Sports

The Central City High School track and field team was forced to change their plans last Tuesday on the fly and instead found themselves competing at the Sandy Creek Track and Field Invitational last Thursday after it was originally postponed. In the end it was well worth the wait as the Bison had themselves a day.

It was a busy week for the Central City/Fullerton/Centura Kernels as Mother Nature played a role in the schedule adding an extra game to the week. After being snowed out in Hastings last Tuesday, the Kernels picked up the action on Thursday as they began a six day stretch with five games.

Each year the best track and field athletes in the county come together for the annual Merrick County Track and Field Invitational. Each year the weather proves to be an obstacle and this year was no different with cool temperatures and wind.

Last Wednesday the Central City High School basketball team made history. The team stepped on the court at the Bob Devaney Sports Center with plenty of excitement, being the first Bison basketball team since 1947 to play in the Nebraska state basketball tournament. The excitement was felt inside the facility as the Bison band, cheerleaders, dance team and countless fans created a once in a lifetime moment for the group.

The past met the present on a special day for the Bison basketball team on Monday for a pep rally honoring the 2023 Central City High School basketball team, but also the 1947 team. Left to right from top left: Dale Hedges and Dale Campbell represented the last Bison team to qualify for the state tournament. Both men took time to speak with players such as Derek and Dylan Pfeifer and offered words of advice and a handshake like the one Ashton Gragg receives. Of course this years team was also recognized by the great Doug Van Pelt as guys like Ayden Zikmund, Clark Brown and Kenai Kearney were announced. The day also offered a chance to recognize those who qualified for the state science fair as Molly Blanchard, Jerzie Schindler, Caleb Rowe and Elaina McHargue were recognized. The event wrapped up with some run as the chair game was brought back to provide smiles like the one on Blake Jensen’s face as Truman Ryan sits on his lap.

On multiple occasions over the past 76 years the Central City High School basketball team found themselves just one game away from making history as a trip to the Nebraska State Basketball Tournament was in their reach. With each attempt the result was the same, and each time it meant the end of an otherwise great season.