LINCOLN–(KFOR Apr. 23)–The KFOR/KLMS Sportscasters Club on Friday announced the 2021-22 student-athlete scholarship recipients, along with honors for retiring coaches, the Ralph Beechner Coaches of The Year and the Vince Aldrich Sportsperson of The Year.
In 1972, the KFOR Sportscasters Club began awarding scholarships to student-athletes, honoring coaches and those who contribute to high school sports in Lincoln.
The following nine senior student athletes received $700 in scholarships, with $350 from KFOR/KLMS and $350 from Sandhills Global.
Paige Christophersen-Lincoln High Nolan Gillett-Lincoln Northeast Alivya Bollen-Lincoln Southeast Aly Woita-Lincoln Pius X Morgan Adams-Lincoln East Molly Looper -Lincoln Christian Shanae Bergt-Lincoln Lutheran Ben Hunzeker-Lincoln Southwest Cooper Wesslund-Lincoln North Star
The following coaches that are retiring also received special recognition from the Sportscasters Club for their years of service in coaching high school athletics.
Jim Danson-Lincoln Southwest golf Mark Watt-Lincoln Southwest softball Mark Clanton-Lincoln Lutheran girls golf Tony Quaatrocchi-Lincoln North Star boys basketball Dennis Prichard-Lincoln East girls basketball
The Ralph Beechner Coach of The Year Award goes to Lincoln Southwest girls basketball coach Tim Barada and Parkview Christian boys basketball coach Nathan Godwin. The Southwest girls finished runner-up at the Class A tournament, while the Patriots won their first Class D2 boys basketball title, which turned out to be their first ever state championship in any sport.
The Vince Aldrich Sportsperson of The Year honors retiring Lincoln Public Schools director of athletics and activities Kathi Wieskamp. She served in that role the past nine years and previously served as athletic director at Lincoln Southeast and Lincoln North Star. Prior to that, Wieskamp also was a teacher and volleyball coach at Lincoln Southeast. She’s also been a member of the board of directors for the Nebraska School Activities Association.
While scholarships and awards have been presented the past 50 years, KFOR has been providing play-by-play coverage football and boys and girls basketball games through the Sportscasters Club for nearly 70 years. KLMS has been involved in local sports play-by-play for 25 years, the last six with the Sportscasters Club.