WNCC Cougar Beat Athletic Newsletter - October 26, 2021

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BEAT Newsletter

The Latest in Cougar Athletic News

Balza: Touch Yourself!

Former Cougar talks about her breast cancer during the COVID pandemic.

October 26, 2021 – Issue 9

What’s Inside There is a lot going on in October with all seven sports in action in some form or another.

What October brings is an awareness to Breast Cancer Awareness and WNCC will be holding its PAWzitivily Pink night on Oct. 22 against Lamar.

While talking about Breast Cancer Awareness, it is time to think about all the individuals that have been affected by breast cancer either themselves or someone in their family.

In this issue of the Cougar Beat, you will see two names of former players that have endured or is enduring treatment for breast cancer and both are former volleyball players that were on the same team together, one as a coach and one as a player.

Check out the inspiring story on Fatima Balza, who has undergone breast cancer back in 2020 when COVID hit and she opens up about what she has gone through.

Balza won a national title when she played here in 2007 and then went on to win two national titles at Penn State. Balza also was an assistant coach at WNCC under Giovana Melo.

Then there is Taylor VanderWerff, who played for WNCC under Melo and Balza.

Taylor is currently undergoing chemo for breast cancer and showing plenty of positivity in her fight.

That is why October is a special month to be celebrated. But, on top of the special pink month, all seven Cougar sports are in action. Volleyball and soccer are in season with men’s soccer playing in the Region IX semifinals the last weekend in October.

Softball and baseball are in fall seasons.

Also, the men’s and women’s basketball teams are preparing for the upcoming sea-

Cougar Trivia

Test your knowledge of Cougar Athletics with these trivia questions. Answers are on the second to last page of the newsletter.

1) Which sport was the last to play a game in the 2020-21 season?

2) How many and who were the NJCAA All-Americans this year for the Cougars?

3) What year did the first golf team go to the national tournament?

son that starts in November.

On top of that, there are plenty of interesting stories in this issue, including a 20 Questions with Jenna Curtis, an ESports update of what is going on with ESports at WNCC, and some other tidbits.

Be sure to check out all the pages this issue for fun facts, photos, and other surprises. And, take the quiz to the right, it will give you a history of Cougar athletics, both past and present, and maybe future if one can figure out how to do that.

Also back for the athletic newsletter is the Cougar Culture, a feature that Sports Illustrated does off and on and the newsletter used to do it for a long time. This time in the Cougar Culture, you can find out who will win the World Series and what the athletes favorite Halloween candy is.

Hope everyone enjoys this issue of the Cougar Beat newsletter.

Next issue of Cougar Newsletter First of November If you have any information about current or past Cougar athletes worth sharing, email Mark Rein at mrein@wncc.edu or text to 308-631-0459

4) Who scored the first goal for the Cougar men this season?

5) who scored the first goal for the Cougar women this year?

6) Who leads the Cougar volleyball team in hitting percentage and who leads in kills per set?

7) When was the first time the college won three Region IX titles in one school year?

8) Name all the WNCC volleyball coaches?

9) Name all the players from Scottsbluff High School on the teams this year?

10) In the first year of athletics in 1929-30 at WNCC, which at that time it was called Scottsbluff Junior College, the Cougars had men’s basketball only coached by Ted Swenson that went 5-4 and played at Danceland (now the Elks).

Women played intramurals and one female won a girl’s single title in tennis for intramurals. Who was she?

Answers toward the back of the newsletter.

Battling Breast Cancer Balza, former player/coach, battled cancer during pandemic

“

I have breast cancer” is something no one wants to hear and with October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, former Western Nebraska Community College volleyball player Fatima Balza is coming out to encourage people to take this disease serious.

What Balza is telling people during Breast Cancer Awareness is “Touch your breast so you don’t lose your breast!* “I never checked my breast, until one day, just by chance, I touched it and felt a lump,” Balza said. “This was the first sign for me to go to the doctor. After few doctors and a biopsy, I got diagnosed with HER2+ breast cancer with metastasis in the lymph nodes. Luckily, for me, I touched my breast!”

Balza underwent breast cancer during one of the hardest times and succeeded against breast cancer during the coronavirus pandemic. The 6-foot-3 middle hitter’s fight with breast cancer all started in 2020 while COVID was taking the world by storm. It also made her treatment and diagnosis harder. What helped Balza succeed was thinking about the disease like playing volleyball, where she won a national title for WNCC in 2007 and then back-to-back national titles for Penn State in 2009 and 2010.

Balza, who now lives in Krakow, Poland, did all the treatments, more-or-less, hush-hush so her mom wouldn’t know what she was going through. Balza’s mom, who is back home in Balza’s native country of Venezuela, was also undergoing cancer treatments.

“Going through cancer at first, I did not realized what was actually happening,” Balza said. “Even when I was in my first chemo, I could still not believe that I was in the oncology department having chemotherapy. For me, cancer was not only chemo; it was also surgery, radiation, and hormonal therapy.”

What made going through chemotherapy more hectic was she was away from home and didn’t really understand the language. She only could understand the very basic things. When she first was

diagnosed, she had struggles, but she had a lot of support behind her that she relied on from her days at WNCC. “The world is so big, but so small at the same time,” Balza said. “The first time I had to meet my oncologist, Jacek [Kasprzyk, her partner who works for the polish military] could not get off from work. So, I was worried thinking how can I talk to the doctor if Jacek is not with me? Luckily for me, Paulina Piegza, who I met at WNCC and who was my teammate for a year (2008), was back in Poland and we happen to live in the same city.

Well, Pauli lives a little bit outside Krakow, but not too far.

Paulina went to the hospital with me to help me communi- Fatima Balza celebrates in the chemo room of the oncology departcate with the doctor. ment in Krakow, Poland, after undergoing her last Chemo treatIt was awesome she ment. Balza said she was extremely happy. was there for me.” dorm parents [Jim and Brenda Trumbull] During 2020, Balza only told a few who were aware from the very beginning people of what was going on. and they always kept me in their prayers.

“My family in Venezuela, at first, did I was in constant communication with not know. I decided not to tell them be- Amy Winters, who gave lots of support cause my mom was/is fighting cancer as and advices. I lived in Dublin, Ireland, well and she was also going through che- before moving to Krakow and my friend mo at the same time I had mine,” she said. from the Irish volleyball community was “My sister lives in Germany and she was very supportive. Jacek and his parents very supportive. She came to Krakow as were an essential an amazing support.” many times as she could, but with COVID Balza is one of those former WNCC it was not easy to come. Some people in players that has many ties to the commuthe United States knew my situation, lots nity still. Balza came to the Scottsbluff to of them messaged including my lovelyContinued on next page

n Balza talks about battling breast cancer ... play volleyball from Merida, Venezuela, and helped the Cougars to the school’s first national title in 2007 under former Cougar head coach Chris Green.

The next year, she was coached by Giovana Melo in Melo’s first year as head coach of the Cougars. After her two years at WNCC, Balza went on to win backto-back national titles at Penn State in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, Balza returned to WNCC and was an assistant on Melo’s staff for three years from 2011-2013.

After Melo left in March 2014 to become the head coach at Division I University of California-Bakersfield, Melo went over to Ireland.

Balza, in her two years at WNCC, earned plenty of accolades. She was named the freshman of the year and earned NJCAA All-American honorable mention while tallying 413 kills and 210 blocks.

As a sophomore for the Cougars in guiding the Cougars to a third-place national tournament finish, she was NJCAA First Team All-American, named female athlete of the year at WNCC, and was named the Omaha World Herald Female College Player of the Year. She finished the season with 632 kills with a hitting percentage of .466, had 227 total blocks, set the school record in blocks with 437

Fatima Balza throws down a kill during a WNCC volleyball match at the 2008 NJCAA national tournament. Balza won three national titles, one for WNCC and two for Penn State during her collegiate playing days.

career blocks, and finished with 1,045 kills.

At Penn State her junior year in 2009, she started in 37 of 38 matches and had 171 total blocks. She had nine blocks against Hawaii in the NCAA national semifinal and then led the team in blocks in the national championship game against Texas.

Fatima Balza, third from the right, poses with her 2007 WNCC volleyball team after winning the college’s first national championship. Balza went on to win three collegiate national titles.

