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The boys’ basketball team kept busy this past weekend as they played the Archangels of Humphrey on January 16th and the Pender Pendragons on January 17th. 

The boys first traveled to Humphrey to play the Defenders. The JV boys started off with a close game, but were unable to keep up with the Defenders as the game went on. They ended up losing 30-63.

Next up on the night, the Varsity boys played in a tough, well-fought matchup versus the Defenders that was very close after the first half. The score was 27-32. The boys weren’t able to finish out the game in the second half as they fell 46-60.  

The team was led by seniors Kyle McMullin with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots, and Quentin Mullenhoff with 10 points and 5 rebounds.

Mullenhoff stated, “We battled hard and came up short. I'm proud of how we played and we will keep working on improving ourselves.”

The next day, the boys stayed home in Clarkson to play the Pender Pendragons. The JV boys came in after a rough game the night before. They were able to keep the game closer, but didn't end up with the win. They lost 30-38. 

The varsity boys came into the game hoping for a win after the loss to the Defenders. The Patriot boys had a tough matchup versus the Pendragons, but weren’t able to pick up a win. Ultimately none of the shots were falling and nothing else was going their way. They lost 18-61. 

“This game was a tough one,” junior Blake Loseke said. “We came into the game knowing that Pender was a very solid team all together, but we also knew that we were going to have tired legs after the Archangels game the night before. We just couldn’t get our shots to fall, and I think that was most of our problem. We have a week off now and are going to come back strong for the next game.” 

Coach Jeff Bachman said, “We had two fun challenges over the weekend. We played against two really good teams. We learned a lot through these two and I believe that will help us grow as the season continues on.”

The Patriot boys’ record is now 4-11.

Clarkson Leigh vs. Archangels Catholic:

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final

Patriots 10 17 9 10 46

Defenders 15 17 19 9 60

Individual Stats (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks):

Kyle McMullin: 16, 7, 3, 3, 5; Quentin Mullenhoff: 10, 5, 0, 0, 0; Easton Brabec: 6, 6, 3, 0, 0; Cash Fehringer: 4, 0, 0, 1, 0; Blake Loseke: 2, 4, 0, 0, 0; Cody Jedlicka: 0, 1, 0, 1, 0; Tucker Matthies: 7, 5, 6, 1, 0; Luke Eisenmann: 1, 3, 1, 0, 0

Clarkson Leigh vs. Pender Pendragons:

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final

Patriots 3 11 2 2 18

Pendragons 22 22 12 5 61

Individual Stats (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks):

Kyle McMullin: 7, 3, 1, 0, 1; Quentin Mullenhoff: 1, 2, 0, 0, 0; Easton Brabec: 0, 1, 1, 0, 1; Cash Fehringer: 2, 1, 1, 0, 0; Cole Vodehnal: 0, 1, 0, 0, 0; Blake Loseke: 4, 3, 0, 0, 0; Cody Jedlicka: 0, 1, 0, 1, 0; Tucker Matthies: 2, 3, 0, 0, 0; Jeryn Struebing: 0, 1, 0, 0, 0; Tyce Larson: 0, 2, 0, 1, 0; Luke Eisenmann: 2, 0, 0, 1, 0

On Friday, January 9th, the Patriot wrestling team travelled west to take part in the Burwell Wrestling Invitational. The team competed well, having three people medal and one win.

Sophomore 175 lb. wrestler Hunter Gall finished the day 4-1, landing himself in 3rd place. Junior 190 lb. wrestler Wyatt Langhorst also finished in 3rd, going 3-1 on the day. Finishing in 1st place was senior Heavyweight Levi Gall going 4-0 on the day.

The rest of the team also had a good showing with freshman 126-pounder Mason Faltys ending the day 3-2, junior 190-pounder James Moore going 0-2, junior 215-pounder Misael Ciriaco going 1-2, senior 106-pounder Coal Fernau going 0-2, and senior Heavyweight Brett Wemhoff finishing 2-2

106: Sr. Coal Fernau, 0-2

126: Fr. Mason Faltys, 3-2

175: So. Hunter Gall, 4-1, 3rd place

190: Jr. James Moore, 0-2

190: Jr. Wyatt Langhorst, 3-1, 3rd place

215: Jr. Misael Ciriaco, 1-2

285: Sr. Brett Wemhoff, 2-2

285: Sr. Levi Gall, 4-0, 1st place

The next day, Saturday, January 10, the team continued westward to take part in the Amherst Wrestling Invitational. The team had another good showing with five people medalling, including a first-place finisher.

