Sidney track teams sweep 'Best' titles

SCOTTSBLUFF – The Sidney High track and field teams made a clean sweep of the girls' and boys' titles at the Best of the West track meet Tuesday, while the Potter-Dix boys' 4x800 relay team set a school record to establish itself as the team to beat in its class at state next month.

The Best of the West is an all-star event of sorts that includes only those athletes who qualified on pervious performances throughout the season. The long list of Sidney qualifiers helped it score 80 points to win the boys' competition by nearly 10 points over runner-up Mitchell (70.5). Alliance scored 61 to finish in third while host Scottsbluff was fourth (58).

Potter-Dix accumulated 30.5 points to finish ninth among the 22 teams that scored. The Leyton boys had just one qualifier, Rhett Dye, who put a big smile on the face of head coach Glen Lipska after his performance in the 1,600 meters. Dye picked off runners in the final lap of the race to score a personal best by about five seconds. Dye was able to break the five-minute barrier for the first time by running his fastest split time over the final 400 meters.

Preslie Allen (400 meters) and Gabbie Addleman's (100-meter hurdles) event wins helped the girls to 96 points to again beat out second-place Mitchell (88). Scottsbluff was third with 80.75 points. Potter-Dix wracked up 16.5 points and Leyton had 16.5 to finish 12th.

Kaitlyn Berner and Jessica Houk qualified for Leyton. Berner, who qualified in three events, finished second in the triple jump, sixth in the long jump and fifth in the 800 meters.

The banner for the Creek Valley Storm was carried by a lone athlete, Jessie Straber. Straber, a sophomore and state qualifier last season, put points on the board for the Storm as she tied for sixth in the high jump with a leap of 4-10.

While the Potter-Dix 4x800 team, including Jake Johnson, Cameron Purcell, Sam Bogert and Cooper Hicks, finished second to Class B Sidney, they used the Raiders as their guide to a school record. The Coyotes finished in 8:27.96 to topple the old school mark by about five seconds.

"We've been talking about the record all week," said leadoff runner Jake Johnson. "We knew that Sidney has been running well all season so we thought that would give us some strong competition that could push us to our best."

Meanwhile, the Raiders' 4x800 group chalked up another win to its credit after setting its own school record last Friday. Sidney called on Jachob Wiedeburg, Brody McKnight, Logan Uhlir and Brenner Keane to test the Coyotes. Sidney edged Potter-Dix by just more than a second.

Hayden Lienemann, who was part of the team that broke the 4x800 record four days earlier, lent his talents to the 4x400 team. Again the Raiders came out on top as Michael Banaszak, Alex Linneman and Hunter Secrest joined Lienemann to topple Alliance by 1.4 seconds. Lienemann also won the 800 meters as the only one in the field to break the two-minute barrier (1:59.77).

The Red Raiders girls put all four of its relay teams on the podium with three second-place finishes. Abby Heller, Sara Von Seggern, Kelly Von Seggern and Addleman teamed up to miss out on gold by less than half a second. Additionally, Addleman took first in the 100-meter hurdles by scoring another personal best in the event. She broke 16 seconds for the first time.

"But I'm still trying to get the three-step (between hurdles) down," Addleman said. "I got thrown off today by one of the early hurdles."

Meanwhile, the Von Seggerns added more points to the Sidney cause by their performances in the sprints. Kelly finished runner-up in the 100 and Sara was third at 200 meters.

"I was nervous all day because I knew how strong the competition is here," said Kelly Von Seggern after her peronal-best time in the 100. "I didn't expect to beat (Ashley Turner of Pine Bluffs) but I was happy that I'm getting closer."

In the 4x400, Abby Heller joined Allen, Savanna Rosenbaum and Natalie Radcliffe to finish behind winner Mitchell. The youthful Sidney relay – with freshmen Charlie Brockhaus, Kara Birner, Chatal Riggs and Julia Evertson – held off Gordon-Rushville to earn silver in the 4x800.

Rosenbaum also picked up second-place points in the high jump. When Rosenbaum and Kenna Campbell of Gordon-Rushville were the only two who could clear the bar at five feet, they tried an extra attempt at 5-2, but neither could clear it. When the bar was lowered to 5-1, Campbell managed to edge Rosenbaum for the title.

