Class B boys season preview
- jayslagle
- 3 hours ago
- 7 min read
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 (1:54, 4:15 mile, 9:22)
21, Dominic Smith, 12, Gretna East (4:44, 10:05)
23, Joe Norman, 11, Lincoln Pius (4:39, 9:54)
25, Gerardo Hernandez-Tapia, 12, Elkhorn (1:57, 4:31, 9:57)
26, James Given, 11, Beatrice (2:01, 4:42, 10:31)
27, Cale Greisen, 12, Seward (1:59, 4:27, 9:44)
28, Cody Rice, 12, Omaha Skutt Catholic (1:55, 4:28, 10:07, not competing)
29, Charles 'Tyler' Scott, 11, Beatrice (4:35, 9:50)
31, Brayden Romero, 11, Elkhorn (1:56, 4:35)
32, Erick Grijalva-Ibarra, 12, Lexington (2:14, 5:04)
35, William Zurn, 11, Alliance (2:02, 4:52, 10:41)
36, Dominick Frank, 12, Norris (2:21, 5:12)
38, Lucas Zitek, 11, Seward (2:05, 4:53)
39, Mason Luebbe, 11, Seward (2:12, 4:45, 10:24)
43, Jackson Geiger, 11, Elkhorn (4:56, 10:27)
44, Liam Haustveit, 11, Gretna East (no track times)
2025 Class A top finishers now in Class B
36, Nathaniel Vieyra, 11, North Platte (4:46, 10:13)
38, Bryan Titus, 11, North Platte (2:01, 4:50)
59, Jack Knapp, 12, North Platte (1:55, 4:36, 9:45)
Potential freshman additions (not confirmed)
Carter Ribble, Beatrice (2:07, 4:32)
Kieran Einspahr, Seward (2:07, 4:46)
Nick Scott, Beatrice (2:12, 4:59)
Jace Castle, Scottsbluff (2:11, 5:00)
Classification changes
Thanks to a new way of classifying schools, Class B consists of just 24 boys schools and 26 girls schools. Elkhorn North, Bennington, Lincoln Northwest and Lincoln Standing Bear move from Class B to A this fall, while Plattsmouth, Omaha Gross, Platteview and Aurora are moving to Class C. The loss of these eight schools is slightly mitigated by the addition of North Platte and South Sioux City, who are moving down from Class A. However, the diminutive size of the Class B field is ridiculous, and I hope the NSAA member schools rectify the situation for next year.
Individual outlook
Isac Portillo-Munoz of Lexington is the top returner and looking for his fourth career State XC medal after finish 9th, 13th and 3rd his first three years. He’s been consistent on the track during his career, posting season bests of 4:31/9:41, 4:27/9:36 and 4:26/9:33 as he’s progressed. After being a top-two team from 2017 through 2023, Lexington finished 6th in 2024 and did not qualify in 2025. Isac’s chances for a title would be boosted if Lexington is able to qualify in 2026. The Minutemen are adding Javi Perales, who finished 36th in Class C last year while competing for Minden.
While Ethan Smith of Northwest is just the 7th-highest returner this year, he might be the title favorite this fall. He was fully healthy last spring and his results reflected that. He was the top Class B distance boy among underclassmen at the 2026 State track meet, finished 4th in the 1600 (4:20), 3rd in the 3200 (9:22), and he ran a 1:54.8 split on Northwest’s 2nd-place 4x800 squad. He finished his season in early June with a 4:15 1600 at the Kansas City Metro Mile. He’s joined in training by Jaxon Cushing, who finished 9th last fall before posting track times of 2:04, 4:32 and 9:40.
The 2025 medalists included eight seniors, so there are plenty of opportunities for new medalists this year. Sam Schlautman of Pius is the next highest returner after Portillo-Munoz, and his 4:29 (6th-fastest returner) and 9:39 (3rd-fastest) from the spring puts him in the mix for a top-five finish.
Austin Koch and Cale Grisen of Seward had solid 2025 XC seasons but were significantly better during track season. Koch ran bests of 1:57, 4:24 and 9:54 while Griesen ran 1:59, 4:27 and 9:44. Two equally-matched training partners can yield impressive dividends.
Samuel Robinson of Norris is more a middle-distance guy (4:40, 10:09) in the spring, with a 1:55.5 relay split at State, and he’ll be looking for his third State medal this fall. His consistent performance during cross country meets has been impressive.
