley Spatz (East Butler) 50-5 won by major decision over Blake Racicky (Ansley/Litchfield) 39-12 (MD 11-2)

Semis & 3rd WB (16 Man)

• Semifinal – Cameron Riggs (Maxwell) 57-0 won by fall over Jefferson Mcneill (Oakland-Craig) 43-10 (Fall 3:29)
• Semifinal – Darren Stewart (Elkhorn Valley) 37-6 won by fall over Blake Racicky (Ansley/Litchfield) 39-12 (Fall 2:38)
• Cons. Round 3 – Seth Simants (Stapleton) 44-9 won by major decision over Trigger Pokorny (Central Valley) 38-17 (MD 14-5)
• Cons. Round 3 – Ryley Spatz (East Butler) 50-5 won by major decision over Alex Schmit (Randolph) 37-13 (MD 12-0)

Quarterfinals

• Quarterfinal – Cameron Riggs (Maxwell) 57-0 won by decision over Ryley Spatz (East Butler) 50-5 (Dec 7-4)
• Quarterfinal – Jefferson Mcneill (Oakland-Craig) 43-10 won by decision over Michael Stackpole (Weeping Water) 43-11 (Dec 7-5)
• Quarterfinal – Darren Stewart (Elkhorn Valley) 37-6 won by fall over Zachary Sweet (Mullen) 13-9 (Fall 4:28)
• Quarterfinal – Blake Racicky (Ansley/Litchfield) 39-12 won by decision over Seth Simants (Stapleton) 44-9 (Dec 11-8)

Round 1 (16 Man)

• Champ. Round 1 – Cameron Riggs (Maxwell) 57-0 won by fall over Cole Laible (West Holt) 31-16 (Fall 3:47)
• Champ. Round 1 – Ryley Spatz (East Butler) 50-5 won by major decision over Jacob Johnson (Archbishop Bergan) 47-7 (MD 10-2)
• Champ. Round 1 – Jefferson Mcneill (Oakland-Craig) 43-10 won by fall over Trigger Pokorny (Central Valley) 38-17 (Fall 4:45)
• Champ. Round 1 – Michael Stackpole (Weeping Water) 43-11 won by decision over Mark Schwartz (Garden County) 30-10 (Dec 2-1)
• Champ. Round 1 – Darren Stewart (Elkhorn Valley) 37-6 won by fall over Raul Clouse (Elwood) 22-8 (Fall 5:17)
• Champ. Round 1 – Zachary Sweet (Mullen) 13-9 won by decision over Alex Schmit (Randolph) 37-13 (Dec 16-10)
• Champ. Round 1 – Blake Racicky (Ansley/Litchfield) 39-12 won by fall over Holden Schleve (Morrill) 32-10 (Fall 3:29)
• Champ. Round 1 – Seth Simants (Stapleton) 44-9 won by fall over Derek Wortman (Creighton) 36-9 (Fall 4:25)

You can hear Cameron join Kyle and Scotty C on the Blitz here:

SCOTTSBLUFF—The players have been selected for the East and West teams for the 34 th annual West Nebraska All-Star Volleyball Game.

The 13 members of each all-star volleyball team were selected by the All Star coaches from nominations by their respective high school coach. The rosters for both teams are included below.

Please note that these rosters are subject to change. The 2018 West Nebraska All-Star Volleyball Game will be played Saturday, June 9, 2018 at Cougar Palace on the campus of Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff. Game time is 2 p.m. MDT.

A portion of the proceeds from the West Nebraska All-Star Games benefit local organizations.

WEST NEBRASKA ALL-STAR SPORTS

VOLLEYBALL ROSTERS

EAST

Head Coach: Pat Hoblyn (Ansley-Litchfield)

Asst Coach: Neleigh Hall (Cozad)

WEST

Head Coach: Michelle Peters (Mitchell)

Asst Coach: Brad Hicks (Potter-Dix)

SCOTTSBLUFF—The players have been selected for the East and West teams for the 40th annual West Nebraska All-Star Football Game.

