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OMAHA — The Cedar Catholic track teams competed in a competitive 2024 Nebraska Track and Field Championships at Omaha Burke Stadium May 17 and 18.
The State meet is always competitive, but Cedar Catholic head coach Blair Kalin felt this year’s event was as tough as he has seen.
“The competition was above top notch,” Kalin said. “I read where there were about 40 new State records set in the meet in all four classes. That’s a lot of new records and it seemed the sprints were very fierce.”
To back up his statement, he used Cedar Catholic junior Braeden Reifenrath as an example.
“We had a sprinter five or six years ago over at Hartington-Newcastle who ran the 100 in the low 11-second range, who placed fourth or fifth at State,” Kalin said. “Braeden ran a personal best of 11.03 and he was on the outside looking in at the finals. He missed the finals by onehundredth of a second.”
Reifenrath also competed in the 200 where he finished 21st in the preliminaries with a time of 23.11 seconds.
“Braeden came a long ways this year,” Kalin said. “He worked on the little things that trimmed down his times.”
Freshman Anisten Wortmann and a pair of Lady Trojan relay teams brought home hardware from Omaha.
Wortmann placed sixth in the long jump individually with a best of 16-feet-10.75-inches. Sarah Forsberg of Cross County won the event with a jump of 18-04.
“Anisten had a great first year and a great State meet,” Kalin said. “She lost a couple of weeks in the middle of the season due to an injury, but she sure came back and performed really well for us down the stretch here.”
Wortmann just missed a medal in the 100 meters,finishing ninth in the preliminaries with a 12.62, and she placed 11th in the 200 with a time of 26.13. Hazel Haarberg of Kearney Catholic won both races.
Wortmann teamed up with Brynn Bernecker, Kally Becker and Lauren Bernecker to place fourth in the 1,600-meter relay. The squad improved their season’s best time by nearly four seconds, clocking a 4:06.74 over the distance.
The Cedar Catholic 3,200-meter relay team of the Bernecker sisters, Claire Rolfes and Becker also brought home medals, taking sixth in the event with a time of 10:02.78.
“When you consider we have only 11 girls on our entire team and we put together two State-medal relay teams, that’s quite an accomplishment,” Kalin said. “Brynn Bernecker and Claire Rolfes worked their tails off for us this season and both can run a lot of different distances. They make us more flexible in moving kids around to get the best teamon the track. They all will do whatever is best for the team.”
Lauren Bernecker also competed in the 400 and the 800 at State, placing 12th in the 400 with a time of 1:00.15 and 11th in the 800 with a time of 2:25.34.
“Lauren did everything for us on the track,” Kalin said. “She really worked hard and got better each meet.”
Becker also ran in the 800, placing 17th with a time of 2:28.17. “Kally had a great season for her freshman year,” the coach said. “She came on as the season progressed.”
Rolfes ran in the 1,600 and placed 18th with a time of 5:49.29; Hailey O’Daniel of Arlington won the race in 5:14.99.
“Claire also had a great season,” Kalin said. “She does a lot of running on her own and was a real asset when it comes to our relays. She is the ultimate teammate.”
The lone senior for the Lady Trojans was Lexi Eickhoff, who was a workhorse in the throws. Eickhoff threw the shot put 37-05.75, which placed her 10th, and tossed the discus 111-03 for 18th place.
“Lexi had a great career here at Cedar Catholic,” her coach said. “She always got us points to start off a meet.We are really going to miss her.”
Teammate Addison Walter made her first appearance in Omaha, tossing the shot put 34-08.75 to place 24th.
“Addison worked really hard and had a good mentor in Lexi,” Kalin said. “She gained some valuable experience down in Omaha and will be our top thrower next season.”
In addition to Reifenrath, the Trojans also had a relay team and Hunter Bensen competing at Burke Stadium.
Bensen high-jumped for 16th place after clearing the bar at 5-10. “Hunter got some experience at State,” Kalin said. “He’s just a freshman so his upside is very positive.”
The 3,200 relay team of Matthew Loecker, Hunter Kuchta, Kighter Wortmann and Nolan Becker circled the track in 8:40.64 for 11th place.
“We didn’t score a lot of points in Omaha, but we really competed very well,” Kalin said. “Almost everyone had personal bests, but the competition was very, very good.
“I feel like we had a great season; both teams won District titles and everyone improved from the beginning to the end. We’ll have some quality athletes coming back.”
Class C State Track Boys Team Results: Chase County 65; Arlington 49; Lincoln Lutheran 46.5; North Platte St. Pat’s 45.5; Perkins County 35; Battle Crk 31; Hastings St. Cecilia 30; Bishop Neumann 28; Elmwood-Murdock 28; West Holt 27; Stanton 26; North Bend 16. Ainsworth 16; Freeman 15; Syracuse 14; St. Paul 14; Yutan 12; Aquinas 12; Kearney Catholic 12; Norfolk Catholic 12; Ord 10; Alma 10; Valentine 9; Wood River 9; Centura 8; Tekamah-Herman 6; Oakland-Craig 6; Madison 6; Wakefield 6; Conestoga 5; Cross County 5; Morrill 5; Hi-Line 5; Louisville 5; Centennial 4; Sandy Creek 4; Ponca 4; Wisner-Pilger 3; Boyd County 3; Crofton 2; Hemingford 2; Malcolm 2; Exeter-Milligan 2; Hershey 2; Doniphan-Trumbull 2.
Boys Individual Results
( Medalists in Cedar Catholic Athletes’ events):
100: 1. Mitchell Hupp (STA) 10.8; 2. Jaxon Knisley (NPSP) 10.95; 3. Thomas Reeves (Ch.C); 4. Carter Janssen (NC) 11.07; 5. Jenson Anderson (HSC) 11.08; 6. Cody Hrdy (LOU) 11.09; 7. Luke Klabenes (WH) 11.10; 8. Isaac Chavez (AMH) 26.45; (Prelims) 9. Braeden Reifenrath (CC) 11.03.
