Weather forecast alters local weekend sports slate

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette McCook senior Emilyne Nichols (42) tries to dribble past Hastings defender (25) during prep girls basketball action at McCook Jan. 13. McCook has moved a girls-boys double-header with Ogallala to Thursday, Feb. 2, because of heavy snow forecast for Friday.

A nasty weather forecast has helped the McCook High School athletic administration alter this weekend's basketball schedule.

The Bison boys and girls were scheduled to host Ogallala Friday, Feb. 3, at the Senior High gym. But Friday's weather forecast is calling for heavy snows in southwest Nebraska. So officials from both schools made contact Wednesday morning and decided to avoid the possible messy weather and move the games up 24 hours to Thursday, Feb. 2.

Thursday's action will begin at the McCook Senior High gym at 4:30 p.m. with the Bison boys-Ogallala junior varsity contest. The girls varsity game will follow at approximately 5:45 p.m., then the McCook-Ogallala boys varsity game at approximately 7:45 p.m.

There will be no McCook-Ogallala junior varsity girls contest Thursday. The Bison reserves are already scheduled to face Goodland, Kan. in the finals of the Colby JV Tournament Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Colby (Kan.) Community Building.

McCook girls freshman/sophomore basketball action at Chase County was also cancelled Thursday.

Other schedule changes

Friday's ugly weather forecast also helped McCook call off a scheduled swimming and diving meet with North Platte and Hastings at the Ed Thomas YMCA pool. That meet will hopefully be rescheduled at a later date.

McCook activities director Darin Nichols said the status of McCook's athletic events Saturday are also up in the air, depending on the severity of Friday's snowstorm. The Bison wrestling team is scheduled to travel to Norfolk for the Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference (GNAC) meet, and the McCook boys and girls divers are set to compete at a meet at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

McCook Community College

McCook Community College co-athletic director Jon Olsen said Wednesday night, Feb. 1, that MCC will make a decision on home weekend games against Colorado foes on Friday morning after further looks at the forecast. The MCC men and women are scheduled to host Lamar (Colo.) Junior College Friday, Feb. 3, and Northeastern (Colo.) J.C. of Sterling Saturday, Feb. 4, at McCook's True Hall gym.