Fairbury senior Jacob Johnson is a problem solver — he is just as good solving math problems as he is solving an opponent's defense.Johnson rushed for 1,617 yards and 23 touchdowns last season for the Jeffs football team. He also carried a 4.0 GPA and ranks first in his class.“Honestly, Jacob Johnson is one of the most humble kids I've know,” Fairbury football coach Kameron Lenhart said. “He knows he is successful, but he's not a kid a that is going to sit there and talk about himself. That is what I think separates him from a lot of kids that are at the level that he is at.”Johnson's favorite subject is math. It is not because of the more than 4,000 career rushing yards and 61 career touchdowns he put up, it is the ins and outs of making himself better.“There is a right way and a wrong way to do math,” Johnson said. “There is always a right answer and a wrong answer, and I like knowing how to get the right answer, and when I am … [Read more...] about Academic All-State: Fairbury’s Johnson rushes the problems — to find the answers
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Academic All-State: Older sister helped push LSW’s Works to academic excellence
The Works family is a pretty competitive bunch. It’s a good bet that a 2-on-2 basketball game or a doubles match on the tennis court will happen when they get together.So it’s no surprise that one of the motivating factors in Duncan Works’ sterling record in the classroom at Lincoln Southwest was trying to outdo an older sibling.“When I came into high school, I wanted to beat my older sister’s grade-point average and class rank,” Duncan said, referring to Lauren Works, a former first-team Super-State basketball player at Southwest who played collegiately at Creighton. Lauren, a 2013 Silver Hawk graduate, had a 4.0 GPA in high school and was ranked fourth in her class of 480.Duncan met his objective. He will graduate later this month with a 4.6 GPA and the No. 1 class rank out of 487 students, numbers that helped him land a Regents Scholarship to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and be a part of the honors program there. He scored a 32 on the … [Read more...] about Academic All-State: Older sister helped push LSW’s Works to academic excellence
Academic All-State: Pius X three-sport athlete Robertson competed in sports and school
A senior boy who is a three-sport varsity letterwinner is uncommon at a Class A high school.Football practice in the heat isn’t as fun if you know you don’t have a good chance to play. Basketball players can have their spots taken by younger, better players.Thomas Robertson from Lincoln Pius X is an exception. There are 162 boys in the senior class at Pius X, and Robertson is one of just three in the class who will be three-sport varsity letterwinners this year. The others are Tyler Taubenheim and Chris Cassidy.Robertson is proud to be a three-sport athlete.“A lot of kids may quit a spring sport or a fall sport to focus on another sport, and I kind of pride myself on being able to stick with all three,” Robertson said.Robertson hasn’t just been on the team, either. In football, he was a starting quarterback for part of three seasons.“It started way back when in fifth grade I was about the only one that could throw a spiral, so the coach of my midget … [Read more...] about Academic All-State: Pius X three-sport athlete Robertson competed in sports and school
Academic All-State: Keeping up with the Smiths of Lincoln High
To hear Sarah Smith describe Lincoln High's International Baccalaureate program, it just sounds like a lot of work.Think Advanced Placement classes, but you don't get to pick and choose the courses you want. Rather, they're all advanced courses that interweave with each other, and a student has to meet the requirements to earn that coveted IB diploma.But much like athletics, dedication can lead to success."In order to succeed, you really have to put in the effort," Smith, a senior at Lincoln High, said of her approach to both athletic and academics. "And that's kind of the same with golf and tennis because they're not just something that you can just pick up. You kind of have to dedicate your time to go hit or go practice on the range and then play. And maybe take lessons or go play with friends."And there's definitely something to both, academics and golf and tennis, where you have to keep doing and it's not like you can stop and you'll come back with the same skills that you had … [Read more...] about Academic All-State: Keeping up with the Smiths of Lincoln High
Academic All-State: Through gymnastics, East’s Linscott found balance between tennis, studies
Justine Linscott is not stranger to a mental workout.But despite winning a Class A No. 2 singles state tennis title last spring, her mental strength does not come from the tennis court.The Lincoln East senior ranks sixth in her class of 496 students with a 4.5 grade-point average. AP exams and other classwork are Linscott’s main focus as she strives to live out the word that comes first in "student-athlete."That hasn’t come without sacrifice.“I just know my priorities," she said. "So knowing what is important to me, the biggest thing being school, has really helped me throughout high school."Those priorities took a shift about four years ago. Not with school, that has always been No. 1, but with sports.Linscott may have won a state title as a junior last year, just three years after she picked up a tennis racket.Before that, tennis wasn’t in Linscott’s future, it was gymnastics.With gymnastics, Linscott said she learned to play tennis and become a good … [Read more...] about Academic All-State: Through gymnastics, East’s Linscott found balance between tennis, studies