Blue tops Gold in final scrimmage

                The pre-season No. 1 ranked Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team displayed plenty of power, height and heart as the Cougars wrapped up pre-season workouts with scrimmages Friday at Hastings College and Saturday at Cougar Palace with the annual Blue-Gold scrimmage.

               And, after Saturday's scrimmage, the Cougars are ready to head into the regular season with lots of swagger as they open the season next weekend at the Reiver Invite in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

               Sophomore Allora Tanner was quite impressed with the amount of improvement from Friday's scrimmage in Hastings and the home inter-squad scrimmage at Cougar Palace.

               "[Friday] was our first scrimmages and it id always exciting when you start playing and scrimmaging different people when you have a brand new team," Tanner said. "But, you know what, we realized we have a lot more to work on after Friday. We have a lot of excitement and new girls and we love to work hard. We have a lot of potential that we see and we are growing right now hardcore."

               The Cougars definitely picked it up on Saturday, where the Blue team topped the Gold team in four sets 25-20,21-25,25-15, and 25-16. Tanner said it really doesn't matter who won, what stood out was the talent that this team possesses.

               "I told our team before the scrimmage let's just have fun," she said. "We know what we have to work on but let's have fun. It is a fun time and just have fun out there. Let's just go out and play hard and leave everything on the court."

               While no statistics were kept and the coaches were coaching from all areas of the court, both teams flashed plenty of power along the frontline in terms of hitting and blocking. Tanner was one of the highlights for her team on the rightside while freshman Kayla Martin held down the outside and Kylie Fa'amoe was a force in the middle.

               "I am so excited for it [the power of the hitters]," Tanner said. "We are also a lot taller this year than last year and I like that. We have some big hitters that go and hit hard and straight down. I like to see that."

               Other members of the winning team included sophomore Luiza Martins, and freshmen Amanda Schoene, Erika Goodwin, and Rachael McCracken.

               The Gold team also showcased plenty of hitting power, led by sophomores Lindsay Wehkamp and Priscila Mendes, and freshmen Gabriela Varela and Leticia SIlva.

               Tanner said they improved plenty from Friday's scrimmage to Saturday.

               "Yes we did get better," she said. "Of course we have those things that we need to work on and we each have goals that we have to work and focus on each day. But we have learned so much from all the coaches and we really admire them. We take to heart what they say and we work hard."

               As much as the Cougars showcased their hitting potential, the two setters ran the offense to a T. Martins guided the Blue team and Gering's Morgan Broussard guided the Gold team.

               Finding a libero will be a difficult job and it is not because of lack of talent. Head Coach Giovana Melo has four players that are battling for that position, including sophomore Kasey Lafitaga, and freshmen McCracken, Goodwin, and Cassandra Hernandez.

               While the team has plenty of talent and depth, Tanner said that strength of the team will be the heart for the game that they put out on the court.

               "Honestly, it is our heart," Tanner said. "We all want it [a national title] so much and are working so hard for it. We have a goal and we will put our heart into and let it [our hearts] take us to wherever it takes us and hopefully it is far."

               WNCC opens the season this week when they face three of top six teams in the nation. The Cougars ride into Council Bluffs, Iowa, as the top=-ranked team and will face No. 4 San Jacinto and No. 2 Iowa Western Community College on Friday, and No. 6 Salt Lake Community College and Barton Community College on Saturday. The Cougars will then have their home opener on Tuesday, Aug. 27 against Casper College.

Former Huskcer joins WNCC men's basketball coaching staff

               Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball team welcomed former Nebraska basketball player Louis Truscott to the team as an assistant coach on Thursday.

               Truscott, who played 1998-2000 for Danny Nee at Nebraska, played 13 years in Europe and South American. Truscott takes over for Yahosh Bonner, who is now an assistant coach at Southern Utah University, a Division I school.

               WNCC head coach Russ Beck is excited to have Truscott on his coaching staff.

               "He comes to us with a wealth of experience," Beck said. "He played Division I basketball for four years for the Cornhuskers and the University of Houston and then spent 12 to 13 years playing professionally overseas. We think he will be a good addition to our program and he will have the experience to take our big men to the next level."

