Girls Wrestling
On Thursday, Jan. 20, the Nemaha Central Middle School girls wrestling team traveled to Rossville. This event featured teams from Atchison, Doniphan West, Holton, McLouth, Nemaha Central, Pleasant Ridge, and Riley County.
There were two 7th grade girls from NCMS that wrestled. Their results are as follows: Ellie Burkitt, 3-0; and Kyra Wagner, 0-3.
“I think that the wrestling meet went really good. Everyone tried hard, and did great,” Kyra Wagner, 7th, said.
There were four 8th grade girls from NCMS who wrestled. Their results are as follows: Audrey Sudbeck, 1-2; Charlie Koch, 1-2; Nicole Lambrecht, 2-1; and Viviana Chub Acte, 0-3.
Overall NCMS had a great meet full of ups and downs! Keep up the good work NCMS wrestlers!
Article By: Maggie Sudbeck
On Friday, Jan. 30, the Nemaha Central Middle School girls wrestling team traveled to Marysville. The teams at the meet were: Clay Center, Concordia, Fort Riley, Nemaha Central, Rock Creek, Rossville, Royal Valley, Sabetha, and Wamego.
Four 7th grade girls wrestled, resulting with: Kyra Wagner 2-2, Ellie Burkitt 2-1, Kendra Summers 1-2, and Emersyn Novotny 0-3.
“It was fantastic, and I enjoyed this wrestling meet. The people I wrestled weren't that hard to beat,” Kendra Summers, 7th, said.
Following the 7th grade matches, the 8th graders hit the mat. Nikki Lambrecht ended the night 1-1, and Viviana Chub Acte finished 2-3.
In the end, NCMS pushed through and had a successful meet.
Article by: Isabella Rohlmeier
On Feb. 2, 2026, the Nemaha Central Middle School Girls wrestling team traveled to Silver Lake. Four girls from each grade attended the meet. The other schools that attended the meet were Holton, McLouth/Oskaloosa, Riverside, Rossville, and Royal Valley.
The 7th grade results were Emersyn Novotny 0-3, Kyra Wagner 2-0, Ellie Burkitt 2-1, and Kendra Summers 1-2.
The 8th grade results were Nikki Lambrecht 2-1, Brooklyn Korber 0-3, Vivianna Chub Acte 0-3, and Charlie Koch 1-2.
“It was a challenging meet, but we did well overall,” Lambrecht said.
Overall, NCMS gave their all with each wrestler working hard and doing their best.
Article by Chantell Tsungu
Boys Basketball
On Jan. 12, 2026, the middle school boys basketball team traveled to Holton to play against the Wildcats.
The first quarter of the 8th grade A game did not start well, with the Thunder scoring 3 points and the Wildcats scoring 19. However, in the 2nd quarter, the Thunder started to narrow the gap and got within 6 points by halftime. At halftime, the score was 12-34; Wildcats. The second half didn’t start very strong, with the Thunder scoring 9, and the Wildcats scoring 19. The game ended with the final score being 21-57, the Wildcats winning.
“They had good players and we played a good game, but we didn’t quite come out with the win,” Grant Heinen, 8th grade, said.
For the 8th grade B game, the Thunder came for revenge. After the first quarter, the Thunder led with a score of 12-0. Nemaha Central kept their leg up in the second quarter with Holton scoring 2 points and NC scoring 13, bringing the halftime score 25-2. In the second half, Nemaha Central once again outscored Holton, scoring 16 points and Holton scoring none, making the final score 41-2 with the Thunder walking away with the victory.
The 7th grade A-team started off strong, scoring 18 points in the first quarter and holding Holton to only scoring 3 points. Then the boys slowed down a little bit, scoring 6 points in the second quarter with Holton scoring no points. That brought the first half score to 24-3. Coming into the second half, the Thunder picked up the pace and scored 10 points in the third quarter while Holton only scored 4 points. In the fourth quarter, Nemaha Central really picked it up and scored 14 with Holton scoring 4 points. Making the final score 48-11.
The 7th grade B-team game started pretty even between the two teams, with both of them scoring 5 points. Starting the second quarter, the Thunder started to pull ahead scoring 10 points while Holton trailed behind, only scoring 2 points. The first half came to a close with the score being 15-7; Thunder. In the third quarter, both teams scored only 2 points. The Thunder surged ahead once again, scoring 9 points, and the Wildcats answered with 3 points. The Thunder completed the game with a score of 26-12.
