Sports News April 21st - April 26th
PHS Golfers Fall to HCC
by Kim Carlson
Pierce High’s boys golf team hosted the Hartington Cedar Catholic Trojans for a dual on Monday, April 21. The Jays were out-driven by ten strokes by the Trojans.
Strong winds accompanied the golfers during the nine-hole event. Matt Bruce had a low score of 42 for the team. Chris McWilliams played the course with 43 strokes. Zach Brenden shot a 45 for the meet. Drew Fasse carded a 49 for the course, and Brandon Gerdes shot a 56 for the day. The varsity team placed second with a team score of 179.
Zach Brenden, who placed 9th at the meet, said “I didn’t golf as well as I would have liked but I plan on practicing my short game a lot this next week. I hope all the practice pays off and I medal at our next meet.”
Pierce’s JV Team 1 ended with a team score of 212 at the dual. Cody Asmus brought in a low score of 51 for the team. Tyler Kocian carded a 53, Bryce Bierman and Trevon Ronspies each shot 54’s for the day, and Chance White brought in a 58 for the team. JV Team 1 placed fourth.
Pierce’s JV Team 2 scored a 230 during the dual. Parker Bauman shot a 52 for the course, Derek Asmus carded a 55, Clay Johnson scored a 59, and Vito Mandara shot a 64. The JV Team 2 placed fifth.
The varsity team competed at the Lutheran High Northeast Invite, and the JV team played the O’Neill course for the JV Invite on Thursday, April 24. The team also participated in the Wausa Invite on Saturday, April 26. Their next meet will be on Tuesday, April 29, in Hartington.
JV Jays Tee Off at O’Neill
by Rachelle Tucker
Pierce High’s JV boy golfers showcased their talents at the O’Neill Invite on Thursday, April 24. As a team, Pierce placed thirteenth with a combined score of 419.
With seventeen teams in the mix and a total of seventy-six golfers, the Bluejays held their own on the greens of O’Neill. Leading the pack of Pierce participants, Tyler Kocian came in with a score of 100. Bryce Bierman tallied up 104 strokes. Cody Asmus closely followed Bierman in the final standings after turning in a score of 105. Parker Baumann ended the day with a score of 110, and Trevon Ronspies came in with a total of 131 strokes.
The JV golf squad will compete next at home in the Pierce Invite on Saturday, May 3, beginning at 9 a.m.
Boys’ Golf Takes Home First Place
by Noah Fisher
Pierce High’s boys’ golf team won the Lutheran High Northeast golf meet with an overall score of 367 on Thursday, April 24.
In the meet the Jays had three golfers in the top 15. Matt Bruce was the low scorer for the Jays, placing second with a score of 86. Bruce fell to Mark Warnemunde from Madison in the first round of the playoff for first place. Zach Brenden was the next Jay to crack the top fifteen, scoring a 92 and placing tenth place. Brandon Gerdes placed fourteenth, scoring a 93. Other Pierce golfers at the meet were Chris McWilliams, who shot a 97, and Drew Fasse, who shot a 108.
Head coach Rick Adams said, “I thought we did a nice job of being consistent, which allowed us to win. It was a good day for how hard the wind was blowing.”
The team’s next outings were the Wausa Invitational on Saturday, April 26, and the Hartington CC meet on Tuesday, April 28. They’ll take the green again on Saturday, May 3, at their own meet in Pierce.
Track Team Hosts Tom Martin Invite
by Chance Larsen
Taking to the track on their home turf, Pierce High’s track team hosted their annual Tom Martin Invite on Thursday, April 24. The boys team placed third, and the girls team placed second.
On the girls’ side, Shelby Bretschneider placed second in the high jump with a height of 4’ 10”, and Rachel Tweedy placed fifth with a height of 4’ 8”. In the pole vault, Sydney Silhacek placed second with a vault of 8’ 4”, and Casey Sutherland placed third with a vault of 8’. Rachelle Tucker placed first in the long jump with a distance of 15’ 6.25”, Allison Koehlmoos placed second with 15’ 4.50”, and Hailey Race placed fifth with at 13’ 11”. In the triple jump, S. Bretschneider placed first with a jump of 34’ 5.50”, and Tucker placed second with a jump of 34’ 5.25”. Brandi Sporleder placed fourth in discus with a throw of 105’, and Rachel McGill placed fifth with 103’ 4”. In the 100-meter hurdles, Briana Polt placed second with a time of 16.6. In the 100-meter dash, Casey Sutherland placed second with a time of 12.8, Jacy Bretschneider placed third with a time of 13.1, and Koehlmoos placed fourth with a time of 13.3. In the 400-meter dash, Emily Simmons placed fifth with a time of 68.1. Shannah Unseld placed fourth in the 3200 with a time of 14:03.9. In the 200-meter dash, Simmons placed fifth with a time of 28.9 seconds. In the 300-meter hurdles, Polt placed third with a time of 50.5 seconds. The 4x100-meter relay team, consisting of J. Bretschneider, Simmons, Koehlmoos, and Casey Sutherland placed first with a time of 52.2, and the same team also placed third in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 4:31.4. The team of Lexi Dunn, Caitlyn Skuodas, Haley Wieting, and Ellie Moeller placed sixth in the 4x1 with a time of 58.0, and the team of Jordan Bullock, Skuodas, Synthia Schuett, and Wieting placed fifth in the 4x4 with a time of 5:05.2.
