Multiple records fall at 2025 state meet, Kearney boys win record 18th state team title
By Tony Chapman – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
Records fell and some of the top track athletes of all time ended their Nebraska high school careers during the 2025 state meet at Omaha Burke from May 21-24. In all, 18 state or state meet records fell in the four day event.
Team champions on the boys side included Kearney in Class A for a record 18th time and Waverly in Class B in the opening two days. Perkins County won a thrilling team title race over West Holt in Class C, while Dundy County-Stratton joined their girls as state champions in Class D.
In the girls races, Papillon-La Vista South won a tight Class A race with Bennington getting their first state title in school history in Class B. In Class C, Kearney Catholic repeated as champions with Dundy County-Stratton nabbing their first ever state championship in a girls sport in Class D.
Current State and State Meet Records
CLASS A: Kearney boys, Papio South girls win gritty title races
Team efforts lifted the Kearney boys to a repeat title and the Papillion-La Vista South girls to a thrilling team title that came down to the last race in Class A as day turned to evening at Omaha Burke Stadium on Thursday.
Buoyed by a pair of championships in the 100 and 200 from standout sprinter Zaire LaGrone-Miller and a pair of third place finishes from Luke Brachle in the 110 high hurdles and the high jump, the Bearcats outpaced second place Fremont by 75-66 in the team standings.
“You can have five guys and they can get you to 50 points real quick at a state meet,” Kearney coach Broc Howard said. “We knew with (Juan) Gonzalez that Fremont would be a tough team down here. We knew they would score 40 with him.
“It was back and forth, we’d get up and then they would get up. We told our mile relay kids on Tuesday it could come down to them.”
The Tigers made a push behind Gonzalaz – one of the state’s best ever distance runners – and his four gold medals in the 800, 1,600, 3,200 and as the anchor in the 3,200 relay. He earned the ultimate praise from Howard.
“As a track fan, as a coach, man,” Howard said, “you just sit back and watch him. He’s one of the best to ever do it.”
For the Bearcats, the team race was sealed by the time the mile relay came around. It was Kearney’s 18th Class A state championship.
Kearney also got a silver medal from Zach Wulf in the discus.
“We just kept talking about points, points, points,” Howard said. “And, Zaire, man. He’s got to be one of the top five sprinters in the state. When he gets a stick in his hand, it’s fun to watch.”
LaGrone-Miller was also part of the Bearcats runner-up 400 relay and 1,600 relay that finished fifth.
The girls title race was not finished until the mile relay, however.
Papio South led 83-80 over Kearney High heading into the final mile and Lincoln Southwest trailed with 77. A fourth place finish would seal the title for the Titans, even with a Silverhawk win and that’s exactly what both teams did. LSW was first with 3:53.46, Kearney third at 3:58.26 and the Titans in fourth with 3:59.74.
It created a final team race tally of 88, 87 and 86 points.
“It was just back and forth in every event,” Titan coach Jarrid Johansen said. “We’d be plus-three in one event, minus two in another. Just a great competition for two days.”
For Papio South, it was a counting lesson.
The Titans had one win (the 3,200 meter relay), two seconds, three thirds and four fourth place finishes in the meet. The relay team of Grace Hovey, Ashlyn Carter, Elizabeth Heisler and Marissa Garcia ran 9:29.67 to beat Southwest, while Kearney was in fourth.
A sign of things to come.
Johansen said the Titans got a leg up in the long jump where Finley Moore and Lyric Judson outscored three Silverhawks.
“At that point, we thought, maybe,” Johansen said. “And then we thought the 4×8 was big for us.”
IKE’S BIG DAY(S): A day after setting the all-class and state meet record in the shot put at 67-0.5, Omaha Central’s Ike Ackerman added the Class A discus title to his medal case. The Ohio University football commit threw 181-2 to edge Kearney’s Wulf by 12-feet.
