Aaron Scheffler
It was a jam-packed Feb. 7 with several Wayne Herald area teams in action.
Wayne (G/B) basketball, Wayne and Wakefield boys wrestling, Wayne girls wrestling along with Winside, LCC, Wakefield and Tri County Northeast girls wrestling, LCC (G/B) basketball, Tri County Northeast boys basketball, Wayne State College (W/M) basketball, WSC softball and Wildcat baseball.
From Northeast Community College during Championship Saturday for the Mid State Conference basketball tourney, #6 Wayne girls picked up a 36-27 victory over #4 Pierce during the fifth place game while the #5 Wayne boys suffered a 56-47 loss against #2 Crofton during the third place game.
The Blue Devil girls (13-10, back-to-back wins) and boys (11-11, back-to-back losses) will each play on their home court next. Wayne girls will close out their regular season on Feb. 12 hosting Wynot (6 p.m.) with the boys in action on Feb. 14 hosting Bennington (5:30 p.m.).
From Ogallala during the second and final day of the B-4 District Championships, the Wayne girls wrestling team finished fourth (117.5 pts) among the 33 teams.
The Blue Devils will send six girls to state led by district runner-up finishes from Nyla Bolles (140) and Alexandria Ziska (170), Ayvree Abler (125) collected a bronze medal as Edmy Balux (105), Lupita Alba (110) and Ivette Ozuna (155) all earned fourth place district medals.
The 2026 NSAA State Wrestling Championships are scheduled for Feb. 17-18 at the CHI Health Center in Omaha. Both Class A and B first round matches will be at 3 p.m. on Feb. 17 followed by the quarterfinal round.
From Wakefield, the Wayne boys wrestling team finished third (116.5 pts) while the host Wakefield boys placed 17th (18) among the 19 teams during the Wakefield invite.
Top Blue Devil medalists were champions of Grady Maas (106) and Grant Maas (157) while Taven Ocampo (165) placed third.
Isaiah Zarate (120) and Keaton Gregory (175) both took fourth.
Wakefield had no medalists as Hayden McAfee (120), Lane Fischer (138) and Ruben Vega (157) all scored six team points.
The Wayne boys wrestling team will return to the mat on Feb. 14 at 9:30 a.m. for the B-2 District Championships hosted by Fort Calhoun.
The Wakefield boys wrestling team will next travel to Madison on Feb. 14 for the C-1 District Championships at 9 a.m.
From Plainview during day two of the B-1 District Championships, the Tri County Northeast girls wrestling team finished 14th (49 pts), Wakefield took 18th (40.5), Winside placed 25th (13) and Laurel-Concord-Coleridge closed in 27th (9) among the 33 teams.
Top Wayne Herald area state medalists were led by district champion Kiya Tornez (155) from Tri County Northeast while Jenni Olson (100) from Tri County Northeast and Natalee Nelson (190) from Wakefield both took third.
The 2026 NSAA Girls State Wrestling Championships are scheduled for Feb. 17-18. Both Class A and B first round matches will start at 3 p.m. on Feb. 17 followed by the quarterfinals.
From Randolph during the Lewis and Clark Conference boys tournament fifth place game, #10 Tri County Northeast dropped an 87-77 decision to #5 Walthill.
The Wolfpack boys (4-17) will next join their girls team on Feb. 9 at Wakefield for a make-up game starting at 4 p.m. for JV action.
From Laurel during the Greater Northeast Activities Conference Championships, #3 Laurel-Concord-Coleridge girls won 63-38 over #5 Plainview while #6 LCC boys secured a 43-37 victory against #4 Elkhorn Valley. Both teams finished third.
The LCC girls (15-8) and boys (8-13) will both visit Wisner-Pilger on Feb. 12 starting at 4:30 p.m.
From St. Paul, MN, the Wayne State College women's basketball team lost 81-60 while the Wildcat men dropped a 95-59 decision at Concordia-St. Paul. Both teams have now dropped back-to-back.
The WSC women (10-14, 5-13 NSIC) and men (14-10, 10-8 NSIC) will return to the confines of Rice Auditorium on the campus of Wayne State College on Feb. 12 hosting St. Cloud State (5:30/7:30 p.m.) followed by a doubleheader against Minnesota State-Mankato on Feb. 14 (1/3 p.m.).
From the Wildcat Dome during the first-ever Wildcat softball indoor triangular, Wayne State College began the afternoon with a 15-2 victory against Chadron State College followed by a 6-1 win over Nebraska-Kearney.
The WSC softball team (2-0) is back inside the Wildcat Dome on Feb. 8 hosting Chadron State College and Nebraska-Kearney at 12:30/3 p.m.
Back in Hilo, Hawaii, the Wayne State College baseball team began a doubleheader with a 15-6 loss followed by an 8-4 win against Hawaii at Hilo.
The WSC baseball team (3-1) will conclude their five-game series against Hawaii at Hilo on Feb. 8 at 4:30 p.m. CT.
Again, find additional details in the Feb. 12 edition of the Wayne Herald.
