Ted Larson – Lincoln

  Coach. Ted Larson’s teams were always on the run. As a head coach at Lincoln Southeast, Larson’s teams won 24 state championships from 1983 to 2001 – 13 in girls cross country, 10 in boys cross country and one in boys track. The girls cross country team put together a streak of nine straight […]

Fred Letheby – Madison

Coach–Near the top rank of high school basketball coaches in Nebraska, his 612 victories certainly illustrate the strength of his advice to young men on the hardwood. An early example came when he was coach of the Stanton High School Class C basketball varsity and had to devise a method of defending some of the […]

Kelly Lindsey – Millard North

Athlete. Millard North (1997) Kelly Lindsey enjoyed a golden high school career in cross country and soccer. A Parade All-American, she led the Mustangs to the state soccer championship during her freshman and senior senior seasons, scoring 99 goals in her career. In cross country, she won the Class A gold medal three times – […]

Mike Lehl – Blair

Coach–Some years ago Blair High School was named by the U.S. Department of Education as one of the outstanding high schools in America. The high quality of their faculty, including such skilled athletic coaches as this gentleman is part of the reason for such a high appellation. Coach Lehl was at the gridiron helm for 233 […]

Dennis Loewe – Clearwater

Athlete. (1966) An all-around athlete, he was a four-year starter in football and basketball. On the basketball court, he led Clearwater in scoring all four years, finishing with 1,673 points, including 55 against Chambers during his senior season. He was also credited with 32 rebounds in a single game and averaged 21.9 rebounds per game […]

Eugene “Red” Littler – Mitchell

Athlete. His blazing speed while at Mitchell High School and the University of Nebraska made the highly-respected Red Littler into a true legend. For three consecutive years until his graduation in 1937, he led the Tigers of Mitchell High to Class B State Track & Field Championships. At the close of this 1935-36-37 period, the […]

Darrell Lenz – Chappell

Official When Darrell Lenz met with the captains before a game, he reminded them, “We are here to help you play your game.”  Lenz started as a coach, but when he gave up the coach’s clipboard for the administrator’s desk, he held onto the whistle. Starting in 1964, Lenz embarked on a 42-year career of […]

Jerry Lee – Grand Island

Coach. During the 1940s and 1950s, the subject of high school football in Nebraska could not be discussed without a tip of the hat to the great Grand Island High School Coach Jerry Lee. A career of 25 years included a record of 101-23-5. The number of undefeated teams he coached at Grand Island was […]

John Larsen – Lincoln Southeast

  COACH  Lincoln Southeast’s girls basketball teams established unparalleled excellence under the direction of coach John Larsen. The Knights rolled through 29 consecutive winning seasons (1983-2011), qualifying for the state tournament 25 straight times – a state record. They reached the state finals 14 times, winning nine state championships, the most in Class A. He […]

Sue Lind Nelson – Albion

Athlete. A 1981 graduate of Albion High School in Boone County, she was the first athlete in Nebraska high school girls’ track and field to win a gold medal in the same event each year of her high school career, 1978-1979-1989- 1981. She bettered her own initial mark in the high jump from 5’8” her […]