Coach Denae Buss enters her 13th season leading the program with 11 returning letterwinners and a roster she believes is capable of taking another step forward.

Cedar Catholic will compete in Class D2 this season after the Nebraska School Activities Association added Class D3 to the volleyball lineup.

“Moving to D2 this year, I think we are set up for success even though we know the road will not be easy with tough teams on our schedule and tough teams waiting for us in subdistricts,” Buss said. “We have a good group of girls who are passionate about the game and invested in each other’s success.”

Buss said several players will take on new roles this fall, including some who have changed positions to strengthen the lineup.

“We have some new faces on the court, some that have switched positions to give us a good lineup, and we are looking forward to watching them all grow as a team,” she said.

The early chemistry has reminded Buss at times of Cedar’s most recent state championship squad.

“They give me deja vu of our last state championship team sometimes,” Buss said. “They are very aware that for the team to be successful, the entire team needs to be successful.

“It will be fun to watch them all figure out their roles and put it all together this year on each level.”

Seniors Brynn Bernecker, Anisten Wortmann and Kally Becker will provide much of the leadership.

Becker returns as the Lady Trojans’ setter, while Bernecker and Wortmann also bring extensive varsity experience.

“We return three seniors who are ready to lead and make this year their own, but with their teammates,” Buss said. “All three are great leaders, and it is exciting to see.”

Juniors Madison Eickhoff, Evie Freeman and Adelyn Reifenrath also return, along with sophomores Mara Bernecker, Shayla Heine, Sophia Kleinschmit and Landry Heimes.

Freshman Elsie Kleinschmit, a 5-foot-10 hitter, is also expected to compete for varsity playing time.

Buss said the Lady Trojans also have promising underclassmen throughout the program.

“We have strong underclassmen talent on all levels, and I look forward to watching the juniors and sophomores step up and make each level of our team a fun and exciting atmosphere,” she said.

Cedar Catholic will again face a challenging Mid-State Conference schedule along with several strong area opponents.

The Lady Trojans will open the season Aug. 27 with a triangular at Homer.

The Clippers scored twice in the first inning and made those runs stand up in a 2-1 eliminationgame victory at Dave Nitzschke Field.

Hartington hurt itself early, committing four errors in the opening inning to give Malcolm a 2-0 advantage.

After that, however, pitcher Koby Detlefsen and the Buzzard defense shut the Clippers down.

“We got off to a bit of a bad start, but Koby stayed right after them and held them off the rest of the way,” Hartington manager Don Whitmire said. “You certainly can’t make that many mistakes in one inning against a team like Malcolm, but it still came down to just a couple of plays and they made them.”

Detlefsen went the distance, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out two. Neither Malcolm run was earned.

“Yeah, we were a little shaky in that first inning,” Detlefsen said. “But I knew our guys would settle in. I knew they were behind me. I just tried to throw strikes and let them make the plays. After the first inning, they did just that.”

Hartington threatened in the fourth when Brady Hochstein doubled to left with one out and Hunter Bensen followed with a walk.

Malcolm starter Chase Smith escaped the jam, however, getting a pop out and ground out to keep Hartington off the scoreboard.

The Buzzards finally broke through in the fifth. Hudson Whitmire led off with a single up the middle and Breiton Whitmire followed with a single to right.

Hudson was called out trying to advance to third on a close play, but Breiton moved to second and later reached third on a passed ball.

When Malcolm was slow getting the ball back toward the plate, Whitmire broke for home and scored Hartington’s only run.

“It was a tight game,” Whitmire said. “I knew we had to just find a way to get on base, find a way to score. I saw the ball kick out from them and they were just kind of lazy going after it. I don’t play that way, so I just took advantage of it and kept going.”

Hartington threatened again in the sixth when Brady Hochstein singled with one out, but Malcolm turned a double play to end the inning.

The Buzzards made one final push in the seventh.

Smith issued two two-out walks before Malcolm coach Tanner Soderberg brought in Mason Zegar, who recorded the final out to end Hartington’s season.

“We knew we had to play a great game to beat Malcolm, and after the first inning we did it,” Whitmire said. “I’m just so proud of the guys we have and how they responded from that start.”

Whitmire said this year’s senior group helped establish a high standard for Hartington baseball.

“This group had gone to state all the way through their careers,” he said. “Our older guys led us. It takes a community to build a program and kids that just love to play the game. It’s a lot of work for a lot of people.

“It’s easy for me when you have a bunch of good kids that work their tails off.”

Hartington finished with six hits, led by Brady Hochstein, who went 2-for-2 with a double.

HAR 000 010 0 — 1 6 4 MAL 200 000 X — 2 4 1 WP—ChaseSmith.LP—KobyDetlefsen.S—MasonZegar. 2B—Hartington:BradyHochstein;Malcolm:CarsonFrank. Hartington hitting — Breiton Whitmire 1-3, R, BB; Tate Fischer 1-4; Koby Detlefsen 0-3; Gady Haberer 0-3; Brady Hochstein 2-2, 2B, BB; Hunter Bensen 1-2, BB; Easton Hochstein 0-3; Bodie Hochstein 0-2; Hudson Whitmire 1-2, BB.

NORFOLK — Former Hartington resident, Dick Uhing, will soon be inducted into the Northeast Athletics Hall of Fame, with two other former studentathletes and one former team.

The 2026 ceremony will be held on the campus of Northeast Community College in Norfolk this fall.

A native of Hartington, Dick Uhing was a prolific-scoring threat for Northeast Technical Community College and head coach Chuck Stevenson.

As a sophomore, Uhing was named First Team All-American after tallying double-digit points on many nights in the Norfolk City Auditorium.

In late December of 1978, Uhing led Region 9 in scoring with 25 points per game. Uhing was later named All-Nebraska Junior College and was honored with the Jim Hall Award.

Uhing was selected to compete on the National Little College Athletic Association’s All-American Basketball team that played 11 games in New Zealand.

He later enrolled at Chadron State College where he was a two-year letterwinner. He also was the leading scorer for the Eagles during the 1979-80 season with 352 points.

Uhing was honored with the Nebraska Community College Association Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017 and is also a member of the Northeast Alumni Hall of Success after being inducted in 2004.

Schroeder was recently named the school’s new head volleyball coach, taking over a young HNS squad that finished 6-24 last season.

He brings previous head coaching experience to the position, having led volleyball programs at two South Dakota high schools before moving to Hartington four years ago. Since joining the HNS school system, Schroeder has served as a Lady Wildcat assistant and coached junior high volleyball.

“I’m really excited to get going this fall,” Schroeder said. “We’ve already had summer workouts and camps and leagues, so I feel we’ll be ready to go when the season starts.”

Schroeder and his wife, Haley, live in Hartington with their two children, Evalynn and Royce.

The new coach describes himself as energetic and straightforward.

“I feel like I’m an authentic person — what you see is what you get,” Schroeder said. “I’m fairly animated. I kind of wear my emotions on my sleeve, I guess.”

Schroeder already has familiarity with many of the players he will coach this fall and likes the foundation he has seen.

HNS will have just one senior on the roster, but five or six players return after seeing varying amounts of varsity action last season.

“We need to develop team chemistry,” Schroeder said. “The team comes first. That is what will make us better.”

Despite last season’s struggles, Schroeder believes the Lady Wildcats have the pieces to become more competitive.

“I know we’ll compete,” he said. “We have a good core group coming back. We will continue to work toward a common goal and we will get better.”

Hartington-Newcastle will open the season Aug. 29 at a quadrangular in Randolph.

