Nebraska City High School

Nebraska City High School
Address
141 Steinhart Park Rd. Nebraska City , Otoe County, Nebraska , Nebraska 68410 United States
Coordinates	40°40′42″N 95°52′45″W
Information
Type	Public
Principal	Brian Hoover
Number of students	445 (January 2012)
Color(s)	Purple and gold
Song	"The Purple and the Gold"
Athletics conference	Eastern Midlands Conference
Sports	American football, baseball, basketball, golf, tennis, cross country, soccer, softball, track, volleyball, wrestling
Mascot	Pioneer Pete
Team name	Pioneers
School day	8:00 – 3:40
Athletic director	Matthew Koehler
Website	http://nebraskacity.ne.schoolwebpages.com/

Nebraska City High School (NCHS, formerly NCSH) is the public secondary school in Nebraska City, Nebraska, USA. It contains serves 9th through 12th grades. The athletic teams of all Nebraska City Public Schools are named the Pioneers. NCHS is located at 141 Steinhart Park Road in Nebraska City.

History

The first graduating class of NCHS graduated in 1880, the first graduate being Cornelia Kimmel. The current building was not the first high school in Nebraska City though. Its predecessor was the first in Nebraska. Partially for this and other reasons such as being the home of Arbor Day and being the oldest town in the state, the athletic team's name (then the 'Golden Avalanches' or, unofficially, the 'Purples') was changed to the 'Pioneers' in December 1938. The school's newspaper has, since the early 1900s, been referred to as the Otoean, deriving its name from its home - Otoe County, Nebraska. Many changes were made to the school in the 1930s and 1940s, including the first dances, first library, first mirrors and first yearbooks. During this time, Nebraska City regularly competed in the International Soap Box Derbies, including a World Championship at the fourth annual. In 1921, the NCSH Golden Avalanches had won the State Basketball Championship.

Buildings

The original school was built in 1865 on 6th street and between 4th and 5th Corsos. It was the first public high school between the Missouri River and California. The second building was constructed in 1874 between 9th and 10th Streets on 1st Corso. Later the Sixth Street Elementary occupied the original building until its destruction in 1916.

In 1911, a third high school was built on the same block as the second. This third complex was known as the "Gray Buildings" and was east of the earlier building. The second school was demoished and replaced with the Morton James Public Library. At this point, NCSH contained grades 9-12. In 1928, a junior high school was built across 9th street. This schoolh contained grades 7 to 9. In 1945, the schools switched buildings to accommodate the growing size of the student population. Along with this came a "Hot Lunch" program along with choir and band rooms.

The current site at 141 Steinhart Park Road was selected for a new building for an even larger student population. This building was completed in 1965. The junior high school moved back to the its original building and the "Gray Buildings" complex was replaced by a Safeway store. This was then destroyed for a new middle school next to the library, and 9th street between 1st and 2nd Corsos was replaced with a recreation field for the middle school.

Expansions

The current building was erected in 1965, replacing the earlier schools in the downtown area. The original design - a brick building with the gym at one end, auditorium and cafeteria in the center, with classrooms in the north - is little changed. Expansions in the 1979 on this north section added what are now the outer classrooms, the library and the athletic complexes. From 2008 to 2011, the school underwent a major renovation with the addition of a second gym, a turf field, a new cafeteria, a new fine arts rooms, new wood and metal workshops and new offices.

Sports

The official team name is the Nebraska City Pioneers with the mascot of Pioneer Pete. The school and athletic colors are purple and gold. The Pioneers compete in 17 varsity sports in the Eastern Midlands Conference with the Bennington Badgers, Blair Bears, Elkhorn Antlers, Elkhorn South Storm, Gretna Dragons, Norris Titans, Plattsmouth Blue Devils, and Waverly Vikings.