For the boys, Lane Rohrich placed first in the high jump with a jump of 6’ 7”, and Colten Hintz placed fourth with a jump of 5’ 8”. In the pole vault, Levi Sudbeck placed fifth with a vault of 11’. In the triple jump, Caleb Sullivan placed fifth with a jump of 38’ 1”. In the discus, Braden Taylor placed first with a throw of 135’ 2”, Austin Druyor placed third with a throw of 122’ 9”, Mason Buckendahl placed fourth with a throw of 119’ 4”, and Dillon Lubischer placed fifth with a throw of 118’ 8”. Druyor placed fourth in the shot put with a throw of 43’ 3”, and Charles Krueger placed fifth with a throw of 42’ 5.50”. Levi Sudbeck placed second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.0, and Noah Fisher placed fourth with a time of 16.4. Austin Freeman placed fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.7, and Colin Magdanz placed sixth with a time of 11.9. In the 400-meter dash, Aydan Ronspies placed first with a time of 50.3, Johnnie Huff placed fifth with at time of 55.8, and Noah Zimmerer placed sixth with a time of 56.0. A. Freeman placed fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.0, and Magdanz placed sixth with a time of 24.7. In the 800-meter run, Ronspies placed first with a time of 2:04.4. In the 300-meter hurdles, Myles Sudbeck placed sixth with a time of 45.3. In the 4x100-meter relay, the team of Huff, Magdanz, Ronspies, and Penne placed first with a time of 3:41.8, the team of Dillon Dickey, Sullivan, Noah Zimmerer, and Collin Freeman placed fourth with a time of 48.1, and the team of Zimmerer, Sullivan, Theisen Ziehmer, and Collin Falter placed sixth with a time of 3:54.3.
In addition to regular competition, the meet also featured some fun “throwers relays” in which athletes who compete in field events came together to run relay races. For the girls, the 4x100 meter throwers relay team consisting of Kierstyn Wragge, Paige Spieker, Synthia Schuett, and Hannah Higgins placed first with a time of 60.5. The team consisting of Sydney Silhacek, Bailey Tinker, Rachelle Tucker, and Rachel Tweedy placed second with a time of 61.8. The team of Rachel McGill, Brandi Sporleder, Kate Asmus, and Morgan Stone placed third with a time of 62.6. For the boys, in the 4x100 meter throwers relay, the team of Charles Krueger, Brady Starkel, Austin Druyor, and Lane Rohrich placed second with a time of 51.4, and the team of Cotin Bauer, Brody Peters, Josh Gnat, and Alec Price placed fourth with a time of 54.0.
Assistant Coach Melinda Stelling said,”I thought our athletes competed hard. We had a lot of personal records broken. Overall, I am very pleased with all the performances.”
The team’s next competition will be Thursday May, 1, at the Norfolk Classic.
JH Runners Travel to Battle Creek
by Dylan Degroff
Pierce’s junior high boys and girls track teams traveled to Battle Creek on Tuesday, April 24, for a meet that took place at Battle Creek’s high school track.
