It was a close one until the final whistle, but West Holt was able to come out on top of Dundy County-Stratton to advance to the second round of the 2016 state football playoffs.
The two teams traded scores throughout the game, going into halftime with the Huskies up 19-18. Dundy County-Stratton then took a short-lived lead before West Holt was able to regain the lead and continue on to the win. The win sends West Holt on to a second round showdown with fellow Holt County foe Chambers/Wheeler Central/Ewing, a rematch from October 7 when the Huskies fell to the Renegades 30-18. Brackets have been released for the C2-6 district volleyball tournament, hosted by O'Neill.
In the first round, West Holt will take on Neligh-Oakdale in a 6:15 p.m. showdown on Monday, October 31. West Holt is the second seed in the tournament. Due to the State Football Playoffs, West Holt Public Schools will not have school on Thursday, October 27. The Huskies Football team has an away playoff game at Dundy County-Stratton in Benkelman on Thursday at 2 p.m. Mountain Time. West Holt will have a regular, full school day on Friday, October 28. In the opening round of the Niobrara Valley Conference tournament in Elgin Monday night, West Holt was unable to get the best of Clearwater-Orchard.
It took five sets of exciting volleyball, but the Cyclones came out on top in the end, 15-25, 25-16, 18-25, 25-13, 15-11. The Huskies stormed out to a big lead in the first set, putting the Cyclones away easily. However, they were unable to stop the Cyclone attack as the match wore on, eventually giving way to Clearwater-Orchard. Statistics for the Huskies will be added when they become available. The Huskies are playoff bound and will be on the road on Thursday.
West Holt (5-3) earned the 12th seed in Class D1 and will travel to No. 5 Dundy County-Stratton for the first-round matchup. Brandon Heller and Benjamin Thiele represented West Holt at the State Cross Country Meet in Kearney Friday, finshing among the top runners in the state.
Thiele finished just outside of the top 15, ending up in 21st with a time of 18:02.2. Heller finished with a time of 19:00.9, good for 78th place. 148 runners competed on the day. Norfolk Catholic's Jonah Heng took home first with a time of 16:55.1. Alyssa Reiman had a solid day at the State Cross Country Meet in Kearney Friday.
The senior from West Holt finished 58th in the 148 person field with a time of 22:24.3. It was a tight race as she finished just under two minutes behind the medal winners. West Holt Medical Services is proud to announce that their Certified Pharmacy Technician, Roxie Schaaf is a recipient of the Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA) prestigious “The Caring Kind” award.
For 37 years, the Nebraska Hospital Association has paid tribute to nearly 2,200 of Nebraska’s most caring and dedicated health care employees at The Caring Kind Awards Luncheon during the NHA Annual Convention each fall. Each NHA member hospitals and health systems from across the state nominate one employee from their facility to be recognized. The recipients of this prestigious award go above and beyond the call of duty to demonstrate compassion for patients and dedication to service excellence in their job responsibilities. Award recipients commit themselves to the betterment of their hospitals and health systems, their customers, their coworkers and their communities. Schaaf was nominated by coworker, Brianna Hoffman who shared, “Roxie exemplifies what the word teamwork means. She is a Certified Pharmacy Technician, but performs many functions within our hospital, rural health clinic, and pharmacy. Roxie is involved with medication ordering and formulary management and goes above and beyond to make sure our patients have the medication they need. She will drop whatever she is doing to help someone out and frequently making unpaid trips to the hospital on weekends to ensure our patients receive the appropriate medications and best care.” “Roxie also manages the medication billing and the 340B prescription drug program and is constantly trying to learn more," Hoffman said. "She is actively involved in our electronic medical records software and tries to improve its functionality. Roxie recently took on a new role involving bookkeeping at our on campus retail pharmacy. West Holt Medical Services is lucky to have Roxie on our team!” For more information about West Holt Medical Services visit ww.westholtmed.org or call (402) 925-2811. Pictured left to right (front row): Instructor Julie Younkin, Amy Davis, Margaret Linse, Mari Osborne, Tana O’Neill, Karen Nollette, Lisa Fix, Bri Hoffman, Jessica Prussa, (back row): Hospital Board President Bryan Rentschler, Andrea Kerkman, Nick Konrad, Brad Pfeifer, Marvin Smoot, Kevin Murphy, (not pictured): Maxine Fonseca. Fourteen employees at West Holt Medical Services recently completed a leadership certification program through the Northeast Community College Center for Enterprise.
Classes comprised of five, three-hour sessions held at the Atkinson Public Library focusing on: Leadership Styles, Effective Communication, Conflict Management, Leading through Change, Goal Setting & Problem Solving. Graduates included: Amy Davis, Margaret Linse, Mari Osborne, Tana O’Neill, Karen Nollette, Lisa Fix, Bri Hoffman, Jessica Prussa, Andrea Kerkman, Nick Konrad, Brad Pfeifer, Marvin Smoot, Kevin Murphy, and Maxine Fonseca. Instructor, Julie Younkin of Northeast Community College provided an interactive training platform, engaging WHMS employees to collaborate together through group activities. Each employee was required to complete homework assignments, applying class topics to their work at West Holt Medical Services. Bradley Pfeifer, Chief Executive Officer at West Holt Medical Services shares how this opportunity has impacted his staff. “An important investment has been made in our number one asset: our people. Important skills have been further developed within our leadership team through the Leadership Academy such as communication, understanding of working with various personality styles, big picture thinking, goal setting and conflict management. These skills are essential for today’s ever-changing healthcare environment.” The leadership program was made possible through funding provided by West Holt Medical Services Foundation. “The Foundation is proud to continue fulfilling its mission to obtain, invest and distribute funds which will advance and improve the quality of care provided by West Holt Medical Services,” shared Foundation Board President, Jarrod Hamik. For more information about West Holt Medical Services Foundation visit www.westholtmed.org or call (402) 925-1956. West Holt has been strong on the ground all year and Friday night was no different.
On Parent's Night for the Huskies, they pounded the ball with a steady dose of Mason Hale and Bryce Kerkman to top Clearwater-Orchard 32-0. The two teams spent much of the first quarter in a stalemate, with West Holt squeaking out a 6-0 lead going into the second quarter. After the Huskies blocked a Cyclone punt, Hale scored to put the Huskies up 12-0 in the second quarter. Hale struck once again with just under two minutes left in the half when he took a Kerkman pass 40 yards for another score. West Holt got the ball back once more in the half and capitalized by scoring with just over one second left when Kerkman connected with Devon Dohrman for a 35 yard strike. That score sent the game into half with West Holt holding a comfortable 26-0 lead. The two teams then went back to a defensive battle for the final two quarters, with the only score coming on a Jake Judge run from the one with six minutes left in the fourth quarter to give the Huskies a 32-0 lead. Statistics for both teams were not immediately available. Now at 4-3, West Holt aims to end the regular season on a high note next week when they take on Ainsworth. In other Holt County action: Madison did not have enough players and forfeited, giving O'Neill another win on the season. Chambers/Wheeler Central/Ewing topped Boyd County 40-12. St. Mary's escaped from North Central with a 26-20 win. Stuart dominated Elkhorn Valley 64-26. |