Red Raiders Excel at Best in the West Classic

Sidney sent their very best track and field stars to the annual Best in the West Classic in Scottsbluff on Tuesday, May 2, and the Red Raiders turned in many outstanding individual performances against the best competition in the area.

For the boys, junior Isak Doty started off the Sidney surge with second-place finishes in the 100, 200 and 400 Meter sprints, and the 4X100 Meter Relay team of Lance Holly, Jacob Dowse, Landon Riddle and Isak Doty placed second. Senior Jacob Dowse cleared 5' 11" to take first place in the High Jump, and freshman Keian Kaiser placed third, also clearing 5' 11". Junior Luke Uhlir placed fifth in Pole Vault, and Landon Riddle placed fourth in Long Jump.

For the girls, junior Payton Schrotberger paced the Sidney girls with a third place finish in the 100 Meters and a fifth place finish in the 200 Meters, and anchored the winning 4X100 Meter Relay team. Junior Talissa Tanquary placed third in the 400 Meters, and freshman Katie Dowse placed fifth in the 800 Meters, followed by Talissa Tanquary placing sixth. Junior Chloe Ahrens, who won Most Outstanding Female Athlete for the Best in the West Classic, won the 100 Meter Hurdles at 14.68, a personal best, the 300 Meter Hurdles at 45.71, also a personal best, and was on the winning 4X100 Meter Relay and third-place 4X400 Meter Relay teams. Junior Karsyn Leeling continued her outstanding season, setting a new Best in the West record in High Jump by clearing 5' 7", winning the Triple Jump with a distance of 34' 11.75", and placing fifth in Long Jump.

On Thursday, May 4, the team traveled east for the Cozad Invitational, and both squads placed sixth out of seven teams. Isak Doty won the 100 Meters with a personal best time of 10.87 and anchored the first-place 4X100 Meter Relay team. Senior Koleman Kaiser and freshman Keian Kaiser placed fifth and sixth in the 110 Meter Hurdles, and sophomore Patrick McCartney placed sixth in the 300 Meter Hurdles. Keian Kaiser won and had a personal best in High Jump, clearing 6'1" while Jacob Dowse placed third. Luke Uhlir placed fourth in Pole Vault and senior Austin Roelle took second in Triple Jump.

For the girls, Payton Schrotberger placed third in the 100 Meters and anchored the second-place 4X100 Relay team. Katie Dowse placed fifth in the 400 Meters and senior Rheo Dykstra placed third in the 3200 Meters. Karsyn Leeling won the High Jump, clearing 5'6", and Carli Black won the Triple Jump with a distance of 32' 11", a personal best, while sophomore Jordan DeNovellis placed fourth.

Sidney sent most of their junior varsity squad to the BCD Bayard Invite on Friday, May 5, and had a few outstanding performances by the teams. For the boys, junior Vernon Graham placed fifth in the 100 Meters, freshman Ben Monheiser placed sixth in the 400 Meters and junior Brendan Shepard placed third in the 1600 Meters. For the girls, freshman Rylee Runge placed eight in Pole Vault with a personal best height of 6' 7", sophomore Maria Mendez-Guzman placed ninth, and freshman Rhemy Hicks placed 11th in the 300 Meter Hurdles with a personal best time of 54.33.

Sidney next was scheduled to compete at the B-6 District Meet in Ogallala on Tuesday, May 9.