Hirsch smashes Nebraska state meet record 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor 

Seth Hirsch took aim at the Nebraska state meet record at Kearney and crushed it on Friday.

The senior from Millard West led his team to its second straight boys Class A cross country title with a narrow 78-80 victory over Fremont. 

Hirsch, ranked fifth in the latest DyeStat individual rankings, ran 15:04.9 and broke the recognized state meet course record of 15:22.9 by Joseph Harter in 2012. Nate Nielsen of Lincoln Southwest ran 15:15 in 1987 on a different course.

Hirsch had company from Omaha Westside's Milo Greder for nearly two miles. The two frontrunners went through the mile in 4:44 and Hirsch hit two miles in 9:38 with Greder four seconds back. 

"I knew he'd try to go with me," Hirsch said. "Just as in my district meet and he tried to go with me."

Greder finished in 15:37.6.

Hirsch ran 15:29 last year and praised Greder as "someone to look out for" in the postseason.

Hirsch has grown three inches to 5-foot-7 since last year and upped his mileage from 70 to 75 miles over the summer. The progress has paid off with big wins all fall, including the Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota.

The Nebraska state meet record became his focus.

"That was definitely a goal," Hirsch said. "It was thinking of trying to break the 15-minute barrier. It made it easier with Milo going out with me early. I didn't have to worry about the time (by myself)."

Hirsch turned in the chute to watch for his Millard West teammates but was concerned when he saw Fremont runners pass his teammates.

"We were super nervous," Hirsch said. "It was crazy. (Fremont) had beat us pretty good at Ames (Iowa)."

Hirsch was ninth at both NXN and Foot Locker last year.

In Class A girls, Taylor Somers of Millard South won the individual title in 18:54.5. Millard West, however, went 4-5-6 on the way to the team title.

In Class B, Abdulkadir Mohamed of South Sioiux City-Ponca ran 16:15 and led his team to the boys championship. Mazie Larsen from Gretna ran the fastest girls time of the day with 18:32.5 in the girls race as Aurora won the team title.

In Class C, the Holdrege boys edged Wahoo 46-47 for the team title. Aidan Wheelock of Minden won the race in 16:41.5. The Columbus Scotus girls beat Fort Calhoun (and winner Taya Skelton) 58-61 for the team title.

In Class D, Jonah Heng led Norfolk Catholic to the team title with his win in 16:55.1. Freshman Rylee Rice of Ainsworth ran 18:34.3 to win the girls race by 40 seconds. Aquinas Catholic took the team title.