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The Patriot boys’ basketball team hit the road for the East Husker Conference basketball tournament on January 31st to play the Madison Dragons at Wakefield. The boys entered the tournament as the 9^th seed and the Dragons the 8^th seed out of 14 total teams. 

After defeating the Dragons in a 64-38 blowout, they then traveled to Howells to play the #1 seed Howells-Dodge Jaguars on February 2nd. 

After an intense game, the boys ended up losing in a 45-68 loss. The boys played their last game of the conference tournament in Bancroft against the Wakefield Trojans. After a tough match, the Trojans defeated the Patriots in a 35-58 battle. 

Here is what senior star Kyle McMullin had to say about the conference tournament as a whole: 

“The conference tournament was full of ups and downs. We started out playing our best game of the season against Madison. We came into this game wanting to get revenge from losing to them earlier in the year. We played very good team basketball, which resulted in a big win. Then we struggled against two very good teams in Howells-Dodge and Wakefield. These were two quality teams and we just couldn't find a rhythm.”

In the game against Madison, Senior Tucker Matthies led in points with 16. In the game against Howells-Dodge, Kyle McMullin led the team with 23 points. 

The East Husker Conference Tournament competition is hard, and the community is always proud of the boys’ effort they are constantly putting in to get better each game. 

Clarkson-Leigh vs. Madison

           Q1    Q2    Q3    Q4    Final

C-L:    15     15     18     16      64

MADISON:   9     12     10       7      38

(points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)

Kyle McMullin: 11, 5, 6, 0, 1; Quentin Mullenhoff: 5, 2, 0, 1, 0; Easton Brabec: 7, 11, 5, 2, 1; Cash Fehringer: 7, 3, 1, 0, 0; Blake Loseke: 9, 7, 1, 1, 0; Tucker Matthies: 16, 9, 3, 2, 0; Luke Eisenmann: 5, 2, 0, 2, 0; Jeryn Struebing: 0, 1, 0, 0, 0; Trevor Hoffman; 2, 0, 0, 0, 0; Cody Jedlicka; 2, 1, 0, 0, 0; 

Clarkson-Leigh vs. Howells-Dodge

          Q1    Q2    Q3    Q4    Final

C-L:      12     4     13    16      45

H-D:     16     11     27    14      68

(points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)

Kyle McMullin: 23, 7, 1, 1, 2; Quentin Mullenhoff: 2, 2, 0, 0, 0; Easton Brabec: 6, 3, 1, 3, 0; Cash Fehringer: 3, 2, 2, 1, 0; Blake Loseke: 0, 2, 0, 0, 0; Tucker Matthies: 8, 7, 0, 1, 0; Luke Eisenmann: 0, 1, 0, 1, 0; Trevor Hoffman; 3, 0, 0, 1, 0; Cody Jedlicka; 3, 0, 0, 0, 0; Ben Rodenburg; 0, 1, 0, 0, 0; Jace Prinz; 0, 0, 1, 0, 0 

Clarkson-Leigh vs. Wakefield

          Q1    Q2    Q3    Q4    Final

C-L:      15      0      8      12      35

WAK:    15     18    11     14      58

(points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks)

Kyle McMullin: 9, 6, 1, 3, 2; Quentin Mullenhoff: 2, 0, 0, 1, 0; Easton Brabec: 6, 3, 1, 3, 0; Cash Fehringer: 0, 3, 1, 0, 0; Blake Loseke: 0, 1, 2, 0, 0; Tucker Matthies: 8, 6, 3, 1, 1; Luke Eisenmann: 2, 2, 2, 0, 0; Trevor Hoffman; 0, 2, 0, 0, 0; Cody Jedlicka; 5, 2, 0, 1, 1; Ben Rodenburg; 0, 1, 0, 0, 0; Jace Prinz; 0, 2, 0, 0, 0

This last Saturday Feb 21, 2026, the Patriot Dance Team competed at the State Dance Competition in Grand Island at the Heartland Event Center. 

The Patriot team competed in Class C-1 against many other schools. 

