As the sun sets on an exhilarating summer, the anticipation for the sports season falls upon GHS. The six fall sports teams – football, girls golf, boys tennis, softball, volleyball and cross country – eagerly await until it is their time to shine.
The sport that gets the most attention from GHS is varsity football. Every Friday (now sometimes Thursday) night, not only students but the whole Gretna community gathers in the stands to cheer on their beloved Dragons. This year will be a little different due to the move to Class B and with new head coach Joe Dalton leading the team.
“The kids have kind of bought into what we are doing,” Dalton said. “Even though we have a new coach we are not necessarily changing a whole lot, so we are excited to see where that takes us.”
The team and the fans are thrilled to play against old rivalries and teams that GHS has not competed with in years. This football season will bring about a lot of change from the previous ones, but change is one of the few things that can be counted on, especially when it comes to football.
“Good, I think we are going to be good,” senior Logan Secora said. “We are just a really close team. We are working hard towards the right things.”
The team has been continuously practicing since the end of last football season, whether it is actual plays or doing workouts in the weight room. In the summer, they got up early to lift, and, more recently, have been working on offense, defense, special teams, blocking, tackling and many more small key elements that open the door to victory.
“I expect us to be a team that gets better every week, that is really all you can ask for,” Dalton said. “We’ve got kids that work hard, so hopefully we work hard and keep working hard to get that done.”
A lot of the players will have to step up to be leaders since the team lost 22 seniors. This year, they have 12 seniors trying to lead their team to success.
“I am mostly looking forward to seeing how our seniors, first of all, kind of leave their mark on the program,” Dalton said. “Also, how our team competes through the highs and lows throughout the season.”
Junior Gabe Rowley is glad that he has supportive mentors at the offensive line and great teammates that he gets to play alongside throughout the season.
“My favorite part is just the team,” junior Drew Boltz said. “They’re really fun to be around and we all push each other to the best of our abilities.”
The team works hard to thrive on and off the field by putting in all of their effort to be not only extraordinary players, but teammates.
“Our team mantra or saying is to go 1-0 each week; that has kind of always been our goal,” Dalton said. “We don’t want to look too far ahead or overlook any opponent, so if we kind of take care of the daily process of going 1-0 each week, it can get us to a really good spot.”
The first game for the football team is today, Aug. 29 where all of their dedication so far will be out on the field.
Fall is known for its nice crisp air that is not too hot nor too cold; just the right temperature to be outside swinging clubs and playing the game of golf.
The golf team this year has only one senior, Mia Yungtum. There are a few juniors, but the team is mainly made up of underclassmen who are coached by Kyle Slusher.
“I think the season will go very strong. We have very good competition this year,” junior Rory Lile said. “And all the girls are super close, so it makes us even stronger.”
Last year, the team qualified for Class A state. This year they have to rebuild both the team and their confidence since it is a whole different group of girls. Slusher said he thinks that districts or state may be in the cards for the future, but it will be an uphill battle.
“They are all really excited about playing. We just got to keep that positive attitude going forward, (and) the little improvements is what we try to focus on,” Slusher said. “My motto is day by day, better and better, so it’s the little things that we try and celebrate: first par, hitting a green in regulation, those things that I am looking forward to a lot with this group. I think as we build a nucleus this year and to subsequent years, I think the sky is the limit.”
Sophomore Ella Porter said that the team has been working on their putting, chipping and having good attitudes while they are playing. They practice at Tiburon Golf Course nightly from 4 to 6 p.m. During the summer, they also got together twice a week to work on bettering their skills. This allowed them to get to know one another before the season even started.
“My favorite part of the season this year definitely has to be getting to play the sport I love,” Lile said. “For the past two years, I have been playing volleyball for the school, so, this year, I am excited that I am trying something new for the school and getting to see a new environment of girls.”
The golf team’s end goal is to place in the upper half at the EMC (Eastern Metro Conferences). If they make it through to districts, they will just need to follow the birdie to the path of state.
“It is a team sport where you have five golfers, and then you count four of those five scores,” Slusher said. “So my goal is that, at some point in the season, we approach the 400 mark as a team sport. If we can shoot 400 close to EMCs and districts, I think we should be sitting pretty good.”
The golf team will continue to persevere to make it as far in their competitions as their abilities allow them to. With the endless amount of work that they are putting in, they believe it is possible.
Between the sounds of the wind hustling and leaves flying throughout the sky, in the distance you can make out the sound of rackets swinging at balls and laughing emerging from the fence surrounding the tennis courts at Squire John Thomas Elementary.
The tennis team is made up of 15 boys, many of whom have played every year of high school, who are coached by Noah Bernal. There will be 14 meets throughout the season, not including their additional matches if they advance to districts and state championships.
“All 15 of the guys on the team are willing to work hard and are willing to learn,” Bernal said. “When you have people like that on the team, it is hard to not have high expectations and want to try and get them to compete at their highest level.”
Tennis is not only physically demanding, but also mentally. Bernal said that it is important for the players to be able to rely on the fundamentals of the sport to help ease their well-being on the outside and in.
“I think it is going to go good,” senior Emmitt Dickes said. “We have a lot of the same guys as last year, so we know what to expect. We have been working hard, so it will be good.”
They have been managing their foundation to build a solid team by running, sharpening their groundstrokes and serving. They practice at the Thomas Elementary School tennis courts right after school.
“My favorite part of the year has been getting to know the new faces on our team,” Bernal said. “And seeing the older players turn into leaders.”
The team aspires to win some meets and possibly make it to the second day of state. Bernal said that he is looking forward to watching the team evolve throughout the season and seeing where they end up.
“My teammates, we have a fun time,” Dickes said. “We end up having to run a lot because we talk too much. We have a really good time at practice.”