“I am really glad to get that state record on the first throw,” Ackerman said of the shot put. “That took a little bit of pressure off my back. After that it was like, what now? Just glad I was able to double.”
Ackerman said it was a special spring chasing Station, a fellow Central alum and Iowa football standout.
“Every time someone talks to me about the record they tell me how legendary Larry Station was,” he said. “How good he was at football. I even heard he has some record for reading trigonometry books. I hope someday people can see me like that as well.”
JUAN OF A KIND: There would be no state records added to the Juan Gonzalez file in his final trip around Burke Stadium. Just four gold medals, exactly how he wanted it.
Already the state record holder in the 1,600 and 3,200, Gonzalez would win two golds each day. The Oregon commit was also the three-time Class A state cross country champion and holds the state meet record at Kearney Country Club.
On Wednesday, he anchored the winning 3,200 relay in 7:47.66, good for 45th nationally. And then added the 3,200 in 9:01.22. Then it was the 800 and 1,600 on Thursday, his final lap around Burke in 58.28 seconds in a 4:11.46 well off his state record pace.
“Everything I do out here is because I want to do the best I can for my team,” he said. “Now I’m just going to remember the great memories I had with all my teammates.
“There is just something special about a school like Fremont that you don’t see at other schools. To get inspired by the guys that came before you and to go do the same things they did back in the day. Every Fremont alum comes back and looks at it and everyone still feels like they are a part of it. You can’t really explain it, but it’s just something special we have.”
STANDOUTS (Multiple Individual Golds, State and Meet Records): Jaiya Patillo, Bellevue West (400, new all-class meet record, 55.02); Celia McCoy, Grand Island (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles); Kate Ebmeier, Millard West (1,600, 3,200); Jaeli Franccini, Omaha Benson (100, 200); Imani Skanes, Omaha Northwest (long jump, triple jump); Juan Gonzalez, Fremont (800, 1,600, 3,200); Zaire LaGrone-Miller, Kearney (100, 200); Charlie Thorne, Lincoln Southeast (400, 300 hurdles, 300 hurdles class meet record, 37.31); Aamir Hill, Millard South (long jump, triple jump); Ike Ackerman, Omaha Central (shot put, discus, shot put all-class and state meet record, 67-0.25).
CLASS B: Bennington girls make school history; Waverly boys hold off Lofquest, Gretna East
The Bennington girls and Waverly boys capped dominant seasons on Thursday afternoon at Burke Stadium the only way they knew how. By winning another meet.
The Badgers dominated in the short distances and topped the meet off with an all-class gold medal in the 1,600 meter relay with a time of 3:52.69. Waverly, which could have been graded as a bit “off” during the meet, was still able to run that last race – and win it – with little stress. They outpaced Gretna East 73-64 for their second title in three years.
“Fast and furious,” said Bennington coach Jocelyn Suing. “We just wanted to do this as a team, it was you get a point and you get a point and you get a point. That’s exactly what they did starting with the high jump and 400 yesterday.”
Bennington – in winning their first girls state championship in school history – outpaced Waverly 80-69. The Badgers won five events, including the 400 and 1,600 meter relays. Sophomore Addi Kuntz was brilliant in winning the 100 and 200, while freshman Kiana Pierre won the triple jump.
“Addi Kuntz, I would have never imagined,” Suing said. “They have never been on this stage before and they handled it beautifully. I was a little worried about (our experience), but they sure took care of that.”
Bennington had three more events where they put three on the medal stand.
On the boys side, Waverly’s depth outshined Gretna East’s three-gold performance from Braden Lofquest in the team race as the Vikings held on. They capped their team title with a championship in the 1,600 meter relay but it was just their second win of the meet, as Braxton Smith won the 200 in 21.95 seconds.
Lofquest – a Duke commit for track and field and cross country – capped his career with three 800 meter titles with all-class gold in each, and his first two titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs. His 1:51.86 was just off a personal best time of 1:51.51 he ran at the Hoka Festival of Miles after the state meet last season.
