Contributors: The Nerd team
This is our seventh of eight previews of the 2024 Nebraska high school cross country season. While we have connected with some coaches, keep in mind that we may not know about injuries, transfers, lack of summer training, bad break-ups or anything else that might impact athletes this season. If we didn't highlight your athlete, it's not out of spite; it's takes a lot of research to write eight articles and at some point we just got tired. If we've made an error, please DM us or e-mail jayslagle@hotmail.com and we'll get it corrected.
Top returners from 2023 State meet with current grade listed:
4, Katherine Ebmeier, 12, Millard West, 19:06.9
7, Abbigail Durow, 11, Millard South, 19:31.8
8, Hope Riedel, 12, Lincoln North Star, 19:33.1
9, Gracie Suppes, 10, Papillion-La Vista, 19:36.3
11, Charlotte Gregor, 12, Omaha South, 19:43.6
12, Alexis Chadek, 11, Papillion-La Vista, 19:43.9
13, Sadie Yager, 12, Lincoln East, 19:45.3
14, Litzey Fredette, 12, Millard West, 19:47.6
15, Abigail Burger, 12, Kearney, 19:51.1
16, Olivia McKlem, 11, Millard West, 20:03.6
17, Mia Urosevich, 11, Omaha Westside, 20:10.1
18, Kadence Hurley, 12, Lincoln East, 20:14.5
19, Meredith Marsh, 10, Lincoln Southwest, 20:15.9
20, Malia Woosley, 10, Lincoln Pius, 20:16.1 (to Class B)
21, Grace Volzke, 10, Elkhorn South, 20:16.7
23, Elizabeth Frazer, 10, Millard West, 20:21.0
24, Augusta Ganz, 10, Kearney, 20:22.7
28, Melissa Gomez-Vazquez, 11, Columbus, 20:37.4
29, Sadie Osher, 10, Omaha Central, 20:38.8 (Xfer to Millard West)
30, Ella Herzberg, 12, Lincoln East, 20:39.7
32, Katelyn Sanne, 11, Millard West, 20:48.7
34, Silvy Munn, 11, Lincoln Southwest, 20:50.7
37, Mya Kafka, 12, Lincoln Southwest, 20:57.4
39, Chaya Isaacson, 10, Millard West, 21:00.5
40, Jada Hothan, 12, North Platte, 21:01.3
42, Jasmin Solano, 11, Lincoln Pius, 21:03.3 (to Class B)
47, Abigail Dickinson, 11, Lincoln Pius, 21:21.9 (to Class B)
48, Claire Karjalainen, 11, Kearney, 21:23.1 (not competing)
49, Lucia Ambrose, 12, Omaha Marian, 21:25.4
50, Sydney Wendt, 11, Lincoln High, 21:26.2
Top teams in 2023:
1. Lincoln East, 55 points
2. Millard West, 67 points
3. Omaha Westside, 119 points
4. Papio LaVista, 154 points
5. Lincoln Pius, 154 points (moves to Class B)
6. Lincoln Southwest, 157 points
Lincoln Pius and Gretna are moving from Class A to Class B this fall. South Sioux City is moving from Class B to Class A. As a reminder, Class A teams can field up to seven athletes in a varsity race, five of whom count towards team scoring.
The transfer portal is a hot topic in college sports but we rarely see it impact high school cross country. This year is different, however, with two talented ladies changing schools. Lilly Kenning (below) has transferred from Class C Milford to Lincoln Southwest for her senior year while Sadie Osher is moving from Omaha Central to Millard West after a strong freshman campaign. Even without those transfers, we had Millard West and Lincoln Southwest as favorites for the team title, so these additions could give them a clear gap over the rest of the field.
The Class of 2024 was pretty special with three different State champions – Stella Miner (Westside), Mia Murray (Lincoln East) and Claire White (Westside). Six of the top ten finishers from last year have graduated but there is no shortage of talent to take their place.