The Lady Wildcats will host Homer Sept. 1 before returning to Randolph for a Sept. 3 dual against the Lady Cardinals.

HNS will play its first home quadrangular Sept. 5.

Seniors

Around Wynot, that letter has become closely associated with winning.

Tristan Wieseler stepped into the head coaching role last fall, taking over the volleyball program his mother, Tammy, had built into one of the state’s most successful smallschool programs.

His first season could hardly have gone better.

The Lady Blue Devils captured the Lewis & Clark Conference championship, and then went on to win the Class D2 state title and finish the 2025 season with a 31-4 record.

Now comes the challenge of doing it again with a much different lineup.

Wynot graduated a talented senior class from last year’s championship team, but the Lady Blue Devils still return several players with varsity experience.

Seniors Taylor Pinkelman, Tiara Sudbeck, Kiera Heimes and Claire Haberman will provide much of that experience.

Junior Calley Stewart and sophomore Mya Pinkelman also saw varsity action in 2025. Stewart transferred to Wynot from Cedar Catholic.

Sophomores Kiersten Hans, Vivian Stencel and Jacy Nelson will also be looking to earn larger roles this fall.

Wieseler welcomed six freshmen into the program — Sophie Nelson, Taya Gowery, Charlie Goeden, Reagan Heimes, Layla Lenzen and Bryar Hans.

The newcomers will put on the Wynot blue and white for the first time at the high school level.

The Lady Blue Devils will again face a rugged Lewis & Clark Conference schedule as they attempt to defend their league championship.

Wynot will open the season Aug. 27 at home against conference foe Osmond.

The Lady Blue Devils will travel to Spencer to face Boyd County Sept. 1 before returning home Sept. 3 for a triangular with Crofton and Bloomfield.

The Cedar Catholic junior-to-be went 3-0 in the 16U 125-pound division at a recent AAU freestyle tournament in Des Moines, earning first place in her first competitive experience with the freestyle format.

Freeman has spent part of the summer competing in several tournaments, gaining experience before returning to the high school mat this winter.

Freestyle wrestling differs considerably from the style used during the Nebraska high school season, according to Freeman’s father and coach, John Freeman.

“You can really score a lot of points fast,” he said. “Takedowns are two points, but you get points every time you expose your opponent’s back to the mat. If you roll your opponent over, you get points.”

Freestyle also places a greater emphasis on quick scoring once a wrestler gains control.

“The main goal is taking your opponent down and exposing his or her back, or throwing them,” John Freeman said. “Once you’re on top, you’re generally trying to score again quickly. Big throws and leg attacks can be very valuable.”

Despite being new to the style, Freeman adjusted quickly against three quality opponents.

“She went into it just figuring it would be a good experience,” her father said.

Freeman fell behind Vi Anderson 6-2 after the opening period of her first match, but took control in the second.

She recorded three takedowns and added two back-exposure points to move ahead 12-6 before finishing the match with a fall.

Her second bout came against Alana Henry, the Missouri state runner-up at 125 pounds.

The match was tied 2-2 after the first period before Freeman used a headlock throw to score four points and added two more for back exposure.

An illegal-hold call cost Freeman two points, but she responded with another takedown on the way to a 12-6 victory.

Freeman saved her quickest performance for the championship match.

She scored a takedown within the opening 10 seconds, then locked up a leg lace and rolled her opponent for eight more points.

The flurry ended the match by technical fall just 16 seconds after it began and gave Freeman the AAU 16U 125-pound championship.

“Overall, it was a great experience to have,” John Freeman said. “She was able to learn a lot.”

Wynot had opened the tournament Aug. 6 with a 6-3 victory over Lake Norden, but could not duplicate that success four days later against the Angels.

Alexandria jumped in front 2-0 in the first inning before Wynot answered with its only run in the second.

Jesse Lundahl opened the inning with a single up the middle before Jackson Sudbeck followed with a line-drive single to center.

A wild pitch moved both runners up a base, and Peyton Wieseler followed with a sacrifice fly to left that allowed Lundahl to score.

That trimmed the Angels’ lead to 2-1, but Wynot would not score again.

The Angels broke the game open with four runs in the third inning and added five more in the sixth to put the contest out of reach.

Lundahl, Sudbeck, Landon Wieseler and Nate Wieseler accounted for Wynot’s four hits.

Landon Wieseler took the loss on the mound.

The Expos reached the second round after getting six strong innings from Lundahl in their tournament opener against Lake Norden.

Lundahl scattered seven hits and allowed three runs while walking one and striking out three in the 6-3 victory.

Lake Norden scored first with a run in the opening inning, but Wynot answered in the second.

Sudbeck singled to start the inning and later scored on a two-out single by Carson Wieseler to tie the game.

The Lakers regained the lead with two runs in the third, but the Expos chipped away with a run in the fourth before taking control with two runs in the fifth.

Wynot added another run in the sixth and one more in the eighth to secure the victory.

The Expos finished the season with a 12-10 record after overcoming a 1-5 start.

Wynot caught fire during the middle of the summer, putting together an eight-game winning streak and going unbeaten throughout July.

ALEX (18-3) 2 0 4 0 0 5 0 — 11 12 0 WYN (12-10) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 4 1 WP — A.J. Wilber. LP — Landon Wieseler. 2B — Ben Wilber, Charlie Dubanoski, Dakota Munger, Jordan Gau, Pierce Smith (A). HR — Dakota Munger (A). LN(11-8) 102000000—382 WYN (12-10) 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 x — 6 9 3 WP — Jesse Lundahl. LP — Jordon Johnson. 2B — Devin Lammers (W). 3B — Jalen Wieseler (W).

1. T.Folkers/R.Carl/A.Chrastil 32

2. G.Howell/A.Smith/G.Yunker 29

3. Bob.Lauer/C.Brodersen/R.Brodersen 28

4. K.Hammer/J.Bartling/A.Hahne 28

5. M.Grindvold/B.Hefner/L.Hansen 28

6. M.Sudbeck/Mar.Kuehn/T.Anderson 28

7. D.Wilson/T.Hollander/M.Rose 27

8. Ma.Steffen/P.Steffen/S.Steffen 26

9. T.Cobler/D.Dowling/T.Lange 26

10. K.Holm/J.Wolfe/M.Papenhausen 25

11. R.Benson/Tr.Kalin/K.Hefner 25

12. B.Penlerick/Mo.Miller/P.Nelson 24

13. D.Bohlken/M.Olsen/J.Hoffart 24

14. M.Arens/O.Dresden/Mi. Miller 24

15. Ca.Kalin/To.Kalin/B.Eickhoff 23

16. J.McCoy/M.Hensley/M.McCoy 22

17. R.Kuehn/G.Kathol/C.Christensen 22

18. J.Nelson/B.Kalin/T.Burbach 20

19. S.Janssen/B.Hochstein/J.Becker 19

20. R.Hall/S.Dirks/Bill.Lauer 18

21. Ty Erwin/L.Jansen/C.Jansen 16

22. S.Martini/L.Brown/M.Biltoft 14

Low Individual Scratch: A. Grant Howell, 35; B. Tony Kalin, 38; C. Lance Heine, 42 