“It feels really good to get the 800 all-class again,” Lofquest said. “That’s probably the last 1,600 I will ever run in my life since they don’t run that in college. (Getting all three) was a goal all year. I kind of have a history of fizzling out in the mile.”
WE CECE YOU: Omaha Duchesne’s Cece Kramper pulled a distance double that will make many head turns. It capped a fantastic year where she was undefeated in the state of Nebraska. Her 4:58.25 mile was the fastest time in the state this spring. In the process she took down two other talented sophomores – Elkhorn North’s Leah Robinson and Hastings Sophia Reynolds. In fourth and fifth in the mile were Nebraska recruit Kendal Zavala and Creighton recruit Atlee Wallman, both of Norris.
NOAH’S BIG ROAR: Chase County’s Noah Rau sent shockwaves all the way down to the track with his second throw in the Class B discus. His throw of 203-9 set the all-class record and is the ninth best throw in the nation this year. He beat the previous all-class mark of Omaha Central’s Larry Station and the state meet record by Andy Meyer of Superior.
STANDOUTS (Multiple Individual Golds and State Meet Records): Addison Darnell, Auburn (300 hurdles, new meet record, 43.68); Addi Kuntz, Bennington (100, 200); Cece Kramper, Omaha Duchesne (1,600, 3,200); Noah Rau, Chase County, (203-9 discus, all-class state and meet record); Braden Lofquest, Gretna East (800, 1,600, 3,200).
Class C: Perkins County squeezes out win over West Holt, the Stars shine in girls team race
There was little drama for the Kearney Catholic girls team in repeating as the Class C champions.
But, there was plenty for Perkins County as they gutted out a 61-57 win over West Holt that came down to the final hour of the meet on Saturday evening. The Plainsmen earned their first track title since 1976 in the process and sixth overall.
“I think just about everyone thought it was going to be the closest team race of the weekend,” Plainsmen coach Shayne Hite said. “Our guys and the other coaches follow it more than I do.”
And, while most will see the 36 points that Mason McGreer and Elijah Goodell scored in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs it was the little ones that added up for Perkins County. They sealed the title in the 200 when senior Ryder Potts finished sixth with West Holt’s Lincoln Conrad and Brody Gaylen going 2-3; it gave PC an insurmountable 58-47 lead heading to the final race.
“Ryder had some problems with his knees yesterday,” Hite said, “and we didn’t know if he would be able to go, but he got in the blocks and tested it out. He gave us two thumbs up. It was the difference in the meet.”
Potts added an eighth place finish – each point valuable – in the 400 on Friday from the second heat. McGreer was second in the 800, as was the Perkins County 3,200 meter relay team.
The team race being sealed didn’t stop West Holt from an exclamation point to the meet as they ripped off a new Class C meet record of 3:19.17 to win the 1,600 meter relay. It was just off their class record time.
It was mostly celebrations for Kearney Catholic on the girls side as they cruised to a 79-50 win over Syracuse while getting six individual titles from Hazel Haarberg (100, 200, long jump), Alyssa Onnen (pole vault, triple jump) and Jaelyn Witter (3,200).
“God blessed us so much for our athletes to compete here,” Stars coach Brian Russell said. “They had big PRs, and they broke records. And, we just have a group of great coaches and great kids. Our kids, they love winning. They are just so fun to be around.”
Onnen stole the show on Friday afternoon with her all-class state meet record pole vault of 13-0.25. It’s a mark that puts her third on the all-time Nebraska charts. She then won the triple jump by taking just four jumps – she took six all season – with an all-class gold mark of 39-2.5.
Haarberg wasn’t far behind. She rolled to victories in the 100 and 200 finals and after a slow start in the long jump, she went 18-2.25 on her final attempt to edge Clarkson/Leigh’s Maizie Stoklasa.
“The kids just achieved all of their goals,” Russell said. “It’s a blessing to be around them.”
