Fredonia’s Nehls races to Holland Fest Run title

Winning wasn’t easy, but Saturday’s annual Holland Fest Run race in Cedar Grove was a breeze for Aaron Nehls.

The 2024 Ozaukee High School grad is accustomed to running 60 to 70 miles per week as he trains for cross country and track and field at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Nehls, 20, won the two-mile Holland Fest Run in 9 minutes, 51.95 seconds, nine seconds ahead of Will Miller, 18, of Downers Grove, Ill., who finished second. A total of 205 runners participated.

“I came into the race wanting to go sub-10. I felt like I was in good enough shape to do it,” Nehls said.

He followed his race strategy after getting out a little quicker than planned.

“I got out in second place and decided to stick right on first place’s hip. I wanted to get out in five minutes flat, but we went through the mile at 4:50. With all the training I’ve been doing, 4:50 surprisingly felt manageable,” he said.

“After about 1.5 miles, I felt like I could take off and win. With about 400 meters to go I really started to open my stride and chase the lead cart. I could hear my parents with about 200 meters to go cheering me on. It feels good to get the win, but more importantly see what my body can do. I’ve been running 60 to 70-mile weeks, so a two-mile race was over in the blink of eye.”

The race started at 7:30 a.m. in what Nehls called ideal weather.

“Starting early in the morning like that makes it a little cooler, especially when it’s just a two-mile race,” he said.

Nehls was happy to see some fellow Warriors in the race. Sophomore Wyatt Borchardt was fifth in 11:01.1, and cross country coach Andrew Pfeuffer was 121st in 18:07.

“It was cool to see a lot of Ozaukee athletes there. Seeing my high school coach and some teammates goes to show the culture Ozaukee has created during my time there,” Nehls said.

In high school, Nehls won a Division 4 state title in the 3,200-meter relay, qualified for the state cross country meet three times and won multiple Big East Conference and sectional titles in track and cross country.

Nehls trains with his father, who bikes alongside of him on nearly every run.

Nehls is studying kinesiology exercise and sport science at UW-Oshkosh.

Jessica Buehler, 34, of Cedar Grove won the female race in 14:05.6. She was 31st overall.

Steve Jansky set the Holland Fest Run record in 1997, finishing in 9:39.