The Cougars enter the season ranked 6th in the NJCAA pre-season poll. The team opened the season August 18-19 at the Reiver Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and will be at home Tuesday, August 22 against Casper College at 7 p.m.
The men’s and women’s soccer teams are somewhat young this year, but have plenty of talent. The Cougars opened the season Saturday, August 19 and will have their first home matches of the year on Monday, August 21 against Southeast Community College beginning at 10 a.m.
It is always nice to see former Cougars and Sean McGee, who played for WNCC from 1986-88 stopped by the college this summer to tour his old stomping grounds and visit his dorm parents. More photos and a lot more old photos of Cougar athletics at the back of the newsletter.
Erica Fava is ready to make an impact at the Division I level at the University of Nebraska Omaha and it will be at another position as the WNCC former hitter is now an libero. Also, Fava said she is looking forward to play Nebraska on the Husker football field.
Friday, August 18
VBALL – AWAY – WNCC at Reiver Classic @ Council Bluffs, Iowa
Saturday, August 19
VBALL – AWAY – WNCC at Reiver Classic @ Council Bluffs, Iowa
WS – AWAY – WNCC vs. Iowa Lakes @ Sterling, Colo.
MS – AWAY – WNCC vs. Iowa Lakes @ Sterling, Colo.
Monday, August 21
WS – HOME – Southeast at WNCC
MS – HOME – Southeast at WNCC
Tuesday, August 22
VBALL – HOME – Casper College at WNCC @ Cougar Palace, 7 p.m.
Saturday, August 26
WS – AWAY – WNCC vs. Black Hills State @ Rapid City, S.D. (scrimmage)
MS – AWAY – WNCC vs. S.D. School of Mines @ Rapid City, S.D. (scrimmage)
Tuesday, August 29
VBALL – AWAY – WNCC at EWC @ Torrington, Wyoming, 7 p.m.
Friday, September 1
VBALL – AWAY – WNCC at Salt Lake Invite @ Salt Lake City, Utah
Saturday, September 2
VBALL – AWAY – WNCC at Salt Lake Invite @ Salt Lake City, Utah
WS – AWAY – WNCC at Casper College, @ Casper, Wyo.
MS – AWAY – WNCC at Casper College, @ Casper, Wyo.
Sunday, September 3
WS – AWAY – WNCC vs. Gillette College, @ Casper, Wyo.
MS – AWAY – WNCC vs. Gillette College, @ Casper, Wyo.
Monday, September 4 WNCC – Labor Day – NO CLASSES
Friday, September 8
VBALL – AWAY – WNCC at NJC Invite @ Sterling, Colorado
WS – HOME – Northwest at WNCC, Landers Soccer Complex
MS – HOME – Northwest at WNCC, Landers Soccer Complex
Saturday, September 9
VBALL – AWAY – WNCC at NJC Invite @ Sterling, Colorado
WS – HOME – Central Wyoming at WNCC, Landers Soccer Complex
MS – HOME – Central Wyoming at WNCC, Landers Soccer Complex
Thursday, September 14
VBALL – HOME – Wyo-Braska Classic @ Cougar Palace
4 p.m. – Gillette vs. Western Wyoming
6 p.m. – WNCC vs. Missouri State-West Plains
Friday, September 15
VBALL – HOME – Wyo-Braska Classic @ Cougar Palace
9 a.m. – LCCC vs. Iowa Western
11 a.m. – NJC vs. Western Wyoming
1 p.m. – WNCC vs. LCCC
3 p.m. – NJC vs. Central Wyoming
5 p.m. – Iowa Western vs. Western Wyoming
7 p.m. – WNCC vs. Central Wyoming
Saturday, September 16
VBALL – HOME – Wyo-Braska Classic @ Cougar Palace
9 a.m. – Missouri State-West Plains vs. Central Wyoming
11 a.m. – Iowa Western vs. WNCC
1 p.m. – LCCC vs. Missouri State-West Plains
3 p.m. – Iowa Western vs. Central Wyoming
5 p.m. – Gillette vs. WNCC
WS – HOME – Western Wyoming at WNCC, Landers Soccer Complex
Tuesday, September 19
VBALL – AWAY – WNCC at McCook C.C., @ McCook, NE 5:30 p.m. MST
Friday, September 22
VBALL – AWAY – WNCC at Lamar., @ Lamar, Nebraska, 7 p.m.
WS – AWAY – WNCC at Casper College, @ Casper, Wyoming
MS – AWAY – WNCC at Casper College, @ Casper, Wyoming
BASE – AWAY – WNCC at U. of Colorado Springs, @ Colorado Springs, Colo.
Saturday, September 23
WS – WNCC at Gillette College, @ Gillette, Wyoming
MS – WNCC at Gillette College, @ Gillette, Wyoming
BASE – HOME – Alumni vs. WNCC @ Cleveland Field
Jerónimo Zelaya Diaz a freshman from Argentina, slides to take away a ball from a WNCC alumni player during their annual alumni match on Saturday, August 12. WNCC won 3-1 over the alumni.College of Southern Idaho Head Men’s Basketball Coach Jeff Reinert has announced that A.J. DeMond has been hired as an assistant coach for the Golden Eagle Men’s Basketball Team.
DeMond is very familiar with the CSI Men’s basketball program having previously served as an assistant coach from 2020-2022. He returns to the Golden Eagles coaching staff after serving as the lead assistant at Western Nebraska Community College during the 2022-23 season.
“I am pleased to welcome back A.J. and his wife Hailey to the CSI and Twin Falls community,” Reinert said. “A.J. is a talented young coach who has demonstrated his commitment to ensuring success on the
Welcome to the new with the revamped Cougar newsletter, Cougar Illustrated?
Well, you will see a lot, but the first thing is there are ads/logos of the WNCC Frontline sponsors. So, if you are a Cougar sponsor, please send me an ad if you want.
With the addition of ads, this newsletter will look more like a magazine, just like Sports Illustrated in a way, but with different stories inside.
The layout will be a little different and there will be standing features. And, it is hopeful that athletic newsletter will be out more often, so I will need help from
court, achievement in the classroom, and engagement in the community. His tireless work ethic and familiarity with our culture
the readers and the coaches and the athletes. If any player or coaches or former WNCC Cougars wants to help write stories, features, or columns, come and see me.
I am also planning on a more detailed alumni section, so if you are a former Cougar, please contact me with information of what you are doing now and information about your family and memories of competing as a Cougar and don’t forget the years.
So, let’s just get started and you can read the new athletic newsletter and please let me know what you think and any suggestions to add to it.
and program has me very excited about his addition to our staff.”
DeMond, an Idaho native, has a proven track record of success on and off the court. This past season at Western Nebraska, DeMond coached multiple NJCAA Region 9 selections and helped the team to an increase in win total from the previous season.
“My wife Haily and I are thrilled to be returning to CSI and the Twin Falls Community.” Demond said. “CSI is a special place with the greatest fans and supporters of any junior college in the country. We are very blessed to have this opportunity and can’t wait to get started. Live or Die CSI!”
— CSI Press Release
The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will open the season this weekend with plenty of motivation after the NJCAA released its pre-season volleyball poll Monday afternoon.
