PAPILLION, Neb. — Millard North claimed the tournament title over the weekend at the fourth annual NFCA Kaiti Williams Memorial Leadoff Classic hosted by Papillion-LaVista South and Millard North High Schools at the Papillion Landing Softball Complex.
The (14-2) Mustangs, who are ranked 15th in the latest NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll, won five games at the event to extend their victory streak to 11 games. They defeated three teams ranked ahead of them in the poll, including No. 13 Papillion-LaVista, 7-5, in the championship game.
Millard North opened the tournament on Friday with lopsided wins over Wayne, 14-3, and Fossil Ridge, 13-1. Then on Saturday, the Mustangs galloped past No. 11 Helias Catholic, 11-1, and defeated No. 5 Gretna, 8-1, in a semifinal matchup.
Runner-up Papillion-LaVista (12-4) went 4-1 at the tournament, scoring a ranked victory each day. The Monarchs routed No. 10 Lincoln-Southwest, 15-0, on Friday and edged No. 21 Rock Bridge in their first of three games on Saturday. They defeated Millard West — the only team to beat Millard North this season — 14-3 in Saturday’s semifinals.
Millard North was the tournament runner-up in both 2022 and 2024, losing both times to Gretna. Papillion-LaVista beat Gretna for the crown in 2023.
“We had another amazing Leadoff Classic,” tournament organizer and Papillion-LaVista South High head coach Tom Horton said. “The championship game was amazing with big strikeouts, three-run homers and two historically strong high school teams.”
“We had 30 teams, with just under a third of the teams from out of state. We had teams from Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado and Oklahoma. We got to watch a lot of great softball this weekend.”
Saturday’s championship game was live streamed on GameChanger, an NFCA official sponsor, with three camera angles provided by WD 40ish Broadcasting, and Softball on SI providing daily coverage of the event.
Other competing teams were Bellevue East, Bellevue West, Blair, No. 14 Blue Springs South, Byng, Elkhorn South, Fremont, Grand Island, Gretna East, Legend, Liberty, Lincoln Southeast, Lincoln Southwest, Marian, Mercy, Millard South, Norris, Papillion-LaVista South, No. 17 Piedmont, Pius X, Riverdale and Westview.
The tournament honors the memory of Williams, who starred at Papillion-LaVista South High and went on to a record-setting career at Division II Wayne State College, before dying unexpectedly due to an irregular heartbeat in 2015 at age 22.
Williams was the first Titan athlete to earn 12 varsity letters during her high school career, collecting four each in softball, basketball, and track and field. She earned academic all-state honors in all three sports, and captained all three squads her final two seasons.
She was all-state in softball three seasons, was a starter on the first Titan girls basketball team to reach the state tournament, and qualified for states all four years as a thrower on the track team, earning five medals and fourth-place finishes in the shot put and discus her senior year. Williams carried a 3.95 grade-point average and was honored as the Runza/KPTM Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the state of Nebraska in 2010-11.
In college, Williams played every game for the Wildcats’ softball squad and earned all-conference honors all four years. She finished as the school-record holder in batting average, runs batted in, doubles and total bases, and graduated with honors.
Williams was posthumously inducted into the Wayne State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018, and her No. 14 jersey is retired at the school.
Money raised at the tournament benefits the Kaiti Williams Memorial Scholarship, which helps female graduates of Papillion-LaVista South High pursue higher education and athletics at the collegiate level.
To donate to the Kaiti Williams Memorial Scholarship fund, visit https://midlandscommunity.org/fund/kaiti-williams-memorial-scholarship-fund/
The NFCA is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded coaches polls and All-America awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to awards, to in-person events and National Convention.
Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining our lineup of over 7,000 coaches today!
