Athletic Department 

The Hornets sadly saw their hopes for a state run and their 2024 season end against a tough 3A Tolono Unity team with a loss of 24 - 47.  It was a bittersweet day for the entire team, but especially for the fourteen seniors who have played together since their freshman year.  The team ended the year with a 10 - 2 record and Conference Champion title.  On Tuesday, December 10, they reminisced about the season and their high school football careers with the coaches and the football players from all levels -- freshmen through varsity.  Football players were honored with awards from NCHS, the conference, the region, and the state.

Will Diedrich receives Tom Luczaj Legacy Award.

Samuel Kollbaum receives IHSA 3A All-State 1st Team.

The following varsity football players were named to the Academic All-State Team for their efforts both on the field and in the classroom:

Will Diedrich, Daven Hug, Samuel Kollbaum, Brance Luessenheide

CONGRATULATIONS, football players, on an impressive team season your deserving individual recognition.

The NCHS Swim Team finished their 2024 season with a successful showing at IHSA Sectionals at Edwardsville. The Medley Relay team of Sailor Gutzler-Dlbala, Evie Reams, Lainey Fletcher, and Scarlet Konkel placed 5th. The 200 Free Relay team of Scarlet Konkel, Evie Reams, Jaylen Jones, and Lainey Fletcher placed 6th. Congraulations on a great season, Hornettes!

Lainey Fletcher, Rylee Habbe, Jaylen Jones, Evie Reams, Scarlet Konkel, Sailor Gutzler-Dlbala, and Coach Laura Schubert.

We asked our NCHS Senior Swimmers to reflect on their swimming career. Lainey Fletcher reflected, "I really enjoyed swimming the past few years at NCHS. I love being able to swim during the school year instead of just on the summer swim team. It is really rewarding going with my team and being able to medal in both relays and seeing all of our hard work pay off. The most challenging thing is getting out to practice with a busy schedule. It was all worth it being able to beat my fastest time in both of the individual events I swam at the meet. This sport is so exciting and fills you with so much adrenaline that it's hard not to absolutely love doing it. I'll definitely miss being with the team as I've swam with these girls my entire life. I know they'll do great next year!"

Senior Swimmers Lainey, Scarlet, and Sailor.

Senior Scarlet Konkel shared a look back at her time on the NCHS Swim Team. "Because I am also a volleyball player and the volleyball season occurs at the same time as IHSA girls’ swimming, it was difficult for me to find time to practice. Something that made it even more difficult was that Nashville doesn’t have an indoor pool and the nearest one for me is in Centralia. Trying to balance volleyball, swimming, and school was very difficult and some days I even had to get up really early and practice before I came to school. I practiced on my own most days; sometimes when my self-motivation was lacking practice in general was challenging. Not always having a coach at practice makes you realize that swimming does take a lot of self-motivation and dedication. My freshman year I had my senior sister, Hazel, there to push me at practices in the morning, but since then, it’s just me at practice having to find a way to push myself."

"I have been swimming since I was 4 years old. I started because my older sisters swam before me. For me a very rewarding part of swimming was the lessons I learned about hard work, dedication, and motivation. Swimming has individual and team races. It has taught me that no one can do the work for me. If I want to win a race or drop time in a race then I have to be willing to put in the hard work and the many hours of practice it takes to do so. While I find these lessons extremely rewarding, to me the greatest reward I have from swimming when the race is over and I’m out of the water, is the friendships and memories I have made through swimming. My NCHS teammates are all also my summer swim teammates so I have gotten to know them well."

Scarlet says that "while I say swimming is about hard work and dedication, for me it’s also an escape. With volleyball I have pressure, teammates counting on me, and if I make a mistake it affects everyone on the team. Swim allows me to clear my mind and when I’m in the water at practice, swimming is all I think about. It gives me a break from overwhelming everyday life. I will miss having swimming as an outlet everyday to clear my mind.  As I said, I have been swimming for a long time. Many of the swimmers on the team have been my teammates for many years so we have grown close with each other. I will miss all of my teammates that make the long seemingly endless breaks of sitting around waiting for my race at meets more enjoyable. While many events are individual, the relays are a team effort. Swimming relays with my teammates is also something I will greatly miss. The thing I will miss most is swim meets with all my teammates."

The Hornets are in the IHSA Football Playoffs and definitely came to play.  They finished off the Olympia - Stanford Spartans in Round 1 with a score of 42 - 35 and the Greenville Comets in Round 2 with a score of 41 - 21.  The Hornets earned home field advantage for both of those playoff wins.  For the third round of playoffs, the 10 - 1 Hornets head north to Tolono to take on the 8 - 3 Tolono Unity Rockets on Saturday, November 16, in a 2:00 p.m. scheduled start.  The Hornets have been firing offensively and defensively and hope to continue that approach against the Rockets to make it to the Final Four in the 3A IHSA State Playoffs.  We're cheering for you boys.