BARRETT’S BIG THROW: It was a year for the weight men as Stanton’s Barrett Wilke took down the Class C state mark in the shot put. He waited one more throw than Ackerman, getting the record on his second attempt of the competition on Friday morning.
“I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t thinking about the record,” Wilke said. “I have had some throws that I have scratched a few meets where it was right there. It’s a relief and a weight off of my shoulders.”
Like Ackerman, he added the discus title to his medal haul the next day.
MAGIC MASON: How about the senior season for Mason McGreer, the Perkins County distant standout? Two state team titles and three more individual race titles.
He won his second state cross country championship in the fall and the Plainsmen won a team state title. On the track, he completed repeat titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs as well as a second straight runner-up finish in the 800 meters.
THE FAITHFUL VAULTER: You don’t have to watch Alyssa Onnen vault long to know how important her faith is to achieving her goals. Eyes closed. Prayers. Deep breaths. She broke through for a big one on Friday.
“I have been chasing 13 (feet) all season and, honestly, it has been in my head a little bit,” Onnen said after her 13-0.25 mark set the all-class state meet record. I showed up here today and I just felt complete peace. I just felt like the Holy Spirit was with me the whole day today.”
It has also helped her most in coming back from a patellar tendon injury that occured midway through last season. After a national meet last year she reached a frustration point until a doctor visit confirmed she likely shouldn’t have been competing.
“I was in church, just distraught and I heard a voice,” she said. “And God said, ‘My daughter, I have given you this heartache for a reason.’ Every time I was down, I knew something bigger was coming.”
Something bigger now, could be coming for the junior. Only Jenny Green’s 13-3 and Jaidyn Garrett’s 13-4 are left to catch.
A SURPRISING SHAW: Sandy Creek freshman Madison Shaw proved that it’s not where you start, but where you finish. Shaw had on hip bib 24 to start the Class C girls mile; the number signifying the slowest district qualifying time. When it was over, Shaw had a 24-second personal best time of 5:16.15 and a gold medal.
It capped a big freshman season for Shaw. She added another gold by running a leg of the Sandy Creek winning 3,200 meter relay and was sixth in the 400 at 59.56 seconds. Shaw also finished fifth in the Class D cross country meet this fall where the Cougars were state runner-up.
STANDOUTS (Multiple Individual Golds): Aubree Fujan, Bishop Neumann (100 hurdles, class record, 14.45); Hazel Haarberg, Kearney Catholic (100, 200, long jump); Alyssa Onnen, Kearney Catholic (pole vault, triple jump, 13-0.25 pole vault, all-class state meet record, class record); West Holt girls (1,600 relay, new class record, 3:57.20); Lincoln Lutheran boys (3,200 relay, new class record, 7:58.75); Mason McGreer, Perkins County (1,600, 3,200); Barrett Wilke, Stanton (shot put, discus, 65-4.75 shot put, class record); West Holt boys (1,600 relay, new class meet record, 3:19.17); Isaac Cronin, Valentine (high jump, tied class meet record, 6-10).
Class D: Tigers dominate Class D
In turning heads at the Class D state track meet, Dundy County-Stratton brought home two team championship trophies and an astounding 12 event championships.
The strategy, said coach Mike Spargo, was a simple one. Be consistent.
“We are just super proud of our kids,” said Spargo. “They talked about what they wanted to do from the beginning of the year and what they believed they could do. We have seen it all year. They have just been consistent all year.
“We tried to come down here and treat it like any other meet. And then we just knew if we held to our standard we would be in good shape.”
Good shape might be an understatement.
The Tiger boys set a class record for points in a meet with 87 and outpaced defending co-champion Axtell who ended with 62. Despite the record, the Wildcats pushed DCS deep into Saturday afternoon. The Tigers, however, would get titles from their 400 relay early and then Laken Wissink added titles in the 100 and 200.
