The past few years the Prep Running Nerd team has devoted its coverage primarily to distance running, but we intend to give more love to field events, sprints and hurdles this spring. To get a jump start on coverage, we asked for help for the field events from Patrick Grosserode, the owner of the Trackville training facility in Lincoln. We expected a paragraph on each event; instead, Patrick wrote an entire article for each discipline. Patrick is uniquely qualified to opine on the current state of field events, and we'll thrilled to work with him. Here is Patrick's preview of the long jump:
Class A Boys
Returning Medalists (State mark listed)
· Jaylen Lloyd, 22-05 – Omaha Central
· Reece Grosserode, 21-11.50 – Pius X
· Kaidyn Jackson, 21-04 – North Star
Jaylen Lloyd and Reece Grosserode have had huge indoor seasons. Lloyd with a PR of 24-1 and Grosserode with a PR of 23-3 are both nationally ranked. We would not be surprised if both of them are knocking on the door of 25ft over the next 2 seasons.
Jamarion Dortch of Omaha Central had the third best jump during the indoor season, going 21-05.50. While he didn't compete at State last year as a sophomore, he has a PR of 21-8 and a great teammate from whom to learn.
Class A Girls
Returning Medalists
· Lademi Davies, 18-06 - Westside
· Lilee Kaasch, 18-02.50 – Millard South
· Sadie Millard, 18-00 – Millard West
· Amari Lang, 17-08.75 – Millard South
· Joselyn Olson, 17-05.75 – Columbus
· Emmy Holl, 17-04.75 – Millard West
This is a very tight field with returners PR’s all within 6 inches of each other. In addition to jumps, Lademi Davies is also one of the state’s top sprinters (2nd in 100 at 2021). Lang (17-09), Davies (17-06) and Kaasch (17-05, New Mexico) were all active during the indoor season and had great early-season form. Sadie Millard (Wichita State) has been working hard this off season and will be ready to compete for a state title.
Class B Boys
Returning Medalists
· Dylan Mostek, 22-01.75 – Bennington
· Emmett Hassenstab, 21-04.50 – Skutt
· Cameron Leeling, 21-02.25 – Sidney
Mostek is a 22+ foot jumper and sub-11.00 100m runner, and he medaled at 2021 State in the 100, 200, 4x100 and long jump. He has a great chance to contend for a title this season. Hassenstab suffered a serious injury this past summer and it’s unclear if he’ll be able to compete at full strength this season. Our dark horse is Jackson Roberts from Boone Central, who did not compete in the long jump at Districts despite a 21-02.75 PR during the season (he qualified in both hurdle events and the 4x400). Roberts has looked very good in preseason training.
Class B Girls
Returning Medalists
· Taylor Bredthauer, 17-08.75 - Norris
· Mariyah Avila, 17-02.75 - Scottsbluff
· Reese Beemer, 17-00.25 - Blair
· Rylee Mogensen, 16-10.75 - Skutt
· Keelianne Green, 16-09.75 - Arlington
This will be a very tight race this season. Taylor Bredthauer had a great indoor season, matching her PR of 17-08.75, and should be well over 18’ this outdoor season. State XC champion Keelianne Green will be a contender this season. She is very explosive and has been sharpening up the jumping this off season with an early indoor jump of 18-0”. The gap between the other returnees is very small, so we expect a tight grouping at State.
Class C Boys
Returning Medalists
· Landon Olson, 22-09.75 - Battle Creek
· Nolan Eloe, 20-08.75 - Amherst
· Isaac Herbek, 20-08.25 - GI Central Catholic
· Beau Lee, 20-07.75 - Lourdes Central
· Cade Hosier, 21-05.50 - Elmwood-Murdock (1st in Class D)
Landon Olsen had a 22-9 jump at state last season and won by over a foot. If he stays healthy, he will be the one to beat this season. Eloe and Herbek both have PRs above 21’ and are expected to raise those marks with another year of development.
Cade Hosier, a junior, won the Class D State titles in both horizontal jumps and was also a medalist in the 100 and 200. However, Elmwood-Murdock has been reclassified to Class C in 2022. Cade won the Class D long jump by a foot and the triple jump by almost two feet in 2021 and should challenge Landon Olson this season.
Class C Girls
Returning Medalists
· Ella Gardner, 17-07.00 - Superior
· Jordyn Carr, 16-11.50 - Tri County NE
· Sophia Haas, 16-09.50 - Guardian Angels
· Paytyn Taake, 16-07.75 - Battle Creek
· Kailee Kellum, 16-06.75 - Valentine
· Hannah Herrick, 16-04.75 - Amherst
This field is wide open this season with a tight field of returners. Hannah Dunning,who placed 10th last season, had a great indoor jump of 17-04. A wild card will be Syracuse senior Kamdyn Stanley (Iowa Western), who jumped 17-08 this indoor season and has shown week-over-week improvements. Palmyra senior Kyla Davis (NWMSU) should also factor into the medals this season after a strong indoor showing of 16-08.
Class D Boys
Returning Medalists
· Will Kulhanek, 20-05.00 - Overton
· Tony Berger, 20-04.75 - Riverside
· Chandler Page, 20-00.75 - Parkview Christian
· Shay Swanson, 19-10.00 - Loomis
Cade Hosier of Elmwood-Murdock won both horizontal jumps in 2021, but his school has been reclassified to Class C this year. That leaves the title hunt wide open, and the separation among the returners is very small We are impressed by Will Kulhanek, who earned three State medals in 2021 as a freshman including a bronze in this event. Tony Berger of Riverside was an absolute beast in 2021, winning the 110 hurdles, 3rd in the triple jump, 4th in the long jump and 13th in the 300 hurdles.
Class D Girls
Returning Medalists
· Teagan Gonsior16-08.75 - Fullerton
· Mae Siegel, 16-07.00 - NP St. Pat's
· Cassidy Gallagher, 16-01.75 - Kenesaw
· Emma Epley,15-09.25 - Lawrence-Nelson
· Paige Beller, 15-08.50 - Humphrey/LHF
Gonsior, Siegel and Gallagher were the top three at 2021 State, and the top eight were separated by less than a foot. This should be a tight race in class D this season.
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Originally written for and posted at www.preprunningnerd.com by Patrick Grosserode.
Patrick Grosserode is the owner of Trackville, an indoor training facility devoted to developing youth, high school and collegiate athletes. He's also the Director of the Lincoln Community Track Club, the jump coach at Lincoln Pius X, and a USATF level 2 jump and sprint/hurdle coach. Lean more about Trackville at https://thetrackville.com/.
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