CLASS D GIRLS' STATE TRACK & FIELD MEET: Rozelle brings home 5th place in discus for top girls' finish

OMAHA, Neb. – With a mixture of outgoing state veterans and upcoming underclassmen, each of the local Class D high schools were represented by strong performers at the NSAA Girls' State Championships.

None of the squads had enough firepower to compete for a team title though.

Giltner won the state championship with 38 points to edge out runners-up Wynot and Axtell, which each scored 36. The top eight teams were separated by just eight points.

Potter-Dix ended the meet with five points, Leyton with four and Creek Valley one.

Though she wasn't very pleased with her performance, Potter-Dix sophomore Alexus Rozelle brought home the highest medal after finishing fourth in the discus. Rozelle threw the saucer 114 feet, 9 inches to gain all five points for her team. Most of the competitors seemed to be reaching distances less than their best as the athletes had to fight a tricky wind. Rozelle's personal best is better than 122 feet.

Rozelle also earned a trip to state in the shot put and finished in a tie for 13th. Her best throw in the competition was 36-2.75. Rozelle was also a state qualifier as a freshman.

Senior Kaitlyn Berner of Leyton completed her fourth competition at state. In this go-around, she qualified in the 800 meters and triple jump. Her best result came in the 800 as she captured a fifth-place medal.

"It's a sad day," Berner said. "I'm going to keep running as much as I can. It's something I really love to do. I'll never forget the moments I've had at this meet over the past four years."

Berner had the added challenge of competing in the triple jump and 800 simultaneously. After completing the 800, she had to rush back to the triple-jump pit for one more jump.

"It was tiring," Berner added. "I'm a little disappointed I couldn't get the school record in the 800, but I've loved the time I've spent here."

Berner missed setting a new school mark in the 800 by a fraction of a second. She missed a medal in the triple jump by just two inches.

The Creek Valley Storm were represented by freshman Payje Misegadis and sophomore Jessie Straber.

Misegadis made the grade in the pole vault, while Straber competed in the triple jump and high jump. Misegadis added six inches to her qualifying height at districts, but fell short of her personal best by a half foot.

"I went to middle school state in the pole vault last year when I was jumping about 8-6," Misegadis said. "It's been really fun here. This is a lot bigger than it was in middle school and I'd love to come back."

Misegadis tied with Potter-Dix sophomore Payton Franklin in the pole vault with a height of 8 feet. The Coyotes' Ryley Hicks finished one height better at 8-6. Franklin also made the field in the 100 hurdles, as did Leyton senior Shaela Jenkins.

For Jenkins, it was her third trip to state in the event, though her effort was compromised by hitting several hurdles in her preliminary run.

Straber, who made the state field in the high jump in 2014, tied for seventh to earn the Storm's lone medal. She went out at 5 feet. In the triple jump, Straber was 16th with a leap of 32-11.25.

"This year went pretty well," said Straber after competing in the high jump. "I got four inches better in the triple jump this season so if I keep progressing that's the important thing. I'm a little disappointed I couldn't get five feet in the high jump but hopefully I'll get another chance next year."

The Coyotes' Anna McLaughlin also went out at 5 feet, but missed out on a medal based on more misses. Regyn Hicks cleared 4-8 before going out at 4-10. McLaughlin and Hicks are both juniors.

Both Leyton and Potter-Dix qualified their 4x400-meter relay teams, though neither threatened for a medal.

The Leyton team included Berner, Kristine Barnett, Jessica Houk and Cheyenne Nickel. The Coyotes' team included Savannah Shaw, Payge Hoffman, Trinity Langley and Regyn Hicks – all of whom are underclassman. Only Berner graduates off the Leyton team.