The 64 members of the all-star football teams were nominated by their respective high school coach and selected by the all-star coaches. The rosters for both West and East are included below. Please note these rosters are subject to change.

The 2018 West Nebraska All-Star Football Game will be played Saturday, June 9, 2018 at Bearcat Stadium in Scottsbluff, NE. Game time is 7 p.m. MDT. A portion of the proceeds from the West Nebraska All-Star Games benefits local organizations.

West Roster:

Head Coach: Jordan Haas (Hemingford)

Asst Coaches: Scott Jorgensen (Paxton)

Chris Koozer (Sidney)

Lance Steffen (Perkins County)

Taryn Wood (Hemingford)

East Roster: 

Head Coach: Craig Haake (Gothenburg)

Asst Coaches: Justin Dowdy (Gothenburg)

Scott Porter (Cambridge)

Denis Reese (Loomis)

Andy Schwarz (South Loup)

North Platte – The National Fastpich Coaches Association has named North Platte Community College Knights softball player Kenlee Wanlass to the NFCA All-Midwest Region NJCAA Division II softball second team for the 2018 season.

Wanlass, a freshman from Elsinore, Utah played catcher for the Knights this past season. Wanlass started all 39 games for the Knights.

Wanlass batted .293 in 58 at bats with two doubles. She had five stolen bases on five attempts.

Defensively, Wanlass had 73 put outs and 10 assists in 86 chances for a fielding percentage of .965. She also broke the Knights all-time season record for fewest errors with three.

North Platte – North Platte Community College will host the 12th annual Mid-Plains Area Basketball All-Star games on Friday, June 8 at the McDonald-Belton Gymnasium on the South Campus of North Platte Community College.

The girl’s game will start at 6 pm, followed by the boy’s game at 7:45 pm.

The rosters for the “black” and “gold” teams are being finalized for each game.

Tickets for the game will be $5.00 and can be purchased at the door.

The games will be broadcast on ESPN 1410 and www.northplattepost.com on the Internet.

The games will be video livestreamed at www.npccknights.com.

North Platte, Neb – After the first day of the two day Boys State Golf Championships, Paxton finds itself in the middle of the pack as a team in 9th place. They are 66 strokes behind the leader West Holt who, as a team, are shooting 32 over par.

Conditions in North Platte today will favor golf in the morning as the boys get ready for day two. Things will warm up quickly with a high in the upper 80’s. Afternoon Thunderstorms will come into the area meaning they will need to wrap up the round quickly to avoid those. Wind will be a factor with a steady SE wind 10-15 MPH and could see gusts as high as 25-30 MPH.

Here is how the Tigers shake out individually:

Norfolk, Neb – After the first day of the two day Boys State Golf Championships, North Platte finds itsself in the middle of the pack as a team in 7th place. They are 28 strokes behind the leader Norfolk who had a phenomenal first day as a team shooting just 3 over par.

Conditions on day two will be great for golf as it looks to be a partly cloudy day with highs in the upper 80’s. Wind could play a factor with a steady 10-15 MPH SE wind, gusts could get up to 25.

Here is how North Platte stands individually:

North Platte, Neb – Results from Girls state tennis tournament results as of 2:00 PM May 18th (all most recent updates are italicized) 

Class A tournament:

North Platte singles:

Katrina Webster (10) falls to #10 Gabrielle Keaton (12), Fremont by the score of: 6-4, 6-3

Codi Guerrieri (11) falls to #10 Elizabeth Pfeifer (12), Lincoln Pius X by the score of: 6-1,6-0

North Platte doubles: 

Hannah Nelson (12)/ Courtney Becker (10) fall to #2 Abby Peterson (12)/ Katie Whitehead (11), Lincoln Southeast by the score of: 6-0, 6-1