This Friday, they have their first invite at Papillion-La Vista South. They will continue to put in the effort so they can achieve their season goals.
As the fall softball season starts, the team finishes their final stages of preparation. With a blend of upper and underclassmen, the team strives for success on the diamond.
The varsity team is led by head coach Bill Heard, and he also coaches four junior varsity teams after having 61 players try out. Juniors Emerson Johnson and Kenadie Barton both agreed that the team’s culture is supportive and positive. They added that support takes place both in and outside of school.
The team’s chemistry with one another is evident. When you see one softball player, you see another. They are a very close team, but it has been proven in the past that that may be their ticket to success.
“I am looking forward to going out onto the field and competing with the team,” senior Alexis Jensen said. “We have been practicing being good teammates and working to help each other get better.”
The team has been practicing pitching, base runs, drills and preparing for future games ahead. With learning new skills and intense practices, the coaches are looking forward to see their players reach their peak.
“Our goal this year is that each person on the team will grow as, not only a person, but a player in pursuit of a conference, district and state title,” senior Skarlett Jones said. “I think as long as we continue to focus on the right things, we will have a very successful season.”
Senior Miley Rowe said that her favorite part is getting to be with her friends and teammates every day while also playing a sport she loves.
The upcoming months promise to be filled with victory, competition and excitement as the team plays harder than they ever have.
After having a rewarding season last year, the volleyball team hopes to do it once again. The team consists of 17 girls who show up and put in the effort day in and day out.
“I am really optimistic about our season; we have very positive attitudes in the gym and players that are working hard,” Head Coach Wendy Loberg said. “I think that if they continue to do those things, I think this team has the potential to max out.”
The team spends a lot of time working on ball control, serving, passing and building relationships. Volleyball is a sport where it is essential to have a strong connection with your teammates because one player cannot be victorious without the other one’s help.
“I think it will go good this year, especially since I feel like we are super close as a team, and we did a lot of bonding stuff over the summer,” junior Kaylee Spath said. “So I think the season should go good. I am looking forward to just competing and doing the best I can do.”
Senior Addison Schuka said that she is excited about all of the new friendships that she will make and the new experiences within the game since they will be competing in Class B. She has been enjoying her last experiences as a senior and aims to help lead her team down the correct path.
“I look forward to most just being in the gym every day with the people that are part of our team,” Loberg said. “I love to see them respond to challenges, I love to see them overcome adversity, I love to see them be the very best humans that they can be.”
The volleyball team also wants to make it to state, and one way to help make that dream come true is by individually choosing one word. They choose a word to help them achieve their own personal goals, which will lead to the bigger goal of the entire team: to win.
“Volleyball is very much a team sport there (are) a lot of awesome moments in volleyball, and it is unique because players have that two to three seconds to celebrate that moment,” Loberg said. “So we spend a lot of time working on communication, sideline energy, and celebration along with the volleyball skills.”
Recently the team has made a commitment that during practice their time in the gym will be the best two hours of their day. Loberg feels that since they started this, the team has given off a lot of positive energy.
Their first game will be on Aug. 30 against Bellevue West High School. After months of training and preparation for this moment, the team is ready to get the first game under their belt.
With the arrival of fall, the season full of long strides and challenging courses is upon the boys’ and girls’ cross-country team. The team is looking promising in the distance as they run towards the beginning of the season.
This year, five of the top seven runners will be returning, along with a number of freshmen, who will all be coached by Bryce Brunswig.
“I am super excited for this season,” junior Kelsey Van Waart said. “I know that we moved just down to Class B, but I think that will really fit the numbers and talent on our team. The talent in Class B will be stiffer, but we have a few girls coming up that just started this year coming from eighth grade to their freshman year that I think are really going to help our team.”
Brunswig said that he is excited about moving to Class B; he said he feels that they will be very competitive. The team has a lot of junior and senior leaders, as well as underclassmen who are showing a lot of hard work so far by putting the dedication and miles in.
“Overall, I am really excited to see the growth of each of our runners over the course of the season,” Brunswig said. “There really is a lot of progress that is made from the start of the season to the end of the season.”
Some of the runners have created their own individual goals for the season. After their first meet, they will have a goal-setting meeting where they will talk about where they want to be and what they want to achieve by the end of the season. Overall, the team has one big goal: making it to state in October, which will be held at the University of Nebraska at Kearney golf course.
“I love seeing the little moments where you see growth in individual runners whether it is for some people doing the workout days where we are practicing on specific parts of the race or working on endurance,” Brunswig said. “They do really love those and so I get excited to see their growth from week to week (and) how they are able to do a little bit more every week.”
The team structures their training so that there is a workout day a couple of days of the week: an easy day that is meant for longer runs at a “conversation pace” to work on endurance and quick work for practicing actual race pace. They have met up throughout the summer, going for runs together through trails.
Some of the younger runners felt like running for an extended amount of time was very daunting. Brunswig so far has enjoyed seeing the growth of those runners and how each week it gets more tolerable for them.
Senior Brady Donahue said that he likes seeing a lot of the players come out and have a good time even while doing something that is not easy.
“My favorite part about cross country is the team atmosphere, and this year it’s just been better and better,” Van Waart said. “I’m super excited to run amongst the girls who have been my teammates all summer and beginning of this year.”
The cross country team will be running their first meet on Aug. 31, which they are also hosting at the Gretna Crossing Park. This year marks the first time since 2021 that GHS hosted a cross country meet. They hope that this will lead to a good season since they will be starting off with a home meet.
As the fall season progresses and the days grow shorter, the list of achievements throughout the six sports will only grow. The season has only just begun, and each team has already experienced growth in many respects..
