Fred Bessler – Chase County
Coach. Fred Bessler had a career football coaching record of 248-81-1 and got his start in Brule. From there, Bessler went to Madrid where he was the head coach of their 9-0 eight-man team that was ranked No. 1. He then moved on to Cozad where he was an assistant coach for the state champion […]
Gene Kruger – Elkhorn
Coach. After serving three years in the United States Marine Corps, Gene attended Midland College receiving his B.S. in 1946. His first teaching and coaching job was at his hometown of Arlington, heading up all sports. He made the move to Elkhorn in 1949 where he hired on as assistant coach in all sports and […]
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 […]
Les Mann – Lincoln High
Touted as one of the best all-around athlete ever […]
Jason “Bump” Novacek – Gothenburg
Athlete. Tremendously successful in football, basketball and track, Jason “Bump” Novacek epitomized the vision of an all-around athlete. In football, he starred as quarterback, running back and defensive back, leading Gothenburg to a state runner-up finish his junior year. He earned all-state honors in 1984, gained high school All-American status, and won the Nebraska Shrine […]
Gail Peterson – Crofton
Coach. Gail Peterson created a cross country dynasty in the little town of Crofton where his teams won 15 state championships and claimed the runner-up trophy another eight times. His girls teams won nine state titles, including eight straight from 1981-88. The boys teams won six state titles between 1977 and 1991. He coached two […]
Enid Schonewise – Beatrice
Athlete. A triple-talented athlete in the sports of volleyball, basketball and track; this 1983 graduate of Beatrice High School ranks high on the list of best women athletes in the state. All-state in volleyball (178 ace spikes, 93 per cent server), she was also all-state in basketball, leading South all-stars to its first win in […]
Russ Snyder – Nelson
Athlete. 1952 grad. A starting outfielder for the 1966 World Series Champion Baltimore Orioles, Russ Snyder played in the major leagues from 1959-1970, building a career on athletic prowess that developed at Nelson High School where he was a three-sport star. Snyder earned all-conference honors as a running back in football. He was a […]
Trudi Veerhusen Nolin – Adams
Athlete. Trudi (Veerhusen) Nolin was pretty much an “All Everything” athlete at Adams High School, three-sport athlete and a total of 12 varsity letters. She started every one of 100 total games in basketball that had a team record of 96-4. Two of those losses were in state tournament competition when Adams lost the semifinal […]
Bob Boozer – Omaha Tech
Athlete. Today in western Omaha is situated an interesting junction of history. The main line of the Union Pacific Railroad’s push west across America intersected Pacific Street. Years later another street crossed Pacific, Bob Boozer Drive, appropriately bearing the name of one of the finest basketball players in our nation’s history. Graduating from Omaha Technical […]
