Contributors: The Nerd team
This is our first 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:
3, Anna Fitzgerald, 12, Doniphan-Trumbull, 20:20.5 (Not competing)
5, Peyton Paxton, 12, Mullen, 20:47.4
6, Delani Runnels, 10, Niobrara/Verdigre, 20:47.8
7, Dakota Horstman, 11, Hemingford, 21:01.2
8, Sawyer Benne, 12, Lincoln Lutheran, 21:06.3 (to Class C)
9, Angela Frick, 11, North Central, 21:16.1
10, Emma Kennedy, 12, Ainsworth, 21:33.1
11, Ashley Robertson, 12, Wallace, 21:34.8
12, Aurora Hinman, 12, Hemingford, 21:36.6
13, Sophia Wortmann, 11, Crofton, 21:42.4
14, Cecilia Barron, 12, Morrill, 21:44.2
15, Trinity Buss, 10, Freeman, 21:49.7
17, Hadley Walsh, 11, Pender, 21:52.7
18, Lilly Harris, 11, Homer, 21:55.1
19, Kyla Krusemark, 12, Pender, 21:57.3
22, Corbett Lanum, 11, Omaha Brownell Talbot, 22:12.3
24, Rylie Arens, 12, Crofton, 22:21.3
25, Megan Breitbarth, 10, Pender, 22:23.5
26, Mazzy Kuchar, 10, Elkhorn Valley, 22:29.8
27, Zoe Johnson, 10, Brady, 22:33.5
28, Carolyn Magnusson, 11, Oakland-Craig, 22:41.0
29, Mateline Lyions, 12, Ravenna, 22:43.3
30, Callie Fisher, 11, Lutheran High Northeast, 22:48.0
31, Cicely Gugelman, 11, Elm Creek, 22:49.2
32, Isabelle Peters, 11, Tri County, 22:51.3
33, Harper Andersen, 10, Mullen, 22:51.5
34, Adalena Hampton, 10, Mullen, 22:52.1
35, Riley Hegland, 10, Mullen, 22:54.1
38, Leah Dawson, 10, McCool Junction, 23:04.1
39, Jala Krusemark, 12, Pender, 23:07.3
41, Addie Edson, 10, Nebraska Christian, 23:12.2
42, Daphne Smith, 11, Deshler, 23:12.2
44, Madison Vanlaningham, 11, JCC, 23:15.4 (to Class C)
45, Macy Olsen, 10, Blue Hill, 23:16.7
46, Morgan Supik, 12, Fullerton, 23:17.6
47, Avery Stritt, 12, Axtell, 23:18.8
48, Josey Moore, 11, Ravenna, 26 23:19.8
49, Ella Cool, 12, South Loup (Callaway/Arnold), 23:22.5
50, Teegen Hasebroock, 11, Elkhorn Valley, 23:22.9
Top teams in 2023:
1. Hemingford, 33 points (4 of 5 2023 State runners return)
2. Ainsworth, 36 points (2)
3. Crofton, 39 points (3)
4. Pender, 46 points (5)
5. Mullen, 54 points (4)
Ten medalists return in the Class D girls competition but we’ll be without the top four finishers from 2023 as well as 8th-place Sawyer Benne, whose Lincoln Lutheran squad moves up to Class C. Despite those losses, Class D has a ton of talent and offers perhaps the most competitive team race of the eight divisions.
Hemingford is a two-time defending champion and is only missing their third scorer from the 2023 State squad. They return two medalists, Dakota Horstman (#659 below) and Aurora Hinman. Dakota posted times of 5:43 and 12:30 during the spring while Aurora stuck with sprints and hurdles. Teagen Thompson and Serenity Dillard also return, so Hemingford just needs one of them to step up to be competitive. Hemingford may also be adding, among others, freshmen Ainslee Woltman and Desilee Hinman, who both had successful junior high XC careers.
Pender was our pick for the 2023 title but they were sidetracked by the heat and a few bad breaks. They return all of their 2023 squad – Hadley Walsh (below), Kyla and Jala Krusemark, Megan Breitbarth and Clara Finkral. This spring Hadley had PRs of 5:35 and 12:31 plus State T&F medals in the 1600, 3200 and 4x800. All but Finkral joined her on the 2nd-place 4x800 team. Kyla posted PRs of 60.82 and 2:25 and finished 5th in the State 800. Jala posted PRs of 63.32 and 2:29, and Megan ran 4:46 and 12:34.
Mullen returns four of five girls from the 2023 squad, led by Peyton Paxton (below). She’s finished 3rd, 13th and 5th the past three years - and she's earned eight State medals in track. She’s been remarkably consistent in the 1600 and 3200, earning four 2nd-place medals, one 3rd and one 5th. Could this be the season she nabs her first gold? Teammates Harper Anderson (2:27, 7th place State), Adalena Hampton (71.3, 6:17) and Riley Hegland (2:41) finished 33rd, 34th and 35th last year and give Mullen a chance even if one of them has a bad day.