Jack Knapp of North Platte is new to Class B this season. He didn’t have a great race at the 2025 State meet, finishing 59th in Class A, but his 1:55, 4:36 and 9:45 during the spring suggest he’ll be a threat for a top-five finish in October.
Gavin Wemhoff of Scottsbluff is a bit of a mystery to us. I only get to see him race at the UNK and State meets, and he took a huge step forward during his sophomore year by placing 12th at State and then running 1:58 and 4:31 (a 26-second PR from the prior year) during track season. Since he won’t face many of the boys listed above until UNK, we’ll have to wait until late September to see how well he’s running.
As in past years, we’ll be posting individual rankings every Tuesday during the season. As a reminder, we provide rankings to generate increased interest in the sport, and we’re not out to hurt anyone’s feelings. The great thing about cross country is that the State meet represents the only rankings that matter. Even then, that’s just one day and just one race, a snapshot in time, and it in no way reflects an athlete’s future or their chance of success in life. We don’t love distance running because of the medals; we love distance running because it makes us better people. Keep that in mind if you face a few struggles this season.
Team outlook
Pius returns just two from the historic 2025 team that dominated the State meet and became the first Nebraska team to qualify for Nike Nationals. Sam Schlautman (4:29, 9:39) and Joe Norman (4:39, 9:54) will likely be medalists, but at this point we don’t know who their varsity teammates will be. The Lincoln youth track scene is very strong, so don’t be surprised if Pius has another competitive team.
North Platte is the only Class A or B boys’ squad that returns six boys, so in theory they have a leg up over the rest of the field. Jack Knapp (4:36, 9:45) and Caleb Yanez (2:07, 4:36) lead the team that also includes three other sub-5:00 milers in Nathaniel Vieyra (4:46, 10:13), Bryan Titus (2:01, 4:50) and Jace Kackmeister (4:52, 10:23).
Seward returns five of its competitors from the 2025 runner-up team and appears to be adding a strong freshman in Kieran Einspahr (2:07, 4:46). He joins Austin Koch (4:24), Cale Griesen (4:27), Mason Luebbe (4:45) and Lucas Zitek (4:53) in the sub-5:00 club. I like Seward’s chances.
Elkhorn only returns half of their 2025 team but is led by proven athletes Gerardo Hernandez-Tapia (1:57, 4:31, 9:57) and Brayden Romero (1:56, 4:35). The Elkhorn junior high programs are quite strong, so I’d expect the Antlers to fill their varsity spots with solid runners.
Norris returns five of six athletes from 2025 State but will need improvements across the board to fight for a top-three finish. Skutt has high-end talent in Cody Rice, who appeared to be hurt for at least part of his junior season. Skutt, Gretna and Gretna East all have four returners, and on paper each team has the capability to be competitive this fall.
Northwest returns four, but two are absolute studs. Jaxon Cushing ran 4:32 and 9:40 this spring, while Ethan Smith PR's are 4:15 and 9:22. If Cushing and Smith can both nab top-five spots, that’s a little less work for their third and fourth scorers. However, moving from 10th place in 2025 to a podium spot in 2026 may be too large of a leap.
Beatrice did not qualify for State in 2025 but returns two qualifiers in James Givens (4:42, 10:31) and Tyler Scott (4:36, 9:50). What’s more important is that they’re adding two talented freshmen in Carter Ribble (2:07, 4:32) and Nick Scott (2:12, 4:59). It’s extremely rare for a junior high boy to break the five-minute barrier, and Ribble’s 4:32.18 would have been the 21st-fastest 1600 among Class B high school boys in 2026. While Beatrice may not be a top-five team in 2026, all four return will return in 2027 and could make some noise.
Nerd predictions
The Class B coaches will produce weekly rankings, but here is my best guess:
1. Seward
2. North Platte
3. Lincoln Pius
4. Northwest
5. Elkhorn
Errors and omissions
Our season previews are based on prior results and an assumption that underclassmen competing at State in 2025 will run again this year. If you’re aware of an error in the article above, or have information on an impactful runner not listed above, please email jayslagle@hotmail.com so we can determine whether the article should be updated. Our goal as volunteers is to be a resource for fans of Nebraska high school country, but we readily acknowledge that we need feedback from followers and coaches to provide accurate information.
********
Originally written and published in August 2026 at www.preprunningnerd.com.
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.
Comments