05/19/26 Nerdsletter

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 for most of the information you need this week. At https://nsaahome.org/track-field/ - under the State Championships section, this page has the meet schedule, ticket information, heat sheets, information on the shuttle bus and parking, and links to live results. There is a separate page called the NSAA Track and Field HQ but it provides less info than the link above.

A/B live results: https://results.blacksquirreltiming.com/meets/72610

C/D live results: https://results.blacksquirreltiming.com/meets/72612

State records: https://secure.nsaahome.org/nsaaforms/tr/staterecords.php is the NSAA link but it never displays correctly on my phone. I would suggest you use our rankings spreadsheet at https://www.preprunningnerd.com/rankings where we list the records and 15 top performers this season for each event and each Class. If I find time, I'll also add the State meet records to this spreadsheet.

Television coverage

News Channel Nebraska provided live coverage of the Junior High State meet in Gothenburg this past weekend, running a four-screen presentation when there were simultaneous events being held. I was tagged on an X post that announced that they will have live coverage of the State high school meet all four days; you can find more information at https://northeast.newschannelnebraska.com/story/275839012/news-channel-nebraska-to-televise-championship-days-of-nsaa-state-track-meet. They have over-the-air, cable TV (including Cox and Spectrum) and NCN app options for viewing; if you want to stream it, it appears that you'll have to buy the NFHS subscription. I watched the junior high meet on my 26" computer monitor for a few hours on Saturday and could not figure out if there was a way to cut down the view to one screen, so I'm not sure whether watching the NCN feed on a phone will be feasible.

Potential 3x and 4x medalists

Here's our best shot at analyzing the athletes with the best chance of heading home with at least three gold medals:

Class A

• Tyler Smith, Lincoln North Star - Tyler (#2 above) comes into State with the 3rd fastest 1600 (4:22.49), the fastest 3200 (9:20.41), and he's a member of the top-ranked 4x800 squad (7:51.38). Or is it:

  
  

• Josiah Bitker, Lincoln North Star - The reigning Class A XC champ (#1 above) enters State with the fastest 1600 (4:17.85), the 13th fastest 3200 (9:45.85) in his only 3200 this spring, and he's also on the 4x800 team. He had a tough early season as he was coming back from a minor injury, but he has the experience to drop a big time in the 3200. Or is it:

  
  

• Aiden Gehring, Papio South - Aiden has the second fastest time in Class A in the 800, 1600 and 3200 (1:54.69, 4:20.36 and 9:28.17), and he was a member of the Papio South squad who ran a 7:58 at the Metro meet. However, he's not listed on the 4x800 heat sheet, so he may be fresher than Bitker and Smith for the 3200 later on Wednesday. Aiden's performance will be a major factor for Papio South's chances at a team title.

  
  

• Pierce Parker, Bellevue West - The Colorado State commit is currently ranked 2nd in the long jump (24-00), 1st in the triple jump (48-03.50) and tied for 3rd in the high jump (6-06). He's also a member of the top-ranked 4x400 team. He'll have both the high jump and triple jump at 9:30 on Wednesday morning, so we'll know pretty quickly whether three golds is a possibility.

Class B

Braxton Badman (324), Waverly, 2025 State 110H finals

• Braxton Badman, Waverly - Braxton comes into the meet with the Class B lead in both hurdles races and he's the Class B State record holder in the 110 hurdles. He'll also be competing in the 4x100 relay where Waverly is ranked 2nd just behind Norris.

  
  

• David Krier, Lincoln Pius - David is ranked 1st in the 1600 (4:17.87) and 3200 (9:14.64), 3rd in the 800 (1:55.32), and Pius' season-best mark in the 4x800 is eight seconds better than the 2nd-ranked team. The 800 will be the deepest field he'll face but the 1600 field has six sub-4:25 guys and the 3200 is no cake walk. The UNL recruit will have to be at his best to earn three or four golds.

Class C

Avery Arens

• Avery Arens, Crofton - Avery has smashed the Class C 1600 (4:54.84 mile) and 3200 (10:31.60) records, has the top Class C 800 time with a 2:18.81, and her 4x800 squad is ranked 4th. The big drama here may be whether she can break the Class C 800 record of 2:14.35 set by Jordan Metzler of Wakefield in 2023.

