Sandrina (left) and Sabrina (right) Hallahan are joined by Lady Knights head coach Sally Thalken as they ink Letters of Intent to play volleyball at Kansas Wesleyan University
North Platte – The North Platte Community College Lady Knights’ Sabrina and Sandrina Hallahan signed a National Letter of Intent Tuesday afternoon to play volleyball next year at Kansas Wesleyan University, a NAIA institution, for their junior season.
“I am really excited,” said Sandrina. “We didn’t expect to go to the same school, but it just kind of happened and I am excited it did. I don’t think we are ready to be separated yet.”
“When we visited the school, I really liked the girls on the team,” said Sabrina. “I felt like I fit in after we played with the girls. I also really liked the coaches.
The Hallahan’s will join a Lady Bobcat team that went 26-13 overall in 2013, including a 16-2 conference record. The Lady Coyotes ended their season in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship.
“The Hallahan’s came to North Platte and gave us two really good years,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “I think Sandrina will be able to help in the middle. Sabrina has worked really hard the last two years to get better and will be able to help on the outside.”
“It will be a new level of competition for these girls, but they are not afraid of hard work.”
Sandrina Hallahan was named to both the All-Region Division II and All-Tournament Division II Teams. Hallahan finished the season second on the team with 292 kills for the Lady Knights on a hitting percentage of .229. Hallahan also finished second on the team with 80 blocks. Hallahan had 34 kills in four games at the Region IX Division II Tournament to go along with seven blocks.
Sabrina Hallahan was named to the All-Tournament Division II Team. Hallahan had 25 kills in four games at the Region IX Tournament and had 22 digs in a game against Southeast Community College. Sabrina was second on the team with 381 digs andfinished the year with 238 kills, 283.5 points and 25 blocks.
SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have plucked left-handed pitcher Patrick Schuster off waivers from the San Diego Padres.
The Royals also sent catcher Adam Moore to the Padres on Tuesday for cash considerations.
Schuster, who has not pitched above Class A, was placed on the 40-man major league roster. To clear roster space for Schuster, the Royals designated for assignment outfielder Carlos Peguero.
The 23-year-old Schuster had a 1.83 ERA in 55 games last year for Visalia in the California League. He struck out 45, allowed 30 hits, and walked 18 in 44 1-3 innings.
(AP) — Military retirees who choose to live in Nebraska could receive a partial tax break, under a bill set for debate in the Legislature.
The Revenue Committee voted 6-0 on Wednesday on a bill that would allow retirees to claim an income tax exemption on their retirement pay.
Retirees could choose between exempting 40 percent of that income over a 7-year period after their service ends, or 15 percent for the rest of their lives once they turn 67. They would have to decide within two years of leaving the service.
The measure’s sponsor, Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont, says the bill is designed to benefit all veterans in Nebraska, regardless of their income.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — In two decades as an assistant coach, after playing basketball for Johnson C. Smith, Mark Sherill has seen a lot.
But Wednesday night was a first.
The game between Johnson C. Smith and visiting Winston-Salem State ended in a draw.
A tip-in by Javan Wells of the Rams tied the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Division II game at 76 with 0.3 seconds left when Joshua Linson tried a full-court shot. The ball hit off of two lights, knocking them out, according to John Dell of the Winston-Salem Journal — with one light left hanging.
After trying to fix the situation, head coach Stephen Joyner Sr., also the Johnson C. Smith director of athletics, had a conference with the game officials to reassess the situation and it was deemed a safety concern.
“We didn’t know how long the chains would last,” Sherill said. “The Winston-Salem coach (Bobby Collins) agreed it didn’t look safe. I’ve been in basketball a long time; this is the first time I’ve ever had a draw.”
He said the schools and CIAA officials would determine if the game would be finished at a later date. The schools are 78 miles apart.
“It was a great call and the right call for safety,” Sherill said. “If it would have come down on one of the student-athletes (in overtime), you would have been calling us for something else.”
Marquez Jones scored 21 points, Preston Ross 20 and Wykevin Bazemore 16 for the Rams.
Linson had 25 for Johnson C. Smith with Emilio Parks adding 18 and Antwan Wilkerson 13 with 10 rebounds.
From the Associated Press:
Sid Caesar, the prodigiously talented pioneer of TV comedy who paired with Imogene Coca in sketches that became classics and who inspired a generation of famous writers, died early Wednesday.
Caesar died at his home in the Los Angeles area after a brief illness, family spokesman Eddy Friedfeld said.
The college football world went crazy on Wednesday as die-hard fans tracked the movements and signings of the top high school football players in the country.
National Signing Day has become a huge event for college football and that is illustrated perfectly with ESPNU’s 11 hours of coverage that included the top high school football players in the country picking up a ball cap with a logo of the school of their choice on the front. The question though, is how does it affect the local athletes in North Platte? The answer, six athletes, five from North Platte High School and one from North Platte St. Patrick’s High School, signed their national letters of intent on Wednesday as well.