During her time at WNCC, she met a lot of people. When she was an assistant coach, she also coached Taylor VanderWerff, who played here on the 2011 and 2012 teams. Ironically enough, just as Balza was finishing up her Chemo earlier this year, VanderWerff found out that she had breast cancer and is currently undergoing a very rigorous chemo treatment.

“I am aware of Taylor’s situation and my heart is with her,” Balza said. “We have spoken many times now and I fully understand what she is having to deal with.

Our diagnoses are different so our treatments are different as well, but I know we both had to start with four sessions of chemo with the ‘Red Devil,’ which is a very strong chemo that shuts down your body.

“Taylor was diagnosed with cancer this year and I was diagnosed last year. But, yes it is crazy to think that two Cougar volleyball players, in this case a coach/player from the same team are dealing with breast cancer. When we were in WNCC, I was coaching mostly the middle hitters and Taylor was one of them, so she would be one of the player I would talk/know the most. I was thinking I was young to have cancer and then I see Taylor getting

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n Balza talks about battling breast cancer ... diagnosed and she is I was angry. I was even younger than in shock. I did me. Taylor is a great not know what to person with a very think. I wanted to positive personality, think positive, but this makes a differat the same time I ence when you are did not want to lie going to chemotherto myself. Is this apy.” really happening Balza said breast to me? I could not cancer can affect all understand where ages whether you are this cancer is comin your 20s, 30s, 50s ing from because or 60s. Balza said she usually cancer is took care of her body related to specifwhile playing volleyic factors, such ball and thought she as weight, overwas immune from all health, alcocancer. hol consumption “It is very scary The biggest thing with breast cancer is losing hair. Fatima Balza said the first picture was among others, but to find out that you taken a week after the first chemo and she was impressed by the amount of hair falling with- I did not fit any of have cancer and even out any pain by just brushing my hair. The second picture was taken after treatments were the criteria. I had worse to find out it is over and hair was starting to grow again. a genetic exam not in the early stagwhich was negadays,” Balza said. “I had no clue what to es and has metastasis to the lymph nodes do; I was sad. I was 31-years-old when I tive, so I could not be genetic, I always exand that chemo needs to start in few got diagnosed. It was frustrating at first. ercise, was never overweight or a smoker, and I did not drink much, only in certain occasions. The fact is that it did not matter where this cancer was coming from, my reality was that I needed to start my fight whether I wanted or not.”

The biggest thing that Balza had in her fight against breast cancer, that involved the removal of her left breast, was support. That was one of the biggest things that anyone going through breast cancer needs.

“The support has been great, especially now that more people are aware,” she said. “Due to my mom’s health condition, n In 2021, an estimated 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the U.S. as well as 49,290 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast canI decided not to post anything in my socer. cial media during treatment since she is n 63% of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a localized stage (there is no sign that unaware of my situation. She still does the cancer has spread outside of the breast), for which the 5-year survival rate is 99%. not know, but soon I will go to Venezuela n This year, an estimated 43,600 women will die from breast cancer in the U.S. to tell her myself. So, I decided to make n Although rare, men get breast cancer too. In 2021, an estimated 2,650 men will be my story public and I have received a lot diagnosed with breast cancer this year in the U.S. and approximately 530 will die. of great messages with amazing words of n 1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime support.” n Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, except for skin can Balza’s cancer diagnosis was one of cers. It is estimated that in 2021, approximately 30% of all new women cancer diagnoses will be breast cancer. surprise. Balza said it was hard to detect n There are over 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. by the doctors as the mammography ren On average, every 2 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United sults were inconclusive.

States.

“I found out I had a lump because Source: National Breast Cancer Foundation Website

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n Balza talks about battling breast cancer ...

I touched myself,” she said. “One day I was in bed watching TV, my left arm was behind my head, and just by chance I touched my left breast and felt a lump.

I was like huh? What is this? I touch my right breast and I felt nothing, I put my arm down and touched my left breast again and I could not feel the lump as much,” she said. “Immediately I booked a USG scan, but the next English-speaking doctor wasn’t available for two weeks and it was too far away, Jacek took off from work and we booked a Polish-speaking doctor for the next day since Jacek could translate. The doctor checked my breast for about 30-40 minutes. She could see and feel the lump, but she said that it was just a lump, to come back next year or in 6 months for another checkup. It did not feel right for me. I was not satisfied with that answer so, after I left the appointment I said to Jacek, I am booking a second opinion where I can speak directly to the doctor.

“A week later, I went for a second opinion with an English-speaking doctor, and again after 30 minutes of checking my breast, she says it is nothing to worry about. I was still confused; I could not understand why they take such a long time to check to then say that everything is okay. Plus, the doctor did not even sound confident in what she was saying.

So, I asked the doctor to send me for a mammogram because I had long family history with cancer. The doctor, at first, said it would not be necessary, but I insisted and after a few questions, she gave me the referral. I went to the mammography place and when I got the results, they were inconclusive meaning that the mammogram could not determine if it was normal or abnormal cells, so they referred me to a biopsy. I booked a biopsy, and the doctor tells me that he needed to take a few samples. At the end of the appointment, he tells me that he thinks the results will be negative, but if that is the case that he will refer me to another doctor for another biopsy that is more like a small surgery. I was like uhhh, okay?

“I had to wait four weeks for the results. Finally when the results were in, I opened the letter but of course ev-

This picture shows Fatima Balza last year during chemotherapy. Every time she could, she would just go and coach a group of experienced players for about 2 to 3 hours, 3 to 4 times a week. Balza said it was an amazing break for her to focus on something she loves during such a hard treatment.

erything was in Polish so I had no idea what the results said. Jacek took the letter and looking confused, he tells me it says something about cancer. I was stressed and I said, ‘Yeah, it is a biopsy to determine if I have cancer, so of course it says something about cancer, but does it say it is positive or negative?’ He said, he did not know, he could not understand what was written. He asked the girl in the reception if she could clarify the results and the receptionist said she could not, only doctors were allowed to clarify anything. She suggested us to book an appointment with the doctor to find out.

Jacek, angry, asks the receptionist to give us an appointment ASAP. The receptionist says, ‘the next one is in four days.’ He said, ‘Four days? No! We cannot wait four days to find out, anything sooner?’ She said, ‘There is one in 30 minutes, but the doctor is on the other side of the city, it is not enough time.’

“We took the appointment drove as fast as we could to the other side of the city, we made it late, but we made it. Doctor read the results and confirmed that it was positive for cancer. Gave us a referral for an oncologist and wished us good luck. My first thoughts after I found out were: one, how can I tell my mom I have

cancer? And two, can I have kids after chemotherapies?”

The long wait of her chemo continued because of the Coronavirus pandemic that hit in 2020. Balza said she was initially scheduled for 20 weeks of chemotherapy, but due to COVID, her surgery got pushed back because the capacity of the operating room was cut in half.

Balza said her doctor said that her cancer involved a combination of things which included 23 weeks of chemo, a mastectomy without reconstruction where her left breast was fully removed, 20 sessions of radiation, and hormone therapy in which she needs to keep doing for five years.

The biggest thing that she had to endure was losing her hair. At first she was scared about losing her hair, but now that part of undergoing chemo is no big thing.

“Hair is a very stressful step. Now that I look back, it is very silly to worry about the hair and what other people might think when you are dealing with cancer.

It is just silly, but of course I did not see it like that at the moment,” she said. “I did not want to cut my hair because when I was a child, kids at school bullied me for having a short afro hair. They called me

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n Balza talks about battling breast cancer ... microphone head all the time. Because of that, I grew up thinking that my afro was not good and that the hair should be always long, so for that reason I always kept my hair long and straight.”

Then, Balza said that thinking about cutting her hair brought her back to time she was bullied at school.

Balza started losing her hair one week after her first chemo and brushing her hair was sad and other times it was a surprise of how easily it fell out.

“I could not even touch my hair because lots of hair would fallout,” she said.

“I did not even want to wash it anymore because washing it was leaving lots of hair in my hands and between my fingers.

Hair was everywhere from in the bed, the couch, the floor, everywhere! As painful as this was, I waited as long as I could before I cut it. Before my third chemo, I could not handle it anymore, hair was everywhere, my head was itchy so I had to do it. Jacek cut my hair at home and at first, it was weird to see myself with no hair but I felt so happy after I showered.

