Sports

Facing a two-set deficit, the Centura volleyball team was not going to back down, especially not in the finals of the LouPlatte Conference volleyball tournament opposite their cross-county rivals from St. Paul. Last Thursday night, on the hardwood at Wood River Rural High School, the Centurions, aided by three straight service points from sophomore Carlie Sokol, erased a late-deficit in the third set of the best-of-five match; however, an error and a blocked shot by senior Sydney Davis ended up causing the Centurions to fall to the Wildcats 25-18, 25-9, 25-23. Sokol had a big game for the Centurions, with the sophomore registering a lone kill, eight service points, four aces, and two blocks in the match. The Burgundy and Gray were led on the attack by Taya Christensen and Sydney Davis, who finished with eight and seven kills, respectively. Christensen also had a pair of service points, while Davis had two aces in the match. Kyra Wooden, the Centurions’ setter, had a kill, two blocks, and finished with a pair of service points, while Hope McDonald also contributed on the attack with a solo kill and a single block. Davis led Centura’s defense at the net with four blocks in the match. Thursday night’s loss to the Wildcats, which was just the fifth of the year for the fourth-rated Centurions, capped off a dominating tournament run, which featured the Howard County kids topping both Central City and Ord in the opening rounds.

The St. Paul cross country team had plenty of practice tackling hills on the cross country course this season; however, last week, at the District C-4 Championship, the course was far from hilly. That lack of topographical deviation, howling winds, and the presence of a horde of talented runners, proved to be too many obstacles for the Wildcats to overcome in their quest to extend the postseason. St. Paul fell short of qualifying a single runner for state last week, and ended up closing out their 2022 campaign.

St. Paul’s postseason run was cut short last Friday. The Wildcats ended their season with back-toback losses to Northeast Nebraska (NEN) and a 20-11 overall record. Vying for a spot in the 2022 NSAA State Softball Championships, the two squads met on the diamond in Wisner for a best-of-three game series. The Vipers took the opening game in walk off fashion, 9-8, then needed just five innings to punch their ticket to state with a 10-2 victory in the final contest.

The strength of the LouPlatte Conference was on full display last Tuesday afternoon, when runners from all nine conference schools converged on the St. Paul Country Club for the conference’s annual meet. Amid that talented field of runners were six members of the Centurions’ cross country team, all of whom made strong showings amid a crowded field.