Future Cougar volleyball player Hoehn leads team to win in all-star classic

From the Hastings Tribune as forwarded to WNCC

Brent McCown/Tribune Ashley Schmitz of Doniphan-Trumbull celebrates a point with libero Emily Hoehn of Kearney Catholic during the Tribune Volleyball Classic Thursday night in Lynn Farrell Arena at Hastings College

Madison Pernicek and Melanie Placke won’t officially be teammates for a few more months, but they seem to have the routine of playing together down to a science.
The two future Wayne State College teammates combined for 30 kills to lead the LouPlatte Conference to a 25-22, 25-18, 24-26, 15-25, 15-13 victory over the Tribland All-Stars in the inaugural Tribune Volleyball Classic Thursday at Lynn Farrell Arena.
St. Paul’s Placke posted a match-high 17 kills, while her future college roommate — Pernicek — added 13 kills in the five set victory.
“It’s nice playing with Melanie, because we have gotten the chemistry down and gotten to know each other and know each other’s tendencies,” Pernicek said. “When we go up to college, it will just fit.”
Pernicek, a 6-foot-0 outside hitter from Ravenna, had five of her 13 kills in the decisive fifth set, as the LouPlatte squad held off a strong comeback bid from the Tribland All-Stars.
The LouPlatte team took a 12-7 lead in the fifth set before the Tribland team scored six straight points and took a 13-12 lead on an ace serve by Minden’s Lindsey Sitorius.
Trailing for the first time in the fifth set, the LouPlatte squad reeled off three straight points to win the match — with Pernicek slamming the game winner.
“I think everybody is competitive, so believe me, even if it’s only one set, you don’t want to lose,” Pernicek said. “We wanted to win, so that feels good.”
The LouPlatte team overcame an early 15-12 deficit in the opening set to earn a 25-22 win and then took control of the match with a 25-18 win in the second set.
LouPlatte had match point at 24-22 in the third set before the Tribland team rallied to extend the match.
A Stasia Ott kill cut the lead to 24-23. After a pair of errors gave the Tribland team a 25-24 lead, Lawrence-Nelson’s Mackenzie McCartney forced a fourth set with a kill.
“I really felt like if we found a way to win a game, then maybe they would think they could actually win. When that happened, they did,” Tribland coach Ed Rowse of Minden said. “That is when the fun really started, because the kids just started to loosen up and play.”
The Tribland team took a 6-5 lead early in the fourth set and never trailed again on its way to a 25-15 win.
Giltner standout Stasia Ott had three kills during the fourth set and finished with a team-high 16 kills to lead the Tribland team.
The 2008 Tribland player of the year and Morningside College recruit also added five ace blocks and an ace serve.
“We just kind of loosened up and played,” Rowse said. “They made some errors that we had been making in the first two sets. It wasn’t always pretty volleyball, but I think we relaxed and played.”
The LouPlatte squad jumped to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set and led 12-7 before the Tribland team used a six-point run to take its first lead of the match.
“I was happy that we could come back and fight through to win that fifth set,” LouPlatte coach Abie Ott of Doniphan-Trumbull said. “We had two games in a row that we lagged a little bit. So to come back strong in the fifth was pretty admirable I think for them.”
Ravenna graduate Mallory Irvine added 11 kills for the LouPlatte squad, while high school teammate Ashley Kulwicki finished with eight kills.
Hastings High graduate and Hastings College recruit Allison Kern had nine kills for the Tribland team, while Deshler’s Ashley Dahl and Hastings High’s Taylor Powers each added eight kills.
In its first year, the event raised about $1,000 for the Hastings Family YMCA.

Tribland 22 18 26 25 13
LouPlatte 25 25 24 15 15

44 girls from three states take part in WNCC girl's basketball camp

The Western Nebraska Community College girl’s basketball camp saw nearly 50 girls learn the skills of basketball from shooting, ball handling, conditioning and offensive and defensive situations during a four-day basketball camp at Cougar Palace Monday through Thursday.

There were 44 girls that took part in the camp, ranging in age from six years old to 14. Girls from Omaha, Rapid City, S.D., and many Panhandle communities such as Chappell, Oshkosh, Bayard, Mitchell, Bridgeport, Hemingford, Gering and Scottsbluff, to name a few took part.

