Sports – Page 560 – North Platte Post Archive

Storm End 2013-14, Set Sights On Next Season

Posted on April 18, 2014

KEARNEY, Neb. – The Tri-City Storm finished the 2013-14 regular season in seventh place in the USHL’s Western Conference with an overall record of 21-35-4, failing to qualify for the 2014 Clark Cup Playoffs.

The conclusion of the 60-game regular season schedule now allows Storm head coach and general manager Jim Hulton to continue to mold the roster and create the identity he believes will lead to success. Hours before the final weekend of the regular season, Hulton signed a contract extension that will keep him at the helm through next season.

Hulton, who was hired 15 games into the season, reflected on the struggles his team faced.

“Jumping in mid-stride was a real eye-opener and it took a while to get my feet on the ground and get a proper read on the group,” Hulton said. “Once there was some familiarity, the players understood what our staff was trying to implement and the identity we were trying to create. But unfortunately when we came back from Christmas break we had a pretty strong task at hand and we didn’t reach the number we had to have to realistically make a run for a playoff spot.”

Hulton decided to make trades before the early February deadline which would position the team for success in the future.

“With the trades we made, a lot of experience and talent went out the door,” Hulton said. “As a coach, you try to put kids in a position to succeed, and unfortunately due to our numbers situation I think the opposite was happening. There were nights we were putting kids into spots when we knew they were going to fail. That’s a tough pill to swallow as a coach but hopefully the kids can learn from the adversity and be better players down the road.”

Chris Wilkie, the Storm’s first pick and the No. 2 overall selection in the 2013 Phase II Draft last May, finished the season as the team’s leading scorer with 17 goals and 19 assists for 36 points. The Omaha native was the first player from the state of Nebraska to wear a Storm sweater in the 14 years of the franchise and appeared in 57 of 60 games.The team’s leading goal scorer was Austin Poganski, who finished with 19 tallies in 55 games. Poganski also led the team in power play and shorthanded goals with 11 and three respectively. The St. Cloud, Minn. native finished his first USHL season with 31 points, which was tied for fourth on the team.

Veteran forward Garrett Gamez led Tri-City in helpers during 2013-14, racking up 28 assists. After a slow start to the season, Gamez turned it on in the second half of the year and finished with 34 points in 57 games.

Four members of the roster are scheduled to play in college next season including forward Dan Labosky at Colorado College, defenseman Cutler Martin at the University of Michigan, forward Drew Mayer at Ferris State and forward Ryan McMurphy at Bentley.

Goaltender Jacob Johansson, who played in 42 total games and finished with a record of 14-22-3, had a goals against average of 3.07 and a save percentage of .910 with three shutouts. Johansson has decided to pursue a professional career, signing a two-year deal with Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League.

The Storm started the season by playing six of their first seven contests in Kearney, going 2-3-2. Tri-City only won two of their next eight games and the team ushered in change as Hulton took the reins on Nov. 19.

In the team’s first seven games with their new coach, they managed just one win. A win in Cedar Rapids on Dec. 7 served as a turning point; the team went on to win seven of their next nine games and turned a positive page as they entered 2014. But four consecutive losses forced Hulton to make trades and look towards 2014-15.

Tri-City played their best stretch of hockey from Jan. 21-Feb. 1, winning a season-high five consecutive contests. But in the final two months of the season, the Storm managed just four wins.

Johansson set a Storm record for saves in a single game, making 53 stops on Oct. 12 against Waterloo. Forward Joel L’Esperance also established a new team record for goals in a game, scoring four times on Dec. 7 in Cedar Rapids.

19 players from the roster will be eligible to try out for next season’s team.

Tri-City is preparing for the two annual USHL Entry Drafts, which will take place May 5-6. The Storm will have the No. 3 overall pick in both drafts.

The Phase I Draft will include eligible players with a 1998 birth year and the Phase II Draft will include multiple birth years from 1994-1997.

NBA Plans Expanded Programs with Military

Posted on April 18, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — Army graduate Mike Krzyzewski will lead a U.S. national team practice at his alma mater, and the U.S. women will train at the Naval Academy as part of an increased partnership among the NBA, USA Basketball and the Department of Defense.

The NBA and its teams will also organize job fairs and other events to support military personnel in their transition back to civilian life.

