High School Spring Varsity Sports Preview: Bellevue West

Bellevue West Spring Varsity Sports Preview for Baseball, Boys’ and Girls’ Track & Field, Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer, Girls’ Tennis, and Boys’ Golf as provided by the coaches.

Baseball

• Head Coach: Jason Shockey
• 10th Season as Head Coach
• Assistant Coaches: Curt Shockey, Mike Reggio, Dylan Casey, Reese Baumgartner
• Last Year’s Record: 19-12 (spring), 41-8 (summer)

Season Outlook: We’ve got a lot of experience back from last year’s summer team that finished 2nd at the Legion State Tournament.  Lots of these players have seen varsity time since their sophomore year.  Great leadership! The goal is always to compete at a high level and play with a lot of energy/passion.  I’m super proud of how hard our players have worked in this off-season and we look forward to finally being able to play!

Our first game is on Thursday, March 14th at Bellevue West at 1:30pm

Team Leaders: Our whole senior class (10) and a couple of juniors lead.  We’ve got quite a few seniors (1 junior) who have signed/committed to play at the collegiate level next year.  Those guys have done a tremendous job in practice, they know what our expectations are and they continue to bring great energy day in and day out.  That is something that you could really see a lot of during our off-season program.  

Most Improved: I would say that our entire group as a whole has improved.  We consistently talk about our program being “together” and I think that our guys collectively push each other to make each other better on a daily basis.

Boys Track and Field

• Head Coach: Epley Hamilton – 5th Season as Head Coach
• Assistant Coaches: Nick Allman (Assistant Sprint Coach), Danielle Anderson (Long/Triple Jump Coach), Bryan Bell (Throws Coach), Chris Bell (Throws Coach), Derrell Bradford (Hurdle/High Jump Coach)
• Last Year’s Record: At State we finished 6th as a team. The Boys team had 4 State Runner-Up Medalists in 2023: Asher Jenkins (2nd in 400m), Dae’Vonn Hall (2nd in High Jump), J’dyn Bullion (2nd in Discus), and our 4x100m Relay Team Finished 2nd (Jermaine Green, Isaiah McMorris, Asher Jenkins, Dae’Vonn Hall)

Season Outlook: We have a very strong group of Seniors that have been competing together for 4 years. I think this is going to be our best year as a team because everyone has the same goal – to win a District Title as a team. 

Our seniors have been part of the program since they were Freshman and they are incredibly talented. Our underclassmen have worked with our Seniors and it has only made them better and hungrier to compete. We have a slogan for the season “Don’t Think Just Do” and we are going to trust our training and go out and compete every day!

Our coaching staff is made up of former D1 track and field athletes. Every one of us has competed at the next level in track and field and we have been able to develop our top athletes and start creating depth in our ranks!

Our first meet will be at College of St. Mary on Saturday, March 16. The boys team took the Runner-Up trophy last year and we hope to win this year!

Team Leaders:

• Asher Jenkins – a Senior who has qualified for State and Medaled at State every year since he was a Freshman. Asher leads by example in the classroom and on the track. The young guys look up to him and he is someone I can rely on to always do the right thing and be where he needs to be at the right time. 
• Ben Wehrbein – a Senior who has worked incredibly hard since day one. Ben is a vocal leader on the team who works hard and gives his all every day. He comes early and stays late and encourages others, no matter their skill level.

Most Improved:

• Ben Goodwater – a Senior who just started hurdling his Junior year and qualified for State in both hurdle races. He is incredibly hardworking and has found a passion for an event he didn’t know anything about. He should make major advances in the hurdles this year!
• Grant Schaefer – a Senior distance runner who had a great freshman year and then stayed a bit stagnant. He has broken out his senior starting preseason with a 15 second PR in the mile. He has found his excitement for running again, and he will be so fun to watch this season! 

Girls Track and Field

• Head Coach: Paul Hamilton – 2nd Season as Head Coach
• Assistant Coaches: Danielle Anderson (horizontal jumps), Derrell Bradford (hurdles, high jump), Bryan Bell (throws), Christopher Bell (throws), Nick Allman (JV sprints)
• Last Year’s Record: Kara Muller is a returning state medalist (1600, 3200, 4×800), Elly Dow is a returning state medalist (4×800), 9th in the 800, and qualified in the 400, Dani Coyer is a returning state qualifier (shot put)

Season Outlook: Strong senior leadership and a group of newcomers with a high ceiling. We have a group of girls who are doing amazing things on and off the track. What we lack in depth, we make up for in talent. Almost every one of our girls has an opportunity to score points at the district level, and we should have a good group of athletes who could qualify for state. We have several meets in the metro this season, come out support these hard-working student athletes! Go T-Birds! 

Our first meet is at the College of Saint Mary (indoor), 3/16/2024 – Field events start at 9am. Multiple schools from the metro will be competing.

Team Leaders:

• Kara Muller (distance, relays): Senior leader on and off the track, has qualified for state in XC and Track every year. Shows up every day with a positive attitude, and competitive spirit. 
• Amy Oltman (hurdles, relays): Senior leader on and off the track. Has had a great off season, looking to qualify for state for the first time in her career. Amy supports her teammates, and has a positive attitude every day. Her work ethic is contagious, which pushes her teammates around her. 

