All-Stars set to collide in Cambridge

McCook’s Hunter Potthoff (right) will play in the Cambridge CSO All-Star games along with some Bison classmates. Potthoff was McCook’s top scorer during each of the last two years.

Steve Towery/McCook Gazette

CAMBRIDGE, Neb. — Moving into their mid-30s certainly doesn’t mean the CSO All-Star Basketball Games are slowing down with age.

The 34th annual basketball contests now cover top players north and south of I-80 to Kansas’ state line along with east-west on Highway 183 until it reaches Colorado.

Now many familiar foes will join senior talent from almost everyGazette-area school.

The CSO All-Star games are set for May 25 at Cambridge High School. Girls begin the doubleheader and boys will immediately follow.

McCook seniors Jaden Bryant, Bailey Honn, Clayton Stevens and Hunter Pothoff have all been picked to be part of the West All-Star teams.

Here are complete rundowns all players participating along with coaches.

Girls

A pair of 2018 state tournament coaches direct the West team in Wauneta-Palisade’s Matt Cox and Hitchcock County’s Mark Brown.

Bronco D-2 all-state first teamer Faith Simpson will join the West squad which includes Hitchcock County’s Jasmine Youngquist.

Destiny Beacham will also represent the W-P Broncos. West girls also feature Maywood-Hayes Center’s Grace Koubek, who helped those Wolves win 20 games and capture a subdistrict championship.

Other West teammates are Dundy County-Stratton’s Allie Behlke, Hope Stone of Medicine Valley, Chase County’s Lauren Gockley and Grace Sommer from Maxwell.

Elwood’s Patrick Ropes and Mike Ford from Elm Creek direct the East girls’ team which includes Southern Valley senior sharpshooter Cassi Bose.

Other East players picked are Holdrege’s Cassidy Connell, Elwood’s Tiffany Dickau, Cozad’s Kennedy Berreckman, Sutherland’s Haiden Kreber, Alma’s Madalyn Braugh, Elm Creek’s Claire Cornell, Gothenburg’s Grace Steinike, Bertrand’s Halle Dahlgren and Sidney Enchos from Overton.

Boys

Cambridge coach James Blex joins Loomis coach and former state champion player Drew Billeter in leading the East team.

Trojan senior/RPAC champ Tyler Borland joins always feisty Arapahoe Warrior Jacob Pruitt on that squad.

They’ll take on a West team featuring many area stars:

Medicine Valley’s Joseph Chancellor and Ryan Klintworth; Wauneta-Palisade’s Cash Yearous, Chase County’s Jack Bauerle, powerhouse Paxton’s Jeff Storer and Ryan Fox; Perkins County’s Charles Johnson, North Platte St. Pat’s Gary White III, Stevens and Potthoff.

Yearous helped Wauneta-Palisade to the 2017 state tournament. Medicine Valley reached the district finals during this past season before losing to Paxton.

Perkins County’s Shawn Cole and Jason Glenn of Ogallala are coaching the West All-Stars.

Other East CSO selections are Holdrege Dusters Trevor Matousek, Charles Wood and Trenton Hoeft; Loomis’ Drew Lauby, Alma’s David Ehrke, Elm Creek’s Jaydn Ford and Bertrand’s Riley Johnson.

Watch for more details as the May 25 CSO All-Star Games draw closer.