Low Team Net: G.Howell/A.Smith/G.Yunker, 103 

Low Individual Net: A. Tom Cobler, 28.5; B. Tony Kalin, 31; C. John Hoffart, 35 

Low Team Scratch: G.Howell/A.Smith/G.Yunker, 123 

Thursday Night Men’s Golf League August 6, 2026

1 B. Klug/A. Gade/J. Kerkman 174

2. JD. Dendinger/I. Lange/R. Mochalon 174

3. Jo. Morten/T. Pinkelman/M. Steffen 172

4. K. Hammer/R. Boeckman/R. Kaiser 168

5. G. Howell/J. Bernecker/R. Arens 163

6. Ja. Morten/T. Fincher/B. McTaggart 156

7. MJ Johnson/S. Martini/AJ Johnson 148

8. R. Sterkel/A. Smith/D. Promes 145

9. L. Heine/l. Lauer/M. Sees 139

10. M. Burbach/M. Lammers/B. Wiedenfeld 135

11. Tu. Becker/M. Becker/D. Turner 129

12. T. Kathol/N. Holan/T. Hollander 125

13. D. Steinhoff/T. Folkers/N. Stark 121

14. J. Burns/J. Lammers/K. Joachimsen 116

15. Z. Miller/F. Dendinger/C. Dettman 112

16. D. Wilson/F. Schneider/C. Baller 109

17. R. Noecker/K. Kathol/M. Dresden 102

18. S. Hamilton/G. Heine/Ty. Becker 71

The Buzzards exploded for six first-inning runs but by the end of the second frame, Post 55 took over the lead 7-6 then plated four runs in the third and an unneeded run in the fifth to post the 12-6 win.

After a strikeout to open the game, Tate Fischer bunted his way on board then moved to second on a Koby Detlefsen rifle-shot into right field.

Brady Hochstein smacked a shot into left field which chased Fischer home and left runners on the corners.

A Post 55 error on a ground ball from Hunter Bensen scored Detlefsen and Hudson Whitmire who was inserted as a courtesy runner for Hochstein.

Easton Hochstein singled to right field plating Bensen then Sam Wiebelhaus stepped to the plate and blasted a double to left field which scored Easton Hochstein.

Gavin Klug came in as another courtesy runner, this time for Wiebelhaus before Bodie Hochstein worked a walk.

Breiton Whitmire came back up to the plate for the second time in the inning and laced a single up the middle scoring Klug, but Bodie Hochstein was thrown out on the play trying to advance to third for the final out.

Pender plated a run in the first then six in the second to take the 7-6 advantage into the third.

Post 4 moved on to take on PWG in an elimination game.

HAR6000000-675 PEN 1 6 4 0 1 0 X - 12 12 2 WP: Bowdie Burhoop LP: Brady Hochstein S: Ryan Linkous. 2B: Sam Wiebelhaus (H); Ryan Linkous, Trevor Trimble (P). HR: Owen Kneifl (P). AB R H RBI BB S O Breiton Whitmire 4 0 1 1 0 1 Tate Fischer 2 1 1 0 2 0 Koby Detlefsen 3 1 1 0 0 0 Grady Haberer 3 0 1 0 0 1 Brady Hochstein 4 0 1 1 0 1 Hunter Bensen 4 1 0 0 0 1 Easton Hochstein 3 1 1 1 0 1 Sam Wiebelhaus 3 0 1 1 0 1 Bodie Hochstein 2 0 0 0 1 0 TEAM 28 6 7 4 3 6

The second-place district finish places the Expos in the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Tournament Aug. 5-16 at Cadwell Park Stadium and Drake Field in Mitchell, SD where they will take on the Lake Norden Lakers Aug. 6 at 5:30 p.m.

In the tournament semifinals, the Expos held off the Crofton Bluejays 7-5 July 28 to land in the final game.

The Bluebirds scored first with a run in the second inning but the Expos responded with three runs in the top of the third.

Landon Wieseler drew a walk to open the Wynot half of the inning then stole second base.

Lee Heimes was plunked by the Tabor pitcher but was forced out at second base by Jalen Wieseler while Landon Wieseler advanced to third base.

Jesse Lundahl stepped to the dish and hammered a home run over the right field fence and the score was 3-1.

Tabor wasted little time retaking the lead with four runs in the bottom of the fourth and the score was 7-3.

The four-run inning included a pair of longballs for the Bluebirds.

Wynot added two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth.

Peyton Wieseler worked a walk with one out in the Expos’ eighth and was promptly driven in by Devin Lammers double to get to the 7-6 final score.

Wynot went quietly in the ninth managing a couple of groundouts, a hit batsman and a strikeout.

In the game with Crofton on July 28, Heimes’ offense carried the Expos after he went 4-for-5, scored twice and drove in one run.

Landon Wieseler also scored twice. Tabor Bluebirds defeated Wynot Expos 7-6 WYN00300210-661 TAB012400000X-7101 WP: Matt Brown LP: Peyton Wieseler. 2B: Devin Lammers (W); Landon Bares, Landon Schmidt (T). HR: Jesse Lundahl (W); Chase Kortan, Landon Bares, Landon Schmidt. CRO010010102-5104 WYN11310001X-7115 WP: Jesse Lundahl LP: Zach Clark S: Jackson Sudbeck. 2B: James Kaiser.

District 6B representatives Wynot and Crofton both begin tournament play Thursday, Aug. 6, in opening-round games. Wynot takes on Lake Norden at 5:30 p.m., while Crofton faces top-seeded Alexandria at 7:30 p.m.

The Class B state tournament features a 32-team, single-elimination field from across South Dakota and neighboring communities. The tournament opens Wednesday and continues through Aug. 16.

If Wynot defeats Lake Norden in Thursday’s opening round, the Expos will advance to face the winner of the game between Crofton and top-seeded Alexandria.

That second-round game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10, at Cadwell Park in Mitchell.

The first day of practice applies to football, volleyball, cross country, girls golf, boys tennis and softball. Member schools must conclude any school-sponsored summer camps or clinics by July 31 before transitioning to official fall practices.

The first regular-season competitions begin Aug. 21 for girls golf and softball. Football teams may open the season Aug. 27, while volleyball, cross country and boys tennis are scheduled to begin competition Aug. 28.

The score was tied 7-7 coming into the Post 4 half of the fi nal frame when Easton Hochstein drew a walk to get things started for the Hartington squad.

The Ord pitcher balked Hochstein to second then after a strikeo ut, Hudson Whitmire entered the game as a pinch hitter and promptly blasted a 2-2 pitch into left field for a double which scored Hochstein and won the game.

Breighton Whitmire and Sam Wiebelhaus each went 2-for-4 in the game, Whitmire scored a run and Wiebelhaus drove in a run.

Tate Fischer and Bodie Hochstein each recorded two RBI’s and Easton Hochstein scored twice.

The Buzzards scored first in the contest in the second stanza when Brady Hochstein singled to start the Hartington at bat.

Hunter Bensen came to the dish and rifled a single to right field to leave runners on first and second.

After a strikeout, Sam Wiebelhaus doubled to right field which scored Hochstein and left runners at second and third.

Bodie Hochstein rapped a single that scored Hudson Whitmire, who was put in the run for Wiebelhaus, and Bensen to make it 3-0.

Fischer singled to drive in the final run of the inning and Post 4 was up 4-0.

Ord answered in the top of the fourth with seven runs to turn the tide of the game, but three consecutive innings with one ru n for Hartington knotted the game up and set up Hudson Whitmire’s he roics.

ORD0070000-762 HAR0411101-892 WP: Koby Detlefsen LP: Colt Meyer. 2B: Binyam Sikes (O); Breiton Whitmire, Hudson Whitmire, Sam Wiebelhaus (H). Lineup AB R H RBI BB SO Breiton Whitmire 4 1 2 0 0 0 Tate Fischer 3 0 1 2 0 0 Koby Detlefsen 4 0 0 0 0 1 Grady Haberer 2 1 0 0 1 2 Brady Hochstein 1 1 1 1 1 0 Hunter Bensen 4 1 1 0 0 2 Easton Hochstein 1 2 0 0 2 1 Sam Wiebelhaus 4 0 2 1 0 1 Bodie Hochstein 3 1 1 2 0 2 Hudson Whitmire 1 1 1 1 0 0 TEAM 27 8 9 7 4 9

PENDER — Every win is a big win this time of year on the L egion Baseball diamond, but a win by a big margin is a little more rare.

