The North Platte girls’ cross-country team is the defending Class 2 State Champions.
It was a historical day for the North Platte cross-country teams when they competed at the 2022 Class 2 State Meet with the girls winning a state title and the boys ending in fourth place.
The Lady Panthers have won three state titles in the last 15 months, along with a pair of track and field championships. North Platte has finished top-4 at state cross-country every year since 2019.
“The girls have captured four straight state trophies, including a championship last fall, and will look to add another as they head into 2023,” North Platte head cross-country coach Brendan Cary said. “Led by 2-time All-Stater Brianna DeBord and Chloe Heckman – who was a KCI Champion and All-Stater last year – we will look to our seniors and a strong group of freshmen to fill the gaps left by the graduation of six seniors, three of which were 4-time state qualifiers.”
North Platte are defending champions in the KCI Conference and in the Class 2 District 4 Championship, led by DeBord and Heckman. DeBord took ninth in the state with a time of 20:21.4, two places and 5.4 seconds behind Heckman.
North Platte senior Caitlyn Cummings and sophomore Lily Schaffart have run at state before, while senior Kylee Sipes will take on a bigger role this fall. The Lady Panthers add a trio of talented freshmen with Annabell DeBord, Taylor Sipes and Jill Jones.
“Cummings and Sipes will look to step up after previous seasons hampered by injuries while Schaffart will look to return to the state meet for a second time. Our freshmen have stepped up and will continue to improve individually as the season moves forward, giving the team an opportunity to continue the successful run of the past few years,” Cary said.
While the girls reached the pinnacle of a 4-year run in 2022 with a state championship, the North Platte boys’ team hopes to have started a run of its own. The Panthers earned conference and district championships before the impressive outing at state.
“We lost Josh Schaffart to graduation, but the rest of the team returns and will be joined by a group of newcomers hungry to compete. Led by 3-time state qualifier and 2-time all-stater Noah Heckman, we’re looking to keep the momentum and move up the podium at the conclusion of the season,” Cary said.
Sophomore Drake Keraus ran in 18:34.2 at state last year and has improved since, qualifying for the USATF Junior Olympic Nationals in the 800 this summer. Hunter Palmer, Mark Humes, Waylon McCracken and Jackson Cassity completed the all-state roster in 2022.
“Our theme for this year is ‘Keep Moving Forward’. We know that every successful journey is the combination of many individual steps that move us towards our next destination, but just as importantly, we grow because we have experienced every step along the way,” Cary said.
North Platte will have a slew of newcomers: Coen Rainsbarger, Galen Christiansen, Devin Navarro, Jase Smith and Hudson Buckler. The Panthers and Lady Panthers are ready to get after it this season.