               Truscott said that he was looking at shifting gears in the basketball frame and wants to give back to the young guys what he learned from playing overseas.

               "I want to learn everything about coaching and giving back to the young guys, instilling the experience that I went through and help them get better," he said. "Coaching here is a blessing. I played for the Cornhuskers from 1998-2000 and I am just thankful for the opportunity that coach gave me to be here in a winning program."

               Truscott was quite successful in college and high school. In his senior season at Houston, Truscott was named a First Team, Conference USA selection. Truscott led the conference in double-doubles with 15 his senior season, averaging 15.2 points and 11.3 rebounds a game. He grabbed a career-best 21 boards in a game against TCU.

               As junior at Houston, Truscott averaged 16.3 points and 9.3 rebounds a game, earning Conference USA third team All-Conference honors. He also had 13 double doubles, tallying a career high 27 points against South Florida.

               Truscott also contributed at Nebraska, averaging 8.2 points and 5.7 rebounds a game in 1999-2000, where he was the team's third-best rebounder. As a freshman, Truscott averaged 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds while playing in 32 games.

               Truscott was one of Nebraska's most-heralded recruits coming out of high school and was a consensus Top 100 player out of Milby High. Truscott averaged 17.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 3.3 blocked shots as a senior at Milby.

               Beck said he was impressed with Truscott's resume when he came to his email.

               "Louis' resume just caught my eye," Beck said. "I think he had a unique background and being a big guy himself, I thought he could work well with the big guys since we have a lot of height on our team. He is a really good fit for us."

               Truscott said he has been away from the game for only a couple months know and said he has some learning to do as well.

               "I have been away from the game for a couple months know and it still feels like a dream to me as people call me coach and I am not used to it," he said. I am learning just like these freshmen players are. I am just going to be a coach and absorb enough knowledge that I can. I am just going to try to help the big guys."

WNCC volleyball team ranked No. 1 in pre-season polls

                The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team enters this season as one of the top teams to beat after the NJCAA released its pre-season polls on Monday.

                WNCC, who finished 40-3 and runner-up at nationals a year ago, enters the season as the team to beat after earning the pre-season No. 1 ranking.

                Gering’s Morgan Broussard, who returns as one of two setters for the Cougars, said while it is nice to be picked as the favorite, they still have to show it on the court.

                “It is really big to be ranked that high,” she said. “Being the No. 1 team to beat is nice because when you walk into a gym teams know who you are. You really want to play for your teammates, your community, and your family. It is keeping that name and keeping the tradition going is great.”

                The Cougars are used to being the favorite. WNCC will be vying for their 15^th straight regional title and trip to the national tournament. They will also be taking aim at their third national title after winning championships in 2007 and 2010.

                Broussard said their season is never easy and they can handle the pressure that being a favorite bestows upon them.

                “It is never easy and there will always be that pressure on our shoulders because we are known for being up there [in the rankings] and we always have a target on our back,” she said. “Teams know that we will want to come back after the results of losing in the national championship match last year. “

The Cougars will play three of the top six teams in their first tournament on Aug. 23-24 at the Reiver Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa. That tournament will take place at the Mid-American Center, where the Cougars won their first national title in 2007.

                The Cougars open the season against No. 4 San Jacinto College and then No. 2 Iowa Western Community College before taking on Barton Community College and No. 6 Salt Lake Community College to round out the tournament.

                Broussard said that the tough opening weekend will make them stronger for the end of the season.

                “We will really to step it up that first week because the season doesn’t start out easy,” she said. “The hardest part of the season is at the beginning and the end because we really have some hard competition at the beginning, which is nice. We really need to work hard together and just go one game at a time.”

                Even with how hard the schedule is, the team is up to it. Broussard said the team is looking sharp.

                “We have the six returners and then we have some good freshmen coming up,” she said. “The talent is there and it might take some time to get where we want to be, but as of now we are working really well together as a team.”

