Leroy A. Zentic – Lincoln East
Coach. Lee Zentic, the inaugural coach at Lincoln East, promptly put the school in the thick of championship races. He directed six state championship teams – 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1979 — and coached 57 all-state players. His coaching honors include 1975 Lincoln Journal Star Coach of the Year, 1976 Omaha World-Herald Coach […]
Diane Beideck Van Brocklin – Millard North
Athlete. 1987. Diane (Beideck) Van Brocklin was The Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal-Star 1987 girl athlete of the year, was all-class all-state in basketball in 1986 and 1987 and in volleyball in 1986 when the Mustangs were Class A runners-up. She scored 1,266 points in basketball, averaging 17.6 points as a senior. She shattered school […]
Tom Kropp – Aurora
Athlete–Those who witnessed the Shrine Bowl after the 1971 graduation of this young man from Aurora High School in 1971, may well believe he was the greatest Nebraska high school football player ever. He was dominating, not only in that all-star setting but in each and every game he played. Sizable at 6’3” and 225 […]
Kurt Lauer – Gibbon
Athlete. 1964 graduate. Kurt Lauer enjoyed the best basketball season in Nebraska history, leading the Gibbon Buffaloes to their second straight state runner-up finish in the 1963-64 season. A 6-foot-8 post player and an outstanding shooter, he set the state record with 956 points (38.2 points per game). He scored 59 points in a single […]
Tom Millsap – Grand Island
Athlete. An all-around athlete noted for his speed, Tom never played football as a freshman but made up for it the next three years. In the starting lineup his junior and senior years, playing both ways he topped the team stats in scoring, rushing, punt returns, pass receiving, and interceptions. Tom was a three-year starter […]
Carol Nunnally Countryman – McCook, Lincoln High
Athlete. Carol started collecting gold medals from the beginning. She began competing in AAU meets as a youngster. She competed on the boys cross-country team her freshman year at McCook because there was no girl’s team. She was the number 3 runner in most of the meets. Track season was her real forte, she won […]
Ron Park – Millard North
Contributor. Park served as the Director of Athletics and Activities at Millard North from 1981 to 1995, overseeing 21 varsity sports and numerous junior varsity, sophomore and freshman programs. He developed the entire budget, ordered all equipment and uniforms and oversaw the construction and rental of the school’s athletic facilities. He also developed the schedules […]
Frank Smagacz – Omaha Central
Coach. From early coaching positions at Arlington and Tekamah this talented leader of boys then moved on to arguably the toughest conference in Nebraska where for the next 27 years he was football and track coach at Omaha Central High School. A good example of strong competition occurred the fall of 1960 when Omaha Central […]
Clarence Swanson – Wakefield
Athlete. A 1917 graduate of Wakefield High School where he played football, basketball and baseball. He was a freshman starter on the football team. At the University of Nebraska, Swanson was a four-year letterman on the football team. He set a school record for career touchdown receptions (17) that stood until after his death in […]
LaVerne Torczon – Platte Center
Athlete.(1953) LaVerne Torczon blazed a trail from Nebraska’s six-man fields to professional football where he earned the nickname “Tarzan Torczon” while playing for the Buffalo Bills, New York Titans/Jets and Miami Dolphins. At Platte Center, he was a three-year starter in football, playing end as a sophomore and running back his junior and senior years, […]