The Hartington American Legion Post 4 Security Bank Buzzards earned both at Dave Nitzschke Field Aug. 3 defeating Palmer-Wolbach-Greeley American Legion Posts 120/236/186 17-7 in a game shortened to six innings by a run-rule.

“We did everything we needed to do to win here tonight,” said Post 4 manager Don Whitmire. “We played solid defense, we hit the ball and we had some guys pitch who haven’t pitched a lot of Senior base ball this season.”

One of the “other” pitchers was Bodie Hochstein who picked up t he win in only his second appearance on the mound of the entire summer .

“It’s great to see guys like that step up when we need them, ” Whitmire said. “When you can get guys to give you innings when you’re playing this many games on consecutive days, it shows our depth and the kind of kids we have.” Whitmire and company used four pitchers for the afternoon, starter Breiton Whitmire went two innings, Rylan Fischer pitched a third of an inning, Hochstein threw 2.1 innings and Hunter Bensen hurled 1.1 innings.

Offensively, the Buzzards pounded out 10 hits and took advantage of 11 walks and six PWG errors to claim the win.

Hartington jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first frame, extended it to 6-0 in the top of the second then made it 9-0 heading into the bottom of the third.

“It was important for us to get after them early,” said Whitmire. “We did that then responded again after they scored a few runs.”

PWG answered with four runs in the bottom of the third and Hartington did not score in the top of the fourth, the only frame the Buzzards were held scoreless.

PWG added a run in the bottom of the fourth to make it 9-5, but Post 4 got things going again in the fifth with three runs.

Breiton Whitmire opened the inning working a walk.

“Obviously our goal is to win it all down here, honestly, that’s every team’s goal,” said Breiton Whitmire. “If that’s not your goal, you probably shouldn’t be here, but I also think playing for your teammates, developing chemistry, loving each other; if you’re not doing that it isn’t going to be very fun.”

Tate Fischer stepped to the plate and deposited a triple into right field after the left-handed hitter smacked a deep shot into the wind.

“I was just up there looking for a pitch and I saw one I liked and I hit it,” said Fischer. “I didn’t even feel it come off the bat, it felt perfect. Then I just started running and nobody stopped me until I got to third.”

Koby Detlefsen drew his third walk of the game and advanced to second on defensive indifference.

Grady Haberer singled into right field to plate Detlefsen and Fischer and Post 4’s big lead grew to 12-5.

The Buzzards put the proverbial nail in the coffin in the next frame as they collected five runs in the top of the sixth inning and finished the game with the 17-7 final score after holding PWG to a couple of runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Hartington moved on to take on Malcolm. The teams were slated to play Tuesday, but rain forced all Tuesday games to be moved. They will play Wednesday, August 5 at 1 p.m.

HAR 2 4 3 0 3 5 X - 17 10 2 PWG004102X-786 WP: Bodie Hochstein LP: Stetson McManaman. 2B: Hunter Bensen, Sam Wiebelhaus (H); Quincy Wright (PWG). 3B: Tate Fischer (H). Lineup AB R H RBI BB SO Breiton Whitmire 3 2 2 3 2 0 Tate Fischer 3 4 1 1 2 1 Koby Detlefsen 2 4 1 2 3 0 Grady Haberer 3 0 2 5 1 0 Brady Hochstein 3 0 0 0 2 1 Hunter Bensen 5 0 2 1 0 0 Easton Hochstein 4 1 1 0 0 0 Sam Wiebelhaus 2 0 1 0 1 0 Hudson Whitmire 0 2 0 0 0 0 Bodie Hochstein 2 3 0 0 0 0 TEAM 27 17 10 12 11 2

WAKEFIELD — Behind dominant pitching, timely hitting and steady defense, the Hartington American Legion Post 4 Security Bank Senior Buzzards secured a berth in the Nebraska Class C Senior American Legion State Tournament while advancing to the championship game of the Area 2 Tournament at Eaton Field.

Hartington opened tournament play with a 3-1 victory over Wakefield before defeating Friend 5-2 to earn a spot in Tuesday’s Area 2 championship against host Pender.

Because Pender is hosting this weekend’s state tournament, both teams were guaranteed state tournament berths entering the title game.

Hartington manager Don Whitmire said his club has relied on pitching and defense throughout the tournament but hopes the offense continues to build momentum.

“I’d like to see our bats get going a little more, but we’ve gotten the hits when we needed them,” Whitmire said. “Our pitching and defense have kept us in games, and we’ve come up with the timely hits.”

Buzzards eliminate Friend Koby Detlefsen turned in another outstanding performance on the mound against Friend, pitching a complete game while allowing two runs on seven hits. The recent Mount Marty University freshman struck out nine.

“There isn’t a whole lot of stress out there when our guys do what they do,” Detlefsen said. “My freshman year in college really helped me with the experience. I’m learning the analytical side of baseball. A guy might hit a blooper that finds the ground, but one more pitch and there are two outs.”

Friend grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning before Hartington answered in the bottom of the third.

Sam Wiebelhaus reached on an error, and courtesy runner Hudson Whitmire stole both second and third base. With two outs, Breiton Whitmire lined a triple to center field to score his brother and tie the game.

Tate Fischer followed with another triple to right field, giving Hartington a 2-1 advantage.

“Those were two big hits,” Coach Whitmire said. “Those two are our one-and two-hitters, so we expect them to produce, and they sure came through.”

Hartington added another run in the fourth when Brady Hochstein walked and later scored on Easton Hochstein’s RBI single through the right side.

The Buzzards put the game away with two more runs in the fifth. Breiton Whitmire and Hudson Whitmire both crossed the plate to extend the lead to 5-1.

Friend scored once in the seventh on consecutive singles, but Detlefsen ended the threat with back-to-back strikeouts to seal the victory and send Hartington into the tournament finals.

Hochstein shuts down Wakefield

The Buzzards also received a dominant pitching performance in their tournament opener.

Easton Hochstein carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, allowing no hits over 4 2/3 innings while striking out seven.

Breiton Whitmire worked in relief before Brady Hochstein recorded the final out after Wakefield scored its lone run in the seventh to earn the save.

Offensively, Koby Detlefsen led Hartington by going 3-for-3 with an RBI double. Hunter Bensen added two hits and an RBI, while Breiton Whitmire, Tate Fischer and Gavin Klug each scored a run in the 3-1 victory.

With the two victories, Hartington improved to 18-3 and advanced to Tuesday’s championship game against Pender. Both teams earned spots in the Nebraska Class C Senior American Legion State Tournament, scheduled Aug. 1-5 in Pender.

Friend 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 — 2 7 1 Hartington 002120X—580 WP — Koby Detlefsen. LP — Devin Slawnyk. 2B — Devin Slawnyk (F); Hudson Whitmire (H). 3B — Breiton Whitmire (H), Tate Fischer (H).