  
  

• Hazel Haarberg, Kearney Catholic - Hazel has set the All-Class record in the 100 (11.54) and 200 (23.54) this season, and the Kearney Catholic 4x100 team is ranked 2nd behind West Holt. She'll also compete in the long jump where she's ranked 10th.

  
  

• Beau Fujan, Bishop Neumann - Beau holds the Class C records in the 110 hurdles and 200, he's ranked second in the 400 behind Class C record holder Brody Galyen of West Holt, and he's ranked third in the 100. However, Beau bypassed the 100 and 400 at Districts in favor of the 4x100 (ranked 4th) and the 4x400 (ranked 8th). Conversely, despite Brody Galyen having the fastest 200 time (not wind-legal) this season and a member of the top-ranked 4x400 team, the heat sheets for State reflect that Galyen is only running the 400 at State. He is likely listed as an alternate for their 4x400 team.

Class D

Abigael Spargo at DCS Twilight meet, 5/8

• Abigael Spargo, Dundy County - Oh, to be Abigael Spargo. She is ranked in the top two in Class D in SEVEN events. This season she has the fastest mark in the 100 hurdles (14.91), the 300 hurdles (43.85, a State record) and the 400 (56.10), plus the second-fastest mark in the 100 (12.14) and 200 (25.05). Her 4x100 and 4x400 teams also has the fastest time in the Class D. She's skipping the 100, 200 and 400, where sister and NAU commit Clara Spargo is ranked 4th, 3rd and 3rd, respectively, as she returns from an early-season injury.

  
  

• Taylor McIntyre, Central Valley - The senior has the fastest times in the 100 (11.85) and 200 (24.94), and she's got the top marks in the long jump (17-08) and triple jump (36-11.75). Barring a huge surprise, she's our best bet for a four-gold winner.

  
  

• Kayleigh Betka, McCool Junction - She finished 5th in Class at the State XC champs, and the four girls ahead of her are competing in Class C in T&F. She's the Class D leader in the 1600 (5:16.12) and 3200 (11:46.61), and McCool Junction has the top-ranked 4x800 team (10:05). She's also running on the McJ 4x400 squad, which is ranked 4th behind Dundy County Stratton.

Team races

Our rankings spreadsheet at https://www.preprunningnerd.com/rankings includes by-Class team projections based on the best marks of the season. Of course, not every athlete will post their best mark of the season at State, so it's a rough estimate at best. Our calculator reflects the following:

Class A boys

Creighton Prep and Papio South are expected to have a tight race. Ethan Laux of Prep comes into the meet with the top times in both hurdles races while Papio South's Aiden Gehring could pick up more than 20 points in the three distance races. Prep has 30 State qualifiers and needs about half of them to score to give the team a chance at the title. Papio South's Dallas Davison could earn the Titans some big points in the sprints and long jump. If either of these teams doesn't perform well, Bellevue West (Pierce Parker, Treshawn Finley) and Omaha Westside (Maurice Purify and Will Urosevich) could make some noise.

Class A girls

This should be a two-team race between Papio South and Kearney. Papio South is led by freshman Emily Hegge, who is favored to win the 1600 and 3200, while Kearney should earn quite a few points in the throws and middle distance. Papio South won the 2025 team title by one point with crazy depth across nearly all events, and that will be the recipe for success for this year's winner.

Class B boys

Waverly and Lincoln Pius will duke it out for the title. Our projection says that Pius will score all 49 of its points in the four distance events, while Waverly's leading scorers are expected to be Braxton Badman (hurdles) and Jared Schroeder (distance). If Pius gets points from anyone besides David Krier, Joe Majerus and the 4x800 team, that's a good sign. If Krier and Majerus run as well as we expect, Waverly may need its 4x400 squad to pull out the victory.

Class B girls

Waverly is the leader in our projections with 56 points, led by Emma Steffensen. The UNL commit is the top-ranked athlete in the 800 and 1600 by a solid margin, and she's ranked 5th in the 400. Gretna, Elkhorn and Bennington are all within striking distance, with injuries playing a key role in the title hunt.

Class C boys

This team race should be a toss-up between Chase County, Doniphan-Trumbull and Battle Creek. Chase County should get most of their points from three athletes: Noah Rau in the throws, Lukas Fries in hurdles and Tate Hubbard in the pole vault. Doniphan-Trumbull counters with Jake Poppe in the horizontal jumps, defending Class D XC champ Kaser Johnson in the distance events, and their relay teams. Battle Creek will need points across the spectrum from sprinter Andy Ricchio, distance man Miles Clausen, high jumper Breylin Witzel and their traditionally-strong 4x100 and 4x400 teams. Bishop Neumann and West Holt look good in our projections but those reflect points for races that Beau Fujan (Neumann) and Brody Galyen (West Holt) aren't competing in at State.