The three local women’s basketball players – Hemingford’s Shelby Campbell, Bayard’s Amber Kistler and Scottsbluff’s Maddie Keller helped with the camp along with WNCC women’s coaches Dave Harnish and Jennifer Pedersen, and WNCC men’s assistant coach Gianno Bianconi.

Next week the boys basketball camp will take place as Bianconi along, with Gering High graduate and Kody Christensen, who is now coaching at Fremont, will conduct the camp. Boys interested in attending the camp can still register for the camp on Monday. The boys camp runs through Thursday.

Former WNCC baseball player, Miami-Dade police officer killed while on duty

Gonzalez played for Cougars from 2004-05

For the complete story, visit the Miami Herald Newspaper at http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1099398.html

Former Western Nebraska Community College baseball player Giovanni Gonzalez was killed in an automobile accident on Tuesday in Miami.

Gonzalez, 23, was a Miami-Dade police officer. He died after his police car collided with a dump truck on Florida’s Turnpike. Rescuers worked to free Gonzalez, who was trapped in the wreckage. But by the time they pulled him out, it was too late. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Miami police continue to investigate the accident.

Gonzalez played baseball at WNCC during the 2004-05 season.

WNCC baseball coach Mike Jones remembers Gonzalez as a student-athlete that everyone enjoyed being around.

“As a person, he was awesome. He was a great individual and he was a very, very hard-working individual,” Jones said. “He was a little bit undersized for a college baseball guy, but he made up for his size with his big heart.”

After returning home to Miami, Gonzalez coached high school baseball before graduating from the police academy.

“It is terrible. It is tragic. It is tough for all of us,” Jones said. “There have been a lot of phone calls and text messages going on with between everybody that has been involved with Giovanni and our program. He was a great teammate and a great individual to have in the program.”

WNCC boys basketball camp still slated to be held beginning June 22

The Western Nebraska Community College boys basketball camp scheduled for June 22-25 will still take place, despite the resignation of head coach Brian Joyce.

The camp, open to boys from kindergarten through the 12^th grade, will be conducted by WNCC assistant coach Gianno Bianconi and former WNCC and Gering High graduate Kody Christensen. Christensen is now an assistant coach at Sidney High School. Bianconi came to WNCC in 2003 and played under former Cougar head coach Ron Brillhart. During Bianconi’s playing days at WNCC, the Cougars were ranked No. 1 in the country for several weeks.

The camp will feature boys in Kindergarten through 8^th grade attending from 9-11:30 a.m., and then high school-aged boys attending from 1-3:30 p.m. for four days.

Camp registrations can be downloaded from the Cougar athletic website at sports.wncc.edu, picked up at different locations around Scottsbluff and Gering, picked up at the college. For more information contact athletic director Jennifer Pedersen at Pedersen@wncc.net or call the athletic department at 308-635-6151.

Three area Cougar basketball players set to help with girl's basketball camp that begins June 15

The Western Nebraska Community College girl’s basketball camp that begins Monday, June 15 will have a local flavor as the three area Cougar basketball players will help with the camp.

Bayard’s Amber Kistler, Hemingford’s Shelby Campbell and Scottsbluff’s Maddie Keller will help WNCC women’s basketball coaches Dave Harnish and Jennifer Pedersen direct the camp. The three players will be members of the Cougar team next season. Kistler will be a sophomore for the Cougar's next season, while Campbell and Keller will be freshmen.

Harnish said there is still are openings for the camp and still time to pre-register. Also, registration will take place Monday, the first day of camp, at 8:30 a.m. The camp runs from 9-12 noon, Monday through Thursday at Cougar Palace. The camp is open to girls from first to eighth grade.

Download a registration form at sports.wncc.edu or contact Harnish at 308-635-6027 or dharnish@wncc.net.

WNCC men's basketball coach Brian Joyce resigns to take assistant coaching position at Liberty University

In just two seasons at the helm of the Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team, Brian Joyce has turned the program around.

Now, Joyce will get the opportunity to contribute to another quality program in Lynchburg, Va., after accepting an assistant coaching position at Liberty University.

“The people in this community, the administration at the school and the dorm parents have really embraced our family as well as our team and for that we are grateful,” Joyce said. “It has been an honor to serve as the head coach at Western Nebraska and in the Scottsbluff community. Our family will miss the relationships through the church, Community Christian School and within the community. God truly blessed us with the opportunity to be with the people in this area. “

WNCC athletic director Jennifer Pedersen understands why Joyce is leaving.

