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Bison teams show solid start at UNK indoor track meet
KEARNEY, Neb. -- A small contingent of McCook High School track and field athletes kicked off the 2012 spring season with a successful day at the UNK Indoor meet.
The Class B portion of the meet held Saturday, March 17, concluded three days of prep track and field competition inside Cushing Coliseum on the University of Nebraska-Kearney campus. The UNK Invite featured Class D competitors March 15, followed by the Class A division Friday, March 16, and the Class C meet Saturday morning and early afternoon, then the Class B event Saturday evening.
The McCook boys finished second out of eight teams. The Bison scored 76.5 points, trailing team champion Lexington with 91.5. Scottsbluff was third with 62 points.
McCook's girls finished third with 56 points, one point ahead of Lexington and far behind team champion Holdrege with 127 and runner-up Adams Central with 77.
Both McCook head coaches entered just a handful of athletes in the season-opening meet. Both Bison mentors were very pleased with the results put forth by their respective individuals.
"I thought we had an awfully good day," said Bison boys head coach Tom Sughroue. "We didn't overload anyone, any particular kid. I think Matt (Chitwood) had the biggest day of anybody as far as the amount of work he did."
Chitwood entered three events and scored big team points in all three. Chitwood, defending Class B state long jump champion, opened the year with a leap of 22 feet, 5 1/2 inches to win first place Saturday. That mark was about a foot off Chitwood's best long jump last spring.
The Bison senior also won the pole vault at 13 feet, 6 inches (6 inches shy of last year's best), and Matt ran fourth in the 55-meter dash finals with a time of 6.83 seconds.
The McCook girls took eight competitors to Saturday's meet, and seven Bison scored team points by finishing in the top six in their respective events.
Girls' all-time charts
Two McCook entries altered the Bison girls all-time Top 10 charts with their performances Saturday.
Molly Sughroue blazed the girls 400-meter dash to win with a time of 59.31 seconds -- over five seconds faster than runner-up Mackenzie McKeone of Lexington (1:04.92). Sughroue jumped to third on the Bison Top 10 chart, passing Whitney Korgan.
Abi Mohr also cleared 9 feet, 6 inches to win the pole vault. Mohr also leaped onto the Bison all-time chart, as her mark ties for the fourth-best overall vault in Bison girls track history.
"We didn't take very many people down. I think Coach (Brett) May and I felt that our kids really competed well in the events we were in. I think they had 14 events and we competed in eight.
"It was a good starting point for this group of kids. We'll get all of them into action next week and kind of see what other things we have show up and who can compete. I think for the first meet, to get two people to move up or move on to the top 10 chart was a good showing. Our top 10 charts at McCook are pretty salty. So anytime you can get on to them or move up on them, that's a pretty good accomplishment, especially for the first meet of the year."
Tight turns
The indoor track at UNK measures 165 meters for one lap, as compared to 400 meters for regulation outdoor layouts. So any races more than one lap are challenging, with tight curves for the competitors to navigate, and considering the competitors only race on the short indoor layout once during the season.
Bison junior Austin Cherry had no problem with the tight turns. Cherry blazed to first place in the boys 800-meter dash with a time of 2:04.22, winning by more than five seconds in the 2 1/2-lap race. Cherry was runner-up in the 800 at state last season.
"Austin ran a really nice 800 indoors," Coach Sughroue said. "That's just a hard place to run on that short track. The curves are awful tight. He leaned into them pretty hard going around."
The McCook boys had a strong showing in the field events. In addition to Chitwood's efforts, teammate Tyson Karr placed second in the pole vault at 13-6, with Chitwood claiming first on fewer misses. Kyle Stewart also placed fourth in the vault at 12-0.
Matt Collicott placed second in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 2 inches, just an inch off his personal best set last spring. Connor Palic placed in two events, with a second-place leap in the triple jump at 41 feet, 1/2-inch, and a tie for fifth in the long jump at 19-11 3/4.
Mitch Collicott also scored points with his fifth-place mark in the shot put at 46 feet, 4 1/4 inches.
On the track, McCook's Zayne Gillen finished third in the boys 200-meter dash with a time of 24.85 seconds. Hunter Felker and Austin Lambing scored points in the 800, with Felker placing fifth at 2:13.88 and Lambing sixth at 2:16.29. Trevor Pate also placed fifth in the boys mile run at 5:00.42.
"We can't be more pleased with what we did," Coach Sughroue said. "We didn't go there in any matter of trying to win the meet. We just went down to get some kids some experience and get them kind of tuned in for the season a little bit, I guess.
"The season's really young. We don't know exactly where we're putting anybody, everybody. We have some pretty good ideas. As far as where they're going to be come district day, that's a long ways away. There is potential everywhere as far as where we're going to use people."
Bison girls
Coach Clapp was very pleased with the efforts of all his Bison girls Saturday.
Sughroue backed up her 400-meter victory with a second-place sprint in the 200 with a time of 27.14 seconds, just two-hundredths of a second behind winner Lindsie Woolley of Lex.
Emily Tolliver had a strong run in the girls 800 with her second-place time of 2:38.67. Emilyne Nichols also placed fourth in the 400 at 1:06.94. Nichols survived a tough fall at the finish line as she reached for the tape trying to win her heat.
Ashton Harpham placed sixth in the 200 at 29.59, and she just missed a team point in the 55-meter dash as she ran seventh in the finals at 8.22 seconds.
