The first Nebraska woman to qualify for and compete in the boys' high school state wrestling tournament is set to lead the first Fort Calhoun High School girls wrestling team next school year.
Activities director Jamie Schleifer confirmed the hiring of Lilly Gossman on Tuesday.
“She's great,” he said. “We're really excited to have her.”
Gossman will lead a new girls program the Fort Calhoun Community Schools Board of Education approved unanimously in April. Arlington and Blair completed their first girls wrestling seasons this past February.
The new coach said FCHS reached out to her regarding the coaching position.
“I was very excited,” Gossman said.
In high school, she reached the 2001 NSAA State Championships out of Malcolm — the first woman in state history to do so. Tekamah-Herman's Lisa Maslowsky later won a state match in 2005 before Omaha North's Brittney Taylor reached the state finals in 2009.
“I grew up in a wrestling family, so it was second nature to want to compete,” Gossman said.
Now, the mother of four young wrestlers — who operates Pioneer Wrestling Club with her husband, Ben — is FCHS' newest head coach.
