Winter Sports in Review

The Cheyenne County area, despite COVID-19 restrictions, had a successful Winter Sports season with few cancellations due to the pandemic, and some outstanding performances by area individuals and teams. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from the Winter Sports season:

Lady Raiders Roll To Fifth Straight State Tournament Appearance

For the finals of the C1-12 Sub District Torunament, the Lady Raiders faced off against Chadron, a team they had struggled against in their previous two meetings this season. However, Sidney turned the tables on the Lady Cardinals, coming out fast and playing tight, aggressive defense. The low-scoring 11-to-5 first period indicated what was to come for the rest of the contest. The Lady Raiders had trouble drawing fouls in their last two contests, and converting free throws when they had the opportunity. But in this game, Sidney did a great job using Chadron’s aggressive defense to their advantage, limiting their fouls while going 21-of-30 from the charity stripe, which was a huge factor in the game.

Karly Sylvester was able to outplay Chadron 6’3” senior Anika Burke under the boards, and piled up the points for Sidney at close range. Sidney built a solid 24-to-17 lead at the half, and although they went through a scoring drought early in the third period, a layup by junior Brynna Ross at the end of the quarter gave Sidney a 10 point lead going into the final frame.

The tough and physical play continued through the remainder of the game, but the Lady Raiders did not falter and took the C1-12 crown with a convincing 57-to-37 victory.

Ride Defense To District Title

It was fitting that a dominant defensive performance capped Sidney’s drive to a State Tournament appearance, as although the Lady Raiders have always been strong defensively, this team is loaded with players that consistently disrupt offenses and can steal the ball. In Thursday’s C1-8

District Finals match-up in neutral site Kearney, the Auburn Lady Bulldogs came into the game off a loss in their Sub District Final to C1 #9 ranked Syracuse, but with an impressive 17-and-5 record. However, it became clear early on that Auburn would struggle against Sidney’s fast and relentless full court pressure defense, and only periodic cold streaks by the Sidney offense kept the Lady Bulldogs in the game into the second half.

The tight defensive struggle continued into the third quarter, with Auburn tying the score and the teams trading baskets until in the closing minutes of the the third period, junior Brynna Ross hit a three pointer for Sidney to extend their lead to 27-to-22, which was followed by four straight points by junior Alecca Campbell to close the period with a 31-to-24 lead.

Sidney opened the fourth period by forcing a turnover followed by a layup by Ross for two more points, then turned up the defense and forced bad shots and turnovers by Auburn and turnovers, while the Lady Bulldogs looked for the big hit to get them on a run and back in the game. But the Lady Raiders connected from the field when they needed to and were steady at the free throw line, and pulled away. The defense was unrelenting, allowing no Auburn points in the fourth quarter as Sidney took the C1-8 Title, 43-to-24, and advanced to the State Tournament. In Lincoln, the Lady Raiders fell to first round opponent Lincoln Lutheran by a 53-to-20 final score to end their season.

Red Raiders Improve With District Final Appearance

Sidney’s Red Raider Basketball team consistently improved throughout the year, but had a tough draw in the B-4 District Final game against the Mount Michael Benedictine Knights on Saturday afternoon in Elkhorn. Timely three point shooting and aggressive, turnover-inducing defense by the Knights had them sprint out to a 28-to-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The tough defense continued into the second period, and the Knights combination of senior Brad Bennet and 6’7” junior Kuon Kuon were too much for the Raider defense as the Knights continued to score and opened a big 46-to-19 lead at the halftime intermission.

A final score of 82-to-42 had four Knights players scoring in double digits as the home team punched their ticket to the State Tournament. Junior Sawyer Dickman led the Sidney offense with 11 points in the loss.

Sidney ends their season with a 12-and-12 record, but with consistent improvement throughout the year and strong group of underclassmen that look to improve the Red Raiders’ fortunes over the next few seasons.

Potter-Dix Boys Basketball Break Records

Potter-Dix’s Coyote Basketball team had their best season in 13 years, finishing with an 18-and-5 record, a D2-11 Sub District Title, and earned a trip to the D2-5 District Final before falling to the Loomis Wolves 83-to-45.

The team set many records during the season, including fewest points allowed in a game (19 against Peetz) and fewest points allowed per game average, 45.0. The previous record was 52.9 set in the 1988-89 season.

There were many individual records set during the season, including senior Javon Coyle’s 16 assists in a game, beating the previous record of 13. Sophomore Luke Kasten broke three records; most points in a game (46), field goals in a game (21) and field goals in a season (202). Kasten also broke the record for rebounds in a game with 20, and rebounds on the season with 267.

Lady Warriors Excel Despite Numbers

Leyton’s Lady Warrior Basketball team overcame many challenges this year, the most difficult being lack of players. Only having five players suited up for the first part of their schedule, then having six players for the second half, the Lady Warriors overachieved with an 8-and-12 record and a second place finish in the D2-11 Sub District Tournament.

Raiders Send Four To State Wrestling Tournament

Sidney’s Red Raider Wrestling team qualified four wrestlers for the State Tournament, and brought home three medals in Class B after the weekend’s matches ended.

After being dropped to the consolation rounds on Friday, freshman Chance Houser battled back with four victories to earn a third place medal in the 106 pound weight class, ending his first year with a 44-and-3 record. Junior Austin Munier advanced to the semi-finals, but lost both of his matches Saturday morning, first to Omaha Skutt’s Zachary Ourada, then to Columbus Lakeview’s Andon Stenger. He was able to recover and pin Bennington’s Connor Ritonya to earn a fifth place medal at 120 pounds.

Senior Brady Robb also advanced to the semi-finals, but lost to Beatrice’s Deegan Nelson. He advanced to the third place match by pinning Cozad’s Kaleb Pohl in the consolation semifinals, but then lost to Bennington’s Luke MacDonald in the semifinals to earn a fourth place medal at 182 pounds. Senior Hunter Ahrendt wrestled well on Friday, but came up short in his matches and did not earn a medal at 195 pounds.

Sidney Head Coach Beau McConnell was pleased with his wrestlers performances, saying, “The atmosphere was definitely different with only having one class competing at a time (because of COVID-19 restrictions) and the tournament ran faster than usual but our guys responded well to that and had solid outs on both days.

Overall the guys wrestled well with a lot of heart throughout the weekend and we as coaches are proud of not only our state qualifiers and medalists but our entire team and how they competed and remained flexible and adaptive in a year like this one.”

Sidney Danz Takes State Title in High-Kick

Sidney’s Danz Team made the adjustments necessary during a year with COVID-19 restrictions and multiple rule changes to earn a State Championship in High Kick in Class C-1 in Grand Island last week. A year marked with virtual practices, rule changes and multiple other challenges did not stop the Danz Team from achieving their goals, the main one being bringing home a State Title. Their hard work and dedication paid off, as the Danz Team wowed the judges to earn the top spot in High Kick.