Hartington batting

Player AB R H RBI Breiton Whitmire 3 2 2 1 Tate Fischer 3 0 1 1 Koby Detlefsen 3 0 1 0 Grady Haberer 3 0 1 1 Brady Hochstein 2 1 0 0 Hunter Bensen 3 0 1 0 Easton Hochstein 3 0 1 1 Sam Wiebelhaus 2 0 0 0 Hudson Whitmire 1 2 1 0 Bodie Hochstein 3 0 0 0 Wakefield 0000001—121 Hartington 002001X—361 WP — Easton Hochstein. LP — Jacob Birkey. Save — Brady Hochstein. 2B — Koby Detlefsen (H). 3B — Cael Johnson (W).

Hartington batting

Player AB R H RBI Breiton Whitmire 2 1 1 0 Tate Fischer 3 1 0 0 Koby Detlefsen 3 0 3 1 Grady Haberer 3 0 0 0 Brady Hochstein 2 0 0 0 Hudson Whitmire 1 0 0 0 Hunter Bensen 3 0 2 1 Easton Hochstein 2 0 0 0 Sam Wiebelhaus 3 0 0 0 Bodie Hochstein 1 0 0 0

The Blue Devils have been named the Omaha World-Herald’s Class D All-Sports grand champion for the 2025-26 school year.

Wynot finished with 68 points in the newspaper’s annual rankings, which recognize schools for their success across a variety of boys and girls sports. The honor marks the first time Wynot has claimed the overall Class D championship after finishing as the runner-up three times during the past 10 years.

The Blue Devils also earned the Class D girls All-Sports championship.

Wynot’s championship season was powered by state titles in football and volleyball. The Blue Devil girls basketball team added a state runner-up finish, while the boys basketball team qualified for the state tournament and finished sixth in the final rankings.

Howells-Dodge placed second in the combined Class D standings with 58 points.

O’Neill St. Mary’s claimed the Class D boys championship with 36 points, while Howells-Dodge finished second with 34.

Hastings St. Cecilia placed second behind Wynot in the girls standings with 30 points.

The World-Herald awards points based on top-10 finishes in its final ratings or state competition. Schools earn points in football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball, baseball, wrestling, track, cross country and golf.

For Wynot, the award caps a memorable year in which Blue Devil athletes repeatedly found themselves competing on the state’s biggest stages — and often bringing championship hardware back home.

A fall turkey permit is valid statewide, and each hunter may have no more than one fall permit per calendar year. Also: The fall bag limit allows the take of one turkey of either sex with a shotgun or archery equipment.

Fall turkey permits are valid only for the year they are purchased.

All turkey harvests must be reported via Telecheck. Visit OutdoorNebraska.gov/hunt/ telecheck/.

The fall turkey season is Oct. 1-Nov. 30. Permit prices are $34 for residents, $158 for nonresidents, $8.50 for youth, $18.50 for resident landowners.

Visit the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s permitting site, GoOutdoorsNE.com, or a permitting office to purchase permits starting Aug. 10.

Pressey, Petersen WMAs to reopen Aug. 1

LINCOLN — Pressey and Petersen wildlife management areas, temporarily closed because of wildfires, will reopen to public access Aug. 1. Properties enrolled in Open Fields and Waters within the impacted areas also will reopen.

Pressey WMA in Custer County was closed after wildfire broke out there April 22. Peterson WMA in Sioux County was closed June 9 when the South Fork Fire broke out in the Pine Ridge. Clear Creek WMA remains closed until further notice due to wildfire effects.

Areas that are reopening may have had boundary fences damaged. The fences are in different stages of being rebuilt and will be marked with signs.

More than 60% of the state in in severe drought. For tips on fire safety, visit OutdoorNebraska. gov and search “Fire Safety.”

Big game permits are now available to Neb. hunters

LINCOLN — Hunters may begin purchasing Nebraska big game permits that are available over the counter in July for the 2026 seasons.

On July 8, residents may buy any available deer, antelope, and undrawn elk permits within limits. Eligible resident landowners may buy any limited landowner elk, deer and antelope permits subject to availability.

On July 22, nonresidents may buy any limited antelope and deer permits in any unit subject to availability and within permit limits. Eligible nonresident landowners may buy any limited landowner elk and antelope permits.

All sales begin at 10 a.m. Central time and continue through the close of hunting seasons or until the permit quotas sell out.

On Aug. 5, any remaining permits from previous periods may be purchased in any unit subject to availability and within permit limits. Eligible landowners may buy any remaining limited landowner permits. Permits included in this period are those draw permits forfeited following the conclusion of the draw process.

State parks reducing services heading into back-to-school season

LINCOLN — Heading into the back-toschool season, Nebraska Game and Parks state park areas are adjusting operating hours and some services due to a limited workforce.

“We have had a tremendous and busy year in Nebraska’s state parks and recreation areas,” said Jeff Fields, state parks administrator. “Visitors will still find plenty of opportunities to fish, camp, hike, picnic and boat this fall. We appreciate everyone’s support and patience as we adjust the hours for some activities because of limited staffing.”

Park guests should call ahead to check on activity times and availability to ensure a great park experience. Hours will be updated on the park pages at OutdoorNebraska.gov, where people also can find park contact information.

Upcoming changes include: Ponca State Park – The swimming pool’s last day of operation for the season will be Aug. 9. Beginning Aug. 10, the visitor center will be open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Saturday.

Niobrara State Park – The trail rides and swimming pools at Niobrara state parks are operating on weekends only. Park offices and kiosks will begin to reduce hours of operation.

The Expos were set to return to Menno July 28 to take on Crofton in the 8 p.m. game after the Bluejays defeated Menno 7-2 in their district openers.

Nolan Janssen pitched a gem for Wynot tossing the first five innings while allowing just two hits and no runs while striking out eight Cardinals.

Jackson Sudbeck pitched the final two frames, allowing two hits, a run and fanning three batters.

It was the Expo’s offense which carried the evening, scoring eight runs in the first two innings (five in the first and three in the second) on the way to the 13-1 final score.

Five Wynot batters had two hits in the game as the Expos pounded out 11 hits total.

Landon Wieseler, Lee Heimes, Jalen Wieseler, Jesse Lundahl and Peyton Wieseler each recorded a couple of hits.

Peyton and Jalen Wieseler along with Lundahl hit two-baggers while Heimes, Peyton and Jalen Wieseler and Lundahl each drove in two runs.

Sudbeck worked Irene pitching for three free passes.

Landon Wieseler opened the game for the Expos with a base hit back up the middle then advanced to second on a wild pitch.

Heimes hit a line drive back up the middle and the score was 1-0.

Jalen Wieseler smacked a double into left field scoring Heimes then Lundahl was plunked by the Irene pitcher leaving runners at first and second.

Sudbeck drew one of his walks to fill the bases.

Peyton Wieseler hit a fly ball deep enough to score Jalen Wieseler then Nathan Wieseler was thrown out at first on a sacrifice bunt leaving runners on second and third.

Devon Lammers was hit by a pitch as was Colin Wieseler which plated another run.

Sudbeck would score on a pickoff attempt on the bases but Lammers was thrown out at home trying to score on the play.

When the dust settled on the inning, Wynot was up 5-0 then added the three runs in the second frame.

The Expos added a run in the fourth, three in the fifth and anoth er in the sixth to reach 13.

IRE (2-20) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X X - 1 4 1 WYN (9-8) 5 3 0 1 3 1 X X X - 13 11 1 WP: Nolan Janssen LP: Tucker Martz. 2B: Miles Eide (I); Jesse Lundahl, Jalen Wieseler, Peyton Wieseler (W).

The Cedar Catholic standouts competed in both Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling at one of the largest tournaments of the summer.

“The biggest thing about going up there was the competition,” Easton Hochstein said. “Every match was a tough match. There were no easy matches.”