Alex Harms
There was only one football player that signed and that was the Nebraska Wendy’s High School Heisman winner from St. Pat’s, Alex Harms. Harms signed his national letter of intent to play at the University of Nebraska Kearney. Harms said winning played a role in deciding to go to Kearney.
“The ultimate factor was just the coaches and how well they wanted to win and the drive they have; and what [the coaches] do in every aspect of their lives and transferring that to their teams and just making all the guys work hard,” Harms said. “That’s what I wanted to be a part of.”
Harms said he narrowed his choices down to UNK, Fort Hays State and Chadron State before choosing to become a Loper. He is expected to play box safety for the UNK defense. The Lopers finished last season with a 3-8 record.
Wyatt McGuire
The local athlete that signed to compete at the highest level of college sports next season is North Platte High School’s Wyatt McGuire. McGuire signed Wednesday to run cross country and track at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
McGuire won the Class A Cross Country State Championship this fall with a time of 15:26.6. He beat the second place finisher by nearly 20 seconds. McGuire’s state meet time was the best in the state for any classification during the state meet. His success earned him the Nebraska Gatorade Cross Country runner of the year.
McGuire will run for a Nebraska cross country team that finished 11th out of 11 teams that competed in the Big Ten Championships. Despite placing last in the Big Ten the Huskers placed ninth out of 29 teams in the NCAA Midwest Regional.
Drew Callaghan
North Platte High’s Drew Callaghan signed to play basketball at Hastings College Wednesday.
Callaghan currently leads a Bulldog team that is 8-9 on the 2013-14 season. He is averaging a double-double with 16.1 points per game and 12.2 rebounds per game. Callaghan is also averaging 3.6 blocks per game and 2.5 assists per game. Bulldogs coach Matt Kaminski said the Broncos are getting a player with great potential.
“We’re happy for Drew,” Kaminski said. “I know a couple coaches there very well and I think he feels very comfortable with Hastings and the direction they’re moving. I know the coaches there are excited about getting a talent like him with tremendous upside and a tremendous ceiling.”
Callaghan will join a Broncos team that is currently ranked 15th in the NAIA national rankings.
Three North Platte High School girls soccer players signed letters of intent Wednesday.
Hannah Wilkie signed her letter to play for Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff. The Lady Cougars finished this past season with a 7-7 record.
Hannah Wilke
Marisa Martinez signed to play soccer at Midland University in Fremont. The Lady Warriors finished this past season with and 8-6-6 record.
Marisa Martinez
The third Lady Dawg to sign her letter of intent to play soccer at the next level was Taylor Banark. Banark will play at Hastings College. The Lady Broncos finished their season at the NAIA national championships ranked 25th in the country with a 16-5-1 record.
(AP) — Authorities have released the name of a 53-year-old woman who died after a Lincoln accident that involved three vehicles.
The woman was identified Wednesday as Teresa Michaud. Police say she probably suffered a medical emergency before the crash.
Police say Michaud was driving east when her car crossed a median around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, hitting a sport utility vehicle and then ramming into another car.
Michaud was pronounced dead at the scene. Three other people injured in the collisions were taken to a Lincoln hospital.
Area high school wrestling scores for the week of January 13-18.
Saturday, January 18
Chase County Invitational
The Hershey Panthers wrestling team competed in the Chase County Invitational on Saturday and placed ninth as a team with 50 points. Sedgwick County, CO won the tournament with 217 points.
Three wrestlers placed for the Panthers, including Tucker Hicks at 106 pounds, who finished in first place. Hicks had one pin in the tournament. Chayton Crow placed second at 138 pounds. Crow had one pin the tournament and a major decision. Wyatt McConnell placed sixth at 170 pounds for the Panthers. He also had one pin on the day.
Friday, January 17
East/West Duals
The North Platte Bulldogs and Gothenburg Swedes wrestling teams competed in the East/West Duals in Lexington on Friday.
North Platte went 3-2 in its duals. North Platte beat Aurora 55-23, lost to Grand Island Northwest 42-33, lost to Omaha Skutt Catholic 53-16, beat Gothenburg 72-12, and beat Crete 57-24. Aaron Houser went 5-0 at 126 pounds for the Dawgs with four pins and a major decision. Austin Matthews went 5-0 with three pins at 145 pounds.
Gothenburg went 0-4 in its duals. The Swedes lost to Lexington 70-12, Chadron 54-20, North Platte 72-12 and Kearney 72-10. Skyler Kottwitz was the lone wrestler that went undefeated. Kottwitz only got to wrestle two matches and he got a pin and a major decision win at 170 pounds.