They finishing in 6^th place in High Kick and 11^th in Hip-Hop.  

Dance team coach Mrs. Steph Dostal said, “Our team was proud to compete at the Nebraska State Dance Competition in Grand Island. The girls took the floor in both kick and hip hop and truly rose to the occasion. Their hard work, dedication, and commitment was evident in every count of choreography! They showed up focused, confident, and ready to represent our school with pride, and they did exactly that! I could not be prouder of the energy, teamwork and determination they brought to the state stage!”

Junior Daphne Jedlicka stated, “We had a great time at state this year. We competed well and did the best we ever have. We were so close to the top five in the new category we decided to try out this year with our kick routine. It was a great year and I will miss the seniors!”

The team says goodbye to seniors Karly Wendt, Lexis Gleason, and Jocelyn Donnely from Leigh and Hannah Cech from Clarkson. 

The Leigh speech team has been keeping busy this season, with meets on back-to-back weekends recently.

The Leigh Speech Team traveled to Wakefield on February 12 to compete in the “Sweet Meet.”

The speech team had 16 members compete at this meet with Luke Eisenmann placing 1st in Varsity Extemporaneous Speaking, Sydney Messerlie placing 4th in Varsity Serious, and Jocelyn Donnelly & Lexis Gleason placing 6th in Varsity Duet Acting. 

On Saturday, February 21, the Speech Team traveled to Wisner-Pilger to compete against speakers from over 20 teams, making it one of their biggest meets of the season. 

It was a smaller group that traveled to Wisner with just 7 members competing. At this meet, there were 3 different rounds of finals: “Green, White, and Recycling” with Green being the highest and “Recycling” being the lowest. In the Green finals, Luke Eisenmann placed 3rd in Impromptu. In the White finals, James Moore placed 1st in Poetry, Luke Eisenmann placed 2nd in Extemporaneous Speaking, and Brayden Loseke placed 5th in Informative. In the Recycling Finals, Kaylee Brabec placed 5th in Persuasive Speaking.

“I think that overall, our speech team was very successful at both of these meets. The Wisner Meet was a tough meet with many other schools there, but it didn’t stop any of our members from doing their best and placing,” said junior Kaylee Brabec. “I am so proud of our team and how far some of our members have come.”

Coach Ethan Hathaway said, “Wisner is a big meet! It was a tough day, but I'm super proud of the whole team and those that medaled across all sections. This was a good test heading into Conference and helped us gain some momentum.”

On February 9, 2026, Leigh student Lexis Gleason travelled to Wayne State College to take part in the East Husker Conference Honor Band. 

After a long day of rehearsals, Lexis performed with other talented students from the conference in a concert.

"I had a lot of fun at Honor Band, and I met a lot of great people. I learned new songs and played in a large band,” said Senior Lexis Gleason. “It was super awesome to hear what a big band with every instrument would sound like. I definitely recommend that more people try it next year because I guarantee that they will have a lot of fun."

LHS band director Sydney Wemhoff said, “Attending Conference Honor Band was such a great experience. I had the privilege of taking one student, Lexis, who performed on multiple percussion instruments across several challenging pieces. I am incredibly proud of her dedication and leadership, earning a spot in the top band of the conference is a great accomplishment!”

Nevaeh Jo Zulkoski made her grand debut into this world on November 5, 2007, at Columbus Community Hospital.  

She is the daughter of Kelly Wendt and Ross Zulkoski. In addition to her mom and dad, Nevaeh has two step parents: Phil Wendt and Becca Zulkoski. Nevaeh also has four other siblings: Trevor Zulkoski, age 23; Dalton Zulkoski, age 21; Jathan Clifford, her stepbrother, age 15; and Bryssa Zulkoski, her half-sister, age 11. 

Nevaeh is the granddaughter of Jerry and Kathy Bierman of Columbus, Rick and Lori Wendt of Leigh, Rita and the late Jim Kouba of Bruno, Eleanor and the late Kenneth Zulkoski of Columbus, and J.C. and Sue Givens of Kimberly, Idaho.