“As a department, we are saddened at the loss of Coach Joyce to Liberty University,” she said. “While we understand the goals that each coach has to achieve at a higher level of intercollegiate athletics, we will still miss his presence on campus and in the community. We wish him well with his new endeavor. As a department, we will work hard to bring in a coach that will continue the winning tradition Coach Joyce has brought back to WNCC.”

Last season, Joyce helped lead the Cougars to one of its best seasons in the last decade. The Cougars finished 25-7 with the best record in Region IX. WNCC also won the East Sub-region and won 21 of their last 25 games. The Cougars also received votes in the NJCAA national polls the last three weeks of the season.

“My goal when my family and I came to WNCC and Scottsbluff was to re-establish the program as one of the premier programs again in Region IX,” Joyce said. “Even though we didn’t accomplish our ultimate goal of winning the region, we definitely proved that WNCC is a force once again in Region IX. Finishing with the best regular season record in the region is an example of the strides we made. These strides would have been impossible without the support of our boosters and most importantly our players. Coaches receive opportunities because players are dedicated to the program. These strides and relationships are a major reason why this is such a difficult decision for me and my family. “

Joyce has experienced plenty of success at the junior college level. Joyce has a 138-59 record as a head coach at WNCC and Northeastern Junior College. Overall, Joyce has over 11 years of college coaching experience, including a stop at Colorado State University and the University of Central Oklahoma as an assistant coach.

Colorado State is where Joyce met current Liberty coach Dale Layer. Layer served as the head coach at Colorado State before serving as an assistant coach at Liberty University in 2007-08 and last season Layer was an assistant coach at NCAA participant and Big East powerhouse, Marquette University. Layer was named Liberty’s head coach in April. Last season, Liberty finished 23-12 and fell in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

Joyce said he was offered the job and needed a few days to think about the position, since it will be hard to leave the Midwest for the Eastern states. Joyce is originally from Albuquerque, N.M., while his wife (Tina) is from Castle Rock, Colo.

“We are excited about the next phase of our life, both professionally and personally,” he said. “I have enjoyed the privilege of working with young people who enter college from high school with both anxiety and ambition. Helping them move toward the goal of moving on to a four-year school both athletically and academically has been extremely rewarding. I am equally excited now to see the development of our student-athletes come to fruition by helping them complete the educational cycle by finishing a four-year degree and moving on to the important phase of becoming husbands, fathers, and mentors after graduating and completing their eligibility.”

A search for a WNCC men’s basketball coach will begin immediately.

Bytes Computer wins WNCC Golf Classic

More photos of the event will be located at http://wncccougars.albumpost.com/golfclassic

Twenty-eight teams took part in the 6^th annual Western Nebraska Community College Cougar Golf Classic held Saturday at the Monument Shadows Golf Course in Gering.

The Bytes Computer team of Darrell Lewis, Doug Rupp, Mark Payne and Todd Lewis took home first place in the tournament, collecting the $400 gift certificate to the pro shop.

Second place went to NTC (Phil Holiday, Jared Ross, Greg Trautman, and Brooks Batt), while the WNCC team (Dave Groshans, Dick Douglas, Junior Alvarez and James Chacon) took third.

Fourth went to the Beardogs, the all-female team of Stacy Mitchell, Wendy Goos, Stacy Celli and Joy Arnold, while fifth place went to Roy’s Plumbing and Heating (Roy Robles, Tim Rojas, Rob Robles and Larry Yarnall).

WNCC athletic director Jennifer Pedersen said the golf tournament went well.

“2009 was another excellent year for the Cougar Golf Classic. The weather was good and it was apparent that all of the golfers had a good time,” she said. “We all really appreciate how well the community supports this event and we look forward to another perfect tournament next year.”

Besides team awards, the golfers had an opportunity to win prizes at different holes. The winners of the hole prized included:

Hole 4, Longest Drive – Ron Robles; Hole 10, women’s longest drive, Brooke Dollarhide; Hole 18, Men’s longest putt, Ron Robles; Hole 2, women’s longest put – Becky Randall; Hole 5, closest to the pin in 2 – Matt Filbert; Hole 9, Closest to the water – Stacy Mitchell; Hole 12, closest to the sand – John Einfalt; Hole 8, men’s shortest drive – Tony Branson; Hole 15, women’s shortest drive – Rhonda Roth; Hole 13, Closest to the pin in 1 – Jeremy Dollarhide.

