By james art From a new three-year champion to the end of a six-year reign, here’s what happened at the 2024 Nebraska high school cross country state meet.
Fremont’s Juan Gonzalez becomes a three-time champion
KEARNEY, Neb. — Juan Gonzalez joined the elite circle of three-time Class A champions as he led Fremont back to the winner’s stand.
The nation’s No. 9 runner broke the meet record and was 1 second away from tying the course record as he repeated as the all-around gold medalist Friday at Kearney Country Club.
“I was worried about coming to the meeting. We’ve got some fast guys in Class B that would go head-to-head,” Gonzalez said. “I had to be the guy that goes out on my own and just goes after it.”
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His 14:52.1 bettered 2022 Class C Hartington gold medalist Carson Nocker’s 14:58.3 as Gonzalez won the first of his three Class A titles.
Noecker holds the course record of 14:51, which was Gonzalez’s goal for Friday.
“At the mile, I was almost 10 seconds off where Noecker was (setting the record),” Gonzalez said. “I had a full tank. At two miles my coach told me I had a pretty good shot at it.
“Just a little short.”
Fremont had four medalists, all in the top 11, as it won Class A for the fourth time in five years — last year’s title was lost in a tiebreaker — while extending its Class A record to 12 titles. Noah Miller was fifth, Michael Nichols eighth and Jace Leiday 11th.
There are now four three-time Class A boys champions. The others were Lincoln Southeast’s Nate Nielsen, Kearney’s Colby Wissel and Lincoln North Star’s Liem Chot.
Gonzalez has been recruited by Oklahoma State, Oregon, Wake Forest and UNK.
Millard West ends Lincoln East’s six-year championship streak
Millard West was the last team other than Lincoln East to become the Class A girls state champion.
It was the Wildcats who ended East’s six-year streak on Friday.
They completed an undefeated season, earning three medals and placing all seven competitors in the top 29 at Kearney Country Club.
Millard West’s top finisher was Kate Ebmeyer, runner-up to champion Abigail Burger of Kearney by four seconds.
Litzey Fredette was sixth, Sadie Osher 15th and Katelyn Sanne 16th. Olivia McClem, in 25th place, was their fifth entrant.
“We have a really deep team. We have those seven, but we probably have 10 to 12 others that probably deserve to be here as well,” West coach Colin Johnston said. “Just having so many people just pushing each other every day just lifts everyone up.
The Wildcats had 54 points to 93 for second-place Lincoln Southwest. Lincoln East, in a rebuilding season, was eighth.
“Anytime there’s a team that’s kind of dominant, it’s going to raise everybody’s level,” Johnston said. .”
Burger was Kearney’s first individual winner since Monica Erickson in 1998.
At the beginning of the race, she fell.
“It was the combination of a tree root and another girl,” Burger said. “I got a few cuts on my knee but I got up.
“It was like there was no other option for my team and for me.”
Lots of medals for Elkhorn North
No one from Elkhorn North left Friday’s state meet without two medals.
One for being in the top 15 at the Class B event and one, a gold medal, for the Wolves, winning their first team championship.
Wolves sophomore Leah Robinson was the runner-up behind multiple champion and all-class gold medalist Kendall Zavala of Norris. Ella Ford, who returned from injury, was eighth, Kaylee O’Brien was 10th, Patyn Christoffels 11th, Avery Melendrez 13th and Anna Ripley 15th.
They ended Norris’ three-year hold on the tag team title.
“We just worked really hard and got drafted because these are our last years together,” Robinson said. “It was really good to do it with this group of girls, especially to get one last good run.”
Zavala and Atlee Wallman, both seniors for the Titans, were 1-2 through the first two miles before Robinson got between them. Zavala’s time of 18:23.9 broke the Class B meet record of 18:32.5 held by Maisie Larsen of Gretna in 2006.
Elkhorn North and Norris, who trailed the Wolvers 26-32 on Friday, have gone back and forth atop Class B all season. With conference and state wins, the Wolves won the season series 4-2.
“They helped push us a lot,” Robinson said. “Today we just remembered that we are all bigger than one and just thought of each other during the race.”
Stay tuned for more news from the Nebraska high school cross country meet
