Western Nebraska Community College women’s soccer players Lesley Vasquez and Lisbeth Barrera earned post-season soccer honors for their play on the pitch this season. 

                Vasquez, a sophomore, earned Region IX All-Region First Team honors as a midfielder, while Barrera, a freshman, garnered All-Region honorable mention honors as a defender. 

                Vasquez was one of the top vote getters for all-region honors from the Region IX coaches. Vasquez finished her sophomore year with nine goals and six assists. For her career, she tallied 17 goals and 14 assists. 

                Barrera, from Aurora, Colorado, started all 14 matches for the Cougars this season and was a consistent mainstay on the defensive backline. 

                Other First Team Region IX honorees include Forwards: Otero’s Bello Omoqunmi, Laramie County’s Caroline Kuhn; Midfielders: WNCC’s Vasquez, Western Wyoming’s McCall Hogge, LCCC’s Tayler Miller, and Otero’s Juliana Kottbauer; Defenders: Otero’s Judy McIntosh, Western Wyoming’s Callee Hill, LCCC’s Kayt Ward, and Casper’s Haley Seaich; and GoalKeeper: LCCC’s Kiara Kershaw. 

                Second Team members include Forwards: LCCC’s Macy Woolcock and Northwest’s Autumn Wilson; Mid-fielders: Casper’s Michelle Cave, LCCC’s Abby Williams, Trinidad’s Yaddelis Alderete, and Casper’s Kaylinn Gallup; Defenders: Casper’s Haylee Anderson, Western Wyoming’s Lilly Bailey, LCCC’s Kjerstin Bunderson, and Northwest’s Sam Bonar; and Goalkeeper: Otero’s Nagi Kawahata.   

                Those receiving honorable mention honors include Forwards: Casper’s Emma Goetz, Otero’s Sheranda Charles, and Northwest’s Pressly Taylor; Mid-fielders: Western Wyoming’s Brynleigh Ritchie, Otero’s Celia Keck, Northwest’s Kaitlyn Campbell, Otero’s Madison Bussey, and Gillette’s Cesia Swain; Defenders: WNCC’s Barrera, Western Wyoming’s Mackenzie Osborn, NJC’s Kade Rodriguez, and Gillette’s Camree Tribe; and Goalkeeper: Western Wyoming’s Addie Welsh. 

Five WNCC men’s soccer players earn All-Region honors

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s soccer team was well-represented on the Region IX All-Region team that was released last week.

The Cougar men garnered two First-Team selections as redshirt freshman Eduardo Oliveira earned honors as a forward while sophomore Samuel Acosta captured first team honors as a defenders.

The Cougars had one Second Team All-Region member as sophomore Pablo Dominguez earned a spot as a mid-fielder.

The Cougars had two honorable mention recipients as freshman Isrrael Rodriguez earned recognition as a mid-fielder while sophomore Hernan Burdiles was selected as a goalkeeper.

Oliveira had a strong first season for the Cougars where he scored nine goals in 10 games while dishing off five assists in earning first-team honors. Acosta, as a defender, had a strong season where he scored a goal and had three shots during the season.

Dominguez, in earning second-team honors, started 13 games for the Cougars where he scored five goals and had five assists in his sophomore season.

Rodriguez and Burdiles also had strong seasons in earning honorable mention honors. Rodriguez, a freshman, started 14 of 15 matches where he had four goals and one assist this season. Burdiles, a sophomore, was one of the top goalkeepers in Region IX as the sophomore logged in over 2,300 minutes in goal in his two years at WNCC. He also had just 18 goals against him this year while registering 92 saves. He finished his 2-year career with 155 saves in net.

Other First Team members besides Oliveira and Acosta included Forwards: Otero’s Deanroy Phillip, Casper’s Cole Venable, and Northwest’s Pedro Teixeira; Mid-fielders: Casper’s Tuto Hatayama, Northwest’s JJ Mullane, NJC’s Elias Khodri, and Otero’s Breno Andreucci; Defenders: Casper’s Kohta Yamanashi, and Otero’s Patrick Vukojc and Gio Poliero; and Goalkeeper: Casper’s Hugo Amo.

Second Team members besides WNCC’s Dominguez includes Forwards: LCCC’s Azael Marrufo, Northwest’s Ricardo Da Silva, Central Wyoming’s Tanner Johnson, and Casper’s Isa Bramble; Mid-fielders: Casper’s Jules Foll, Otero’s Yuto Komine, and Central Wyoming’s Pedro da Costa; Defenders: Northwest’s Daniel Gargolla Saverda, Casper’s Sho Horie, and LCCC’s Brandon Young and Jonathan Ruvalcaba; and Goalkeeper: Otero’s Gabe Selby.