                The Cougars have seen many of the ranked teams last year and will see many of the same national powers once again this season. Three Region IX teams also made the listing. Western Wyoming Community College is ranked 16^th, while Casper College is ranked 19^th. Northwest College received honorable mention votes.

                The top 10 is loaded with talent to start off the season. Iowa Western, who has a new coach, is ranked second followed by College of Southern Idaho, San Jacinto College, and College of Central Florida.

                Rounding out the top 10 sees Salt Lake at number six, followed by Miami Dade College, Missouri State-West Plains, Tyler Junior College, and Temple College.

                The community can get a sneak peak at the pre-season No. 1 ranked Cougars this weekend when they have their Blue and Gold scrimmage on Saturday. First, however, they will have a scrimmage against Hastings College on the road on Friday.

                “Practices are going good,” Broussard said. “We keep a high intensity up the whole practice, which is good because how you practice is how you will play. We need to play at the highest level we can at practice because that is how we will need to play in matches. I really like this group of girls. They are easy to get along with and play with.”

WNCC men's basketball inks Jordan Darger

               Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball coach Russ Beck added one more big man to the roster after signing 6-foot-5 Jordan Darger to a letter of intent on Friday.

               Darger comes to WNCC from Orem High School out of Orem, Utah. Beck said Darger has the potential to come in and be a key player this year.

               "He was a very successful athlete during his high school days at Orem High, winning a state championship his junior year and was the 4A favorite during his senior year before an injury," Beck said. "He is fully recovered from his injury and we are really looking forward to what he can do here for us at Western Nebraska. He is a high character kid. a great athlete and we think he will have an high impact for us on the floor."

               Darger, who averaged around 15 points a game for Orem, is exited for the opportunity to play college basketball.

               "I am real excited about playing college basketball. I have always dreamed about coming to college and getting a good opportunity and a good education," he said. "I have been going around the campus and checking it out and it made it better for me to see what I will be coming to. I really liked it here when I took a tour."

               Darger is also hoping to follow in his older brother's footsteps in playing Division I basketball. His older brother, Joe, played for UNLV from 2005-2009. Darger's other brother, Jason, played at the College of Eastern Utah.

               Beck said that he feels fortunate to land someone as talented as Darger is because he was heavily recruited before his shoulder injury.

               "The one thing about Jordan is that he was being heavily recruited up until he had his injury and that affected his recruitment a little bit," he said. Things happen for a reason and we feel it is a blessing in disguise that maybe it occurred. We are certainly excited to get him and I think his best basketball is ahead of him. He comes from a very sport-oriented family and they will be cheering him on to have success."

               Darger, the youngest of seven siblings, said the shoulder injury that sidelined him for the last half of his senior season, is completely healed and he is ready to go.

               "I feel completely ready to go," he said. "I was suppose to get surgery on my arm after it, but the doctor said that if I sit out for three or four months I would have a good chance of it recovering. i decided to go that route and it worked out best."

               What Drager is really looking forward to is playing with many of the players that he played against or watched play in high school. Darger is the eighth Utahn to sign with WNCC. The others include Mountain Crest's Tyler Crosbie, Northridge's Preston Christensen, Syracuse's Diante Mitchell, Bingham's Brandon Morley, South Sevier's Austin Clark, Cedar's Joel Einfeldt and Timpanogos' Tanner Lebaron.

            "I now most of the kids that will be coming," Darger said. "I know the Utah kids are high quality and have good characteristics, so we should get along good on and off the court."

               Beck said he is excited about this year's team.

               "I am really excited about the roster. The kids have been texting me and they are very excited to get here and get to work. A lot of them have seen each other play and they all have really good basketball pedigrees," he said. "Most of them came from winning teams and I think our chemistry will be a lot better and we will be really competitive. In junior college you can win a lot of games with high-character guys that will work hard every day and the right things on and off the floor. i think that is what we have.

               "We got back to our blueprint to what we had a lot of success with. I feel like we got everybody that we wanted. We didn't swing and miss on any kid that we targeted this season There are a lot of junior colleges that are unhappy that we signed all the kids that we did, but we got them all."

