Author: Mike Rasmussen

Class of 2024

  The Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame will hosts its 2024 induction and awards ceremony at Lincoln East, on Sunday, September 29 at 1:00.  Tickets will go on sale at a later date. Class of 2024

Dave Eppert-Lincoln East

  Coach In a well-honored career that spanned three sports and three states, Dave Eppert was a national coach of the year in boys gymnastics and in girls gymnastics. At Lincoln East, his Spartans were state champions five times in girls and four times in boys, with seven runner-up teams. East was ranked No. 1 […]

Stephanie Streeks-Gering

  Athlete Stephanie (Streeks) Ruffridge rewrote all the record books at Gering High School before earning a national-championship ring with the Long Beach State volleyball team. A three-sport standout with a 30-inch vertical leap, she earned all-state honors in volleyball and basketball and gold medals at the state track meet.  She established Class A high […]

Preston Love, JR-Omaha Technical

  Athlete All-state in football and basketball and the state champion in the hurdles, Preston Love Jr., earned accolades as Omaha’s Athlete of the Year in 1960. He accepted an athletic scholarship to Northwestern, playing football and track. In 1963 he finished third in hurdles at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. After transferring to Nebraska, […]

Sam Koch-Seward

  Athlete A trail-blazing innovator, Sam Koch changed the way everyone in the football world looked at punting. While setting all major punting records for the Seward Bluejays, Nebraska Cornhuskers and Baltimore Ravens, the meticulous and hard-working Koch developed a wide repertoire of punts to adapt special-teams play according to the situation. Koch played multiple […]

Chris Kelsay-Auburn

Athlete   Chris Kelsay made his mark year-round at Auburn High School, earning all-state honors as a junior and senior in football and basketball and winning medals at the state track meet. Playing defensive line, linebacker and tight end, he led Auburn to the state semifinals as a junior then recorded 142 tackles and 14 […]

Jean Groth-Wisner-Pilger

  Coach For years, the yardstick for volleyball teams in northeast Nebraska was lean Ianssen Groth’s Wisner-Pilger Gators. Only twice in 41 seasons did they finish below .500. What would be her final team, in 2019 before her death the following March, made the school’s 14th state tournament appearance with her as coach. Her career […]

Jim Ayres-Ogallala

  Official “When an official is on the mat, he must realize that for those two wrestlers, this is the most important match of their lives.” No matter the level of competition, Jim Ayers practiced and promoted that philosophy while officiating matches for 37 years and continuing for another 12 years in supervisory roles at […]