THE BULL
Winter sports, as I have often shared in this column over the past 16 to 17 years, is perhaps the busiest run of any school year. Chasing basketball games, and wrestling meets definitely keeps a person on the run.
But the highs of the winter season can really be a reward for anyone who does what I do for a living.
This week alone has been a super high, with Griffin Bergen claiming the state championship in the Class D 175-pound weight class, and teammate Aydin Banta returning from Omaha with some state meet hardware with his sixth-place finish in the Class D 215-pound weight class.
All in all though I’d like to think that all six of Clay County’s state wrestling qualifiers meant business last weekend in Omaha.
Bergen’s first-ever state championship came on the heels of his state runner-up finish a year ago. Banta claimed three wins in five matches to secure the sixth-place spot and a medal.
Sutton seniors Korey Poppe and Landon Scheidemann represented the Mustangs program well in Omaha, with Poppe earning a win, and even though Scheidemann fell short of a win, he gutted every moment out that he had on the mats in Omaha.
Sandy Creek’s junior duo of Josh Spray and Jackson Gerdes both claimed at least one win during the big show, with Spray just missing out on medal contention by one match.
From my perspective, at least, that’s a big showing by our county wrestlers in Omaha.
GIRLS BBALL TAKES CENTER STAGE THISWEEK.
It’s now time for girls basketball to shine this week, as both the Sutton girls and the Sandy Creek girls have qualified for district finals at the end of the week.
Sutton, for the third time in 3-4 weeks will go up against Tri County in the D1-7 District final this Friday night in the Sutton Dome.
Sutton is 2-0 against the Trojans, with their most recent win coming last Friday night, beating Tri County 52-40 in the D1-2 Sub-District championship game. Sutton’s other win was a 41-37 quarterfinal victory over the Trojans in the Southern Nebraska Conference tournament back on Feb. 3.
Sutton will be the seventh overall seed in Class D-1, with Tri County serving as the 10th overall seed in the next round.
Sandy Creek will hit the road for Hastings this week to once again challenge the Hawkettes of Hastings St. Cecilia, a team that, back on Jan. 8, defeated the Cougars 45-36. Sandy Creek suffered an upset loss to Maxwell last Tuesday night on the Cougars’ home floor, but snuck into the District Final round as the 12th seed among 16 total Class C-2 teams to make the sub-state round of the postseason.
So here we are, at that “1 and done” part of the season. If the county girls can win, the next stop is Lincoln and the state tournament next week. Losses will put a cap on the season, so best of luck to our girls teams as they prep for another big game during this long 2025-26 basketball season.
BOYS READYTO GRIND
All three of our boys teams were set to play in the postseason sub-district tournaments this week, with Giltner-Harvard heading to Cross County this past Monday night for the first round.
Sutton makes the hour and a half long trip to Alma for action in the C-2 post-season, while Sandy Creek gets the luxury of staying home and hosting their sub-district tournament this week.
Hopefully, the G/H boys, the Mustangs, and the Cougars can extend their seasons and make a strong run for additional games.
Good Luck fella’s.
