THE BULL
Fall sports by all practical purposes has whizzed by this year, at least it feels like it. We began the post season a few weeks ago with the girls district golf tournament for Sutton and Sandy Creek, and what a year it was for sure for the Fillies golf team, placing sixth this past week during the Class C state tournament in North Platte. That’s the second straight year the Fillies have finished in the top six at state, of which, coach Sam Newmyer noted that this year’s finish placed Sutton sixth among a total of 82 Class C teams across the state. I’d say that’s pretty darn awesome.
Last Thursday, the Sandy Creek and Harvard Cross Country teams headed for Camp Kateri for district meet action and between the two teams, the Cougar girls will return to the Kearney Country Club with Madison Shaw and Paige Stengel, both of whom were on the Cougars Class D state runner-up team. This year, the Cougars won’t be able to score as a team with just two runners, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Shaw and Stengel will fight like mad to finish strong and vie for individual medals in Kearney.
Harvard sophomore Brexten Kobza is making his first-ever trip to Kearney for the boys Class D meet this year. Kobza, who played football as a freshman, will be another strong challenger in the boys race, as he’s been a huge competitor throughout the 2025 season, like Shaw and Stengel.
The Class D girls race is at noon, while Kobza will run in the Class D boys race at 1 p.m.
This week also turned the page for Sandy Creek and Sutton Football, as both teams enter the D-1 state playoffs Thursday afternoon and evening.
Sutton’s battle against the Bloomfield Bees is slated to kickoff at 5 p.m. in Sutton. Both teams own 6-2 records, making this first-round clash an eye popping match up for the Mustangs.
Sandy Creek’s rematch with the Exeter-Milligan/Friend Bobcats is scheduled for an opening kickoff time of 7 p.m. on the Cougars home field. Sandy Creek throttled the Bobcats 6312 just two weeks ago on the Cougars’ home field. Sandy Creek is the third seeded team in the 32-team field this year, while EMF comes in with a 3-5 record and is the 30th seed in the D-1 field.
Volleyball teams enter their final week of the regular season this week, with post-season pairings set to be announced for Sutton, Sandy Creek, and Harvard.
Each and every year it just blows my mind how time flies with the start of the school year, and how fast the fall season has gone.
POINT OF FAMILY PRIDE
So in last week’s Bull, I noted that some cool news was bestowed upon the Duncan clan of myself and my two sisters. Two of the three of us are graduates of Shelton High School, with my youngest sister being a Papillion- LaVista grad after our dad took a publisher position with the Omaha World-Herald corporation, serving as the publisher of a large number of the weekly newspapers that the World-Herald owned at the time. A couple of weeks ago, the three of us received notice that dad will be inducted into the Shelton High School Hall of Fame as a contributor.
Dad served several terms on the SPS School Board and was the football announcer for home Bulldog football games, a gig that dad performed for nearly 30 years, give or take a few.
It was nice to receive that honor from the Hall of Fame committee at Shelton, and it will be an honor to return to Shelton High in late January next year to receive this honor on behalf of our father’s memory from the school.
I remember one time, while I was playing basketball at Shelton, dad was always reluctant to publish action pictures of his own kids in the Shelton Clipper, until one night when I tallied over 35 points in a game during the Twin Valley Conference tournament. He finally put me in the paper and titled the picture with the following: “Pardon our Pride,” which meant the world to me. I knew it was tough to do that for dad and mom, and I totally understood why my sisters and I rarely had pictures printed of us in the paper, because if I had my own child playing today, I’d be the same way.
So I say this week, “Pardon my Pride,” but I’m pretty proud of the honor Shelton Public Schools is bestowing on our father and his memory for all the time and effort that he put into the SPS school district.
Thank you to the Shelton High School Hall of Fame Committee for remembering dad, because he’s been away from the community for nearly 40 years, or even a bit longer.
