Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo Sam Kruger carries the ball for Winner in Friday’s game with Valentine. Kruger had 70 yards rushing. The Warriors defeated Valentine, Neb., 54-14.
By Dan Bechtold Editor
Winner football team remains perfect on the year with a convincing win over Valentine, Neb., Friday night at Warrior field. The No. 2 ranked Class 11B Warriors defeated Valentine 54-14 to improve to 5-0.
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Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo The Winner area dance hip hop team won first place at the local invitational. They are presenting their routine Saturday in the Armory.
Winner Area competitive cheer and dance team placed high at the Winner Invitational Saturday afternoon.
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Colton Hall/Winner Advocate Photo Gene Bertram, the head coach of the Colome Cowboys, coaches his team from the sideline during a Cowboys home game.
It’s tough when two of your better players are missing, it’s tough to play well, let alone try to get a win.
The Colome Cowboys football team found itself without a pair of Shippy’s that are integral to the team’s success, and ultimately fell to Irene-Wakonda, 40-20 on Friday, Sept. 13.
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Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo Kaden Keiser (No. 6) carries the ball for Winner in Friday’s game in Wagner. With the win the Warriors are 4-0 for the season.
By Dan Bechtold Editor Winner High School football team recorded its second-high scoring shutout of the season Friday night in Wagner. The Warriors won the game 52-0 and the game ended in the third quarter due to the mercy rule.
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Kathy Hrabanek, head coach of the Colome Cowgirls, coaches in her team’s game against Tripp/Delmont-Armour on Saturday, Sept. 14. The Cowgirls would go on to lose in five sets.
By Colton Hall Staff Writer
Kathy Hrabanek, the head coach of the Colome Cowgirls volleyball team was a little emotional following her team’s loss to Tripp/Delmont-Armour on Saturday, Sept. 14.
Considering her team’s near comeback win, she had a right to be.
The Colome Cowgirls have been in multiple positions to win match-ups, but have found trouble finishing. It’s the typical up and down roller-coaster if you will.
One set the Cowgirls will be on fire, the next they’re at a low.
It’s not like all the teams beating the Cowgirls are immensely more talented. It’s the fact that a young and somewhat inexperienced team is trying to learn how to do something that it hasn’t done much of in the past. Win.
More often than not, it’s the Cowgirls themselves who lose the game, not the other team winning it.
“We shoot ourselves in the foot,” Kathy Hrabanek said. “We tend to play just good enough to play, and not good enough to win. Our girls know that we should be winning these matches.”
Early in the season, Hrabanek noticed that her team couldn’t win the tough matches when things got tough.
“We have a tough time winning the ‘dogfights’,” Hrabanek said. “We go into a game, and we start slow because we don’t know if you can play with a team rather than trying to take it to them.”
Mental mistakes seemed to plague Colome early. The Cowgirls held a lead multiple times throughout all sets, and let Tripp/Delmont-Armour back into the game.
Colome made mental errors that led to a 25-18 loss in the first set, but the Cowgirls did what they’ve done all season. Fight.
After answering with a 25-16 win in the second set, Colome battled in the third but fell 25-23. That’s when the pressure was mounting.
It seemed as though the Cowgirls were going to “throw in the towel,” as they’ve tend to do in the past. Not these Cowgirls.
At the beginning of the season, Hrabanek sat down with her team and knew that something had to change.
In the past, the Cowgirls haven’t built a dynasty, but Hrabanek is trying to change that.
“My girls tend to be complacent,” Hrabanek said. “I told them at the beginning of the season that it’s a mindset change. You have to look on the other side of the net against the opposing team and say ‘bring it’. If you want to win games, you have to be able to say that.”
So, when the Cowgirls came away with a win in the fourth set, they showed that they’ve listened to Hrabranek, who is in her sixth year as a coach of the Cowgirls.
These Cowgirls have started to win the dogfights. No, they may not have won the match, but they taking the right steps toward getting to that point.
