NELIGH — The 2024 season is off and running for the Wausa track and field teams.
The Vikings and Lady Vikings both finished in fourth place out of six teams with 59 points at the Neligh-Oakdale Warrior Relays, held on a chilly March 21 in Neligh.
“I was really pleased with the way the kids performed,” longtime Wausa head coach Greg Conn said. “Under notso- ideal conditions, we came away with quite a few solid early marks for the first meet of the season.
“The thing that impressed me the most is how we prepared for events in warming up before and during the competition and not letting the cold determine how they would perform,” he said.
Conn noted his returning athletes started out ahead of where they were a year ago at this time and recorded some personal bests.
“Very pleased with our young athletes, as this was their first varsity competition, and from top to bottom, they competed well,” Conn said. “What we saw was a lot of depth with both squads and weren’t really sure until we saw them in competition how they would respond, and all of them responded well.”
Senior Cashe Carlson competed in the boys’ shot put, discus and field event relays.
“We did pretty good,” he said. “As a team, we did pretty good for our discus and shot put. This track meet helped out quite a bit for the track meets that are upcoming – just to get all the jitters out.”
Carlson notched a new personal record with a discus throw of 130 feet, though his goal is to throw it farther and farther at each meet this season. “I’m not OK with 130,” he said. “I’d like to get more so I can hopefully have a chance at state. I’m just going to keep on building from there.” Sophomore Taylor Dawson was pleased she and her teammates won the girls’ sprint medley relay. “We did really good,” she said. “With the freshmen, it being their first meet, I feel like we did really good. I know our freshmen were very nervous.” Conn explained why he enjoys the Warrior Relays. “I really like this meet because it’s different and we can see a lot of kids in a lot of different areas,” Conn said. “I can tell you, as a coaching staff, we are really excited moving forward to see what these two teams can accomplish.” The Vikings and Lady Vikings are next set to compete at the Plainview Invitational, scheduled for 10 a.m. March 28, and then the Knox County Invitational at Creighton, set for 1:30 p.m. April 2.
Below are the results from the Warrior Relays for the Wausa boys and girls: Boys’ Results
- Shot Put Relay: Sophomore Preston Schlote, senior Cashe Carlson and sophomore Tate Stolpe, third, 109’11”.
- Discus Relay: Senior Cashe Carlson, sophomore Preston Schlote and sophomore Tate Stolpe, sixth, 231’-3”.
- Pole Vault Relay: Junior Colton Baue and freshman Brent Kristensen, third, 12’-6”. - Triple Jump Relay: Freshman Mac Carlson, sixth, 38’-0”.
- High Jump Relay: Junior Colton Baue, freshman Matthew Schindler, freshman Brady Kristensen and freshman Ryan Kleinschmit, fourth, 15’-9”.
- Long Jump Relay: Freshman Matthew Schindler, junior Colton Baue, sophomore Gaven Nipp and freshman Brady Kristensen, third, 51’-3”.
- Sprint Medley Relay: Senior Jyler Petersen, freshman Mac Carlson, sophomore Gaven Nipp and freshman Matthew Schindler, first, 4:06.5.
- 4-by-100 meters: Junior Colton Baue, senior Jyler Petersen, freshman Matthew Schindler and freshman Mac Carlson, second, 48.6.
- 4-by-200 meters: Freshman Mac Carlson, senior Jyler Petersen, sophomore Gaven Nipp and freshman Junior Herrera, third, 1:49.3.
- Field Event Relay: Senior Cashe Carlson, freshman Junior Herrera, sophomore Preston Schlote and freshman Brent Kristensen, second, 54.5.
Girls’ Results
- Sprint Medley Relay: Freshman Reagan Gillilan, freshman Kennedy Gillilan, sophomore Lexi Wright and sophomore Taylor Dawson, first, 4:45.2.
- Distance Medley Relay: Freshman Reagan Gillilan, freshman Carlie Kleinschmit, freshman Elle Brazel and senior Hadley Vanness, fourth, 16:38.3.
- 4-by-200-meter Relay: Sophomore Lexi Wright, sophomore Mackenzie Suhr, freshman Kennedy Gillilan and freshman Carlie Kleinschmit, second, 2:02. - 4-by-100-meter Relay: Freshman Kennedy Gillilan, freshman Reagan Gillilan, freshman Elle Brazel and sophomore Lexi Wright, second, 55.16.
- Shot Put Relay: Senior Kate Lundberg, sophomore Tierney Alexander, freshman Sydney Hoppe and senior Sophia Wilken, second, 88’-0”.
- Discus Relay: Sophomore Tierney Alexander, senior Sophia Wilken, senior Kate Lundberg and freshman Sydney Hoppe, third, 231’-3”.
- High Jump Relay: Sophomore Mackenzie Suhr and freshman Reagan Gillilan, second, 14’-3”.
- Pole Vault Relay: Freshman Carlie Kleinschmit, senior Hadley Vanness and freshman Jaidynn Timmerman, fourth, 5’.
- Long Jump Relay: Freshman Reagan Gillilan and sophomore Lexi Wright, sixth, 28’2”.
- Triple Jump Relay: Freshman Kennedy Gillilan and sophomore Mackenzie Suhr, fifth, 56’-5”.
