Dramatic finishes in Classes B and C at state track championships
OMAHA, Neb. -- It was another day of high drama at the NSAA State Track and Field Championships at Burke Stadium.
Five boys teams had a chance to win the team title going into the final event of Class B. Waverly finished 1st in the 4x400 and Hastings finished second, but Hastings' second-place finish was enough to give them the team title. The Tigers finished one point ahead of the Vikings in the team title.
Will Armatys won the 100 and the 200 to pace Waverly, while Jaydon Welsh won the 1600m to go with the Tigers' 4x800m relay championship a day prior.
On the girls' side, York held off Elkhorn North to claim the Class B team crown.
York clinched the championship by going 1-2-5 in the 1600m, just a day after a 3-4-5 finish in the 3200m.
Brynn Hirschfeld, who won the 800 and finished third in the 3200m, won the race, but the key moment came when her teammate Maddie Portwine passed Elkhorn North's Julia Karmazin, allowing the Dukes to build a 10.5-point lead over Karmazin's Wolves with one event to go.
That meant York couldn't be caught, which proved valuable, as Elkhorn North won the 1600 meter relay, giving the Wolves a runner-up finish, just one point behind the Dukes.
In Class C, Chase County got individual championships from Kamrie Dillan in the 200m and Bryn McNair in the 400m en route to a girls team title. The Longhorns finished strong, winning the 1600m relay on the strength of McNair's 56.56 final leg.
Aquinas only got one individual title, but the Monarchs got medals in 10 events as they claimed the boys Class C title. Payton Davis held off Cedar Catholic's Carson Noecker, who had set a new Class D 3200m record a day prior, to win the 1600m and pick up the Monarchs' lone individual title.
Major story lines in Class C included:
Carson Noecker breaking a 39-year-old Class C state and meet record in the 3,200. The sophomore also finished second in the 1,600.
Conner Bradly of Southern won the 100, 200, and 400 meter dash. The junior was just 0.04 second shy of breaking the state and meet record for the 100 set by Dylan Kautz in 2018.
Freshman Jordyn Arens of Crofton took home gold in the 800, 1,600, and 3,200.
Adrianna Rodencal of Lincoln Lutheran claimed four first place finishes in the 100 dash, 100 hurdle, 300 hurdle, and the 4x100 relay.
Shayla Meyer claimed first in the discuss. In 7 of the past 10 years a Meyer has won the event. Her older sisters Alexandra and Kalynn are previous three-time champs in the event.
It wasn't just team drama at the championships. Kailynn Gubbels broke her own state record in the Class B 100m hurdles, running a 14.59. Blair, meanwhile, bested a 23-year-old record set by Mitchell, winning the 400m relay in a time of 48.75.
