Jock Talk

If you want to take in any Kimball High basketball this weekend, you will need to head for North Platte and the Community College gym as that is where the SPVA Conference Tournament will be finishing up after the first round play and Monday and Tuesday were held at the seeded teams’ home sites. Girl’s play will take place today in North Platte and boys play on Friday, then both girls and boys on Saturday and those pairings and times depend on the outcome of first round play.

I can tell you the Kimball junior high boys are scheduled to play at Morill this evening (Thursday) at 4 p.m., and will play at Mitchell this Monday at 4 p.m. Our Kimball High Wrestlers are at the Single Tournament this weekend, and on Tuesday (January 23), the unbeaten Mitchell girls will be at Kimball with the JV game set for 4 p.m., followed by the varsity contest.

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I got the word Saturday evening a few minutes before the Kimball girls came out on the court for warmup that senior Alex Reader was going to play. None the less, it gave me a rush to see her come out and take part in the

warmup drills.

I am sure by now you know she had torn her ACL once again in the knee that took away her junior season, and her surgeons have told her she needs to undergo yet another surgery. It was her own decision, according to her mother, to go ahead and try to finish out this season as she has been told it won’t damage it any more. She is still going to need the surgery, but she is giving it a try with a brace supporting the bad knee. How about another miracle that would let sister Kate join her?

In fact, it would be nice to see Senior Kaylyn Nelson return from her concussion from a few weeks back and Samantha Bemis from her knee problems, Sheridan Magninie with her back problems and Jaydin Paxton from

the bad fall she took a week or so back. The way this season has gone is enough to make Coach Pedersen turn to adult beverages!

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Another good night for our Big Mike Daum as he led his South Dakota State Team to a 94-72 win over Denver this past weekend. Daum scored 34 points, going 10/14 on field goals, was 10/11 at the line, and 4/6 on 3

point attempts. He had 21 points at half-time and finished with 8 rebounds.

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Congrats to our area girls making the Star Herald All Region Volleyball Teams released this past week. Potter-Dix had senior Trinity Langley named to the 3rd team and senior Audrey Juelfs to the 4th team. Kimball senior

Hannah Biesecker was named to the 5th team.

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STOP THE PRESS…..Alex Reader’s attempted come back was short lived. With 4:12 gone in the opening quarter of Monday night’s SPVA Tournament game with Chase County, Alex had the knee go out while making a hard defensive play. She limped to the bench and that was it. Her Kimball High career appears to be over. She gave it a courageous try and wanted so badly to finish out her senior season and help this struggling team. Thanks for the valiant effort, Alex.

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While on the subject of the Reader situation, thank you Donna Juelfs for what you organized at the Kimball and Potter-Dix girl’s game down at Potter last week. Prior to the start of the girl’s varsity game, the Reader sisters, Alex and Kate, were joined by Trinity Langley and Audrey Juelfs at midcourt while the PA announcer informed the crowd that these four young ladies had played together on an off-season Club team and they all exchanged hugs.

The crowd was then informed how the Reader girls’ had raised over $1500 last year for the Team Ashyton Foundation, which we have reported on before, and that they had set up to do the same this year with pledges

for free throws and 3 point shots made. With both sisters out for the season with knee injuries, that plan went out the window, but Donna asked the crowd to come forward with their pledges during and after the game, to

help continue the plan. At the end of the contest, a total of right at $50 had been pledged and Donna said she had more pledges awaiting. What a great effort by her and the Potter-Dix girl’s basketball program. Anyone

wishing to still make a donation, can contact either Donna or the Reader sisters.