Nevaeh has a lot of pets including her toy poodle, Oreo; her corgi toy poodle mix, Cheerio; her Great Pyrenees lab mix, Murphy; her poodle mix, Roxie; her ferret, Beanie; her cat, Chuck; her ducks, Bonnie, Katniss, Peeta, and three others; her rabbit, Lola; and her 12 outside cats. 

Nevaeh has been extremely busy in high school, taking part in many extracurricular activities, including basketball, FFA, One-Act play, and journalism for four years; yearbook for three years; volleyball, softball, track, and National Honor Society for two years, and FCCLA and FBLA for one year.

Outside of school has been involved in Youth Advisory Committee for four years; Blue Banner 4-H club for ten years; dance, both Step’s At Tiffany's and Barb’s School of Dance, for eight years; and St. Mary’s Catholic Parish Youth Group for ten years. 

She has received many honors, including National Honor Society member, A-B honor roll, two-time student of the month, FFA officer, YAC officer, and basketball team captain. Her proudest high school accomplishment is graduating high school with 37 college credits.

In the future, Nevaeh plans to attend Northeast Community College for nursing, and become a traveling nurse while working her way up to becoming a CRNA. In ten years she sees herself as a traveling OR nurse, CRNA, or a surgical tech with a husband and a couple animals.

If Nevaeh won the lottery, she would donate money to different animal shelters or cancer charities, pay off college debt, and save money for vacation. If she could travel anywhere in the world, she would go to Italy, Germany, or anywhere in Africa because seeing the world would be a blessing in her eyes. Three goals on her bucket list are to visit each state, go to a Carrie Underwood concert, and go skydiving.

Three words to describe Nevaeh are empathetic, thoughtful, and funny. Her biggest pet peeve is when people don’t think about other people’s feelings before they do something. She also can’t stand when people use the air drier to dry their hands in the bathroom because it is loud and makes your hands dirty. 

Her favorite high school memory is when Mr. Bazata fell riding her hoverboard in the hallway and when she raced Mrs. Gall, who then tripped and fell in the hallway. Nevaeh also cherishes any time with her class and underclassmen in the hallway. 

Her favorite hobby or thing to do is hang out with her friends, play card games, build puzzles, and be outside. She also loves being around other people and making memories. 

In school, her favorite subject is math or science. Her favorite food is Raisin’ Canes, her favorite team is the Huskers, her favorite TV show is Gossip Girl, her favorite drinks are milk and unsweet tea, and her favorite songs are “Calgary” by Tate McRae or "Something in the Water” by Carrie Underwood.  

Her advice to underclassmen is to always smile and be nice to everyone because you don’t know what other people are going through. One smile or compliment could make their day better. Finally, don’t forget to find joy when times get tough. 

Everyone knows that there is a large problem with teenagers being chronically online. Most teenagers go on their phones while they are bored or don’t know what to do. This could be avoided if more teenagers adopted simple hobbies. These hobbies could be things like sewing, crocheting, building, and other crafts. By having these hobbies, it also gives teens the opportunity to do something for fun, and maybe even sell their creations and enter into entrepreneurship. 

According to the Reboot Foundation, about 80% of teenagers struggle with using critical thinking. Over 55% of teenagers also have a screen time of over four hours per day. Most teenagers go on their phone when they are bored or think that they have nothing else to do with their time. If they were able to find a hobby or passion, they could fill their screen time with more beneficial tasks.

Being chronically online has also been proved to have a negative effect on teenager’s mental health, sleep schedules, and attention spans. Teens stay up late at night “doom scrolling” whereas if they had a hobby after school, they would tire themselves out, or have something else to do. Due to the lack of sleep and low attention spans, many American schools have seen a significant drop in test scores across the in the last decade.

I think hobbies can help teenagers gain valuable life skills and a sense of accomplishment that they don’t get from their phones. This can boost their confidence and self-esteem from knowing that they created something. These skills are important for school, as well as their futures. 