WNCC, which finished 34-5 a year ago, finishing in the top six at the national tournament, enter the season ranked sixth in the country.
Charli Blackman, one of the five returning sophomores from a year ago, said this ranking gives them motivation as they enter the season.
“It doesn’t put pressure, but we have a different with a whole new dynamic and basically a new team,” Blackman said. “Our whole team is different this year with new hitters, new passers, new everything, but I believe in them and coach believes in them and we know they know what to do and do what is best for the team. We are really excited and I know those girls are excited for being sixth and working hard to move up.”
The announcement of a Top 10 pre-season ranking did bring plenty of excitement to the team and the WNCC community when the news got out. Blackman said it is a great honor, but the players know they have to work hard to stay up there or even higher.
“It is really awesome to see our hard work last season really paid off,” Blackman, the hitter from New Zealand, said. “We will really have to fight to stay up there because we know there will be some hard competition but we are super-stoked to just be in the top 10. Six is such an honor so we want to move up this year.”
To stay in the Top 10 with the schedule the Cougars have will not be an easy chore. In the first four tournaments, the Cougars will play seven of the Top 20 teams, including four of the top five teams. Blackman said that competition should make them better.
“We have some hard competition coming up in Iowa this week and in Salt Lake City and then the Wyo-Braska tournament here, but I reckon we can do it,” she said. “We have an awesome team and talent with different players from all over the country
and other countries. I think we can do it if we put our minds to it. It will just be a lot harder than what we anticipated.”
Florida Southwestern State College is the pre-season No. 1 team followed by the next four teams who the Cougars will play, including No. 2 Miami Dade College, No. 3 Missouri State-West Plains, No. 4 Indian Hills Community College, and No. 5 Salt Lake Community College.
WNCC comes in at No. 6 with Trinity Valley Community College at No. 7, New Mexico Military Institute at No. 8, Utah State Eastern at No. 9, and Seward County Community College at No. 10.
WNCC will face New Mexico Military along with No. 12 Northeastern Junior College, No. 16 Snow College, and No. 17 Butler Community College.
WNCC opens the season this weekend
when they have four matches at the Reiver Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa, beginning Friday. The Cougars open the season against Butler followed by Iowa Western on Friday followed by showdowns with Dodge City Community College and Indian Hills on Saturday. The Cougars will then return home for a home match on Tuesday, August 22 against Casper College.
At the Salt Lake tourney over Labor Day Weekend, the Cougars will have games against Lee College, Salt Lake, Miami Dade, and College of Southern Idaho. The following weekend at a tourney in Sterling, Colorado, WNCC will have another hard weekend when they face Snow College, Indian Hills, New Mexico Military and then Dodge City.
That will set up the Wyo-Braska Classic
Continued on next page
Kyana Gabriel, a freshman from Hilo Hawaii, passes the ball during the WNCC and EWC scrimmage. The Cougars, who are ranked sixth in the NJCAA pre-season poll, open the season August 18 and 19 at the Reiver Classin in Council Bluffs, Iowa.at Cougar Palace September 14-16 when the Cougars will face Missouri State-West Plains, Laramie County, Gillette College, and Central Wyoming College.
Blackman said they are excited to get the season started this weekend in Iowa.
“We are excited for this weekend. We cannot wait to get on that court,” she said. “We have a scrimmage tomorrow (Tuesday against EWC and Chadron State) and we can’t wait to get on the court and play like a team. The scrimmage will be like a pre-season game, but we are all excited to go to Iowa.”
WNCC will open with some tough competition and the team knows what they have to improve on after Tuesday’s scrimmages with Eastern Wyoming College and Chadron State College.
This year’s team is young with five sophomores back from a year ago with only one starter.
Still things are looking good as for talent on the team.
“We are looking really good. We are mixing really well as a team on and off the court,” Blackman said. “Everything is going really smoothly and I know coach is really happy of how we are playing. I couldn’t be happy with all the girls because stepped up and are doing what they need to be doing.”
Besides Blackman, the other returners include Shanelle Martinez of San Antonio, Texas; Shae Hardy of Windsor, Colorado, Maya Angelova of Kyustendil, Bulgaria, and Megan Bewley of Scottsbluff.
Martinez said this team has plenty of potential.
“I think we have quite a bit of talent on this team,” sophomore setter Shanelle Martinez, who was a First Team NJCAA All-American a year ago, said. “It is just we are a young team so there is learning that we need to do. But, we have great talent; we just have to mesh together.”
Hardy, also a returning setter, said the three weeks that they will practice before classes begin August 21 will be crucial in building that bond among the team.
“It is so important because this is where we bond and have the chemistry to get out there and play. If we didn’t do this, we wouldn’t get anywhere, honestly,” Hardy said. “There is a lot of learning to do for the freshmen, but I believe in them. We all
believe in each other and It think we will do really good this year.”
After the five returners, the Cougar team will be young with freshmen including two from the Panhandle in Gering’s Carleigh Pszanka, a 6-0 outside hitter, and Harrison’s Tamika Eastman, a 5-10 hitter, make up two of the 10 freshmen.
Two of the freshmen are from neighboring states with Taylor Tyser, a 5-4 libero/defensive specialist from Laramie, Wyoming, and 5-8 hitter Jaylen Nachtigall from Hot Springs, South Dakota.
The other freshmen are hitters. They include 5-9 outside hitter Dani Cruz of Guadalajara, Mexico; 5-11 rightside hitter Lilly Zwart of Tasmin, New Zealand; 5-10 hitter Chloe Grady of Kaneohe, Hawaii; 5-6 middle hitter Dessiah Christopher of Naples, Florida; 6-1 middle hitter Finja Schul of Bergisch Gladbach, Germany; and 5-8 hitter/setter Kyana Gabriel of Hilo Hawaii.
Martinez loves the hitters that she gets to set to.
“There are a lot of good hitters that are standing out,” Martinez said. “They play
hard, they work hard, and they are very aggressive. I think the thing we need to work on is our passing, but the hitting is there. The hitting talent is there.”
Both setters said the first week of practice has had its ups and downs, but overall everything is going just well.
“I think it has been going great,” Martinez said. “I think we have a lot of potential, but we have a lot of work to do and it seems like a lot of the girls are willing to work hard. I think it will be an easier season if everyone has their mindset.”
Hardy said everyone is working hard to accomplish that goal of getting back to nationals.
“I think it (the preseason workouts) has been going really good,” she said. “We have been putting in a lot of hard work. We have been working really hard and we are getting there.”
Blackman added, “We all have something new and different to bring to the team, so I am excited to see how this plays out. I think we have a really good connection with everyone one.”
— Written by Mark Rein The WNCC volleyball players celebrate a point during their scrimmage match with Chadron State College on August 15. The Cougars open the season at the Reiver Classic in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Last year the men’s soccer team managed just four wins on the season before falling in the quarterfinals of the Region IX tournament.
This year, the outlook for the Cougar men is to claim a regional title. But, the players know to do that, they have to accomplish that feat in steps.
“Our first goal it being Region IX champions,” sophomore Sebastian Arenas of Manizales Colombia, said. “But we know we have to go step-by-step.”
That goal started last week when the team reported for pre-season practices and the 26-man roster has been working hard to get ready for the season that officially begins August 19 against Iowa Lakes Community College in Sterling, Colorado.
