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Contributor: The Nerd Sometimes the tank runs out At its core, cross country is a science experiment. The coach and athlete share the role of Victor Frankenstein, two mad scientists focused on creating the Creature. Over one season or an entire high school career, they tinker with the Creature to maximize the performance of the heart, lungs, and legs. They even dive into the soft sciences, tinkering with the Creature’s brain to create that perfect combination of motivation,

Contributor: The Nerd A nerd primer In case you're new to the Nerds, here's a quick review of who we are and what we do: We're a group of 40 or so volunteers who love Nebraka XC and T&F. We're mostly parents of current or former runners, but our ranks also include talented photographers ages 15 to 30 who want to use their creativity to support the running community. The Nerds began in Omaha but we've got Nerds in 25 different communities throughout Nebraska. Our main focus

Contributor: The Nerd Class D top returners ’25 State Finish, Name, ‘26 Grade, School, Track PRs 1, Avery Arens, 10, Crofton (2:18, 4:56, 10:31) 2, Delani Runnels, 12, Niobrara/Verdigre (1:01, 2:22, 5:03, 11:43) 3, Rarity Cournoyer, 12, Gordon-Rushville (2:22, 5:39, 12:25, not competing) 4, Sage Holtmeier, 11, Tri County (2:28, 5:28, 11:47) 5, Kayleigh Betka, 10, McCool Junction (2:23, 5:16, 11:37) 6, Reagan Moody, 10, Ainsworth (2:23, 5:26, 1

Contributor: The Nerd Class D top State returners ’25 State Finish, Name, ‘26 Grade, School, Track PRs 1, Kaser Johnson, 12, Doniphan-Trumbull (1:58, 4:17 mile, 9:27) 3, Colton Ham, 12, North Platte St. Patrick's (2:06, 4:23, 9:27) 5, Samuel Holsing, 12, Tri County (1:57, 4:29, 9:50) 7, Jaiden Anderson, 12, Archangels Catholic (2:16, 4:48, 10:16) 9, Sullivan Jackson, 12, Cornerstone Christian (2:12, 4:39) 10, Carter Hannon, 11, Doniphan-Trumb

Contributor: The Nerd Class C top returners ’25 State Finish, Name, ‘26 Grade, School, Track PRs 1, Scout Bell, 11, Gothenburg (2:33, 5:26, 11:35) 2, Tayla Hurner, 10, Wayne (2:22, 5:17, 11:11) 3, Jaelyn Witter, 12, Kearney Catholic (2:30, 5:19, 11:34) 4, Addison Hauxwell, 10, Chase County (5:20, 11:21) 5, Macie Carter, 10, Milford (2:28, 5:17, 11:37) 7, Emma Williams, 12, North Bend Central (2:26, 5:17, 11:39) 9, Adelyn Whitten, 10, Mind

Contributor: The Nerd Class C top State returners ’25 State Finish, Name, ‘26 Grade, School, Track PRs 1, Trevin Opp, 12, Lincoln Christian (1:53, 4:26, 9:29) 2, Tyler Hetz, 12, Gothenburg (1:59, 4:21, 9:51) 3, Bryson Neels, 11, Gothenburg (48.84, 1:53, 4:34) 4, Samuel McQuistan, 11, Holdrege (1:58, 4:21 mile) 11, Miles Clausen, 12, Battle Creek (1:58, 4:29, 9:52) 12, Christophe Widick, 12, Holdrege (1:58, 4:31, 9:50) 14, Amos Glenn, 11, Lin

Contributor: The Nerd Class B top returners ’25 State Finish, Name, ‘26 Grade, School, Track PRs 1, Cecilia Kramper, 12, Omaha Duchesne (4:57, 10:47) 2, Sophia Reynolds, 12, Hastings (59.54, 2:10, 5:01, 11:00) 3, Lucy Zabloudil, 12, Gretna (2:16, 5:05) 5, Haylen Holliday, 11, Seward (59.2, 2:15, 5:07) 8, Malia Woosley, 12, Lincoln Pius (2:24, 5:16, 11:16) 9, Kathryn Roberts, 12, Elkhorn (2:21, 5:23, 11:52) 11, Sierra Regan, 11, Gretna (2:2

Contributor: The Nerd Class B top State returners ’25 State Finish, Name, ‘26 Grade, School, Track PRs 3, Isac Portillo-Munoz, 12, Lexington (4:26, 9:33) 8, Samuel Schlautman, 12, Lincoln Pius (4:29, 9:39) 9, Jaxon Cushing, 11, Northwest (2:04, 4:32, 9:40) 11, Samuel Robinson, 12, Norris (52.08, 1:55, 4:40, 10:09) 12, Gavin Wemhoff, 11, Scottsbluff (1:57, 4:31) 14, Austin Koch, 12, Seward (1:57, 4:24, 9:54) 15, Ethan Smith, 12, Northwest (1:5

Contributor: The Nerd Class A top State returners ’25 State Finish, Name, ‘26 Grade, School, Track PRs 1, Emily Hegge, 10, Papio South (1:01, 2:18, 4:56, 10:37) 7, Ashlyn Carter, 12, Papio South (1:00, 2:16, 5:05) 8, Maya Freyer, 11, Omaha Marian (2:16, 5:04, 10:55) 9, Reese Lancaster, 10, Omaha Marian (no track times, out with injury) 11, Meredith Marsh, 12, Lincoln Southwest (2:23, 5:14, 10:59) 16, Hannah Soucie, 11, Lincoln Southwest (no trac

