ATHLETICS
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20 hrs ago
NFL alumni Chris Bober
and Alex Henery and pro baseball pitcher Pat Venditte will enter the Omaha Public
Schools Athletic Hall of Fame on Nov. 23.
Jane Splittergerber-Elam (Benson), Mike Bahun
(Bryan), Charlie Rush (Northwest), Russell Harrison (Technical) and the 1997
Omaha North girls swimming team will join Bober (South), Henery (Burke) and
Venditte (Central) as this year’s inductees.
Bober
was in the NFL for eight years, Henery for four. Venditte broke into the majors
with his switch pitching in 2015.
The
14th annual induction dinner and ceremony, which starts at 5:30 p.m. with a
social hour, will be at Metro Community College’s North Omaha Campus Culinary
Arts Building, 5370 N. 30th St. Dinner is $85 a person or $750 for a table of
10 and reservations are needed. Call the OPS Athletic Office at (531) 299-9890.
More
information on the honorees:
Jane
Splittgerber-Elam, Benson (2002): One of the Bunnies’
most versatile female athletes of all-time, she lettered 10 times in five
different sports: volleyball, softball, tennis, soccer and basketball. She was
on the junior varsity football team as a sophomore. She was all-state in soccer
and all-division in basketball. At UNO, she played on three Division II Final
Four soccer teams and was the defensive MVP of the North Central Conference
tournament in 2004. She is girls soccer coach at Millard South, with a career
record of 99-88, and the east region director for Special Olympics Nebraska.
Mike
Bahun, Bryan (1993): A three-sport athlete for the Bears, he was All-Nebraska
and a National High School Baseball Coaches Association all-district selection
as he led the state in batting average. He also wrestled, setting takedown
records, and played football for the Bears while earning 11 letters. He was a
third-team NJCAA All-American at Iowa Western and second-team All-Big Eight and
Iowa State Offensive Player of the Year as a junior in 1996. He has been a high
school and volunteer assistant college baseball coach and operates Fundraising
University.
Alex Henery, Burke (2006): The former Husker and NFL kicker
was the All-Nebraska punter as a senior at Burke and set Burke’s career scoring
record in soccer as a two-time All-Nebraska midfielder. A walk-on at NU, he was
all-conference while setting the career scoring record for football with 397
points and the NCAA career accuracy records for field goals and all kicks. He
had a game-winning 57-yard field goal against Colorado as a sophomore. Selected
by Philadelphia in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL draft, he set the league
record for accuracy by a rookie kicker and was the Eagles’ starter for three
years.
Pat
Venditte, Central (2004): MLB’s first switch pitcher in the
modern era was all-conference at Creighton. At Central, he lettered twice and
was 5-4 as a senior while making the All-Nebraska second team. A walk-on at CU,
he pitched for four years and was second-team All-America and the MVP of the
Missouri Valley Conference tournament in 2007. Drafted twice by the New York
Yankees, he’s pitched for five MLB teams since getting called up for the first
time in 2015 and was voted to the AAA All-Star Game in 2018 and 2019.
1997
North Girls Swim Team: The first team to enter the Hall
of Fame gave North its only state championship in girls swimming and diving.
The Vikings were runners-up in 1995 and they were without Olympic hopeful
Shandra Johnson the next season. It all came together in 1997 with seniors Amy
Anderson, Anna Kathol, Meredith Sides and Johnson, juniors Madeline Porta, Kari
O’Neill and Ali Peterson and sophomore Sharessa Johnson. At state, Shandra
Johnson set state records in the 200 and 500 freestyle races, Peterson broke
the 100 backstroke record and the Vikings, coached by Allison Terry, won two of
the three relay events.
Charlie
Rush, Northwest (athletic director): During his 16 years at
Northwest, the Huskies won 10 state championships and were state runners-up 10
times across multiple sports. The Bellevue High athlete and NU graduate coached
all sports at tiny Walton High before four years as wrestling coach at Lincoln
Pius X. At now-closed Ryan High in Omaha, his last three years were as athletic
director. He came to OPS in 1976 as a teacher at Tech for one year before
tabbed as Northwest’s athletic director. He concluded his OPS career as
athletic director at South from 1993 to 1999. He entered the Northwest Hall of
Fame in 2012.
Chris
Bober, South (1995): The eight-year offensive lineman in the NFL started 37 of
his 92 games after starting 45 consecutive games at UNO. At South, he was a
three-year letterman in football and baseball. His football career took off at
UNO as he added nearly 100 pounds to his 6-foot-4 frame. He was a two-time
Division II All-American. The New York Giants signed him as an undrafted free
agent in 1990, and he was on the active roster for three games. In his next
three years he started 31 of 47 games. With Kansas City, he saw action in 44 of
48 games through 2006 and was placed on injured reserve for 2007 before
retiring in 2008.
Russell
Harrison, Technical (1967): A stellar senior year in football
led to a scholarship at Kansas State and a chance at pro football. Born in
Harlem, New York, he moved with his family to Omaha after grade school and
attended Mann Junior High and Tech. He was a three-year starter for the
Trojans, who were 8-1 his senior year as he made All-Nebraska and All-Metro.
“Without him, we would have been 1-8,’’ coach Dick Christie said. In track, he
set a longstanding national Junior Olympic age-group record in the 100-yard
dash. As a Tech senior, he ran on the co-gold medal 880-yard relay, was second
in the high and low hurdles at the 1967 state meet and led the state in the
triple jump. At Kansas State, he lettered three years at fullback. The Los
Angeles Rams drafted him, but knee injuries sidelined his bids to play for the
Rams and the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL. He entered the Nebraska Black Sports
Hall of Fame in 2010.
John
Huebscher, middle school: The retired teacher and coach at
King Science and Technology Magnet Center coached cross country, wrestling,
track and boys and girls basketball during his 30 years at the school, with his
boys basketball teams winning two division titles and one city title. The North
High graduate played football at UNO and started in OPS as a teacher and
gymnastics coach for four years at Tech before moving to King. He received the
Teacher of the Year Award from the Nebraska Association of Physical Education
and Recreation in 1990.