Bellevue East Fall Varsity Sports summaries for football, volleyball, softball, cross country, boys tennis and girls golf, as provided by the coaches.
Football
Head Coach: Aaron Thumann, 5th year
Assistant Coaches: Damien Roberts, Joe Devlin, Joe Mesa, Jake Weaver, Steven Adams, Desmond Wright, Luke Evans, Antonio “Tones” Arriola, Aden Perry and Derrick James
2025 Record: 1-8
Season Outlook
Bellevue East will feature plenty of young talent this fall, with a number of sophomores and juniors expected to see playing time.
“We are going to be playing a pretty good amount of young guys this season,” Thumann said. “A lot of sophomores and juniors. It’s exciting that we have that kind of talent in those grades and that we’ll have the opportunity to play them for a few years.
“When you are going to be playing some younger guys, there are going to be gROWing pains and some bumps and bruises along the way, but the development and gROWth they have shown has been awesome. To go along with the young guys, we have a great group of seniors who have been tremendous leaders for them. You see them between plays teaching the younger guys. You see them pushing them, but at the same time, being their biggest fan.
“The combination of old guys and young guys that we have is very cool. You can really get a sense of family with this group. It will be exciting to see what they can do this season.”
Senior David Chizek (OL/LB) is one of the players Thumann expects to lead that group.
“David has been a leader both vocally and through his actions,” Thumann said. “He has no problem holding our guys to a high standard. He’ll stand up in front of them and tell them, ‘I know we can be better than that.’ At the same time, he’ll be the first to praise teammates when they do a great job.
“He has a relentless work ethic. He is always striving to find a better version of himself. He is leading every sprint that we are doing, and that effort raises the level of everyone around him.”
Aidan Church (OL/DL) also brings considerable experience to the Chieftains and enters his third year as a starter.
“He has a lot of experience, and he is using that experience to guide and teach his teammates,” Thumann said. “Aidan put a ton of time in this offseason building the mental part of his game. He truly became a full-on student of the game.
“He has been a great voice for us up front on the offensive and defensive line, and he has become a teacher for our other offensive and defensive linemen. It’s been really cool to see him gROW into this role.”
Among the players who have made significant strides since last season is returning defensive back Xander Rodgers.
“Xander will be a returner for us at corner,” Thumann said. “He did some really good things for us last year, but it was a learning experience for him as well. This offseason, he really has become a technician of our defense. His understanding of it is phenomenal.
“He has learned and is playing multiple positions, and his understanding of the defense has allowed him to make some pretty awesome plays throughout our offseason.”
At quarterback, sophomore Clayton Blaha returns after gaining valuable experience as a freshman last season.
“Clayton did some pretty impressive things as a freshman QB last season,” Thumann said. “He showed a lot of promising things when it came to accuracy and understanding of the offense. Since last season until now, it’s been incredible to see how much he understands our offense, including some of our more complex passing concepts.
“He diagnoses quickly and has great anticipation on his throws. He is very hungry to gROW and learn more all the time.”
Thumann said fellow quarterback Ely Weber has experienced similar growth, creating competition at the position.
“Our other QB, Ely Weber, has had a very similar offseason to Clayton,” Thumann said. “It’s been fun to watch them compete and gROW throughout the offseason.”
As Bellevue East prepares for the season, Thumann said the Chieftains’ ability to handle adversity and continue developing is something he wants the Bellevue community to recognize.
“As we continue to gROW this program, it has been awesome to see the resiliency and the ability to respond that our team has had,” Thumann said. “We’ve had some great success over the last four years, but of course we’ve had some adversity too. That is part of it for any program, but our players truly see adversity as learning opportunities — ways for them to gROW and take steps forward.
“We know that ability to do that will only help us have success this season and, even more so, help our players have success throughout the rest of their lives.
“What we accomplish this season is our choice and dependent on our HOW. HOW hard we work. HOW focused we are. HOW we impact others. HOW much we sacrifice. HOW we respond.
“Can’t wait to see this team ROW and choose their success this season.”
First Competition: Bellevue East opens the season against Ralston High School on Friday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. at Chieftain Stadium.
Volleyball
Head Coach: Courtney Smeby, 14th year
Assistant Coaches: Megan Pierce-Cramer, Christina McDowall, Arianna Waschkowski and Kylee Fisher
2025 Record: 12-18
Season Outlook
Bellevue East enters the season with a mixture of returning varsity experience and several new faces.