Fernau finished in 4th place, going 2-2 on the day. Faltys finished in 3rd place, going 3-1. 175-pounder Hunter Gall and 190-pounder Wyatt Langhorst both ended in 2nd place with Hunter going 3-1 and Wyatt going 2-1. Senior heavyweight Levi Gall ended the day in 1st place, ending 3-0.

Sophomore wrestler Hunter Gall looked on the weekend saying, “There was some tough competition and a lot of tough matches to prepare us for districts.”

The rest of the team also competed hard with Junior 190 pounder James Moore going 0-2, Jr. 215 pounder Misael Ciriaco going 1-2, and Senior Heavyweight Brett Wemhoff going 1-2.

Wrestling coach Ryan Molacek is satisfied with the effort and looks forward to the rest of the season saying, “It was fun to see the boys step up and perform on our trip. They wrestled a lot of talented guys over the weekend and came ready to battle. I’m excited to see what the rest of the season brings.”

106: Sr. Coal Fernau, 2-2, 4th place

126: Fr. Mason Faltys, 3-1, 3rd place

175: So. Hunter Gall, 3-1, 2nd place

190: Jr. James Moore, 0-2

190: Jr. Wyatt Langhorst, 2-1, 2nd place

215: Jr. Misael Ciriaco, 1-2

285: Sr. Brett Wemhoff, 1-2

285: Sr. Levi Gall, 3-0, 1st place

The December Students of the month were announced in January when students came back from Christmas break: senior, Karly Wendt, junior, Ella Higby, and freshman, Briggs Klug!

Karly is the daughter of Gary and Kandee Wendt. Her grandparents are the late Earl and Joy Wendt, and Jim and Judene Mewis. Karly participates in many extracurricular activities, including volleyball, track, cheer, dance, FFA, FCCLA, FBLA, One-Act, journalism, Youth Advisory Committee, band, Zion Lutheran Church youth group, National Honor Society, and yearbook. Karly’s favorite subjects are American History and CNA class. In her spare time she likes to go shopping, hang out with her friends, and attend concerts. Her future plans are to attend Northeast Community College to obtain her business degree, and then later move on to College of Hair design to get her esthetician license. This is Karly’s third time winning this award! 

When asked how she felt about winning this award she said, “Winning this award feels good because it shows that people are paying attention to you and my hard work and effort to be the best I can be isn’t going unnoticed.” 

“She is always upbeat and positive,” her teachers say. “She tries very hard in everything she does. She has grown into a leader in the school and is a great representative of Leigh. 

Ella Higby is the daughter of Nate and Katie Higby. Her grandparents are Dennis and Mary Stoklasa, and Mark and Karla Higby. The extracurricular activities she participates in are golf, dance, FCCLA, FBLA, YAC, One-Act, journalism, yearbook, and National Honor Society. Ella’s favorite subjects are Child Development or any FCS class. When she has free time, she spends it hanging out with friends, shopping, or babysitting. Ella’s future plans are to go into early childhood education. 

Ella stated, “I am very honored to receive this award because it shows that the teachers notice my hard work in both school and my extracurriculars” when asked how she felt about winning this award. 

“Ella is such a workhorse in all she does, from academics to her extracurriculars,” her teachers said. “She is toward the top of her class academically, and she always puts her best effort into all she does and takes her studies very seriously.” 

Briggs Klug is the son of Beau and Crystal Klug. His grandparents are Jim and Ivy Klug, and Scott and Vicky Olson. Briggs participates in FFA, One-Act, golf, and basketball. His favorite subject is an Ag class. In his spare time, he enjoys showing pigs and livestock judging. Briggs’s future plans are to pursue a career in agriculture after college. When Briggs was asked about how he felt winning the award, he said, “I’m happy to win this award.”

Briggs’ teachers said, “He excels in his activities and the classroom. He is a really positive, mature kid and a hard worker in the classroom. He is friendly to everyone and always extremely helpful,” Briggs’s teachers said. 

Congratulations to Karly, Ella, and Briggs on their well-deserved honor! 

On Friday, January 16, our boys and girls’ basketball team traveled to Humphrey to face the Defenders in a marathon game. The girls JV won their game 25-19. 

