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The Highway 91 Cyclone softball team finished up their season with a first-round loss to David City Aquinas in the Class C Sub Districts hosted by Ashland-Greenwood. 

During the game the girls struggled right off the start. This affected them the rest of the game. The girls ended up losing to Aquinas Catholic 0-8.

The teams that were in the Sub District were Ashland-Greenwood, Highway 91, Tekamah-Herman, and Aquinas Catholic. Ashland-Greenwood ended up winning the sub-district conference with a 16-10 record

 The Cyclones finished the year with a 9-16 record. 

Sophomore Reann Bruhn stated, “We struggled in the beginning but towards the end we started coming together a bit. It wasn't enough to push through and the game didn't end the way we were hoping. Coming back from that, it gives us some learning and experience to work with next year. With that loss the season now comes to an end for us saying goodbye to our seniors.”

Coach Drew Machmueller stated, “Monday, we made a couple mistakes that allowed Aquinas to get up on us early and we couldn’t string together enough hits offensively to give ourselves a chance. For the season first of all, I want to thank Jordyn and Addy, our two seniors, for their time and effort in the Cyclone program. I was very excited about the number of girls we had out this season.  

Machmueller continues, “I really hope that interest in softball continues to grow. I think we took some steps forward as a group and showed flashes of what we can become going forward.  I want to also recognize that 10 of our 16 losses this year were to teams who made it to a district final.  Certainly there are things we need to improve on for next year, but I believe the girls returning are up to the challenge.”

On Thursday October 10th, the Patriot volleyball team played the Archangels Catholic Defenders (formerly the St. Francis Flyers). The Patriots came out with the sweep on all three levels, C team, JV, and Varsity. 

The varsity team easily defeated the Defenders in all three sets with scores of 25-7, 25-14, 25-12. It was an all-around team effort to take the game in three sets. 

Junior Ava Kasik said, "Seeing the larger crowd and the support from our community, we started off with a lot of energy. We went on some long runs that helped us claim the win." 

Baylee Settje dominated the net with 14 kills, many delivered from Izabel Hollatz leading the team in assists with 20. Brynn Settje and Ava Kasik added 21 and 18 digs to come out with the win. The Patriots’ record is now 24-2.

“It was fun to see the girls play up to their potential and take care of business early. It's always nice when we are able to pick up another win, especially on a night when we are honoring the seniors and all of the hard work that they have put in over the years. I know the girls are eager for the conference tournament to get started next week. Hopefully we can take some of the momentum from tonight's win and carry it forward, stated Assistant Coach Tyler Brester. 

The game in Leigh marked the final regular season home game of the season, and the team’s six seniors were honored, including Baylee Settje, Brynn Settje, Izzy Hollatz, Makenna Hake, Cadence Indra, and Rylee Balzer.

Clarkson-Leigh vs. Archangels Stats:

Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Final

CL:   25   25   25   3

Archangels:   7   14   12   0

Individual Stats vs Archangels: (kills, assists, blocks, aces, digs)

Izabel Hollatz: 5, 20, 0, 1, 9; Maizie Stoklasa: 7, 0, 3, 0, 0; Kendall Schneider: 3, 13, 1, 1, 8; Cadence Indra: 0, 1, 0, 0, 16; Brynn Settje: 3, 0, 1, 1, 21; Baylee Settje: 14, 0, 0, 0, 3; Vylet Hollatz: 0, 0, 0, 0, 1; Ava Kasik: 5, 2, 1, 1, 18; Rylee Balzer: 0, 0, 0, 0, 2; Makenna Hake: 0, 0, 0, 0, 6. 

After a successful season on the links, the Patriot Girls’ Golf Team traveled to Oakland for Girls’ Golf Districts to end their season.

The Patriot golf team earned 8th place out of 16 teams. 

The varsity team consisted of Brianne Kuhr scoring a 109, Emilie Hajek scoring a 119, Hadley Dloughy scoring a 122, Halle Korth scoring a 136, and Emily Stender scoring a 137. 

Senior Brianne Kuhr, with the top score for the Patriots, was 7 strokes shy of qualifying for state.