The plans were announced Friday following the completion of the NBA’s board of governors meeting. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed owners at the meeting.

The U.S. men will hold an open practice at West Point on Aug. 18. The women will practice at Navy from Sept. 7-10 as both teams prepare to defend their world titles.

NPCC Lady Knights Sign Two to National Letters of Intent

Posted on April 18, 2014

North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights basketball team announced the signing of two athletes to National Letters of Intent, Maddie Seamann of Hershey High School and T’Keyah Stapleton of Omaha Central High School. The two signees are the first of the 2014 class for the Lady Knights.

Seamann, a post player, joins the Lady Knights basketball program after helping lead the Hershey Lady Panthers to a 23-4 record during her senior year, including a SPVA Championship. Seamann averaged 8.5 points and 6.4 rebounds as a senior. During her junior year, the Lady Panthers finished third in Class C2 at the 2013 State Tournament and won the SPVA Tournament. The Lady Panthers also qualified for the 2012 State Tournament during Seamann’s sophomore year.

“Maddie will add depth to the post position on our team,” said head coach Richard Thurin. “I like her competitive spirit.”

Stapleton, a guard, joins the Lady Knights program after helping the Omaha Central Lady Eagles to a 29-1 record and the 2012 State Championship. She was awarded the 2012 Gilson Sixth Man Award for Class A as a senior.

“T’Keyah will add depth to the point guard position,” said Thurin. “I like her quickness and speed and ability to drive the basket and see the floor.”

NBA Playoffs Looking More Wide-Open than Expected

Posted on April 18, 2014

MIAMI (AP) — Before the season started, a poll suggested that the Miami Heat were the overwhelming favorite to win the NBA title, collecting a whopping 76 percent of ballots cast.

The voters weren’t some know-nothings, either.

No, this was a polling of NBA general managers.

Things seem quite a bit different now. The Heat don’t seem like locks for a third straight title anymore. San Antonio and Indiana are top seeds. Brooklyn, Chicago, the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City, Golden State, Houston, Portland and the Heat all figure to have a legitimate chance at being the club to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in a couple of months.

Usually, the NBA playoffs aren’t so wide open. Things might change over the next couple of months.

“There are 16 teams that have a chance to win it,” said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks, whose team is seeded No. 2 in the West. “If you’re in the playoffs, you have a chance. There are some good teams. Any team can beat each other. The West is deep. There are two teams that are really good that didn’t make it and had great years. It’s definitely open. There’s a lot of good basketball teams that are fighting for the championship.”

For as good as San Antonio and Indiana were all year — well, for most of the year in Indiana’s case, before the Pacers faltered down the stretch — it’s never a certainty that the No. 1 seeds reach the NBA Finals. It’s happened that way only 11 times in the last 35 years.

Then again, the last time that there wasn’t either a No. 1 or a No. 2 in the title series was 1978. So while upsets can happen, it’s not all that common to see bracket craziness — akin to a No. 7 and No. 8 seeds Connecticut and Kentucky playing for the NCAA title earlier this month — happening in the same NBA playoff season.

“It is going to be tremendous from a fans’ standpoint, watching,” Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. “It going to be a lot of fun.”

Brooklyn’s Jason Kidd has plenty of postseason experience as a player. He believes the NBA championship is up for grabs, but also probably knows history doesn’t favor his sixth-seeded club.

Since 1979, only five teams seeded No. 4 or lower in their conference have reached the finals. But Kidd sees reason for hope.

“It’s always wide open,” said Kidd, the first-year coach of the Nets — a veteran-laden team put together to win a title this season. “You guys sometimes limit it to just two teams but guys that are playing on a daily basis in the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference feel like they’ve got a chance.”

This year, that doesn’t just seem like coach speak.

Take the East. On paper, the biggest mismatch is No. 1 Indiana against No. 8 Atlanta, especially because the Hawks are the only sub-.500 team in the playoffs. And just a couple weeks ago, the Hawks went to Indianapolis and absolutely embarrassed the Pacers, running out to a 32-point halftime lead in one of the more stunning games of the entire NBA season.

“There’s some good teams out there,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “Every team in the playoffs have given us some problems. We’ve been able to win against them as well. But it’s certainly shaped out to be a good conference.”

