Papillion La Vista South (NE) High's Jake Ralston won his first state title on Saturday, earning a coveted win at the Nebraska Schools Activities Association Class A championship in 15:55.50, outpacing the field by over 20 seconds and capturing the only sub-16 minute performance on the day at Kearney Country Club.
Ralston's win highlighted a race that saw his La Vista South team post a state championship with 72 points, outpacing Lincoln Southwest (82) and Fremont (84).
La Vista South's Logan Clark was fourth overall and the team's final three runners came through at 20-22-25, pouncing on great positioning late in the race.
| TEAM SCORES | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES | |||
| 1 | Papillion - La Vista South High School | 72 | 1+4+20+22+25 (26+82) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 16:48 Avg | |||
| 2 | Lincoln Southwest High School | 82 | 6+13+14+16+33 (34+55) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 16:55 Avg | |||
| 3 | Fremont High School | 84 | 5+10+17+24+28 (48+63) | --:-- 1-5 Split | 16:57 Avg | |||
The boys Class A race saw six times under 16:30, including second-place Ryan Eastman's 16:16 and John Slagle's 16:19.70, each running or Creighton Prep.
| BOYS 5,000 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||||
| 1 | Jake Ralston | 12 | Papillion - La Vista South High School | 15:55.50 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Ryan Eastman | 12 | Creighton Prep | 16:16.00 | 2 | |||
| 3 | John Slagle | 12 | Creighton Prep | 16:19.70 | 3 | |||
| 4 | Ethan Goldner | 11 | Westside High School | 16:23.90 | 0 | |||
| 5 | Logan Clark | 12 | Papillion - La Vista South High School | 16:27.60 | 4 | |||
| 6 | Jose Gonzalez | 11 | Fremont High School | 16:29.30 | 5 | |||
| 7 | Luke Nolley | 12 | Lincoln Southwest High School | 16:31.90 | 6 | |||
| 8 | John Quigley | 12 | Millard West High School | 16:32.00 | 7 | |||
| 9 | Jake Norris | 12 | Papillion-La Vista High School | 16:32.40 | 8 | |||
| 10 | Mason Mcdonald | 11 | Millard West High School | 16:36.50 | 9 | |||
| 11 | C J Martinez | 12 | Fremont High School | 16:38.50 | 10 | |||
Boys Class B Race
| BOYS 5,000 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||||
| 0 | Luke Stuckey | 12 | York High School | 16:25.20 | 1 | |||
| 0 | Jack Larsen | 12 | Gross Catholic High School | 16:35.20 | 0 | |||
| 0 | Zekariya Abdela | 11 | South Sioux City High School | 16:41.40 | 2 | |||
Boys Class C Race
| BOYS 5,000 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||||
| 0 | Aidan Wheelock | 11 | Minden High School | 16:44.00 | 0 | |||
| 0 | Brian Santiago | 12 | Hartington High School | 17:09.90 | 1 | |||
| 0 | Gavin Klein | 12 | Holdrege High School | 17:17.80 | 2 | |||
Boys Class D Race
| BOYS 5,000 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||||
| 0 | Elijah Frasher | 12 | Aquinas/St. Mary's Catholic School | 16:33.40 | 1 | |||
| 0 | Ben Arens | 11 | Ainsworth High School | 16:50.70 | 2 | |||
| 0 | Justin Vrooman | 12 | St. Cecilia High School | 16:54.90 | 3 | |||
Girls Class A Race
| GIRLS 5,000 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||||
| 1 | Gabby Mcginn | 12 | Millard West High School | 18:49.60 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Abigail Schmidt | 10 | Lincoln East | 18:55.70 | 2 | |||
| 3 | Jenna Muma | 9 | Lincoln East | 19:04.10 | 3 | |||
Girls Class B Race
| GIRLS 5,000 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||||
| 1 | Mazie Larsen | 12 | Gretna | 19:20.10 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Kaylee Bentley | 12 | Scottsbluff High School | 19:25.70 | 2 | |||
| 3 | Ally Schilmoeller | 10 | Elkhorn South High School | 19:47.40 | 3 | |||
Girls Class C Race
| GIRLS 5,000 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||||
| 0 | Taya Skelton | 11 | Fort Calhoun | 19:33.20 | 1 | |||
| 0 | Ellie Wilkinson | 9 | Syracuse High School | 19:42.60 | 0 | |||
| 0 | Sam Weeder | 9 | Boone Central High School | 19:50.00 | 2 | |||
The top girls performance of Saturday came in the Girls Class D race, where Ainsworth High sophomore Rylee Rice pocketed her eighth-straight win on the season in 18:44.70, capturing her second-straight championship in Nebraska and helping her program secure a state championship.
Ainsworth posted 92 points on a 21:21 average and had three runners in the top 25.
It marked Rice's sixth state championship overall after her past spring, where she posted four Class C wins in the 100mH, 300mH, 800m and 1600m.
Girls Class D Race
| GIRLS 5,000 METER RUN FINALS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||||
| 0 | Rylee Rice | 10 | Ainsworth High School | 18:44.70 | 1 | |||
| 0 | Haley Arens | 12 | Crofton High School | 19:43.30 | 2 | |||
| 0 | Sable Lambley | 10 | Dundy County-Stratton High School | 19:57.50 | 0 | |||
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