Anam Vaziri (10)/ Samantha Uppal (10) fall to #9 Chloe Ekborg (11)/ Tessa Nuismer (11), Millard West by the score of: 6-0, 6-1

Class B tournament:

Area Singles:

#1 Kassidy Michaelis (11), McCook defeats Zoee Smith (10), Gering by the score of 6-1, 6-1

#1 Kassidy Michaelis (11), McCook defeats #8 Brynn Sealock (12), GICC by the score of 6-0,6-0

UPDATE 5/18 2:00pm: #1 Kassidy Michaelis falls to #4 Chloe Dworak (12), Lincoln Christian by a score of 6-4,6-3 in the Semi-Finals

     Will play #2 Meena Satpathy (9), Omaha Duchesne Academy for 3rd place

UPDATE 5/18 4:45pm: #1 Kassidy Michaelis falls to #2 Meena Satpathy of Omaha Duchesne by the score of 6-2, 6-2 coming in 4th place overall

Amanda Francescato (12), Hershey falls to #3 Brianna Liu (10), Brownell-Talbot/ Concordia by the score of: 6-0, 6-0

Madeline Ketcham (10), Ogallala falls to #11 Ava Macke (12), Omaha Roncalli Catholic by the score of 6-1, 6-2

#6 Brylee Lauby (12), Lexington defeats Aubrey Thurman (12), Nebraska City by the score of 6-0, 6-0

#6 Brylee Lauby (12), Lexington defeats #11 Ava Macke (12), Omaha Roncalli Catholic by the score of 6-7 (7-5) 6-1 6-4

UPDATE 9:00pm: #6 Brylee Lauby (12), Lexington falls to #3 Brianna Liu (10), Brownell-Talbot/ Concordia by the score of 6-1, 6-2

Will play #7 Madison Tabor (12), Waverly  in 5th place bracket

UPDATE 5/18 2:00pm: #6 Brylee Lauby falls to #7 Madison Tabor (12), Waverly by a score of 7-5, 6-1

#8 Mallorie Buescher (11), Lexington defeats Trissa Wilson (10), Hershey by the score of 6-0, 6-1

#8 Mallorie Buescher (11), Lexington falls to #9 Kaylee Van Ampting (12), Waverly by the score of 7-5, 6-4

Payton Stewart (11), Ogallala falls to #9 Kaylee Van Ampting (12), Waverly by the score of 6-0, 6-0

#7 Haley Potthoff (12), McCook defeats Kyli Hanna (11), Omaha Gross Catholic by the score of 6-0, 6-2

#7 Haley Potthoff (12), McCook defeats #10 Caitlyn Anderson (11), Lincoln Christian by the score of 6-4, 6-2

UPDATE 9:00pm: #7 Haley Potthoff (12), McCook defeats  #2 Lesley Lam (11), Omaha Duchesne Academy by the score of 6-4, 6-4

Will play #3 Aruna Bashir (10), Brownell-Talbot/ Concordia in Semi-Final match

UPDATE 5/18 2:00pm: #7 Haley Potthoff (12) Defeats #3 Aruna Bashir (10) by a score of 6-3, 6-2

     Will play #1 Annie Trettel (12), Kearney Catholic in a Finals Match

UPDATE 5/18 3:00pm #7 Haley Potthoff (12) falls to #1 Annie Trettel (12) of Kearney Catholic in the finals match by a score of 6-2, 7-5 taking 2nd place overall

Area Doubles: 

#1 Cassiddy Beeby (12)/ Sydney Thompson (12), McCook defeat Harper Pivovar (12)/ Katie Ryan (12), Omaha Gross Catholic by the score of 6-0, 6-0

UPDATE 9:00pm: #1 Cassiddy Beeby (12)/ Sydney Thompson (12), McCook defeat #9 Nicole Shundoff (12)/ Ashley Waggoner (10), Kearney Catholic by the score of 6-1, 6-0

Will play #4 Katie Maser (10)/ Avery Kalvoda (10), GICC in the Semi-Final Matchup