“The practices are going well,” Arenas said. “We are putting in a lot of effort. The team has a goal and everyone wants to reach it. We are practicing a lot in order to create a good environment in the team, so we can show our potential.”
The Cougars lost some key players from a year ago, but return seven players from a year ago. Besides Arenas, the Cougars return starting goalkeeper Hernan Burdiles from Santiago, Chile. Other returners include Samuel Acosta also from Manizales, Colombia, Adolfo Rojas and Luis Escobar both from Aurora, Colorado, Pablo Dominguez from Madrid Spain, and Pedro Roche from Ponce, Puerto Rico.
The freshmen on the team are talented and all the players are battling in practice for playing time. The newcomers include Scottsbluff’s Eduardo Sena, Lexington’s Kenny Morales, and Kearney’s Jhordy Solares.
Other newcomers include four from Miami, Florida, in Luis Terreros, Michael Escobar, Isrrael Rodriquez, and Roberto Rivero.
The other players are all international including players from Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Germany, Colombia, Gambia, Belgium, and Argentina.
Those players are Felipe Alvarez De Araya and Lucas Ovalle from Chile; Joao Bisneto, Joao Menezes, Eduardo Oliveira,
and Guilherme Lindolfo from Brazil; Alex Carrillo from Ecuador; Paul Denz from Germany; Simon Echeverry from Colombia; Abdoulie Fatty from Gambia; Maxime Niyibaho from Belgium, and Jeronimo Zelaya Diaz from Argentina.
Arenas said there is plenty of talent on this team and they are working hard to put a good product on the field. The soccer fans can see the product on Saturday when the women and men will play the alumni at Landers Soccer Complex with the men going at 3 p.m. after the women’s game at 1 p.m.
“As I said before, we have a really good team, our coaching staff is trying to make us improve every day,” Arenas said. “We are creating connections that can help us with games and be successful.”
Arenas added that not only him, but the entire team is working hard in the weight
room and on the field.
“I am very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this team,” he said. “Everyone from the freshmen to the sophomores have been putting in loads of hard work and have been really dedicated this pre-season to get a step closer to our dream of reaching the national tournament.”
The connection that they are making is something the players are hoping to carry to success, including a regional title. The last time the Cougars won the Region IX title was 20 years ago back in 2003.
“We have a lot of players in different positions, all of them with wonderful abilities,” Arenas said. “The intensity in the practices is high and we are working on our weaknesses. Everyone has a lot of expectations, and we want to make history this year.”
— Written by Mark Rein WNCC freshman Luis Terreros of Miami, Florida, goes to kick the ball during the men’s scrimmage game against the Cougar alumni on August 12. The Cougars first home contest is set for Monday, August 21 against Southeast Community College with the women at 10 a.m. and men at noon.
Head Coach: Todd Rasnic Assistant
Eseah
The Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer team will be young, but with plenty of talent after graduating nine sophomores from a team that went 7-7 a year ago.
This year, the Cougar women have five returners that saw plenty of action along with a good group of incoming freshmen to aim for a 10-win season. The last time the Cougar women had a 10-plus win season was in 2019 when they went 13-4.
The women will see how they mesh this weekend when they have an alumni game on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Landers Soccer Complex and then they open the season for real on August 19 when they travel to Sterling, Colorado, to face Iowa Lakes Community College before hosting Southeast Community College on Monday, August 21 in a 10 a.m. start.
Sophomore Sara Lourenco, who suffered a knee injury a year ago after the season, said this team has a lot of talent and is looking good in pre-season practices.
“The women’s soccer team can be an excellent team,” Lourenco, of Colider, Brazil, said. “We have great talent and also we all work hard. We have everything to be a very good team.”
Besides Loucenco, the other returners from a year ago include Lesley Vasquez of Denver, Colorado, Tania Razo of Aurora, Colorado, Aileen Perez of Thornton, Colorado, and Jacky Castro of Aurora, Colorado.
What makes the women dangerous is how talented the incoming players are. The Cougars have plenty of talent from around the area including Scottsbluff graduate Kate Larson, Torrington graduate Jade Brothwell, along with Spearfish, South Dakota, graduate Emilee Hunsley, who’s sister Brittney played for the Cougars in 2019.
“The team had a lot of talent and different talent,” Lourenco said. “That, in my opinion, is what makes the team totally complete.”
Larson can also play goalkeeper when she isn’t playing in the field. The goalkeeper is Emily VillaGomez of Aurora, Colorado. As a junior, VillaGomez had 62 saves in net for Vista Peak Prep. Joining VillaGomez on the Cougars is her high school teammate Lizbeth Barrera.
Other players on the team include Ariel Veliz of Wellington, Colorado, Yasmin Urbina of Brush Colorado, Valentina Cueva from Lima, Peru, Ana Gomes from Brazil, Alejandra Rodriguez from Quitor, Ecuador, and the twins on the team Ashley and Maria VillaGomez from Mexico.
With all the talent on this team, Lourenco said it isn’t just one player standing out, but everyone is standing out.
“The team is very talented,” she said. “All the girls are going very well. I can’t say one player is standing out, but the team together will stand out so much this season.”
The team did go through a rash of injuries the first few days of pre-season practices, but have been working hard this past week with almost everyone healthy and getting ready to open the season come August 19.
The Cougars will have seven homes games this season including
capping off the regular season with three straight home contests in October. The Region IX tournament will begin Oct. 21 with the winner advancing to the national tournament in Wichita, Kansas, in November.
The team’s goal is to make the regional tournament and hopefully get a third Region IX championship for the women’s team. The first two came in 2003 and 2008.
The goal for this team is to make the regional tournament and a chance at a regional title. If everything goes right, that could happen. — Written by Mark Rein
WNCC sophomore Jacky Castro goes through a header drill during the third week of practice. The Cougar women’s soccer team opens the season August 19 at Sterling, Colorado, before having a home match on August 21 against Southeast CC at 10 a.m.
“The three teams that earned academic honors shows that it is possible to stay on top of your work and play,” she said. “I also think it speaks highly of the coaches because they encourage to put school first.”
Twenty-seven Western Nebraska Community College athletes that were a part of the Cougar athletic team during the fall or spring semester in some fashion received NJCAA All-Academic honors this summer.
Three teams also received recognition by the NJCAA as Academic teams of the year. Those included the Cougar volleyball team with a 3.28 GPA a year ago followed by the softball team at 3.27, and the women’s soccer team at 3.02.
Individually, volleyball player Megan Bewley, who will be a sophomore this coming year from Scottsbluff, and men’s soccer player Paul Cerros, who graduated in May, earned the highest honors as First Team All-Academic honorees with perfect 4.0 GPAs.
Cerros, who is majoring in biology, said the honor is something special.
“It is definitely a great accomplishment to be a NJCAA first team recipient. Makes my family and me proud,” the Rifle, Colorado, native said. “Some of the hardest classes I took had to be chemistry and anatomy and physiology. I put in the work by studying and preparing myself.”
Bewley, who is majoring nursing, added that playing sports and keeping up with classroom takes dedication.
