Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 42
Summerland wrestlers earned two medals at Friday's Southern Valley Invite in Oxford. Ethan Kester claimed the 150-class title. He picked up wins over Asa Popp, Atwood-Rawlins County, in 4:12, and Tyson Freeman, Loomis, in :27. That set up a first-place match against Cauy Twohig, Wilcox-Hildreth. Kester secured the pin in 5:55. In the 132 class, Isaac Mendoza finished fourth. He started with a 17-1 win by tech fall over Thomas Magorian, Arapahoe before dropping a 13-3 major decision to Carter...
The Bobcat boys' wrestlers traveled to Howells, Saturday, for the Howells-Dodge Invite. Summerland finished ninth in the field of 20 teams, earning 52 points. Hartington Cedar Catholic and Tekamah-Herman tied for first, with 148.5 points. West-Point Beemer ended in third, scoring 121. Austin Mendoza brought home a bronze medal in the 144 class. He picked up wins by fall against Heydon Velez, Ponca, and Oliver Belina, HD; and defeated Elgin Public Pope John's Grady Drueke, 10-0. In the...
Meet the mat masters of the Summerland boys' wrestling team. They opened the season Thursday, in a triangular at Wayne. Competition begins at 5 p.m. Team members include Lane Sanne, Steven Mast, Luke Kester, Jason Shaver, Liam Cleveland, Mat Umphress, Isaac Mendoza, Ayden Bazelman, Jacob Schlecht, Austin Mendoza, Ethan Kester and Logan Kester....
The Bobcats found themselves in a classic battle, Friday, in the Class D1 quarterfinal in Crofton and relied on an explosive third quarter to defeat the Warriors, 48-38. For the second time this season, the Bobcats contained Crofton's explosive running attack, in a rematch of a Sept. 5 four-point Summerland victory. Each team found the end zone once in the first quarter, with the difference being the Warriors two-point conversion. Crofton scored twice in the second quarter and the Bobcats had an...
A lot of Summerland Bobcats saw playing time, Oct. 3, when they met Lutheran High Northeast on the Bobcat's home field. On a beautiful fall evening, under orange and pink skies, the Bobcats manhandled the visiting Eagles, 55-0. The hometown boys scored 20 points in the first quarter, while holding LHNE scoreless. In Q2, the Bobcats added another 29 points to the effort. The final score came in the final quarter, when Summerland scampered into the end zone, establishing the final score. Michael...
Summerland scored 40 first-quarter points in the Sept. 13 homecoming game, resulting in a 52-0 shellacking of the visiting Dragons. Michael Koenig completed six of seven passes for 197 yards. Steven Mast led the rushing corps with 42 yards on eight carries. Sam Cheatum pulled in three receptions for 121 yards. Defensively, Austin Mendoza led the Bobcats with six tackles, including three solo takedowns. Alec Schindler, Ethan Kester and Beau Ahlers each finished the game with five...
The Bobcat fall sports teams begin the 2024 campaign Thursday, Aug. 29. At 10 a.m., the junior and senior high cross country teams will compete in the Burwell Invite at Calamus Golf Club. Bobcat volleyball teams travel to Atkinson for a triangular. Junior varsity and varsity teams will compete. At 6 p.m., Summerland will face Elkhorn Valley. West Holt will face off with the Bobcats at 7 p.m. On Friday, Aug. 30, the Bobcat football teams will battle Newman Grove/St. Ed in Newman Grove. Kickoff...
The Nebraska School Activities Association and the Nebraska State College System have announced the 15,970 recipients of the 2023-2024 Nebraska State Colleges Multi-Activity Student Award. The award recognizes students in grades 9-12 who participate in at least three NSAA-sanctioned activities during the academic year. Each high school student who participates in at least three NSAA activities will be recognized and awarded a certificate of achievement by the NSAA and the Nebraska State Colleges. Activity participation will be tracked using...