The head was not itchy anymore and I felt like a huge weight was lifted from me.

“I wondered why was I holding on for so long? I should have cut it from the beginning. Then I had doubts if I should use wigs. Inside my heart I knew I did not want to wear wigs but I did not know if I was ready to go bald or just with a turban (hat). My doubts were over after one day I saw on social media, which I was not using very often, one of the girls I played with in Penn State (Deja) decided to stop treatment for Alopecia and go bald, she looked so confident and happy, I loved her story and gave me the courage I needed to go bald. I used hats when it was sunny but mostly, I went bald. Which brings me to the second WNCC player that helped me during my treatment Nayka Benitez. I never used much make up, but as I decided to go bald, I wanted to practice a bit of make up as my make-up skills were bad!

I reconnected with Nayaka, who over the phone in multiple calls, showed me what to do.”

While Balza has undergone her breast cancer treatment and is open about to educate the people, the 3-time volleyball

Fatima Balza is speaking out about her breast cancer surgery and treatments during the past 18 months. Here, Balza said she was awake after surgery and the surgery was a success.

She shows that her breast was fully removed and sent to the lab for more tests to make sure cancer was fully gone. Balza said, “I was a in pain a bit but i was trying to understand the fact that the breast was gone!”

national champion from the NJCAA and NCAA, is the perfect person to get encouragement from in all she had to endure during her treatment and diagnosis.

Balza also said that undergoing treatment and coming back is just like playing volleyball.

“When I was at Penn State, I knew I had to work hard. My physicality and my experience on the court were good, but I was around the best student athletes, many of them were members of the USA national team, so being good was not enough. I knew I needed to add more training time after constant feedbacks from Penn State coach Russ Rose and his coaching staff, so I focused on the things I had to work on, to be a better player for myself and for the team. I went to the gym early every day to train with one of the assistant coaches before team training, and although some days went better than others, every effort I put in was so worth it because at the end, I earned a lot of playing time and we got the championship!

“With cancer it has been very similar, just that the season has been longer and the doctors are not as specific as coaches for feedback. For me, going to the chemo-

therapy room was like game day. In my life as an athlete, I understood that to be a good player, my actions outside the court will directly impact my performance in the game or trainings. So, I made sure I slept enough, drank lots of water, ate healthy, go to the weight room, rest, etc.

After my third chemo, I understood that I could put more effort from my part to help my body be better for game day. At first, I did not know what I needed to work on, unlike coaches, in the oncology department they don’t tell you what you can do before or after chemo day to be a better patient. I had to discover that myself. Going to the doctor was like going to trainings; they can advise you and have a ‘game plan for you’, but it was only up to me if I wanted to put the extra work. I used the student- athlete mentality to go thru treatment. At first, I was just going to chemo and resting. Then I noticed I could help my body a little bit by walking a few minutes, eating cleaner, drinking lots of water, juices, no sugar, stopped watching TV or social media. I started to listen more to my body and most important I was trying not to get frustrated. It was time to focus on the things I could do to

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n Balza talks about battling breast cancer ... help my body beat cancer; going to chemo and resting was not enough. I could do a lot more to have a lead in this battle.

It took me some time to figure it all out.”

Balza is currently in Venezuela taking care of her mom, who is not doing well with her cancer treatment. Balza said her family knows she had cancer, but no one has told her mom because of what she is going through herself.

“I came to Venezuela because the doctors are not giving her too much hope, so I had to come home,” Balza said. “She was surprised when she saw me with short hair, but she did not say much about it and of course I did not either. She needs help with everything right now, but the thing is that I have to constantly remind myself to put on my fake breast which I almost never used before. As for the hair, she just assumed that I cut it for her, but if she sees me with no breast than it would be very difficult to explain.”

That is why Balza has come out to share her story. With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, and two members of the 2011 and 2012 Cougar volleyball team having or is undergoing treatment, it was a perfect time to say how important it is to get tested and look for

Fatima Balza’s sister, Astrid, who lives in Germany, stayed with Fatima before and after surgery. This picture was taken four days after surgery. Hard to tell who is who in the photo since they both look a like.

the signs.

“Unfortunately, cancer is becoming more common every day,” she said. “Millions of patients around the world and the number keeps growing. One of the main things I would share for all woman out there is about awareness, to touch their breast and be aware that it can happen to

This was one of the happiest pictures Fatima Balza had as it was taken in Krakow, Poland, over the summer. Balza said at this time she was already done with chemo, mastectomy, radiation and physiotherapy and was with some friends, not coaching or watching. Balza said she played for awhile and had zero control over the ball and got tired super quick, but she said she was very happy.

anybody. Cancer does not know the word discrimination, it does not matter the age, color of skin, language you speak. It can be anyone. The first sign to discover my cancer was when I touched myself.”

WNCC celebrated Breast Cancer Awareness withs PAWzitively Pink night at the WNCC and Lamar volleyball match on October 22. While October is Breast Cancer Awareness, really every month should be breast cancer awareness because everyone needs to be aware of breast cancer, women or men.

Balza said she has gone through a lot and what she has gone through Is like playing volleyball like she did at WNCC and Penn State.

“One of the main things that I learned with this experience is to put myself as priority and give more self- love,” she said.

“I learned to be more present, life is about enjoying it with the people we want, the things we can take with us are the memories we create. People should not wait for cancer or any other disease to start creating valuable memories with the people they love or to start acting on the changes in life they want to make. My advice is not to wait for the perfect moment to decide to do things. The perfect moment is any day we want.”

By Mark Rein, Sports Information

Moving right along Cougar volleyball team ready to host regionals in November

T

he WNCC volleyball team will be looking for two Region IX titles in 2021 as they get ready to wrap up the regular season this month and then host the Region IX volleyball tournament that begins November 3 at Cougar Palace.

The chance to win two regional titles in one calendar year was only made possible because the volleyball season last year was moved to the spring and the Cougars won the regional title in April and competed in the national tournament the last part of the month.

This season, the Cougars have faced one of the harder schedules in the nation and are currently 21-13 on the season.

WNCC wrap up the regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 27 when they travel to face McCook Community College.

It has been a roller coaster time for the Cougars in October as they have played some good competition and been up and down, falling four times in six tries through games played October 9.

The one match they did fall in, to No. 2 Iowa Western Community College, they actually played one of their best in falling in five sets.

It is what they did in that match that will be the key for the Cougars to win a second regional title in 2021.

“Against Iowa Western, we fought to the end,” freshman Jenna Curtis of Ogallala said. “That is probably the best that we have ever played because we had a ton of energy on our team. When we were down a few points, we knew we still could pick it up and keep our energy high.”

After the hear-breaking loss to No. 2 Iowa Western, the Cougars lost to Central Wyoming. Those two losses were put behind them as the Cougars played extremely well in topping Eastern Wyoming College on Oct. 12 in a straight set win. It was a win that was badly needed as it was a total opposite of how they performed against EWC a week earlier.

Alexis Keoho, a freshman from Hawaii, said it was a big difference between matches from a week ago.

“I think the difference from tonight’s

WNCC’s Macey Boggs bumps the ball to the front while Julia Moccellin, the libero, looks on.

WNCC will be wrapping up the regular season on Oct. 27 and hosting regionals Nov. 3-6.

game from last week was we came ready and prepared,” Keoho said. “We expected nothing from the best from them and we knew they were going to come strong. But we just wanted to come stronger and play together.”

The win Tuesday against EWC, Keoho said, was a contest where the team connected in all areas.

“I think if our team plays like this, we will be way more successful and we will play together more and put teams down faster,” the freshman setter from Hawaii said.

WNCC wrapped up the regular season home portion of their schedule Oct. 22 and 23, splitting sub-region contests.

WNCC swept past Lamar on sophomore recognition night but then fell

in four games to to Northeastern Junior College.

The loss to NJC will probably mean they will be the number two seed from the south, but really, that doesn’t mean a whole lot because you have to play the good teams to win a regional title anyway.

The Region IX tournament will be held at WNCC Nov. 3-6 with the winner of the winner’s bracket earning one regional title and then the winner of the elimination bracket getting a second regional title and berth to nationals.

The Region IX tournament website is located off the WNCC Athletic website.