Among the multiple-event qualifiers for Sidney, Alex Linneman, was the Raiders biggest point gainer. Besides being the 200-meter champion, he was second at 100 meters and third in the long jump and well as being part of the winning 4x400 team.

As for Potter-Dix, the Rozelle siblings again had a productive day, though maybe not the the kind they're used to. Kelsey Rozelle was third in the high jump and seventh in the long jump. Unfortunately for Rozelle, he had to compete in both events simultaneously.

As for Alexus Rozelle, she earned a gold medal in the discus and finished just off the podium by taking fourth in the shot put. Though she won the discus, she was about 10 feet off her personal best.

"I'm very unsatisfied but still glad that I won," Alexus said. "I was hoping I could (do a personal best) today, but I had a little mishap in the discus and that got in my head a little."

During discus warmups, one got away from Rozelle and struck an onlooker. Though nobody was seriously hurt, she was shaken by the incident.

The Raiders throwers were led by Jake Heeren, who finished second in the shot put. Heeren scratched on his first four of six attempts, but still managed to throw one that was just an inch off his personal best.

"It was just one of those days. I was a little disappointed at first, but going 54-3 on a bad day – I guess you can't really argue with that," Heeren said. "After my first two throws they were telling me it was about 56 or 57 feet but I scratched on both. I feel like it's pretty close."

The girls' pole vault, which has proven to be a big point earner for Sidney this season, had two of its three qualfiers finish in the top three. Jolene Oliverius and Jami Flores tied for second after clearing eight feet.

"I was feeling really good today. I should be able to make 9-6 and I have in practice," said the junior Flores, who qualified for state as a freshman. "It's just a matter of continuing to practice hard."

Sidney is back at Bearcat Stadium on Friday for its fourth straight meet. The Western Conference meet is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

BEST OF THE WEST INVITE RESULTS

At Scottsbluff High School

BOYS TEAM SCORES

1. Sidney, 80; 2. Mitchell, 70.5; 3. Alliance, 61; 4. Scottsbluff, 58; 5. Chadron, 43; 6. Bridgeport, 39; 7. Gering, 33; 7. Kimball, 33; 9. Potter-Dix, 30.5; 10. Hemingford, 30; 11. Burns (Wyo.), 26; 11. Pine Bluffs (Wyo.), 26; 13. Bayard, 25; 14. Niobrara County (Wyo.), 20; 15. Garden County, 17; 16. Banner County, 15.5; 17. Gordon-Rushville, 12; 18. Lingle-Fort Laramie (Wyo.), 11; 19. Torrington (Wyo.), 9.5; 20. Guernsey-Sunrise (Wyo.), 3; 20. Southeast (Wyo.), 3; 22. Leyton, 2.5; 22. Minatare, 2.5.

100 Meters

1. Jackson Dickerson, Chadron, 10.65; 2. Alex Linneman, Sidney, 11.01; 3. Christian Perez, Mitchell, 11.01; 4. Brady Turek, Hemingford, 11.11; 5. Shane Child, Gordon-Rushville, 11.28; 6. Colton Stull, Kimball, 11.29.

200 Meters

1. Alex Linneman, Sidney, 22.67; 2. Christian Perez, Mitchell, 22.76; 3. Jackson Dickerson, Chadron, 22.91; 4. Brady Turek, Hemingford, 22.99; 5. Abe Hernandez, Mitchell, 23.81; 6. Joe Ferrero, Bayard, 24.10.

400 Meters

1. Ryan Smith, Garden County, 50.54; 2. Brody Brennan, Alliance, 50.76; 3. Ethan Skinner, Hemingford, 51.41; 4. Michael Banaszak, Sidney, 51.74; 5. Cody Robinson, Alliance, 51.75; 6. Abe Hernandez, Mitchell, 52.40.

800 Meters

1. Hayden Lienemann, Sidney, 1:59.77; 2. Micah Scherbarth, Gordon-Rushville, 2:00.23; 3. Rowan Fichtner, Burns, 2:02.89; 4. Jake Johnson, Potter-Dix, 2:04.91; 5. Jachob Wiedeburg, Sidney, 2:04.94; 6. Landon Fuller, Lingle-Fort Laramie, 2:07.16.

