Brianna DeBord and Noah Heckman made Panther history when the North Platte cross-country runners had the best individual state finishes in school history.
The North Platte girls’ cross-country team finished in third place at the Class 2 State Race on Nov. 6, after ending in second place each of the last two years. The Panthers completed the race in a total time of 1:45:54.40, with an average time of 21:02.48 as North Platte finished with 174 points.
The boys’ team had two state qualifiers, both who finished in the top-30. Before this fall, there had never been a North Platte boy medal at a state meet but Heckman changed that. The sophomore ran the Class 2 State Race in 17:05, earning a 16th place finish.
The previous Panther boys’ record was held by Josh Schaffart when he finished in 17:53 in 2019 at the state meet. Schaffart finished with a better time than the previous record this go around when the North Platte junior finished the 5K in 30th place out of 168 runners with a personal best time of 17:37.
On the girls’ side, DeBord ended her freshman campaign on a high note as the Panther shattered the previous program record of 21:04, which was set by Savannah Lingle in 2019. The freshman was the fourth Class 2 girl to cross the finish line at the state race when DeBord ended with a time of 19:47.
For the third time in her career, Jessa Cassity medaled when the junior finished in a career-best 14th place. Cassity ended the race with a time of 20:34, shedding 1:04 from the Panther’s final time at state in 2020.
North Platte freshman Brianna DeBord finished with a school record time of 21:04, ending in fourth place in the Class 2 State Meet on Nov. 6.
Shelby Lingle was the next North Platte runner to complete the 5K when the junior finished in 21:47, earning 42nd place out of 166 total runners. Alaina Scroggins and Lonee French finished back-to-back as Scroggins ended with a time of 22:19 and French finished in 22:22.
Audrey Buckler crossed the finish line in 25:02 and Alexandra Helderman was the last Panther to finish when the sophomore ended with a time of 27:09. North Platte will be hanging a banner for the third consecutive season as the Panthers finished in 3rd place as a team.