Boone County Athletes Earn Spot On All-Area Team

The 2017 fall sports season has come and gone, maybe a little faster than some had hoped. It was full of highs and lows for all the teams in the area each and every week. Individuals from al across the Local County News area put in work and the results showed under the lights when it was game time.

With that, we are proud to introduce the 2017 Fall Sports All-Area Teams. With help from our staff and coaches from across the region, we narrowed down the list to 25 football players, 25 volleyball players, 15 boy cross country runners and 15 girl cross country runners that stood above the rest all year long. 

Congratulations to all the honorees on both the All-Area teams and the honorable mention list. You’re hard work has not gone unnoticed.

Football
On the top 25 list for football, Boone County was represented by some athletes that led their team all the way to the top of the class.
Dylan Gentrup, Sr., Boone Central/Newman Grove: The senior led the Cardinals to a state runner up finish on the year after putting up 2,014 yards through the air and another 1,419 on the ground to go with 20 touchdowns.
Levi Krueger, Sr., Boone Central/Newman Grove: Another member of the high-powered Cardinal squad, Krueger was one of the area leaders on the ground, racking up 1,226 rush yards and 21 total touchdowns.
Ty Martinsen, Jr., Riverside: 2,990 yards of offense, 33 touchdowns, 86 tackles and a fourth-straight state championship is a great way to make the All-area team. That is exactly how Martinsen's year went.
Cody Nelson, Sr., Boone Central/Newman Grove:  The third head of the Boone Central/Newman Grove triple threat, Nelson did his damage through the air, racking up 728 yards. He also finished with a team-high five interceptions.

Volleyball
Riverside came just one win away from representing Boone County at the state tournament this year, led by their two members on our list.
Morgan Haschke, Jr., Riverside: While Haschke did plenty of damage through her serving with 31 aces, her biggest impact came in controlling the offense, finishing with an incredible 674 assists.
Maddie Walkowiak, Sr., Riverside: Walkowiak was one of the top scoring threats in the entire area all season, finishing with 372 kills. She was also incredibly active defensively, bringing up 303 digs.

Boys Cross Country
Making it into the top 15 cross country runners is no easy task, but two state qualifiers did just that.
Jonathon Lindgren, Fr., Boone Central/Newman Grove: The freshman cemented his place as a force in the cross country world for the next four years when he finished fifth at state with a time of 17:29.2.
Jacob Riggs-Ramage, Jr., St. Edward: Riggs-Ramage was a leader for the Beavers all season, eventually finishing 76th at state with a time of 19:13.8.

Girls Cross Country
When you send your entire team down to the state meet, it is bound to be made up of incredible runners, like the four on this list.
Katie Goodwater, Jr., Boone Central/Newman Grove: Goodwater has become a frequent flier on top runner lists, eventually finishing at state in 69th place with a time of 22:52.7.
Autumn Simons, Fr., Boone Central/Newman Grove: Freshman led the way for the Cardinals in 2017 and Simons was one of the best. She finished 71st at state with a time of 22:55.2.
Jordan Soto-Stopak, Fr., Boone Central/Newman Grove: One way to make your mark on the cross country world is to medal as a freshman. Soto-Stopak did that, taking sixth with a time of 20:25.6.
Samantha Weeder, Fr., Boone Central/Newman Grove: It is hard enough to make state as a freshman. It is even harder to medal at state as a freshman. Unless you are Weeder, who took third with a time of 19:50.0.

Complete All-Area Lists
The full all-area list, including athletes from Antelope, Holt, Boone and Knox counties, is below, listed alphabetically:

Football
Creston Bertschinger, Sr., Clearwater-Orchard
Carter Croxen, Sr., Chambers/Wheeler Central/Ewing
Spencer Davis, Jr., O’Neill
Dylan Gentrup, Sr., Boone Central/Newman Grove
Ross Gribble, Sr., Chambers/Wheeler Central/Ewing
Ghatlin Hegge, Jr., Wausa
Andrew Herley, Jr., Neligh-Oakdale
Bryce Kerkman, Sr., West Holt
Chris Kester, Jr., Clearwater-Orchard
Trevor Klabenes, Sr., Chambers/Wheeler Central/Ewing
Levi Krueger, Sr., Boone Central/Newman Grove
Daniel Libolt, Sr., Chambers/Wheeler Central/Ewing
Wyatt Liewer, Sr., O’Neill
Mason Lofquist, Sr., West Holt
Jacob Long, Jr., Clearwater-Orchard
Ty Martinsen, Jr., Riverside
Josh McFarland, Jr., Elkhorn Valley
Quentin Moles, Sr., Bloomfield
Cody Nelson, Sr., Boone Central/Newman Grove
Hunter Reestman, Jr., Elgin Public/Pope John
Ethan Sattler, Jr., Stuart
Levi Stacken, Sr., Creighton
Clay Thiele, Jr., Clearwater-Orchard
Derek Wortman, Jr., Creighton
Bryce Zimmerer, Jr., Creighton