1,600 Meters

1. Matthew Barraza, Scottsbluff, 4:32.43; 2. Chase Watson, Mitchell, 4:38.70; 3. Noah Taylor, Burns, 4:39.06; 4. Xavier Arellano, Gering, 4:50.87; 5. Jesse Jaramillo, Scottsbluff, 4:52.05; 6. Rhett Dye, Leyton. 4:57.58.

3,200 Meters

1. Shane Burkey, Scottsbluff, 10:02.72; 2. Josh Hergenreder, Scottsbluff, 10:09.89; 3. Tyler Morgan, Burns, 10:24.51; 4. Jorge Garcia, Pine Bluffs, 10:29.95; 5. Chase Watson, Mitchell, 10:46.77; 6. Ryan Aurich, Sidney, 10:56.01.

110-Meter Hurdles

1. Drew Gilliland, Mitchell, 14.96; 2. Tyson Dahlgrin, Banner County, 15.41; 3. Bryce Hargens, Bayard, 15.48; 4. Lawrence Schneider, Bridgeport, 16.23; 5. Marcus Fernandez, Chadron, 16.53; 6. Jeff Schmidt, Gering, 16.93.

300-Meter Hurdles

1. Drew Gilliland, Mitchell, 39.37; 2. Bryce Hargens, Bayard, 41.15; 3. Jeff Schmidt, Gering, 41.41; 4. Tyson Dahlgrin, Banner County, 42.07; 5. Traceten Halley, Scottsbluff, 42.31; 6. Cooper Hicks, Potter-Dix, 42.81.

4x100 Relay

1. Mitchell, 43.73; 2. Hemingford, 44.00; 3. Alliance, 44.45; 4. Sidney (Michael Muggli, Chance Anglin, Derek Robb, Coby Haas), 45.10; 5. Chadron, 45.16; 6. Kimball, 45.41.

4x400 Relay

1. Sidney (Michael Banaszak, Alex Linneman, Hayden Lienemann, Hunter Secrest), 3:28.22; 2. Alliance, 3:29.62; 3. Hemingford, 3:31.47; 4. Gering, 3:34.76; 5. Potter-Dix (Cooper Hicks, Jake Johnson, Samuel Bogert, Cameron Purcell), 3:39.35; 6. Bridgeport, 3:39.98.

4x800 Relay

1. Sidney (Jachob Wiedeburg, Brody McKnight, Brenner Keane, Logan Uhlir), 8:26.15; 2. Potter-Dix (Jake Johnson, Samuel Bogert, Cameron Purcell, Cooper Hicks), 8:27.96; 3. Bayard, 8:41.18; 4. Bridgeport, 8:41.21; 5. Gering, 9:15.44; 6. Scottsbluff, 9:20.25.

Shot Put

1. Martin Fitzwater, Niobrara County, 59-7.25; 2. Jake Heeren, Sidney, 54-4.75; 3. Travis Albertz, Bridgeport, 49-1.5; 4. Logan Harris, Torrington, 48-1.5; 5. Isaac De Los Santos, Scottsbluff, 48-0.5; 6. Tanner Kickland, Chadron, 47-4.25.

Discus

1. Martin Fitzwater, Niobrara County, 158-2; 2. Esai Hernandez, Gering, 154-9; 3. Scott Gross, Pine Bluffs, 148-0; 4. Kyle Krantz, Alliance, 142-4; 5. Travis Albertz, Bridgeport, 139-5; 6. Dustin Bleidt, Garden County, 139-2.

High Jump

1. Hunter Thompson, Pine Bluffs, 6-0; 2. Quentin Baxter, Bridgeport, 6-0; 3. Kelsey Rozelle, Potter-Dix, 5-10; 3. Trevor Ridenour, Alliance, 5-10; 5. Haize Fornstrom, Pine Bluffs, 5-10; 6. Tyler Koke, Minatare, 5-8.

Pole Vault

1. Josh Ellis, Alliance, 13-5; 2. Rowan Fichtner, Burns, 12-4; 3. Trent Rutledge, Kimball, 11-6; 4. Cody Mueller, Mitchell, 11-0; 4. Coby Hicks, Potter-Dix, 11-0.