Seniors Grady Kirchner and Brynner Inman tag up to take down the Spartan offense.

Senior Will Diedrich makes his 12th interception for the season against Greenville.  Will's reception earned him the distinction of most interceptions in NCHS football history.  

Big plays produce big wins.  Senior Daven Hug's expansive wingspan knocked down the Greenville quarterback's toss right into the hands of senior offensive lineman Brynner Inman who secured the ball and gain ground for the Hornet offense.

Senior Daven Hug was a defensive beast putting a stop to the Greenville offense.

Senior Samuel Kollbaum couldn't be stopped by the Spartans.

Senior Brance Luessenheide was the "dude" according to Coach Stephen Kozuszek in the game against Olympia.  Brance's punt return put Nashville just where they needed to be late in the game for a necessary score.

Senior Hayden Klingeman's pass to senior Parker Schoenberg set up the Hornets for excellent field position and secured a first down against Greenville.

Senior Hayden Klingeman was a ground threat against the Spartans scoring a touchdown easily.

The Hornettes have a lot to celebrate.  Last week the Hornettes clinched the SIRR Conference title when they beat Pinckneyville to be named the Champions of the Conference.  And this Tuesday, 10/22/24, the Hornets honored their four seniors and their entire volleyball program celebrating 50 years at NCHS.  The outstanding accomplishments of Hornette volleyball over the last 50 years includes 1083 wins, 414 losses, and 14 ties. The Hornettes have had 45 winning seasons, including 10 seasons with over 30 wins; 27 conference titles; 16 regional titles; and 2 state appearances. 

Seniors Ellie Bartling, Carly Kasten, Scarlet Konkel, and Alana Kujawa

The Hornette Varsity Volleyball team dominated in Freeburg's Monster Mash Tournament on Saturday, October 19.  The team shut out four teams -- Chester, Riverview Garden, Freeburg, and Waterloo -- to be named the champions of the Monster Mash Tournament.  The Hornettes shut out Chester and Riverview Garden in two sets and battled it out in three sets with Freeburg and Waterloo.  The Hornettes are 30 - 3 and host Murphysboro on Tuesday, 10/22/24, for their Senior Night.  

Congratulations to Scarlet Konkel, Emma Berhmann, and Carly Kasten for being selected to the All-Tournament Team.

NCHS cross country competed in their Conference Meet on Thursday, 10/17/24 at DuQuoin.  The top Hornet finisher was Evan Eberhart who finished 4th overall with a time of 15:29.  Other top Hornet runners were Ayden Fox (11), Chase Gill(27), and Jacob McBride (31).  The top Hornette finisher was Adi Wilson who finished 8th overall with a time of 19:49.  Other top Hornette runners were Rylee Habbe (20) and Jessica Malone (26).  The Hornet and Hornette runners will compete in Regionals on Saturday, October 26.  Good luck to all of you.  NCHS is rooting for you.

Congratulations to Evan (above) and Adi (below) on your top ten finish.

Ayden Fox

Jessi Malone

The Hornettes were displaced for the opening weeks of the season due to the storm-forced renovations to the Assembly Hall, but on the eve of 10/3/24 during Homecoming Week, the Hornettes returned home to host the Anna Jonesboro Wildcats.  The Hornettes are an impressive 20 - 3 on the season coming off a 2-game set victory against the DuQuoin Indians on Tuesday, 10/1/24.

It was a special night not only for the team returning to the court, but several NCHS players were recognized for individual achievements as well: Emma Behrmann (500 kills), Scarlet Konkel (600 assists), and Carly Kasten (500 kills).

Coach Konkel was elated to coach his girls back on the Hornette home court.

Don't forget to plan on joining the Hornettes on Tuesday, October 22nd when they host Murphysboro at the Assembly Hall for a memorable senior night and a celebration of 50 years of Hornette volleyball featuring alumni, coaches, and senior volleyball players. 