Pioneer Palace

Until the last expansion, the Pioneers competed in the Pioneer Palace. It differs tfrom most other gyms, specifically in terms of the size, cramped conditions, sparse, mellow lighting and a high number of random "dead spots" in the floor. It has been speculated that a home field advantage aided Pioneer basketball teams through their years in the Palace. With the construction in the 2000s, a new gym was built, the Purple Gym, the old one remaining as a backup called the Gold Gym. The new gym has bright lighting, is longer, has direct access to the band room, has new locker rooms for girls, and bleachers that are purple and gold with 'NCHS' on the side.

Pioneer Field

The Pioneer Field and track is the competing grounds for Pioneers American football, track and soccer teams. From at least 1911 until 1978, the Pioneer Field was a large structure on the terraces between 1st and 4th Corsos and between 14th and 15th Streets. In 1978, an elementary school was built to replace the 6th Street and 14th Street Building, now Hayward Elementary. In the 1978 season, the Pioneers competed at the Peru State College campus. By 1979, the current stadium was completed. This was refurbished in 2011 with Field Turf and a new track surface.

History

From at least 1918, the Nebraska City High School's colors have been various shades of purple and gold. The school song, "The Purple and the Gold", was written some time between 1908 and 1918 and the main lyrics have been relatively unchanged. Until 1938, the teams were officially named the Golden Avalanches, and from 1938 onward they have been named the Pioneers.

State results

Year	Award	Scope	Recipient	Notes
1915	Track and field, boys' mile	All classes	Nelson, ___
1916	Track and field, boys' mile	All classes	Nelson, ___
1919	Basketball (boys') runner-up	Class D	Team
1921	Basketball (boys') champion	Class B	Team
1946	Track and field, boys' mile	All classes	Marvin Zimmerman
1948	Track and field, boys' mile	All classes	Marvin Zimmerman
1955	Track and field, boys' 200	All classes	George Peterson
1956	Track and field, boys' 100	All classes	George Peterson	Still the stand-alone school record.
1956	Track and field, boys' 200	All classes	George Peterson	First Pioneer to receive medals in two events.
1960	Golf, boys' champion	Class A	Ed Romjue
1968	Wrestling, heavyweight champion	Class B	Jack Hobbie	First of several Pioneer wrestling titles.
1969	Wrestling, heavyweight champion	Class B	Jack Hobbie
1979	Track and field, girls' mile relay	All classes	Porter, Hermann, Nienkamp, Soriano	Last year for event.
1980	Track and field, boys' long jump	All classes	Bret Clark
1985	Track and field, boys' 3200-meter	All classes	Harold Graham	State champion team
1985	Track and field champions	Class B	Team	First team title since 1921.
1987	Wrestling, 138 lb champion	Class B	Brad Smith
1988	Wrestling, 189 lb champion	Class B	Brian Duran
1989	Wrestling, 189 lb champion	Class B	Brian Duran
1989	Wrestling tournament third place	Class B	Team
1991	Golf, boys' champion	Class B	Jason Schoo
1992	Wrestling, 135 lb champion	Class B	John Tharp
1994	Track and field, boys' long jump	All vlasses	Troy Crook
1996	Wrestling, 130 lb champion	Class B	Shane Allgood
1999	Track and field, girls' discus	All classes	Emily Duran
2000	Track and field, girls' discus	All classes	Emily Duran	Set Class B state meet record, 165-0, same year.
2000	Track and field, girls' shot put	All classes	Emily Duran	Second Pioneer to receive medals in two events.
2001	Wrestling, 189 lb champion	Class B	Jason Stoll
2008	Golf runner-up	Class B	Team	Team included two top-ten finishers.
2013	Wrestling duals runner-up	Class B	Team	Inaugural duals tournament. Ended sixth in regular tourney.
2014	Wrestling duals fourth place	Class B	Team	Ended seventh in regular tourney.

Note: All track entries are for gold medalists only.

See also

• Nebraska City, Nebraska
• Lourdes Central Catholic