Hastings High School 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame

Hastings High School is pleased to announce the fifth class to the Athletic Hall of Fame that was established in 2015. Six individuals, two teams, and a coach have been chosen to represent the century-long history of Tiger athletic excellence.

The class will be honored during day-long activities on Saturday, February 17, 2024.  The festivities will include a banquet at 11:30 a.m. at the Blue Fork, followed by recognition of the inductees at halftime of the Hastings-Minden boys basketball game that starts at 4:30 p.m.

Tickets are $25 and are available for purchase at the HHS office or online. Visit the Hastings Public Schools webpage (hastingspublicschools.org) for the link to purchase tickets online. Please contact Tracy Douglas with any questions. Email -  tracy.douglas@hpstigers.org or Phone HHS office - 402-461-7550.

Football state champs- 1940

All-state quarterback Wally Hopp led the Tiger attack from the beginning when he threw two TD passes to George Stransky on opening night to defeat Lincoln Jackson at Wesleyan Field in Lincoln, 19-7, and take control of the conference race. Two weeks later, HHS wrangled another huge road win at Grand Island.  This time it was the defense, led by all-state tackle Vern Stiner, handling the Islanders, 6-2. By Thanksgiving Day, Coach Eldon Miller’s Mid East conference champions were 9-0 and on the road again at North Platte. Hopp carried the ball 42 times for 239 yards including the winning TD late in the 4th quarter for an 18-13 win. The only unbeaten, untied big school in the state, the Tigers were named co-state champions in all major papers, sharing the title with Creighton Prep and Omaha Tech who had played each other to a tie.

Cross Country State Champions 1958 & 1959

In 1958, Hastings out-pointed Kearney to win the NU-hosted state title behind Gary Nickolas’s top-ten finish.  Nickolas was ninth, and teammate Ron Priebe was close behind in 12th. Chuck Robertson was 25th for Coach Roy Bassett’s champions. The next year, Coach Roy Bassett’s squad dominated the state championships hosted by the University for the second straight year, winning by almost 40 points over second-place Kearney. Ron Priebe led the way with a second-place individual finish. Chuck Robertson and Dennis Decker also posted top-ten finishes for the Tigers. Hastings was the first school to win back-to-back state titles. Hastings and Coach Bassett were pioneers in the sport and helped lead the NSAA to adopt the sport in 1960.

Dick Kleiber- 1954

A multiple-sport star, Kleiber played on both the 1953 state baseball champs and the 1954 basketball titlists. In baseball, he hit .300 while manning first base. In basketball, he earned all-conference honors as a key defender and rebounder for the champs. He was an all-state end for the football team, anchoring the Tiger defense and making big plays as a receiver. After playing football at Nebraska in college, he taught and coached at Hastings High for over thirty years.

Ron Priebe- 1959

Priebe was the state cross country individual runner-up as a senior on the state title team and had finished twelfth as a junior for the first Tiger state title team. Priebe was a two-year basketball starter and averaged 17 points a game. He was also a Big Ten Conference track champion on the sprint medley relay team. In the summers, he played for the American Legion baseball team. He taught and coached track and cross country at Gibbon High for 37 years.

Henry Dilly- 1964

Dilly set a state record as the gold medalist in the shot put. His record stood until 1973, and he has held the HHS school record for over 50 years. He was a champion of both the Trans-Nebraska and Big Ten Conferences. He was the state runner-up in the shot as a junior. Dilly was also an outstanding football player for Hastings, earning all-conference honors as a junior and a senior.

Phil Kloepper- 1969

Kloepper broke the state discus record as he won the all-class Gold in 1969. He was also the Class A shot put champion. His discus mark held the HHS school record for 42 years. He was also a two-year varsity football starter for the Tigers.

Andi (Fike) Wolfe- 1988

Fike is the only two-time state girls tennis champion in school history. She won the #2 singles crown in 1986 and followed it by teaming with Janelle Schmidt to win #1 doubles in 1988. Her efforts were key to both the 1986 and 1987 state championship teams. She was a singles semifinalist in 1987 and a two-time Greater Nebraska Conference champ.

Joe Scherr- 1989

Scherr ran one of the fastest times in state history when he won conference and state titles in the 800 meters in 1989. He was a three-time Greater Nebraska Conference champ and finished fourth in the 800 as a junior to help the Tigers to a Class A state runner-up finish. He was also a conference cross country champion as a senior and a medalist as a junior, leading the Tigers to their first GNAC title in 1988. He ran for two state top ten XC teams, finishing 14th individually at state as a senior. He was also a three-year basketball starter. 

Coach Joe Sajevic

In 13 years as the Hastings basketball coach, his teams played in two state championship games, advanced to two other semifinals, and won seven district championships, six Greater Nebraska Conference titles, and 132 games. His 1992 Tigers won 19 games and defeated Papillion-LaVista and North Platte on the way to the Class A final. The 1996 team shocked Class B as they stormed to the championship game after winning only four regular-season games. Sajevic coached six all-state players and was a key assistant in a football program that won two state titles.