STATE CLASS D FINAL RESULTS

At Burke Stadium, Omaha

CLASS D GIRLS – TEAM SCORES

1. Giltner, 38; 2. Wynot, 36; 2. Axtell, 36; 4. North Central, 35; 5. Riverside, 32; 5. South Loup, 32; 7. Lawrence-Nelson, 31; 8. BDS, 30; 9. Lourdes Central Catholic, 22; 10. Pawnee City, 21; 11. Stapleton, 20; 12. Bertrand, 19; 12. Cedar Bluffs, 19; 14. Scribner-Snyder, 16; 14. Howells-Dodge, 16; 14. Humphrey St. Francis, 16; 14. Fullerton, 16; 18. Anselmo-Merna, 15; 18. Mead, 15; 20. Loomis, 14; 20. Elm Creek, 14; 22. Brady, 13; 23. Maywood, 12; 24. Mullen, 11; 25. Falls City Sacred Heart, 10; 25. Stuart, 10; 25. Sterling, 10; 28. Pleasanton, 8; 28. Emerson-Hubbard-Pender (E-H-P), 8; 28. Friend, 8; 28. High Plains Community, 8; 32. Lyons-Decatur Northeast, 6; 33. Diller-Odell, 5; 33. Potter-Dix, 5; 33. Hampton, 5; 33. Spalding Academy, 5; 37. Leyton, 4; 37. Paxton, 4; 37. Allen, 4; 37. Osceola, 4; 37. Exeter-Milligan, 4; 37. Deshler, 4; 37. Randolph, 4; 44. Twin Loup, 3; 44. St. Mary’s, 3; 44. Elwood, 3; 44. Ewing, 3; 48. Heartland, 2.5; 48. Wilcox-Hildreth, 2.5.50. Sutherland, 2; 50. Maxwell, 2; 50. Bancroft-Rosalie, 2; 53. Creek Valley, 1; 53. Eustis-Farnam, 1; 53. Arapahoe, 1.

100 Meters

1. Jordan Hansen, Giltner, 12.42; 2. Regan Miller, Axtell, 12.61; 3. Karen Schmeits, Riverside, 12.66; 4. Mandi Stansberry, Cedar Bluffs, 12.97; 5. Maddison Roumph, Cedar Bluffs, 13.01; 6. Whitney Steckel, Twin Loup, 13.015; 7. Molly Berger, Riverside, 13.020; 8. Claire Cornell, Elm Creek, 13.06.

200 Meters

1. Jordan Hansen, Giltner, 26.23; 2. Regan Miller, Axtell, 26.47; 3. Karen Schmeits, Riverside, 26.50; 4. Mandi Stansberry, Cedar Bluffs, 26.66; 5. Kaitlynn Wiese-Hunt, Mead, 26.80; 6. Elizabeth Sindelar, Howells-Dodge, 27.02; 7. Claire Cornell, Elm Creek, 27.12; 8. Michaela Cunningham, Fullerton, 27.28.

400 Meters

1. Cortney Arkfeld, Wynot, 59.18; 2. Kaitlynn Wiese-Hunt, Mead, 1:00.10; 3. Holly Podliska, Humphrey St. Francis, 1:00.43; 4. Michaela Cunningham, Fullerton, 1:00.78; 5. Laura Box, Lourdes Central Catholic, 1:00.89; 6. Emery Swan, Brady, 1:00.99; 7. Kayla Stubbs, Pleasanton, 1:01.02; 8. Harlee Fischer, Stuart, 1:03.30.

800 Meters

1. Holly Podliska, Humphrey St. Francis, 2:20.61; 2. Cortney Arkfeld, Wynot, 2:21.83; 3. Jaden Lutz, South Loup, 2:27.90; 4. Harlie Himmelberg, Lawrence-Nelson, 2:28.39; 5. Kaitlyn Berner, Leyton, 2:28.85; 6. Samantha Brester, Howells-Dodge, 2:29.82; 7. Caitlin Orton, North Central, 2:30.27; 8. Haley Eikmeier, Howells-Dodge, 2:30.54

1,600 Meters

1. Molly McCartney, Lawrence-Nelson, 5:28.76; 2. Kayla Minary, Maywood, 5:36.38; 3. Natalie Jones, Stapleton, 5:37.45; 4. Claire Kubicek, Friend, 5:37.75; 5. Elizabeth Cramer, Anselmo-Merna, 5:39.15; 6. Alyssa Fye, Randolph, 5:40.78; 7. Keri Bauer, Pleasanton, 5:43.62; 8. Lexy Heyden, North Central, 5:44.27.

3,200 Meters

1. Natalie Jones, Stapleton, 12:03.92; 2. Molly McCartney, Lawrence-Nelson, 12:03.96; 3. Elizabeth Cramer, Anselmo-Merna, 12:07.65; 4. Taylor Cockerill, Sterling, 12:08.14; 5. Kayla Minary, Maywood, 12:08.35; 6. Keri Bauer, Pleasanton, 12:11.03; 7. Lexy Heyden, North Central, 12:15.08; 8. Alyssa Fye, Randolph, 12:17.66.

100-Meter Hurdles

1. Catherine Mick, BDS, 15.35; 2. Mariah Willey, Pawnee City, 15.38; 3. Skylar Hadley, Loomis, 15.69; 4. Addy Vinton, Mullen, 16.02; 5. Maitlyn Thomsen, Exeter-Milligan, 16.33; 6. Hannah Kring, Axtell, 16.44; 7. Ariel Stuhr, Lourdes Central Catholic, 16.90; 8. Kaley Stokey, Sutherland, 18.89.

