Fremont's three-time champion; Millard West ends the reign of Lincoln East

KEARNEY, Neb. – Juan Gonzalez joined the elite circle of three-time Class A champions and led Fremont back to the winning list.

The No. 9 runner in the country broke the meet record and was just one second away from tying the course record while re-establishing himself as an all-class gold medalist Friday at Kearney Country Club.

“I was afraid to come to the meeting. “We have some fast guys in Class B that would outrun each other,” Gonzalez said. “I had to be the guy to go out on my own and just follow.”

His 14:52.1 bested Class C Hartington gold medalist Carson Noecker's 14:58.3 in 2022 as Gonzalez won the first of his three Class A titles.

Noecker holds the course record of 14:51, which was Gonzalez's time goal for Friday.

“In the mile, I was almost 10 seconds behind Noecker (who set the record),” Gonzalez said. “I had a full tank. At the two mile, my coach told me I had a pretty good chance.

“I just missed it a little.”

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 on a tiebreaker – and extended its Class A record to 12 titles. Noah Miller was fifth, Michael Nichols was eighth and Jase Laday was eleventh.

There were now four three-time Class A boys champions. The others were Nate Nielsen of Lincoln Southeast, Colby Wissel of Kearney and Liem Chot of Lincoln North Star.

Gonzalez is being recruited by Oklahoma State, Oregon, Wake Forest and UNK.

Millard West joined Lincoln East as the last teams to become Class A girls state champions.

The Wildcats were the ones to end East's six-year streak on Friday.

They completed an undefeated season by winning three medals and placing all seven runners in the top 29 at Kearney Country Club.

Millard West's top finisher was Kate Ebmeier, who finished second by four seconds behind champion Abigail Burger of Kearney.

Litzey Fredette was sixth, Sadie Osher was 15th and Katelyn Sanne was 16th. Olivia McKlem, 25th, was her fifth runner.

“We have a really strong team. We have those seven, but we probably have 10 to 12 others that probably deserve to compete here as well,” West coach Colin Johnston said. “Just the fact that so many people cheer each other on every day wakes everyone up.

The Wildcats had 54 points to 93 for second-place Lincoln Southwest. Lincoln East finished eighth in a rebuilding season.

“Anytime there’s a team that’s kind of dominant, that’s going to raise everyone’s level,” Johnston said. “I mean, for six years in a row everyone has been working to take them out. And finally it happens.” .”

Burger was Kearney's first singles winner since Monica Erickson in 1998.

She fell at the start of the race.

“It was the combination of a tree root and another girl,” Burger said. “I got a few cuts on my knee, but I got back up.”

“As if there was no other option for my team and I.”

No one from Elkhorn North left Friday's state meet without two medals.

One for placing in the top 15 of the Class B race and a gold medal for winning the Wolves' first team championship.

Wolves sophomore Leah Robinson was runner-up and all-class gold medalist Kendall Zavala of Norris. Ella Ford, returning from injury, was eighth, Kailey O'Brien 10th, Paityn Christoffels 11th, Avery Melendrez 13th and Anna Ripley 15th.

They broke Norris' three-year lead to the team title.

“We just worked extra hard and were in a good mood because it’s our last years together,” Robinson said. “It was really good to do it with this group of girls, especially to have one last good run.”

Zavala and Atlee Wallman, both Titans seniors, were tied 1-2 for 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 set by Gretna's Mazie Larsen in 2006.

Elkhorn North and Norris, which trailed the Wolvers 26-32 on Friday, have hovered at the top of Class B all season. With wins at conference and state, the Wolves won the season series 4-2.

“They helped us a lot moving forward,” Robinson said. “Today I just remembered that we are all more than one and that we only thought about each other during the race.”

Stay tuned for more updates from the Nebraska High School State Cross Country meet