The Nebraska State Wrestling Championships got off to a snowy start on Thursday morning at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, and the area’s three Class D wrestlers struggled to gain traction in the competitive field.

Palmer’s Emmerson Earl and Jacob Stromberg, as well as Central Valley’s Tristin Grim, all lost in their opening round matches.

During most years, the St. Paul Wildcats picking up a win against the Holdrege Dusters in mid-February would not get noticed across the Cornhusker State.

The Elba Bluejays were hoping to end their regular season on a high note when they welcomed Franklin to town last Friday night. Yet, the Bluejays’ dreams of a fifth win this season were quickly dashed by the Flyers, who capitalized on a slow start by the Howard County kids and hung on to their lead in the fourth quarter despite a late Elba rally.

The Holdrege Dusters blew into St. Paul last week and upended senior night, as the Purple and Gold dominated the Wildcats on both ends of the court to pick up a 42-28 victory during both teams’ regular season finales.

For the Elba Bluejays, last Thursday game against the Franklin Flyers looked as if it would be the perfect time for the Purple and Gold to chalk up another victory this season. However, the Flyers’ height and sharpshooting proved to be a dangerous combination for the Howard County kids, with Franklin topping Elba – despite a fourth-quarter explosion by the Bluejays –68-48.

The Centurion boys’ basketball team likely entered last Thursday night’s LouPlatte Conference consolation game against Arcadia/Loup City looking to build some momentum to help them string together some wins during the final two weeks of the regular season.

The LouPlatte Conference title game had all the makings of a Cinderella Story for the two-loss Centura girls’ basketball team. After being dealt a major blow at the end of January by the Ravenna Bluejays, Saturday night’s title tilt inside the Bison Activities Dome at Central City High School was the perfect setting for the Centurions to exact revenge.