Class C boys season preview
Updated: Sep 1
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, Lincoln Christian (2:05, 4:42, 10:07)
20, Griffin Opfer, 10, Lincoln Christian (2:04, 4:52)
23, Max Prochnow, 12, Lincoln Lutheran (4:36, 10:42)
25, Maxwell Berg, 12, O'Neill (2:08, 4:48, 10:23)
26, Jack Steinbach, 11, DC West (2:01, 4:35, 9:45)
29, Merritt Olberding, 12, Fort Calhoun (2:12, 5:04)
30, Mesach Nkurubujango, 12, Mount Michael (no track times)
31, Gage Thull, 12, Minden (2:12, 4:51, 10:40)
32, Hudson Stimmler, 12, Boys Town (2:11, 4:51, 10:27)
33, Kendall Shada, 12, Pierce (2:04, 4:38, 10:15)
36, Javier Perales Casas, 10, Minden (tranferred to Lexington)
38, Ashton Vollmer, 11, Arlington (2:10, 4:57, 10:37)
39, Logan Thompson, 10, Boone Central (4:59)
41, Yanzeyu Hou, 12, Mount Michael (no track times)
42, Hunter Mueller, 11, Holdrege (2:04, 4:47)
43, Sean Waters, 11, Fort Calhoun (51.33, 1:59)
47, Harrison Thiel, 11, Mount Michael (2:17, 4:56, 10:13)
49, Eli Zobel, 10, Raymond Central (2:18, 4:59, 10:49)
2025 Class B top finishers now in Class C
16, Esten Shane Kohl, 12, Platteview (4:26, 9:37, Class C in 2026)
2025 Class D top finishers now in Class C
8, Andrew Kastl, 11, Norfolk Catholic (1:59, 4:40, 10:10, now Class C)
16, Teddy Haake, 10, Norfolk Catholic (4:38, 10:12, now Class C)
Other top returners
Christian Jacobs, 12, Kearney Catholic (52.09, 1:58, 4:39)
Ron Varner, 12, Bridgeport (4:58, 10:30)
Potential freshman additions (not confirmed)
Gage Thomas, Raymond Central (2:17, 4:53)
Perry Helgoth, Aurora (2:09, 4:54)
Reese Bullington, Bishop Neumann (2:24, 4:59)
Blaze Behrens, Broken Bow (2:09, 5:05)
Colton Sievers, Palmyra (2:12, 5:17)
Classification changes
Class C gains six new schools: Plattsmouth, Omaha Gross, Platteview and Aurora from Class B, and Bertrand/Loomis and Norfolk Catholic from Class D. However, it appears that seven schools are moving to Class D: Fillmore Central, Omaha Nation, Bloomfield-Wausa, Madison, Gibbon, Brownell-Talbot and Winnebago.
Individual outlook
Trevin Opp of Lincoln Christian is the two-time Class C defending champ who has a habit of kicking late to win, and he’ll be looking for his fourth career State XC medal. Amos Glenn and Griffin Opfer were the next two finishers for Lincoln Christian and have a good chance of medaling in 2026.
Tyler Hetz of Gothenburg (1:59, 4:21, 9:51) and Samuel McQuistin of Holdrege (1:58, 4:21 mile) had two of the best track seasons of any Class C boys. At each of the last two State meets, Hetz has held the lead with 400 meters remaining, and a win this year would not surprise me. Bryson Neels of Gothenburg is a mid-distance specialist who won the Class B 800 in May in 1:53.01 (a 2.24 second PR) and finished 2nd in the 400 (48.84); Bryson has medaled his first two years at State XC and should be a top-five contender again. McQuistan is also seeking his third medal in three years after finishing 8th and 4th as a freshman and sophomore.
The reclassification process introduces a wildcard into this year. Shane ‘Esten’ Kohl (4:26, 9:37), a senior at Platteview, is back in Class C after Platteview’s two-year visit to Class B. Esten has consistently had bad luck at State, finishing 17th, 17th and 16th. He’s a notorious start-fast-and-gut-it-out racer in XC and on the track, but I could see him with a top-five finish this year if he adapts to the start-slow-finish-fast profile of the Kearney course – a strategy that has led to two State titles for Trevin Opp. Speaking of reclassification, Norfolk Catholic moves from Class D to Class C this year, and Andrew Kastl (1:59, 4:40, 10:10) and Teedy Haake (4:38, 10:12) have the chops to medal this year.
Returning medalists Miles Clausen (1:48, 4:29, 9:52) of Battle Creek and Christophe Widick (1:58, 4:31, 9:50) of Holdrege posted similar marks during the spring and should be in the thick of things.
There’s a group of boys just behind Clausen and Widwick with track times that could translate to top-ten finishes with incremental improvements. We’re keeping our eye on Jack Steinbach (2:01, 4:35, 9:45) of DC West, Max Prochnow (4:36) of Lincoln Lutheran, Kendall Shada (2:04, 4:38, 10:15) of Pierce, and Amos Glenn (2:04, 4:42, 10:07) of Lincoln Christian.
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 on 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 become distance runners for the medals, but because distance running makes us better people. Keep that in mind if you face a few struggles this season.
Team outlook
While the school classification changes listed above shouldn’t impact the team race, it may have an impact on the medal hunt. None of the four teams from Class B were State qualifiers in 2025; Norfolk Catholic was the only 2025 State qualifier for the teams moving from Class D to C.
Lincoln Christian has been on the podium the past four years, placing 2nd in 2022-2024 and winning the title in 2025. With their top three 2025 finishers returning this fall, they just need a little more depth to repeat in 2026.
Holdrege won the title in 2024 and finished second in 2025. They return three boys – Samuel McQuistan (1:58, 4:21 mile), Christophe Widick (1:58, 4:31, 9:50) and Hunter Mueller (2:04, 4:47). Potential varsity members may include Carlos Mendoza (2:11, 4:52, 10:50), Tad Dossett (4:58, 10:31) and Levi Weber (2:11, 4:59, 10:50).
Gothenburg has some serious star power, with Tyler Hetz and Bryson Neels finishing 2-3 at the 2025 meet. They return three other boys from their 2025 State squad that finished 6th, and should have at least one boy joining the team from their State JH XC squad.
Mount Michael returns 5 of 6 State competitors from their 6th-place team including three who finished under 18:00. However, their top two returners appear to play soccer in the spring, so we don’t have any recent performance data for Mesach Nkurubujango and Yanzeyu Hou.
Minden returns five of six from their State squad that finished 8th in 2025. They have lost their #2 man in Javi Perales, who transferred to Lexington. Of those five boys, Holt Aschenbrenner – the sixth man at State – had the most productive spring, running 2:10 in the open 800. Two Minden boys ran under 18:00 at the State meet, but they’ll need to make big gains from track season to be in the hunt for a top-five finish.
Fort Calhoun returns its 4th, 5th and 6th finishers from 2025 State; of the three, Sean Waters (51.33 and 1:59) had the most productive spring and summer. With almost three dozen athletes on their 2025 squad, the Pioneers should have some up-and-coming talent.
Nerd predictions
1. Lincoln Christian
2. Holdrege
3. Gothenburg
4. Mount Michael
5. Minden
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.
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Originally written and published in August 2026 at www.preprunningnerd.com.
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