300-Meter Hurdles

1. Catherine Mick, BDS, 45.39; 2. Skylar Hadley, Loomis, 46.54; 3. Rachel Stewart, North Central, 47.58; 4. Madison Van Housen, Hampton, 48.21; 5. Alexa Preissler, Giltner, 48.29; 6. Lydia Fry, Ewing, 49.18; 7. Cortney Reuter, Allen, 49.89; 8. Michaela Jurjens Brady 51.58.

4x100-Meter Relay

1. Axtell, 51.02; 2. Riverside, 51.58; 3. Elm Creek, 51.88; 4. Brady, 52.20; 5. Lourdes Central Catholic, 52.22; 6. Stuart, 52.29; 7. Maxwell, 52.51; 8. Allen, 52.52.

4x400-Meter Relay

1. Fullerton, 4:05.47; 2. Wynot, 4:05.75; 3. Stuart, 4:15.49; 4. Spalding Academy, 4:15.58; 5. Axtell, 4:15.99; 6. Elwood, 4:16.50; 7. Giltner, 4:16.73; 8. Howells-Dodge, 4:17.32.

4x800-Meter Relay

1. Wynot (Cortney Arkfeld, Jenna Heine, Holly Lauer, Skylar Arkfeld), 10:07.91; 2. Lawrence-Nelson, 10:10.99; 3. North Central, 10:14.87; 4. Howells-Dodge, 10:15.46; 5. Stapleton, 10:15.87; 6. Friend, 10:17.44; 7. Giltner, 10:23.07; 8. St. Mary’s, 10:25.98.

Shot Put

1. Kelbie Lyon, Giltner, 40-11.75; 2. Addie Shaw, North Central, 40-9; 3. Cheyenne Wilken, Bertrand, 39-9.75; 4. Jazzy Eickhoff, Sterling, 39-3; 5. Emma Holz, Paxton, 38-11.75; 6. Jenna Habegger, Pawnee City, 38-6.75; 7. Kristine Edgren, Bertrand, 37-11; 8. Taylor Nichols, Pleasanton, 37-1.75.

Discus

1. Addie Shaw, North Central, 118-1; 2. Kersten Peters, Scribner-Snyder, 115-6; 3. Darcey Simonsen, Lyons-Decatur NE, 115-3; 4. Alexus Rozelle, Potter-Dix, 114-9; 5. Elizabeth Meier, Deshler, 114-0; 6. Abby Coday, Howells-Dodge, 111-11; 7. Emily Pongratz, St. Mary’s 109-8; 8. Hannah Davis, Pawnee City, 108-6.

High Jump

1. Shayla Dockweiler, South Loup, 5-5; 2. Mariah Willey, Pawnee City, 5-2; 3. Addy Vinton Mullen, 5-2; 4. Madison Hajek, Diller-Odell, 5-2; 5. Samantha Hays, Osceola, 5-1; 6. Sophie Mellema, Axtell, 5-0; 7T. Jessie Straber, Creek Valley, 4-10; 7T. Gabrielle Sullivan, Allen, 4-10; 7T. Olivia tenBensel, Arapahoe, 4-10.

Pole Vault

1. Catherine Mick, BDS, 12-3; 2. Abby Collingham, High Plains Community, 11-4; 3. Sydney Siekman, Bertrand, 10-4; 4. Mollie Kap,s Bertrand, 10-0; 5. Michaela Jurjens, Brady, 10-0; 6T. Hayley Beason, Wilcox-Hildreth, 10-0; 6T. Tierney Casper, Heartland, 10-0; 8. Kaley Stokey, Sutherland, 9-6.

Long Jump

1. Karen Scchmeits, Riverside, 17-1; 2. Lindsey Wisnieski, Scribner-Snyder, 17-0.5; 3. Shayla Dockweiler, South Loup, 17-0.25; 4. Claire Cornell, Elm Creek, 16-9.75; 5. Laura Box, Lourdes CC, 16-4; 6. Kaitlyn Wiese-Hunt, Mead, 16-2.5; 7. Tamara Myers, Anselmo-Merna, 16-2.5; 8. Mariah Willey, Pawnee City, 16-2.

Triple Jump

1. Jordan Rush, South Loup, 36-2.25; 2. Katherine O’Neil, Lourdes Central Catholic, 35-0.25; 3. Maggie Goltz, Falls City Sacred Heart, 34-7.5; 4. Maddison Roumph, Cedar Bluffs, 34-6.5; 5. Jade Hill, Falls City Sacred Heart, 34-0.5; 6. Tamara Myers, Anselmo-Merna, 33-6.5; 7. Jerrica Tietz, Bancroft-Rosalie, 33-2.75; 8. Jessica Deterding, Eustis-Farnam, 33-1.25.