Johnstone leads area athletes with gold medal performance

More than 50 local athletes made appearances in state track competitions over the weekend, braving cold wet conditions as they took their places among their states' elite.

Out of that mix, more than two dozen medals came back to the area, 14 of them in individual competition.

Leading the way for local athletes was Sidney High School freshman MJ Johnstone, who made her mark as one of the state's best by winning the Nebraska Class B girls pole vault title.

Johnstone went without a miss through the 11-foot mark on the way to the winning height of 11-feet, 2-inches. She won the championship over a Holdrege vaulter, who matched her height but had an earlier miss.

Johnstone's vault was third best in all classes, which saw freshmen win three of four classes, the fourth earned by a sophomore.

Also scoring for the Sidney girls were Kelly Von Seggern, seventh in the 100 meter run, and Natalie Radcliffe, eighth in the 300 meter hurdles.

Mitch Porter and Alex Linneman led the way for Sidney's boys, both medaling twice individually and adding to place-winning relays.

Porter was seventh in the high jump and eighth in the triple jump, while Linneman was third in the long jump and eighth at 200 meters.

Linnemann, Derek Robb, Coby Haas and Christian Balandrin, who last week set a school record in the 4x100 relay, finished second to Bennington.

In the 4x400, Porter took his turn in place of Haas with the same teammates to challenge for the state title, losing by a hair to Ogallala in the state championship.

Potter Dix's Alexus Rozelle was also among area standouts, placing in two events, the discus shot put.

South of the border, Peetz junior Abby White made her mark on the distance races, finishing in fourth at both 1600 and 3200 meters.