Since coming to the Clay County News in 2009, I’ve covered 13 of the last 15 state track meets, several state golf tournaments and each year, as I age, I can’t believe how fast a school year goes. It just seems that we were watching Sandy Creek’s girls cross country team win a Class D state runner-up title, not to mention the Cougars’ football team winning the Class D-1 state championship over Stanton.
This week, not that it matters how old I’m getting or how young I feel some days, I turn my focus to the state track and golf championships, as it is that time of year. The school year is over for Sutton, and will be over for Harvard and Sandy Creek by the state track meet beginning Friday and Saturday for the Cougars and Mustangs.
This year, however, I have to include a few of our younger tracksters first. Sandy Creek captured the Southern Nebraska Conference track titles a week ago, and this week, Sandy Creek sent 10 events to the Middle School state track meet in Gothenburg, which I think is phenomenal.
Sutton had a total of five events take part in the state meet.
Success was had for sure, as the Cougar boys 3200-meter relay team, made up of Brockett Reed, Kipton Williamson, Bo Petr, and Charlie Shaw, placed third overall with a time of eight minutes, 59.68 seconds. To close out the meet, the Cougars’ 1600-meter relay team, made up of Asher Eitzmann, Petr, Williamson, and Shaw, placed fourth overall with a time of 3:47.08.
Sandy Creek’s girls 3,200-meter relay team, made up of Collins Hubl, Candace Bracco, Kesley Sealey, and Neviah McBride, finished in eighth place with a time of 10:40.18 to score one team point for the youthful Cougars.
Sutton’s girls 1600-meter relay team, made up of America Hernandez, McKinley Eggleston, Kierra Ebert, and Kali White, placed eighth in the event with their time of 4:21.41, to tally one team point for the young Fillies.
Other Clay County athletes that took on the challenge at the state meet included, from Sandy Creek: Cooper Shaw in the pole vault, Williamson in the triple jump, Eitzmann in the high jump, Reed in the 1600-meter run, McBride in the 400-meter dash, and 800-meter run, and Petr in the 800-meter run. From Sutton, others taking part included: White in the 100-meter hurdles, the 200-meter hurdles and the 400-meter dash, as well as Eggleston in the 1600-meter run.
Congratulations, as it seems like track and field will be in great hands for years to come.
On the high school level, Sandy Creek has 10 student-athletes going to this weekend’s state meet at Omaha Burke in 11 events. The Mustangs and Fillies will contend in Omaha with three going to state in three events.
For the Cougars, the SC girls enter the Class C meet as the fastest district 3200-meter relay out of the district competitions. Leading the charge in the event will be Emma Fisher, Anna Paus, Madison Shaw, and Paige Stengel. Fisher, Shaw, and Paus will team up with Carrigan Rempe in the 1,600-meter relay to end the weekend in Omaha.
Meanwhile for the SC girls, Anna will battle, as a district champ in the 800-meter run, Carrigan will will take on the field in the 300-meter hurdles, Paige advances to Omaha in the 3200-meter run, while Madison, individually heads to state in the 400 and 1600-meter events. What a big showing ladies....Congratulations.
The SC boys has two district champions and three more qualifiers heading to Omaha, as Jack Clark won the C-7 District title in the discus, and Ethan Shaw won the district title in the 110-meter high hurdles. Jack Watts goes to Omaha in the shot put, Ben Sullivan in the 100-meter dash and Christian Shaw in the discus. Even more awesome news!
Finally, for Sutton, after a gut check performance for sophomore Jadlynn Kinney with a new personal record time in the 400-meter dash to win the district title in the event, Jadlynn will represent the Fillies, while sophomore Connor Hinrichs, in the 300-meter hurdles, and freshman Max Huxoll, in the triple jump, will represent the Mustangs in Omaha this weekend. Good luck to all three of you this weekend.
Finally this week, a windy week in more ways than one, it’s the big push for the Sutton and Sandy Creek golf teams, as district golf took place yesterday, Tuesday, May 20, Sutton in Grand Island and Sandy Creek near Humboldt. I’ll have more about their outcomes in next week’s paper, with what I hope will be great news for both teams.
Then...we wait for another school year to start, in August when football, volleyball and cross country takes center stage.
