KIMBALL- The Gordon-Rushville Mustangs earned the top-seed at this fall’s Western Trails Conference Tournament, which begins Thursday in Kimball.
The Mustangs enter the tournament with a record of 11-4 on the season. They are 5-1 on the season against WTC competition with wins over Kimball, Mitchell, Hemingford twice and Bayard. The team’s only WTC loss so far was to Bridgeport back on September 3.
Gordon-Rushville will receive a bye in the first round and will play the winner of #4 Mitchell v. #5 Hemingford around 2 p.m. The Tigers won the first matchup of the season against the Bobcats, 3-1, in Hemingford back on September 5.
Mitchell and Hemingford is one of the three matches being played in the first round. To follow is the #2 Bridgeport Bulldogs and the #7 Kimball Longhorns. The Bulldogs and Longhorns matched up back on September 10 at a triangular that Bridgeport hosted. The Bulldogs won that first meeting 2-0.
The final match of the first round of action will be the #3 Morrill Lions taking on the defending WTC champion #6 Bayard Tigers. These two squads faced of back on September 5 in Bayard with the Lions taking the match, 3-0.
Teams that lose in the first round of action will be moved into a round robin bracket that will be played in gym two beginning at 1:15 p.m.
The semi-final matches will begin play at 2 p.m. in the main gym with Gordon-Rushville taking on the winner of #4 Mitchell v. #5 Hemingford. To be followed by the winners of #2 Bridgeport v. #7 Kimball and #3 Morrill v. #6 Bayard around 3:20 p.m.
A third-place match between the two teams that fall in the semi-finals will be played at 4:40 p.m. The championship match will follow at 6 p.m.
We will have coverage of the entire day of the tournament with Traeton Harimon on scene to capture video and provide score updates on our social media platforms X (@KNEBSports) and Facebook page (KNEB Sports).
Here is a look at the bracket and tournament guidelines: