Saturday, March 3rd, the 6th Grade WBDA Boys team competed in the Hop’s Hoops Classic in David City, NE.  In their first game, Wayne defeated David City and in the second game, Wayne won a tight contest against Seward by 2 points.  In the final game of the day, Wayne played Boone Central.  Both teams pushed for a win but Boone Central’s size advantage inside proved too much for Wayne.  By going 2-1 in the tournament, Wayne came away with a 2nd place finish.  Congrats Players and Coaches! #wayneyouthbasketball

UPDATE:

Saturday, April 7th, The Knights of Columbus held the State Free Throw Shooting Championship at Grand Island Central Catholic High School in Grand Island, NE.  Communities from all over the state were represented at the event.  The contest had 12 divisions consisting of boys and girls from ages 9 through 14.  Each division had 8 shooters.  Two WBDA players qualified to compete in the state contest.  Frantzdie Barner competed in the girl’s 12 year old division and Colson Nelsen competed in the boy’s 11 year old division.  Frantzdie shot well making 15 of 25 free throws and finishing in 3rd place.  Colson also shot well making 20 of 25 and finishing in 4th place.  Congrats Frantzdie and Colson on the outstanding achievement!  #wayneyouthbasketball

Sunday, February 25th, several area players participated in the Regional Knight of Columbus Free Throw Contest.  To qualify for the regional shoot-off, players had to finish highest in their respective age group at their school after 15 free throws.  Six WBDA players qualified to compete in the regional including Frantzdie Barner (12 yrs), Delaney Kruse (11 yrs), Andrew Brunken (14 yrs), Colson Nelsen (11 yrs), Mason Karsky (10 yrs) and Jaxson Kneifl (9 yrs).

In the regional competition, players competed against other shooters in the area and attempted 25 free throws.  All the competing WBDA players medaled and finished 1st in their respective age brackets which earned them an opportunity to shoot in the District competition later that day.

At the District competition players competed against shooters as far away as O’Neill and Tekamah.  The WBDA had five players medal in the District competition.  Both Frantzdie and Colson placed 1st in their age brackets, which qualifies them for the State Competition in Grand Island on April 7th.  Congrats players and Good Luck Frantzdie and Colson at State!  #wayneyouthbasketball

Regional Medalists

District Medalists

Saturday, February 24th, the WBDA 8th Grade boys team competed in the Norfolk Catholic Booster Club tournament in Norfolk, NE.  The boys played three games throughout the day.  Wayne won their first two games beating GACC 46-36 and West Point 57-35.  In the tournament championship game, Wayne faced Norfolk Catholic.  The final game was close, but Wayne fell short in the end losing 47-50.  By finishing the tournament 2-1, Wayne earned the 2nd place finished.  Congrats Players and Coaches!  #wayneyouthbasketball

Saturday, February 24th, the WBDA 6th Grade Boys team competed in the Norfolk Catholic Booster Club tournament in Norfolk, NE.  The boys played three games throughout the day.  In their first contest versus Norfolk Catholic, Wayne lost in a hard fought game.  Following the first game, the team rallied and went 2-0 defeating both Stanton and Elgin Pope John.  By finishing the tournament 2-1, Wayne earned the 2nd place finished.  Congrats Players and Coaches!  #wayneyouthbasketball

Sunday, February 18, the WBDA 7th Grade White team competed in the Clash of the Plains Tournament in Wayne, NE.  They were in a 4-team round robin bracket with Pierce, Hartington Cedar and Laurel.  In bracket, the Wayne boys won all three games, beating Hartington CC 33-32, Laurel 27-11 and Pierce 74-40.   By winning all three games, Wayne finished the tournament in 1st place.  Congrats players and coaches!  #wayneyouthbasketball

Sunday, February 18, the 7th grade WBDA girls competed in the Clash of the Plains tournament in Wayne, NE.  They were in a 6 team pool play division.  The “Blue” pool included Wayne, Wausa and Crofton.  The “White” pool included Pender, Cougars and Pierce.  Wayne competed well in their pool beating both Wausa and Crofton.  By winning both games they were set to play Pender in the Championship Game.  The final game was close throughout and both teams worked for the win, but in the end Wayne fell short finishing with 2nd place.  Congrats on a great tournament players and coaches!  #wayneyouthbasketball

Sunday, February 18, the WBDA 8th grade boys competed in the Clash of the Plains tournament in Wayne, NE.  The Wayne boys were in a 7 team bracket with Clarkson-Leigh, Laurel, Hartington Cedar, Osmond, Crofton and Stanton.  Wayne faced off against Laurel in their first of two games for the day.  Laurel jumped out to a quick and maintained a lead throughout the game winning 37-25.  The loss put Wayne up against Crofton.  Wayne played great transition offense and pressure defense, which led them to win the game and finish with 3rd place.  Congrats Players and Coaches!  #wayneyouthbasketball

Saturday, February 17, the 4th grade WBDA girls competed in the Clash of the Plains tournament in Wayne, NE.  Wayne was in a 3-team round robin tournament with Pender and O’Neill.  In the first game versus Pender, Wayne was in a battle throughout the game but finished with a 13-9 win. In the second game, Wayne faced a tough O’Neill team. Both teams played hard for 32 minutes and at the end of regulation the game was tied and went into overtime.  In overtime, Wayne was able to gain the advantage and finish with a 14-12 win.  Congrats players and coaches on your 1st place finish! #wayneyouthbasketball

Saturday, February 17, the 4th Grade WBDA Boys competed in the Clash of the Plains tourney in Wayne, NE. The team was placed in a 6-team pool play division. The “Blue” pool included Wayne, Laurel and Holy Trinity. The “White” pool included Pender, Wynot and Elkhorn Valley. Wayne played well in their opening game against Laurel winning 27-3.  In their second game versus Holy Trinity, Wayne played a hard fought game and at the end of regulation, the game was tied and headed into overtime.  In overtime, Holy Trinity came out with the win, 17-14.  By going 1-1 in their two pool play games, Wayne  was set to play Wynot for 3rd place.  The final game was close and highly competitive.  Neither team would not let the other gain a clear lead.  At the final buzzer, Wayne was leading 26-24 and finished the tournament with 3rd place.  Congratulations Players and Coaches on the 3rd Place Finish! #wayneyouthbasketball

February 17/18, 2018

This year’s Wayne WBDA Youth Basketball Tournament was a Great Success.  The tournament started on Saturday at the Community Activity Center with the 4th grade boys & girls teams along with the 6th grade girls followed by the 5th grade boys teams.  The City Auditorium hosted the 5th grade girls while the 6th grade boys and girls teams competed at Wayne High and Wayne Elementary gyms.  On Sunday, Jr. High teams competed with the 7th grade girls and boys at the Community Activity Center while the 8th grade teams competed at the Wayne High and Wayne Elementary gyms.  The tournament brought over 3000 people to Wayne America to experience 94 games between 64 teams, representing 23 towns in 2 days.

The WBDA Board would like to extend a special thank you to the over 200 Volunteers, Tournament Sponsors, WBDA Sponsors, Referees, and the Tournament Committee for making the tournament a special and memorable experience for all those who participated and attended.  Without ALL of you, this tournament would not be possible.

Below are pictures that were taken throughout the weekend.  If you have pictures you like to share, please email them to waynenebasketball@gmail.com

• Pictures

Thanks Again to everyone that was involved in making the tournament a success!

-WBDA Board of Directors