Ethan Kester, Ryan Rifer, Alec Schindler and Gavin Whiting picked up the first medals of the 2024 Bobcat boys' track season, March 18, at the Dan Lennon Invitational. The annual University of South Dakota indoor meet was held in the Dakota Dome, attracting 45 Class B schools. Kester picked up a bronze medal in pole vault. He cleared 10' 6 inches. Rifer, competing in high jump, ended in third. He cleared 6' 3 inches. Rifer also ran the 800m in 2:37.56, finishing 37th. Schindler placed fourth in...
Austin Mendoza, a Summerland freshman, was named to the Niobrara Valley Conference second team, for wrestling, in the 132-pound class for the 2023-2024 season. Mason Nitz was named to the first team in the 132-pound weight class. Other competitors receiving post-season honors include • 106: Tyson Blakeman, Neligh-Oakdale, first team; Brett Olson, North Central, second team; • 113: Andrew Henery, NO, first team; Even Decker, Elkhorn Valley, second team; • 120: Owen Vondra, EV, first team; Dylan...
Summerland boys' wrestling team finished fifth in the Class D -3 District in Pleasanton, Friday and Saturday. Three wrestlers will compete this week at the state championships in Omaha. Ethan Kester finished second in the 138-pound division. He defeated Heath Henson, SEM by tech fall and pinned Jackson Hulls, Meridian, before losing by fall to Gatlin Krepela, Pleasanton, in the first-place match. Jesse Thiele earned district silver in the 144-pound class. He worked his way through the bracket...
Logan Kester struck gold for the first time this season as the Bobcat junior won the 150-pound division at Saturday's Wakefield Invite. Other medalists for the Bobcats included Austin Mendoza, Ethan Kester, Jesse Thiele, Matthew Umphress and AJ Hobbs. Logan Kester opened with a bye and in the semifinal, won 18-2, tech fall-1.5, over Eddie Lugo, West Point-Beemer. Kester defeated Ty Zach, Wayne, 7-4, to win the gold. Ethan Kester brought home a silver medal in the 138-pound division. Kester...
AJ Hobbs, Jesse Thiele and Mathew Umphress added wins to their records during a Jan 23 dual against North Central that was part of a triangular also featuring Elgin Public/Pope John. Wrestling in the 165-pound class, Umphress pinned Kade Wiiest in 2:38. Hobbs pinned Chase Gewecke in 2:37 in a 175-pound match. Thiele made quick work of his match, pinning Trace Kaupp in :50. They competed at 144 pounds. Jason Shaver, 190; Austin Mendoza, 132; and Ethan Kester, 138, won by forfeit. North Central...
Summerland boys' wrestling team traveled to North Central, in Springview, Jan. 25, for the Niobrara Valley Conference duals meet. Summerland faced West Holt in the opening round and lost to the Huskies, 33-45. Ethan Kester downed Lane Keogh, by fall in 2:18, in the 144-pound match. At 150, Jesse Thiele pinned Tripp Uecker in 2:00. Ayden Bzelman pinned Max Flannery in 1:35 in a 113-pound match. Austin Mendoza earned an 11-4 decision over Jamison Slaymaker. Bobcat wrestlers winning by forfeit included Connor Thomson, 138, and Tucker Dougherty,...
Six Bobcat wrestlers earned medals, Saturday, at the Summerland Invitational. The team finished third in the 15-team field, scoring 110 points. Ravenna took top honors, with 177 points, while Wisner-Pilger ended second, with 136. Ethan Kester flawlessly worked his way through the 138-pound bracket, pinning WP's Gabe Liemann in :44 and the Bobcat's Connor Thomson in 1:20. In the semifinal, he defeated Trevor Steffen, GACC, 6-3 and in the championship match, claimed an 11-7 decision over Grady...
Since we're writers, we, at SAM love lists. Trust us, we keep and use them every single day. But, how does one determine which articles should be at the top of the yearly list? In the past, we've based it by reader count from our website. This year, we're still relying on reader count, featuring the top-read article by month. We wrote nearly 2,000 articles in 2023 and, while some of our favorites don't appear on the list, we're sure these are a newsworthy representation of the Summerland region....
