McCook boys edged out for Class B-6 district crown

Bison boys,

girls to send

several athletes

to state meet

It came down to the final race -- like it usually does.

The McCook High School boys track team trailed Alliance by 10 points for the Nebraska Class B-6 district title going into the 4x400-meter relay.

Thursday's B-6 district track meet was hosted by McCook -- the first time McCook has hosted a district track competition.

The Bison foursome of Craig Fritz, Tony Purvis, Derek Ruppert and Brendan Liess were the heavy favorites to win the 4x400 and did their part, blowing away the competition with a meet record time of 3 minutes, 21.9 seconds.

The time also tied the school record set in 1967.

The Bison needed Alliance's 4x400 to finish seventh. The Bulldogs edged out seventh-place Sidney by one-tenth of a second, and won the district title.

Alliance clipped McCook 120-119 for first place. Cozad finished third with 53 points, followed by Chase County-Imperial with 47.

Alliance also won the girls district title, scoring 97 points. Gering was second with 70, followed by McCook with 68. The Chase County girls placed seventh with 43 points.

The top four placers in each running event, top two relay teams and (plus the four fastest non-qualifers from the six districts regardless of place) and the top three placers in field events qualify for the Nebraska State Track and Field Championships next Friday and Saturday (May 20-21) at Omaha Burke Stadium.

The Bison 4x100-meter relay team of Liess, Purvis, Jeff Klug and Ruppert finished first with a time of 43 seconds flat.

The Bison 4x800 relay team of Shawn McMurtrey, Austin Fagot, Cody Martin and Josh Cherry placed second with a time of 8:23.8.

Other first-place finishers for McCook were Liess, 100 (10.8) and 200 (21.8); John Swanhorst, 300 hurdles (40.5); Josh Cherry, 800 (2:00.1); and Mason Pohl, pole vault (13-8).

Cherry placed second in the 1600-meter race with a time of 4:39.2. Teammate Shawn McMurtrey clinched the fourth-place state qualifying berth with a time of 4:40.8.

Jeremy Young qaulified for state in the with a third-place effort in the 110 hurdles. He posted a time of 15.1.

Michael Sinclair just missed qualifying for state with a fifth-pace finish in the 300 hurdles (41.7).

"We were really satisfied with the number of qualifiers we had," said McCook boys track coach John Gumb. "We were waiting around all day to break (or tie) the school record in the 4x400. We had two sub-50 second splits -- Brendan Liess and Tony Purvis. They wanted it pretty bad.

"There were a lot of positives in having the meet here. We were more rested. We (McCook) ran a great meet. We got a lot of compliments from other schools."

McCook girls

place third

Leading the list of state qualifiers for the McCook girls track team was senior Katherine Morell.

Morell was a double winner in the 100-meter dash (12.4) and 200-meter dash (25.8) and placed third in the triple jump (34-4).

Morell's fourth state event is the 4x100-meter relay, which placed second at district with a time of 51.6.

Morell was joined on the silver-medal 4x100 relay by Erica Clapp, Brianna Ward and Austin Wilson.

In the throwing events, McCook's Kim Miller placed second in the discus (123-7) and third in the shot put (34-4).

McCook's Ashlee Huffman also qualified in the discus with a third-place perfomance and a personal record toss of 121-8.

Allison Smith just missed going to state with a fourth-place finish in the shot put.

In the pole vault, McCook's Sarah Craw qualified for state with a third-place finish (9-0). Jessica Harris was fifth (8-6).

The Bison 4x400 relay of Jillian Bryant, Adrianna Hagan, Courtney Carter and Meghan Ecker placed sixth (4:18.9).

The 4x800 relay of Julia Lyons, Ecker, Carter and Bryant placed sixth (10:54.2).

Rebecca Rawlings and Amy Beckenhauer qualified for the district finals in the 1600 and 200 but did not place.

"Placing third and coming within two points of district runner-up Gering, the McCook girls did an outstanding job of competing," said McCook girls coach Steve Clapp. "We placed in almost every spot that we were capable of. All of the girls displayed positive mental attitudes in performances that were at their best.