Class C girls

Two-time defending champ Kearney Catholic is the clear favorite in this team race powered by Jaelyn Witter (3x track medalist, 2x XC medalist) and UNL commits Alyssa Onnen (pole vault, horizontal jumps) and Hazel Haarberg (all-Class 100/200 record holder). Bishop Neumann and West Holt should have a good battle for second place. Nearly all of Bishop Neumann's points will come from Kerstyn Chapek in the sprints, Aubrey Fujan in the hurdles, and their 4x400 team. West Holt's points are spread out over more events, led by their relays and 400/800 runner Pavan Larson. Avery Arens of Crofton should sweep the three distance events and help her team medal in the 4x800, but that should not be enough to sneak into the top three.

Class D boys

Dundy County Stratton is a heavy favorite to repeat as champions, powered by hurdler Kevin Garcia Guzman, top-ranked thrower Brock Bailey, jumper Ethan Latta and their sprint relay teams. Anselmo-Merna should have a comfortable path to second place if sprinter/jumper Colin Wright, horizontal jumper Trevor Duryea and their 4x100 team perform as expected.

Class D girls

Dundy County Stratton is also the defending champion in this division and is a heavy favorite to win again. Our projected points for DCS are overstated because it reflects Abigael Spargo's performances this season in seven events when she's only allowed to compete in four; despite that, DCS should still win by 30 points. Kennedy Bailey of DCS has the State record in the discus and is a slight favorite in the shot put, and NAU commit Clara Spargo has returned from an early-season injury and should be in her best form of the spring for the 200 and 400 (she set both State records in 2025) plus the sprint relays. McCool Junction and Central Valley will vie for second place in opposite ways; nearly all of McJ's points will be from the four distance events while Central Valley's hopes will rely on Taylor McIntyre's pursuit of four gold medals and strong results from the sprint relays.

Best chances for a State record

Ignoring the athletes listed at the end of this Nerdsletter who have already set records this year, here are a few records that may be in jeopardy:

• Robert Rands of Bellevue East has held the Class A and All-Class State long jump record of 25-02.25 since 2005 when he broke the record of 24-10 set by Gale Sayers in 1961. Both of those marks were technically set indoors. Maurice Purify (24-07) of Omaha Westside and Pierce Parker (24-00) of Bellevue West are within sniffing distance of this iconic record. However, let's not forget about Cozad's Chayden Hoffmaster, who holds the Class B record of 24-05.50 from the UNK indoor meet on March 20.

  
  

• The Lincoln Pius boys 4x800 team is less than a second from the Class B record of 7:49.18 set by Omaha Skutt in 2013. A win is almost assured in the event, so the question is whether the team will go after the record given that for team standings they need David Krier and Joseph Majerus to perform well in the 3200 a few hours later.

  
  

• Aaliyah Perry, a sophomore at Millard North, triple jumped 41-05.75 two weeks ago and could threaten the Class A mark of 42-04 set by Omaha North's LaQue Moen-Davis in 2010. Aaliyah has only competed in the triple jump in six meets this season so it would not be surprising if she pops a big jump at State.

  
  

• Niles Medcalf of Lincoln Southeast has run a 47.11 400 this year, just off the 2006 All-Class record of 46.98 set by Lukas Hulett of Bellevue East in 2006.

  
  

• Addison Darnell of Auburn has run a wind-ineligible 100 hurdle time of 14.29 this year, faster than the current record of 14.39 set by Kelsey Miller of Seward in 2025. Addison finished second behind Miller last year and won her District last week without a mark when the timing system failed midrace; the finish line video was used to award her first place. Due to the lack of a seed time, she'll be running in lane 8 in the first heat of prelims on Wednesday. Addison could also threaten the Class B 300 hurdles mark of 43.45 set by Shadyn Rasby in 2025.

  
  

• Landri Gates of Norris had an indoor long jump of 19-03.25 this season; in her six meets this year, her worst finish was 18-04.50. Look for her to challenge the 2013 Class B mark of 19-06.50 set by Tierra Williams of Auburn.

