Area relays find success on final day of Class D meet

OMAHA – It was a banner day for area relay teams during the final day of the Class D Nebraska State Track and Field Championships at Burke Stadium on Saturday, as five of the area’s 11 medalists on day two came from the 4×100 and 4×400 relays.

The success started with the 4×100 relay at about 2:30, as both Nebraska Lutheran and High Plains secured a spot on the podium thanks to their times during the fast heat of the event.

The Knights’ quartet of Lukas Worster, Trey Richert, Isaac Beiermann and Trevor Hueske clocked in at 44.99 seconds to finish sixth, while the Storm’s Lance Russell, Gavin Morris, Haden Helgoth and Gage Friesen crossing the line just behind them in seventh place with a time of 45.21 seconds.

In the 4×400, three area schools landed on the podium. Hueske, Beiermann, Richert and Lucas Corwin carried the Lutheran colors across the finish in fifth place with a time of 3:33.38, with McCool Junction’s quartet of Trenton Orlando, Carson McDonald, Ryland Garretson and Trent Neville following close behind in sixth at 3:33.94.

Heartland also medaled its 4×400 team from the slow heat, as Zach Quiring, Luis Alvarez, Nick Thieszen and Trev Peters timed in at 3:34.89 to finish second in their heat and eighth overall.

High Plains competed in the 4×400, where the Storm placed 14th.

Despite the relay prowess, area schools also saw quite a bit of individual success Saturday at Burke Stadium. Garretson picked up two medals for the Mustangs in the sprints, placing fourth in the 100 with a time of 11.48 seconds and winning bronze in the 200 at 22.97 seconds.

“Honestly, I felt pretty great. It was good to be back after being out last year, taking that year off,” he said after capping the day with three medals. “It feels great. I like having hardware to go home with, especially after working so hard all season, busting my butt every day at practice. The coaches are yelling at you every day, but they mean well and they love us for it.”

The two-hour break in between the 100 and 200 finals also provided Garretson time to follow his usual pre-race routine to get refocused and refreshed between races.

“I go sit in the shade, relax and let my legs cool down for a little bit, like 20 minutes,” he said. “Then I’ll go do a gentle little workout to get my legs loosened back up, eat some food, drink some water and Gatorade, and then it’s race time.”

Neville added another medal for McCool in the 800, which he ran in 2:01.10 to finish fourth. The senior narrowly missed a fourth medal this week in the 1600, where he clocked in at 4:44.76 and placed ninth.

Luke Brugger also competed in the event for the Mustangs and finished 13th, while Alex Morner capped his sophomore season with an 11th-place showing in the discus and senior Lucas Beversdorf placed 11th in the pole vault.

For the week, McCool Junction finished with 28 points as they tied for sixth in the team race with Howells-Dodge.

Morris gave High Plains another individual medalist with his fourth-place showing in the 400, while Nebraska Lutheran’s Corwin finished eighth in the 800.

Exeter-Milligan also had an individual medalist Saturday, where senior Marcus Krupicka cleared 12-6 on his first attempt to set a PR and take home a seventh-place medal. It was an impressive showing for Krupicka, who had not regularly competed in the event since eighth grade prior to picking up the vault during practice before the T-Wolves’ final regular-season meet.

“I feel like I could have done a little better, gone a little higher, but I did alright. I didn’t really have much of a mindset, I just wanted to go higher. I practiced three days in a row this week and worked a lot on my form, so I didn’t do too bad,” he said. “It’s kind of funny, I think, because I’ve mainly been a thrower, but it feels good.”