No. 5 Washington won the season series over No. 4 Chicago. Out West, the third-seeded Clippers and sixth-seeded Golden State split four meetings. Memphis ousted Oklahoma City a year ago and those clubs meet in the first round. And San Antonio’s quest to avenge last year’s loss in the NBA Finals starts against Dallas — the last team to beat Miami in a seven-game series, winning the title in 2011.

So there are some good stories, and there’s intrigue with every first-round series.

That doesn’t mean everyone in the league thinks it’ll be a year laden with surprises. Philadelphia coach Brett Brown put it simply — to him, the game changes in the playoffs, period.

“The regular season and the playoffs are like two different sports,” Brown said. “If you put me in a bubble and you drag me out in May, I can say this is different than the game I’m seeing in November. It’s just entirely different.”

That’s why Brown, a former Spurs assistant, thinks there’s a very small number of teams capable of winning it all.

“To be the last man standing is so ridiculously hard,” Brown said. “People have no idea what it’s like to play in June.”

Wahlin Commits To St. Cloud State

Posted on April 18, 2014

KEARNEY, Neb. – Storm affiliate player Jake Wahlin has announced his commitment to play college hockey at St. Cloud State in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

Wahlin, who played in the Storm’s final 10 games last season, is expected to be with Tri-City full-time during the 2014-15 campaign.

The forward said he is excited to be able to play at the collegiate level close to home.

“I wanted to play closer to home and the campus is like an hour and 15 minutes from my house which is perfect,” Wahlin said. “My family will be able to see me play and I have a lot of friends that go to St. Cloud.”

While playing for White Bear Lake High School in Minnesota last season, Wahlin put up 70 points in 25 regular season games.

St. Cloud State plays in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, an eight-team league which began play last season. The Huskies finished at the top of the standings in 2013-14, finishing with a conference record of 15-6-3 along with an overall record of 22-11-5.

“When I met coach [Bob] Motzko at St. Cloud and we had a long visit,” Wahlin said. He showed me around campus, the rink, and offered me the scholarship. I felt it was an offer I couldn’t pass up.”

Wahlin also said the school has renovated their facilities, which also made a difference when he was making his decision.

“I definitely like how they updated the dorms and the campus,” Wahlin said. “I remember going out there when I was with the advanced 15s and it was definitely kind of an older campus but they’ve done a lot of things to improve it.”

As an affiliate in the USHL, the St. Paul, Minn. native had two goals and an assist in 10 games, while getting acclimated to the league and building chemistry with some of the team’s veterans.

Acquired in a trade with Sioux City in January, Storm head coach Jim Hulton is hoping Wahlin will be an integral part of the team’s future.

Wahlin is planning on attending Kearney High School for his senior year in the fall and is excited to be back on the roster full-time.

“I think what excites me the most is that I’ve gotten the chance to know the other guys on the team,” Wahlin said. “We were pretty young but I think next year we’ll have a really strong team. It was a great group of guys that took me in and accepted me as well as the coaching staff and the fans in the community.”

The 17-year-old said it was really important to include his family in the process of choosing a school.

“I would definitely say I talked to my parents a lot,” Wahlin said. “We’d have family dinners to discuss what we felt was going to be the best fit for me. I talked to my brother, family members, and some of my old coaches from the past.”

Tri-City is preparing for the two annual USHL Entry Drafts, which will take place May 5-6. The Storm will have the No. 3 overall pick in both drafts.

The Phase I Draft will include eligible players with a 1998 birth year and the Phase II Draft will include multiple birth years from 1994-1997.

Chase County Dominates Sutherland Invitational

Posted on April 18, 2014

Sutherland High School hosted the Sutherland Invitational track and field meet on Thursday and the Chase County Longhorns were dominant in both the boys and girls divisions.

The Chase County girls won by 110 points over second place North Platte St. Patrick’s. The Lady Longhorns from Imperial scored 176.5 points compared to St. Pat’s 66.5. The Sutherland Lady Sailors finished in third with 64 points. Three other area schools competed in the meet, Brady placed fourth, Hershey took seventh and Wallace finished eighth out of the 11 teams.