  
  

• Speaking of Tierra Williams, her Class B record of 39-04 from 2013 is also under threat from Mariah Shepherd of Holdrege. Maria had a wind-ineligible mark of 39-04.50 at Districts.

  
  

• Simply because we want to glorify the Slagle name, we're rooting for Jayden Slagle of Aurora to break the Class B triple jump record of 50-02.25 set by Holdrege's Todd Brown in 1978. Jayden had a wind-propelled 49-06.50 mark at Districts and has gone over 48-00 at one other meet this season.

  
  

• Jack Poppe of Doniphan-Trumbull has recorded a wind-ineligible long jump of 23-09.75 this season, longer than the Class C record of 23-08.50 set by Seth Wiedel of Thayer Central in 2010.

  
  

• Ogallala moved from Class B to Class C this season, so Class B 300H record holder Shadyn Rasby should have a chance to challenge the Class C 300 hurdles record of 43.29 set by Ashleigh Carr of Oakland-Craig in 2015. Shadyn has run 43.45 this season and should be pushed by Bishop Neumann's Aubrey Fujan (44.07) and Hartington Cedar Catholic's Anisten Wortmann (44.24).

  
  

• Mazie Stoklasa of Clarkson-Leigh recorded a 19-07 jump at the Norfolk Classic on April 30. It didn't qualify as a State record due to either excessive wind or no wind readings, but she's a good threat to break Bethany DeLong's (Laurel-Concord) existing Class C record of 19-01.5 set in 2009.

A few missing stars... and a new one...

One of the biggest challenges each season is being healthy for State. We'll be missing a few competitors in events where they were expected to do well:

• Cece Kramper of Omaha Duchesne is the Class B defending champion in the 1600 and 3200, but she will not compete at Burke due to a foot injury. She posted Class B's fastest 3200 time in her only meet this season.

• Jaiya Patillo of Bellevue West has Class A's best time in the 200, but she will not compete in that event after scratching at Districts.

• Lincoln Christian's Trevin Opp has won the Class C State XC title the past two years but has not been healthy this season, and his only Districts event was the 800. We were hoping to see him in all three distance events, but we'll just hope to see him run well on Thursday.

On the flip side, the State meet will be the third high school meet for Samantha Campos, a sophomore at Lincoln Pius. Sami could have battled for the All-Class pole vault gold in 2024 as an 8th grader, but the sophomore has suffered injuries the past two winters that have prevented her from competing. She made her first appearance in a Thunderbolt uniform at the Harold Scott meet in April, and last week she cleared 11-06 at Districts. She has a lifetime best of 13-01.25 from 8th grade.

What you can expect from us

We'll be fairly active on the Prep Running Nerd X and Facebook accounts during State, but we won't be posting every result. Our main goal this week is to capture as many photos as we can, and starting as soon as June 1st we'll be posting those photos for free on our Facebook page. This is the one track meet of the season where there are no shortage of reporters - in contrast to the 140 other meets we've shot this year - so you should have no problem finding reporters who are posting results.

This and that

• Trinity Shadd-Ceres, a Kitchener, Ontario (Canada) native who is a sophomore on the Creighton volleyball team, joined the CU track team this month as a long jumper. She competed in the long jump on May 2nd, her first meet in almost two years, winning at Iowa before jumping 21-00 a week later to win the Nebraska Tune-Up. This past weekend she won the Big East long jump title, Creighton's first Big East champion in T&F. She's currently ranked 18th in the West region and should be Creighton's first female regional qualifier. Add to this the list of arguments for why volleyball players should continue to play other sports in the spring...

  
  

• District week is the busiest week of the year for our website because we hunt down the live results for all of the T&F Districts. However, on both Wednesday and Thursday there was one District that wasn't offering live results, and that would have prevented athletes and fans from figuring out who would be grabbing the final at-large qualifying spots in Class C and D. Dundy County Stratton coach Mike Spargo and David City Aquinas coach Tony Smith came to the rescue, texting me pictures of printed results through each day so that we could post those results to our website. It was a unique way for them to support the T&F community, but it was not surprising that these two gentleman would volunteer to do it.

  
  

• Cody Brousek and the entire UNL athletics team put on a heckuva show Friday through Sunday when they hosted the Big Ten meet. I made it down for the Sunday session and the meet directors, officials and volunteers absolutely rocked it. I suspect Nebraska won't host another Big Ten meet for a decade or more, but they sure did themselves proud.