The remnants of the forceful Hurricane Helene might have postponed the Hornets' Friday night game against Frankfort, but the rain couldn't stop the Hornets' physical offense and defense.  When the Hornets took the field on Saturday, 9/28/24, it was still raining from the night before, and field conditions could only be described as muddy and mucky.  The Hornets found their footing after a few missteps and never looked back beating the Redbirds 24 - 6.   The Hornet defense was phenomenal holding Frankfort to just 71 yards total in the game.  Not to be outdone, the Hornet offense opened the paths for Samuel Kollbaum to rush for 179 yards on 28 carries with 2 touchdowns.  The Washington County News reported that the "defense’s leading tacklers were Kollbaum and Bryce Schettler, seniors Griffin Bochantin and Brynner Inman had tackles for loss, and Will Diedrich had an interception.  Offensively, Hayden Klingeman ran for 74 yards with a touchdown and in the windy and rainy conditions, he completed 6/11 passes for 42 yards and an interception.  Diedrich had 10 yards on the ground, and Carson Seaton had 11 yards rushing.  Isaac Blazier led the way with 5 catches for 31 yards, and Kollbaum rounded it all out with 1 catch for 11 yards."  The Hornets are excited to host the Benton Rangers at the NCHS Homecoming on Friday, 10/4/24. 

It's safe to say that the NCHS seniors loved the mud.

Senior Griffin Bochantin stops Frankfort's Travion Johnson.

The Hornet offense executed beautifully to get the ball into senior Will Diedrich's hands.

Senior Parker Schoenberg (above) and Daven Hug (below) effortlessly complete two point conversions.

Senior Samuel Kollbaum found solid footing for quite a few yards to outrun the Redbird tacklers.

Junior Bryce Schettler stopped the Redbird advance.

The Hornet Cheerleaders came prepared to support their team.

Kollbaum zones in on the Redbird ball carrier.

Senior Hayden Klingeman takes it in for a touchdown.

Seniors Hudson Jones, Dilan Murray, and Brynner Inman waited all game to perfect this slide.

On Saturday, 9/21/22, the Hornettes faced off at Carterville High School against other JV teams from Mt. Vernon, Murphysboro, and Fairfield in their pool.  The Hornettes played well and earned a spot in the Gold Bracket for the day according to their Facebook Page.

Sophomores Claire Stiegman and Kenlee Schoenberg were selected to the All-Tournament team. 

On Monday, 9/16/24, the Hornettes traveled to Hickory Ridge Golf Course in Carbondale for what was a long and hot day of golf.  The meet is a special meet featuring a 2 Lady Scramble.  

The Hornettes as a team placed second overall.

Juniors Brynn Stiegman and Arabella Alfeldt scored -34 (2 under) and earned second place together.

The Hornettes would love to see you at their next home meet on Wednesday, 9/25/24, at Nashville Memorial Golf Course.  Meet starts at 4:00 p.m.

Sophomore Gannon Turner kicks the Hornet final point of the game.

Sophomore Owen Diedrich and senior (and older brother) Will Diedrich stop the Lion offense.

Klingeman connects with senior Daven Hug for a big gain.

Junior Bryce Schettler anticipates the Lion offense.

The Hornets first line of protection is ready to protect the pass or run.

Klingeman finds an open Diedrich for positive yards.

Coach Josh Konkel was very happy with the ladies' efforts for the day and shared in The Southern that "the girls played hard and improved as the day went on [, which is] a good sign that the girls are learning."

The Varsity Hornets hosted the neighboring Carlyle Indians on Friday, 8/30/24, and dominated on the gridiron.  The Hornets easily beat the Indians 52 - 7.

Sophomore defensive lineman Kam Emrick halts the Indian offense.

Junior defensive back Gavin Birkner and the Hornet defense bring down the ball carrier.

Senior wide receiver Will Diedrich adds six points on a Hornet touchdown.

Senior defensive lineman Hudson Jones prepares for the play.

The Hornet defense of senior lineman Dilan Murray, senior linebacker Samuel Kollbaum, and junior linebacker Bryce Schettler was tough to penetrate.

Senior quarterback Hayden Klingeman scores the first touchdown early in the first quarter.

Senior wide receivers Isaac Blazier (above) and Brance Luessenheide  (below) successfully advance the ball.

Senior running back Samuel Kollbaum scores his first touchdown of the season.

Senior running back Grady Kirchner scores the Hornet's final touchdown of the game.

Senior tight end Daven Hug battles his way to the one yard line setting the Hornets up for a touchdown just one play later.

The NCHS Hornette volleyball team might be displaced to the storm-warranted renovation of the Assembly Hall, but they are not letting that stop them AT ALL.  The Hornettes beat the Wesclin Warriors in two games on 8/27/24 on the temporary home court at the Nashville Primary School, and they dominated against at Okawville beating the Lady Rockets in just two games.

Seniors Carly Kasten and Alana Kujawa talk pre-game strategy.

Senior Scarlet Konkel and sophomore Summer Brinkmann are a defensive force on the net.

Junior Belle Schmale delivers a hit.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE FULL VARSITY SCHEDULE BELOW.