The site location is https://wnccathletics. com/information/2021_Region_IX_Volleyball_Tournament

By Mark Rein, Sports Information

20 QUESTIONS WITH ...

J

Jenna Curtis, Volleyball

enna Curtis is a freshman on the volleyball team coming from Ogallala High School. Jenna has been a consistent starter for the Cougars and has put up some nice numbers this season in kills, service points, and digs. So far this year, Jenna has appeared in 128 sets and has 327 kills, 162 digs, and 176 service points.

Jenna’s best match came in October when Jenna tallied 17 kills in a win over Trinidad State. Before that, she had 16 kills four different times. She tallied 16 kills and 10 digs against Utah State Eastern on Aug. 21, 16 kills and 14 digs against Colby on Aug. 28, 16 kills against Arizona Western on Sept. 3, and 16 kills against Utah State-Eastern on Sept. 11.

Here is a fun interview with Jenna talking about her volleyball career, what she wants to do, and some other fun questions.

MR: How is the season going overall for the team?

JC: I feel like the team overall is having a good season. He have played some amazing games but at times have failed to play up to our potential.

MR: How is the season going for you personally?

JC: Personally my season is going well! I can alway improve and that’s what I continue to strive for.

MR: Coming into the season, did you have any idea of the strong season you are having as a freshman?

JC: I was unsure of what to expect coming into this season. I just knew I was going to work hard and give it my all!

MR: The team played a tough schedule this year, how has that helped the team?

JC: Playing the tough schedule we have

Jenna Curtis takes a swing at a kill against Eastern Wyoming College on October 12. The Cougars swept the Lancers a week after falling to EWC on the road in four sets.

had has shown our team what we are capable of!

MR: What has been the big difference from high school to college that you had to adjust to?

JC: The biggest difference playing college volleyball is the huge block you have in front of you at all times, having to always adjust your shot. The game is a lot quicker and rallies can last forever!

MR: What is it like to play with all the talent from around the county and world?

JC: It is truly amazing to play at this level with so many talented girls from all over the country and world. I’ve learned so much. It’s so fun learning everyone’s different backgrounds.

MR: The first of November, the college will host the regional tournament with the winners advancing to nationals. What will the team need to do to qualify for nationals?

JC: We will need to consistently play at our highest level.

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n 20 Questions with Jenna Curtis ...

MR: What are the strengths of this year’s team?

JC: Having multiple high level athletes on our team is an asset if someone is having an off game others have the skill and capability to step into that role.

MR: Hoe many friendships have been made this year and what is it like to get to know different people and their cultures?

JC: I have made so many new friends on the team and friendships that will last a lifetime. It is so fun to learn about the different cultures and stories people have about growing up.

MR: What is the best part of playing college volleyball at WNCC? JC: Being able to play college volleyball here at WNCC is that I’m close to home and still get to continue to play the sport I have loved my whole life!

MR: What is the hardest thing you had to overcome in playing volleyball” JC: The hardest thing I had to overcome was losing my confidence. College volleyball is a whole different game and everyone is just as good as the next so you really just have to believe and have trust in yourself on the court!

MR: Do you like 9 or 19?

JC: I prefer number 9 it has sentimental value for me as my older sister was #9 during her volleyball career and I have always been #9.

MR: You came from Ogallala with a rich volleyball tradition. What was it like going through Steve Morgan’s volleyball and then having him retire?

JC: Living in Ogallala with its deep volleyball traditions gave me my fundamental skills where I was able to grow as a volleyball player. Coach Morgan was a big part of that back when he was my PE teacher in elementary already teaching me the basic skills all the way through until he retired at the end of my sophomore year . He gave me the motivation to be a better stronger player.

MR: At Ogallala, you played many sports.

Will it be hard to not play another sport after volleyball here is finished this season?

JC: Besides Volleyball I played tennis and will miss playing it. I have always taken up running and weight lifting in the off season. I plan to continue with my original off season training.

MR: What is your college major? Plans for your future after college is finished in four or more years?

JC: Right now my major is biology and I am unsure of exactly what I want to do but I for sure want to work in the medical field.

MR: Who is the person(s) on the team that keeps the team laughing and upbeat in practice or on the sidelines during games?

JC: I would say Erica and Macey keep the team going. They are our captains this year and they really push people to be their best on and off the court while still having fun!

MR: Was it hard to take off the orange and black last year for the final time? What is it like to wear blue and gold now?

JC: I was deeply saddened to take off or-

ange and black for the last time. No one understands how fast it goes (your high school years) I am extremely proud to wear the blue and gold this year.

MR: How many pets do you own and their names?

JC: I have two pets. Poppy and Joey. Poppy is a golden retriever and Joey is a calico cat.

MR: If you had to pick a new sport to play that your high school does not have, what sport would you want to play and why?

JC: I would play lacrosse because nobody plays it here in the midwest and I want to see what it’s all about and how rough it is.

MR: How many concerts have you attended and who have been your favorites?

JC: I have been to Taylor Swift, Thomas Rhett/Old Dominion, and Josh Turner.

MR: What is your favorite home made meal?

JC: My favorite homemade meal is my moms homemade Runzas.

By Mark Rein, Sports Information

Men’s soccer heading to semis Cougars shutout Trinidad in first-round 3-0 to extend season

R

Ygor Brito brings the ball up the field during their semifinal game with Trinidad State on Saturday, Oct. 23. WNCC won 3-0 and advances to the semifinals

odrigo Cercal scored twice and the Western Nebraska Community College men’s soccer team moved into the semifinals of the Region IX tournament with an impressive 3-0 win over Trinidad State College in the first round at Landers Soccer Complex Saturday afternoon.

The Cougars, 8-5-2, will now face topseed Laramie County Community College on Friday in the semifinals in Cheyenne, Wyoming at 12 noon with the winner facing the winner of the other semifinal match on Saturday. The other semifinal will pit Otero against Casper. The finals are slated for Saturday in Cheyenne with the winner qualifying for the national tournament.

This is the third straight season the Cougars have played Trinidad in the first round. In 2019 the Cougars beat the Trojans 2-1 in overtime. Last year (or last May) WNCC beat Trinidad 1-0.

The last time the Cougars played in the semifinals was 2019 when they fell to LCCC 4-0.

The last time the Cougars won a re-

gional title was in the Cougars’ first year of 2003.

Cercal, who was named the NJCAA Division I Soccer Player of the Week earlier this week for his six goals last weekend, said the team played well to get the win.

“Today we played with the right mentality, the right confidence, and we played hard,” Cercal of Brazil said. “We got the win and now we have to go a play against LCCC.” WNCC has been playing well the last two weeks where they have outscored their opponents 11-2 in the last three soccer matches. Cercal said the key for this team playing well right now is heart.

“Our mentality, our spirit, and we have friendships between us and that is why we have won three games in a row,” he said.

“Tomorrow, we have to stay focused on LCCC.” For this men’s team, they have been playing strong lately and they will be heading to the final four teams with a chance for a Region IX title. The last time the Cougar men have won a regional title

Continued on next page

n Men’s soccer head to semis ... was in the program’s first year of playing in 2003. Cercal said this team will be ready for the semifinals.

For Cercal, he has been the offensive weapon for the Cougars as he has scored eight of the team’s 11 goals during the win streak. As much as Cercal has done most of the scoring, the win Saturday was a good team win as the defense recorded a shutout in the win and kept the Trojans offense at bay.

“Our defense is one of the keys to our wins and they played really hard, strong, and solid” he said. “They gave us confidence to attack because they were good to cover us.”

The defense was huge for the Cougars as Trinidad State outshot WNCC 13-9.

WNCC, however, made the most of their attempts putting three in the net. WNCC had seven shots on net of their nine total.

Trinidad had seven shots on net in the loss.

The Cougars offense started early as withing in the first three minutes of the match, WNCC had two key scoring opportunities but couldn’t get the ball into the net. With five minutes gone in the match, Trinidad had a shot to score, but it went high.

Three minutes later, Cercal put the Cougars on the board when he took a pass from Shoto Masuko and maneuvered for the first goal of the match for the 1-0 lead with 36:48 to play in the first half.

Cercal almost had a second goal as he took another pass and was going for a breakaway and was fouled to avoid the one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

After that Trinidad State had four shots at net, but a couple went wide and two were saved by WNCC goalkeeper Imanal Munoz. WNCC led at intermission 1-0.

