Sandy Creek girls have big showing in 2025 state track and field championships, set 2 new school records
The Sandy Creek girls track team put on a big show during the Class C State Track and Field Championships this past weekend at Omaha Burke. The Cougars not only tallied 23 team points to tie with Niobrara/Verdigre in the final team standings, but Sandy Creek returned home with a pair of state championships in the 3200-meter relay and in the 1600-meter run. They also added a third-medal to their cause with a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter dash.
Freshman Madison Shaw had a hand in all three medals, as Shaw turned in a school record performance in winning the four-lap 1600. She also placed sixth in the 400 and teamed up with Emma Fisher, Paige Stengel, and Anna Paus to dominate the 3200-meter relay.
Shaw’s school record-setting performance in the 1600-meter run broke a 34-year-old record held by Laurie Herbeck, as Herbeck’s record stood with a time of five minutes, 22.96 seconds. Shaw crushed the record by over six seconds, as the Sandy Creek freshman was clocked in a time of 5:16.15.
She opened the race with a first lap split of 1:15.38, which had her sixth overall. During the second lap, Shaw was clocked in 1:24.13 to move the freshman up to fourth place halfway through the event.
In her final two laps, Shaw was clocked with times of 1:23.83 in her third lap and smoked her final lap with a time of 1:12.82 to claim gold over Hailey O’Daniel of Arlington by nearly one full second, as O’Daniel turned in a time of 5:17.09.
Sandy Creek’s school record-setting time in the 3200-meter relay, broke last week’s district and school record time of 9:48.65. In Omaha, Fisher, Shaw, Stengel, and Paus shaved off a little over two more seconds in their gold-medal performance, as the Cougar four hit the finish line with a time of 9:46.55.
Sandy Creek opened the race with an opening split time of 2:27.8, while in the second leg of the relay, the Cougars were timed in 2:25.4.
In the final two legs, Sandy Creek’s times were 2:33.42 in the third leg and 2:19.93 in the final leg.
Sandy Creek held off second- place Palmyra by over two seconds, as Palmyra was clocked with a time of 9:48.97.
Shaw’s weekend in Omaha wasn’t complete without her sixth-place medal in the 400-meter dash, as she turned in a time of 59.56 seconds to outlast Clay County challenger Jadlynn Kinney for the sixth spot. Kinney earned the seventh-place medal with a time of 59.86 seconds.
Winning the one-lap sprint event was Kerstyn Chapek of Bishop Nuemann High School with a time of 56.78 seconds.
OTHER EVENTS FOR SC
Sandy Creek’s 1600-meter relay team, made up of Carrigan Rempe, Fisher, Shaw, and Paus placed 11th in the event with their time of 4:13.5. Event winner West Holt set a new state record and meet record with their winning time of 3:57.2.
In the 800-meter run, Paus finished 12th overall in the tough field of athletes with her time of 2:23.44. Syracuse’s Jayden Meyer claimed gold with a time of 2:17.08.
Stengel worked her way to a 13th-place finish in the eight-lap 3200-meter run, finishing with a time of 12:27.44. Kearney Catholic’s Jaelyn Witter earned gold in the race with her time of 11:41.97.
Rempe placed 16th overall in the 300-meter low hurdles, running to a time of 48.31 seconds. Winning the long flight of hurdles was Ashlynn Vestal of Syracuse with a time of 43.75 seconds.
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
Kearney Catholic was crowned the Class C State Champions, outscoring second-place Syracuse by 29 points, as the Stars finished with 79 points and the Rockets, with 50.
Following Syracuse was Bishop Neumann with 47, West Holt with 45, Battle Creek with 29, and Ord with 27, while Sandy Creek and Niobrara/Verdigre tied for seventh with 23 points each. Rounding out the top 10 were Lincoln Lutheran, Hartington Cedar Catholic, and Johnson-Brock, with 22 team points each.