Senior Brianne Kuhr said, “We knew the course of Oakland because we had just been there a few days before. Oakland has many hazards that are difficult to stay out of. I am really happy with my score, and it was a good way to end my senior season. Our team has improved so much over the course of this year, and we had a great season.”

The top three teams from the district as well as the top 10 individual golfers all qualify for state.  The top three teams in the Patriots’ district were Scotus Central Catholic, Omaha Concordia, and Boone Central.  Senior Quinn VunCannon of Scotus won the meet shooting 88 over 18 holes.

Coach Michelle Held said, “The district meet didn't turn out as we had hoped, but the team finished 8th out of 16 teams. Brianne was our closest to qualifying with a score of 109. 102 was the last score that qualified for state. 

“Coach Morfeld and I are so proud of ALL of our golfers this year for their improvement and their hard work. We added some meets this year, which helped us with practice and competition. We had our lowest team score ever, had 5 different girls earn medals, and another 5 different golfers placed in smaller meets throughout the season.  We want to thank our outstanding seniors for their leadership and dedication this year: Keeley Campbell, Brianne Kuhr, Alisyn Lich, Emily Stender, Ella Urban, and Rosie Villeda-Guillen.”

The Patriot volleyball team went to Norfolk for a triangular against LHNE and Plainview on Tuesday, October 8, 2024.

The Patriot’s started off the night by playing Plainview first. They started off a little slow but found a rhythm toward the middle. The second set they played a lot better and had more energy than they did the first set. The first set score was 25-20 and the second set was 25-10.

Next, they played Lutheran High Northeast right after they played Plainview. In the first set, they started off slow again but they gained more energy as the set went on. The second set they came out strong to follow up the first set. The score for the first set was 26-16 and the score of the second set was 25-17.

Sophomore Vylet Hollatz said, "Starting off against Plainview it was a little slow, but we ended up picking it up and playing with our regular energy. We had a really good team effort while playing both of the games. This team effort and energy led us to two great wins on the night."

Head coach Becky Schneider said, “Plainview and LHNE were really good games for us!  Both teams pushed us, which made us have to step up and play with more energy!  We were able to stay aggressive and keep attacking in order to keep them out of system!  Our defense also made some great plays and our setters did a great job mixing up our offense!”

Individual Stats: (kills-attempts, assists, blocks, aces, digs)

Plainview

Izabel Hollatz - 3-14, 14, 0, 2, 4; Baylee Settje - 9-16, 0, 1, 0, 2; Cadence Indra - 0-1, 1, 0, 0, 6; Kendall Schneider - 3-6, 8, 0, 0, 6; Ava Kasik - 3-7, 2, 0, 4, 7; Maizie Stoklasa - 3-6, 0, 0, 0, 0; Vylet Hollatz - 0-1, 0, 0, 0, 6; Brynn Settje - 7-20, 1, 0, 0, 7

LHNE

Izabel Hollatz - 2-14, 14, 2, 1, 6; Baylee Settje - 5-9, 0, 1, 0, 0; Cadence Indra - 0, 0, 0, 0, 5; Kendall Schneider - 3-9, 5, 2, 0, 4; Ava Kasik - 1-10, 2, 0, 0, 12; Maizie Stoklasa - 8-13, 0, 5, 0, 1; Vylet Hollatz - 0, 1, 0, 1, 9; Brynn Settje - 5-16, 1, 3, 0, 2

After many weeks of practicing and preparing for competition, the Leigh FFA chapter headed to Blair, Nebraska to compete in district land judging on October 2, 2024.

16 members of the chapter competed in the judging contest leading to a successful turn of events!

Each participant judged four holes individually receiving an individual score. At each hole, contestants judged physical features of soil, determined land capability, and evaluated management practices needed for proper stewardship. 

Out of 30 teams, Leigh placed in the top 10 as a chapter receiving 9th place. Almost 650 individuals competed in the contest making it competitive to place. 

Higher scores from the chapter included Brianne Kuhr receiving 47th place, Luke Eisenmann 63rd, Kyle McMullin 68th, Kammy Held 80th, and Carter Brabec 96th.  