The girl varsity Patriots were down 16-30 against the Defenders, but then came back and outscored them in the third quarter, pulling the score to 28-31 heading into the fourth.

Sadly, they did fall short to a tough team with the ending score being 33-38. 

Junior Reese Wietfeld led the scoring with 12 points and Maizie Stoklasa finished with 8.

The next day the Patriots were back in battle, squaring off against the top girls’ team in the state, the Pender Pendragons, in Clarkson. 

The girls’ varsity had a slow start, and at half it was 12-34. After half, the girls came out and finished the game with the score ending 32-61. 

The girls played a great game against a very tough team. Our leading scorer was Ella Baumert with 9 and following that was Maizie Stoklasa with 5.

Junior Emersyn Urban said, “After a close loss the night before, we played really hard, especially against a tough team like Pender.”

The girls’ record is now 4-11. 

Individual Stats vs. Archangels (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks):

Reese Wietfeld: 12, 8, 0, 3, 1; Ava Kasik: 2, 7, 2, 4,0; Ella Baumert: 1, 0, 2, 4, 0; Maizie Stoklasa: 8, 4, 1, 2, 0; Vylet Hollatz: 5, 8, 3, 2, 0; Nevaeh Zulkoski: 0, 4, 3, 2, 0; Elizabeth Hoffman: 5, 6, 1, 1, 4

Individual Stats vs. Pendragons (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks):

Carmen Malena: 0, 0, 0, 3, 0; Reese Wietfeld: 0, 2, 1, 3, 0; Ava Kasik: 4, 12, 1, 0, 0

Claire Holoubek: 4, 10, 2, 1, 0; Ella Baumert: 9, 6, 0, 4, 0; Maizie Stoklasa: 5, 2, 3, 2, 1; 

Averi Clausen 1, 0, 0, 0, 0; Emersyn Urban: 1, 8, 0, 0, 0; Vylet Hollatz: 2, 12, 2, 2, 0;

Nevaeh Zulkoski: 2, 8, 0, 0, 0; Jordyn Balzer: 2, 0, 0, 1, 0; Elizabeth Hoffman: 2, 2, 1, 0, 1

On Saturday, January 17th, the Patriot wrestling team traveled to Stromsburg for the Cross County Invitational. The team had a successful day, placing 6th out of 17 teams with 7 wrestlers competing.

The Gall brothers continued to dominate as Levi Gall brought home 1st place in the 285-weight class, winning all 5 of his matches. Hunter Gall also finished 1st in the 175-weight class, going a perfect 5-0 on the day.  

The other members of the team found some success as well with senior Coal Fernau going 2-2 on the day, senior Brett Wemhoff going 0-2, junior Misael Ciriaco going 0-2, junior Wyatt Langhorst going 3-2, and freshman Mason Faltys going 3-2 on the day. 

Senior Brett Wemhoff said, “The Cross County Invite was a good opportunity for our team to get after it and wrestle some good matches. As a team we competed well and hope to see this success continue throughout the end of the season.”

Assistant wrestling coach Mr. Jorge Gomez said, “Our boys wrestled very well down at Cross County. We had five kids place, with Levi and Hunter Gall both placing 1st. We placed 7th out of 17 teams which is great with the numbers we had. Next week we go to Neligh, and we hope to have another successful tournament.”

106: Sr. Coal Fernau, 2-2

126: Fr. Mason Faltys, 3-2

175: So. Hunter Gall, 5-0, (1st place)

190: Jr. Wyatt Langhorst, 3-2

215: Jr. Misael Ciriaco, 0-2

285: Sr. Levi Gall, 5-0, (1st place)

285: Sr. Brett Wemhoff, 0-2

The Clarkson-Leigh Boys C-Team had a tough couple of games these last two weeks. They battled through two games against Lakeview and Howells-Dodge, but came up short in both of them. The Lakeview game was a tough one. The team fought hard going into halftime, ahead 7-6. But the Vikings came out with some fire and ended up winning the game 36-18. Coach Andy Bachman said, “Although we didn’t come away with a win, we are definitely starting to look better as a team. With the few games we have left, we are going to fire up and hopefully come away with a couple of wins.”

