Lawrence-Nelson High School Raider wrestling is back. Students wrestling this year are (from left) Nick Elledge - coach, Cooper Heineken, Jasper Elledge, Joel Heeling, Kade Peters, Jaxen Vaughn and Adam Theer - coach. The Lawrence-Nelson Jr.-Sr. wrestling team had a great season. Lots of wins tallied between them all. Thanks to the coaches for all the guidance and support. The Lawrence-Nelson High School wrestling season starts next week.
If you haven't noticed, things just keep moving in high school sports (and all other things as well).
Football playoffs just finished last week and Nebraska high schools will begin a schedule of winter activities this coming weekend. The L-N High School basketball teams and the wrestling team will begin their fun and games this Friday and Saturday.
Both the boys and the girls' basketball teams are in class D-2 this year. They begin their 2023-2024 season with home games. They entertain Red Cloud on Friday night and Arapahoe on Saturday night. Wrestling begins its schedule this year by traveling to Harvard for an invitational meet on Saturday.
A brief rundown follows:
BOYS BASKETBALL: In the 2022-23 season the Raiders played in class D-1 and were moved to class D-2 for this season. Last year the team ended the season with an 11-11 record with five games lost by four points or less.
In spite of the loss of a number of valuable players from last year's team, the current team looks to have a lot of promise. Sixteen boys reported to play this year. Five are seniors; six are juniors; two are sophomores and three are freshmen.
It wasn't all that long ago when many a rural Nebraska high school would be happy to have one or two players six feet or taller for any given year. This year, the Raiders have ten of the 16 six foot or taller. In fact, if wanted, L-N could field a team that stood 6'3" or taller in all five positions. That will most likely not ever happen, but it is possible.
The upper classmen do have some experience, so let the games begin.
The boys reporting for the game include the following:
Seniors: Bayln Bargen 5'7", Connor Janda 5'11", Nolan Ostdiek 6'3", Wyatt Baker 6'3", Clay Williams 6'3".
Juniors: Aidan Zikmund 5'11", Carter Griffis 6'1", Hayden Mazour 6'0", Riley Cannaday 6'0", Sawyer Cox 6'5", Carson Vaughn 5'11".
Sophomores: Caden Culbertson 5'10", Cody Funk 6'0".
Freshmen: Jace Hoelting 5'11", Jackson Williams 6'1", Caleb Griffis 6'4".
Head Coach Decker Brown returns and will be assisted this year by Preston Hild and Nolan Kawata.
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Fifteen girls reported to play basketball this year under Head Coach Dan Kennedy who will be assisted by Beth Himmelberg. The girls will be trying to improve over last year season record of 6 - 17 which had four losses with a six point deficit or less.
The girl's roster does not include height figures, but nine of the players are upper class women who bring some valuable experience with them to the team. Hopes for new experiences are high.
The girl's squad for the 2023-2024 team include the following:
Seniors: Sydney Biltoft, Jessica Sole, Danyelle Church.
Juniors: Addison McCloskey, Brooklyn Combs-Glebe, Valentina Koehler, Hanna Skinner, Kara Menke, Josie Hajny.
Sophomores: Harley Beale.
Freshmen: Epiphanae Lowry, Hadley Ostdiek, Kynnedy Beale, Paige Huston, Natalia Wehrman.
Student managers for the team are: Bayleigh Bohlen and Ella Skinner.
WRESTLING: The L-N wrestling team will be standing by itself this year and will be coached by Adam Theer. There are six members on the team, one senior, one junior and four freshmen. The boys reporting for the sport this year are: Nathan Elledge, senior; Kolten Johnson, junior; Grayhm Beck, Brandt McLaughlin, Gus Harrison, Leslie Corman, freshmen.
With the limited number of boys, not all weight classes will be filled, but that doesn't mean the boys will not be competitive with their effort.
The team begins competition this coming Saturday at an invitational meet in Harvard.
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