LPS students ace academic tests in team activities

Lincoln Public Schools students passed tests in both academics and activities this year with a series of top-flight efforts.
 
LPS varsity teams flew into prestigious academic heights during the 2023-24 year. Nebraska Coaches Association officials announced that many LPS groups had earned the NCA Team Academic Excellence Award. They were honored for maintaining cumulative grade point averages of at least 3.30 on a 4.0 scale.
 
Southeast swimming and diving head coach Brett Ruoff said the state awards showed how activities and academics can help each other.
 
“Focusing on grades and passing classes holds our student-athletes to a standard and helps them learn what it takes to be successful while balancing different activities,” Ruoff said. “It also helps our student-athletes be better prepared for life after high school.”
 
The NCA award celebrated academic achievements of all varsity team members. Everyone’s GPA was calculated into the final total.
 
Volleyball was the only sport not included on the NCA list. The American Volleyball Coaches Association oversees a national academic award for all high school and collegiate volleyball squads. The AVCA will honor Nebraska teams that have compiled a 3.30 cumulative GPA over the entire 2023-24 school year later this summer.
 
LPS teams in six fall activities – cheerleading, girls and boys cross country, dance, girls golf and softball – earned state honors. They based their team GPA on grades for the Fall 2023 semester.
 
North Star’s softball program was one of the award-winning LPS groups. Head coach Dale Ruhl said he was pleased that the Navigators had done well both on the diamond and in the classroom.
 
“Softball season comes right at the beginning of the school year, so it is important that we really talk with the team about managing the academic workload along with the athletic schedules and other clubs that they are a part of at LNS,” Ruhl said. “Our team did an excellent job this year and have set the bar for future teams to achieve success on and off the field.”
 
LPS teams in four winter activities – girls basketball, boys wrestling and girls and boys swimming and diving – captured state recognition. They had two options for GPA calculations. They could either base their totals on grades from the Fall 2023 semester or from the second and third quarters combined.
 
Both Southeast swimming and diving teams earned winter awards. Ruoff said the 29 girls and 12 boys who entered the pool began the season learning that “student-athlete” means student-first.
 
“One of the most important lessons our team members take away from the program is how to balance academics and athletics,” Ruoff said. “We regularly check grades, and we encourage our athletes to work with their teachers if they are struggling with a class before it is reflected in their grades. I think balancing the different areas of a student-athlete’s life is one of the vital lessons they learn and develop from their participation in sports, and it helps prepare them to be more successful after they graduate.”
 
LPS teams in two spring activities – girls and boys track and field – qualified for the honor. They based their GPA on grades for the Spring 2024 semester.
 
The Southwest girls and boys track and field teams both captured awards. Head coach Kevin Schrad said the Silver Hawks have weekly grade checks as part of their academics-first outlook. Coaches and athletes also serve as tutors for teammates who are struggling.
 
“We preach ‘team first’ at LSW,” Schrad said. “It is important to our athletes that our team is successful, so that carries over to the academic side.”
 
Schrad and Ruhl said academics and activities help students develop successful personal traits. High schoolers learn lessons like work ethic, time management and perseverance from studying academic subjects. All of those skills are beneficial in batter’s boxes, swimming pools, track lanes and, eventually, future work environments.
 
“I think the traits of achieving academic success definitely carry over,” Ruhl said. “The success creates a culture of accountability within the program as well as instills self-confidence in the student-athlete. Softball is a game where you can be humbled quickly, so having that self-confidence serves them well on the field as well.”
 
“We work with our athletes who are doing multiple things to find the right balance of track, other activities and academics,” Schrad said. “Our athletes seem to appreciate that they can do other activities, do well in the classroom and perform at a high level in track and field. It helps them become a well-rounded person who can handle all kinds of adversity.”

Fall 2023 Award Recipients

(3.30 team cumulative GPA for Fall 2023 semester)
Cheerleading: East, North Star, Northeast, Southwest (Class A)
Girls Cross Country: East, North Star, Southeast (Class A), Northwest (Class B)
Boys Cross Country: East, North Star, Southeast (Class A)
Dance: East, Northeast, Southwest (Class A), Standing Bear (Class B)
Girls Golf: East (Class A)
Softball: North Star (Class A), Northwest (Class B)
Volleyball: A list of Nebraska AVCA award recipients will be released later this summer.

Winter 2023-24 Award Recipients

(3.30 team cumulative GPA for either Fall 2023 semester or second and third quarters combined)
Girls Basketball: Southwest (Class A)
Girls Swimming and Diving: Southeast (Class A)
Boys Swimming and Diving: Southeast (Class A)
Boys Wrestling: Northeast (Class A)

Spring 2024 Award Recipients

(3.30 team cumulative GPA for Spring 2024 semester)
Girls Track and Field: Southwest (Class A)
Boys Track and Field: Southwest (Class A)

Want to know more about how to get involved at Lincoln Public Schools? Visit our website at https://home.lps.org/athletics to learn more about our athletics and activities. 
 
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