Kate Ebmeier (below), a senior at Millard West, leads a strong crew that lost just one 2023 State member (Brianna Hernandez) to graduation. Kate improved her in-season 5K PR by six minutes from her sophomore to junior years. She followed her XC success with a 3rd (5:01 1600), 4th (10:51 3200) and 1st (2:16 in 4x800) at Burke – even though she never raced the 1600 or 3200 as a sophomore. Fellow senior Litzey Fredette improved her 5k time by about 90 seconds as a junior and capped the year with a 5th (2:15 800), 8th (5:12 1600) and 1st (2:20 in 4x800) at State. Emily Scott didn’t run varsity in 2023 as a sophomore despite breaking 21:00 at Walnut Grove, but she was a mid-distance stud in the spring where she finished 4th (2:15 800) and 1st (2:16 in 4x800) at the State meet.
Olivia McKlem was MW’s third finisher in 2023 in 16th, and she ran 5:36 and 11:44 during the spring. Libby Frazer finished 23rd last fall as a freshman, was injured during the basketball season but is healthy again for the fall. If we went solely on last year’s State results, transfer Sadie Osher would slide into the 5th slot although her 5:26 and 11:34 PRs suggest that she may move up the roster. Returner Katelyn Sanne ran 1:05/2:30 this spring while Chaya Isaacson (39th in 2023) had an abbreviated track season. Incoming freshman Taia Green could also bolster an already-deep squad; last fall she placed 7th at the Junior High State XC meet, and this summer she ran 2:25 in the 800 plus converted times of 5:39 and 11:46 for her club team.
While Lincoln Southwest’s top returner is 19th-place Meredith Marsh, the track season suggests they’ll have a strong team. Marsh ran 5:25 and 11:25 this spring, while teammate Silvy Munn ran 5:22 and 11:26. Returner Mya Kafka ran 60.4 and 2:22 at State and Izzy Gilbertson posted PRs of 2:25 and 5:44 as a freshman. Olivia Myers had a solid track as a mid-distance runner (1:04, 2:35) and Megan Baugh posted PRs of 5:46 and 12:42. Lilly Kenning’s 2023 Class C runner-up time of 20:01 would have slotted her at 16th place in the Class A race, but she ran 2.5 hours later in hotter conditions and without nearby competitors to push her. She ran her best track times early in the season, posting 2:18 and 5:16, and her PRs are 2:15, 5:13 and 11:39 from her sophomore year. Assuming they’re all healthy, the trio of Marsh, Munn and Kenning could be a perfect training group that will pay dividends in October.
Lincoln East has won the last six consecutive State titles and could contend for a 7th if their younger runners make big strides this fall. The Spartans lost four of seven State competitors to graduation: Mia Murray, Peyton Svehla, Jordyn Wissing and Hadley Bailey. Sadie Yager (#33 below) is the top returner and she posted times of 2:31, 5:25 and 11:39 in the spring. Kadence Hurley set PRs of 5:27 and 11:48 while Ella Herzberg ran 2:33, 5:37 and 12:10. Look for Leighton Nyberg (PRs of 1:04, 2:32, 21:34), Amelia Schupbach (2:31) and about a dozen other girls to fight for a coveted spot on East’s varsity.
Papio LaVista returns four of seven State competitors including their two 2023 medalists, sophomore Gracie Suppes (#93 below) and junior Alexi Chadek (#88 above). Both excelled during the track season, with Suppes earning two 8th-place medals in the 800 and 1600 and running PRs of 2:16, 5:06 and 11:19. Chadek has season bests of 1:01 and 2:17 and was part of the 3rd-place 4x800 team with Suppes and two senior classmates. Annie Finneron was the 4th PLV finisher at State XC, and she ran PRs of 2:35 and 5:54 in the spring. Becca Campbell is the fourth returner, and she ran 60.3 and 2:28 during track. The Papio LaVista junior high XC programs have been developing some amazing talent the last few years, but the Monarchs may be a year away from an hugely-impactful freshman class.