“It means a lot to be awarded this honor because it takes a lot of hard work and discipline to stay on top of your grades while doing a sport,” Bewley said. “My science classes are the ones that challenge me the most but they are also the one I enjoy the most. I get through them by making sure I study extra for tests and work through concepts I don’t understand.”
Bewley, who was part of the volleyball team that earned the highest GPA of the three teams that earned team All-Academic honors, said having three teams make that list is exceptional.
Twenty-five other Cougars who were a part of the sports teams at some point earned either Second Team or Third Team All-Academic honors. Second team recipients had a 3.8 to 3.99 GPA while Third team honorees had a 3.6 to 3.79 GPAs.
Those receiving Second Team honors included women’s soccer player Natalya Baird-Watson; volleyball player Charli Blackman; men’s soccer players Hernan Burdiles and Paulo Marques; baseball players Tyler Easter and Bruce Peterson; women’s basketball player Mackenzie Joseph; men’s basketball player Maurice Walker’ and softball players Madi Johnston, Bree Henson, Baylie Krueger, and Av ery Fox.
Those receiv ing third team honors includ ed baseball players Alex Ainsworth, Dylan Harris; volleyball players Ale Meoni, Emma lei Mapu, and Alex Hernandez; men’s soccer players Oziel Camargo, Gabriel Santos, and Rennan Sousa; women’s bas ketball players Shi ho Isono and Jayla Owen; softball play ers DesaRae Woolsey and Victoria Whar ton; and women’s soccer player Hailey Kwiakowski.
Besides NJCAA All-Academic honors, there were 39 Cougar athletes that made Re gion IX All-Academ
ic honors. Twenty-four women’s players earned Region IX honors while 15 men’s players earned Region All-Academic honors. To earn Region IX All-Academic consideration, an athlete must have accumulated a minimum of 24 semester hours with a 3.25 GPA in regular college classes excluding remedial/developmental classes.
The volleyball team had the most players on the Region IX All-Academic list with four returning players earning the honor with Megan Bewley, Shae Hardy, Charli Blackman, and Maya Angelova, and other six players that graduated in May on the list in Erica Fava, Anakaren Chavez, Ale Meoni, Emmalei Mapu, Alex Hernandez, and Bree Henson.
The softball team had seven members on the list including two that are returning
Continued on next page
Volleyball, softball, women’s soccer honored as NJCAA All-Academic teams of the year
Krueger. The others graduated in May and they include Maddie Johnston, DesaRae Woolsey, Victoria Wharton, Morgan Dustin, Avery Fox,
Women’s soccer and basketball also had a number of players. Women’s soccer players that made the list were Vicki Granda, Vanessa Vazquez, Hailey Kwiatkowski, Yoseline Hernandez, and Natalya Baird-Watson.
Women’s basketball players on the list included Jayla Owen, Mackenzie Joseph, and Shiho Isono.
The baseball team had eight players make Region IX All-academic. They include Alex Ainsworth, Garrett Dodd, Tyler
Easter, Dylan Harris, Eli Hernandez, Bryce Peterson, Joseph Toubeaux, and Wyatt Zsidisin.
The men’s soccer team had six players with Hernan Burdiles, Oziel Camargo, Paulo Marques, Paul Cerros, Gabriel Santos, and Rennan Sousa. Maurice Walker was the only men’s basketball player to earn Region IX honors.
Cerros said all the hard work that paid off by the athletes academically shows a lot about the type of players that are recruited to play at WNCC.
“What it says is that WNCC athletes are more than just exceptional athletes, we are excellent students as well,” he said.
“The three teams that made all-academic shows that they put in extra work outside of the classroom. They should give scholarships for the hard work to receive the honor.”
Bewley said having players from all seven sports on one of the three teams for the NJCAA honor or the Region IX academic honor shows how much WNCC stresses academics.
“The fact that multiple people earned academic honors shows just how much WNCC advocates for students to put their education first and not their sport,” she said.
— Written by Mark ReinThe 2022-23 Cougar athletic season ended in May with plenty of honors and team accomplishments for the past year.
Cougar athletes performed on and off the playing surface with a Region IX championship in volleyball, NJCAA All-American honors, and a lot of NJCAA All-Academic honors showing that how strong Cougar athletics all the way around.
By the numbers, here is what happened for Cougar Athletics last year.
1 — One Region IX championship and that was by the volleyball team, who finished the season at 34-5 and finished sixth at the national tournament.
2 — Megan Bewley of the volleyball team and Paul Cerres of the men’s soccer team earned First Team NJCAA All-Academic honors with a perfect 4.0 GPA for the fall and spring semester.
2 — The number of coaches that earned Region IX Coach of the Year honors. Those belong to Binny Canales with the volleyball team and Isaac Lu with the women’s basketball team.
3 — Three Cougar teams earned NJCAA All-Academic team honors this past season. They include the volleyball team with the highest GPA at 3.28 followed closely by the softball team with a 3.27 GPA, and the women’s soccer with a 3.02.
3 — Three Cougars were named NJCAA All-American. Jayla Owen earned honorable mention for women’s basketball while Erica Fava and Shanelle Martinez earned first team honors for volleyball.
6 — This is the number of Cougar athletes that earned Region IX all-tournament for their play in the regional tourney. The volleyball team was led by tournament MVP Ale Meoni while Jenna Curtis, AK Chavez, and Shanelle Martinez also earned all-tourney honors. Mackenzie Joseph and Biko Johnson each earned
all-tournament honors for men’s and women’s basketball.
8 — The number of Cougar athletes that earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during the spring semester. Those individuals who
garnered the Spring Semester President’s List nod included three on the softball team with Baylie Krueger, Maddie Johnston, and Avery Fox, while men’s soccer
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The sophomores with Coach Binny Canales after the team defeated Central Wyoming College and captured the Regional title and automatic berth into the national tournament on Nov. 4. WNCC baseball coach Mike Jones congratulates Shintaro Inoue after hitting a home run during McCook. Inoue was named the Region IX Freshman of the year. WNCC’s Jayla Owen dribbles to the basketball during a game Owen, a freshman, was an NJCAA All-American and signed with the University of North Dakota.had two with Paul Cerres and Gabriel Santos. Women’s soccer had Natayle Yasmin Baird-Watson and baseball had Gus Allred.
9 — The number of players that earned second or third team NJCAA All-Academic honors. The men’s soccer team and the softball team each put six players on the second or third team. The men’s soccer players include Hernan Burdiles. Oziel Camargo, Paulo Marquez, Paul Cerros, Gabriel Santos, and Rennan Sousa. The softball team all-academic members included Avery Fox, Bree Hensen, Maddie Johnston, Baylie Krueger, Victoria Wharton, and DesaRae Woolsey. Men’s basketball had one player in Maurice Walker, while the women’s basketball team had three players with Shiho Isono, Mackenzie Joseph, and Jayla Owen. The women’s soccer team had four members with Nataly Yasmin Baird Watson, Andrea Jimenez, Hailey Kwiatkowski, and Aileen Perez. The volleyball team had another five players on the second or third academic team in Charli Blackman, Alex Hernandez, Anna Jasinsky, Emmalei Mapu, and Ale Meoni.
