Class D girls season preview
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, 11:49)
7, Madison Shaw, 11, Sandy Creek (59.24, 2:33, 5:16, softball)
8, Ava Brennan, 12, Ponca (2:21, 5:19, 11:52, injured)
9, Azlynn Johnson, 12, Stanton (2:26, 5:42, 12:22)
10, Leah Dawson, 12, McCool Junction (2:27, 5:15, 11:35)
11, Lily Daly, 11, Hastings St. Cecilia (2:33, 5:52, 12:09)
14, Mazzy Kuchar, 12, Elkhorn Valley (5:35, 11:47)
15, Riley Campbell, 12, Aquinas Catholic (1:00, 2:20, 5:21)
16, Cecilia Wortmann, 11, Crofton (2:28, 5:31)
17, Adelain Mankin, 10, Nebraska Christian (1:02, 2:42)
18, McKinley Mankin, 10, Nebraska Christian (2:18, 5:26)
19, Madison Potts, 12, Perkins County (2:35, 5:27, 12:00)
22, Kayliana Kitto, 10, McCool Junction (1:04, 2:26)
23, Aysha Neal, 10, Alma (2:45, 5:56, 12:29)
25, Lydia McGowen, 10, Cambridge (1:07, 2:25, 5:24, 11:44)
26, Claire Wegener, 10, Archangels Catholic (2:43, 5:53, 13:09)
27, Zoe Johnson, 12, Brady (2:36, 5:48, 12:22)
29, Kiley Orton, 12, Ainsworth (2:39, 5:42, 12:18)
31, Louisa Pretorius, 11, Scribner-Snyder (no track results)
32, Broxlynn Fast, 10, Amherst (1:01, 2:24, 6:02)
33, Brenna Lawson, 10, Elkhorn Valley (sprinter)
Other top returners
Kaylee Karr, 11, Silver Lake (5:26, 11:59)
Emma Hall, 12, Axtell (5:27, 12:02)
Annaly Ramirez, 11, Wauneta-Palisade (2:25, 5:33, 12:24)
Sevyn Russell, 11, Doniphan-Trumbull (58.22, 2:28)
Emma Loxterkamp, 10, Tri County (1:06, 2:30, 5:43, 12:25)
Isabella Kester, 10, Summerland (5:55, 12:30)
Paige Stengel, 11, Sandy Creek (2:36, 5:47, 12:24)
Potential freshman additions
Grace Holmgren, Sioux County (2:32, 5:38)
Stella Steele, Centennial (2:33, 5:42)
Eliza Sanborn, Nebraska Christian (2:40, 5:45)
Molly Spargo, Dundy County Stratton (1:00, 2:29, 5:47)
Bristol Sterkel, Gordon-Rushville (2:38, 5:47)
Anna Franzen, Elkhorn Valley (2:37, 5:47)
Classification changes
In terms of reclassification, Bertrand/Loomis and Norfolk Catholic have moved from Class D to Class C. Conversely, I see seven teams that have dropped from Class C to D: Fillmore Central, Omaha Nation, Bloomfield-Wausa, Madison, Gibbon, Brownell-Talbot and Winnebago. None of those nine schools were team qualifiers in 2025.
Individual outlook
Avery Arens of Crofton won the Nebraska Gatorade award for cross country in 2025, setting a Kearney course record in the fall and establishing new Class C 1600/3200 records in the spring. With a 3200 PR that’s over one minute faster than anyone else in the field, Avery’s only true opponent this fall will be injuries.
The competition behind Avery will be intense. The top 11 finishers (and 13 of 15 medalists) in 2025 were undergrads but we’ll only see 8 of them: 3rd-place finisher Rarity Cournoyer of Gordon-Rushville will not compete in her sixth season of high school XC (she competed in South Dakota from 7th through 10th grades), 7th-place Madison Shaw of Sandy Creek is playing softball this fall, and 8th-place Ava Brennan of Ponca suffered a season-ending injury during summer conditioning.
We like to base our preseason rankings on track results but there is a flaw with that approach in Class C and Class D; most of the athletes are three-sport athletes who may not start running until late February, so their spring running fitness is often not as good as their fall fitness.
Based on track times, the top medalists returning are Delani Runnels (2:22, 5:03, 11:43) of Niobrara-Verdigre, Leah Dawson (2:27, 5:15, 11:35) and Kayleigh Betka (2:23, 5:16, 11:37) of McCool Junction, and Riley Campbell (2:20, 5:21) of Aquinas. However, there were at least six other girls who posted a sub-5:30 1600 this spring, so the competition for a top-five spot will be ferocious.
Among girls who didn’t medal in 2025, watch for McKinley Mankin (2:18, 5:26) of Nebraska Christian, Madison Potts (2:35, 5:27, 12:00) of Perkins County, Lydia McGowen (2:25, 5:24, 11:44) of Cambridge, Kaylee Karr (5:25, 11:59) of Silver Lake, and Emma Hall (5:27, 12:02) of Axtell.
I’ve listed six freshmen above with outstanding track times who could be medal threats this season. In addition, top-20 JH State XC finishers include Rhylan Genereux (6th) of Lincoln Lutheran, Brisa Reigle (18th) of Archangels Catholic and Camilla Korus (20th) of Humphrey/Lindsay.
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
McCool Junction edged Crofton by one point in 2025 to earns its second consecutive State title and third title in the last six years. They return their top four runners from 2025 in Kayleigh Betka (2:21, 5:16, 11:37), Leah Dawson (2:27, 5:15, 11:35), Kayliana Kitto (22nd in 2025, 1:04, 2:26) and Natalie Clark (2:40, 5:55). Nia Boschult, a junior, also returns with her 2:42 and 6:20 PRs. The freshmen class includes Farrah Gordon (25th at JH State XC, 2:34, 6:14), Kelsey Betka (34th at JH State XC, 2:53, 6:09) and Lainey Clark.
Crofton returns all but their 3rd runner from last year’s squad. With Avery Arens a near-lock for the top spot and Cecilia Wortman (2:28, 5:31) looking to improve on her 16th-place finish last year, Crofton just needs a another top-30 finisher to make the team race interesting. The other two returners are Hudsyn Stout (sprints during track season) and Claire Marsh (2:50, 6:05). The Warriors could also see contributions from freshmen Meredith Wortmann and Emma Arens.
The top nine teams from 2025 only had one senior among their State squads, so look for a competitive team race if McCool Junction and Crofton falter. As I noted in our Class C preview, the key to a State title seems to be to have two athletes in the top twenty. The best candidates for that are Ainsworth with Reagan Moody (2:23, 5:26, 11:49) and Kiley Orton (2:39, 5:42, 12:18), Tri County with Sage Holtmeier (2:28, 5:28, 11:47) and Emma Loxterkamp (2:30, 5:43, 12:25), and Nebraska Christian with McKinley Mankin (2:18, 5:26) and Adelain Mankin (1:02, 2:42). Nebraska Christian may get a boost from freshman Eliza Sanborn, who didn’t compete at the 2025 JH State XC meet but posted PRs of 2:40 and 5:45 in the spring.
In regards to this year’s team rankings, we’ve expanded our weekly team rankings to include votes from a larger collection of Class D coaches spread across the State. I’m excited to see if the coaches share our views on this season’s best teams.
Nerd predictions
1. McCool Junction
2. Crofton
3. Nebraska Christian
4. Ainsworth
5. Tri County
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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