Sports
Creighton players become Huskers
By Kyle Schurman
Staff Reporter
Tradition and a winning attitude
persuaded three former Omaha
Creighton Prep High School players
to attend Nebraska on football schol
arships.
I-back George Achola, linebacker
Daryl Leise and tight end Dan Lo
hmcicr were al! members of
Creighton Prep’s 1985 and 1986 state
champion football teams. The three
players turned down scholarship of
fers from other schools to become
Comhuskcrs and arc all making sig
nificant contributions to this year’s
freshman team.
Achola gained 2,348 yards rush
ing and scored 31 touchdowns during
Creighton Prep's two championship
seasons. He said he decided to attend
Nebraska because of the Huskers’
tradition.
“The players expect to win here,”
Achola said. “They have a good
coaching staff and quality players and
people. Nebraska cares about win
ning, and I can get a good education
here.”
Leise said Creighton Prep and
Nebraska arc similar because both
programs arc disciplined.
“The main similarity is in the
complexity of the two programs in
nnoricnn in I hoir nt"ile ’’ I n■ eo
said.
Lcise, who recorded 76 tackles as
a defensive end during his senior year
at Creighton Prep, said he chose
Nebraska because “it’s close to
home.”
“I was impressed with the aca
demic and alhlclic facilities,” Lcise
said. “The coaches and advisers lake
care of the players here.”
Lohmeicrcaught 33 passes for 538
yards and six touchdowns during his
junior and senior years at Prep. He
also played defensive tackle during
his senior year and made 31 unas
sisted and 20 assisted tackles.
He said he chose Nebraska be
cause of its great tradition and be
cause of its potential to do well over
the next few years.
“1 think we could win some na
tional championships in the next few
years,” Lohmcicr said. “Also, the
coaches were straightforward with
me. A lot of coaches say you’ll play as
a freshman, but I just couldn ’t sec that
happening at most places.”
After going 12-0 in 1985 and 11-1
in 1986, Creighton Prep is 3-0 and
ranked No. 1 by the Omaha World
Herald in 1987. However, Creighton
Prep coach Tom Jaworski
said that losing the three players to
Nebraska has hurt his team.
“You don’t lose those types of
players without it making an impact
on your team,” Jaworski said.
“They’re all good kids with good
work habits and good work ethics.
They should all do well in school.”
Husker freshman coach Shane
Thorcll agreed with Jaworski.
“They ’re all good kids and an asset
to the program, Thorcll said. “They
all played well in the first game.”
In the Nebraska freshman team’s
62-0 win over St. Thomas (Minn.)
junior varsity on Sept. 7, Achola
gained 83 yards on 15 rushes and
scored one touchdown. He also ran
back a punt for 22 yards and a kickoff
for 22 yards. Achola nearly had an
other touchdown, but he fumbled
while crossing the goal line, and
Lohmeier recovered for his first
Husker touchdown. Lcise chipped in
a tackle for the Husker defense. All
three players said winning two state
lilies was a great feeling. They praised
Jaworski for his coaching abilities as
well.
Achola said winning the state titles
was a great feeling and something
most people won’t experience.
“Being the best team in history is
something that will stick with me for
the rest of my life,” Achola said.
“Coach Jaworski pul our team to
gether really well. He was one of the
main reasons we won.”
Lcisc said being a state champion
was “an exciting experience.” He
said that Jaworski was a very good
coach and will have “lots of success in
the future.”
Lohmeier said winning the second
stale title was more special to him
because he was a senior.
“We also came back and won it
after a loss which says something
special about our team,” Lohmeier
said. “Coach Jaworski helps his play
ers out a lot. He also has very good
assistant coaches.”
Achola was a two-year all-metro
and all-state running back at Prep. He
said he was struggling with the of
fense at first because he has never run
out of the I-formation before.
“I’m finally getting the offense
down now,” Achola said. “I need to
work on a lot of things, but
everything’s really coming along
now.”
He said his goals include helping
the freshmen win and going to a bowl
game.
“I also want to win one national
championship here and I want to
leave here with a degree,” Achola
said.
Thorcll said Achola is a good
running back.
Jaworski said he is “very solid and
consistent. He’s an excellent player.”
“He had two great seasons for us,”
Jaworski said. “He was a leader on
our team and a top-flight running
back. He has good speed and makes
very good cuts.” ,
Achola said the weightlifting and
running habits he developed at
Creighton Prep have carried over to
his play at Nebraska. He said that
Arizona State, Colorado, Nottc
Dame and Iowa also recruited him.