Mustang Invitational
The St. Patrick’s Irish wrestling team competed in the Mustang Invitational on Friday and finished in seventh place with 58 points. Kearney JV Blue won the tournament with 181 points.
The Irish had two wrestlers place second in the tournament. Trey Dodson at 120 pounds had two pins before losing by decision in the finals. Alex Mackley also placed second at 170 pounds. He also had two pins before losing in the finals by fall. Cody Weaver placed fourth at 106 pounds and Nate Chrisman placed fourth at 126 pounds as well for St. Pat’s.
Thursday, January 16
Maxwell 45 SMC 24
120 Double Forfeit
126 Ryan Mckeeman (Maxwell) won by pin over Payton Frey (SMC) 0:37.
132 Double Forfeit
138 Cash Boland (Maxwell) won by forfeit over Unknown (Unattached).
145 Ethan Lunkwitz (Maxwell) won by pin over Ryan Weekly (SMC) 0:59.
152 Sage Galley (Maxwell) won by pin over Dillon White (SMC) 0:28.
160 Jaylon Sturdivant (Maxwell) won by pin over Isaac Ascherl (SMC) 2:46.
170 Jacob Whisenhunt (Maxwell) won by forfeit over Unknown (Unattached).
182 Taylor McKeeman (Maxwell) won by pin over John Sonnenfeld (SMC) 0:29.
195 Clay Seifer (SMC) won by pin over Kameron Purdy (Maxwell) 1:40.
220 Levi Simmons (Maxwell) won by decision over Mitch Linn (SMC) 10-5.
285 Justin Cosler (SMC) won by pin over Houston Crane (Maxwell) 4:40.
106 Justin Brown (SMC) won by forfeit over Unknown (Unattached).
113 Sid Simants (SMC) won by pin over Jeremy Ochsner (Maxwell) 0:25.
(AP) — Sentencing has been delayed for a 26-year-old York man who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a York County sheriff’s deputy.
At a hearing Tuesday, a prosecutor asked for a delay so the judge would have time to review certain pieces of evidence that were supposed to have been included in a presentence report on the man, Max McCall. The hearing was rescheduled to Jan. 28.
McCall had pleaded no contest to three charges, including attempted first-degree assault on an officer. Prosecutors dropped other charges in exchange for McCall’s pleas.
The incident occurred Aug. 11, after the deputy responded to a call about McCall threatening a relative. Prosecutors say McCall was shot after he fired at the deputy.
Area high school wrestling results for the week of January 6-11.
Saturday, January 11
Legend High School Duals
The North Platte Bulldogs wrestling team competed in the Legend High School Duals in Parker, CO on Saturday. The Dawgs went 3-1 on the day. North Platte beat Woodland Park 57-18 in the first dual. The Dawgs then beat Chatfield 66-18 before losing to Valley 48-13. The final dual of the day North Platte beat La Junta 42-39.
Garden County Invitational
The Maxwell Wildcats, Sutherland Sailors and North Platte’s JV team all competed in the Garden County Invitational on Saturday. The Wildcats finished third overall with 104 points, Sutherland sixth with 85 points and the Bulldogs’ JV finished 12th with 40 points. Sedgwick County won the tournament with 176 points.
Maxwell had five wrestlers place in the tournament. Ethan Lunkwitz took third at 132 pounds, Jacob Whisenhunt placed second at 160 pounds, Wyatt Strickland was third at 182 and Kameron Purdy placed fourth at 182 pounds, and Houston Crane finished second at 220 pounds.
Sutherland only had three wrestlers place but two of them won their weight class. Collin Fleecs took 1st at 132 pounds with two pins on the day; and Landan Fear took first at 182 pounds with one pin on the day. The third wrestler that placed was Zachary Blake at 170 pounds and he finished second.
And North Platte’s JV team only had one wrestler place, but he took first. Alex Murphy won all four matches by fall en route to a 126-pound first place finish.
Franklin Invitational
The North Platte St. Patrick’s wrestling team competed in the Franklin Invitational on Saturday and finished in 11th place with 58 points. Kearney-Blue won the tournament with 205 points.
The Irish had four wrestlers place in the tournament led by Nate Chrisman, who finished in second place at 120 pounds. Cody Weaver placed sixth at 113 pounds, Trey Dodson took fifth at 126 pounds and Alex Mackley placed sixth at 170 pounds.
Ogallala Duals
The Hershey Panthers and the Gothenburg Swedes both competed in the Ogallala Duals on Saturday. Hershey went 1-4 on the day with a win over Chase County and losses to Sidney, Wray, CO, Bayard and Gothenburg. Tucker Hicks and Lane Richardson led the Panthers by both going 3-0 on the day. They each had two pins as well.
Gothenburg went 3-2 at the tournament. Jayden Miller led the way for the Swedes by going 3-0 with three pins at 152 pounds.