It didn’t take long for the Cougars to strike in the second half as Renan Souza delivered a cross to Paul Cerros, who scored for the team’s second goal.

WNCC made it 3-0 with 17:17 left in the game when Rodrigo scored after taking a pass from Dante Rafaela for the 3-0 lead.

The Cougars defense kept playing tough and was within two minutes of a shutout. That was when Trinidad’s Rom-

Rodrigo Cercal breaks free and heads to the goal as he scores the first goal of the match.

Cercal, who was named the NJCAA soccer player of the week for Oct. 11-16, has scored eight goals in the last three matches.

ario Harding was awarded a penalty kick. But, the PK went wide and the Cougars went on to get the win.

Munoz recorded seven saves in net for the Cougars.

The Cougars also had four cornerkicks compared to just three for Trinidad.

In other scores in the men’s first round, LCCC defeated Central Wyoming 6-0, Otero knocked off Northeastern 3-2, and Casper beat Northwest 3-2.

By Mark Rein, Sports Information

WNCC’s Jacob Collins reacts after sending a ball up field during the regional tournament first round game on Saturday. WNCC beat Trinidad 3-0 to advance.

Women’s basketball ranked 14th Cougar women open the season Nov. 8 at home against Northwest

T

he WNCC women’s basketball team will be opening the season in November with some lofty expectations after the NJCAA women’s basketball pre-season poll was released Monday afternoon.

WNCC, who went 2-1 at the national tournament in April, is ranked 14th in the pre-season poll entering the season. The Cougars open the season Monday, November 8 at home against Northwest College.

Ale’Jah Douglas, one of two NJCAA all-Americans on the team this season, said being ranked right now is nice, but it is not their main concern right now.

“Being ranked in the pre-season means a lot but it is not our main focus right now,” the NJCAA honorable mention all-American said. “We know there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done if we want to maintain that and move up in the rankings when the season comes around.”

WNCC opened official practice Oct. 1 and have already competed in a pair of jamborees. The first was Oct. 2 in Windsor, Colorado, and the second was this past weekend in Lawrence, Kansas.

Douglas said this weekend, the Cougars competed and showed progress.

“The team competed hard this weekend and made some good runs throughout each game,” the Omaha native said. “After scrimmaging and seeing where the team is at, I believe we are ready for the season we just need to make some adjustments and tighten up on somethings.”

This past weekend, the Cougars faced three teams that are also ranked. The Cougars played No. 13 Wabash Valley and each won a half of play. They also played No. 20 Moberly Area Community College and the two ranked teams each won a half. The third game saw the Cougars face NJCAA Division II No. 5-ranked Labette Community College and dropped both halves.

The NJCAA Division I pre-season rankings are interesting as the other Region IX team Casper College is ranked 10th in the polls. Also, Jones College, who was num-

Martirce Brooks makes a cut to the basket and drives past a Metro defender during a scrimmage recently at Cougar Palace. The Cougar women open the season Nov. 8 at home against Northwest College.

ber one last year and undefeated entering the national tournament ended up losing to WNCC 63-60 at the national tournament. Jones College is pre-season ranked fourth. Another team the Cougars played at nationals, Three Rivers Community College in Missouri, is eighth in the polls.

The top 10 include Northwest Florida State College at number one followed

by Tyler Junior College, Chipola College, Jones College, New Mexico Junior College, Shelton State Community College, South Plains College, Three Rivers, South Georgia Technical College, and Casper.

Also in front of the Cougars is Trinity Valley Community College at number 11, Georgia Highlands College at 12, and Wabash Valley College at 13. WNCC will also play No. 23 College of Southern Idaho on November 19 in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Douglas said the competition makes

Continued on next page

Ale’Jah Douglas brings the ball up the court during a scrimmage with Metro State. Douglas is one of two NJCAA all-Americans on the team this year.

n WNCC women ranked 14th pre-season ... them better and there is plenty of talent on this team.

“There is a lot of talent on this team from every position,” she said. “We just have to get used to playing with each other to build the chemistry needed in order for us to win.”

The Cougars have plenty of experience back from a year ago where the Cougars went 17-6 a year ago. WNCC lost in the semifinals of the regional tournament to Casper, but earned one of three at-large bids to the national tournament where they won their first two games against Iowa Western Community College and Jones, before falling to Three Rivers.

Returners back from last year’s team include Douglas, Yara Garcia of Scottsbluff;

Martrice Brooks of Springfield, Illinois; Shanti Henry of Wichita, Kansas; Ashley Panem of Broomfield, Colorado; Isabelle Cook of New Plymouth, New Zealand; and Payton Fields of El Paso, Texas.

The Cougars are also bolstered with the addition of Amani Brown, a 5-foot-7 point guard from Terre Haute, Indiana. Brown played last year at Vincinnes University a year ago where she earned NJCAA honorable mention all-American honors.

The newcomers on the team include 6-2 Aminata Zie of Paris; 5-8 Breanna Fowler of Berthoud, Colorado; 5-8 Shayane Poirot-Allard of Cavalaire-sur-Mer, France; 5-6 Genet Mebratu of Toronto, Canada; 6-2 Mia Jaye Sarkodee-Adoo of London, England; and 6-4 Rashaan Smith

of Auckland, New Zealand.

Douglas said practices are going good as they prepare for the season opener in November.

“Practices are going good just been making adjustments so everyone remains on the same page when it comes to the playing style,” she said, “while, at the same time, competing to have as much game like situations as possible.”

WNCC have had several scrimmages so far including a home scrimmage with Metro State University on Oct. 24. The Cougars will have a scrimmage November 3 at Black Hills State before opening the season Nov. 8 at home against Northwest College.

By Mark Rein, Sports Information

WNCC Lady Cougar Basketball Schedule Date Opponent............................................................................. Location..........................Time Monday, Nov. 8 Northwest College................................................... Cougar Palace..................5:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 12 Northwest College........................................................ Rawlins,Wyo................... 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 13 Central Wyoming College........................................... Riverton, Wyo........................ 3 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 16 Eastern Wyoming College...................................... Cougar Palace..................5:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 19 College of Southern Idaho...................................... Twin Falls, Idaho...........................TBA Saturday, Nov. 20 Colorado Northwestern Community College........... Twin Falls, Idaho...........................TBA Wednesday, Nov. 24 North Platte Community College........................... Cougar Palace....................... 6 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 26 Western Wyoming Community College........................ Casper, Wyo............................TBA Saturday, Nov. 27 Casper College............................................................ Casper, Wyo........................ 5 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 4 Williston State College..................................................Gillette, Wyo...................... 10 a.m.

Sunday, Dec. 5 Miles Community College.............................................Gillette, Wyo................... 6:45 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 9 Western Wyoming Community College................... Cheyenne, Wyo........................ 3 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 10 Laramie County Community College...................... Cheyenne, Wyo........................ 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 11 Central Wyoming College........................................ Cheyenne, Wyo........................ 1 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 14 Laramie County Community College.................... Cougar Palace....................... 6 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 10 Casper College........................................................ Cougar Palace..................5:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 11 Central Wyoming College....................................... Cougar Palace..................5:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 14 McCook Community College................................. Cougar Palace..................5:30 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 16 Eastern Wyoming College........................................Torrington, Wyo............................TBA Friday, Jan. 21 Lamar Community College..................................... Cougar Palace..................5:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 22 Northeastern Junior College.................................. Cougar Palace....................... 2 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 28 Otero Junior College............................................... Cougar Palace..................5:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 29 Trinidad State College............................................ Cougar Palace....................... 2 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 4 McCook Community College....................................... McCook, Neb................... 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 12 Trinidad State College.................................................Trinidad, Colo............................TBA Sunday, Feb. 13 Otero Junior College..................................................La Junta, Colo............................TBA Tuesday, Feb. 15 Northeastern Junior College....................................... Sterling, Colo................... 5:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 17 Lamar Community College.............................................Lamar, Colo........................ 5 p.m.

Fri., Feb. 25 Region IX First Round................................................................. TBA...........................TBA Thurs.,-Sat., March 3-5 Region IX Tournament...................................................North Winner...........................TBA Mon-Sat., March 14-16 NJCAA National Tournament..................................... Lubbock, Texas...........................TBA

WNCC Lady Cougar Basketball Roster

Cl. Player

Pos.