Delani Runnels of Niobrara-Verdigre had a phenomenal freshman season. Meet results in Northeast Nebraska can be hard to find but we believe her 6th-place finish at State was the first time she hadn’t won a meet all season. She carried the momentum into track season and crushed it during the State meet, finishing 1st in the 3200 (11:51), 2nd in the 1600 (5:28), 3rd in the 800 (2:24) and 3rd in the 4x400.
Ashley Robertson of Wallace had a pretty good State track meet too. On Day 1 she finished 7th in the 4x800 (2:33 split) and 5th in the 3200 (12:36) before shocking the Nerds (and possibly herself) on Day 2 by winning the 1600 in 5:28. Her 5:28 was 19-second PR over the time she’d run at Districts the previous week. She’s got championship blood in her veins: brother Trey won a State XC title in his only year competing plus three State titles on the track. Will Ashley’s 1600 title propel her to greater success in XC? We’ll find out soon.
Emma Kennedy of Ainsworth placed 12th as freshman and 10th as a junior. She set PRs of 5:40 and 12:21 last spring. Ainsworth has a tough XC schedule against the likes of North Central, West Holt, McCook, Gothenburg and Crofton, so she’ll be battle tested by October.
Speaking of Crofton, three-time winner Jordyn Arens has graduated but they bring back medalist Sophia Wortmann (#637 below), Rylie Arens and Emily Guenther. Rylie posted solid marks in the spring, with PRs of 2:28 and 5:46. Emily focused on sprints and the discus during the spring, just as she did during her freshman year.
Angela Frick (#684 below) of North Central has been a consistent performer her first two years of high school, placing 6th and 9th at State XC. She brings in PRs of 2:31 and 5:43 from her freshman year, and she qualified for State in the 1600 and 3200 this past May.
Other runners of note:
Cecilia Barron of Morrill has placed 14th the past two years at the State XC meet. She posted PRs of 5:50 and 12:27 during the track season.
We elevated Trinity Buss of Freeman to our watch list in the last Nerd ranking before State, and she came through with a 15th-place finish. She finished her freshman year with PRs of 6:08 and 13:37; as a bonus, she jumped 9-00 in the pole vault.
Homer's Lilly Harris, the daughter of Nor’Easter Nerd, finished 12th at State XC as a freshman before finishing 18th last year. She hit her stride during the track season, finishing 7th at State in the 3200 (12:29) and setting a 1600 PR the following day with her 5:45.
Corbett Lanum of Brownell-Talbot finished 22nd last fall but her 12:05 PR is the third-fastest 3200 PR among returners, just behind Runnels (11:51) and Paxton (12:04). She finished 6th in the Class C 3200 at State with a 12:25.
Isabelle Peters of Tri County finished 7th at State XC as a freshman but struggled to 32nd last fall. She bounced back in a big way during the track season, running PRs of 2:29, 5:38 and 12:12. The 12:12 earned her a 4th-place finish in the Class C 3200.
Like a number of other top runners who suffered from the heat, Leah Dawson of McCool Junction ran her worst race of the 2023 XC season at the State meet, finishing roughly two minutes slower than her three previous outings. She acquitted herself well during her freshman track season, running 2:35, 5:39 (7th at State) and 12:38 (4th at State). She’ll be a solid medal contender.
Heartland High School in Henderson had two of the faster 3200 girls in Class D last spring. As freshmen, Tara Buzek ran 12:31 and Madalyn Janzen ran 12:36. Unfortunately, Henderson does not appear to have a cross country program.
We've heard good things about Sandy Creek freshman Madison Shaw. She posted times of 58.15, 2:25 and 5:20 at the Junior High State meet in Gothenburg, placing 2nd in all three events, and she added a 4th silver on Sandy Creek's 4x400 team. While Sandy Creek's squad is small, Madison may be a medal contender this fall.
Hastings St. Cecilia adds two new faces this fall that could be medal contenders. Junior Emery Vargas has played softball the past two autumns while running track in the spring. She has PRs of 2:30, 5:46 and 12:00 from her freshman year, and we're excited to see what she can accomplish with an extended training period. Freshman Lily Daly posted marks of 2:40 and 5:55 last spring. If they're able to add a third high finisher, they could be in the mix for a top-5 team finish.
Way-Too-Early team predictions:
Nerd Senior: Pender, Hemingford, Mullen
Nerd Junior: Pender, Mullen, Hemingford
Nerd the Third: Hemingford, Pender, Crofton
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First published at www.preprunningnerd.com by Jay Slagle on August 20, 2024. If you find an error, shoot us an e-mail at jayslagle@hotmail.com and we'll get it fixed.
Like this coverage of the Nebraska cross country scene? There's more of this at www.preprunningnerd.com. Check out the Blog tab for our frequent stories and and the Results tab for every Nebraska high school meet we can find. If you want to see meet photos or just need to kill a few hours on social media, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @PrepRunningNerd or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/preprunningnerd.
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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