Personally, I don’t have a hobby outside of things I am already doing that are school or ag related, but I know that a hobby could be very beneficial. Right now, I average between 2-3 hours of screen time a day. What if I spent that time learning a new skill like studying a new language or baking? Overall, by reducing screen time and spending more time with a hobby, teenagers can improve their life skills and mental health, eventually leading to positive outcomes. Now to just find what my new hobby will be!

For the Leigh FFA members, their last chance to qualify for state was held at Central Community College on February 16, 2026. At this second round of CDEs (Career Development Events), many events were held for the members to compete, including Agriscience, Farm and Business Management, Meats Judging, Nursery and Landscape, Poultry, Vet Science, and Welding. 

Sophomore FFA member Sadie Brabec commented, “The second round of CDEs was a chance for us to all learn something new and for some of us to show what we know in the competitions to possibly make it to state. And yet again, it was a great learning experience for our freshman and newer members of the chapter!”

It was a great day for Leigh FFA, qualifying for both Poultry and Farm and Business Management! 

Junior Reese Bruhn stated, “We were very successful and almost everyone has made it to state throughout the year! For our members, so much hard work throughout the year has reflected on the opportunity to compete for their chapter at state. This is something that our FFA chapter is proud of, and we know that we can do great things when the effort and time is put in. Both inside and outside classroom hours. 

Not only has Leigh FFA qualified members for LDE and CDE competitions, but also on February 4th, senior members went back to CCC for State Degree interviews. Those members included Karly Wendt, Nevaeh Zulkoski, Ava Kasik, Kyle McMullin, Luke Eisenmann, and Sydney Messerlie. Along with state degree interviews from the seniors, members also competed in proficiency judging that day. Those members included Karly Wendt, Reese Bruhn, Daphne Jedlicka, Carmen Malena, and Luke Eisenmann. It really does show all their effort put into their SAE and time they put in when it comes to proficiencies. Congrats to our seniors with their state degrees, and all our members competing at the state level and representing our chapter well. Good luck at state next month!

Proficiency Awards:

Swine Production Placement: Karly Wendt—1st Gold, (State Qualifier); Reese Bruhn—2nd Gold, (State Qualifier)

Sheep Production: Daphne Jedlicka—1st Gold, (State Qualifier)

Ag Sales: Carmen Malena—1st Gold, (State Qualifier), Luke Eisenmann—Gold, (State Qualifier)

Grain Production Entrepreneurship: Luke Eisenmann—1st Gold, (State Qualifier) 

Results (only ribbon placings stated):

Farm and Business Management: Team Overall 1^st—(State Qualifier)

Luke Eisenmann (1st), Brayden Loseke (2nd), Kyle McMullin—(4th), Carmen Malena—(19th), Easton Brabec—(29th), Blake Loseke—(39th)

Poultry: 1st overall (State Qualifiers)

Reese Wietfeld—(1st), Carmen Malena—(8th), Ben Rodenburg—(13th), Kaylee Brabec—(15th), Luke Eisenmann—(24th), Wyatt Eisenmann—(36th), James Moore—(42nd), Jurnee Mullenhoff, Avery Kuester

Agriscience:

Jurnee Mullenhoff (49th), Trenton Olson (54th), Madisyn Lich, Emily Waterman, Layton Held, Avery Kuester, Wyatt Eisenmann

Meats:

Briggs Klug—(15th), Easton Brabec—(58th), Cash Fehringer, Cade Hosely, Caleb Settje, Tyce Larson, Quentin Mullenhoff

Nursery and Landscape:

Hannah Martensen—(14th), Ava Kasik—(26th), Reann Bruhn, Grace Hansen, Rebecca Hastreiter

Vet Science:

Reese Bruhn, Nevaeh Zulkoski, Briggs Klug, Karly Wendt, Cash Fehringer, Daphne Jedlicka, Sadie Brabec, Sydney Messerlie, Tyce Larson, Luke Wellman, Layton Held

Welding 

Aiden Ellsworth, Cody Jedlicka, Blake Loseke, Luke Wellman

Kearney, Neb. — A total of 285 students and advisers representing 45 chapters from across Nebraska gathered in Kearney on February 23, 2026, for the 2026 State Peer Education Conference. The conference theme, “Grow Bold, Live Gold,” highlighted student leadership, service, and personal growth through peer education.