Ashton Hughes celebrated a sweet 16 in championship, headed to WNCC

From the Regina Leader Post Tuesday edition, June 02, 2009

Ashton Hughes celebrated a sweet 16 on Monday.

She struck out 16 Riffel Royals batters in seven innings to power the Balfour Redmen to a 3-1 victory in the Regina High Schools Athletic Association's large schools softball final at Kaplan Field.

"She was phenomenal,'' said Balfour catcher Carmen Hughes, who is Ashton's sister. "Under so much pressure, she does well all the time.''

Ashton Hughes allowed only four hits and one walk while registering a victory in her final high school softball game. She is destined for Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff, Neb.

"She has been the biggest role model in my life, just with the positive influence she gives me,'' said Carmen Hughes, who is in Grade 9. "She's going off to college and she has given me that extra boost to shoot for what I want and now I know that it is attainable.''

For the rest of the story, visit the Regina Leader-Post at Leader Post Sports

Baseball camp features 90 campers

The Western Nebraska Community College camp season kicked off today, June 1, with 90 boys taking part in the Cougar Baseball Camp at the 23 Club diamonds in Scottsbluff. It is the most players in attendance in the seven years the camp has been held.

The first day of camp went through fundamentals of throwing, fielding grounders, catching fly balls, batting and short games. The camp will focus on more aspects of the game the rest of the week. The camp runs through Thursday from 9-12 noon.

The camp is being conducted by WNCC coach Mike Jones, WNCC assistant coach Ryan Burgener, Gering junior legion baseball coach and WNCC athletic trainer Doug Jones, and WNCC and Gering players Elvis Garcia, Carlos Palamo and Ben Wolf.

Players still can attend the camp if they want on Tuesday.

Camp photos can be viewed at wncccougars.albumpost.com/oddsends01

WNCC will host six volleyball camps in July

Western Nebraska Community College volleyball coach Giovani Melo will be conducting six different volleyball camps during the month of July.

The volleyball camp session will kick off July 1 and 2 with the Little Cougars Camp for 4^th through 6^th grade girls. This camp will run from 8:30-11:30 a.m. and from 12:30-3:30 p.m. The cost of the camp is $60 per camper.

The next camps will be individual skills camps. The first skills camp is for girls in grades 7^th and 8^th and will run July 7-8. The second skills camp will be held July 14-15 and that camp is for girls in the 9^th to 12^th grades. These camps are just $60 per camper and both will run from 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-3:30 p.m.

There will also be two setter/hitter camps. The first of these specialty camps is set for July 9-10 for girls in 6^th through 9^th grades. The second setter/hitter camp, for high school-aged girls, will be held July 16-18. The cost of the setter/hitter camps is $80 per camper. These camps will run from 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and from 12:30-3:30 p.m.

The final camp will be a junior varsity and varsity team camp July 30 and 31. This camp will include competition between teams beginning at 8 a.m. each day. The cost of the camp is $30 per player and each team needs at least six players to participate. The camp will involve pool play the first day and then bracketed play the second day.

Interested girls can register one of two ways for the six volleyball camps. Participants can register online at www.wnccvolleyball.com or download a camp registration from the WNCC athletic website at sports.wncc.net.

For more information on the camps, individuals can contact Melo at 308-635-6028 or at melog@wncc.net.

WNCC soccer camps set for July 20-24

Western Nebraska Community College soccer coach Todd Rasnic will conduct a week-long soccer camp for recreational and advanced, competitive players July 20-24.

The camps, open to all ages, will be held at the Landers Soccer Complex in Scottsbluff. Recreational players will take to the field from 9 a.m. to 12 noon all five days. The advanced or competitive player camp will be held from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. There will also be a camp for youngsters ages 8 and under from 9-11 a.m.

The cost of the camp is $90 per camper for one session or $160 for both sessions. The 8-under camp is just $75 per camper. Registrants will receive a camp T-shirt and/or a camp ball.

The recreational players camp will be aimed to help players of all ages with their soccer abilities in a fun and creative atmosphere. The evening camp will help soccer players in a more competitive arena and will be more intense in nature.

Individuals may register for the camp online at www.wnccsoccer.com. Camp registrations can also be picked up WNCC, Sports Village, or downloaded from the Cougar athletic website at sports.wncc.edu.

For more information on the camp, contact Rasnic at rasnict@wncc.net or at 308-635-6150.