DCS also got a pair titles in throws for sophomore Brock Bailey, who also finished third in the all-class standings in the shot put, with a throw of 59-00. He was, however, seeded seventh going into the discus. The Tigers added a fifth title when their state record holding 400 meter relay team of Blaine Aldrige, Kevin Garcia-Guzman, Ethan Latta and Wissink set a meet record at 42.88 seconds.
“We knew what Brock could do (in the discus),” Spargo said, “but there were some good throwers in there. Our two most important championships were Brock and Laken. And then, Kevin (Garcia-Guzman) getting second in the hurdles was really big for us.”
There was little drama in the girls team race. Kennedy Bailey, Brock’s sister, started the two-day event with a win in the discus and then went 1-2 in the 400 with Clara Spargo edging sister Abi for the gold medal. They ended the meet with seven event titles and outpaced Nebraska Christian 86-42 in the team race.
Clara Spargo, a junior, would add the 100 and 200 crowns to her weekend, ending the meet with a state class record of 24.63 in the 200 final. She beat Central Valley standout Taylor McIntrye, who won the triple jump, in both finals after McIntrye had set state records in the prelims.
“(Clara) is a competitor, whether it’s her sister or anyone else,” her father said. “McIntrye is just phenomenal. But after her 400 yesterday and then seeing her times in the 100 and 200 that really motivated her.”
Abi Spargo, a freshman, added a 300 meter hurdle win and a 100 meter hurdle silver to her haul on the weekend.
Standing with co-coach Hannah Stroup next to the finish line, coach Spargo was leaning against the Kearney High banner of boys state championship domination. It seemed appropriate. His teams had done something few had ever done in Omaha.
“No words. Coach Stroup and I are just so proud of what these kids did,” he said. “The focus they have had all year. The effort. The attitude. We thought we could do it and the kids believed it.”
STATE RECORD SILVER: Were it not for Clara Spargo you’d certainly be reading more about Central Valley junior sprinter Taylor McIntrye. She set state records in the prelims on Friday in the 100 and 200 before finishing second to Spargo in each race on Saturday. She won the triple jump earlier on Saturday morning and was the anchor leg on the Cougars sixth place 400 meter relay team.
FANTASTIC FALK: Sheridan Falk, one of the top girls basketball players in Class D, added a pair of track titles to her career with a nearly half second win over Abi Spargo in the 100 meter hurdles. She also won the long jump on Friday which helped Nebraska Christian to the runner-up trophy that they sealed on the final race by edging Elm Creek in the 1,600 meter relay.
STRONG SECOND: In being a co-champion with McCool Junction last year, Axtell scored 56 points. In the 2025 meet their 62 would have won any of the previous four meets. It was the most points from a Class D boys team in a meet since the Wildcats scored 66 in winning the title in 2019. Axtell won two golds with Jake Halvorsen (110 hurdles) and Luc Lopez (800).
MEET STANDOUTS (Multiple Individual Golds or State Meet Records): Taylor McIntrye, Central Valley (12.08, 100 meters; new class record); Dundy County Stratton girls (400 relay, tied state meet record, 49.50); Kennedy Bailey, Dundy County-Stratton (shot put, discus); Abi Spargo, Dundy County Stratton (300 hurdles, tied class meet record, 44.90); Clara Spargo, Dundy County-Stratton (100, 200, 400; 200 new class record, 24.63); Sheridan Falk, Nebraska Christian (long jump, 100 hurdles); Central Valley boys (1,600 relay, new class and meet record, 3:26.62); Dundy County-Stratton boys (400 relay, new class meet record, 42.88); Brock Bailey, Dundy County-Stratton (shot put, discus); Laken Wissink, Dundy County-Stratton (100, 200).
Tony Chapman is a freelance writer based in Grand Island. He has written for multiple Nebraska daily and weekly newspapers. His Harvest Sports Newsletter covers a wide variety of Nebraska prep sports.