Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department (SWNPHD) is seeing continued increases in positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations due to the spread of the Omicron variant in the health district. There are local employers that are providing an incentive for their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

ALMA - In a competitive race fort he RPAC Wrestling Championship Friday, the Arapahoe Warriors came out on top, medaling eight wrestlers whiel taking a pair of individual titles. Levi Kerner remained unbeaten at 285 pounds and pinned his way to the title, becoming a four-time conference champion.

ALMA - After surviving a scare from seventh-seeded Bertrand in the first round, the Cambridge girls basketball team avanged an early-season loss to Southern Valley with a victory in the RPAC Quarterfinals Monday night.

From Larry Bird to Shannon Sharpe, Connor McGregor to Pedro Martinez, the history of competitive athlet-ics is flooded with folks who don’t just let their abilities do the talking. In fact, those guys were always talking.

SOUTHERN VALLEY - In a difficult week that included two matchups with quality upp-class teams, the Southern Valley girls leaned on their defense to try and sweep the pair. The Eagles settled for a split.

Hi-Line’s Syrus Snow (left) and Southern Valley’s Mason Noel (right) were among those that competed for the Bulls and Eagles at the Gibbon Bill Foster Invite. Complete results can be found on Page B5.

BARTLEY - The Southwest girls and Hi-Line boys basketball teams rode big first halves to victory in matchups at Southwest High School last Tuesday. The Hi-Line boys team put up 33 points in the first half, then idled to the finish of a 54-27 victory over Southwest.

Southwest’s Mitchel Stritt (left) and Cambridge’s Hunter Perks (right) competed at the Sandhills/Thedford Invite in Dunning Saturday. Results can be found on Page B4..

ARAPAHOE - In a lowscoring affair, the Arapahoe boys basketball team enjoyed the advantage in the first half, but the Hi-line Bulls shut the Warriors down after halftime and escaped Arapahoe with a 41-31 win Friday night.

BARTLEY- It was a battle between a pair of teams still fi n d i n g t h e i r w a y t h i s s e a s o n , but the Bertrand Vikings were able to take down the Southwest Roughriders 53-28 in Bartley on Friday. In the first quarter, Bertrand started strong and led 10-2 before a timeout was called a few minutes into the game. Bertrand went to the second quarter leading 15-8.