Second Season

The NSAA postseason officially got underway on Monday morning with Class B softball (in a new format this year) and girls golf for Classes A and B. One Class C district competed on Monday with the other four on Tuesday so we have a complete field for state girls golf which will be contested at three different courses next Monday and Tuesday. We will have full coverage in next week’s Wednesday newsletter. Make sure you scroll all the way to the end of today’s newsletter for a special giveaway for subscribers.

The Class A field for girls could be the most talented in recent memory. In Kearney at Awarii Dunes (district A-1), Lincoln Southwest’s Kate Strickland shot a 6-under par 66 (believed to be a state girls record) to upend defending individual champion Kaitlyn Hanna of Omaha Westside. Other district champions: Baylee Steele, North Platte (74, A2); Kate Ruge, Millard North (78, A3); Nicole Kolbas, Lincoln Pius X (79, A4). Team champions: Lincoln Southwest (A1), North Platte (A2), Millard North (A3), Lincoln Pius X (A4).

In Class B, four-time defending champion Omaha Duchesne played the part again in district play, winning the B-1 with a team score of 342 (47 shots better than Nebraska City). Individual champion from last year, Lauren Goertz shot a 71 to take medalist honors. Her district score was one of four scores across the state in Class B under 80 on Monday. Other district champions: Sydnee Southwick, Beatrice (96, B2); Danica Badura, Aurora (76, B3); Madilyne Kleich-Schlaepfer, Gering, (72, B4). Team champions: Duchesne (B1), Seward (B2), York (B3), Scottsbluff (B4).

Class C golfers were treated to a sunny but more difficult day on Tuesday as winds throughout the state gusted over 30 miles per hour at times. On Monday in Norfolk, Pierce’s Sydney Erickson won the C-3 with an 86. On Tuesday the lowest score from across the state was from West Point-Beemer’s Brooke Diekemper who shot an 81 at Oakland Golf Club to earn medalist honors in the C-2. Other district champions: Taylor Van Ostrand, Lincoln Christian (83, C1); Lynzi Becker, Cozad (82, C4) and Payton Wise, Kimbal (88, C5)

Full district results available here.

State championships HQ with links to tee times.

In The (B)eginning

The new format for Class B softball seems to be a success so far. Gone is the six district, two wild card format that the class had used for years. The new format, which started Monday, featured 10 districts which will advanced to a best-of-3 series with six other wild cards (based on NSAA point standings) to determine the field of eight for the state tournament in Hastings next week.

Here are a few quick recaps from what happened to get to our final 16: Beatrice finds new gear, tops Crete | Waverly squeaks past Norris

District champions: Omaha Gross Catholic, Blair, Omaha Skutt Catholic, Waverly, Beatrice, Wayne, York, Hastings, McCook, Gering

Projected Wild Cards: Crete, Norris, NEN, Northwest, Seward, Adams Central.

Projected Pairings: McCook (16) at Omaha Skutt Catholic (1). NEN (9) at Omaha Gross Catholic (8). Blair (12) at Hastings (5). Adams Central (13) at Wayne (4). Seward (11) at Waverly (6). Gering (14) at Crete (3). Northwest (10) at Norris (7). York (15) at Beatrice (2).

MORE SOFTBALL: Class A and C softball districts (and plea for help)

The York Dukes rolled through the Class B-7 district tournament going 3-0 and outscoring their opponents 37-5. (nebpreps / Ben Mohorn)

Sweet Home Chicago

Class B, top-ranked Omaha Skutt went head-to-head with some of the top teams in the nation over the weekend, advancing to the finals of the prestigious ASICS Challenge in Chicago. They advanced to the gold bracket finals — defeating MaxPreps, No. 5 Lousville Assumption along the way — before falling the finals to Marist, IL. It’s safe to say that tracking down the SkyHawks in Class B will be a tough ask.

We took our first stab at volleyball rankings last Thursday and will do so again this week. You can check our first version here. What to do with Class C-2 and the big three of Hastings St. Cecilia, Grand Island Central Catholic and Superior? All have beat each other this year. And another big win for Fillmore Central on Tuesday in five sets over Class D-1, No. 1 Diller-Odell.

MORE VOLLEYBALL: Weekly Scores | Playoff Points

A NET Pass

Wanna go to the 2019 NSAA State Volleyball tournament on us? We got you. nebpreps.com is giving away one NET Pass good for all sessions of the tournament November 7-9 in Lincoln All you have to do is click here, Complete the form and we will draw a winner on October 23rd.