23 — The number of All-region players from the seven Cougar teams. Baseball had one player in Shintaro Inoue; softball had two with Victoria Wharton and Morgan Dustin; men’s basketball had two with Biko Johnson and Carl Thorpe each making third team; and women’s basketball had four with Jayla Owen, Shiho Isono, and Ola Duda making all-region and Yara Garcia making the all-defensive team. The men’s soccer team had four players led by Region IX player of the year Rodrigo Cercal. Also making all-region were Rennan Sousa, Tom Pelzer, and Samuel Acosta. The women’s soccer team had five all-region players. They included Lesle Vasquez, Vanessa Vazquez, Yoseline Hernandez, Tania Razo, and Jackeline Castro. The volleyball team had four players including setter of the year Shanelle Martinez and player of the year Erica Fava. Jenna Curtis was also a first team all-region selection while Emmalei Mapu was second team.
35 — The number of players that earned a 3.60 to 3.99 GPA and made the WNCC Dean’s list in the spring semester. There were 17 members from the fall sports of volleyball and soccer and anoth-
er 18 from basketball, baseball, and softball.
36 — The number of players that earned Region IX All-Academic honors. The volleyball team put eight on the region academic honor roll while baseball had eight players and softball had six. Men’s soccer also had six followed by
women’s soccer with five, women’s basketball with three, and men’s basketball with one.
110 — This is the number of wins by all seven teams combined this past year. With all seven sports, the combined record was 110-114-1.
— Written by Mark Rein
The Cougar softball team earned NJCAA Team Academic honors this season. The WNCC women’s soccer team stood out academically this season as they earned NJCAA academic team honorsVolleyball Record: 34-5
Region IX Champs
Head Coach: Binny Canales
Assistant Coaches:
Adia Sherbyne, Shawn Hergenreder
All-Region First Team
Shanelle Martinez. Erica Fava, Jenna Curtis
All-Region Second Team
Emmalei Mapu
All-Region Honors
Shanelle Martinez, Setter of the Year
Erica Fava, Player of the Year
Binny Canales, South Coach of the Year
Region IX All-Tournament
Ale Meoni, Jenna Curtis, AK Chavez, Shanelle Martinez
Region Tournament MVP
Ale Meoni
NJCAA All-Tournament Team
Ale Meoni
NJCAA All-American
Erica Fava, First Team
Shanelle Martinez, First Team
Region IX All-Academic
Ale Meoni, Shae Hardy, AK Chavez, Erica Fava, Charli Blackman,Megan Bewley, Maya Angelova, Emmalei Mapu
OWH All-Nebraska JUCO Team
Erika Fava, First Team
Jenna Curtis, First Team
Shanelle Martinez, First Team
Emmalei Mapu, Honorable Mention
Ale Meoni, Honorable Mention
Erica Fava OWH MVP
WNCC Cougar Award
AnaKaren Chavez
WNCC Highest Team GPA Volleyball
NJCAA All-Academic First Team
Megan Bewley
NJCAA All-Academic Second Team
Charlie Blackman
NJCAA All-Academic Third Team
Ale Meoni, Emmalai Mapu, Alex Hernandez
NJCAA All-Academic Team for 2022-23
Women’s Soccer
Record: 7-7
Head Coach: Todd Rasnic
Assistant Coaches: Silvio Henrigue, Ivan Sakou, Eseah Ingram
All-Region
Lesley Vasquez, First Team
Vanessa Vazquez, Second Team
Yoseline Hernandez, Second Team
Tania Razo, Honorable Mention
Jackeline Castro, Honorable Mention
OWH All-Nebraska JUCO Team
Lesley Vasquez, First Team
Vicky Granda, Honorable Mention
Tania Razo, Honorable Mention
Vanessa Vazquez, Honorable Mention
Region IX All-Academic
Natalya Baird-Watson, Vanessa Vazquez, Hailey Kwiatkowski,Yoseline Hernandez, Vicky Granda
NJCAA All-Academic Second Team
Aileen Perez
NJCAA All-Academic Third Team
Hailey Kwiatkowski
NJCAA All-Academic Team for 2022-23
Men’s Soccer
Record: 4-7-1
Region IX Quarterfinals
Head Coach: Todd Rasnic
Assistant Coaches: Silvio Henrigue, Ivan Sakou, Eseah Ingram
All-Region
Rodrigo Cercal, First Team
Rennan Sousa, Second Team
Tom Pelzer, Second Team
Samuel Acosta, Honorable mention
Rodrigo Cercal, Player of the Year
OWH All-Nebraska JUCO Team
Rodrigo Cercal, First Team
Matheus Nascimento, First Team
WNCC Staying On Course Award
Gabriel Santos
WNCC Outstanding Student Ambassador
Paul Cerros
WNCC Highest Male Athlete GPA
Paul Cerros
Region IX All-Academic
Herman Burdles, Oziel Camargo, Paulo Marquies, Paul Cerros, Gabriel Santos, Rennan Sousa
NJCAA All-Academic First Team
Paul Cerros
NJCAA All-Academic Second Team
Hernan Burdiles, Paulo Marques
NJCAA All-Academic Third Team
Rennan Sousa, Gabriel Santos, Oziel Camargo
Men’s Basketball
Record: 16-15
Region IX Quarters
Head Coach: Billy Engel
Assistant Coach: AJ DeMond
All-Region
Biko Johnson, Third Team
Carl Thorpe, Third Team
Region IX All-Tournament Team
Biko Johnson
OWH All-Nebraska Team
Biko Johnson, Honorable Mention
Carl Thorpe, Honorable Mention
Region IX All-Academic
Maurice Walker
NJCAA All-Academic Second Team
Maurice Walker
Women’s Basketball
Record: 21-9
Region IX Quarters
Head Coach: Isaac Lu
Assistant Coach: Cory Hill
All-Region
Jayla Owen, Shiho Isono, Ola Duda
All-Defensive Team
Yara Garcia
Region IX All-Tournament
Mackenzie Joseph
Region IX South Coach of the Year
Isaac Lu
NJCAA All-American
Jayla Owen, Honorable Mention
WNCC Outstanding Math Award
Gallla Font
OWH All-Nebraska Team
Ola Duda First Team
Shiho Isono, Honorable mention
Jayla Owen, Honorable mention
Mackenzie Joseph, Honorable Mention
Region IX All-Academic
Shiho Isono, Jayla Owen, Mackenzie Joseph
NJCAA All-Academic Second Team
Mackenzie Joseph
NJCAA All-Academic Third Team
Shiho Isono, Jayla Owen
Softball Record: 11-36
Region IX Tournament (1-2)
Head Coach: Courtney Medina
All-Region
Victoria Wharton,First Team Outfield
Morgan Dustin, Second Team Infield
WNCC Highest Female Athlete GPA
Victoria Wharton
Region IX All-Academic
Devyn Priselac, Bayee Krueger, Maddie Johnston, Bree Henson, Avery Fox, Morgan Dustin
OWH All-Nebraska Team
Morgan Dustin, First Team First Base
Victoria Wharton, First Team Utility
Arianah Plorin, Sianna Lewis, honorable mention
NJCAA All-Academic Team for 2022-23
NJCAA All-Academic Second Team
Madi Johnston, Bree Henson, Baylie Krueger, Avery Fox
NJCAA All-Academic Third Team
Victoria Wharton, DesaRae Woolsey
Baseball Record: 17-35
Region IX -- Final Four
Head Coach: Mike Jones
Assistant Coach: Ryan Burgner
All-Region
Shintaro Inoue, First Team
All-Region All-defensive Team
Shintaro Inoue
Region IX Freshman of the Year
Shintaro Inoue
Region IX All-Academic
Alex Ainsworth, Garrett Dodd, Tyler Easter, Dylan Harris, Elijah Hernandez, Bryce Peterson, Wyatt Zsidisin
OWH All-Nebraska JUCO Team
Shintaro Inoue, First Team Shortstop
Bryce Peterson, Honorable Mention
NJCAA All-Academic Second Team
Bryce Peterson, Tyler Easter
NJCAA All-Academic Third Team
Alex Ainsworth, Dylan Harris
Erica Fava is ready for the Division I level as a member of the University of Nebraska Omaha and the WNCC former All-American is ready for the Division I level with a new position.