The following week, the team played against Howells-Dodge, another tough opponent for them to play against. Going into the half, they were down 6-10, and then they ground out another two quarters. They ended up coming up short, 23-31. It was another good opportunity to be able to gain experience though. 

Freshman Layton Held said, “The game was a good learning experience. We started off slow, but we really picked it up in the second half to cut the lead down to 5. We did end up losing, but we learned a lot from that game to not give up and to just keep going.”

Kyle William McMullin was welcomed into the world on January 15, 2008, to his parents Mark and Julie McMullin.

Kyle is the second youngest of six children. Kyle’s older siblings are Jeremy (33), Steph (31), Matt (29), and Ben (27). Ryan (14), is Kyle’s younger brother. Kyle’s grandparents are Mary Ann and the late Mort McMullin of Leigh, and Kay and the late Dave Reininger of Leigh. 

Kyle has a dog named Husker and a cat named Ella. 

Throughout high school, Kyle has been very involved in many school activities: FFA for six years; football, basketball, One Act, and journalism for four years; National Honor Society and band for three years; and FCCLA and FBLA for one year. 

Outside of school, Kyle has been involved in 4-H for six years, the Youth Advisory Committee and St. Mary’s Youth Group for four years, and club basketball for two years.

Kyle has also been a part of the Leadership team for YAC, held FFA officer positions, and has been basketball captain for two years. 

Kyle’s proudest high school accomplishment was breaking the single game three-point record for basketball. His most embarrassing school moment was moving the wrong motion in Parli Pro junior year, making the Parli team lose the competition. 

During the summer, you can find Kyle working for Hollatz Construction. In his future, Kyle plans to attend Northeast Community College to learn something in trades.

If Kyle won a fortune from the lottery, he would invest, build a house, pay off any debts, take care of his family and friends, and travel. His dream place to travel would be Rome to see historical landmarks. 

His biggest pet peeves are when people are very delusional and won’t change their opinions even if they are wrong. Three words to describe Kyle are humble, relaxed, and ambitious. 

Three goals Kyle has is to go to a Green Bay Packer game, travel, and go skydiving. 

Going on bus rides to away basketball games are Kyle’s favorite high school memories. Hanging out with friends, watching sports, and playing video games are also his favorite hobbies and activities to do outside of school.

In school, JAG is Kyle’s favorite class, and Rocky IV is his favorite movie. His favorite song is “Take it Easy” by the Eagles. Kyle’s favorite sports team is Oklahoma City Thunder. Raising Canes is his favorite place to eat. 

Kyle’s advice for younger classmen is to enjoy the time you have in high school and never stress about homework. 

We wish Kyle the best of luck in his future endeavors! 

On Saturday, January 17th, the Leigh Speech Team travelled to Howells to compete in the “Jaguar Jaunt” mini meet. Leigh competed against Fullerton, Howells-Dodge, and Madison. 

It was a successful meet with several placings. Lexis Gleason and Jocelyn Donnelly placed 1st in their Duet; Kaycee Lange and Shaylynn Marty placed 3rd in their Duet; Lexis Gleason, Liz Hoffman, Jocelyn Donnelly, Cash Feringer, and Cade Hoesly placed 1st in OID (Oral Interpretation of Drama); Kaycee Lange, Shaylynn Marty, Vivian Bunner, and Ariyah Ross placed 2nd in OID; Kaylee Brabec placed 2nd in Persuasive; Luke Eisenmann placed 4th in Persuasive and 1st in Extemporaneous, Brayden Loseke placed 5th in Extemporaneous and 6th in Informative; Blake Loseke placed 5th in Entertainment; and Kaycee Lange placed 4th in Poetry. 

Assistant speech Coach Mrs. Kim Loseke said, “It was a good opportunity to practice our events in front of an audience.”

Along with Mrs. Loseke, the speech team is coached by Mr. Ethan Hathaway. There are 17 students out for Leigh speech this year. 

“We learned a lot from this meet and will use this to improve for future meets,” said sophomore Cade Hoesly. “A lot of people got good practice in front of people.”

On the beautiful day of January 3, 2008, in Norfolk, NE, Amy MacDonald and Justin Gleason were blessed with their second daughter, Lexis Marie Gleason. 

In addition to her mom and dad, Lexis has a step-dad: Jeremy MacDonald. Lexis also has five other siblings: Leah Pinkston, age 19; Austin LeCompte Klug, her half-brother, age 18; Zoey MacDonald, her step-sister, age 16; Lily Gleason, her half-sister, age 11; and Jaxxyn MacDonald, her step-brother, age 6. 

