POTTER, NE — A strong tradition continues at Potter-Dix High School.

"I was happy to get this group of kids back because it's been awhile since we've been to state," Potter-Dix Play Production Director Beth Bogert said. 

The western Nebraska school claimed the runner-up spot at the NSAA Play Production Championships earlier this month.

In the 18 times the school has qualified for state, they’ve finished in 3rd Place or better 14 of those trips, including nine state championships. This year was the Coyotes first trip to the Play Production Championships since 2015.

"It feels real good because when I was a kid I used to see all the bigger kids doing all these different activities and I always wanted to be one of the kids that helped out and kept the tradition going," Class D2 Outstanding Male Performer Gunnar Oleson said. "I'm proud to know I've helped out that tradition."

This year Potter-Dix performed "Chateau La Roche," a comedy about a cockroach-infested hotel. Bogert says picking the play wasn’t easy.

"Usually when I read through plays one just jumps out at me, but that wasn't the case this year," Bogert said. "We kind of went back and forth between lots of different plays. We decided this one has a lot of crazy characters and luckily our high school has a lot of crazy characters so it seemed to fit really well."

Oleson claimed Outstanding Male Performer in Potter-Dix’s class. He’s one of many members of the Coyotes cast and crew who balanced One Acts and other activities in the Fall.

"I don't know how the kids do it," Bogert said. "They're hear early in the morning lifting weights then they go to class, then go to football or volleyball practice. Sometimes we'll provide sandwiches for them sometimes. They'll be making sandwiches on the side of the stage while practice is going on and doing homework when they're not in a scene."

Despite making a run at a football state title and preparing for basketball season, Oleson says the school’s One Act success shows what the activity means to the community.

"Usually with football and basketball, people think about that a bit more," Oleson said. "They don't think about the theatre and the drama and stuff like that, but it's just as important as basketball or football."