Long Jump

1. Jackson Dickerson, Chadron, 21-4.5; 2. Kody Fletcher, Alliance, 21-0.5; 3. Alex Linneman, Sidney, 20-9.5; 4. Dallen Fleenor, Lingle-Fort Laramie, 20-7.5; 5. Jaden Withrow, Kimball, 20-5; 6. Klayton Nordeen, Alliance, 20-4.5.

Triple Jump

1. Jaden Withrow, Kimball, 42-2.5; 2. Brian Johnston, Scottsbluff, 41-9.75; 3. Marcus Fernandez, Chadron, 41-7.5; 4. Wyatt Pankowski, Bridgeport, 40-7.75; 5. Jon Withrow, Kimball, 40-7.5; 6. Treasure Hollister, Guernsey-Sunrise, 40-5.

GIRLS TEAM SCORES

1. Sidney, 96; 2. Mitchell, 88; 3. Scottsbluff, 80.75; 4. Gering, 53; 5. Gordon-Rushville, 38; 6. Bayard, 36.2; 7. Burns (Wyo.), 33; 8. Bridgeport, 29; 9. Alliance, 28.2; 10. Potter-Dix, 24.45; 11. Crawford, 21; 12. Leyton, 16.5; 13. Pine Bluffs (Wyo.), 16.2; 14. Lingle-Fort Laramie (Wyo.), 16; 15. Kimball, 15.5; 16. Chadron, 14; 17. Torrington (Wyo.), 12; 17. Southeast (Wyo.), 12; 19. Morrill, 9; 20. Niobrara County (Wyo.), 8; 21. Hemingford, 7; 22. Hyannis, 3; 22. Sioux County, 3; 24. Creek Valley, 1.2.

100 Meters

1. Ashley Turner, Burns, 12.70; 2. Kelly VonSeggern, Sidney, 12.92; 3. Shanell Primes, Scottsbluff, 12.93; 4. Mickenzie Brennan, Alliance, 12.94; 5. Sara Von Seggern, Sidney, 13.33; 6. Bryttnee Lemmon, Crawford, 13.45.

200 Meters

1. Ashley Turner, Burns, 26.87; 2. Aspen Reifschneider, Mitchell, 27.00; 3. Sara Von Seggern, Sidney, 27.11; 4. Taylor Noe, Scottsbluff, 27.40; 5. Olivia Armstrong, Mitchell, 27.91; 6. Alisha Hunsaker, Kimball, 28.11.

400 Meters

1. Preslie Allen, Sidney, 1:00.66; 2. Shae Kaus, Gering, 1:03.26; 3. Bryttnee Lemmon, Crawford, 1:03.52; 4. Dani McManamen, Southeast, 1:03.70; 5. Devin Beaver, Mitchell, 1:04.44; 6. Noelle Chapman, Southeast, 1:04.47.

800 Meters

1. Jessi Smith, Bayard, 2:18.99; 2. Jori Peters, Mitchell, 2:20.30; 3. Kalen Nedella, Crawford, 2:28.41; 4. Victoria Schwartz, Gering, 2:28.80; 5. Kaitlyn Berner, Leyton, 2:31.01; 6. Lauren Shaul, Gering, 2:31.68.

1,600 Meters

1. Celeste Cardona, Mitchell, 5:25.63 ; 2. Shayleigh James, Scottsbluff, 5:32.45; 3. Taylor Muncie, Scottsbluff, 5:33.87; 4. Dani Wellnitz, Gordon-Rushville, 5:44.78; 5. Denie Jacobson, Gordon-Rushville, 5:50.60; 6. Kali Rimington, Gering, 5:54.28.

3,200 Meters

1. Celeste Cardona, Mitchell, 11:57.14; 2. Whitney Riesen, Scottsbluff, 11:59.30; 3. Lacie Lietka, Crawford, 12:26.68; 4. Erin Lindeman, Sidney, 12:40.69; 5. Celeste Morales, Burns, 12:46.04; 6. Madison Ramsay, Hyannis, 12:47.40.