“This season brings a lot of new faces, and we couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead!” Smeby said. “We’re thrilled to have Willow Gulley, Monica Joseph, Maci Jensen, Grace Rued, Reese Taylor and Brynn Barnes returning to the varsity court, while welcoming Sophie Janzen, Janae McMurtry, Evy Antoniak, Kenley Smeby, Kiana Evans, Braelynn Trice and Leighton Trice to the group.
“There’s no shortage of passion, talent, grit and competitiveness on this team. They’ve embraced the challenge of building something special together and have already established a culture rooted in effort and accountability. I’m looking forward to watching this group grow, compete and discover just how good they can be!”
Juniors Maci Jensen (OH/S) and Grace Rued (RS), both three-year letter winners, are two players Smeby expects to provide leadership this season.
“They bring experience, confidence and a strong desire to compete,” Smeby said. “They lead by example through their focus, work ethic and commitment, but just as importantly, they are players their teammates look up to. They set a high standard, encourage those around them and help create the kind of culture where everyone is pushed to be better.”
Smeby has also seen significant offseason development from Monica Joseph (OH/DS) and Evy Antoniak (S).
“Monica has made significant strides in her serve receive and defensive consistency, becoming a more confident and dependable presence in the back row,” Smeby said. “Her ability to pass and defend at a high level will be a big part of our success this season.
“Evy is stepping into a new role as a setter and has embraced the challenge. She has worked hard to develop her setting and decision-making while learning how to establish a more balanced offensive attack. Her ability to distribute the ball, get our hitters involved and continue to contribute defensively makes her growth especially exciting to watch.”
This year’s team is also embracing a motto that represents what Smeby wants Bellevue East volleyball to stand for both on and off the court.
“Our motto this year is ALL FOR EAST — Excellence, Accountability, Stewardship and Team,” Smeby said. “These four standards guide how we practice, compete, learn and represent Bellevue East. We want our athletes to understand that wearing EAST means putting the team first, holding ourselves accountable, pursuing excellence, taking pride in our school and giving back to the community we represent.
“It’s about being part of something bigger than ourselves — on the court and off.”
First Competition: Bellevue East opened the season against Blair High School on Thursday, Aug. 27, at Bellevue East.
Softball
Head Coach: Casie Onken, 8th season
Assistant Coaches: Mark Brown, Libby Walls, Shanon Cutright, Nathalie Larios and Sami Reding
2025 Record: 24-11
Season Outlook
After reaching the State Tournament last season, Bellevue East returns a senior-heavy roster that Onken hopes can use that experience to make another postseason run.
“I’m looking for a senior-heavy team to take the previous experience at the State Tournament and make another State Tournament run this upcoming season,” Onken said.
Four-year starters Audrina Urwin and Peyton Luderman will be among the players Onken looks to for leadership this season, with both expected to handle significant pitching and catching responsibilities.
“They are both four-year starters with tons of varsity experience,” Onken said. “They know how to compete, and they know what makes a team successful and what needs to be done in the offseason to get to the State Tournament.”
Onken also expects Marcene “Mars” Sutter, Addy Knuth, Brooklyn Houghtailing and Victoria Machuca to make increased contributions this season after the work they put in during the offseason.
“Mars and Addy Knuth are both fast and will look to hold down the outfield as well as be threats on the base paths,” Onken said. “Brooklyn has a strong bat and can do some damage up at the plate. Victoria will look to come in and pitch as well as hit throughout the season.”
Bellevue East also added an experienced senior to its roster this season with the transfer of Bella Meyer-Koenig from Papillion-La Vista.
“Bella Meyer-Koenig is another experienced senior who has already taken some leadership roles on the team and knows what it takes to compete for a State Title,” Onken said.
Despite graduating considerable talent from last year’s State Tournament team, Onken believes the Chieftains still have plenty of experience returning.
“They need to know that although we graduated a lot of talent last year, we still return a lot of great players with a lot of experience, and they are very excited to get out on the field and compete,” Onken said.
First Competition: Bellevue East opened the season against Westside on Thursday, Aug. 20, at the Lied Activity Center.
Cross Country
Head Coach: Connor Mazzei, 5th year
Assistant Coach: Delaney Woodruff
Season Outlook
Bellevue East enters the cross country season with increased depth on the boys side and continued growth in the girls program.
“The depth of our boys varsity team is greater than previous years,” Mazzei said. “Juniors Sam Stoulil and Tim Bogatz, as well as seniors John Paul and Walker Anselmo, have made great progress over the past year and are meeting and exceeding their personal goals.