Starting with the girls seventh grade team, with the 100-meter dash, Maggie Brahmer ran 13.44, which placed her first. In the 200-meter dash, Abbey Fuerhoff had a time 32.56 and placed second. In the 400-meter dash, in fourth place, Kaylee Dvorak ran a 1:12.25, and McKeilie Ziehmer ran a 1:17.74 and placed sixth. In the 800-meter run, Ashlin Warneke ran a 3:03.35 and placed fifth. In the 1600-meter run, in fourth place, Kiley Bierman ran a 6:54.44. In the 300-meter hurdles, coming in with a time of 34.22, Brahmer won the race, and Rhayna Waldner placed fifth with a time of 38.10. In the girls’ 4x100 meter relay, with a time of 59.50, the team of Fuerhoff, Janae Arens, Samantha Svendsen, and Kayla Simmons placed second. In the 4x400 meter relay, coming in with a time of 5:09.13, Briana Aguilera, Warneke, Dvorak, and Simmons placed second. On the field event side of things, starting with high jump, Waldner jumped 4’2” and placed fourth. Placing fifth, Brahmer jumped 4’. In triple jump, in first place with a jump of 29’11.5” was Arens; in third, Fuerhoff jumped 27’1”, and in sixth place, Waldner jumped 24’7.5”. In the shot put, Aguilera threw 24’1” and placed second, Dvorak threw 23’3” and placed fourth. In discus, Dvorak threw 60’11” and placed first, Stone placed fifth with a throw of 54’1”, and in sixth, Aguilera threw 54’.
For the seventh grade boys, in the 100-meter dash, Ryder Fuchs ran a 13.06 which landed him in second place. In the boys’ 200-meter dash, Fuchs pulled out to place first with a time of 27.84. In the 400-meter dash, Fuchs placed second with a time of 1:02.31, and Jacob Pedersen ran a time of 1:08.24 and placed fourth. In the boys’ 110-meter hurdles, Dylan Delka placed first with a time of 19.35. In the 300-meter hurdles, Delka placed first with a time of 32.87. In the 4x100-meter relay, coming in with a time of 59.50, Logan Kallhoff, Devon Roth, Gabe Behmer, and Pedersen placed third as a team. In the 4x400 meter relay team, Kallhoff, Roth, Behmer, and Pedersen placed second as a team. Moving on to the field events, in the high jump, in fourth place, Behmer jumped 4’2”. In pole vault, Fuchs placed first with a vault of 8’. In the long jump, Roth placed third and jumped 14’5”. In triple jump, Behmer placed third and jumped 28’1”, and Roth jumped 26’4”, which landed him in fifth place. In shot put, Kallhoff placed third with a throw of 25’8.75”. In discus, Kallhoff threw 65’11” and placed fourth.
For the eighth grade girls, in the 100-meter dash, Sidney Zimmerer placed first with a time of 13.22, Annie Johnson placed third with a time of 14.03, and Meredith Fasse placed fifth with a time of 14.61. In the 200-meter dash, Fasse placed second and had a time of 30.88. In the 400-meter dash, Maci Kroupa placed second with a time of 1:09.25. In the 100-meter hurdles, Zimmerer placed first with a time of 17.60, and Grace Spieker had a time of 19.35, which landed her in fifth place. In the 300-meter hurdles, Zimmerer placed first with a time of 31.06, and Spieker had a time of 33.78 and placed fifth. In the 4x100 meter relay, Fasse, Carly Sutherland, Spieker, and Johnson placed first as a team with a time of 57.16. In the 4x400 meter relay, Johnson, Peitz, Sutherland, and Kroupa teamed up to place third with a time of 4:53.80. Moving on to the girls’ field events, in high jump, Zimmerer placed first with a jump of 4’9”, and Peitz placed second with a jump of 4’7”. In pole vault, Destiny Martin vaulted 5’6” feet and placed third. In long jump, Spieker placed fourth with a jump of 13’2.25” feet. In triple jump, Fasse placed second and jumped 28’4”. In shot put, Sutherland place fourth with a throw of 24’6”. In discus, Sutherland placed second with a throw of 71’5”.
Finally, for the eighth grade boys team, in the 100-meter dash, Collin Tinker placed first with a time of 11.84. In the 200-meter dash, Collin Tinker placed first with a time of 26.00. In the 400-meter dash, Collin Tinker placed first and ran a time of 56.07. In the 800-meter run, Justin Larson placed fourth with a time of 2:46.29, and he placed fifth in the 1600 with a time of 5:58.72. In the 110-meter hurdles, Alex Lindsay placed second and ran a time of 18.15. In the 300-meter dash, Cody Yawn placed first with a time of 28.91, and Lindsay placed third with a time of 31.07. In the 4x100, Trevor Guenther, Brayden Waldner, Lindsay, and Hunter Harrison all together placed fourth with a time of 54.82. Moving on to field events, starting with high jump, Waldner placed first with a jump of 5’2”. In pole vault, Yawn placed first with a height of 9’, and Dysen Roth tied for third with Wyatt Neitzke with a height of 6’6”. In long jump, Tinker placed first with a jump of 18’9.5”. In triple jump, Waldner placed second with a jump of 34’3”. Last but not least, in discus, Conner Peters threw 77’9” and placed fourth, and Cody Brown threw 73’4” feet and placed sixth.
