WAYNE – After being on a semifinal football team and basketball team this past season that qualified for state, a Wayne High senior will move to the next level in the college ranks to play basketball.
As coaches look to sync up with their student-athletes, so do outgoing seniors in search to finalize their decisions on where to attend school next fall.
Tyrus Eischeid signed his national letter of intent to attend Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa and play basketball for the Chargers beginning the 2020-21 school year. Eischeid explained Wednesday evening’s set up for the signing event.
“My family help me set up a zoom meeting,” said Eischeid. “So, we sent out, in the invites to the meeting, to my family members, some of my teammates, coaches and coaches from Briar Cliff. So, they all were able to watch the whole thing.”
Eischeid added right after his first visit he had a good feeling about Briar Cliff and their coaching staff.
“They were just really accepting and good coaches, good people,” Eischeid added. “Those two were the biggest things and then academics, too. I liked what they had there for that.”
As of right now, Eischeid is intending to study Biology and from there look for a career in the field of science.
Briar Cliff University finished the year 16-14 overall and 7-13 in the GPAC.
The 2019-20 Wayne High boys basketball team ended a drought of six years since last appearing in the state tourney and put together a remarkable run in the months of January and February this past season. Wayne High ended the season at 21-7.
The Blue Devil boys basketball team went on to dominate early 2020 winning 16 of 17 with their only loss coming at the hands of North Bend Central 55-53 in overtime. WHS also won 12 straight which included winning the Mid State Conference tournament, subdistrict tourney and were district champions over Mitchell (55-41) earning their 29th trip to the state tourney in program history.
The streak came to an end at the hands of #3 Lincoln Christian (who finished fourth) by the score of 44-38 in the opening round of the Class C1 boys state basketball tournament. It was the first time since 2014 that WHS made it to the state tourney.
Eischeid paced the team in rebounding with 8.0 boards per contest, 119 two-point field goals made (49.4%) and 101 made free throws (80.8%). He also finished second in scoring with 13.9 ppg, second in assists per game (1.9) and tied for first in total blocks with 12.
Eischeid was tabbed honorable mention in both the Omaha World Herald and Lincoln Journal Star while also being listed first team All-Mid State Conference and first team Elite 8 Norfolk Daily News in Class C.
He mentioned he was very fortunate.
“Because there’s a lot of people out there that don’t have the opportunity to compete at you know a state tournament every season,” Eischeid mentioned. “I’m just thankful that I got to do that with the teammates that I was around and our teams that we were on.”
The six seniors on the Wayne High boys basketball team were Eischeid, Shea Sweetland, Josh Lutt, Cody Rogers, Noah Lutt and Trevor DeBoer.
Until the guidelines on gathering of crowds relax and sports are able to resume Eischeid said he’s pretty limited on what he can do.
“But it’ll just be doing workouts at home as much as I can,” said Eischeid. “Picking up a basketball, dribbling in the garage. I can’t really shoot anywhere right now, but I’ll be trying to do anything possible to prepare myself”
Eischeid also joined fellow senior Josh Lutt named to the 2019-20 Nebraska Chiropractic Physicians Association Academic All-State Awards Winter team representing Wayne High boys basketball. Other Wayne Community Schools students receiving the NCPA award were Frankie Klausen and Brooklyn Kruse (girls basketball), Dylan Anderson and Isaac Davis (speech) as well as James Dorcey and Lance Muhs (wrestling).