Lexis’s grandparents are Janette and Dave (Theron) Pinkston of Leigh, Nebraska.

Lexis also has four pets at home: Kirby, a Tabby cat; Valentina, a Ticked Tabby cat; Dexter, a black Lab Rottweiler mix; and Pepper, an Australian Shepard Huskie mix.

Throughout Lexis’s high school career, she has participated in many school activities: Cheer, Track, Band, Journalism, and One-Act for four years; National Honor Society and Speech for three years; JAG, Softball, and Dance for two years; and Yearbook for one year.

Lexis has earned the honors of Student of the Month, National Honor Society, Cheer Captain for two years, and A-B Honor Roll.

Outside of school, you can find Lexis working at Schwartz Farms located at Pheasant Ridge by Stanton. In the summer, she also works at the Humphrey Pool. 

Lexis says her proudest high school accomplishment was completing and receiving her CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) license.

Lexis’s future plans include going to the College of Hair Design for Cosmetology, Barbering, and Esthetics or UNL for teaching.

If Lexis won a fortune in the lottery, she would put a portion of it off to the side to pay for all of her college debt and then she would start building a home. She would also go shopping with the money that she has left over. 

If Lexis could travel anywhere in the world, she would go to Japan because she feels like it’s really pretty and it would fulfill her childhood dreams. 

Lexis’s biggest pet peeve is when people chew loud or with their mouth open. 

Three words that best describe Lexis are social, passionate, and emotional.

In 10-15 years, Lexis sees herself with a job in a smaller town because she is not a huge fan of living in the city. She hopes to live in the country. 

Three goals on Lexis’s bucket list are going to another country, owning a horse, and being fluent in Spanish. 

In her life, Lexis says one person she admires is her softball coach, Drew Machmueller. “He is a great coach and a fantastic leader. I swear he does everything and is involved in everything, and somehow he is good at it all.”

Throughout her time at Leigh, Lexis has made many great memories. “My favorite high school memory is going to finals in speech with Jocelyn Donnelly and being so excited and surprised every time,” Lexis says. 

In Lexis’s free time, she loves to go out with her friends even if they don’t necessarily do anything. She just likes sitting around in their presence.

Lexis has a lot of favorites, like her favorite subject: Math, (when she understands what’s going on) or English. Lexis doesn’t really have a favorite movie right now, but when she was little, it was Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Her favorite song is “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus or “Waving Through a Window” by Ben Platt. Her favorite food is fish and chips. Her favorite sports team is the Broncos because that’s who her mom likes. Her favorite color is green. Lexis loves summer and the pool. She also loves talking in the car with her friends after getting fast food. 

Lexis says her most embarrassing moment is a memory from speech. “Jocelyn and I were in a duet together for a speech and our first year we did a speech called ‘Disney Mom Group Therapy.’ We made it to finals for the first time and I remember forgetting my lines in front of the whole room. Then, I interrupted Jocelyn and burst out laughing in front of everyone when we were supposed to be serious. That was really embarrassing. It’s okay though because we got 3rd.”

Lexis has this advice to underclassmen before she leaves Leigh High School: “Be yourself and your life will be 100x better. Wanting to fit in is understandable, but you have to realize that the people who are going to be with you for the long run are the people that will accept you as you come. Life is the most fun when you stop hiding your real personality and find people with similar interests as you.”

We wish Lexis the best of luck, and we hope she is successful in her future endeavors!

On Monday, January 12, the Clarkson-Leigh Patriots C team girls and boys both played against Columbus Scotus in Leigh. Both teams battled hard on Monday, but ended up falling short. 

The boys’ finished 17-32 and the girls came out 15-24. 

Freshman Jaxon Rodenburg spoke about the boys’ game by saying, “We needed to throw more shots up and get more rebounds, and overall keep our heads up.” 

The boys’ C-team is 1-2 so far, and the girls are still looking for a win, 0-3.

On the girls’ side, freshman Averi Clausen said, “We played a good first half but the score was 4-12. We were down, but then during the third quarter, we outscored them and cut their lead to one, 15-16. We played a very good last half, but unfortunately, we didn't pull through. We definitely improved since our first game and hope to get even better in our next game.”