The Greco-Roman portion of the tournament featured brackets with as many as 128 wrestlers, while some freestyle brackets included as many as 256 competitors.

The trip marked the brothers’ second major national wrestling experience of the summer.

They also competed in a tournament in Florida with several other area wrestlers.

Easton said facing elite competition provides lessons that aren’t always found in victory.

“You definitely learn a lot, and it helps keep you humble,” he said. “I think you learn a lot more from a loss than you do from a win. A loss exposes your weaknesses and gives you something to work on to get better.

“Sometimes, after a win, you just figure you did everything right when you really didn’t.”

Bodie finished one victory shy of reaching the medal rounds, which began with 12th place. Easton placed among the top 32 in a field of 157 wrestlers.

“You don’t get to compete against competition like this as often in Nebraska,” Easton said. “It will definitely make you better, and it will keep you working harder to improve.”

The Hochsteins didn’t have much time to rest after returning home from the wrestling tournament.

Both quickly shifted their attention back to baseball as members of the Hartington American Legion Post 4 Security Bank Senior Buzzards.

They helped Post 4 advance to the championship game of the Area 2 Tournament in Wakefield and by doing so, secured a berth in the Nebraska Class C Senior American Legion State Tournament.

The state tournament is scheduled for Aug. 1-5 at Dave Nitschke Field in Pender.

Hartington American Legion Post 4 and Malcolm Post 354 were entrenched in a pitcher’s duel between Post 4’s Gavin Klug and Malcolm’s Mason Zegar until Post 354 erupted for six runs in the bottom of the sixth to reach the 8-run rule and end the game by the 9-1 final score.

“We’ll be all right,” said Hartington manager Don Whitmire. “We played right with them the entire game. Gavin pitched well, they had a great pitcher on the mound, he’s probably the best pitcher we’ve seen all year. We still have realistically every pitcher left except Gavin so we’ll come back out here tomorrow and get ready to play on.”

Post 4 did score the opening run in the first inning on back-to-back doubles to begin the contest.

Hudson Whitmire smacked a double into center field then Klug helped his own cause with a double to right scoring Whitmire and leaving Klug at third base after an error by the Malcolm right fielder.

Unfortunately, the Hartington courtesy runner who replaced Klug was picked off third base by the Malcolm catcher and a ground out and a strikeout ended the threat.

“That was kind of unfortunate, we had a little inexperience out there running the bases and our guy got caught,” said Whitmire. “But when you play teams like Malcolm you have to be ready on every pitch, every play.”

The Post 4 lead held up until the bottom of the third where Malcolm tied the score with a run then took the lead in the fifth before the sixthinning explosion ended the game.

Hartington will move on to take on Tri County-Meridian Post 243 in a 1 p.m. game Monday afternoon.

HAR (18-5) 1 0 0 0 0 0 X - 1 3 1 MAL (26-4) 0 0 1 0 2 6 X - 9 9 2 WP: M. Zegar LP: Gavin Klug. 2B: Gavin Klug, Hudson Whitmire (H); Gavin Little, Isaiah Baeza, Mason Oldehoeft, Mason Zegar, Tregan Frank (M). Lineup AB R H RBI BB S O Hudson Whitmire 3 1 2 0 0 0 Gavin Klug 3 0 1 1 0 1 Grady Haberer 2 0 0 0 1 1 Rylan Fischer 2 0 0 0 0 1 Reid Potts 2 0 0 0 0 2 Grant Klug 2 0 0 0 0 0 Keaton Keiser 2 0 0 0 0 1 Cade Kleinschmit 2 0 0 0 0 2 Parker Leise 2 0 0 0 0 1 TEAM 20 1 3 1 1 9

On what was the hottest day of the summer, Haake fired the no-hitter to send Hartington back north by the 10-0 final as the Post 4 bats did not respond to the heat.

TCM scored all of the runs necessary for Haake in the first inning plating two.

A huge second frame put the game out of reach as Tri County-Meridian scored seven to make it 9-0.

Another run in the fourth pushed the score to the 10-0 final.

Post 4 got just one person on board the entire game when Keaton Keiser was hit by a Haake pitch to open the third stanza, but Haake responded with a couple of strikeouts and a fly out to end the threat.

Post 4 finished the season with a more than respectable 18-6 record.

HAR (18-6) 0 0 0 0 0 X X - 0 0 3 TCM (22-5) 2 7 0 1 X X X - 10 9 0 WP: Maddox Haake LP: Rylan Fischer. 2B:JarrettJones,MaddoxHaake,TrevorKapke(TCM). Lineup AB R H RBI BB S O Hudson Whitmire 2 0 0 0 0 1 Gavin Klug 2 0 0 0 0 1 Grady Haberer 2 0 0 0 0 1 Rylan Fischer 2 0 0 0 0 0 Reid Potts 1 0 0 0 0 1 Grant Klug 1 0 0 0 0 0 Dawson Dresden 1 0 0 0 0 1 Keaton Keiser 2 0 0 0 0 0 Blake Bensen 1 0 0 0 0 1 Parker Leise 1 0 0 0 0 0 TEAM 15 0 0 0 0 6

Hartington pounded out 13 hits and received strong pitching performances from two of its youngest players to roll past Cairo Post 333, 13-0, at Cody Field in Meridian.

The game was called after five innings because of the eight-run rule.

Grant Klug and Parker Leise combined to shut out Cairo, while Grady Haberer supplied the biggest offensive blow with a second-inning grand slam.

“Those two guys are a statement as to how far our program has come,” Post 4 coach Don Whitmire said. “We were confident putting any of our pitchers out there today. We used a couple of younger guys, and they responded with great performances.

“Now we still have some of our older guys available the next couple of days.”

Those older pitchers include Gavin Klug, Haberer, Hudson Whitmire and Rylan Fischer.

The victory advanced Hartington into Sunday’s semifinal round of the doubleelimination tournament, where the Buzzards were scheduled to face Malcolm.

“Today put us in a very good position to move along,” Whitmire said. “That being said, we’ll play Malcolm tomorrow, which will be a great challenge no matter who we have on the mound. But I feel good about our chances.” Hartington grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning before Haberer broke the game open in the second.

With two outs, Leise doubled to center field and Hudson Whitmire reached on a Cairo error. Gavin Klug followed with a walk to load the bases.

Haberer then turned on a 2-0 pitch and launched it over the leftfield fence, clearing the bases and stretching the Buzzards’ lead to 6-0.

“I’ve never hit a grand slam before, but I guess I have now,” Haberer said. “I saw the pitch coming in, and I knew it was right in my wheelhouse. It was a bit inside and up, and I just turned on it and got it out of there.”

Hartington added two runs in the third inning and five more in the fourth to put the game well out of reach.

Post 4’s pitching handled the rest, holding Cairo scoreless despite allowing five hits.

“This was a great start, but it isn’t where we want to get to,” Whitmire said. “We plan to be here at the end of the tournament, so we’ll see how tomorrow goes.”

Hartington 13, Cairo 0 HAR 2 4 2 5 0 — 13 13 2 CAI00000—053 WP — Grant Klug. LP — J. Peterson. 2B — Rylan Fischer 2, Hudson Whitmire, Parker Leise (H). HR — Grady Haberer (H).

The Dolphins competed with 33 athletes in the meet and those 33 scored 453 points, 143 more than runner-up the North Bend Sharks with 310.

The Wayne Dolphins placed third with 305.

“We didn’t win this meet last summer so it was great to get back on top this year,” said Dolphins coach Anna Reifenrath. “We had kids who worked very hard all summer and it showed at this meet.”

