Big Promotion for a Great Man
Formerly Major Kevin Hynes worked very hard over the last couple of years and earned the promotion to the next rank...Lt. Colonel Kevin Hynes. Congratulations from all of us in the Murdock and Elmwood area! We are lucky to have you as a part of our community!
Kevin's wife, Lisa, and youngest son, Michael, help to add his new bars.
Just getting it straight, Dad!
Lt. Colonel Kevin Hynes and his family. Michael, Thomas, Erin, Kevin, Lisa, Patrick Hynes
Hanna Justesen Signs Letter of Intent
Elmwood-Murdock senior Hanna Justesen signed a letter of intent Friday to play volleyball for George Washington University. Front row from left, Lynn Justesen, Hanna Justesen and Nichole Justesen; second row, Elmwood-Murdock Superintendent Dan Novak, Guidance Counselor Heidi Zierott, head volleyball coach Kim Tennal and Principal Tim Allemang.
MURDOCK – One of Hanna Justesen’s future goals is to help people remain healthy through her work as a pharmacist or physician’s assistant.
Her list of life aspirations also includes making a healthy impact on George Washington University’s volleyball program.
Justesen signed a letter of intent Friday morning to compete for the NCAA Division I Colonials. The Elmwood-Murdock senior chose GWU from a lengthy list of Division I and II volleyball suitors from across the country. She said she was thrilled to see her many years of practice and preparation pay off in the form of a scholarship.
“It’s been my goal to play for a Division I program,” Justesen said. “I tried looking at all of my options to see what the best fit for me would be, and I’m really glad that it all worked out. It will be a really good experience to be out there.”
Justesen began appearing on the radar of collegiate coaches after collecting 956 kills during her freshman and sophomore seasons. The recruiting interest increased after she tallied 333 kills, 182 digs and 59 aces as a junior. She accomplished those numbers despite sitting out three weeks following arthroscopic knee surgery. Justesen said that experience convinced her that she wanted to continue competing on the court in college.
“I found out that I didn’t like sitting on the bench,” Justesen said. “I loved being with all of my teammates, but it was really hard to sit and watch, because I love playing the game so much. That made me realize how much fun it is to play volleyball. I want to keep playing for as long as I can.”
The recruiting process nearly came to a close after the University of Nebraska-Lincoln asked Justesen to become a walk-on as a defensive specialist. She decided to decline the offer because of her future academic plans. Walk-on players are not awarded scholarships, and Justesen wanted to minimize the amount of money she would need to pay for medical classes at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Justesen opted to attend George Washington University after she visited Washington, D.C., this summer. The main campus of the 10,000-student school is located in the city’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood near the White House, State Department and Smithsonian Institution museums.
Justesen capped her prep career this season with 449 kills, 355 digs, 156 serve receptions, 43 aces, 29 ace blocks and a .392 hitting percentage. She became Elmwood-Murdock’s all-time kills leader in mid-September, and she ended the fall as the most prolific attacker in Class C-2 history. She finished her E-M playing days with 1,738 kills.
In addition to accomplishing a personal dream, Justesen also continued Elmwood-Murdock’s recent tradition of sending athletes to elite volleyball programs. She became the school’s third student to sign with a Division I school in the past seven years. Megan Bober (Creighton University) and Megan Schmale (University of Nebraska-Omaha) also continued their careers at that level.
Justesen’s resume includes accomplishments beyond the volleyball court. She is an Honor Roll student who participates in basketball, track, band, Future Business Leaders of America, Science Club and Student Council. She has competed in national FBLA contests and has also been an All-Conference performer in both basketball and track. - Story and photo from Plattsmouth Journal Star - Brent Hardin
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The Elmwood Murdock School District has plenty of reasons to be proud. Nebraska Department of Education officials have released results of the most recent test scores for schools in Cass County and across the state. Elmwood Murdock placed above all other Cass County schools in 11 out of 12 areas. We have great schools and awesome teachers! Our parents and kids deserve credit, too! Click here to read the full story from the Plattsmouth Journal Star.
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The Elmwood Murdock Volleyball Girls Are Awesome!
Elmwood-Murdock volleyball players competed in the Class C-2 State Tournament last Thursday evening. E-M played Hastings St. Cecilia at Lincoln Southwest. Front row from left, Whitney Koehn, Jenna Meyer and Karly Mellen; second row, Abby Meyer, Briauna Walling, Taylor Lindburg, Stephanie Wenzel, A.J. Olson, Hannah Smith and Kara Zimmerman; third row, Brenna Backemeyer, Sheridan Spohr, Laura Fortney, Hanna Justesen, Jessie Spaulding and Adana Merriweather; not pictured, Katrina Hansen.
UPDATE FROM OUR MAN ON THE SCENE: Owen Kunz
Congratulations to the Elmwood-Murdock Volleyball team on probably one of the greatest seasons of Elmwood-Murdock Volleyball I have ever seen. They concluded their season tonight falling just a bit short to Hastings St. Cecelia 20-25, 15-25, 18-25. But the one thing you can commend them for, over and over again, is their hard work, time, and dedication they have put in this summer into this season and tonight when the season concluded leaving it all on the volleyball court. Next time you see a volleyball player Commend and Congratulate them for all they have done for representing our school, our fans, and our community in the Nebraska State Volleyball tournament this year. We Congratulate the seniors Hanna Justesen, Brenna Backemeyer, Laura Fortney, Adana Merriweather, Sheridan Spohr, and Jessie Spaulding for all their leadership and work over their careers and we wish them the best moving forward. Best of Luck to the other volleyball players for next season, and also best of Luck to everyone going out for basketball this season coming up as it is right around the corner and in about 3 weeks we will be tipping off. Till then as always Congratulations Girls and KNIGHT PRIDE!
The Elmwood Murdock FBLA Free Enterprise Avengers were out promoting American Enterprise Day on Saturday.
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The Elmwood Holiday Extravaganza is coming! The Elmwood Murdock Merchants Association, (EMMA), has planned a great day of fun events. There is something for everyone. To see a copy of the latest EMMA newsletter with all the details click here!