Leyton girls, P-D boys rack up podiums

As Friday’s Cheyenne County Invite wound down, the woman responsible for placing medals into team envelopes muttered a complaint. The Leyton girls folder was stuffed so full, it seems, their gold from the 4x400 relay would not fit.

The Warriors girls squad came away from Friday’s meet loaded with seven firsts and 16 podiums, aided by a one-two-three sweep in the 400 meter dash.

“That was our plan,” said Kristine Barnett with a laugh, before admitting the finish was unique in their experience. “I’ve just been trying to catch Dani.”

Dani McKay, the runner up, claimed similar motivation.

“I’ve been trying to catch Kaitlyn,” she explained, referring to winner Kaitlyn Berner.

Berner topped the long jump and triple jump field, as well.

Leyton’s day started with a gold medal throw of 116-11 by Kassandra Harris in the discus competition, edging her personal best by half an inch. She threw a 121 in warm ups, which would have been good enough to challenge the school record.

“Discus takes a lot of work,” she said, adding that the recent interruptions caused by weather allowed her to concentrate on technique.

“You learn the basics all over again,” she pointed out.

Jessica Houk proved quickest in the 100 meter dash, crossing the line in 13.6--ahead of Sidney’s Sarah Von Seggern.

“In the blocks I got butterflies in my stomach,” she admitted.

Once released by the gun, however, her mood changed. She raced by Potter-Dix’s Conner Wolff after 30 meters, caught a glimpse of Von Seggern and burst through the string.

“When I passed Conner I thought I had it,” Houk said.

Rachael Ernest battled Potter-Dix’s Regyn Hicks down the stretch in the 300 hurdles, pulling ahead by three-tenths toward the finish.

“I saw her out of the corner of my eye,” she explained. “So I tried to kick it.”

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The Coyotes girls side recorded four wins and 11 top three finishes on the day.

Kaidee Livingstone captured the 100 meters hurdles by a tenth over teammate Regyn Hicks, with Leyton’s Shaela Jenkins crossing in third. Livingstone also won in pole vault with a mark of 9-8, just shy of her school record of 10-0.

“I have one meet left,” she said. “I’d like to make ten again--maybe a couple over.”

Hope Shepard added to their gold count, taking home top honors in the 200 meter dash with a time of 28.9--besting Leyton’s Houk and Kate Brosnan of Sidney. Regyn Hicks won the high jump, clearing 4-10.

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In the boys competition, Potter-Dix provided a challenge for the tough Paxton and Minatare squads, earning five firsts and a total of 13 podiums.

Brady Knigge continued his streak of consecutive pole vault crowns in regular meets, but he seemed disappointed with his 12-0 bar--a mark seven inches below an earlier effort.

“It’s a frustrating day,” he admitted. “A win is a win, but I’m competitive to the point where I want to do my best, and I didn’t do my best.”

Knigge was hampered by a hamstring strained during warmups. But he considered his choice of poles to be a bigger issue.

“I’ve been switching back and forth, trying to find the right one,” he pointed out.

Brady Knigge outran the 400 meter field by a full second. Freshman Tyler Magninie was awarded the high jump title in a judges decision over Banner County’s Kaden Huber and Cooper Hicks paced the 300 meter hurdles.

The Coyotes received a boost at the end when Jake Johnson powered past Minatare’s Steven Juarez in the 1600.

“The coach was yelling ‘he’s right there,’” Johnson recalled. “I let her rip--I didn’t feel like getting beat.”

•••••

Leyton’s boys squad earned points from Brennen Cruise’s strong third in the 300 hurdles. Lane Rathman suffered through a difficult outing in shot, but also picked up a point.

“I was just having a rough day,” he explained. “I need to get a lot more work in. To go from a 41-6 to a 39-6 disappoints me.”

Full Results in Tuesday’s edition