Hartington crowned several conference champions during the meet including a couple of swimmers who won four individual golds.

Piper Dendinger took the 100 individual medley, the 25 butterfly, the 25-meter backstroke and the 25 breaststroke in the 9-10 year old division.

Braxton Christensen won the 100 individual medley, the 50-meter butterfly, the 50 breaststroke and the 50 freestyle swim in the 11-12 division.

Eli Cattau capped off his successful day with a win in the 50-meter backstroke in the 11-12 division, Hadley Dendinger won the 50-meter butterfly in the 13-14 girls and Randall Huesers won the 50 breaststroke in the boys’ 13-14 age group.

“Eli and Braxton did a great job in their age division finishing 1-2 in a lot of races which gives us 18 points per event,” said Reifenrath. “And the Dendinger sisters (Piper and Hadley) scored a bunch of points for us. Honestly, everybody had a part in this.”

Cam Carl took a title in the 50 breaststroke in the 15-18 division.

The Dolphins also won a relay title in the 11-12 200 medley relay.

Christensen, Cattau, Levi Steffen and Andrew Huesers got together and covered the 200 meters in 2 minutes, 52.84 seconds to win that title.

“It’s been another great season for us,” the coach said. “Every summer it seems like you have a handful of kids that everything just clicks and they just keep getting better.

“We had 14 of our 37 swimmers swim for Vermillion over the winter so that really helps. I can’t wait to get back in the pool again next summer.”

EAST HUSKER CONFERENCE SWIM MEET Team Results: 1. Hartington Dolphins (33 Athletes) 453; 2. North Bend Sharks (22 Athletes) 310; 3. Wayne Dolphins (32 Athletes) 305; 4. Blair (26 Athletes) 272; 5. Arlington Pool Sharks (34 Athletes) 232; 6. West Point (20 Athletes) 205; 7. Wahoo Otters (19 Athletes) 107; 8. Dodge Sea Monkeys (20 Athletes) 52. Individual Results Ages 8 & U A: 100 Free Relay (Kinsley Reifenrath, Harrison Lammers, Nora Sudbeck, Moses Carl) 1:47.70, 4th. A: 100 Medley Relay (Kinsley Reifenrath, Nora Sudbeck, Moses Carl, Harrison Lammers) 2:00.97, 3rd. Moses Carl: 25 Fly 26.99, 3rd; 100 IM 2:11.99, 2nd; 25 Back 27.64, 3rd; 25 Free 21.92, 2nd. HarrisonLammers:25Fly50.01,12th;25Back41.82, 10th; 25 Breast 47.06, 13th; 25 Free 37.25, 13th. Kinsley Reifenrath: 25 Fly 29.17, 4th; 25 Back 33.88, 8th; 25 Breast 40.41, 9th; 25 Free 25.82, 7th. Nora Sudbeck: 100 IM 2:33.48, 5th; 25 Back 28.92, 4th, 25 Breast 31.82, 3rd; 25 Free 24.16 6th. Ages 9-10 A: 100 Free Relay (Evelyn Lippert, Kaylin Kathol, Luke Kleinschmit, Piper Dendinger) 1:35.18, 4th. A: 100 Medley Relay (Kaylin Kathol, Ellie Mae Sudbeck, Ryker Hochstein, Grant Huesers) 1:46.87, 3rd. B: 100 Free Relay (Eli Hochstein, Chesney Peitz, Ryker Hochstein, Grant Huesers) 1:30.01, 2nd. B: 100 Medley Relay (Silas Gall, Charlotte Reifenrath, Piper Dendinger, Eli Hochstein) 1:49.62, 5th. Piper Dendinger: 100 IM 1:40.90, 1st; 25 Fly 20.37, 1st; 25 Back 21.28, 1st; 25 Breast 23.62, 1st. Silas Gall: 25 Free 29.81, 15th; 25 Back 36.63, 14th. Eli Hochstein: 25 Free 20.18, 5th; 100 IM 2:06.64, 5th; 25 Back 26.17, 7th; 25 Breast 28.14, 3rd. RykerHochstein:100IM2:12.37,7th;25Fly29.98,7th. Grant Huesers: 25 Back 25.00, 4th; 25 Fly 21.24, 2nd; 25 Free 19.65, 4th. Kaylin Kathol: 25 Back 29.20, 8th. Luke Kleinschmit: 25 Breast 35.28, 10th; 25 Fly 32.53, 9th. Evelyn Lippert: 100 IM 2:11.89, 3rd; 25 Fly 28.56, 8th; 25 Back 26.50, 3rd; 25 Free 21.72, 5th. Chesney Peitz: 25 Breast 33.99, 10th; 25 Free 30.62, 18th. Charlotte Reifenrath: 25 Fly 28.59, 9th; 100 IM 2:20.95, 8th. Ellie Mae Sudbeck: 25 Free 24.04, 9th; 25 Breast 30.68, 6th. Ages 11-12 A: 200 Free Relay (Eli Cattau, Anders Peitz, Andrew Huesers, Braxton Christensen) 2:33.15, 2nd. A: 200 Medley Relay (Levi Steffen, Andrew Huesers, Braxton Christensen, Eli Cattau) 2:52.84, 1st. B: 200 Medley Relay (Cadence Lammers, Evelyn Lippert,Anders Peitz, Paxton Peterson) 3:59.62, 7th. B: 200 Free Relay (Ellie Mae Sudbeck, Paxton Peterson, Cadence Lammers, Levi Steffen) 3:25.79, 10th. Eli Cattau: 100 IM 1:38.81, 4th; 50 Fly 42.44, 2nd; 50 Back 43.73, 1st; 50 Free 33.95, 2nd. Braxton Christensen: 100 IM 1:30.42, 1st; 50 Fly 39.39, 1st; 50 Breast 46.65, 1st; 50 Free 33.39, 1st. Andrew Huesers: 50 Breast 50.11, 4th; 100 IM 1:39.54, 5th; 50 Back 46.86, 4th; 50 Free 39.84, 7th. Cadence Lammers: 50 Back 1:10.20, 19th; 50 Breast 1:14.26, 16th; 50 Fly 1:11.92, 16th; 50 Free 1:00.39, 22nd. AndersPeitz:50Fly1:02.67,6th;50Breast58.84,7th. Charlotte Reifenrath: 50 Breast 1:14.04, 15th. Levi Steffen: 50 Back 46.09, 3rd. Ages 13-14 A: 200 Medley Relay (Hadley Dendinger, Blake Hames, Max Climer, Owen Becker) 2:39.03, 2nd. A: 200 Free Relay (Max Climer, Kylie Ross, Celia Gall, Randall Huesers) 2:29.70, 4th. Owen Becker: 50 Back 53.23, 6th. Max Climer: 50 Back 43.14, 2nd; 50 Breast 42.03, 4th; 50 Free 34.59, 4th; 100 IM 1:24.57, 4th. Hadley Dendinger: 50 Free 32.11, 3rd; 50 Fly 35.69, 1st; 50 Back 37.60, 1st; 50 Breast 42.20, 2nd. Celia Gall: 50 Breast 55.50, 12th; 50 Back 50.07, 9th; 50 Free 40.85, 15th. Blake Hames: 50 Fly 44.96, 6th; 50 Back 55.49, 8th. Randall Huesers: 50 Free 32.03, 3rd; 50 Breast 38.05, 1st; 100 IM 1:20.64, 3rd; 50 Fly 33.84, 3rd. Kylie Ross: 50 Fly 57.79, 15th; 50 Free 49.59, 22nd; 50 Back 52.84, 12th. Levi Steffen: 50 Free 41.40, 10th. Ages 15-18: A: 200 Medley Relay (Emily Climer, Randall Huesers, Cam Carl, Kyson Lammers) 2:30.27, 2nd. A: 200 Free Relay (Hadley Dendinger, Emily Climer, Cam Carl, Kyson Lammers) 2:13.09, 2nd. Owen Becker: 50 Free 39.53, 9th. Cam Carl: 100 IM 1:29.11, 4th; 50 Fly 39.47, 5th; 50 Breast 41.40, 1st; 50 Free 32.73, 5th. Emily Climer: 50 Back 43.12, 4th; 100 IM 1:36.78, 6th; 50 Fly 42.41, 5th; 50 Free 35.95, 6th. Blake Hames: 50 Breast 45.89, 6th. Kyson Lammers: 100 IM 1:22.19, 2nd; 50 Back 38.98, 2nd; 50 Breast 41.92, 2nd; 50 Free 30.00, 3rd.

