Throughout Omaha, there are many student-athletes who deserve recognition for their hard work in their respective sport. OrthoNebraska, a local orthopedic clinic, accomplishes exactly this. Each week, high school athletes are nominated for the OrthoNebraska Athlete of the Week and selected by spectators. Three Gretna athletes have been selected so far this year for their outstanding performances.
Junior Michael Knudsen, GHS’s varsity football quarterback, was nominated for the award and held the title for the week of Sept. 9. He was selected mainly for his performance in Gretna’s 52-45 victory against the Norris Titans where he threw for 514 passing yards. Knudsen has thrown 13 touchdowns and has passed for a total of 1,337 yards this season. While Knudsen has only been a starting quarterback for a year, spectators and coaches have said he is already showing great potential and leadership skills. Knudsen has been a quarterback since kindergarten and has been following in the footsteps of his older brother.
“I definitely look up to my brother,” Knudsen said. “He’s six years older than me, and he was really good at sports. That always drove me to be better than him.”
On Sept. 18, Freshman Koco Janssen was selected as the OrthoNebraska Athlete of the Week in volleyball, after Knudsen. Janssen was chosen after recording 20 kills in a close game against the Bennington Badgers. Despite being a freshman, Janssen has played a total of 61 sets and achieved 204 kills so far this season.
Outside of her high school team, Janssen plays for Premier Nebraska Volleyball club. She said she attributes most of her volleyball success to the extra work she put in over the summer through practices and scrimmages.
“It’s kind of amazing,” Janssen said when being asked about being a freshman on varsity. “There’s a bunch of freshmen on the team, and I feel like we’ve found our spot and we know where we belong.”
The third Gretna athlete to receive this award was Gretna softball pitcher, Alexis Jensen. She was nominated and won the award for the week of Sept. 25 after striking out 15 batters in Gretna softball’s victory against Hastings. Jensen is committed to play softball at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and will join the team in 2025. With Jensen pitching, the Gretna softball team has had an undefeated season, going 29-0, and is currently ranked number one in the nation.
“It felt amazing to win this award,” Jensen said, “especially since it really helps Gretna be recognized for how amazing we are and everything else that we do.”
