Contributors: The Nerd team
This is the second 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.
In contrast to senior-heavy Class A, the youngsters ruled the roost in the Class D boys race in 2023. Twelve of fifteen 2023 medalists return in 2024 and the competition should be excellent.
Top returners from 2023 State meet with current season grade levels listed:
1, Mason McGreer, 12, Perkins County, 16:46.6
2, Elijah Goodell, 10, Perkins County, 16:54.7
4, Jacob Swanson, 11, Nebraska Christian, 17:09.7
5, Jobjosiah Muthiani, 12, Freeman, 17:14.5
6, Kaser Johnson, 10, Doniphan-Trumbull, 17:16.4
7, Dawson Meyer, 12, Oakland-Craig, 17:24.9
9, Porter Connick, 12, NPSP, 17:34.6
10, Coltan Ham, 10, NPSP, 17:34.9
11, Dimitri Pettit, 11, NPSP, 17:36.8
13, Andrew Martin, 12, West Holt, 17:39.4
14, Tice Yost, 12, Doniphan-Trumbull, 17:40.5
15, Joshua (Trace) Bislow, 12, Franklin, 17:45.2
16, Kael Garrett, 11, Medicine Valley, 17:46.4
17, Nicholas Milner, 12, Cornerstone Christian, 17:52.8
19, Brady Troxel, 12, Freeman, 18:05.7
21, Samuel Holsing, 10, Tri County, 18:07.0
23, Benjamin Nelson, 11, Boyd County, 18:10.1
24, Carter Trambly, 11, Franklin, 18:12.8
26, Conner Rohrer, 11, Creighton, 18:14.8
29, Noah Fischer, 12, Nebraska Christian, 18:25.5
30, Marcus Hernandez, 12, Bertrand/Loomis, 18:28.1
31, Luke Laws, 10, Gordon-Rushville, 18:29.5
34, Kellen Medina, 12, Santee, 51 18:38.8
36, Sullivan Jackson, 10, Cornerstone Christian, 18:41.8
37, Luc Lopez, 12, Axtell, 51 18:42.7 (not competing)
38, Adam Lukert, 12, Thayer Central, 18:43.3
42, Darian Dorsey, 10, Gibbon, 18:46.4
44, Jeremiah Whalen, 12, Cornerstone Christian, 18:47.5
45, Ethan Zeisler, 11, Boyd County, 18:50.0
46, Austin Benda, 10, Hemingford, 18:50.6
47, Parker Wellnitz, 11, Hay Springs, 18:55.6
48, Boady Hunter, 12, Hemingford, 18:56.4
49, Charles Steffen, 11, Crofton, 19:01.5
Top teams in 2023:
1. North Platte St. Pat’s, 18 points (3 of 5 2023 State runners return)
2. Freeman, 36 points (3)
3. Doniphan-Trumbull, 50 points (4)
4. Axtell, 51 points (2)
5. Perkins County, 57 points (5)
As a reminder, Class D teams run five athletes and score the top three. As a result, there’s a high premium placed on the third runner, and the depth at North Platte St. Pat’s (NPSP) was so deep that the 2023 team rested its top and slightly-ill runner (Jarrett Miles) at the District meet. NPSP is a favorite again in 2024 with three 2023 medalists returning. The three returners look strong in the spring: Colton Ham ran 4:36 (8th at State) and 10:05 (3rd), Porter Connick (#823 below) ran 2:15 and 5:07, and Dimitri Pettit (#826 below) ran 2:03 and 4:52.
Perkins County returns the top two runners in Class D – Mason McGreer and Elijah Goodell. Mason continued his dominance in the spring, winning the Class C 1600 (4:28) and 3200 (10:01) and finishing 2nd in the 800 (1:58). During the 2023/2024 academic year, Mason lost just one race - the State 800 when he finished 2nd. Like most undersized freshmen, Elijah didn’t find as much success on the track but still set PRs of 5:01 and 10:16 (9th at State). We expect both boys to be in the top five again and they just need that third finisher in the top 25 to take a stab at the team title. Of the three other returners, Brock Tines had the best spring, running a 2:06 split at the State meet where Perkins County finished third.
Freeman returns two top-50 performers including Jobjosiah Muthiani, who earned two Class C track medals at Burke when he set PRs of 4:36 and 10:10. Teammate Brady Troxel also had a productive track season, setting PRs of 4:49 and 10:45. The third returner, Emmanuel Muthiani, had PRs of 2:14 and 5:14 and should improve upon his 79th-place finish in 2023. Luke Van Cott did not earn a spot on the 2023 State squad but he ran a 2:09 800 split at State and ran 5:31 in his only 1600 race.
Kaser Johnson of Doniphan-Trumbull had a breakout freshman year in 2023/2024, spending five weeks in Nerd rankings before his surprising sixth-place finish. He set PRs of 2:18, 4:57 and 11:08 during track season. Teammate Tice Yost, also a 2023 medalist, posted times of 2:04 (split), 4:45 and 10:23 and qualified for State in the 3200. Jacob Zakrzewski was 68th at 2023 State and then posted times of 2:06 (split) and 4:46 during track. The fourth returner, Rylen Soundy, set PRs of 2:21, 5:24 and 11:26 in May.
Jacob Swanson of Nebraska Christian has finished 5th and 4th at State XC in his first two years of high school. He finished 2nd in the Class D 1600 (4:36) and 3200 (10:15) after posting a 2:04 4x800 split, so we’re pretty sure he’s going to add to the seven State medals he already owns. Teammate Noah Fischer has a been a reliable training partner and high finisher; Noah clocked a 2:08 split and 4:48 1600 at the State meet. Luke Powell (5:07, 11:23 PRs) and Everett Hunnicutt (5:12, 11:13) are also expected to return.
Cornerstone Christian, the 2022 State champion, returns three top-50 runners. Nicholas Miner narrowly missed a State XC medal before running 2:14, 4:58 and 10:21 during the spring. Sullivan Jackson posted a 10:33 PR in the spring while Jeremiah Whalen is a returner who appears to play another sport in the spring.
Other runners of note:
Dawson Meyer of Oakland Craig finished 7th last fall. He qualified for State T&F in the 400 and 800, and finished the season with PRs of 51.68 and 2:02.25.
Drew Martin of West Holt, 13th in 2023, had PRs of 2:06 (split) and 4:36 during track season.
Trace Bislow, 15th in 2023, and Carter Trambly (24th), are the two returners for a Franklin team that placed 6th last year. Trace ran 4:50 and 10:36 at State, earning a 5th place finish in the 3200. Carter set PRs of 5:17 and 10:52 this spring.
Kael Garrett of Medicine Valley was one spot from a medal at the 2023 State XC meet. He came back with a vengeance during the State track meet earning medals in the 800 (2:02, 6th), 1600 (4:41, 4th) and 3200 (10:25, 3rd).
Samuel Holsing of Tri-County posted a 10:26 3200 this spring as a freshman, the 14th-fastest time in Class C among non-seniors. Only two underclassmen posted faster times in Class D last spring.
Triston Owens of Homer won the Open title at the Junior High State XC meet last October. While it can be a difficult transition for boys to move from junior high to high school, there was no shortage of Class D freshmen who made an impact last year.
Way-Too-Early team predictions:
Nerd Senior: NPSP, Perkins County, Freeman
Nerd Junior: Perkins County, NPSP, Freeman
Nerd the Third: Freeman, NPSP, Perkins County
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First published at www.preprunningnerd.com by Jay Slagle on August 21, 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.