Class

Ht.

Hometown/High School

4

Ale’jah Douglas

G

FR/SO

5-5

Omaha, Nebraska / Northwest

5

Yara Garcia

G

FR/SO

5-8

Scottsbluff, Nebraska / Scottsbluff

10

Amani Brown

G

SO

5-7

Terre Haute, Indiana / Terre Haute

11

Aminata Zie

F

SO

6-2

Paris, France / Gaspard Monge

13

Breanna Fowler

G

FR

5-8

Berthoud, Colorado / Berthoud

21

Martrice Brooks

G

FR/SO

5-7

Springfield, Illinois / Lanphier

22

Shanti Henry

G

SO

5-7

Wichita, Kansas / Andover

23

Ashley Panem

G

SO

5-10

Broomfield, Colorado / Fairview

24

Payton Fields

G

FR/SO 6-0

El Paso, Texas / Pebble Hills

33

Shayane Poirot

G

34

Isabelle Cook

F

40

Genet Mebratu

G

SO

5-6

Toronto, Ontario / Senator O’Connor

42

Mia Jaye Sarkodee-Adoo

F

FR

6-2

London, England / Lea Manor

50

Rashaan Smith

C

FR

5-8 Cavalaire-sur-Mer, France / Leonard de Vinci Calais

FR/SO 6-0 New Plymouth, New Zealand / Opunake

FR/SO 6-4 Auckland, New Zealand / Birkenhead College

Head Coach: Chad Gibney — Assistant Coach: Isaac Lu

Men’s basketball ready for season Cougar men open season Nov. 5 at Adams State Junior Varsity

B

illy Engel begins his season season as the head coach of the WNCC men’s basketball team and this year’s team has plenty of talent with seven players back from a year ago.

The Cougar men open the season November 5 at Adams State Junior Varsity and the home opener is slated for Monday, November 8 when they entertain Northwest College in a men’s and women’s doubleheader.

Carter Brown, one of the returners from last year, said practices are going good and the team looks strong. “ I feel like practices are going well at this point,” he said. “It’s taking us some time to find our rhythm, but I think that’s the case with every new team.

We’re getting better and better each week.”

The Cougar men have an experience squad back from a year ago. Brown, the 6-foot-2 guard from Ogallala, will be one of the key components this season.

Also returning that saw a lot of action a year ago includ Agwa Nywesh, a 6-3 guard from Austin, Minnesota; and Them Koeng, a 6-7 center from Grand Island.

The other four returners saw action and they will be counted on as well.

They included Jasiya DeOllos, a 5-11 guard from Scottsbluff; Michael Bradley, a 5-10 guard from Casper, Wyoming; Turumbil Zaki, a 6-5 forward, and Sayo Owolabi, a 6-4 forward, both from Denver;.

The newcomers are also talented on the squad. They include Rodney Sawyer, a 6-5 guard/forward from Prussia, Pennsylvania; Dimitrije Nikolic, a 6-4 guard from Serbia; Biko Johnson, a 6-2 guard from Carson, California; Carl Thorpe, a 6-7 forward from Rabun Gap, Georgia; Chancelor Johnson, a 6-4 guard from Atlanta, Georgia; Tristan Lee, a 6-2 guard from Minneapolis, Minnesota; Balentin Romero, a 6-3 guard from Paris, France; and Mamadou Sow, a 6-5 forward from Parker, Colorado.

WNCC returner Michael Bradley dribbles the ball while being guarded in the corner by Biko Johnson and Mamadoui Sow during a practice.

Brown said this team has plenty of talent and they also get along off the court really well.

“There is a lot of high level talent on this basketball team,” Brown said. “Every guy that steps on the floor is a guy you need to look out for.”

WNCC finished last season with an 8-11 record in a season that was all played last spring during the COVID year.

A year ago, Koang was the third-leading scorer on the team at 12.7 points followed by Nywesh at 11.2. Brown popped in 8.6 points. Brown led the team in 3-pointers made with 38, shooting 38.8 from beyond the arc.

Brown said they are ready to get going. WNCC will have a home scrimmage with Chadron State College on Friday, October 29 at 6 p.m. and then open the season for real on Nov. 5 against Adams

Continued on next page

Scottsbluff ’s Jasiya DeOllos brings the ball up the court while looking for a player to pass the ball during a drill during practice earlier in October.

n Men’s basketball ready for the season ...

State College junior varsity.

“I believe we are ready to get going,” Brown said. “We, like a lot of teams, have things we need to continue to get better at each and every day, but I do think we’re ready to start the season.

More than anything, our guys are hungry to compete.”

The big thing is a lot of these guys have a year of college under their belt and Brown said that experience at the college level goes a long way.

“Having that year of experience does a lot more for a player than you think,” he said. “The game is coming a lot eas-

ier simply because us sophomores have played together for a year already.”

What makes this team exciting to watch will be the athleticism they have showed in practice. Plus, this group of young men are also a group that loves to be around people and little kids in helping out.

“The vibe within the group is good,” Brown said. “Everyone gets along with everyone, and that can really help with the success of the group. I’m really excited to get going. It’s going to be a fun year.”

By Mark Rein, Sports Information

WNCC returner Turumbil Zaki slams home a dunk during a recent practice.

WNCC Cougar Men’s Basketball Schedule Date Opponent............................................................................. Location..........................Time Friday, Nov. 5 Adams State J.V.........................................................Alamosa, Colo............................TBA Saturday, Nov. 6 Adams State Varsity Scrimmage................................Alamosa, Colo.

Monday, Nov. 8 Northwest College................................................... Cougar Palace..................7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 9 Northwest vs. Neb. All-stars (no WNCC game).... Cougar Palace.......................... TBA Saturday, Nov. 13 Seward County Community College..............................Liberal, Kan........................ 5 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 14 TBA............................................................................... Liberall, Kan..................... 12 noon Tuesday, Nov. 16 Eastern Wyoming College...................................... Cougar Palace..................7:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 19 Community Christian College.................................. Twin Falls, Idaho...........................TBA Saturday, Nov. 20 College of Southern Idaho...................................... Twin Falls, Idaho.................. 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 23 Laramie County Community College...................... Cheyenne, Wyo........................ 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 3 Dawson Community College.........................................Gillette, Wyo........................ 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 4 Williston State College..................................................Gillette, Wyo..................11:45 a.m.

Sunday, Dec. 5 Miles Community College.............................................Gillette, Wyo........................ 5 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 14 Laramie County Community College.................... Cougar Palace....................... 8 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 7 Central Wyoming College............................................Windsor, Colo........................ 8 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 8 Western Wyoming Community College.......................Windsor, Colo........................... TBA Monday, Jan. 10 Casper College........................................................ Cougar Palace..................7:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 14 McCook Community College................................. Cougar Palace..................7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 16 Eastern Wyoming College........................................Torrington, Wyo............................TBA Friday, Jan. 21 Lamar Community College..................................... Cougar Palace..................7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 22 Northeastern Junior College.................................. Cougar Palace....................... 4 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 25 Air Force Prep......................................................... Cougar Palace....................... 7 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 28 Otero Junior College............................................... Cougar Palace....................... 8 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 29 Trinidad State College............................................ Cougar Palace....................... 4 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 4 McCook Community College....................................... McCook, Neb................... 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 5 North Platte Community College........................... North Platte, Neb........................ 6 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 12 Trinidad State College.................................................Trinidad, Colo............................TBA Sunday, Feb. 13 Otero Junior College..................................................La Junta, Colo........................ 2 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 15 Northeastern Junior College....................................... Sterling, Colo................... 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 17 Lamar Community College.............................................Lamar, Colo........................ 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 22 North Platte Community College........................... Cougar Palace....................... 6 p.m.

