SIDNEY TRACK & FIELD INVITE: Host Red Raiders sweep titles

As Sidney High School's Preslie Allen and Gothenburg's Kayla Weyers lined up for the 800-meter run Saurday at the Sidney Invite track and field meet at Weymouth Field, they were farther apart at the start than they were at the finish.

With the aid of Allen earning double gold in the 800 and 4x800 relay combined with many other strong performances, the Red Raiders' track teams defended their home turf with a sweep of both the boys' and girls' titles.

The boys edged Ogallala 150-143, with Alliance (73), Chadron (70) and Godron-Rushville (48.5) rounding out the top five in the 10-team meet. The Sidney girls finished well ahead of runner-up Gothenburg, 143-110. Ogallala was third with 93 points, followed by Gordon-Rushville (65) and Alliance (50).

"A pretty good opening day and we got a lot of help from our younger kids," said Raiders' head coach John Ganser. "We were able to strike somewhat of a balance between scoring on the track and in the field.

"We're battling a few injuries right now, but that's something I think we can get through over the next couple of weeks. But that provides some opportunities for other kids to show what they can do," Ganser added.

The Red Raider boys were powered by 22 placings, including five event wins. Meanwhile, the girls placed in 19 events with six gold medals.

Savanna Rosenbaum was the first to claim gold with a mark of 5 feet, 2 inches in the high jump. Her three attempts at 5-4 were all close misses.

"My goal was to make sure I got over five feet, and I made 5-2," Rosenbaum said. "I've been working on technique a lot lately and we've also been training new high jumpers. I think helping them actually helps me quite a bit."

While Rosenbaum was busy in the high jump pit, Sidney junior Jake Heeren was working through his throws in the shot put. He won his second event in as many weeks with a throw of just under 52 feet. The other event winners for the Sidney boys included Hayden Lienemann in the 800, Rayn Aurich in the 3,200 and Alex Linneman in the long jump.

"My open eight was OK," Lienemann said. "I wanted to do about a 2:02 and I ended up about 2:04. There was a bit of a crosswind, which didn't help, but it wasn't a bad effort for this time of year."

From a team perspective, the Raiders were especially formidable in the 800 with Jachob Wiedeburg and Brody McKnight giving them a sweep of the top three positions. Wiedeburg and McKnight also partnered with Logan Uhlir and Brett Jaggers to take the 4x800-meter relay earlier in the day.

The other girls' event winners included Kelly Von Seggern (100 meters), Preslie Allen (800), Jami Flores (pole vault), the 4x100 relay team and the 4x800 relay. Among the events in which the girls had multiple placings included the 100, 200, 800 and pole vault.

Allen began her battle with Weyers in the 800 by spending the first lap a few meters to the rear while scraping the inside of the track. Throughout much of the second lap, the two locked up in a stride-for-stride duel with Allen now on the outside. When the pair finally crossed the electronic timer, Allen had tripped the beam .01 before Weyers.

"I was pretty tired from my 4x800 leg so my legs feel like Jell-o now," Allen said. "I was wanting to go out even on the first lap and kick it on the last lap and give it all I had. I knew that Gothenburg girl would be pretty close to my time so I was aiming for her the whole time. I like that kind of competition. It really pushes me."

Kelly Von Seggern's 100 win (13.43) was backed up by Sara Von Seggern in second (13.56) and Abby Heller in fourth (13.62). In the 200, Sara Von Seggern reversed the tables on sister Kelly by taking second in 27.78. Kelly was .15 seconds behind in third. Kara Birner added punch to the Raiders' 800 as she medaled in sixth behind race winner Allen.

The Raiders were strong in the pole vault with Flores winning the varsity event with a mark of 8 feet. Jasmine Jallen, the winner at Chadron last week, was third at 7-6. In another good sign for the vaulters, sophomore Jolene Oliverius won the Division II event with a height equal to that cleared by Flores.

Other girls to place in the top six included Genessa Schilz (second in 800 ), Erin Lindeman (4th in both the 1,600 and 3,200), Abby Heller (fourth in 300 hurdles), Annalise Lecher (fifth in shot put and discus) and freshman Natalie Radcliffe (third in long jump).

Additional event winners on the boys' side included Ryan Aurich, who won the 3,200 by 18 seconds with Jacob Schaub running strong in third. Also, Linneman won the long jump by nearly a foot (20-4) with Jacob's brother, Josh Schaub, in third.

The Raider boys' point total was also aided in large part by their depth. Other placers included Linneman (second in 100 meters), Michael Muggli (fifth in 200), Brenner Keane (second in 1,600), Aurich (third in 1,600), Jon Smith (fifth in 300 hurdles), Brian Rolls (fourths in shot put and discus), Derek Robb (second in pole vault), Josh Schaub (fourth in high jump), Mitch Porter (second in triple jump) and Garrett Deer (third in triple jump).

The Raiders next take to the track on Thursday at Ogallala at 9 a.m. for the Ed Moore Invite.