UPDATE 5/18 2:00pm: #1 Cassiddy Beeby(12)/Sydney Thompson (12) Defeat #4 Katie Maser (10)/Avery Kalvoda (10) by a score of  6-3 7-6 (7-3)

     Will play #3 Kiersten Capelle (10)/ Jane Krueger (10), Omaha Duchesne Academy in a Finals Match

UPDATE 5/18 4:00pm: #1 Cassiddy Beeby(12)/Sydney Thompson(12) fall to #3 Kiersten Capelle(10)/Jane Krueger(10) from Omaha Duchesne by the score of 2-6, 7-6, (7-3), 6-4 and receive 2nd place runner up

#8 Lilith Fair (11)/ Madison Mendoza (11), Ogallala defeat Ava Blankman (12)/ Hannah Fenton (12), Omaha Roncalli Catholic by the score of 6-4, 6-1

#8 Lilith Fair (11)/ Madison Mendoza (11), Ogallala fall to #9 Nicole Shundoff (12)/ Ashley Waggoner (10), Kearney Catholic by the score of  4-6, 7-6,
(8-6), 6-4

Leslie Aase (12)/ Baylee Brownawell (12), Hershey fall to #3 Kiersten Capelle (10)/ Jane Krueger (10), Omaha Duchesne Academy by the score of 6-0, 6-2

Theresa Aguirre (12)/ Brooke Speer (12), Lexington fall to Paige Peterson (12)/ Bobbie Claflin (11), Gering by the score of 6-2, 6-4

Darlyn Gonzalez (11)/ Aileen Reynosa-Esquivel (12), Lexington fall to #12 Analiese Wiedenbeck (11)/ Mackenzie Steckelberg (11), Waverly by the score of 6-1, 6-1

#4 Riley Hansen (11)/ Sydney Stewart (11), McCook defeats Phoenixx Penke (9)/ Laura Dutton (11), Blair by the score of 6-0, 6-1

#4 Riley Hansen (11)/ Sydney Stewart (11), McCook defeats Danielle Blackledge (12)/ Claire Holling (12), Crete by the score of 6-0, 6-0

UPDATE: #4 Riley Hansen (11)/ Sydney Stewart (11), McCook fall to #5 Claire Burford (10)/ Sarah Riddell (10), Elkhorn by the score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-1

They will play #8 Bryn Boyken (12)/ Anna Weed (10), Holdrege in the 5th place bracket

UPDATE: 5/18 2:00pm #4 Riley Hansen (11)/Sydney Stewart (11), McCook Defeat #8 Bryn Boyken (12)/ Anna Weed (10), Holdrege by a score of 6-4 6-4

     #4 Riley Hansen (11)/Sydney Stewart (11), McCook Fall to #6 Maggie Smith (12)/ Lydia Jahn (12), Omaha Duchesne Academy in the 5th place match by a score of 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 7-5

#10 Kira Mestl (12)/ Keyana Hastings (10), Ogallala defeats Anna Berntson (9)/ Carly Sexson (9), Hershey by the score of 6-1, 6-4

UPDATE: #10 Kira Mestl (12)/ Keyana Hastings (10), Ogallala defeat #7 Anastasia Krueger (11)/ Madeline Starr (9), Norris by the score of 6-1, 6-0

#10 Kira Mestl (12)/ Keyana Hastings (10), Ogallala fall t0 #2 Ameya Kutty (12)/ Jenna Mu (12), Brownell-Talbot/ Concordia by the score of 6-0, 6-3

They will play #6 Maggie Smith (12)/ Lydia Jahn (12), Omaha Duchesne Academy in the 5th place bracket

UPDATE: 5/18 2:00pm #10 Kira Mestl (12)/ Keyana Hastings (10), Ogallala fall to #6 Maggie Smith (12)/ Lydia Jahn (12), Omaha Duchesne Academy by a score of 6-4, 6-4