Sports

The Central Plains Lady Oilers took two firstplace spots Sept. 3 in the Ellsworth High School Invitational Tennis Tournament. Emily Ryan, who has taken second place at State for the past two years, was first in singles.

Wilson kicked off its 2019 football season Friday night with a dramatic win over Southern Cloud at Miltonvale. The final score was 50-0 — which included seven touchdowns for Wilson and 361 rushing yards, compared to 75 for Southern Cloud.

Starting the season off on a high note, the Ellsworth Bearcats defeated the Russell Broncos 44-22 Friday night. The ‘Cats were the first to score, with a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Morgan Kelley. With 3:41 left in the first quarter, Ellsworth led Russell, 6-0.

The Ellsworth football team traveled to Concordia Saturday for what is expected to be an annual event — a Jamboree that also attracted teams from Beloit, Concordia and Chapman.

The Lady Oilers tennis team is expected to show improvement this season, head coach Gary Bittner said. “I think we’re pretty locked in to what we need to do to be successful,” he said. “We may experiment with a few different lineups early, but it shouldn’t take us too long to get into a groove.

Members of the Lady Oilers volleyball team worked this summer to develop team chemistry and improve communication. Lisa Crites, who is in her fourth season as head coach, thinks the work will pay off this season when Central Plains takes the court. “This team never quits a ball,” she said.

The Central Plains cross country team returns two state qualifiers for the 2019 season. Juniors Hannah Redetzke qualified in both her freshman and sophomore years and Monica Short qualified her freshman year and sat out the 2018 season because of injury.

The Central Plains football team hopes to stretch its six-year playoff streak to seven years this season. In 2018, the Oilers posted a 13-0 record in 8 man, Division I, winning state titles in 2014 and 2018. Could it happen again?

Bob Powers expects his Wilson cross country team to earn a trip to Wamego this season. “[We have a] good chance of making it back to state,” said Powers, who is in his fourth year as head coach.“Totally dependent on how hard the kids want to work.

Wilson’s Lady Dragons have a new volleyball coach this season. Audi Hanzlick was the head coach at the junior high school before she moved to varsity. She follows Cindy Heinze. Her assistant is Mary Kratky. Returning players are juniors Kami Thrasher and Bryna Hill and sophomore Macy Hanzlick.