Article by Korbin Schmelzle
On Jan. 15 the Nemaha Central Junior High boys basketball team traveled to Riley County.
In the first quarter NC 8th grade A-team had a slow start, only scoring 6 points and Riley County scoring 17. At halftime Riley County led 32-11. Riley County scored 11 more points and NC scored one point in the 3rd quarter NC played good defense in the 4th quarter limitingRiley County to only 5 points while Riley County limited NC to 6 points. Ethan Jost played really well scoring 10 points. Riley County came out ahead finishing the game 48-18.
NC’s 8th grade B-team boys played some good defense in the first quarter only letting Riley County score 3 and NC scoring 5. In the second quarter Riley County played good offense scoring 9 points and NC scoring 6.The score at halftime was 12-11 with Riley County leading. Riley county and NC ended the 3rd quarter scoring 4 each. Both teams played good defense but NC held Riley County and came out with the win 21-20. NC’s top scorer was Grady Schmelzle with 9 points.
The 7th grade A-team game started off rough in the first quarter only scoring 2 points and Riley County scoring 17.The NC boys did a better job in the second quarter scoring 8 with Riley County scoring 13. Going into halftime Riley County led 30-10. In the second half NC only scored 3 points all from Kemper Scism. Riley County kept the lead making the score 39-13. Both teams had great defense in the last quarter with NC allowing Riley County to make 4, and Riley County not allowing any points to end the game with the score being 43-13. Graham Lueger played a great game, scoring 6 points.
The 7th grade B-team started off strong, scoring 5 in the first quarter while Riley County only scored 3. In the second quarter, Riley County started off strong, scoring 14 points while allowing NC to only score 4.Going into half, the Falcons were up 17-9. Moving into the third quarter Riley County scored 11 and NC scored 2. Riley County did not let up on defense and completed the game 32-13.
“We started off doing good, but they played good defense and offense”, Heiman, 8th, said.
Article by Grant Heinen
On Saturday, Jan.17, the Nemaha Central Middle School boys basketball team traveled to Sabetha for an A-team tournament. The first game played was 7th grade, NC against SPPS. The first quarter was tough for the Thunder, only being able to score two points, both made free-throw shots. SPPS, on the other hand, scored 15 points. The second quarter was about the same, with the Thunder not being able to stop SPPS. The Thunder only scored two more points while SPPS was able to score 11, making the score 26-4 at the half. The third quarter was quiet and the only points scored by either team was on a Thunder layup. In the fourth and final quarter, the Thunder kept fighting, and out scored SPPS 4-2. The final score was 10-28.
Now it was the 8th graders' turn to face SPPS. The first quarter went well for the Thunder, putting up a total of 14 points with both Levi Holthaus and Ethan Jost making a three point shot. SPPS was only able to make one three point shot during this quarter. In the second quarter, the Thunder were able to hold SPPS back, allowing them to score two points. The Thunder were only able to score four points making it a 18-5 score going into halftime. SPPS came out of halftime strong, scoring 13 points. In the third quarter, the Thunder were held to four points. In the last quarter, they came back a little stronger, scoring seven points while SPPS scored five. The ending score of 8th grade NC against SPPS was 29-23, with the Thunder taking the win.
The NC Thunder 7th graders then took on the Marysville Bulldogs. During the first quarter, the Thunder were able to score 10 points while Marysville was able to get past the defense and score 15. In the second quarter, the Thunder scored six points and Marysville scored seven. The score was 16-22 going into halftime. The Thunder came back after halftime strong and was able to score 13 points. The Thunder had strong defense again only allowing seven points in the third quarter. During the fourth quarter, the boys again outscored Marysville with 10 points. The Thunder only let Marysville score six points. The NC Thunder defeated Marysville 39-35.
Next the NC Thunder 8th graders played against Marysville. During the first quarter, the Thunder were able to score a total of eight points while Marysville scored nine. In the second quarter, the Thunder got outscored letting Marysville score 14 points while only getting seven. Going into halftime the score was 15-23. In the third quarter, skills were closely matched while the Thunder scored 9 points and Marysville scored 10 points. In the fourth quarter, the Thunder were able to outscore Marysville, keeping them to eight points, while the thunder scored 10. Number 0, Byers, scored 25 of Marysville’s points and could not be stopped by the Thunder defense. The NC Thunder suffered a loss to Marysville 34-41 ending the tournament at Sabetha.
“I feel we did an awesome job overall as a team and improved a lot,” Evan Bletscher said.