The junior high track teams’ next meet was a home invite on Monday, April 28, 2014.
JV Track Competes at Wausa Invite
by Noah Fisher
Pierce High’s JV girls and boys track teams competed on Saturday, April 26, at the Wausa Invitational.
On the girls’ side of the invite, the Lady Jays placed in seven events. In high jump, Synthia Schuett leapt over the bar at 4’4” to claim fifth place. Ellie Moeller placed third in the pole vault, clearing 6’6”. In the 100-meter hurdles, Hailey Race finished in fourth place with a time of 17.7. Shannah Unseld placed third in the 3200-meter run in a time of 14:34.9. The 4x100 meter relay team grabbed fifth place with a time of 56.9; the team was made up of Race, Emily Simmons, Haley Wieting, and Krystina Schuett. The 4x400 meter relay team made up of Simmons, Race, Wieting, and K. Schuett finished in fourth place with a time of 4:51.4.
The boys JV team had placers in five events at the meet. In the high jump, Colten Hintz snagged fifth place with a leap of 5’4”. Dillon Dickey received fourth place in the pole vault with a vault of 11’. Mason Buckendahl placed third in the discus with a heave of 116’1”, and Dillon Lubischer placed fourth with a toss of 114’9”. In the 100-meter dash, Walker Raabe placed fifth with a time of 11.8. The 4x400 team made up of Theisen Ziehmer, Brady Simmons, Noah Zimmerer, and Caleb Sullivan placed second with a time of 3:39.0.
Coach Melinda Stelling said, “Considering that our JV kids were going up against other varsity kids, we did well, and it was nice to see several kids place and get medals.”
The freshman-sophomore track team competed at the Pierce Invite on Tuesday, April 29, and the JV will be back in action at the Norfolk Catholic Invite on Thursday, May 8.
JH Captures Two Conference Titles
by Rachelle Tucker
Junior high track athletes from Pierce headed to Hartington for the Mid State Conference track meet on Saturday, April 26. The day proved to be a success for the Bluejays in all divisions: seventh grade girls and eighth grade boys received first overall and seventh grade boys and eighth grade girls earned second.
On the girls’ side of the meet, the seventh graders earned 93 points and a first place prize. In the field events portion, Abbey Fuerhoff placed fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 26’11.5’’. Maggie Brahmer earned first in the high jump after clearing a height of 5’2’’, and Rhayna Waldner received third with her leap of 4’5’’. Kaylee Dvorak’s throw of 64’7’’ earned her fifth place in the discus throw. Also, in the shot put Dvorak finished in second place with a toss of 22’10.5’’, and Brianna Aguilera came in third with an effort of 22’6’’. In the 100-meter dash, Brahmer came in first with a time of 0:13.6, Fuerhoff earned third place after finishing in 0:14.8, and Kayla Simmons finished in 0:15.2 and received sixth place. Also on the track, Pierce had a pair of placers in the 200-meter dash. Samantha Svendsen earned fourth place with a time of 0:32.88, and Fuerhoff came in fifth after clocking in at 0:32.91. Brahmer gave a valiant effort in both hurdle races. In the 100-meter hurdles she finished in second place with a time of 0:17.7, and she captured first place in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 0:31.8. Pierce’s 4x100 relay team composed of Fuerhoff, Svendsen, Simmons, and McKeilie Ziehmer crossed the finish line first in a time of 1:01.47. The 4x400 relay squad made up of Ziehmer, Waldner, Dvorak, and Simmons finished in third after clocking in at 5:19.9.
The eighth grade girls ended the conference meet in second place with a point total of 83. In the morning session of field events, Jordan Peitz won the high jump after clearing 4’9’’, and Sidney Zimmerer earned second place with a leap of 4’7’’. In the long jump, Grace Spieker finished in sixth with a jump of 13’3.75’’. Meredith Fasse jumped 28’11.5’’ in the triple jump and earned fifth place. In the discus throw, Carly Sutherland came in second with a toss of 83’’6’. In the 100-meter dash Pierce had three top finishers: Zimmerer earned first place with a time of 0:13.8, Annie Johnson came in fourth with a time of 0:14.2, and Fasse rounded out finishers in sixth place with a time of 0:14.6. Fasse also captured the fourth place title in the 200-meter dash after clocking in at 0:31.28. Zimmerer’s time of 0:17.5 earned second place in the 100-meter hurdles, and Spieker’s time of 0:18.7 earned her fourth. In the 300-meter hurdles, Zimmerer received first after crossing the finish line in 0:31.3, and Spieker once again came in fourth in 0:34.40. Pierce’s 4x100 relay squad comprised of Fasse, Sutherland, Spieker, and Johnson clocked in at 0:58.19 and earned second place. Also, the 4x400 relay team made up of Johnson, Peitz, Kristina Gutman, and Hannah McCrady finished in sixth place with a time of 5:19.1.
