Aiden Gehring and Emily Hegge swept the Metro Conference cross country championships, and it could be the first of three for the pair from Papillion-La Vista South.
Gehring is a sophomore, Hegge a freshman.
“This morning I was told that no Titan has ever gotten the Metro championship before, not even when our guy won state (Jacob Ralston in 2017),” Gehring said. “This means a lot. It may not have been for the school record, but this is just as big to me.”
Hegge said she was nervous at the starting line.
“At the end of the day, there’s only a few possibilities that can happen in running and me and my teammates always say, no matter what happens, we’ll be jolly after.”
Omaha Creighton Prep won its second Metro boys team title in three years while Millard West’s three-peat in girls required a first-time tiebreaker against Omaha Marian.
Gehring, whose time was 16:17.81, said he dealt with a side stitch that made the second mile a little rough. He had gone out faster than he intended, pushed by a hot start from Millard West junior Eli Bickley.
“That first mile was a little quick on this course. Obviously I paid for it the second mile, but I got what I wanted.”
Not until the final hill on the course at Walnut Creek Recreation Area and Papillion-La Vista South did Hegge overtake Bellevue West senior Tatum Neilson.
“I knew around the two-mile mark that she was picking it up, because I could tell by the speed of pace we were going, in like her stride,” Hegge said. “I knew that she was really strong in the hills the first lap, so if I wanted to have a chance of winning, I would definitely have to use the final hill to my advantage. I knew I had to go.
“I kind of knew we’d have to come down to a final sprint and I was prepared for that. I think I executed my plan really well.”
Aaron Robles, a junior who was runner-up to Gehring, led six Prep runners in the top 15. The Junior Jays finished with 36 points to 81 for Millard West.
Peter Lickteig was sixth for Prep, Finn Sully eighth, Hylan Caouette ninth, Isaiah Coleman 11th and Leveret Stricklett, whose placing didn’t count, was 15th.
Millard West and Omaha Marian each scored 56 points with their five runners. Team ties are broken by comparing the finishes for the sixth runners. Millard West’s Ally Wilber came in 21st.
Katelyn Sanne’s fifth-place finish led the Wildcats. Sadie Osher was seventh, Taia Green 10th, Natalie McGranaghan 14th and Maggie Johnson 20th.
Class A’s district meets, the next competitions, are Oct 15 at Pioneers Park in Lincoln and Meadowlark Hills in Kearney.
Results
Boys
Team scoring: Omaha Creighton Prep 36, Millard West 81, Millard North 94, Papillion-La Vista South 94, Elkhorn South 100, Omaha Central 209, Omaha Westview 232, Omaha Burke 250, Millard South 278, Omaha South 280, Omaha Westside 302, Papillion-La Vista 326, Omaha North 348, Bellevue West 422, Omaha Bryan 426, Bellevue East 449, Omaha Northwest 529, Omaha Buena Vista 531.
Individual leaders: 1, Aiden Gehring, Papio South, 16:17.81. 2, Aaron Robles, Prep, 16:38.74. 3, Martin Aringu, Central, 16:40.82. 4, Eli Bickley, Millard West, 16:41.68. 5, Collin Krahling, Westview, 16:44.56. 6, Peter Lickteig, Prep, 16:48.81. 7, Ben Insko, PL South, 16:50.02. 8, Finn Sully, Prep, 16:52.70. 9, Hylan Caouette, Prep, 16:53.37. 10, Caleb Thome, Millard North, 16:54.17. 11, Isaiah Coleman, Prep, 16:57.52. 12, Zander Carson-Koestner, Elkhorn South, 16:58.05. 13, Logan Dobkins, Millard West, 16:59.01. 14, Liam Thoman, Millard West, 16:59.57. 15, Leveret Stricklett, Prep, 17:00.10.
Girls
Team scoring: Millard West 56, Omaha Marian 56, Papillion-La Vista South 90, Papillion-La Vista 124, Omaha Westview 154, Millard North 190, Omaha Westside 194, Bellevue West 204, Millard South 228, Elkhorn South 252, Omaha South 299, Omaha Central 314, Omaha Burke 362, Bellevue East 403, Omaha Bryan 480, Omaha Buena Vista 483.
Individual leaders: 1, Emily Hegge, Papio South, 18:42.73. 2, Tatum Neilson, Bellevue West, 18:47.01. 3, Maya Freyer, Marian, 19:38.46. 4, Ashlyn Carter, Papio South, 19:52.75. 5, Katelyn Sanne, Millard West, 19:54.29. 6, Reese Lancaster, Omaha Marian, 19:56.12. 7, Sadie Osher, Millard West, 20:05.28. 8, Layla Phillips, Papillion-La Vista, 20:05.43. 9, Katelyn Sullivan, Millard South, 20:15.51. 10, Taia Green, Millard West, 20:21.38. 11, Lucy Fierro, Westview, 20:24.43. 12, Gracie Suppes, Papillion-La Vista, 20:25.31. 13, Lena Sabata, Marian, 20:27.68. 14, Natalie Mcgranaghan, Millard West, 20:29.79. 15, Julia Kubat, Marian, 20:33.35.
stu.pospisil@owh.com, twitter.com/stuOWH
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Stu Pospisil
Reporter – High school sports
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