Athlete, Class of 1976. In the early days of girls athletics, Laura Tietjen dominated. A four-year starter in volleyball and basketball, Tietjen made her mark early, scoring 30 points in her first basketball game as a freshman. Throughout her career she had multiple games of 40 points or more, twice scoring 49 points and twice more breaking the 50-point barrier. Tietjen’s 57 points against Ohiowa, stood as the Nebraska single-game scoring record for the next 12 years. In her senior season, Tietjen led Byron to a 14-0 record, averaging 38 points and 15 rebounds per game. An all-class, all-state selection, she went on to play at the University of Nebraska, setting a single-game records for free throws (14 of 14) and the single-season record for free-throw percentage (.861). Professionally, she served as coach and teacher at Columbus High School and the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She entered into athletics administration at UNK and in 1998 became only one of 19 female Athletics Directors in Division I while serving at the University of Evansville.