Fri., Feb. 25 Region IX First Round................................................................. TBA...........................TBA Thurs.,-Sat., March 3-5 Region IX Tournament.................................................. South Winner...........................TBA Mon-Sat., March 14-16 NJCAA National Tournament.................................Hutchinson, Texas...........................TBA

WNCC Cougar Men’s Basketball Roster Cl. 0 2 3 4 5 10 11 12 13 15 20 21 22 23 25

Player Pos. Class Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School Carter Brown G FR/SO 6-2 172 Ogallala, Nebraska / Ogallala Rodney Sawyer G/F FR 6-5 Prussia, Pennsylvania / Rocktop Academy Jasiya DeOllos G FR/SO 5-11 205 Scottsbluiff, Nebraska / Scottsbluff Dimitrije Nikolic G FR 6-4

NIS, Serbia / Biko Johnson G FR 6-2

Carson, California / King/Drew Carl Thorpe Jr SF FR 6-7 Rabun Gap, Georgia / Rabun Gap-Nacoochee Agwa Nywesh G FR/SO 6-3

Austin, Minnesota / Austin Michael Bradley G FR/SO 5-10

Casper, Wyoming / Kely Walsh Chancelor Johnson G FR 6-4 175 Atlanta, Georgia / Tri-Cities Tristan Lee G FR 6-2

Minneapolis, Minnesota / Hopkins Valentin Romero G FR 6-3 Paris France / Springfield Commonwealth Turumbil Zaki F FR/SO 6-5

Denver, Colorado / Denver South Mamadou Sow F FR 6-7

Parker, Colo. / Lutheran Them Koang C FR/SO 6-7 242 Grand Island, Nebraska / Grand Island Sayo Owolabi G FR/SO 6-4 180 Denver, Colorado / Vista Peak Prep Parker Lange F FR 6-6 170 Umatilla, Florida / Umatilla Caio Monteiro G/F FR 6-3

Sao Paulo, Brazil / Mateo Burchell G FR 6-4

El Paso, Texas / Chapin Sergio Burchell G FR 6-3 195 Canutillo, Texas / Canutillo Head Coach: Billy Engel — Assistant Coach: Colin Gause

Region IX Volleyball Tourney Bracket November 3-6 at WNCC Cougar Palace NJCAA REGION IX VOLLEYBALLTOURNAMENT 2021 - SOUTH HOST -

Seed N3 Seed S6 Seed N4 Seed S5

Seed S2

Seed N6 Seed S4

M#3

M#5

Seed N3/S6 Seed N1

Seed S3

M#1

Seed N5

M#2

M#4

W M#5 M#11

M#7

W M#7

M#6

W M#6

W M#11

Seed S4/N5 Seed N2 Seed S3/N6 Seed S1

M#15

W M#15 REGION IX CHAMPIONS NORTHWEST PLAINS A

M#12 M#8

W M#8

W M#12

Seed N4/S5

Loser M#5

M#9

Loser M#7

Loser M#6 Loser M#8

M#10

W M#9 M#13 L M#12

W M#10 M#14 L M#11

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2021 M#1- N3 vs S6 M#2- S3 vs N6 M#3- N4 vs S5 M#4- S4 vs N5

Play-In 8:00 AM 8:00 AM 10:00 AM 10:00 AM

8 Team Bracket WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2021 M#5- S2 vs N3/S6 M#6- N2 vs S3/N6 M#7- N1 vs S4/N5 M#8- S1 vs N4/S5

1:00 PM 3:00 PM 5:00 PM 7:00 PM

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 4, 2021 M#9- Loser M#5 vs Loser M#7 M#10- Loser M#6 vs Loser M#8 M#11- Winner M#5 vs Winner M#7 M#12- Winner M#6 vs Winner M#8

12:00 PM 2:00 PM 4:00 PM 6:00 PM

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 5, 2021 M#13- Winner M#9 vs Loser M#12 M#14- Winner M#10 vs Loser M#11 M#15- Winner M#11 vs Winner M#12

12:00 PM 2:00 PM 4:00 PM

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2021 M#16- Winner M#13 vs Winner M#14 M#17- Winner M#16 vs Loser M#15

11:00 AM 4:00 PM

W M#13 W M#16 M#16 W M#14

M#17 L M#15

W M#17 NORTHWEST PLAINS B CHAMPIONS

Baseball hosts NJC in fall scrimmage

Esports taking over WNCC in newest sport Esports currently has 14 students playing several video games, competing in tournaments

W

NCC has a new sport at the college and it is something a little bit different.

WNCC is entering the age of video games as it has started an Esports club that will be playing in the NJCAAE organization.

Cy McKim, Esports coach, said he is surprised of recent in the interest that the students have for Esports.

“I have a multitude of students currently practicing several different games in preparation for the Spring NJCAAE season which we will hopefully be competing in,” McKim said. “We currently have 14 active students practicing 8 hours a week for three different game titles.”

Just what is Esports? Esports is the latest gaming experience that are hitting the high school along with junior colleges and four-year colleges.

“Esports is the world of competitive, organized video gaming,” McKim said.

“College Esports is similar to other college athletics in almost every aspect. We practice daily, we have different seasons for different game titles that we compete against other colleges in, we have student leaders, team captains, and scholarship athletes, our student athletes are held to the same standards and expectations as other college sports.”

WNCC decided to jump into the Esports mode last spring and have converted a room in the Williams Building to an Esports gaming room. The room has all the latest computers and lighting to make gaming fun.

“Our Esports room is equipped with incredibly high-end PC’s fitted with NVIDIA RTX 3070s, ASUS 25” 144 HZ UHD monitors, Razer keyboards, mice, and headsets, high end ergonomic gaming chairs, and 65” LG 4k UHD TV’s we play our console games on.”

Students come together in the Esports room to play Super Smash Bros.: Unlimited in the room that is located in the Williams Building.

This year’s team is looking good with several students that are participating and a lot of it is by word of mouth.

“This semester has been about getting the word out about our new program and recruiting for games from the current student population,” McKim said. “As the news has spread, we have been seeing exponentially more interest every week. I am thrilled with the interest we have gotten and look forward to competing against other schools with our new teams!”

Currently the Esports players are playing a variety of games including Rainbow Six: Siege, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Super Smash Bros; Ultimate.

McKim said they are planning on entering some Super Smash Bros: Ultimate tournaments before hopefully joining the NJCAAE in the spring and then competing against junior college teams.

“Our student population seem to be drawn towards first person shooter games and fighting games,” McKIm said.

While this year is just getting busy with students taking part in the games, McKim is out recruiting for next year’s team

and he said it is going good.

“Recruitment for the Fall 2022 school year has just started,” he said. “I have been in contact with all the high school Esports coaches in the state of Nebraska about having their students play for our college. If anyone is interested in the program and wants to learn more, I would love to visit with them about playing for our school! They can contact me by email at esports@wncc.edu. If anyone would like to visit campus and check out our Esports room, they can schedule a campus visit through the main WNCC website.”

Right now with 14 players in Esports, it has just as many participants as the basketball and volleyball teams. McKim is excited for the future of Esports at the college.

“We are all incredibly excited about the future of Esports at WNCC,” he said.

“Esports is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, and I believe it is only a matter of time before it is a household term, even in Western Nebraska!”

By Mark Rein, Sports Information

Softball looking strong in fall with 24 players

Women’s soccer ends season short of playoffs

T

he WNCC and Central Wyoming College women’s soccer team was a vital Region IX conference match.

Both teams entered the contest with no conference wins, meaning the winner would advance to the Region IX playoffs.

In the end, the Cougar women gave up just one goal but couldn’t put the ball into the back of the next themselves as the Rustlers earned the 1-0 win and a spot into next weekend’s playoffs. The WNCC women finish the season at 2-11-2 and 0-7-0 in conference play.

The Cougar women’s last win was on September 4 when they defeated Central Wyoming 4-2 at Landers Soccer Complex, but the match was not a conference game.

Saturday’s contest saw WNCC dominated play out-shooting the Rustlers 18-4.

WNCC had eight shots on net while Central Wyoming all four of their shots on frame.

The one goal that mattered the most game from the Rustlers in the 38th minute when Central Wyoming found the back of the net and the 1-0 halftime lead. ‘ WNCC had plenty of chances to score, too. Ana Caroline Lopes had five shots on goal while Raquel Ferreira, Ashley Ruiz, Vanessa Vasquez, and Vicky Granda all

Izzy Wright battles for possession of the ball during their match with NJC this past season.

The Cougars wrapped up the regular season in October..

had one shot on frame.

Both teams had four corner kicks. Litzi Delarosa was in net for the Cougars and had three saves.

LEFT: Raquel Ferreira delivers a kick to the front during a free kick in a recent match.