“Their leadership on the boys varsity team is especially important to our underclassmen as they adjust to the pacing of a 5K race course. The camaraderie between our boys varsity team leaders and junior varsity athletes is so great to see as they push each other to their fullest potential.”
Mazzei is also excited about the growth he has seen within the girls program and the team culture its leaders have helped establish.
“I am excited about the recent growth of our girls cross country program,” Mazzei said. “Thanks to the leadership of seniors Charlotte Palm and Riley Wagoner, as well as juniors Hannah Kinsey and Kari Ehrlich, we have a full team of varsity and junior varsity competitors who foster a team culture of belonging.
“Their ability to make every student feel welcome and valued for their contribution to the team is so valuable to the growth of our program.”
Palm, Wagoner and Stoulil have particularly impressed Mazzei with the progress they have made despite being relatively new to the sport.
“I am especially impressed with the progress that Charlotte Palm, Riley Wagoner and Sam Stoulil have made as student-athletes, given this is only their second year running cross country,” Mazzei said. “The ambition and integrity they have in training has resulted in major growth as competitors.”
Mazzei also credits cooperation throughout Bellevue’s distance-running community with helping the sport continue to grow locally.
“I am appreciative of all the support from the Bellevue distance running community,” Mazzei said. “The collaboration between the Bellevue middle schools, as well as the East and West cross country programs, has been crucial to the growth and success of all of our programs.”
First Competition: Bellevue East begins its season Saturday, Aug. 29, at 7:30 a.m. at Walnut Creek Recreation Area. Papillion-La Vista will host the varsity and grade-level meet featuring all Metro Conference schools.
Boys Tennis
Head Coach: Ben Dalton, 2nd year
Assistant Coach: Brandon Tracy, JV coach
Season Outlook
With four of six varsity players returning from last season, Bellevue East enters the boys tennis season with a more experienced lineup.
“We are returning four of six guys from last year’s varsity team and are looking to capitalize on having more experience,” Dalton said.
Senior captains Cole Conover and Timmy Coy will be among those leading the Chieftains this season, bringing three and four years of experience, respectively.
“They have truly stepped into leadership roles both on and off the court, holding East Tennis to a high standard and representing the school with pride,” Dalton said.
Dalton is also excited to see the continued development of sophomore Mason McQuary, who competed on the varsity team as a freshman last season.
“I’m very excited to see Mason McQuary, a sophomore who was on our varsity team last year, take a big leap in his abilities on the court,” Dalton said. “He has a big first serve and is a great athlete who always comes away from his matches better than he started.”
Beyond what the Chieftains hope to accomplish on the court, Dalton wants the Bellevue community to know about the character of the players representing Bellevue East.
“I’d love the Bellevue community to know that we have a team of great kids who love tennis that I’m truly lucky to coach,” Dalton said.
First Competition: Bellevue East opened the season against Fremont High School on Thursday, Aug. 27, at Fremont High School.
Girls Golf
Head Coach: Nicole Burns, 9th season
Assistant Coach: Leland Johnson
2025 Accomplishments: Lincoln High Invite champions; JJ Reimer, individual State Tournament qualifier
Season Outlook
After winning the Lincoln High Invite last season and sending an individual qualifier to the State Tournament, Bellevue East enters the season looking to continue developing its varsity lineup.
“We are looking forward to watching our varsity team grow in their abilities, and we are excited to see if JJ Reimer can make a repeat appearance at the Girls State Golf Tournament in October,” Burns said.
Seniors JJ Reimer and Sylvia Williamson return for their fourth seasons and will be counted on to provide leadership for the Chieftains, particularly as newer golfers learn the game.
“With JJ Reimer and Sylvia Williamson returning for their fourth seasons as seniors, we look forward to them stepping into leadership roles on our team and helping to show the way for our beginner golfers,” Burns said.
Burns is also looking forward to seeing the continued development of senior Mia Dixon, who joined the Bellevue East program as a junior last season.
“Mia Dixon joined our team last year as a junior, and her ball striking has improved throughout the past year,” Burns said. “We look forward to seeing how she will contribute to the varsity team.”
As the program continues to develop, Burns said its value extends beyond results on the golf course.
“The girls golf team continues to grow and improve,” Burns said. “It’s great to be able to give these girls the opportunity to learn a lifelong sport and make friends while learning the game.”
First Competition: Bellevue East opened the season Thursday, Aug. 20, at the Lincoln High Invite at Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln.