Fava said she is enjoying her new home in Omaha and her new position.
“UNO is an amazing place and I’m so glad I’m here,” she said. “I made the right decision!”
UNO will have an exhibition game on Saturday, August 19, before having an home tournament on August 25 and 26 against Texas A&M and Kansas.
“I just got a memory today from a year ago and we were on the bus going to Iowa Western for our first tournament and it’s crazy to think about because we didn’t know how good our team would’ve been and how successful we would’ve been!”
— Erica FavaThe big game for Fava will be on Wednesday, August 30 when the Mavericks will play Nebraska at Memorial Stadium in Volleyball Day. The match will be played outside on the football field.
“Omaha is treating me super good and I love Omaha and I’m happy to be here. Of course all of us are super excited to play at Memorial Stadium, it’ll be an amazing experience to be part of and I’m just grateful that I’ll be able to be part of that and I can’t wait.”
Fava added that while she was an allaround player for WNCC the last two years as a key outside hitter, made the move to being an libero. She is taking that new role and learning what it takes to be a libero.
“I’m working everyday to get used to playing in that new position and see the court in a different way,” Fava said. “It was very hard to make different moves on the court and see everything from a
different view but practicing twice a day for the past two weeks definitely helped and i can say i feel more comfortable now.
The Mavericks will have a young team with just three seniors. Fava said this team has a lot of talent on it with a lot of depth.
“Everyone is super talented and the
level is very high,” she said “I’m lucky to be here and to be able to play with these amazing players and amazing people.”
Coming from WNCC, Fava has had to adapt with different way things are done. She also has to adapt to making new friends.
“Everything is different,” she said. “The way we practice, the way we lift. Our preseason is totally different and the level in the gym is much higher.”
The biggest different is not seeing her teammates from a year ago, where nine sophomores moved on to the four-year level.
“It’s super hard because we were all very close and I miss all of them and our JUCO days and all of the things we did together.,” Fava said. “I just got a memory today from a year ago and we were on the bus going to Iowa Western for our first tournament and it’s crazy to think about because we didn’t know how good our team would’ve been and how successful we would’ve been!”
The thing that is helping Fava is she stayed in Omaha over the summer to get ready for the season.
“I’ve been in Omaha all summer lifting and practicing to get ready for preseason,” she said. “I’ve been getting used to the new place and getting to know all my new teammates!”
Her goal is simple this year, she wants to make the NCAA tournament.
“My goal for this years is to become a good libero,” she said. “I also want to win our conference tournament and go to the NCAA tournament.”
— Written by Mark Rein
Paul Cerros -- Wayland Baptist
Rennan Souisa -- Wayland Baptist
Paulo Henrique -- FLorida National University
Rodrigo Cercal -- William Carey University **
Alex Alarcon -- Kansas Wesleyan
Tom Pelzer -- Missouri Valley College
Dante Rafaela -- Wayland Baptist
Matheus Nascimento -- Midland U.
Gabriel Santos -- Southwestern Christian
Andrea Jimenez -- Central Methodist
Cali Wright -- Northwestern College
Vicky Granda -- Dordt College
Yasmin Rojas -- Doane College
Hazel Cardenas -- Wayland Baptist
Vanessa Vazquez -- Point Park
Yoseline Hernandez -- Point Park
Jayla Owen -- U. of North Dakota
Bre Fowler -- Rogers State
Rashaan Smith -- Oklahoma Wesleyan U.
Yara Garcia -- committed to CSU-Pueblo
Carl Thorpe -- Central Washington
Biko Johnson -- U. of Nebraska Omaha
Erica Fava -- U. of Nebraska Omaha
Jenna Curtis -- S.D. School of MInes
Ale Meoni -- S.D. School of Mines
Jayla Brehmer -- Friends University **
Juliana Oliveira -- Missouri Valley College
Angie Nahinu -- East Central U in Oklahoma
AK Chavez -- Emporia State
Alex Hernandez -- Saint Mary of the Wood
Lexi Keoha -- Saint Mary of the Wood
Roangeraud Fraai — Milligan University
Thibault Mercadier — French National Team
Eli Hernandez — Emporia State
Arthur Blumenschein — Permian Basin U. (Texas)
Wyatt Zsidisin — Regis University
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It was one of the largest turnouts of alumni for the men’s soccer match on August 12 as over 25 former Cougars returned to Scottsbluff to play in the annual alumni soccer match. The current team won 3-1, but had to battle hard against the former Cougars.
Something you want but will never have A
In these two photos, participants in the Cougar volleyball camp go through a setting drill in the photo on the left and the photo on the right shows players going through a hitting drill. The far right photo has two current Cougar players posing for the camera as Taylor Tyser gives a thumbs up of how well the volleyball camp went while Jaylen Nachigall is also pictured in the camp photo. The photo on the bottom right is a team camp photo where varsity and junior varsity teams competed against each other to see who would be the king of the court.
Assistant coach Ryan Burgner works with a camp participant on hitting during the June baseball camp.
(Above) Former Cougar Dru Kuxhausen shows the basketball campers how to dribble during the camp in June.
(Right) Assistant coach AJ Mc plays one-on-one with a couple campers during camp.
Particpants in the 2-day Cougar basketball camp in July work on their dribbling skills in a camp that featured plenty of one-on-one attention to the details of basketball.
On Tuesday, August 1, the day that the volleyball and soccer athletes got to move into the dorms, many of the WNCC women’s soccer players and volleyball players got to participate in the National Night Out festivities in downtown Scottsbluff.
The event was put on by the Scottsbluff and Gering law enforcement in a way for families to come together and have fun with games and see the many things that the law enforcement and medical festivities have to offer.
The Cougar players had a soccer net and the youngsters got to make goals while the women’s soccer players guarded the net. It was a fun time to interact with the community.
National Night Out is something that communities across the United States do and it occurs on the first Tuesday of August. Next year, the event will be held on Tuesday, August 6.
WNCC athletes check out the balloons at the Night Glow
Wherever you’re headed in life, pursue it confidently with no ATM fees*.
Sean McGee, who played for the Cougars in the mid to late 80s, made a trip back to Scottsbluff for a visit during the summer.
McGee played for the Cougars from 1986 through 1988 before transferring to the University of Alaska Anchorage to continue his playing career. During his time at WNCC as a player, McGee was known as DY, a player that loved to dunk the ball. McGee finished his two years with 426 career points.