WNCC soccer teams begins practice for season

               The Western Nebraska Community College men's and women's soccer teams started preparation for this season on Friday with hopes of improving upon last year's record.

               After just one day of practice, the outlook is good for an improved season and sophomore Brianna Baumann is excited to be back.

               "it feels good to be back in the soccer environment," the Spearfish, S.D., native said. "I am excited to see the   new teammates. It will be a year of growing and a year to bring back the records."

               There is plenty of optimism for the season, but both Baumann and head men's and women's soccer coach Todd Rasnic said everything depends on how the players perform on the field.

               "It is going pretty well. Obviously we are trying to get our fitness in and our touches on the ball right now," Rasnic said. "We are doing the things that we need to do to get prepared for the season, but we have a long ways to go yet."

               Both teams have plenty of talent. The women's team return eight players and the men's team five players from a year ago. The women's depth could be quite impressive with the majority of the players returning were on the defensive end. Baumann said the talent looks great.

               "It looks like we have pretty good talent," she said. "Coach recruited well. Hopefully it will be a year that we can be a team on and off the field."

               The returning players for the women include Gering's Dani Copsey and Chanice Blanco, Scottsbluff's Megan Patrick, Baumann, Raquel Flores and Yoanna Arellano, Anna Rinaldi, and Katie Peterson.

               The men just have five returners including Scottsbluff's Bernardo Urrea, Justin Becerra, and Tyler Patrick, Torrington's Donovan Valentine, and Daniel Agnew. Valentine red-shirted last season.

               Both teams have several other local players on the team. The women's team added Gering's Brooke Satur, while the men's team has Gering's Paul Ragone and Jarron Rasnic, and Torrington's Josh Ring.

               There are also plenty of other talented players that sparkle the rosters. Other incoming women players include Iris Rascon, Nadia Rodriguez, Bailee Dopp, Corrie McDonald, Sydnee Edwards, Brittany Scadlock, Karrisa Johnson, Alice Burgess, and Sophia Deaguero.

               The new men's players include Jonathan Roman Gonzalez, Jose Huerto, David Hernandez, Adrian Estrada, Sterling (Sage) Pemberton, Joseph Momoh, Mark Campbell, Christopher Mordue, Alberto Castro, Jorge Ramirez, Carlos Garregos Cespedes, Dwayne Allen, Taran Allen, David Lopez, and Guilherme Camnago.

               Rasnic said when he recruits players, he looks for players he believes can play at the college level. So far, he has liked what he sees.

               "We anticipate when they come in that they will be players that can operate at the college level," he said. "So far we haven't been disappointed. Last year we were plagued by the injury bug and that affected our performance as a team."

               The two teams will have three-a-days until school starts for the next 2 1/2 weeks. The Cougars' first scrimmage will be Saturday when they will have alumni scrimmages at the Landers Soccer Complex. The women will scrimmage at noon with the men's scrimmage to follow.

               After that, the Cougar teams will have three more scrimmages before opening the season for real on Sept. 7 when they travel to Goodland, Kan., to face Northwest Kansas Technical College. WNCC's first home games will be Region IX matches Sept. 13 and 14 against Northwest College and Sheridan College.

               Rasnic said he doesn't like to make predictions because the season depends on the players. But, so far, the potential is there.

               "There is potential in everything. It is whether they live up to it or not," Rasnic said. "Unfortunately, we can[t go out onto the field for them so we have to try to figure out ways for them to do the proper things on the field in order to be successful. The more that they buy into what we tell them and they invest in that, we should be OK."

               Baumann said that the women remember last year when they struggled offensively and they don't want to see that kind of play this season. So far, Baumann is liking what she sees.

               "Last year we didn't have a lot of offensive players and coach recruited a lot this year," she said. "Also, last year we had a lot of injuries and we are trying to have a stronger pre-season to [avoid those injury problems. But I am very excited for the season. My favorite part of being down here is being with the team. it is more of a family, so that is exciting."