Lciscsaid hedidn’tcxpcct to do so
well this season because he is playing
linebacker for the first time.
“I’m happy with any progress I
make,” Lcisc said. He said he needs to
work on his aggressiveness and his
technique.
Lcise was a two-year starter at
See PREP on 10
1 Jl \.
Paul Vonderlage/Dally Nebraskan
Nebraska's Dan Lohmeier, George Achola and Daryl Leise.
Cornhuskers to compete at World Championships
By Rich Cooper
Staff Reporter
Nebraska’s Tom Schlesingcr
and former Comhusker Scotl
Johnson will compete against
some of the top gymnasts in the
world when they travel to Rotter
dam, Netherlands, to participate in
the World Gymnastics Champion
ships.
Schlesingcr and Johnson will
leave Saturday for West Germany,
where they will train for three
weeks to prepare for the United
States’ biggest meet before the
1988 Olympic Games. Nebraska
assistant gymnastics coach Jim
Howard, who is assisting Southern
Connecticut coach Abe Grossfeld
with the team, said Schlesinger and
Johnson will have to endure three
weeks of intense training.
“The workouts are going to be
very hard because we have to be
ready for this meet,” Howard said.
“They will be woifcmg out twice a
» —
day and be spending six lo seven
hours in the gym. Bui I think we
have a very good team, and we
should do reasonably well if we
work hard.”
Howard said the meet is ex
tremely important because the top
12 teams will qualify for the 1988
Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea.
The United Slates finished ninth
during the 1985 World Champion
ships in Montreal.
Schlesinger said the meet will
be the toughest he has ever com
peted in. He said this will be his
first trip lo the World Champion
ships.
“The caliber of athletes in this
meet is very good; you have the
Russians, Chinese and everybody
else that are all the best in the
world,” Schlesinger said. ‘‘Making
the team is a definite step towards
making the Olympic team.”
Schlesinger said the pressure in
the meet will be very high because
no one can afford to make a mis
take. He catd he managed to qoal
ify for the World Championships
even though he had a difficult
qualifying meet on Sept. 12.
Three other Nebraskans —
Kevin Davis, Neil Palmer and Wes
Suter— failed to qualify.
Davis, who was hampered
throughout the meet by a sprained
ankle, could have attempted to
petition his way onto the team. But
he said he chose not to because he
didn’t have a chance of earning a
positive decision.
The only gymnast to petition his
way onto the team was former
UCLA star Tim Daggett, who
missed the qualifying meet be
cause of mononucleosis.
“With Kevin it was a big ques
tion on if he was one of the top four
gymnasts in the United States,”
Howard said. “But with Daggett he
is definitely one of the top four
gymnasts in the U.S.”
Howard said Daggett is impor
tant to the team because of his
experionce.
“Having Tim on the team will
make a big difference on how we
do at the championships,” Howard
said. “Both him and Johnson give
us a lot of experience on the floor,
which is needed in a big meet like
this.
“Tim wanted to compete in the
trials, but mononucleosis affects
the spleen. If he would’ve fallen,
he could have hurl himself badly,”
Howard said.
Johnson said he thinks Davis
should have been let on the team
because he has proven himself
before.
“Kevin, I think, has earned a
spot on the team. He was doing
excellent until he hurt himself
before the Pan American Games,”
Johnson said. “He’s worked real
hard to get where he’s at now, and
it’s too bad he won’t be able to go
with us."
Johnson, who is ranked No. 1 in
the United States, said he is looking
forward to the World Champion
ships. He said that next to the
Olympics, this is the biggest meet
for the United States.
“This is a very important meet
for the United States because at the
last World Championships, we had
an awful meet,” Johnson said. “We
have to come back and show the
world that the Americans arc back
in gymnastics. I think we can finish
in the lop three if everybody per
forms. We have some good young
gymnasts who have good ability.
The United States team has
seven members: Johnson, Daggett,
Schlcsingcr, Dan Hayden, Charlie
Lakes, Curtis Holsworth and Jon
Omori.
Johnson said he thinks he can
I inish in the top 12 in the all-around
competition if he performs at his
potential. He said the Russians and
Chinese will make it difficult to
win a medal in the all-around
competition because of the depth
they have.
Johnson said he thinks he can
win a medal in an individual event.
He said his best event is the still
rings.