“We’re doing some really good things,” Hrabanek said. “We’re improving on everything else. We’re passing, hitting, and blocking the ball very well. We’re doing everything that we set out to do before the year started, it’s just the little things that are costing us sets.”
The “little things” such as unforced errors proved to be a point of weakness for the Cowgirls against Tripp/Delmont-Armour.
Colome gave up many points because of unforced errors including three of the last five points in the fifth set for Tripp/Delmont-Armour.
Part of coaching an improving team is being able to make important schematic changes when your team isn’t answering the bell. Hrabanek saw that her team needed to take advantage of Tripp/Delmont-Armours hitters.
The Cowgirls head coach moved her team from a 6-2 defense to a 5-1 defense that put more players in the back court to get the ball up and take advantage of the Cowgirls outside hitters like Haley Krumpus who played a solid game.
Krumpus finished with eight kills, and 17 digs while Baylie Hoffine lead the Cowgirls with 18 digs.
“We went from a 6-2 to a 5-1 in the second set. Tripp/Delmont Armour is a good hitting team, but they’re not a great hitting team. With that, I felt that our blockers could do a better job in a 5-1.”
The schematic change proved to work even though it was something new for Colome.
“We don’t run a lot of receive with a 5-1, and I knew that we had a young Libero in the back. I figured that I needed that support to help her out a bit. They all handled it very well.”
The Cowgirls may not have won the game, but they’re done being complacent. They’re done giving in. They may not be winning all their matches, but they’re winning the ‘dogfights”.
Head coach of the Colome Cowgirls Kathy Hrabanek calls a time out during her team’s game against Platte/Geddes on Thursday, Sept. 5, and gives a low five to Jordyn Seegers.
By Colton Hall Staff Writer
Cowgirls vs. Crow Creek
One step at a time.
It may not seem like it, but the Colome Cowgirls Volleyball team continues to get better.
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Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo Kade Watson of the Winner Area Cross Country team won first place at the McCook Central Montrose Meet in Salem on Sept. 3. Watson was the first male athlete from Winner to win the meet.
By Dan Bechtold
Editor
Kade Watson of the Winner Area cross country team took first place in the McCook Central/Montrose Invitational on Sept. 3.
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Dan Bechtold/Winner Advocate Photo Winner football team talks to coaches during a break a game.
By Dan Bechtold Editor
Winner High School football team struck often and with a balanced attack as they shut out Wessington Springs/Woonsocket/Sanborn Central 54-0 Friday. The game ended at the half due to the mercy rule.
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Winner area competitive cheer team won first place at the Gregory Invitational on Saturday. Pictured in front is Daisy McIntyre. Second row from left are Addy Pravecek and Cora Moss. Third row from left are Leigh Balsiger, Emma Jorgensen, Cici Watson, Shelby Scott, Alex Bohnet and Kasie Leighton. In back from left are Deja Kucera, Karlee Brozik, Brennan Bachmann, Alanie Old Lodge, Keleigh Stands, Jenna Hammerbeck and Katherine Jankauskas.
Winner competitive cheer team took first place at the Gregory Invitational on Aug. 31. Winner scored 121.5 points with Platte/Geddes coming in second at 118 points.
“For this being our first competition, I was extremely happy with taking home first,” said coach Val Ewing. “Our goal going to the meet was just to go and do our best and get the nerves out,” said the coach.
“There are seven girls on the Winner squad that have never competed like this. With these girls as much as we prepare them for what it is like, you just really can’t,” said Ewing.
“We have been practicing but with school starting and summer ending we have had some practices where we didn’t do all our stunts or do anything with music which makes a difference.”
The coach noted all stunts stayed in the air in Gregory. “The girls were pretty on with their timing and it was a great first performance.”
The coach added the team has a lot of cleaning up to do and are always looking for ways to increase our difficulty scores so our next routine will not look exactly like this first one.”
The Winner Invitational will be held Sept. 14. It will start at 1 p.m. in the Armory.
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