Klug tossed a gem when Hartington needed it most, turning away Crofton 2-0 in the second game after Post 128 forced the “winner take all” game with a 4-1 win in the opening game.

Klug allowed just one hit in the second game and he spoiled a wonderful performance from Crofton’s Harrison Poppe, who ran out of pitches with two outs in the sixth inning after pitching the final two outs of the opening game to secure that win.

“Hats off to Crofton and the Poppe kid,” said Hartington skipper Don Whitmire. “We just kind of scrapped all night and so did they, kind of what you expect when you play Crofton. Nothing tonight was pretty, but we got the win and I’ll take it.”

It appeared as if the second game could go on forever as Poppe and Klug battled the entire game.

Post 4 finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth scoring two unearned runs.

Poppe got the first two batters out on fly balls, then the wheels temporarily came off of the Crofton defensive wagon.

Grant Klug hit a fly ball to right field which was dropped, then Poppe allowed three consecutive walks to score the first run of the game.

Alex Potts came on in relief after Poppe’s pitch count hit the limit, but Potts gave up a free base and Post 4 was up 2-0.

Gavin Klug almost put a cherry on top of his night as he stepped to the plate and rifled a line drive into left field which would have probably cleared the bases as Crofton left fielder Knox Hegge made a remarkable diving catch on the ball to end the inning.

Klug stepped back on the mound and used just six pitches to put Post 128 away in the seventh getting a pair of fly balls and his tenth strikeout of the game.

“I have a great defense and a great catcher. It makes it pretty easy to get out there and just throw the ball,” Klug said. “We have a great group of guys and we just believe in each other and we got it done here tonight.”

After Crofton had forced the second game and with Poppe on the mound, Post 128 coach Ben Hegge thought life’s tumblers were turning in his team’s direction.

“After the first game, man, this is a little tough,” Hegge said. “We were right there, just an out away and we’re still even. We’re trying to build a good program here and we’re on our way. I am very proud of our guys.”

Crofton scored in the first inning of the opener then plated three runs in the fifth to give winning pitcher Jarrett Johnson all of the support he needed.

Hartington answered in the seventh with a single run, but the damage was done and the teams moved on to the second game.

“I’ll be honest, I was more than worried after that first game,” said Whitmire. “I’m just happy we had Gavin there ready to go for the second game. We have two or three guys who are older and regulars on our Seniors team who wanted to stay and play Juniors as well. They have picked up the younger guys and showed them what it takes to win.

“We’ll get down to state and see what we can get done. We’ve got the arms so we should be all right.”

HARTINGTON AMERICAN LEGION POST 4 SECURITY BANK JUNIOR BUZZARDS DEFEATED CROFTON AMERICAN LEGION POST 128 JUNIORS 2-0. CRO0000000-013 HAR000002X-260 WP: Gavin Klug LP: Harrison Poppe. 2B: Keaton Keiser (H). Lineup AB R H RBI BB S O Hudson Whitmire 2 0 1 1 2 0 Gavin Klug 3 0 1 0 1 0 Grady Haberer 3 0 1 0 0 2 Rylan Fischer 3 0 1 0 0 0 Reid Potts 3 0 0 0 0 1 Grant Klug 3 1 0 0 0 0 Keaton Keiser 2 1 2 0 1 0 Caden Kleinschmit 2 0 0 0 1 0 Parker Leise 2 0 0 1 1 0 TEAM 23 2 6 2 6 3 CROFTON AMERICAN LEGION POST 128 JUNIORS DEFEATED HARTINGTON AMERICAN LEGION POST 4 SECURITY BANK JUNIOR BUZZARDS 4-1. HAR0000001-125 CRO100030X-442 WP: Jarrett Johnson LP: Hudson Whitmire. Lineup AB R H RBI BB S O Hudson Whitmire 2 0 0 0 0 0 Gavin Klug 3 0 1 0 0 1 Grady Haberer 2 0 0 0 1 1 Rylan Fischer 3 0 0 0 0 0 Reid Potts 2 0 0 0 0 0 Blake Bensen 0 1 0 0 0 0 Grant Klug 3 0 1 0 0 0 Cade Kleinschmit 2 0 0 1 0 0 Keaton Kleinschmit 1 0 0 0 2 0 Parker Leise 3 0 0 0 0 1 TEAM 21 1 2 1 3 4

Devon Lammers paced a 24-hit attack for Wynot, going 4-5 at the plate including a double and a home run, scored three times and drove in two and of course there was some Wieseler involvement in the win.

Landon Wieseler was 4-5 with 3 RBI’s and a double, Jalen Wieseler was 2-5 and scored twice and a double, Peyton Wieseler had a hit and an RBI, Nathan Wieseler had a hit and scored once and Carson Wieseler went 3-4 and scored twice.

Oh, and Landon was the winning pitcher after delivering six solid innings on the mound, allowing just four hits and no runs while striking out five Black Sox batters.

In fact, all of the Expos had productive nights at the dish.

Lee Heimes had a couple of hits and scored twice; Jesse Lundahl had two hits, scored twice and drove in two; Jackson Sudbeck was 3-5 while driving in four; Ryan Heimes had a hit and Dylan Heine had a hit.

When you add it all up it comes to 24 hits and 15 runs.

Colt .45’s owned a win over Wynot taking a 15-7 decision over the Expos back on May 27, but this night belonged to surging Expos.

Wynot scored a couple of runs in the first inning then book ended the game with three in the bottom of the eighth to turn away the Colt .45’s by the 5-2 final score.

Landon Wieseler, Lee Heimes, Lundahl, Sudbeck and Scott Morrison each crossed the plate one time in the contest for the Expos.

Peyton Wieseler earned the win on the mound with Jesse Lundahl picking up a save battling the final two innings.

Wynot is set to enter South Dakota Class B Amateur Baseball District action in Menno with the tournament opening July 23 and running through Aug. 1.

The Expos earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament and will take on the Irene Cardinals in the opening round July 24 at 8 p.m. in Menno.

WYN (9-8) 2 5 1 0 6 0 1 X X - 15 24 1 FRE (8-11) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X X - 0 4 2 WP: Landon Wieseler LP: J. Fiegen. 2B: Sawyer Wipf (F); Devon Lammers, Jalen Wieseler, Landon Wieseler (W). HR: Devon Lammers (W). CLT000000110-271 WYN20000003X-5130 WP: Peyton Wieseler LP: W. Herrity S: Jesse Lundahl. 2B: Grayson Girard, Aiden Bobzin (C); Jalen Wieseler, Nathan Wieseler (W). 3B: Aiden Bobzin (C). HR: Grayson Girard (C).