"The McCook girls will represent MHS very well at the state track meet in Omaha. Our coaching staff would like to thank all of the volunteers and staff who ran a very quality district track meet."

Chase County

well represented

at state track

The Chase County boys track team was paced by Matthew May, who won the 400-meter dash with a time of 51 seconds.

He outdistanced the McCook duo of Ruppert and Fritz to win the distict title.

May also finished third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 2:05.2.

Scott Ohlson qualified for state by placing third in the boys 3200-meter run with a time of 10:10.6.

He was fifth in the 1600 with a time of 4:42.5.

Abel Hinojosa nailed down a state berth with a fourth-place toss in the shot put.

He unleashed an effort of 50-5.

The Chase County girls track team will send several athletes to state.

Sybil Carman is the Class B-6 district champion in the triple jump with a mark of 35-6.

Cara Kunneman finished third in the 1600 with a time of 5:43.7.

Erica Pirog was third in the 300 hurdles with a time of 49 second flat.

Amada Poppe added a fourth-place finish in the 100 hurdles, posting a time of 16.4 to qualify for state.

Jamie Lines was fourth in the 3200 with a time of 12:44.2, but Kunneman just missed qualifying for state with her fifth-place time of 12:44.4.

Celeste Pankonin placed fourth in the high jump with a state-qualifying mark of 5-1.

RyAnn Spady just missed qualifying in the discus with her fourth-place throw of 116-9.

