- Hasting Baseball is defeated 1 - 0 by Northwestern in Second Game
- Hasting Baseball is defeated 9 -3 by Northwestern
- Bobcats beat out Wildcats
Hastings College has two major recruiting hot beds: Colorado and Nebraska. So which state has the better high school teams and athletes?
To clear things up, Neb. uses a scale with the largest class, A, to the smallest class, D-2. The largest schools in Colorado. are 5A all the way down to A.
We will eliminate outliers such as schools with enrollments below 100 and the largest schools in Colorado, considering Cherry Creek High School in Colorado has over 4,000 students. That is nearly 1,500 more students than any school in Nebraska (Omaha Central has 2,557), so we will eliminate CCHS from the comparison.
We will take a sport-by-sport look.
Volleyball: Edge goes to Neb. I have seen some of the top schools in Colorado and Nebraska play. Top to bottom, Nebraska wins with its tradition for the sport and preparing athletes to play at Lincoln, one of the top collegiate volleyball programs in the country.
Football: Edge goes to Colorado. Nebraska produces quality running backs and linebackers. Colorado produces the rest of the skill positions on offense and defense. Nebraska produces a lineman and Colorado answers. I give Colorado the better tight ends, however, which gives them the edge.
Men's Basketball: Even Both states produce basketball players at a fairly even rate.
Women's Basketball: Edge to Neb. You cannot attribute the University of Nebraska's success to Nebraska talent. Only three players on the NU roster are from Nebraska Watching a large number of high school teams from both states, I give Nebraska a slight edge. Nebraska would out-shoot Colorado.
Wrestling: Even. Both states produce undefeated and talented wrestlers. Wrestling is one sport that is even in most regions. The sport is based almost entirely on heart, passion and the inability to accept losing. Even if they cannot hit a 90 mph fastball or dig a volleyball up, it is individual will that makes these athletes compete.
Baseball: I give Colorado a full point and Neb. a half-point. Colorado has spring baseball, allowing some players to run track, whereas Nebraska has summer ball. Colorado does have some strong programs: in 2006, Cherry Creek was ranked in the top 25 high school programs in the country, but we are not counting them. Nebraska probably has more passion for its summer teams than Colorado does for its spring teams. However, in Nebraska, baseball is not a high school sport outside of the big cities during the school year, but the passion is there and so is the talent.
Finally, Track and Field: Colorado. Comparing state records in times and jumps, Colorado wins. Colorado wins most of the sprints for the men, including the 100-meter. Colorado women win this one as well. Colorado track owns Nebraska track, individual and relay events included.
Final Tally: Colorado-4, Nebraska-2.5. Consolation: I give Nebraska a tremendous amount of credit. From the 0-22 teams to the state champions, Nebraska has a passion for its prep sports unmatched by Colorado If I were scoring community and school support for each state, Nebraska wins, 5-2.
