Northwest High School Hall of Fame Announces 2026-2027 Class

(Grand Island, NE) - The Northwest High School Athletic Hall of Fame is pleased to announce its seventh class that will be honored during the Northwest homecoming football game on Friday, September 11 when the Vikings host Seward. The 2026-27 class includes three athletes, a state championship coach, a state championship team, and a coach and special contributor to Northwest High School. 

The Northwest Hall of Fame committee was formed in the summer of 2020 with the goal of developing a permanent hall of fame to recognize past Northwest teams, students and coaches who displayed excellence during their time at Northwest High School. Additionally, the committee will recognize community members who had a lasting impact on Northwest athletics.

“Our committee is honored to induct another fantastic class of people who have had a great impact on Northwest High School,” committee President Mike Saddler said. “We are excited to welcome them home for the homecoming game to be inducted to our hall of fame.”

Angela (Gee) Davis (2001): A three-sport standout at Northwest, Davis was a three-year letterwinner in basketball and a four-year state qualifier at the state track meet. But she left her mark on the softball diamond as one of the Vikings first early stars in the sport. She started 135 consecutive games for the Vikings and had a career batter average of .391 with 154 career hits. During her time with the Vikings, Davis was a three-time, first-team all-Central Conference selection as well as a three-time Class B all-state selection.

Shayna (Schacher) Crouch (2009): A rare four-year starter for Northwest volleyball, Crouch earned Class B all-state honors from the Lincoln Journal-Star and the Omaha World-Herald during her high school career while leading the Vikings to back-to-back state championship game appearances her junior and senior seasons. Crouch still holds Northwest school records for attack efficiency in a season (.478) as well as career blocks (248). After her senior year, she was selected to the Nebraska Coaches Association all-star game. Crouch went on to star at Hastings College where she was a three-time, first-team All-GPAC performer and garnered second-team All-American honors in 2012. 

Shelby (Schacher) Ostrander (2014): In Northwest’s back-to-back state tournament appearances in 2012 and 2013 – the first in school history – Ostrander spent most of her time rewriting the Northwest High school record book. A four-year varsity starter at catcher, Ostrander was a four-time, first-team all-Central Conference selection. She still holds the Northwest single season RBI record (58) as well as career records for batting average (.497), RBI (181) and doubles (58). Until last season, she held the single-season batting average (.528) record set in 2012. Following her senior season, Ostrander was named to the Class B AllState teams by both the Lincoln Journal-Star and the Omaha World-Herald while also being selected to play in the Nebraska Coaches Association All-Star Game.

Dick Anderson (coach): One of Nebraska high school football’s legendary coaches, Dick Anderson took over the Northwest football program in 1978 and almost immediately had himself a winner. The Vikings won state championships in 1981 and 1985 while completing that five-year run as the most successful in school history with a record of 50-6. A native of Montrose, SD, Anderson won nine letters at Dakota State before beginning a long teaching and coaching career where his overall record was 149-68-3. Anderson was a Shrine Bowl coach as an assistant in 1978 and the head coach for the North team in 1985. His coaching career spanned six different high schools in four different states.

Michael Shafer (coach and special contributor): A 1971 Northwest graduate, very few gave back to their alma mater like Shafer. After beginning his college career at Kearney State, he came back to Grand Island to raise his daughter, Jennifer. He also had a hand in working for his father and was an iron worker in the mid1970s helping in the building of the Bob Devaney Sports Center. He returned to UNK to graduate in 1995 and was a student teacher at Northwest. He later taught history and coached both football and track for the Vikings. Before his teaching career at Northwest, he was a Grand Island City Councilman from 1990-1994 and after his retirement in 2016, Shafer was a member of the Northwest school board. 

TEAM – 1981 Football: The first state championship in Northwest High School history came on a midNovember night across town at Memorial Stadium. The Vikings steamrolled their way to a 55-0 Class B championship game victory over conference rival Aurora when they ran for 536 yards and didn’t need to complete a pass in the finals. The Huskies mustered just six first downs and 76 total yards the whole game, after they had defeated Northwest 20-8 in the regular season. Running backs Kirk Berrgren and Mike Reuss combined for seven touchdowns with Reuss getting 278 yards on just 14 carries. Northwest outscored three playoff opponents 132-13.