Chase County also won the boys meet, though not by nearly as much. The Longhorns scored 115 points, which is 22.5 more than St. Patrick’s 92.5. Paxton rounded out the top three with 87 points. Brady came in fifth, Wallace took sixth, Hershey finished seventh and the host school Sutherland placed 10th out of the 11 teams.

Athletes from the local schools that won their events include Sutherland’s Jalyne Schuster in the 100 meter dash, Shaylin McClellen from Brady in the 200 meter dash and long jump, St. Pat’s won the 4×800 meter relay with Ellie Buhrman, Riley Nitsch, Peyton Irish and Anna O’Malley. Brady’s Josie Palmer won the high jump, Kaley Stokey of Sutherland won the pole vault, and Erin Nozicka from St. Pat’s won the triple jump.

From the boys events Eric Roe from Brady won the 110 meter hurdles, Wallace won the 4×800 meter relay with Andrew Gardner, Landon Swedberg, Dillon Kopp and Hayden Woodcox. Drew McClellen won the pole vault for St. Pat’s and also from the Irish, Alex Harms won the discus.

Bulldogs Soccer Splits with Columbus

Posted on April 18, 2014

The North Platte Bulldogs soccer teams traveled to Columbus on Thursday, the girls won and boys lost.

The North Platte Lady Bulldogs (8-2) won a hard fought road battle over the Discoverers 2-0. The match was scoreless at halftime before North Platte’s Madalynn Doughty scored two goals in the second half to lead the Lady Dogs to the win. Taylor Banark assisted on both of Doughty’s goals and Abby Stark earned the shutout in the net with eight saves.

The North Platte Bulldogs (2-8) boys soccer team lost their eighth straight match with a 3-1 loss to Columbus on Thursday. Columbus led 2-0 at halftime before the Dogs and Discoverers each scored one goal in the second half. Brady Mason scored North Platte’s only goal and Nick Wilkinson assisted on the play. Dakota Guenin had eight saves as the keeper.

The North Platte Bulldogs boys and girls teams will return to the pitch on Tuesday at home against Kearney.

NCAA Could Force Hardship Transfers to Sit 1 Year

Posted on April 18, 2014

Student-athletes who seek transfers due to “difficult life circumstances” might have to sit out a season but gain an extra year of eligibility starting in 2015-16.

The NCAA Division I Leadership Council has recommended the elimination of immediate eligibility for players approved for hardship waivers. The NCAA says the proposed change would give athletes a year to focus on academics and the circumstance that led them to seek such a transfer in the first place before they can play.

The proposal is also intended to reduce concerns about waiver process abuse and claims of inconsistent decision making. The NCAA approved 127 of 236 such waivers from July 2012-June 2013.

The NCAA’s Board of Directors will rule on the proposal on April 24.

Become a Certified Youth Fishing Instructor in Scottsbluff

Posted on April 17, 2014April 17, 2014

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will certify youth fishing instructors April 27 in Scottsbluff. The free workshop will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 101 E. 20th St., from 2-5 p.m.

Youth fishing instructors will receive training and tools to conduct fishing clinics. These volunteers will have access to Game and Parks’ loaner fishing equipment and educational materials for events and will receive program incentives. They also are encouraged to volunteer for such Game and Parks programs as Family Fishing Nights and Outdoor Expos.

To reserve a spot in this workshop, contact Larry Pape by April 25 at 402-471-5447or larry.pape@nebraska.gov.

No Charges for Wrestlers in Lynching Photo

Posted on April 17, 2014

BELVIDERE, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey prosecutor says no charges will be filed against the members of a high school wrestling team who posed in a photograph that simulated a lynching.

The Warren County prosecutor’s office said Thursday that its investigation with the Phillipsburg police found no criminal wrongdoing.

The photo, which surfaced online, showed seven white teens wearing Phillipsburg High wrestling attire posing with a black tackling dummy in a Paulsboro wrestling shirt and hanging from a noose. Two of the boys had the hoods on their sweatshirts fixed into points.

Paulsboro and Phillipsburg high schools are longtime wrestling powerhouses and rivals. Phillipsburg is about 85 percent white. More than one-third of Paulsboro’s residents are black.

Prosecutor Richard T. Burke says his decision was cleared with the state attorney general’s office.