RIGHT: The celebration of scoring a goal was uplifting for the Cougars as Vanessa Vazquez and Andrea Jimenez give each other a hug. The WNCC women celebrated every goal they made as they had a hard time putting the ball into the back of the net.

The season comes to an end for the women and they will lose several players next year, who have been at the college the last three years including Lopes, Ferreira, Delarosa, Ruiz, Jackie Valenciano. Several other players, who have been here two years, have the option of transferring after this year because of academics or returning because last season was a non-counter eligibility year because of COVID.

Softball team raises over $8,000 for Cooper’s Crusade A lot of times softball games can be played for a cause and that is exactly what the WNCC softball team did September 11 when they played a doubleheader scrimmage for Cooper’s Crusade, for 3-year-old Cooper Greene, who is undergoing treatment for Rosai-Dorfman.

WNCC head coach Katelyn Groves said the weekend events showed the generosity of the Scottsbluff and Gering community as well as families and fans of Cougar softball from all over.

The team raised $7,581 the weekend of the Cooper’s Crusade games and as of this week, the total is well over $8,000.

“Any time we have an opportunity to play for a cause, it’s extremely important,” head coach Katelyn Groves said. “Softball is an amazing sport and gives our players and coaching staff a platform to raise awareness and bring support not only to Cooper’s Crusade but other causes as well. There was a lot of information posted around Volunteer Field in regards to Rosai-Dorfman and Cooper’s condition.

Rosai-Dorfman is so rare that there isn’t a lot of information out there and just to put the name out there and get some awareness is very important.”

WNCC returning player Mackenzie Bakel, of Thornton, Colorado, said the weekend shows a lot about what Cougar

softball is about.

“There are truly no words to describe how incredible the support was for Cooper,” Bakel said. “I think that the support meant a lot to Cooper and his family and it also meant a lot to us as a team as well.

Knowing that our community was willing to step up and help a cause that was important to us was really inspiring. As a team, it was special for us to play for something bigger than softball and to play in front of a community that had our backs made it even more special.”

It hasn’t been uncommon for Cougar softball to play games in the spring for a cause as they have held a Scleroderma Foundation game in the past as well as benefits for former players who have undergone cancer.

These types of games bring the team

and community together and Cooper’s Crusade, who is the head coaches’ nephew, just did that. Bakel learned that softball is more than just playing a game.

“I learned that the sport of softball is so much bigger than just winning or losing,” she said. “I learned that when we come together, especially for a cause like Coopers, it made us want to be better on and off the field.”

Answers to the Cougar Trivia from page two ...

1) That answer goes to women’s soccer as both the women’s soccer team and the baseball team played on May 21. The baseball team lost in the morning while the soccer team played their semifinal game of regionals in the afternoon.

2) Depending how you look at it, it is either three or 16. Playing-wise, the answer is three with Karen Cordero and Anu Kaohi earning All-American honors for volleyball and Ale’jah Douglas earning honors for women’s basketball.

Academic-wise, you can add 13 more in there to make 16 as 13 athletes earned NJCAA Academic All-American honors.

3) That was 1974 when Ron Brillhart was the coach. The team members included Mike Klein, Patt Eggeling, Jerry Cassidy, Rich Eisenach, Ray Ernest, and Brad Bowen.

4) That goal went to Rodrigo Cercal, who scored with 24 minutes left in the first half against Northeast Community College.

5) Izzy Wright had the first goal of the season in the second half of the game with Northeast Community College.

6) Jayla Brehmer leads the team in hitting percentage at .231 with second gong to Ale Meoni at .219. As for kills per set, that leader is Erica Fava at 3.84.

7) This one is a little tricky, but that goes to the 1980-81 team when men’s basketball won under Ron Brillhart and then Brillhart coached the golf team to a regional title that spring and Gordon Harrach led the tennis team to a regional title.

8) Here is the list: Margaret Fitzmorris (1974-1977); Maria Welliver (19781979); Cash Franklin (1980-1983); Cathy Schiller (1984-1988); Michelle Overby-Gomez (1989-1998); Chris Green (1999-2007); Giovana Mel0 (2008-2013), and Binny Canlaes (2014 to current).

9) Those players include Baseball -- Jack Jones, Hunter McCollom, and Creighton Dike; Softball: Maddy Johnston and Taylor Klein; Women’s Basketball: Yara Garcia; Men’s Basketball: Jasiya DeOllos; Women’s Soccer: Izzy and Cali Wright; Men’s Soccer; Lincoln Frank, Oziel Carmargo, Garrick Schick, and Francisco Morales.

10) That winner in tennis was Ruth Weaver.

FCA brings students/athletes together for a purpose

Cougar Culture

FCA (Fellowships of Christian Athletes) has become a popular meeting for athletes and other students in the past year. Here, to the left, Jaime Gonzales, FCA regional leader, talks about his testimonial. To the right, there is always some kind of fun game that is played and this time it was a Rock, Paper, Scissors competition as well as a who can get an Oreo into their mouth first without using your hands. FCA meets each Wednesday (and some Thursday’s) around 8 p.m. in the dining hall as well as places.

Favorite Halloween Candy

Elli Winkler Volleyball

Imanal Munoz Men’s Soccer

Aminata Zie Woman’s B-ball

Sour Patch Kids

Reese’s

Twizzlers

Bailey Krueger Softball

Milk Duds

Kianna Thompson Women’s Soccer Twix

World Series Champions Braves or Astros

Atlanta Braves

Houston Astros

I don’t watch baseball

Houston Astros

Atlanta Braves

Favorite Dog

Husky

German Shepard

I hate dogs

Mine

Cocker Spanial/ Poodle

Prettiest Person On Earth

Megan Fox

Jessica Alba

My mom

Ashley Panem

Beyonce

Fill in the blank ...

Ice _____

Ice Baby

Coffee

Bath

Ice Baby

Cream

ALUMNI ATHLETIC NEWS

Scottsbluff Junior College l Nebraska Western College l Western Nebraska Community College

Former Cougar Cordero earns conference player of the week

D

elaware State outside hitter Karen Cordero ( Jr., OH, Chula Vista, Calif. and a former WNCC Lady Cougar) has been honored by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) for her role in helping lead the red-hot Hornets to shutout wins over Morgan State and Coppin State last week.

Cordero was selected as a MEAC Co-Player of the Week after posting a combined .363 hitting percentage in the two DSU wins, averaging 4.5 kills per set. Against Morgan State, she hit .625 with 16 kills and three service aces and added 11 kills and three more aces against Coppin State. Coppin State also has a former Cougar as their setter in Andrea Tsvetanova.

Despite missing the first 12 matches of the season, Cordero is sixth on the Hornets with 72 kills for a team-high 3.42 per set average. She has reached double-figures in kills in four matches , including a high of 16 in two contests.

The Delaware State volleyball team is riding a school-record win streak of 16, currently the second-longest in the nation.

The Hornets are now 20-1 overall and lead the MEAC with an 8-0 record. DSU has won its last seven matches by 3-0 scores and have 17 shutout victories this season.

Delaware State’s 20 wins this season are the most since posting a 20-13 mark in 2009. The team record for wins in a season is 23

in 1987 (23-6).

The Hornets are on the road for the next three matches, beginning with a rematch against Howard on Oct. 26 in Washington, D.C. Delaware State will also visit North Carolina Central (Oct. 29) and South Carolina State (Oct. 31) before their final home match of the season against Morgan State on Nov. 5.

The alumni baseball game in September brought back several former players, including a couple from the first team back in 2002. The alumni and current WNCC team split a pair of 7-inning games on the Saturday in September.

Former Cougar Ornelas helping Judson to a strong season

F

ormer WNCC women’s soccer player Rafaella Ornelas is having a good season at Judson University in her junior year.

Ornelas, from Brazil, has started all 15 matches for Judson and in those matches,

has scored one goal and dished out three assists. Ornelas has four shots on goal to a total nine shots taken.

Ornelas had a goal in a 9-1 win over Indiana-Northwest. Ornelas also had a key assist in a 3-2 season-opening win back in

September over Warner.

Judson is 10-4-1 on the season and 8-2-1 in conference play. Judson has two regular season matches left on Oct. 26 against St. Francis (Illinois) and then Oct. 30 against Saint Xavier (Illinois).

Archived Athletic Photos — Recognize Anyone?

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