McGee has made a couple of trips back to the Panhandle in the last 10 years. He said the last time he was back here, his son got bit by a rattle snake and his trip was cut short as his son was flown to Colorado for treatment.
So, this trip, was special. McGee was on his way to attending a wedding in Denver and had to make the trip up to Scottsbluff, where he stayed with his dorm parents and made a trip back to WNCC.
During his trip, he walked around the main campus, the athletic area and met Cou-
gar men’s basketball coach Billy Engel, who found a uniform with his former number on it and gave it to him. His biggest treat was going back to Pioneer Hall and seeing is hold stomping grounds, including going into his old room that he lived in while attending college.
The two color photos show Sean McGee checking out WNCC now as he poses by the Cougar Power sign in the weight room and then lying on the bed that was his room in Pioneer Hall. The black and white photo was when he was at WNCC playing and he was helping with the Lake Alice track program and the youngsters.
Ramses Atahualpa will always remember Scottsbluff and Western Nebraska Community College as a place that grew on him after the former men’s soccer player arrived on campus from Lima, Peru, back in 2017.
During his time at WNCC and then Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colorado, Atahualpa continued playing the sport that he loved -- soccer.
“Well, WNCC gave me the opportunity to come to the States to obtain a degree but also to keep playing at the highest level,” Atahualpa said. “After an incredible two years playing at WNCC, where we beat the school record my freshman year, I obtained the all-time assists leader for the program and I was top three assist leader in the nation my sophomore year, I transferred to play NCAA DII at Colorado Mesa University, where I was named all region team twice and we won the RMAC conference in 2021 where we finished 9th in the nation.
“I also had the opportunity to play in a semi-professional league (USL2). Colorado Springs Switchbaks (2019) and Park City Red Wolves (2022), winning the conference both years. Now, I’m working as a soccer coach at Grand Junction Fire FC. I’m currently working on getting my USSF D License and I’m planning to start a college career as a coach within the next year.”
His time in the states will be one that he will be here for awhile. Early August, Atahualpa celebrated his second wedding anniversary to his wife Nicole.
During his time at WNCC, is number one
and two in assists in a season with 11 assists his freshman year and 10 his sophomore year. He scored 14 goals in his career as a Cougar, which is 8th in the record books.
So, when Atahualpa had a chance to return to Scottsbluff to play in the alumni game after a busy coaching and playing career, he couldn’t turn it down.
“Going back to Scottsbluff for the alumni game made me realize how much time has gone through and I still remembering all the fun memories I created at WNCC,” he said. “Playing against a very talented team was definitely a great time and I could notice how much the program has improved since I left the team.”
What Atalualpa will take about from his time from the game on August 12 is playing on a field that had the Scotts Bluff Monument in the background.
“I felt so awesome to be playing at Landers Complex again,” he said. “I had the best memories from playing on that field and I’m sure I’ll be back there. The team is looking pretty solid this year, they had some quality players joining the program and I’m sure they will make a big impact on the team.”
The WNCC team did beat the alumni
3-1, but it was only 1-0 at halftime and the current team had their hands full against a talented alumni squad that number about 25 players.
Atalualpa’s advice to the current crop of Cougars is to become great people first.
“My advice to the new players coming to WNCC is to be great people first and then great soccer players,” he said. “Make a positive impact on the team, but also on the community. No matter how good of a soccer player you think you are, wake up every day thinking that you can be better than yesterday and that you will make others around you better. There is always room for improvement!”
While he has played in several semi-professional leagues, he is looking to become a coach. He takes that playing experience and brings his soccer knowledge to the younger players that he coaches or comes across.
“I’ll definitely take the competitiveness of the leagues I have played in,” he said. “I was lucky enough to compete against top programs in the country and be apart of quality teams with outstanding players. This great experience helped me develop as a soccer player but also as a person.”
While Atalualpa was back at the college that gave him his collegiate start, he got to visit all the people that helped him grow as a person and player.
“Last thing, I want to say a big THANK YOU to coach Rasnic, Nancy (his wife), and all my teammates and friends that I spent my two years at WNCC,” he said. “I wouldn’t be where I’m right now without their support and help.”
— Written by Mark Rein
As I sit here writing this, I am reflecting back on Cougar athletics from the early days.
There are events that I, personally, didn’t see, but going through the college newspapers and doing some interviews of athletes from those past years, I can see what the history of Cougar athletes is all about.
Since 2000, WNCC has become a national power in winning two NJCAA national titles in 2007 and 2010 and I was at both of them as me and my mom dad drove down to watch the first one in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and then we saw the second national title in West Plains, Missouri.
Those two national titles were fun to watch and something I will remember. But, the Cougars have had plenty of other top performances.
Back in 1995, the Cougar men’s basketball team had a chance to make the NJCAA national title game but fell short in the semifinals. They got to play the third place game and won to finish third at the national tournament
The other memory was in 2003 for the women’s basketball team. That year we (me and my mom and dad) didn’t go to nationals because we thought they didn’t have a chance since year’s before they always lost two and came home. That year was a different story as they won their first two games and made the final four. The semifinal match was against Midland College and Midland was supposed to have won. They didn’t and I was listening to the game on the radio as was my dad. When WNCC won, I remember my mom and dad saying let’s to to Salina, Kansas, to watch the Cougars in the championship game.
308-672-3708
We got up early Saturday morning and drove the seven to eight hours to Salina to watch this Cougar team in a championship game. That is right, women’s basketball has the record for having played for the first championship.
Well, things didn’t go well for WNCC as they faced one of the top teams in the nation Gulf Coast Community College out of Florida. To say the least, we made it to Salina to watch them compete, but they lost by like 40 points or so. Still, what this team did, with other teams in the nation not taking them seriously, showed that WNCC athletics was on the national spotlight.
That championship game continued the Cougars national tradition as the volleyball team was always at nationals competing for a top four finish and the women’s basket-
ball team became a powerhouse from 2016 through 2022 as they went to nationals every year and finished in the top four in 2022.
While it is pretty common to know what the teams did since 2000 -- the modern era, it is what they did in 1926 when WNCC first opened it’s doors for classes. Just think in 2026, the college will be celebrating it’s 100th anniversary and athletics have been a part of the college since that time.
From doing research, I know of many important people that have played a part of some incredible seasons through the college when they had football, basketball, track and field, cross country, golf, and tennis for men’s sports.
Yes, that is right, the college had a foot-
Continued on next page
ball team that played in the early years before disbanding in the late 60s. From that football team came one famous player, Dick “Night Train” Lane who went on to have a stellar NFL career and being inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Lane was also one of the first inductees into the WNCC Athletic Hall of Fame.
I remember talking to Night Train for a story and it was interesting of how I found him. I was bored in my college newspaper, The Spectator office and decided to find some of the older players. Back in the 90s, there wasn’t the Internet like there was today. There wasn’t cell phones either like today. That one special day, I picked up the phone and called the Detroit Lions media office and talked to a guy that knew where he was working -- the Detroit Police Athletic League. They gave me that department’s number and I kept staring at it wondering if I should call. I never called someone that famous before.