“The FFA Chapter did an awesome job at competing at District Land Judging,” senior FFA President Kammy Held said. “This is an event that has a bunch of teams, so it's exciting to see how we do against others.  We were one place away from making it to state, which was disappointing; but that is still something to be proud of.”

On Saturday October 5, 2024, the Patriot Girls’ Golf Team attended an invitational at Oakland. The Patriots ended up placing 4th out of 11 teams. The Patriots shot a team score of 478.

  Brianne Kuhr said, “The golf meet on Saturday was a great way to prepare for our upcoming districts. We know the course and are prepared for districts.”

The girls who represented the girls’ golf team on Saturday included Brianne Kuhr, Emily Stender, Emilie Hajek, Hadley Dlouhy, and Halle Korth. 

Emily Stender shot 117, Emilie Hajek shot a 123, Hadley Dloughy finished at 126, and Halle Korth shot a 137. The leading scorer of the team was Brianne Kuhr with 112. Kuhr placed 10th individually. 

Each year the Patriot Volleyball Invite has made a name for itself as a highly competitive high school volleyball tournament hosted in alternating years in Leigh and Clarkson Schools. 

Despite some great teams over the years who have competed in it, the Patriot girls had never previously won their own invite.  

That all changed on Saturday, October 5th, 2024, when the Patriots came into the tournament with high hopes of making Patriot history by winning it for the first time since the tournament has started. 

And win they did. The Patriots racked up three more wins to add to their record, and ended the day in the best possible way by making Patriot history as tournament champions. 

To start off the morning, the Patriots played Elmwood-Murdock as their first opponent. The Patriots pulled through and won both sets easily, 25-6 and 25-8. This game gave a whole bunch of girls different opportunities. 

The Patriots kept the momentum and energy going into the second match of the day against Wynot. The Wynot game was a little more competitive, but the Patriots didn’t let that affect them and won both sets, 25-22 and 25-15. 

In this match, Izzy Hollatz led the team with 7 kills and Baylee followed with 6. Kendall Schneider led the team with 16 assists and Vylet led with 15 digs during this match.

The Patriots were then off to the championship, matching up with Humphrey Lindsay Academy. They played HLA in the beginning of the season, so they knew that this rematch was going to be a tight, competitive game. The Patriots were not ready for the intensity and energy HLA came with in the first set, resulting in them losing that first set, 17-25. The Patriots didn’t let that first set affect the outcome of the game and came back stronger than ever winning the next two sets, 25-18 and 25-23. 

Senior, Baylee Settje led this match in kills with a total of 13, and Brynn Settje dominated in the back row with a total of 21 digs. Cadence Indra, Vylet Hollatz, and Izabel Hollatz also contributed 19 digs each. 

Head Coach Rebecca Schneider shared her thoughts on the tourney: “ Finally winning our home tournament was such an awesome feeling! Overall, we played really well!  We knew we could be in the championship match and we highly anticipated that that match would be against HLA!  

“Going into that last match, HLA really stepped up,” Schneider continued. “They pushed us out of our comfort zone and gave us everything they had in that first set!  We responded really well in the second set to force a third.  Again, we continued to play Patriot Volleyball and held our composure when HLA made a run at the end of the set!  It was really good for us to be able to close out that third set when they were starting to find momentum.  We are very proud of our girls and the way we competed!”    

Senior Brynn Settje also shared her thoughts on how she thought the tournament went: “The tournament went very well for our team and we made Patriot History by winning our own tournament for the first time. We were very excited and happy after winning. The day went great for us and we played great together.”

The Patriot record now sits at 21-2 after this tournament. 

Game Stats vs. Elmwood-Murdock

  Set 1    Set 2

Clarkson-Leigh     25     25

Elmwood-Murdock          6       8

Individual Stats: (kills-attempts, set assists, blocks, aces, digs)

Izzy Hollatz--5-11, 6, 2, 4, 3; Maizie Stoklasa--3-6,0, 3,  0, 0; Graicee Sortino; 1-1, 0, 0, 0, 0 ;Kendall Schneider--0-3, 8, 0, 1, 5; Cadence Indra--0-1, 1, 0, 0, 2; Baylee Settje--3-6, 0, 2, 0, 2; Brynn Settje- 2-6, 1, 1,0, 5; Vylet Hollatz--0-0, 0, 0, 0, 2; Ella Baumert--2-2, 0, 0 , 0, 0; Ava Kasik--4-6, 1, 1, 4, 1  ; Reese Wietfeld; 0-0, 3, 0, 0, 1; Rylee Balzer--0-0, 0, 0, 1, 0 