GIRLS RESULTS

TEAM RANKINGS

1. Alliance 97

2. Gering 70

3. McCook 68

4. Gothenburg 67

5. Chadron 59

6. Valentine 44

7. Chase County 43

8. Sydney 32

9. Ogallala 26

10. Cozad 12

11. Gordon-Rushville 9

1600

3. Cara Kunnemann CC 5:43.7

7. Rebecca Rawlings MC 5:57.7

14. Emily Ringleman CC 6:30

300 HURDLES

3. Erica Pirog CC 49

7. Marissa Grow CC 51.8

18. Lindsey Hazlitt MC 56.8

4x100 RELAY

2. McCook 51.6

Erica Clapp

Katherine Morell

Brianna Ward

Austin Wilson

10. Chase County 55.4

Tabitha Russell

Erica Pirog

Emma Fulton

Tiffany Regier

4x400 RELAY

6. McCook 4:18.2

Jillian Bryant

Adrianna Hagan

Courtney Carter

Meghan Ecker

8. Chase County 4:28.2

Tabitha Russell

Emma Fulton

Carrie Rice

Whitney Paisley

100

1. Katherine Morell MC 12.4

200

1. Katherine Morell MC 25.8

8. Amy Beckenhauer MC 28.3

800

6. Jamie Lines CC 2:35.5

14. Alcia Kuntzelman CC2:46.1

100 HURDLES

4. Amanda Poppe CC 16.4

6. Erica Pirog CC 16.9

400

13. Jenny German CC 1:09.6

3200

4. Jamie Lines CC 12:44.2

5. Cara Kunnemann CC12:44.4

4x800 RELAY

6. McCook 10:54.2

Julia Lyons

Meghan Ecker

Jillian Bryant

Courtney Carter

8. Chase County 11:43.5

Cara Kunnemann

Ashley Benson

Nicole Longan

Jamie Lines

HIGH JUMP

4. Celeste Pankonin CC 5-01

8. Whitney Paisley CC 4-11

9. Allison Smith MC 4-09

POLE VAULT

3. Sarah Craw MC 9-00

5. Jessica Harris MC 8-06

7. Carrie Rice CC 8-00

11. Loretta McGrath CC 7-06

LONG JUMP

8. Sybil Carman CC 15-05.25

11. Erica Clapp MC 14-09

16. Tiffany Regier CC 14-00.75

TRIPLE JUMP

1. Sybil Carman CC 35-06

3. Katherine Morell MC 34-04

7. Tiffany Regier CC 33-06.25

21. Katie Strand CC 28-01

SHOT PUT

3. Kim Miller MC 38-00.5

4. Allison Smith Mc 37-01

11. Brittney Hagan MC 33-05.5

12. Marie Sieperda CC 33-00.5

18. Angelique Grow CC 29-05.5

19. Amanda Greeley CC 29-03.25

DISCUS

2. Kim Miller MC 123-07

3. Ashlle Huffman MC 121-08

4. RyAnn Spady CC 116-09

6. Marie Sieperda CC112-09

10. Katie Kelley CC 106-08

11. Marissa Wallace MC 106-00

BOYS TEAM

RANKINGS

1. Alliance 120

2. McCook 119

3. Cozad 53

4. Chase County 47

5. Gothenburg 35

6. Chadron 34.5

7. Gering 34

8. Gordan/Rushville 32

9. Ogallala 32

10. Sydney 20

11. Valentine 9

400

1. Mathew May CC 51

2. Derek Ruppert MC 51.7

3. Craig Fritz MC 51.9

13. Rony Sieperda CC 56.6

17. Darrin Schultz CC 57.7

3200

3. Scott Ohlson CC 10:10.6

4x800 RELAY

2. McCook 8:23.8

Shawn McMurtrey

Austin Fagot

Cody Martin

Josh Cherry

4. Chase County 8:28.9

Stephen Hanna

Joey Smith

Trey Boggs

Taylor May

POLE VAULT

1. Mason Pohl MC 13-08

5. Ryan Bedore MC 12-10

8. David Swisher MC 12-00

LONG JUMP

7. Brandon Park MC 19-09.75

8. Austin Gessleman MC 19-07.25

13. Brett Burton MC 18-07

14. Rony Sieperda CC 18-00.5

16. Aaron Fuehrer CC 17-08.75

19. Scott Munger CC 16-11

TRIPLE JUMP

6. Ted Chancellor MC 41-00.25

7. Brandon Park MC 40-03.25

11. Micah Kamla MC 39-02

12. Scott Way CC 38-08.75

17. Scott Munger CC 37-00.5

19. Gabe Lenners CC 36-11

SHOT PUT

4. Abel Hinojosa CC 50-05

13. J.D. Stone MC 42-02

18. Paul Farrell MC 40-11

20. Lucas Kotschwar MC 39-06

24. Chance Thayer CC 38-07.5

DISCUS

7. Zack Volquardsen MC 144-00

9. Jeff Lyster MC 137-09

14. Sam Frazier MC 127-0

16. Robbie Bell CC 124-04

17. Scott Way CC 121-0

19. Abel Hinojosa CC 115-04

100

1. Brendon Liess MC 10.8

5. Jeff Klug MC 11.2

6. Anthony Purvis MC 11.2

200

1. Brenden Liess MC 21.8

3. Mathew May CC 22.6

5. Cole Fritzke CC 22.9

800

1. Josh Cherry MC 2:00.1

5. Brett Gooden CC 2:05.2

9. Stephen Hanna CC 2:07.5

11. Rico Quezada MC 2:10.4

15. Cody Martin MC 2:14

1600

2. Josh Cherry MC 4:39.2

4. Shawn McMurtrey MC 4:40.8

5. Scott Ohlson CC 4:42.5

15. Lance Milner CC 5:18.8

300 HURLDES

1. John Swanhorst MC 40.5

5. Michael Sinclair MC 41.7

6. Nathan Gaswick CC 41.8

7. Jeremy Young MC 43

12. Taylor Yaw CC 44.5

20. Kevin Barnard CC 47.1

4x100 RELAY

1. McCook 43.0

Brendan Liess

Tony Purvis

Jeff Klug

Derek Ruppert

3. Chase County 44.7

Aaron Fuehrer

Nathan Gaswick

Taylor May

Mathew May

4x400 RELAY

1. McCook 3:21.9

Craig Fritz

Anthony Purvis

Derek Ruppert

Brendan Liess

3. Chase County 3:27.2

Aaron Fuehrer

Nathan Gaswick

Taylor May

Mathew May

110 HURDLES

3. Jeremy Young MC 15.1

6. John Swanhorst MC 15.7

7. Gabe Lenners CC 15.9