A second place finish landed in the seventh grade boys’ possession after they earned 68 points during the meet. Ryder Fuchs earned second place in the pole vault after vaulting a height of 8’’. In the long jump, Devan Roth finished in third place with a leap of 14’2.5’’. Pierce earned an immense amount of points in the track portion of the meet. In the 100-meter dash, Fuchs earned second place after clocking in at 0:13.0. Fuchs scored an additional first place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 0:27.76. Also, Dylan Delka came in sixth place in the 200 meter dash after crossing the finish line in 0:30.07. In the 400-meter dash, Fuchs finished in second with a time of 1:04.81, and Jacob Pedersen earned third with his time of 1:07.19. Delka earned second place in the 110-meter hurdles after finishing in 0:19.5. He also received third place in the 300-meter hurdles with his time of 0:32.66. Pierce’s 4x100 relay team made up of Logan Kallhoff, Roth, Gabe Behmer, and Pedersen finished in third place after clocking in at 0:59.57. The 4x400 team made up of Kallhoff, Roth, Behmer, and Pedersen captured sixth place with a time of 4:52.10.
The eighth grade boys finished first in the conference meet with a combined total of 110 points. In the boys’ high jump, Braydan Waldner started off Pierce with a first place finish after clearing 5’7’’. Cody Yawn secured first place in the pole vault with a vault of 8’6’’, and Dysen Roth finished in fifth after clearing 7’’. In the long jump, Collin Tinker earned first place with his leap of 19’1’’. Waldner’s jump of 33’7’’ in the triple jump received second place. Tinker captured first place titles in the 100, 200, and 400-meter dashes. In the 100, he crossed the finish line in 0:12.1, in the 200 he clocked in at 0:25.52, and in the 400 he finished in 0:57.71. In the 110-meter hurdles, Yawn’s time of 0:17.6 was worthy of first place, and Alex Lindsay’s time of 0:18.6 was worthy of third. Also, Yawn earned first placed in the 300-meter hurdles after finishing in 0:29.25. The 4x100 relay team composed of Ian Fisher, Wyatt Neitzke, Lindsay, and Trevor Guenther came in at a time of 0:59.6 and earned fourth place. Pierce’s 4x400 team made up of Tinker, Yawn, Waldner, and Guenther capped off the meet with a first place finish in a time of 4:13.9.
Junior high track athletes will compete at the Wayne Invite on Tuesday, May 6.
JV Golf Team Places 11th
by Olivia Steffensen
Traveling to Osmond on Saturday, April 26, the Pierce High School junior varsity golf team placed 11th overall in the Osmond Invite with a total of 405 strokes.
Individually, Trevon Ronspies placed 21st with 99 strokes. With 101 strokes, Parker Baumann placed 23rd. Tyler Kocian placed 25th with 102 strokes. Placing 26th, Cody Asmus finished with 103 strokes. Bryce Bierman placed 28th and ended the day with 109 strokes.
“I was pleased with how the boys played. Several of the boys showed very nice improvement,” said head coach Rick Adams.
The team’s next meet was Tuesday, April 29, in Hartington. The next meet will be held on Saturday, May 3, in Pierce.
PHS Golf Team Competes at Midstates
by Olivia Steffensen
Members of PHS golf team traveled to Wayne for the Mid State conference golf meet on Saturday, April 26. The varsity placed 7th, and the JV team placed 15th overall.
Individually for the varsity team, Brandon Gerdes placed 20th with a score of 92. With 95 swings, Drew Fasse placed 28th. Zachary Brenden ended with a total of 96 points and placed 30th. Placing 41st, Matthew Bruce finished the day with 105 swings.
For the JV team, Derek Asmus placed 12th with 108 swings. With 111 swings, Clay Johnson placed 16th. Chancey White placed finished with 124 swings and 21st place.
“Overall, I thought that we struggled, but we will keep improving,” said head coach Rick Adams following the team’s conference performance.
The team’s next meet was Tuesday, April 29, in Hartington. The next meet will be held on Saturday, May 3, as the team hosts the annual Pierce Invitational.
