Here are Saturday’s area sports highlights:
Wrestling
Wayne High wins West Point tourney – The Wayne High wrestlers ran the table and won all five matches to take top honors at the West Point-Beemer Dual Tournament. The Blue Devils beat Fort Calhoun (42-36), Mount Michael (69-12), Randolph (60-18), West Point-Beemer (48-30) and Omaha Benson (60-16) to finish the day 5-0 and improve to 8-0 in duals this season. Wayne duals at Creighton on Thursday and hosts their own tournament next Saturday, Dec. 17.
Wakefield fifth at Stanton Invite – The Wakefield wrestlers finished a solid fifth in a tough field at the Stanton Invitational. The Trojans earned seven medals on the day, led by Cody Thomas’ first-place finish at 182 pounds. Julio Sanchez (195) and Moises Barboza (220) earned runner-up medals, Isaac Verzani (145) placed third, Tay Guill (106) and Charlie Lopez (120) both finished fifth, and Nolan Litchfield (160) finished sixth. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge wrestled with a partial lineup and did not earn a medal on the day. LCC will wrestle in a triangular at Winside on Thursday, while Wakefield’s next action is at the Osmond Invitational next Saturday, Dec. 17.
Winside ninth at North Bend – The Winside wrestlers had two first-place finishes and placed ninth out of 15 teams at the North Bend Invitational. Koby Ellis (106) and Zach Morris (152) both took home first-place honors for the Wildcats, while Carter Jensen (113) and Mathew Frederick (120) both finished fourth. Winside will host a triangular on Thursday.
Boys Basketball
Wayne boys handle Lakeview – The Wayne High boys had no problem on the road at Columbus Lakeview, ending a two-game losing streak with a 50-29 victory. Payten Gamble led the 3-2 Blue Devils with 14 points, Jack Evetovich added 11, Grayson McBride scored nine and Mason Lee had eight. Wayne will play Friday at Wisner-Pilger.
LCC boys come back for win over Randolph – Laurel-Concord-Coleridge came back from an 18-point first-half deficit to post a 65-57 win over Randolph in action at LCC High School. The Bears used a 10-0 second-half run, capped by a monster two-hand slam dunk by Jayden Reifenrath, to come back and get the win. Reifenrath led the way with 23 points, Izac Reifenrath added 15 and DJ Spahr and Trey Erwin each scored eight. LCC plays at Ponca on Tuesday.
Girls Basketball
Wayne handles Lakeview by 25 – Wayne pulled away in the second half for a 58-33 win at Columbus Lakeview to improve to 3-2 on the season. The Blue Devils broke the game open with a 22-6 run in the second period to take a 16-point halftime lead, and Lakeview didn’t threaten after that. Kylie Hammer had a career-high 29 points and Kelsey Boyer had 16. Wayne plays at Wisner-Pilger on Friday.
LCC comeback falls short – Laurel-Concord-Coleridge hung tough with Randolph, but couldn’t keep up down the stretch as the Lady Bears dropped a 55-46 home contest to the Cardinals. LCC trailed by nine at the half, but got it to within two in the fourth quarter before Randolph was able to recover and get the win. Emily Hangman scored a game-high 25 points, Bethany Kardell added eight and Katelyn Cook scored six. LCC plays at Ponca on Tuesday.
