Sports

The Runza Holiday Classic did not get off to a great start for the Central City High School girls’ basketball team, but the young roster of players kept battling as they finished the tournament with a record-breaking performance to serve as their second win of the season and also a big confidence booster heading into the January portion of the schedule.

In recent years the history books at Central City High School have been updated to show plenty of success for the Bison basketball team as they have broken multiple team and individual records while seeing a level of success that hasn’t been seen for some time. Since 2013 the Runza Holiday Classic has been a tradition in Central City, but in all previous years the home team came short of hoisting the annual trophy.

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The High Plains Community Storm headed out of the holiday moratorium looking to finish 2022 strong and set the tone for the 2023 portion of their schedule. For the Lady Storm that is exactly what they accomplished as they were able to defeat both East Butler and Friend to be crowned the champions of the East Bulter Holiday Basketball Tournament.

It was a year to remember in the Republican-Nonpareil sports coverage area as we take a look back at 2022 with our five top moments from the year. Left to right from the top left: It was another great season for the Central City High School wrestling team as they once again left Omaha with a team trophy. This time around it was a Class C Runnerup trophy while they also had individual medals from (left to right) Tristan Burbach, Jaramie Elton, Cole Kunz, Drew Garfield and Bryce Sutton. For Kunz and Garfield the season also finished with an undefeated record and their second individual state championship cementing them each as Bison wrestling legends. At the same time the Bison boys basketball team was also bringing home hardware as they were crowned the 2022 Lou-Platte Conference Champions after defeating Doniphan-Trumbull. The team went on to advance to a district final where they were defeated by just four points by the eventual state champion. The record-breaking team finished with a 21-6 record. Records were also being broken at Nebraska Christian where the Lady Eagles were on a terror. Thanks in part to Molly Griess and the rest of the senior class the girls basketball team built on a record volleyball season and hit the basketball court with confidence. The team performed well all season and in an exciting win over Alma, they secured their first ever trip to the NSAA State Basketball Tournament. The historic team finished the season with a 20-6 record. Winning has become a tradition for the Central City/Fullerton/Centura Kernels baseball program and there was plenty of that in 2022. With just one loss in the regular season the Kernels stumbled but found there groove as they defeated Norris and Elkhorn in the NSAA State Baseball Tournament before losing to eventual champion Elkhorn North. The run was the best in program history as they finished with a 22-4 record. Wins also came for the Central City softball team who made it back to the NSAA State Softball Tournament and finished with wins over Malcolm and NEN. The team finished the season with a record 26 wins. The Polk County Slammers also made it to their first state tournament adding to a special softball season in our area.