Abbi Durow (Millard South) and Hope Riedel (LNS) are top returners. Abbigail is a high-level soccer player but has finished 8th and 7th in her first two State XC meets, and we’d expect her to run well this fall. Hope (#36 below) had PRs of 5:14 and 11:20 this spring and has been posting consistent mileage on Strava this summer. Charlotte Gregor (Omaha South senior) has finished 17th and 11th at State the past two years, and she’s showed consistent improvement on the track her first three years – from 5:28 to 5:26 to 5:18 and 12:10 to 11:51 to 11:25. Her continued improvement puts her on a great trajectory for a big senior year.
Speaking of strong soccer players, Mia Urosevich (Westside) finished 17th last year after a 7th place finish during her freshman year. At this point it’s unclear if she’ll return to XC or turn her focus to soccer. Westside graduated Claire White and Stella Miner but they return Eliana Wittmann (2:31, 5:33), Caitlin Steliga (5:51), and Violet Collins (2:37, 5:53, 12:16). Grace Volzke (#8 below) leads an Elkhorn South squad that graduated three of their top four finishers, but she had a strong freshman track season with a 5:24 PR at Districts. Teammate Nora Friesen also had a nice spring, with an PRs of 2:28 and 5:47 plus a State 4x800 split of 2:24. Elkhorn South should also return Alyssa Walker (2:37, 5:40) and Clarissa Schumacher (2:34, 5:36).
Kearney lost its 6th and 7th State finishers to graduation but returns as solid team. Abigail Burger (pictured below) medaled last October and followed up with a strong track season, setting PRs of 2:23 (State split), 5:21 and 11:17 (7th at State). Now-sophomore Augusta Ganz focused on middle distance in the spring with PRs of 59.67 and 2:19. Kearney is also expected to return 2023 State finishers Savannah Kelliher and Sophia Heacock, both of whom appeared to play soccer last spring. Claire Karjalainen is focused on soccer this fall so she won't be on the cross country team. We also see that Addison Garringer of Kearney was the 4th fastest 8th grader at the State Junior High XC meet, although we’re not sure if she’ll be competing at Kearney High.
One notable newcomer is Marian freshman Mabel Henningsen (#237 below). Mabel finished 3rd at the Junior High State XC meet held at Papio South. During the spring she ran 27.74 (indoors), 58.66, 2:22 and 5:10. Notably, her 5:10 PR is the third-fastest mark of any Class A girl competing this fall. I watched her win the 200 and 1600 at the same indoor meet last March, and I think she’ll adapt well to the 5k distance. Marian did not qualify for State last year but returns Nora Coffey (2:32 relay split), Lucy Ambrose (2:33, 5:55, 12:16), Maggie Lampert (2:37) and several other girls who made big gains during track season. At their time trial late last week, the top 10 finishers included two seniors, two juniors and six freshman, so Marian's success this season may depend heavily on the development of the incoming class.
The Class A coaches issued their pre-season rankings on August 23. The top ten:
The Nerds' Way-Too-Early team predictions:
Nerd Senior: Millard West, Lincoln Southwest, Lincoln East
Nerd Junior: Millard West, Lincoln Southwest, Kearney
Nerd the Third: Lincoln Southwest, Millard West, Papio LaVista
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First published at www.preprunningnerd.com by Jay Slagle on August 26, 2024. If you find an error, shoot us an e-mail at jayslagle@hotmail.com and we'll get it fixed.
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Finally, if you think runners, jumpers and throwers are the best things on earth, you'll enjoy our two most popular articles. In 2018 we published "The Runner with the Broken Heart" about a high school boy who finished last in nearly every race he ran. In 2022 we published, "The Fall and Rise of Emmett Hassenstab," a story about a high school triple jumper who became a quadrapalegic after a swimming accident.
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