Summerland boys' wrestling team scored 102 points, Saturday, en route to a third-place finish at the Elgin Public-Pope John Wrestling Tourney. The Bobcats finished with five medalists, including two champions. Ethan Kester earned gold in the 138 division. Kester worked through the bracket, earning pins against Connor Thomson, Summerland, in 5:20 and Emmerson Earl, Palmer, in 5:44. In the championship match, Kester earned an 8-2 decision over Trevor Carraher, Riverside. Jesse Thiele, wrestling in...
Summerland wrestlers scored 101 points at Friday's Southern Valley Invitational, finishing sixth overall. Sutherland won the invite, with 169 points, followed by Chase County, 166.5; Sedgwick County/Fleming, Colorado, 139; Loomis, 127; and Arapahoe, 116.5. Five Bobcat wrestlers earned medals at the meet. Ethan Kester ended third in 138. He defeated CC's Alonso Martinez, by fall in :54 and Franklin's Lorance Davis, by fall, in 1:33. In the quarterfinals, Brody Patterson, Wilcox-Hildreth,...
Bobcat wrestlers began their 2023-24 campaign hosting a triangular with Wisner-Pilger and Wayne. While individual matches showed promising activity, the Bobcats came up short in both duals, falling to Wisner-Pilger, 42-30, and Wayne, 39-33. Ethan Kester, a returning state qualifier, quickly pinned W-P's Gabe Liermann, in 55 seconds. The two competed in the 138-pound division. Connor Thomson took 1:12 to pin Evan Lauck, in a match in the 150-pound division. Logan Kester won, by fall, in :54, over...
Four Bobcat wrestlers brought home hardware from Saturday's Howells Invite. (l-r): Aydan Bazelman finished third in the 113-pound division; Austin Mendoza, wrestling in the 132-pound class, placed fourth; Ethan Kester earned the bronze medal in the 138-pound division; and Logan Kester ended in third place in the 150-pound class. Jesse Thiele finished fifth at 144; AJ Hobbs, sixth, at 165 and Jason Shaver, sixth, in the 190-pound class. The Bobcats placed sixth in team standin...
Neither wind nor a chilling rain could keep the Bobcats from finding the opposing team's end zone, Friday afternoon, as Summerland dominated North Central, 42-14. It was a one-two-three punch from Michael Koenig, who completed eight of nine passes for 199 yards, Alec Schindler, who rushed for 140 yards, and Sam Cheatum's 107-yard day in the receiving corps, that did in the Knights. The Bobcats struck first on a 40-yard pass play from Koenig to Schindler and continued with Koenig and Cheatum...
Sometimes, things just all come together. It happened Friday, in Norfolk, when Summerland defeated a scrappy Lutheran High Northeast football team, 38-24. "I thought the biggest take away from Friday night is how well our defense played all night. We had been struggling stopping a power-run team but we did a really good job of it Friday," said coach Tom Thramer. With the score knotted at 6 apiece at the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats scored 16 unanswered points to take a 22-6 lead to the...
The first possession of the 2023 football season didn't go as the Bobcats planned. High snaps from center forced the home team to scramble early, looking for a solution, as Riverside rolled to a 38-20 win. Head Coach Tom Thramer said the team's inexperience "really showed up from untimely penalties, missed assignments and lack of leadership." "There is no way to sugar coat it. We have to get better in every aspect of the game," Thramer told SAM in an interview on Monday. "Riverside is a very goo...
Circle May 6 on the calendar. Be prepared for increased traffic near Summerland School. Be on alert for selfie-seeking seniors donned in commencement caps and gowns. A graduation ceremony for the class of 2023 will begin at 3 p.m., at the school, situated at 51293 857th Road, near Ewing. The program will begin with a slide show. Summerland band will play the processional. Superintendent Kyle Finke will present the administrative welcome and the senior welcome will be given by the salutatorian....