Volleyball
Kirsten Adams, Jr., Creighton
Payton Birkel, Sr., O’Neill
Reaghan Engal, So., Stuart
Ashtyn Fritz, Jr., Creighton
Grace Henn, Sr., Elgin Public/Pope John
Morgan Haschke, Jr., Riverside
JoCee Johnston, Jr., Clearwater-Orchard
Haley Kerkman, Jr., Neligh-Oakdale
Ashley Koenig, So., Ewing
Bailey Kraus, Sr., West Holt
Calli Krebs, Sr., Elgin Public/Pope John
Paige Meis, Sr., Elgin Public/Pope John
Amber Miller, Jr., Elkhorn Valley
Hannah Ollendick, Jr., Elkhorn Valley
Jenae Osborne, Sr., West Holt
Taylor Jean Peter, So., Chambers/Wheeler Central
Peyton Randolph, Jr., West Holt
Grace Rittscher, Jr., Clearwater-Orchard
Josie Sanger, Jr., Crofton
Bailey Schindler, Sr., Ewing
Miranda Summers, Jr., Ewing
Julian Tuttle, Jr., Clearwater-Orchard
Michelle Wachter, Sr., Bloomfield
Maddie Walkowiak, Sr., Riverside
Allyson Wemhoff, Jr., Elgin Public/Pope John

Boys Cross Country
Joseph Albrecht, Fr., West Holt
Connor Arens, Fr., Crofton
Tanner Arens, Jr., Crofton
Cole Belitz, Jr., Neligh-Oakdale
Hunter Bennett, Fr., Elkhorn Valley
Brayden Effle, Sr., Elkhorn Valley
Tyler Janssen, Jr., Crofton
Nathaniel Jennings, Sr., O’Neill
Aaron Kraus, Fr., West Holt
Cole Laible, Jr., West Holt
Jonathon Lindgren, Fr., Boone Central/Newman Grove
Derek Mahony, Sr., Chambers/Wheeler Central
Jacob Riggs-Ramage, Jr., St. Edward
Ben Thiele, Jr., West Holt
Colby Zuhlke, Fr., Crofton

Girls Cross Country
Haley Arens, Sr., Crofton
Emma Bixler, So., Neligh-Oakdale
Alexis Boldenow, Fr., Crofton
Kira Dickau, Jr., Stuart
Bree Eisenhauer, So., Bloomfield/Wausa
Katie Goodwater, Jr., Boone Central/Newman Grove
Briaunna Parks, Sr., O’Neill
Kelsey Schieffer, Fr., Crofton
Autumn Simons, Fr., Boone Central/Newman Grove
Jordan Soto-Stopak, Fr., Boone Central/Newman Grove
Alison Stineman, So., Elkhorn Valley
Whitney Watson, Jr., O’Neill
Samantha Weeder, Fr., Boone Central/Newman Grove
Carlie Wetzel, Jr., West Holt
Ann Woockman, So., Bloomfield/Wausa

Honorable Mention, football
Neligh-Oakdale - Austin Rice, Nate Buck, Tucker Knust, Kaleb Pofahl
Elkhorn Valley - Brock Schaecher, Caden Reikofski
Elgin Public/Pope John - Liam Heithoff, Kyle Schumacher
Clearwater-Orchard - Zach King, Ryan Wilhelm
Boone Central/Newman Grove - Jessie Sullivan, Will Frey, Garrett Cornwell
Riverside - Micheal Bernt, Riley Swerczek, Trey Carraher, Joseph Bloom
St. Edward - Jesse Osantowski, Trevor Rasmussen
Niobrara/Verdigre - Dakota Crosley, Trent Bauer, Keith Rudloff
Creighton - Travis Tyler, Brayden Zimmerer, Noah Lilly, Brady Nelson
Bloomfield - Branston Gieselman, Michael Castaneda, Trenton Holz, Braden Eisenhauer
Wausa - Tyson Kaiser, Drew Munter
Crofton - Jaden Janssen, Ethan Poppe
Chambers/Wheeler Central/Ewing - Ethan Naughtin
O’Neill - Alex Thramer, Shayne Campbell
St. Mary’s - Grady Semin
West Holt - Shayden Neptune, Mason Hale
Stuart - Wade Paxton, Wyatt Paxton, Isaac Steinhauser

Honorable Mention, volleyball
Neligh-Oakdale - Amanda Dietz, Bailey Frey, Kristen Snodgrass
Elkhorn Valley - Brianna Werner, Sierra Rystrom
Elgin Public/Pope John - Nicki Payne, Kaylee Martinsen, Lydia Behnk
Clearwater-Orchard - Avery Cheatum, Katie Stearns
Riverside - Grace Schalk, Becky Schmeits, Alix Bloom
St. Edward - Treva Tharnish
Creighton - Kasey Kuhl, Sydney Walton, Clarissa Becker
Bloomfield - Addison Barger
Wausa - Paige Nissen, Megan Kleinschmit
Crofton - Madisen Kube, Danielle Steffen, Mackenzie Foxhoven
Ewing - Skye Schroeder, Tiana Thramer, Jaidyn Schindler
Chambers/Wheeler Central - Jamie Koenig, Morgan Ramsey
O’Neill - Aurora Gutshall, Claire Morrow
St. Mary’s - Abby Everitt
West Holt - Caitlin Butterfield, Madisyn Steinkraus
Stuart - Peyton Alder, Kennison Kunz