Game Stats vs. Wynot

                                     Set 1             Set 2 

Clarkson-Leigh             25                  25

Wynot                           22.                  15

Izzy Hollatz— 7-26, 8, 1, 0, 4; Maize Stoklasa— 3-20, 0, 2, 0, 1; Kendall Schneider — 2-9, 16, 0, 0, 9; Cadence Indra — 0-0, 0, 0, 1, 7; Brynn Settje— 3-10, 1, 0, 0, 8; Baylee Settje— 6-18, 0, 1, 0, 0; Vylet Hollatz— 0-1, 1, 0, 1, 15; Ava Kasik — 6-12, 1, 1, 0, 5 

Game Stats vs. Humphrey Lindsay Academy

                                                         Set 1              Set 2             Set 3

Clarkson-Leigh                                 17                   25                 25

Humphrey Lindsay Academy         25                  18                  23

Izzy Hollatz — 6-32, 14, 2, 0, 19; Maize Stoklasa— 6-20, 0, 1, 0, 1; Kendall Schneider— 2-14, 15, 0, 1, 11; Cadence Indra— 0-3, 1, 0, 2, 19; Brynn Settje— 3-31, 0, 2, 1, 21; Baylee Settje— 13-41, 0, 2, 0, 3; Vylet Hollatz — 0-1, 0, 0, 0, 19; Ava Kasik — 5-33, 1, 0, 0, 13; Ella Baumert— 1-7, 0, 0, 0, 3

The new tradition of “Students of the Month” was started this school year at Leigh Elementary. A selected group of elementary students were recognized as the winners for the month of September. 

Students who receive this award have noticeably gone above and beyond by being good role models, classmates, friends, and students. Elementary teachers, paras, and administrators want the students to be recognized for all of their accomplishments and hard work. 

The September recipients include morning preschooler; Allie Hartman; afternoon preschooler Lylah Sharp; Kindergarteners Linden Urban, Keely Kabes, and Karlee Kruse; first graders River Sayers and Brooks Kabes; second graders Kale Wietfeld and Thea Urban; third graders Abby Ahrens and Bria Settje; fourth graders Bria Folken and Taelynn Went; fifth grader Caitlyn Hastreiter; and sixth grader Harper Wendt.

Congratulations to these outstanding students!

The junior high Patriot football season is in full swing. 

 The JH boys played Madison on Monday, September 30. The ending score for this game was 36-8 with the Patriots on top. 

Eighth-grader Layton Held said, “It was a fun game to play and was a good game to get us ready for their final games of the season coming up.” 

Next up was the Patriots’ biggest and hardest game of their season against Howells-Dodge this last Monday, October 7. Unfortunately, the Patriots did not come out on top with the score being 30-58 for the Patriots’ third loss of the season.

 Head coach Mr. Jeff Bachman was pleased with how the kids did and that they executed some things well, but still have plenty of room for growth. He is pleased with the progress they have made and is looking forward to this group getting better for their last game.  

On Thursday September 26, 2024, two sophomores, one seventh grader, and one fourth grader from the Leigh Community Schools traveled to Grand Island at Fonner Park for Aksarben, one of the largest youth livestock shows in the United States. 

Aksarben is a stock show eligible to 14 different states: Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The show is held at the Nebraska State Fairgrounds with many different vendors and livestock. Friday was showmanship, Saturday market, and Sunday with breeding. 

Sophomore Carmen Malena stated, “Aksarben was full of tough competitions and fun times! It was exciting to see all my hard work up to this point paying off inside the ring.”  

Results:

Carmen Malena (10th) - 2 purples in market barrow classes

Cruz Malena (7th)- Champion Hampshire breeding gilt

Cannon Malena (4th)- purple market gilt

Daphne Jedlicka (10th)- 2 purples market, 1 purple breeding