  
  

• Speaking of the Big Ten, I sat at the end of the sand pit for both the men's and women's triple jump competition. I had clear unobstructed views of the athletes for photography. It was heavenly.

  
  

• The UNL T&F squad has a vibrant media team that includes former Nerd Jaden Gebeke, so the Huskers didn't need our help in covering the Big Ten meet. In lieu of that, a few Nerds were able to be the official photographers for UCLA, and they absolutely nailed the assignment. It's a pleasure to be associated with volunteers who love the sport and know how to photograph it.

  
  

• We could devote an entire Nerdsletter to the two junior high meets that were held this weekend in Gothenburg and Gretna... if only we had the time. Suffice it to say that there are dozens of stars in waiting when the current crop of high school athletes move on. You can find the Gothenburg results at https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/651212/results/all and the Gretna results at https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/653024/results/all.

Three-day State

I realize that most of you don't attend all four days of the State meet, and perhaps a few of you have forgotten that we used to have a two-day State meet. We moved to a four-day State meet in the wake of COVID and it seems like we're going to be stuck with this beast until a group of influential coaches can convince everyone that there is a better option. I wrote about a three-day State meet in April 2025 and I'm still hoping it will happen. Here is that article.

Photos

Below are examples of the meet albums published since our 5/10/26 Nerdsletter. We have posted albums for 140 (!!!) meets so far this season, and we'll do our best to capture photos at each State event. You can find our Facebook albums at https://www.facebook.com/PrepRunningNerd/photos_albums. If you'd like to see our chronological listing of albums, we update that list as often as we can at this link. (although we're behind this week)

O'Neill St. Mary's, 4/22 (River Nerd)

Harold Scott @ Lincoln High, 4/23 (Nerdtron)

Schuyler, 4/23 (Young Nerd)

GPAC collegiate, 5/2 (Nerd Dawg)

Omaha Metros JV, 5/2 (Nerd Dawg)

Wayne, 5/2 (Nerdennan)

Omaha Metros, 5/5 and 5/6 (Royal Nerd)

Dundy County Stratton Twilight, 5/5 (Nerd Stammpede)

Suburban Conference MS meet @ CB Kern, 5/8 (Royal Nerd)

A1 @ Fremont, 5/12 (Joyful Nerd)

A1 @ Fremont, 5/12 (Royal Nerd)

A3 @ Lincoln High, 5/12 (Nerdtron)

A4 @ Omaha Burke, 5/12 (Nerd Dawg)

B2 @ Elkhorn, 5/12 (Nerd Sr)

B3 @ Columbus, 5/12 (Young Nerd)

B4 @ Waverly, 5/12 (Nerdsam)

D1 @ Pawnee City, 5/13 (Nerdfall)

D4 @ Basset, 5/13 (Dancing Nerd)

D5 @ Burwell, 5/13 (Volley Nerd)

D7 @ Southern Valley, 5/13 (Valley Nerd)

C8 @ Kearney Catholic, 5/14 (Donkey Nerd)

C9 @ Perkins County, 5/14 (Word Nerd)

C9 @ Perkins County, 5/14 (Nerd Stammpede)

C9 @ Perkins County, 5/14 (Blurry Nerd)

Records

If we're counting correctly, we've had 29 State records this year, although a few were broken again before they could be ratified by the State. We had two new records set during District meets:

#29 Isaac Chavez, Amherst - Isaac ran a 10.69 100 (+1.5 m/s) on Thursday, May 14 at the C8 District meet at Kearney Catholic to break the 2018 record of 10.70 set by Dylan Kautz of Norfolk Catholic. Isaac had previously run a wind-legal 10.88 at Ravenna on 4/16/26; in 2025 he finished 3rd in State in Class D in both the 100 and 200. He also finished 8th in the Class D as a sophomore.

#28 Hazel Haarberg, Kearney Catholic - At the C8 District meet on her home track on May 14, Hazel took down her Class C 200 record of 23.88 set twelve days earlier at the Centennial meet, running a 23.54 (+1.3 m/s). Her time on Thursday also broke the All-Class record of 23.74 set by Dajaz DeFrand of Lincoln High in 2022. Dajaz was a multi-All-American at Florida State and now competes for USC.