After about an hour I called and he answered and we talked. After we talked, he got my address and sent me, by mail, two
autograph photos. He was so nice and told me about what it was like living in Scottsbluff for the semester that he was on the football team and why he left after the first semester. For people that didn’t know, Lane’s mom was living in Scottsbluff and he came up to live with here after his stepmom passed away. He enrolled at Scottsbluff Junior College and was a star for the Cougar football team. He, however, wasn’t a fan of how his mom was living so he dropped out of school after a semester, enlisted into the army and served his country.
After serving his country he was seen playing football by some NFL teams and was offered a tryout. That was all that needs to be said because he made a name for himself in the NFL with Detroit and the LA Rams.
Dick “Night Train” Lane wasn’t the only player to make a name for himself. I also got to watch Bobby Jackson play for the Cougars in the mid 1990s and I loved how he played and went on to have an outstanding NBA career. Jackson is still in the NBA
Continued on next page
This is a photo of a men’s basketball player from the late to mid 1970s that was taken by photographer Craft that was scanned in from negatives. If you look at the gym back then, it was a state-of-the-art gym that was only less than 10 years old. Cougar Palace was built in 1969.
and he is currently an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers. He, too, was inducted into the WNCC athletic hall of fame alongside Lane as the inaugural class.
But, what a lot of people don’t realize is that Jackson was not the first NBA player from the college. Nope. That belongs to Sedric Toney, who played for the Cougars in the early to mid 1980s. Toney was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks n 1985 and played for nine years, the final year with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1994. He continued to work for NBA teams and he currently is a color commentator for ESPN for college basketball games.
There are so many players that have come through WNCC that have shined. While most of them have been male athletes, there have been some big time female athletes that have dawned a Cougar outfit. While men’s athletes have been around since the late 1920s, women’s collegiate athletics didn’t start
until Title IX came in back in 1972. The first women’s team was volleyball back in 1974 when the team went 5-5 under the first women’s coach Margaret Fitzmorris. Fitzmorris coached the Cougars for four seasons where they had a 17-4 record in 1976.
The first 20-win season for the volleyball team came in 1982 under the guidance of former Scottsbluff High coach Cash Franklin. The first 30-win volleyball team came under Cathy Schiller in 1987 when they went 36-11-2. The next year, the Cougars had their first 40-win season at 46-13 and that team was the first women’s team to win a regional title in 1988. The first 50-win season came in 2000 under Gering graduate Chris Green’s leadership.
Since Green took over the program in 1999, the program went to 19 straight national tournaments, won two national titles, finished second three times (2006, 2012, and 2015), and finished in the final four 12 of the last 24 years.
This is just a tip of the iceberg of what this history column will be like. It will be
Continued on next page
Here is the picture of Dick “Night Train” Lane that he sent me after our talk on the phone when I was a student at the college.
a look back at the many top teams, top players, and top performances in the 98 years of Cougar athletics.
So, if you have any memories of Cougar athletics and want to share them, go ahead and write something or contact me at 308631-0459 and we can talk. I have a vast knowledge of Cougar athletes from my time as a student, part-time employee, and fulltime employee at the college.
I have seen it all in my time at the college and I am going to share my memories. And, speaking of memories, I am in the process of scanning in all my old
negatives and photos to make a digital collection and Foundation also received 4x5 negatives from the 1960s from Gary Eckhardt, who was a photographer that photographed Scottsbluff Junior College sports and school activities. I have the negatives from Eckhardt and I am in the process of scanning them in. Scanning in negative and prints is time-comsuming, but slowly, I am making progress.
So, keep your eyes out for future history stories and more photos from the past years as I scan them all in.
Saturday, June 10 was a special day at the Cougar Golf Classic at Monument Shadows Golf Course for the annual fundraiser.
Why was it so special? Well, there was a first time winner as the FFJJ team earned the men’s overall title after barely holding off the second-place team of Wyoming Huskers by just eighth-tenths of a stroke for the championship of the annual Western Nebraska Community College athletic fundraiser.
The FFJJ team shot a 54.6 handicapped score with the Wyoming Huskers finishing with a 55.4 score.
Winning team members included Greg Ferguson, Austin Ferguson, Doug Jones, and Matt Johnson. The Wyoming Huskers team was comprised of Mike Helsel, John E. Helsel, John T. Helsel, and Matt Reimers.
The COED division was won by the Libby Plus 3 team who defeated the Sterling Four team by .5. Libby Plus 3 shot a 57.4 handicapped score, while Sterling Four had a 57.9.
The COED winning team consisted of Luke Stobel, Libby Stobel, Kent Walton, and Ashley Walton, while the Sterling Four team members were Todd
Book, Jess Book, Josh Dorcey, and Drew Book. The third-place team in the COED division was the Elite Coaches team of Courtney Medina, Isaac LU, Eseah Ingram, and Trey Winkler, who were in the hunt as well with a 65.5 handicapped score.
The men’s division, however, was competitive among the top five teams. The FFJJ team shot a 64 before figuring the handicap. The best round went to the Wyoming Huskers who had a 60.
The Legends (Dingus McKee, KC McKee, Rick Gable, and Ethan Bellairs) finished third with a 56.3 handicapped score while the What About Bob team (Bob Hessler, Amando Castaneda, Ryan Burgner, and
Greg Sell) took fourth with a 56.5 handicapped score.
Each of the first-place teams received a $400 Monument Shadows gift certificate. The second and third-places in the men’s division were drawn. The second-place team was The 3-putt Boys (Anthony Solorzano, Cody Zentz, Justin Pierson, and Cody Van Noy), while the third-place team was Hampton Inn & Suites (Justin McDonald, Christ Stillahn, Jeff Ross, Taylor Ross).
All-in-all, there were 16 teams that competed in this year’s Cougar Golf Classic. The golf tournament helps with scholarships for WNCC athletics.
Besides the team prizes, individual hole prizes were available. The winner of the longest drive on hole 4 went to Jeff Ross; the closest to the pin in 2 on hole 5 was Bob Hessler; the closest to the water on hoe 9 went to Darren Clarkson; longest drive by a female on hole 10 went to Jess Book; closest to the sand on hole 12 went to Cody Van Noy; closest to the pin on hole 13 went to Chris Stillahn, shortest drive used on hole 15 went to Mark Wilson; and longest putt by a male went to Kent Walton.
Western Nebraska Community College Cougar Baseball will hold fall baseball leagues for 5 weeks for players ages 7-18. The league will consist of baseball games coached and umpired by Cougar baseball players and coaches.
The Fall Baseball League will be a chance for players to work on their skills outside of the baseball season while playing games. Instruction will be given out during the games to help players fine-tune their skills for the following season.
Ages 7-13
Scottsbluff 23 Club Fields on Monday Nights by Scottsbluff High School
Dates: Aug. 28, Sept. 4, 11, 18 and 25 — Games begin at 6 p.m.
Legion Baseball-Age Players
Scottsbluff 23 Club Fields on Monday Nights by Scottsbluff High School
Dates: Aug. 27 Sept. 3, 10, 17, and 24 — Games times are 6-8 p.m.
Cost is $50 per player. Make checks out to WNCC Baseball You can register online at https://wnccathletics.com/information/camps
Western Nebraska Community College Athletics — wnccathletics.com