100-Meter Hurdles

1. Gabbie Addleman, Sidney, 15.83; 2. Chellani Parriott, Bayard, 16.18; 3. Hali Sahr, Gordon-Rushville, 16.88; 4. Madison Reiber, Alliance, 17.10; 5. Georgia Wollert, Lingle-Fort Laramie, 17.21; 6. Kai Didier, Scottsbluff, 17.40.

300-Meter Hurdles

1. Chandler Hageman, Chadron, 48.72; 2. Madison Watson, Mitchell, 49.10; 3. Mana Garcia, Scottsbluff, 49.13; 4. Logan Murphy, Torrington, 50.02; 5. Erika Swires, Bridgeport, 50.11; 6. Katlynn Kling, Sioux County, 50.65.

4x100 Relay

1. Mitchell, 50.99; 2. Sidney (Abby Heller, Sara Von Seggern, Kelly VonSeggern, Gabbie Addleman), 51.41; 3. Bayard, 52.23; 4. Alliance, 52.58; 5. Scottsbluff, 52.97; 6. Pine Bluffs, 52.98.

4x400 Relay

1. Mitchell, 4:04.29; 2. Sidney (Preslie Allen, Abby Heller, Savanna Rosenbaum, Natalie Radcliffe), 4:13.39; 3. Gering, 4:19.29; 4. Burns, 4:21.33; 5. Scottsbluff, 4:22.38; 6. Alliance, 4:22.69.

4x800 Relay

1. Gering, 10:22.89; 2. Sidney (Charlie Brockhaus, Kara Birner, Chantal Riggs, Julia Evertson), 10:31.16; 3. Gordon-Rushville, 10:33.26; 4. Hemingford, 10:34.14; 5. Alliance, 10:36.25; 6. Burns, 10:39.02.

Shot Put

1. Brianna Eckerberg, Gering, 37-9.25; 2. Olga Aguilar, Bridgeport, 36-10.75; 3. Sierra Betancur, Scottsbluff, 36-5; 4. Alexus Rozelle, Potter-Dix, 36-0.25; 5. Precious Williams, Alliance, 35-9; 6. Aimee Hass, Bridgeport, 35-3.5.

Discus

1. Alexus Rozelle, Potter-Dix, 112-10; 2. Sierra Betancur, Scottsbluff, 112-3; 3. Jaden Ragsdale, Pine Bluffs, 112-2; 4. Olga Aguilar, Bridgeport, 104-6; 5. Aimee Hass, Bridgeport, 103-7; 6. Annalise Lecher, Sidney, 101-10.

High Jump

1. Kenna Campbell, Gordon-Rushville, 5-1; 2. Savanna Rosenbaum, Sidney, 5-0; 3. McKeltie Imus, Gering, 4-10; 4. Miranda Gilkey, Niobrara County, 4-10; 5. Georgia Wollert, Lingle-Fort Laramie, 4-10; 6. Miah Vera, Bayard, 4-8; 6. Anna McLaughlin, Potter-Dix, 4-8; 6. Marina Howard, Pine Bluffs, 4-8; 6. Jessie Straber, Creek Valley, 4-8.

Pole Vault

1. Tiersa Darley, Scottsbluff, 8-6; 2. Jolene Oliverius, Sidney, 8-0; 2. Jami Flores, Sidney, 8-0; 4. Ruby Fernandez, Scottsbluff, 8-0; 5. Ryley Hicks, Potter-Dix, 8-0; 6. Alisha Hunsaker, Kimball, 7-6.

Long Jump

1. Miah Vera, Bayard, 16-3; 2. Jessica Harvey, Morrill, 15-11.75; 3. Aspen Reifschneider, Mitchell, 15-10; 4. Hannah Biesecker, Kimball, 15-5.5; 5. Madison Biesecker, Kimball, 15-5; 6. Kaitlyn Berner, Leyton, 15-4.5.

Triple Jump

1. Aspen Reifschneider, Mitchell, 33-10.5; 2. Kaitlyn Berner, Leyton, 33-3.25; 3. Kayla Frazier, Torrington, 32-11.25; 4. Kenna Campbell, Gordon-Rushville, 32-11; 5. Natalie Booth, Lingle-Fort Laramie, 32-10; 6. Miranda Gilkey, Niobrara County, 32-1.75.