This year, the State Peer Officer Teams are focusing on the national program areas of Families First and Student Body, encouraging chapters to strengthen family relationships and promote healthy lifestyles within their schools and communities.

During the conference, candidates for the 2026–2027 State Peer Officer Teams were introduced. Candidates for the Family Leader Team include: Mya Beland, Ord; EveLynn Schroeder, Cozad; Katelyn Uldrich, Hartington Newcastle; Laretta Davis, Central Valley; Tenleigh Roberts, Overton. Career Leader Team candidates include: Evelyn Sanchez, West Point Beemer; Rhys Baxa, Palmyra; Taelyn Baumert, Clarkson; Amelia Walgren, Centennial; Jordyn DeNaeyer, Thedford. Community Leader Team candidates include: Trevin Jahde, David City; Emily Larsen, O’Neill; Devynn Vela, Palmyra; Allison Huesers, Hartington Newcastle; Neala McCall, Overton; Maci Walz, Mullen; Margaret Rowland, Milford.

Chapters also participated in the Capture the Action awards, which recognize outstanding projects aligned with the Families First and Student Body national programs. The top three chapters in each category were honored for their efforts.

For the Family Leader Team awards:

• 3rd Place — Battle Creek Public Schools
• 2nd Place — O’Neill Public Schools
• 1st Place — Fillmore Central Public Schools

For the Community Leader Team awards:

• 3rd Place — Battle Creek Public Schools
• 2nd Place — Leigh Community Schools
• 1st Place — Boyd County Schools

Mayte Flores Garcia from the Wakefield Chapter was selected as the recipient of the 2026 SPOT Scholarship. 

The conference featured several educational sessions and guest speakers. The keynote speaker, Trooper Tim Flick of the Nebraska State Patrol addressed the topic of human trafficking, sharing valuable information about awareness, prevention, and response. In a breakout session, Trooper Flick further discussed how to respectfully support and interact with survivors without re-traumatizing them.

Additional breakout sessions included a presentation by Team Nutrition on the nutritional value and versatility of dry beans as part of healthy eating initiatives. Hannah Mayo of Creighton, Nebraska, presented on coping skills for teens, providing practical strategies students can use to manage stress and navigate challenging situations.

Attending from the Leigh chapter were Elizabeth Hoffman, Ava Kasik, Jocelyn Donnelly, Vylet Hollatz, Ella Higby, Madi Freudenburg, Emersyn Urban, and Halle Korth. 

The State Peer Education Conference continues to provide Nebraska students with meaningful opportunities to develop leadership skills, promote wellness, and make a positive impact in their schools and communities through Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).

On April 18th, 2008, at the Fremont hospital, James Mayner and Lisa Glissman-Mayner welcomed their third child, Mia Kaelyn Glissman-Mayner. Mia’s two older siblings are Pheobe, 19, and Derek, 21. 

Mia’s grandparents are Christy and Brad Glissman of Pender, as well as the late James Lee Mayner and Debra Prezlin of Fremont, and the late Glenn Carstens and Diane and Ric Colestock of Ohio. 

The cherry topping off her family are her pets. Her very old, beloved cat named Zulu just recently passed away at 17 years old. She also has a husky named Shadow that she has had for 4 years. 

Throughout Mia’s high school career, she has participated in choir for 4 years, One-Act for 2 years, and golf team for 1 year, her senior year. 

Mia said her proudest high school moment is making it through high school in general, and making it through hard classes that she didn’t necessarily enjoy. 

This amazing woman’s future looks bright. Mia’s future plans are to study at the University of Omaha to receive her Master’s Degree in Library Science with a minor in Business and hopefully work as a CNA somewhere in Omaha as well. 

In 10-15 years, Mia sees herself as a librarian, married to someone she loves, and being financially stable. Going along with that, her three biggest goals in life are to travel around the world, learn three other languages, and become financially stable. 

When asked what three words describe her best, Mia said funny, intellectual, and understanding, "courtesy of Ava Kasik.”