Most Improved: It’s hard to narrow down one or two athletes! We have several girls that I think had productive off-seasons. Aniya Williams, Farrin Thiemann, Janiyah Willis, Tatum Neilson will all have supporting roles this season. They are all talented, and do everything we ask of them. 

Boys Soccer

• Head Coach: Alex Zimmer
• 2nd Season as Head Coach
• Assistant Coaches: Brady Batchelor, Brandon Buschelman-Dome, Milton Navarro
• Last Year’s Record: 7-9

Season Outlook: I am looking forward to see the development and growth of a team returning 12 players from last year. We have a team that returns 14 players who have featured for our varsity soccer program. Our junior class features 7 players who have played on the varsity team for three years who are now upperclassman. I’m excited to see what we can build on from last season and the development of our JV program with the addition of the new JV and assistant coach Milton Navarro. As a former Bellevue West and Bellevue University player we are excited to see him begin as a coach.  

Our first game is on Thursday, March 14, at 7pm Vs Omaha Central at Omaha Central High School.

Team Leaders: Our three captains are Andrew Carlson (defender), Caden Howard (central midfielder), and Alex Althof (center attacking midfield). All three are three year starters going into their Junior season and are very experienced players in the program. They all have tremendous skill and play year around at the highest levels for Gretna Elite Academy and they also have high character off the field. 

Girls Soccer

• Head Coach: Alan Carr
• 2nd Season as Girls Head Coach (Previously Boys Head Coach for 4 years)
• Assistant Coaches: Tobias Maertzke, Jayda Noble, Ella Pelletier
• Last Year’s Record: 11-6 (District Finalist)

Season Outlook: Lots of young players who get an opportunity with Varsity – had a lot of seniors last year. Lots of young talented players, excited to watch them try and improve from last year and get to state.

Our first game is Thursday, March 14, at home Vs Millard South

Team Leaders:

• Mia McVay: Talented player, one of the states top points player last year 
• Bethany Potts: Junior defender, played every game last year 
• Zoey Ryan: Started every game as a freshman last year 
• Maddy Morgia: Started every game as a freshman last year
• Vanna Reitsma: Started every game as a freshman last year
• Laila Dvorak: Started every game as a freshman last year

Boys Golf

• Head Coach: Rick Mintken
• 2nd Season as Head Coach

Season Outlook: Should have a lot of kids competing for spots. 21 kids out for golf, 15 of those should be in the mix to play in Varsity events this year. I would like the community to know that we have a great group of kids on the golf team – They are hard-working and are always trying to improve their golf game!

Our first competition is on Wednesday, March, 20th, at the OPS Invite at Benson.

Team Leaders:

• Mack Kennedy – vocal leader, has experience, will look to play more varsity golf this year
• Ryan Hartmann, Will Dupuis – 2 golfers that have come over from baseball with some talent and will likely play varsity golf
• Isaiah Tenski – sophomore, has worked hard on his game over the summer and looking to make some strides this year at the varsity level

Most Improved:

• Isaiah Tenski – has really improved his overall game, better off the tee box, short game/putting are looking good to start the year.
• Adam Williams/Jacob Pearson/Gavin Tuner/Greyson Ames – all have improved over last year, hitting the ball better/longer. Looking forward to seeing what they do this year!

Girls Tennis

• Head Coach: Steve Lemon
• 16th Season as Head Coach
• Assistant Coaches: Jillian Weber, Nicole Menard
• Last Year’s Record: Dual Record (5-5), Metro Conference Tournament (7th out of 20), State Tournament (14th out of 31)

Season Outlook: I am looking forward to seeing the growth that our team will make in my 2nd year back as head coach after 10 years away from the program.  We return 5 of our top 6 players from a year ago (lost 1 from our tournament team to graduation). I think we took a huge step forward last season and quite a few of the girls have made great strides in the off-season and are showing even more growth as we have started practices.  I can’t wait to see where this season will take us.  I think we will compete at a high level, which we will need to do with the very strong schedule we have in front of us.

Our team will represent Bellevue West and the Bellevue community well by competing hard and doing so with good sportsmanship and class.  Come support the T-Birds! We’d love to see you at the “Thundercourts!” Our first competition is on Thursday, March 14 (home vs Skutt Catholic) at 4pm.

Team Leaders:

• Sonny Sobzyk (senior) is our top returner from last season and most experienced player. She played #1 doubles a year ago, winning 19 matches and was seeded 10th at the 2023 class A state tournament. Sonny could once again play at #1 doubles but will also play singles.
• Jillian Sasek (junior) played in the #1 singles position much of the 2023 season and returns as another leader on our team. Jillian may play more doubles this season but will also play singles.
• Olivia Berger (junior) played primarily at #2 singles in 2023, her first season of tennis.  She ended up seeded 14th at the class A state tournament and won 13 matches overall. Olivia will play singles again this season but will also play more doubles than she did a year ago.
• Angela Berger (sophomore) played #2 doubles last season, also her first season of playing tennis.  She won 17 matches last season as a freshman and was seeded 16th at the class A state tournament.  Angela will find time playing both singles and doubles this coming season.
• Addison Lemon (sophomore) was also a part of the #2 doubles team that was seeded 16th at the class A state tournament last year, her freshman season. Addy finished with 13 wins in 2023, her first season of tennis. It looks like Addy may end up playing more singles this season than last year, but she will also play some doubles.

We also have a number of other girls who have shown improvement and may compete for some varsity action in 2024.