And here are the other 27 State records from this year:

#27 Abigael Spargo, Dundy County Stratton - Abi ran a 43.85 300h on Friday, May 8 at the DCS Twilight meet to break the Class D record of 44.12 that she set on April 2nd. Her sister Clara, a senior at DCS, currently holds the 100, 200 and 400 Class D records.

#26 Braxton Badman, Waverly - Braxton posted a 13.84 110 hurdles time in the prelims at the EMC meet at Elkhorn High on Tuesday, May 5, breaking the Class B mark of 14.02 set by Aaron Brandt of Bishop Neumann in 2006.

#25 Hazel Haarberg, Kearney Catholic - After seemingly jogging in the Centennial 200 prelims to earn the top seed later on Saturday, May 2nd, Hazel posted a 23.88 (-0.13 m/s headwind) in the finals to break her own Class C record of 24.04 from 2025.

#24 Hazel Haarberg, Kearney Catholic - Hazel posted a 11.57 in the 100 meters at the Centennial prelims on Saturday, May 2nd, but the wind reading of 2.2 m/s was above the record-eligible limit of 2.0 m/s. A few hours later in the finals, she ran 11.55 (-0.40 m/s headwind) to break her Class C record of 11.73 from 2024. This mark also establishes a new All-Class record, topping the 11.64 mark by Dajaz DeFrand of Lincoln High in 2022. Dajaz is still competing for USC and has won multiple NCAA sprint medals at Florida State and USC.

#23 Aubrey Fujan, Bishop Neumann - In the 100h finals of the Centennial meet on Saturday, May 2nd, Aubrey posted a time of 14.08 to break her own Class C record of 14.28 that she set on April 21.

#22 Noah Rau, Chase County - The UNL recruit set a huge PR in the discus, jumping to #2 in the nation this season, throwing the discus 219-06 on his first attempt on May 1st at Perkins County. That throw improved upon his All-Class and Class C record of 207-03 that he set on April 16. Science Nerd was on the scene and an official told her that a subsequent throw went around 225' but Noah touched the top of the toe board on his follow through.

#21 Norris 4x100 relay - On Thursday, April 30 at the Crete Invite, the Norris 4x100 squad of Luke Findley, Noah Waddel, Christopher Garner and Becket Behrens posted a time of 41.78 to break the Class B record of 42.04 set by Waverly in 2025.

#20 Avery Arens, Crofton - On Saturday, April 25, Avery faced off against an elite field in the mile at the Drake Relays. Avery was the fourth of five girls to break the five-minute barrier, and her 4:54.84 mile time is well below the 4:56.18 Class C State record she set on April 16 at the Titan Classic. Using the MileSplit calculator, the 4:54.84 mile time converts to a 4:53.13 1600 time. Once the Crofton athletic director or coach connects with the NSAA, we'll have clearer guidance on whether the NSAA will recognize the mile time or a converted 1600 time as the new record.

#19 Kennedy Bailey, Dundy County Stratton - she threw the discus 159-11 on Friday, 4/24, at Lexington to set the Class D record. It was a 3-09 PB for her and broke the previous record of 157-02 set by Samantha Musil of Pawnee City in 2006. Kennedy is a two-time defending Class D State champ in the discus, the defending State champ in the shot put, and she's a member of the defending Class D champ 4x100 squad.

#18 Brody Galyen, West Holt - a 48.15 400 on Friday, 4/24, at his home meet to break the previous Class C record of 48.33 set by Joel Duffield of Morrill in 2002.

#17 Beau Fujan, Bishop Neumann - 13.86 110HH (0.6 m/s) at the Bennington meet on Tuesday, 4/21, breaking Class C record of 14.01 by Jaxon Knisley (NPSP) from 2024.

#16 Beau Fujan - 21.60 200 (1.5 m/s) at the Bennington meet on Tuesday, 4/21, breaking Class C record of 21.78 by Cole Biodrowski of Fort Calhoun in 2001.

#15 Aubrey Fujan, Bishop Neumann - 14.28 100H (1.3 m/s) at the Bennington meet on Tuesday, 4/21, breaking her own Class C record of 14.45 from 2025.

#14 Mia Cushing, Elkhorn - 11.92 100 (1.3 m/s) at the Bennington meet on Tuesday, 4/21, breaking the Class B record of 11.94 set by Katy Jay of Mitchell in 1999.

#13 Addie West, Omaha Skutt - 55.81 400 at the Bennington meet on Tuesday, 4/21, breaking the Class B record of 55.95 set by Sydney Stodden of Elkhorn North in 2024.