Honorable Mention members besides WNCC’s Burdiles and Rodriguez include Forwards: Gillette’s Julen Arteaga, Casper’s Hayden Hollinger, Trinidad’s Victor Quintana Antillon, Central Wyoming’’s Dorian Penner, and NJC’s Lasse Bieg; Mid-fielders: Casper’s Louis Simon, NJC’s Dante Walcott, Casper’s Garrett Morris, and Gillette’s Phillip Avendano Castillo; Defenders: Trinidad’s Mohammed Haidara, Otero’s Luis Gonzalez, NJC’s Cameron Sickels, Northwest’s Bridger Meyer, and Gillette’s David Silva; and Goalkeeper: Northwest’s Inigo Chavarria Bezunartea.

Other big honors saw co-MVP honors going to Casper sophomore Yuto Hatayama and Otero freshman Deanroy Phillip. Phillip also earned Region IX Freshman of the Year. The Region IX Defensive Player of the Year went to Casper sophomore Kohta Yamanashi while the Coach of the Year went to Casper’s Ben McArthur.

Four WNCC volleyball players earn South All-Region honors

                The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team had four players earn South All-Region honors recently. 

                WNCC players earning First Team South honors included sophomore Shanelle Martinez and freshman Kyana Gabriel. Cougars that earned Second Team honors included freshman hitters Lilly Zwart and Finja Schul. 

                Martinez wrapped up her 2-year career at WNCC with another All-Region honor as the sophomore from San Antonio, Texas, finished this season with 1,067 set assists along with 121 kills, 372 digs, 37 ace serves, and 41 blocks.  

                Gabriel, from Hilo, Hawaii, played in 33 matches for the Cougars in hammering down 245 kills along with 158 digs and 32 blocks. She also had 27 ace serves. 

                Zwart, from New Zealand who earned second team honors, had a strong campaign in her freshman year in tallying 373 kills, 104 digs, 87 blocks, and getting 13 ace serves. 

                Schul, the freshman from Germany, also had a nice first year, had a nice first year playing in 34 matches and collecting 167 kills from her middle-hitter position along with 95 digs, 115 blocks, and 23 ace serves. 

                Other members of the South All-Region Team include First Team selections NJC’s Annika Helf, Caty Havekost, and Nerea Alvarez Jorge; and McCook’s Greta Bolognini and Fernanda Merancio. Second Team members included NJC’s Whitney Chintala; Trinidad State’s Jordan Garcia and Amya Speller; McCook’s Gabby Caskey; and Otero’s Nicole Custodio. 

                Other South honors included Setter of the Year going to NJC’s Nerea Alvarez Jorge, Libero of the Year going to McCook’s Greta Bolognini; Freshman of the Year going to NJC’s Nerea Alvarez Jorge, and Player of the Year going to NJC’s Annika Helf. 

                The North All-region honors saw several top performers. Eastern Wyoming College had a First Team selection in Anna Djurovic. Other First Team selections included Casper’s Mia Hutchinson and Katrina Vulic; LCCC’s Elysiana Fonseca and Demi Stauffenberg; Western Wyoming’s Paisley Blood; and Central Wyoming’s Tehana Mo’o. 

                North Second Team honors included Central Wyoming’s Megan Hardman and Rana Yamada; LCCC’s Kate Ohlsen and Addyson McArthur; Western Wyoming’s Marlayina Masani; and Casper’s Amelia Piekut and Nia Suman. 

                North Player of the Year was Casper’s Mia Hutchinson while Libero of the Year went to Rana Yamada. The Setter of the Year went to Casper’s Katrina Vulic while Freshman of the Year went to Western Wyoming’s Paisley Blood. 

                The South Coach of the Year was NJC’s Mackenzie Chrisman while Casper’s Angel Shsrman was the North Coach of the Year. 

                The volleyball all-tournament team was also announced and no Cougar made that team. The team included tourney MVP Annia Helf of NJC along with her teammates Nerea Alvarez Jorge, Whitney Chintala, and Anna Ruter; Casper’s Mia Hutchinson, Katarina Vulic, and Paulina Dziedzic; Western Wyoming’s Sara Anderson and Marlayiina Masani; Central Wyoming’s Megan Hardman and Tehana Mo’o; Trinidad’s Amya Speller and Eimaya Medina; and LCCC’s Elsiana Fonseca and Demi Stauffenberg. 

                The Sheila R. Worley Sportsmanship Award was awarded to Northeastern Junior College.