Contributor: The Nerd Class A top State returners ’25 State Finish, Name, ‘26 Grade, School, Track PRs 2, Aiden Gehring, 11, Papio South (1:54, 4:20, 9:27) 3, J'Shawn Afuh, 12, Lincoln North Star (1:54, 4:26) 4, Liam Gonzalez, 12, Norfolk (2:08, 4:32, 9:35) 6, Elijah Bickley, 12, Millard West (1:57, 4:24) 8, Isaiah Coleman, 12, Creighton Prep (4:29, 9:55) 11, Trey Crabtree, 12, Lincoln High (1:59, 4:25, 9:26) 12, Maddox Helgoth, 10, Kear

Contributor: The Nerd A few years ago, my daughter called in a panic to report that her parked car had been hit while she was at a friend’s house. The friend’s mother had hit our car when she was backing out of her garage, not expecting a car to be blocking her path so late at night. The mother was apologetic, and quickly offered to pay for any body shop repairs. We politely declined her offer. At the time, my daughter drove a 2001 Buick Century. It had a golf-ball sized hol

Contributor: The Nerd This is it. This is State week. We've reached that point in the season where we're fresh out of witty ideas, so we'll just stick with the facts in this Nerdsletter. Our goal is to better prepare you for the awesome spectacle at Burke so that you're invested in all four days as much as we are. If you need a little inspiration, we recommend reading one of our all-time favorites, 'No Room for Fear or Doubt.' NSAA website The NSAA website is the source f

C-1    JCC (Nerdfall) https://live.athletic.net/meets/72990 C-2    Louisville There are no live results from this District. Coach Tony Smith from David City Aquinas is texting us photos of results throughout the day. Girls SP Girls HJ Boys SP Boys HJ Girls discus Girls LJ Boys discus Boys LJ page 1 Boys LJ page 2 Girls PV Girls TJ page 1 Girls TJ page 2 Boys PV Boys TJ Girls 4x800 Girls 300H Boys 4x800 Boys 300H Girls 400 Girls 200 finalists Girls 200 finals Boys 400 Boys 2

D-1    Pawnee City (Nerdfall) http://www.lewistonsports.com/trackresults/pctrack/2026-05-13 D-2    Osceola, 9:00 https://live.athletic.net/meets/73187 D-3    Hartington https://results.hnscats.org/meets/70632 D-4    Rock County, 10:00/1:00 (Hurdle Nerd, Dancing Nerd) https://live.athletic.net/meets/72725 D-5    Burwell, 10:00/1:00 (Volley Nerd) https://live.athletic.net/meets/72746 D-6    Kenesaw, 10:00/1:30 https://live.athletic.net/meets/72408 D-7    Southern Valley, 11:00/

A-1    Fremont (Royal Nerd, Joyful Nerd) https://results.blacksquirreltiming.com/meets/73123 A-2    Millard South, 11:00/2:00 (Nerdfoot after 12:30) https://greenferret.anet.live/meets/70002 A-3    Lincoln High, 12:00/2:00 (Nerdtron) https://live.athletic.net/meets/70982 A-4    Omaha Burke, 12:00/2:00 (Nerdy by Nature, Mega Nerd) https://live.athletic.net/meets/73220 B-1    Gretna, 11:00/2:00 https://results.blacksquirreltiming.com/meets/73124 B-2    Elkhorn, 10:00/1:30 (Ner

Contributor: The Nerd With District meets starting on Tuesday, we're publishing this week's Nerdsletter early to make sure you're in the know. Leave no room for fear or doubt For many athletes, this week can be an exhaustive tour through self-doubt, anxiety and fear. We know that athletes perform best when they are confident, and that's the reason we wrote this article years ago. If your athlete is struggling with performance anxiety, pass along this article to them. How t

Contributor: The Nerd Each year there is considerable confusion among new varsity athletes and their parents about how athletes qualify for the Nebraska State track meet. In general, twenty-four (24) athletes qualify for individual events and sixteen (16) teams qualify in relays, but there are a number of caveats to those numbers. Here's a not-succinct summary. Class A In Class A there are FOUR district meets, and the top four athletes in each of the 14 individual events are

Contributor: The Nerd The wall Speaking for most of the Nerds, we've reached that point in the season where the sheer volume of meets and unedited photos is overwhelming the amount of time we have to devote to Nerding. Spouses, children and bosses are starting to complain about our lack of attention. I've got 10,000 photos from Saturday's Centennial meet to edit or delete, so this week's Nerdsletter will be a quick one. Sport parents, play your role With just over two week

Contributor: The Nerd 3rd. Fastest. Ever. Berlyn Schutz at 2023 State track meet This past weekend, in a field of mostly professional runners at the Drake Relays, UNL's Berlyn Schutz ran the mile in 4:27.30 to finish third. According to the UNL athletic department, this is the third fastest outdoor mile ever recorded by an NCAA female athlete. Cody Brousek of UNL referred me to the USTFCCA list, which reflects the top five all-time performers as: Silan Ayyildiz, Oregon (

Contributor: The Nerd The Nerd is on vacation Bryce Canyon's Queen's Garden trail and a rare Mrs. Nerd sighting My apologies for a weak Nerdsletter this week but I'm wrapping up a five-day tour of Utah national parks. If you haven't visited national parks, here are a few tips: Stay in shape as you get older. I saw far too many adults who couldn't fully enjoy the parks because they weren't fit enough. Go in the offseason. If you avoid out-of-school times, national parks ar