#12 Avery Arens, a freshman at Crofton, is breaking State records before the previous ones can get posted on the NSAA website. On April 8 she ran a hand-timed 10:51.7 3200 at the Knox County meet, which if ratified would have broken the previous Class C record of 10:59.05 set by Tamala Resh of Shelton on 1983. However, on Tuesday, April 21 at the USD Battle of the Border, Arens posted an electronic time of 10:31.69 to set the new standard. The All-Class 3200 record is held by Karlene Erickson (Wheeler Central), who ran 10:19 in 1982. The Class A record is held by two-time Olympian and US marathon record holder Emily Sisson, who posted a 10:23.00 for Millard North in 2008.

#11 Avery Arens, a freshman at Crofton, broke her own yet-to-be-ratified 1600-meter Class C record of 5:00.00 from April 8 (see #6 below) with a 4:56.18 at the Titan Classic on Thursday, April 18. She was one of three girls in that race to dip below the 5:00 mark.

#10 Jaiya Patillo, a junior at Bellevue West, broke her own Class A and All-Class 400-meter record of 54.66 set in 2024 with a 54.41 at the Elkhorn meet on Thursday, April 16.

#9 Noah Rau, a senior at Chase County and a UNL T&F commit, threw the discus 207-03 on Thursday, April 16 at Sutherland to break his own Class C and All-Class record of 205-07 set on April 2nd.

#8 Alyssa Onnen, a senior at Kearney Catholic and a UNL T&F commit, pole vaulted 13-04.25 at the Gothenburg meet on Thursday, April 16 to break her Class C record of 13-00.25 from the 2025 State meet and the All-Class record of 13-04.00 set by Jaidyn Garrett of Columbus in 2019.

#7 - Avery Arens of Crofton ran a 10:51.65 3200 at the Knox County meet on Wednesday, April 8. If the handheld time is accepted by the NSAA, it will break the Class C record of 10:51.65 set by Tamala Resh of Shelton in 1983.

#6 - Avery Arens of Crofton ran a 5:00.00 1600 at the Knox County meet on Wednesday, April 8. If the handheld time is accepted by the NSAA, it will break the Class C record of 5:05.25 set by Rylee Rice of Ainsworth in 2017.

#5 - Brock Bailey of Dundy County Stratton threw the shot 63-10.00 at the Perkins County meet on Friday, April 2nd. This mark breaks his previous but not-yet-certified-by-the-NSAA Class D record throw of 63-04.25 (see #2 below) at the Southern Valley meet on March 27.

#4 - Abigael Spargo of Dundy County Stratton set the Class D 300 hurdles record with her 44.12 mark at the Perkins County meet on Friday, April 2nd. She broke the record of 44.76 set by Skylar Hadley of Loomis in 2018.

#3 - Noah Rau of Chase County set the All-Class and Class C discus record with his 205-07 mark at the Ogallala meet on Friday, April 2nd. He broke his previous All-Class record of 203-09 that was set at last year's State meet as well as the previous Class C record of 196-11 set by Derric Werner of Elkhorn Valley in 2002. Because Chase County moved from Class B in 2025 to Class C in 2026, Noah has the unusual distinction of holding both the Class B (203-09 in 2025) and Class C (205-07 in 2026) State records.

#2 - Brock Bailey of Dundy County Stratton threw the shot 63-04.25 at the Southern Valley invite on March 27, topping the Class D mark of 63-01.25 set by Steve Kriewald of North Loup-Scotia at the State meet in 2000.

#1 - Chayden Hoffmaster of Cozad posted a long jump of 24-05.50 leap at the UNK indoor meet on March 20. There was initial confusion about whether an indoor mark qualified for a Class B State record, but the NSAA has ratified the the mark. The previous mark of 23-08.25 was set by Tyler Wullenwaber of Centennial in 2009.

The NSAA website at https://secure.nsaahome.org/nsaaforms/tr/staterecords.php has been updated for a number of the records above. Check out our April 7 Nerdsletter if you'd like more information on how wind strength impacts State record certification.

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First published at www.preprunningnerd.com by Jay Slagle on May 19, 2026. 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 T&F and cross country scene? There's more of this at www.preprunningnerd.com. Check out the Blog tab for our frequent stories 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 ," a story about a high school triple jumper who became a quadrapalegic after a swimming accident.