The McCook girls earned two places in the long jump, with Madison Shepherd third with a leap of 14 feet, 4 1/2 inches and teammate Megan Ruppert fourth at 14-3. Ruppert also placed third in the triple jump at 30-5 1/2.
Amanda Brush just missed placing in the girls 800, as she ran seventh with a time of 3:05.59, just eight-hundredths of a second out of sixth.
McCook did not enter relay teams in either boys or girls divisions.
At North Platte March 23
The Bison teams will begin the outdoor season with a trip to North Platte Friday, March 23. Both McCook coaches plan to take as many team members as possible to compete in the dual meet scheduled to start at 4 p.m. at the North Platte High School stadium.
"As long as they are in good standing with the team, we'll make every effort to get them up there to compete," Coach Sughroue said of his Bison boys team. "Even the young kids need that opportunity. They've been working awfully hard, just like the older kids, so they need that opportunity to improve and see where they are at."
All track events Friday will be run in finals heats against time, with no preliminary events.
UNK HIGH SCHOOL INDOOR TRACK & FIELD MEET
At Cushing Coliseum, University of Nebraska-Kearney campus
CLASS B DIVISION
Saturday, March 17 Results
GIRLS
Team Standings -- Holdrege 127, Adams Central 77, McCook 56, Lexington 55, Gothenburg 37, Ogallala 33, Cozad 25, Minden 8.
Individual Event Winners & McCook Results
Field Events
Shot put -- 1. Jorji Johnson, Adams Central, 35-9 1/2.
Long jump -- 1. Sarah Allen, Adams Central, 15-9; 3. Madison Shepherd, McCook, 14-4 1/2; 4. Megan Ruppert, McCook, 14-3.
Triple jump -- 1. Emma Miller, Adams Central, 33-10 1/2; 3. Megan Ruppert, McCook, 30-5 1/2.
High jump -- 1. Melissa Golus, Holdrege, 5-0.
Pole vault -- 1. Abi Mohr, McCook, 9-6.
Running Events
55-meter dash -- 1. Lindsie Woolley, Lexington, 7.53; 7. Ashton Harpham, McCook, 8.22. Prelims -- 7. Harpham, 8.15; 9. Megan Ruppert, McCook, 8.20; 10. Madison Shepherd, McCook, 8.21.
200-meter dash -- 1. Lindsie Woolley, Lexington, 27.12; 2. Molly Sughoue, McCook, 27.14; 6. Ashton Harpham, McCook, 29.59.
400-meter dash -- 1. Molly Sughroue, McCook, 59.31; 4. Emilyne Nichols, McCook, 1:06.94.
800-meter run -- 1. Miranda Karn, Holdrege, 2:35.57; 2. Emily Tolliver, McCook, 2:38.67; 7. Amanda Brush, McCook, 3:05.59.
One-mile run -- 1. Gabriella Gracia, Holdrege, 5:38.11.
3,200-meter run -- 1. Odaliz Santoyo, Lexington, 12:28.63.
55-meter hurdles -- 1. Julianna Burr, Holdrege, 8.89. Prelims -- 11. Abi Mohr, McCook, 12.74.
1,600-meter relay -- 1. Holdrege, 4:25.13.
3,200-meter relay -- 1. Holdrege, 10:47.14.
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BOYS
Team Standings -- Lexington 91.5, McCook 76.5, Scottsbluff 62, Ogallala 56, Gothenburg 49, Adams Central 42, Cozad 28, Holdrege 25.
Individual Event Winners & McCook Results
Field Events
Shot put -- 1. Dillon Gartner, Gothenburg, 49-1 3/4; 5. Mitch Collicott, McCook, 46-4 1/4.
Long jump -- 1. Matt Chitwood, McCook, 22-5 1/2; 5. (tie) Connor Palic, McCook, 19-11 3/4.
Triple jump -- 1. Ryan Reynolds, Lexington, 41-2 1/2; 2. Connor Palic, McCook, 41-1/2.
High jump -- 1. Jake Paulsen, Cozad, 6-7; 2. Matt Collicott, McCook, 6-2.
Pole vault -- 1. Matt Chitwood, McCook, 13-6; 2. Tyson Karr, McCook, 13-6; 4. Kyle Stewart, McCook, 12-0.
Running Events
55-meter dash -- 1. Jake Paulsen, Cozad, 6.67; 4. Matt Chitwood, McCook, 6.83. Prelims -- 3. Chitwood, 6.87.
200-meter dash -- 1. Alex Hovie, Lexington, 23.38; 3. Zayne Gillen, McCook, 24.85; 11. Gavin Harsh, McCook, 27.27.
400-meter dash -- 1. Luke Ackerman, Holdrege, 54.58.
800-meter run -- 1. Austin Cherry, McCook, 2:04.22; 5. Hunter Felker, McCook, 2:13.88; 6. Austin Lambing, McCook, 2:16.29.
One-mile run -- 1. Dillon McKeag, Ogallala, 4:52.62; 5. Trevor Pate, McCook, 5:00.42.
3,200-meter run -- 1. Franklin Ibarra, Lexington, 10:44.35.
55-meter hurdles -- 1. Collin Wetovick, Cozad, 8.40.
1,600-meter relay -- 1. Scottsbluff, 3:47.42.
3,200-meter relay -- 1. Scottsbluff, 8:53.91.