If Ms. Glissman-Mayner would ever be lucky enough to win the lottery, she would first get rid of all of her debts, then when that is finished, she would donate most of it to charities. 

“I really like to donate, because not only does it feel nice; it helps others too,” stated Mia. 

If she could travel anywhere in the world, Mia would like to do a round trip to Asia because they have beautiful history, culture, and lots of spicy food. She thinks it would be really interesting to learn about cultures that are vastly different from her own. 

If you want to stay on her good side and not trigger her pet peeves, you better steer away from chewing with your mouth open or bringing up politics too frequently when it is not needed. 

The person Mia admires most in her life is her great-grandmother who passed away in 2020. 

Mia’s favorite high school memory was on her first day when she couldn’t stop telling people that she really liked orange. She thinks she probably said it 30,000 times. On the flip side, Mia’s most embarrassing moment was burning a spatula in Mrs. Hillen’s class. 

Some more of Mia’s favorites include her favorite hobbies, which are to read and collect things; her favorite subject, history or choir; favorite song, “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden or “Let Down” by Radiohead. Mia exclaimed that her favorite team is the Michigan Wolverines. Her favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast or Bridge to Terabithia. Her favorite TV show is Lost in Space or Twisted Wonderland. Her favorite restaurant is Jaipur, an Indian restaurant in Omaha. One last thing to add to Mia's favorites, is her favorite classic book, Dracula. 

Mia’s words of wisdom for the underclassmen is, “Don’t let your mental health derail your life; do those difficult things, and have those difficult conversations.”

Good luck Mia in all your future endeavors!

The January Students of the month were announced in February. The students that received this award include senior Kyle McMullin, senior Jocelyn Donnely, and junior Wyatt Langhorst.

Kyle is the son of Mark and Julie McMullin. His grandparents are Mort and Mary Ann McMullin and Dave and Kay Reininger. Kyle participates in many extracurricular activities including football, basketball, FFA, YAC, One-Act, journalism, FCCLA, and FBLA. Kyle’s favorite subject in school is history. In his spare time, he likes to play sports and video games. Kyle plans to go into trades at Northeast Community College. 

When asked how he felt about winning this award he said, “It feels great that my hard work is paying off and now being recognized.”

Kyle’s teachers said, “He is such a great kid and student. Kyle is also very kind, works hard, and gives his best effort all the time. He is a leader in all of his extracurricular activities.

Jocelyn is the daughter of Joey and Krystal Donnelly and Tara and Drew Machumeller. Jocelyn participates in softball, FCCLA, speech, One-Act, dance team, yearbook, Luther League, and Journalism. Jocelyn’s favorite class is Culinary Arts. Outside of school Jocelyn likes to hang out with friends and family and just drive around with her friends as well. Jocelyn plans to attend Southeast Community College located in Lincoln, NE. She will get a degree in paramedicine and pursue a career as a paramedic. 

When asked how she felt about winning this award she said “I'm very grateful to be earning this award. I'm glad that teachers have taken notice of my efforts of being a good student and that I'm able to be recognized for it. Overall, just very excited.”

Jocelyn’s teachers said, “She works very hard in class and asks great questions and turns her work in on time. She has really come a long way as a student over the years. She has also been a really positive senior in all her extracurricular activities, and currently is a leader on the speech team. She also has a bubbly, upbeat, funny personality that makes being around her fun.”

Wyatt is the son of Jill Langhorst. He also participates in football, wrestling, golf, one act, and journalism. Wyatt said that his favorite subjects in school or history or shop class. Outside of school, Wyatt likes to go kayaking, play video games, and cook. Wyatt says that he doesn’t really know for sure what he wants to do but maybe something in engineering or education. 

When asked how he felt about winning this award he said “With so many deserving candidates, it feels nice to win.”

Wyatt’s teachers said, “Overall he is a great kid who has excelled not only in school but also his extra activities. He is always on top of his homework even when he is gone for different things. He is also becoming more vocal in class and has done really well completing projects or anything else asked of him without any complaints.”

Congratulations to our Students of the Month!