Raiders Shine at Best in the West Meet

SCOTTSBLUFF--Sidney's Red Raider squads traveled on Tuesday, April 23, up to the annual Best in the West Track & Field meet in Scottsbluff, and the standout Raider team had multiple gold-medal winning performances on the day. The weather was great and conducive to outstanding performances, which would not be the case later in the week as storms covering nearly all of Nebraska forced the postponement of the Western Conference Meet back to Tuesday, April 30. We will have the results of that meet in next week's Sun-Telegraph.

The Red Raiders continued their dominance in the sprints, with Sidney runners taking the first four spots in the 100 meters and the first three spots in the 200 Meters. The order of finish in the 100 meters was senior Isak Doty in first, sophomore Lance Holly in second, junior Landon Riddle in third and senior Luke Holly in fourth. In the 200 Meters, it was Isak Doty again in first, Landon Riddle in second and Lance Holly in third. Junior Patrick McCartney was able to place fourth in the 110 Meter Hurdles and fifth in the 300 Meter Hurdles. The 4x100 Meter Relay team of Lance Holly, Isak Doty, Landon Riddle and Luke Holly had a first place finish, and the 4x400 Meter Relay team of Lance Holly, Alek Doty, Rhys Dorcey and Isak Doty also took the gold. Senior Matthew Danch placed sixth in the Discus, and freshman Kash Knobbe placed fourth and sophomore Keian Kaiser placed fifth in the High Jump. Landon Riddle was outstanding in Long Jump, taking gold with a jump nine inches further than the second-place competitor.

The Lady Raiders again showed themselves to be the class of the Panhandle with multiple gold-medal performances from their standout athletes. Senior Talissa Tanquary continued her outstanding season by winning both the 400 Meters and 800 Meters, while senior Chloe Ahrens earned two golds in the 100 Meter and 300 Meter Hurdles. The 4x400 Meter Relay team of Ahrens, sophomore Katie Dowse, senior Payton Schrotberger and Tanquary took gold, as did the 4x800 Meter Relay team of Dowse, freshman Jordynn Schnell, freshman Taylor Sprenger and Tanquary. Finally, senior Karsyn Leeling did it again, winning the gold in High Jump, Long Jump and Triple Jump. She won the High Jump by nine inches, the Long Jump by nearly two feet and the Triple Jump by nearly three feet, easily besting her closest competition.

The Red Raider athletes were able to set a few new records at the meet. The boys 4x100 team of Lance Holly, Isak Doty, Landon Riddle and Luke Holly beat their own record, turning in a time of 42.56 at the meet, and currently lead the state. The Sidney Middle School athletes also made the trip to Scottsbluff, and a few outstanding performances highlighted their day. For the girls, Eighth grader Lainey Uhlir won the 100 Meter Hurdles and placed second in the 300 Meter Hurdles, while eighth grader Laramey Misegadis placed fourth in High Jump and seventh grader Kinslee Lewis placed fourth in Triple Jump. Eight grader Carter Lipska placed third in the 400 Meters.