Article by Liv Anderson
On Jan. 22, the Nemaha Central 8th grade boys basketball team traveled to Rossville for a matchup. It was a high-scoring first quarter in the 8th grade A-team game, with Nemaha Central scoring 15 points and Rossville scoring 11 points. In the second quarter, Rossville outscored NC 9-5, making the score at halftime tied at 20 points.
Coming out after halftime, Rossville still had the lead with a score of 29-24. In the fourth quarter, NC came out determined to win, leading by a score, 11-4. The final score at the end of the game was 35-33 with NC coming out on top. Levi Holthaus, 8th, led the scoring in the game with 14 points. “It was very stressful because it was a very close game, and I am happy we got the win,”
Holthaus, 8th, said. In the first quarter of the 8th grade B-team, NC had a lead of 6 points over Rossville’s 4 points. In the second quarter, NC continued to do well with their score being 11-2. NC came out of the locker room in the third quarter wanting to stay in the lead, outscoring Rossville 9-4. In a very high-scoring fourth quarter, NC won, scoring 19 to Rosville’s 12, ending the game with a total score of 45-22. Grady Schmelzle, 8th, was the highest scorer in this game, scoring a total of 15 points.
Article by Evan Spring and Dustin Knowles
On Jan. 27, the Nemaha Central Middle School boys basketball team headed to Hiawatha for a match-up against the Red Hawks. In the 8th grade A-team game, Hiawatha came out strong in the first quarter,10-4. In the second quarter, Hiawatha scored 14 points to Nemaha’s 3 points, 24-7. After halftime, the Red Hawks were still on top 36-11.. By the end of the fourth quarter , the final score was 46-19. The leading scorers for Nemaha Central were Levi Holthaus and Ethan Jost, both scoring 6 points.
In the 8th grade B-team game, Hiawatha came out strong, scoring 12 points to Nemaha's 3. In the second quarter, Nemaha outscored Hiawatha. The score going into halftime was 12-7. During the 3rd quarter, Nemaha scored 8 to Hiawatha's 2. In the last quarter, Nemaha Central worked hard to seal their win, scoring 12 points while holding Hiawatha to 0 points. The final score was 14-27. The leading scorer was Evan Bletscher with 10 points.
Article by Bracin Stallbaumer
On Jan. 29, the Nemaha Central Middle School boys basketball team had their final home game against the Perry Lecompton Kaws.
The eighth grade game started off solid, with the Thunder close behind the Kaws trailing 7-10 after the first quarter. The Thunder came out hot in the second quarter scoring 11 points and held the Kaws to only 4 points, leaving the score 18-14 at halftime. The Thunder kept their momentum for the third quarter and were able to score 10 points to the Kaws 6 points. The score heading into the fourth quarter was 28-20. The fourth quarter was a doozy. The Thunder kept strong and managed to score 11 points. Unfortunately for the Thunder, the Kaws were ready for a comeback and scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to take the lead by 3 to win the game.The final score of the game was 39-42, Kaws. The Thunder's leading scorer was Ethan Jost, with an impressive 23 points.
The eighth grade B team won 29 to 20. The Thunder scored 5 points, while the Kaws scored 6 points in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Thunder took a step up, scoring 9 points, while the Kaws took a step down, scoring 4 points, leaving the score 14 to 10. Coming out of halftime, the Thunder were ready. Throughout the second half, the Thunder went on to score 15 points, ending the game with a 29 to 20, a win for the Thunder. The Thunder’s leading scorer was Evan Bletscher, who scored a respectable 9 points.
The seventh grade A team lost 33-31. Thunder failed to keep up in the first quarter but stepped up, leaving the score 12-14, Kaws. Both teams were prepared to play coming out of half. The Thunder managed to score 11 points against the Kaws’ 10 points. The score was 23-24 going into the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter was a doozy for both teams. Unfortunately for the Thunder, they were able to score only 8 points while the Kaws managed to score 9 points, resulting in a Kaws 33-31 win. The Thunder's leading scorer was Landrey Hiltgen, scoring an impressive 24 points.
The seventh grade B team won 26-17. The Thunder managed to lead 5 to 4 in the first quarter. After the second quarter, the Thunder led 17-6.Coming out of halftime, the Thunder scored 4 while the Kaws scored 2 leaving the score 21-8. The game concluded with a 26-17 win for the Thunder. The Thunder’s leading scorer was Glen Strathman with 11 points. “We have some stuff to improve on, but I think we will be ready come tournament time,” Glen Strathman, 7th., said.
Article by Evan Bletscher