200: 1. Hupp (STA) 21.79; 2. Anderson (HSC) 21.93; 3. Carter Nelson (AINS) 22.17; 4. Logan Lebo (LL) 22.36; 5. Reeves (ChC) 22.51; 6. Janssen (NC) 22.57; (Prelims) 21. Reifenrath (CC) 23.11.
4X800 Relay: 1. Arlington 8:06.88; 2. Lincoln Luth 8:15.10; 3. Perkins Co. 8:15.84; 4. Syracuse 8:18.40; 5. Chase Co. 8:18.55; 6. West Holt 8:23.57; 7. Doniphan-Trumbull 8:24.54; 8. North Platte St. Pat’s 8:26.74; 11. Cedar (Matthew Loecker, Hunter Kuchta, Kighter Wortmann, Nolan Becker) 8:40.64.
High Jump: 1. Garrett Novacek (AqC) 6-08; 2. Anderson (HSC) 6-08; 3. Isaac Cronin (VAL) 6-06; 4. Wyatt Hayward (MOR) 6-04; 5. Owen Axmann (KC) 6-02; 6. Lincoln Benne (O-C) 6-02; 16. Hunter Benson (CC) 5-10.
Girls Team Results: 1. Kearney Cath 86.5; Bishop Neumann 60; Syracuse 40; Crofton 36; West Holt 30; Grand Island CC 29; Arlington 26; Yutan 24; David City 20; Wakefield 20; Doniphan Trumbull 19; Battle Crk 18; Aquinas 18; Norfolk Cath 17; Chase County 14; Ponca 14; Superior 12; GACC 12; North Bend 12; Gordon-Rushville 11; Clarkson/Leigh 11; Cedar 11; Shelby-Rising City 10; Bridgeport 10; Cross County 10; Centennial 10; Hastings St. C 9; Summerland 8; Perkins County 8; Fillmore Central 6; Kimball 6; St. Paul 6; Tri County 5; Palmyra 4.5; Malcolm 4; Conestoga 3.5; Om Brownell Talbot 3; Exeter-Milligan 2.
Girls Individual Results (Medalists in Cedar Catholic events): 100: 1. Hazel Haarberg (KC) 11.73; 2. Kerstyn Chapek (BN) 12.26; 3. Savannah Horne (CEN) 12.33; 4. Kambri Andel (DC) 12.41; 5. Kathleen Donovan (SYR) 12.42; 6. Payton Dzingle (KC) 12.48; 7. Molly Weber (JCC) 12.64; 8. Riley Rusher (ChC) 12.74; (Prelims) 9. Anisten Wortmann 12.62.
200: 1. Haarberg (KC) 24.36; 2. Chapek (BN) 25.17; 3. Andel (DC) 25.51; 4. Dzingle (KC) 25.81; 5. Horne (CEN) 25.82; 6. Jocelynn Skoda (GACC) 25.97; 12. Anisten Wortmann (CC) 26.13.
400: 1. Chapek (BN) 57.06; 2. Jordan Metzler (WAK) 57.90; 3. Jayden Meyer (SYR) 58.04; 4. Skoda (GACC) 58.43; 5. Ainsley Galyen (WH) 58.86; 6. Dzingle (KC) 58.96; 12. Lauren Bernecker (CC) 1:00.15.
800: 1. Metzler (WAK) 2:14.53; 2. O’Daniel (ARL) 2:17.66; 3. Camden Sack (SP) 2:18.19; 4. Meyer (SYR) 2:19.63; 5. Avery McAfee (PON) 2:19.71; 6. Campbell (AqC) 2:20.56; 11. L. Bernecker (CC) 2:25.34; 17. Kally Becker (CC) 2:28.17.
1,600: 1. Hailey O’Daniel (ARL) 5:14.99; 2. Jordyn Arens (CRO) 5:18.57; 3. Anna Firzgerald (D-T) 5:19.60; 4. Gianna Frasher (AqC) 5:20.17; 5. Riley Campbell (AqC) 5:21.49; 6. Emma Williams (NBC) 5:28.22; 18. Claire Rolfes (CC) 5:49.29.
4X400 Relay: 1. West Holt 4:00.79; 2. Bishop Neumann 4:02.14; 3. Shelby-Rising City 4:06.70; 4. Cedar (Wortmann, Brynn Bernecker, Becker, L. Bernecker) 4:06.74; 5. Chase County 4:07.32; 6. North Bend Central 4:09.71.
4X800 Relay: 1. Ponca 9:53.52; 2. Yutan 9:58.93; 3. Aquinas 10:00.42; 4. Doniphan-Trumbull 10:01.25; 5. Hastings St. Cecilia 10:02.05; 6. Cedar (L. Bernecker, Rolfes, B. Bernecker, Becker) 10:02.78; 7. Bishop Neumann 10:09.92; Crofton 10:14.87.
Long Jump: 1. Sarah Forsberg (CC) 18-04.50; 2. Alyssa Onnen (KC) 18-02.75; 3. Haarberg (KC) 18-01.75; 4. Maizie Stoklasa (C/L) 17-09; 5. Andel (DC) 17-00.25; 6. Wortmann (CC) 16-10.25; 7. Payton Sullivan (HSC) 16-07.50; 8. Danika Hassel (BAY)
16-07.25.
Shot Put: 1. Jaid Wehrle (BaC) 41-05; 2. Madison Heusinkvelt (SUP) 40-11.75; 3. Jill Johnson (BN) 40-02.75; 4. McKinley Grover (G-R) 40-02.50; 5. Grace Dean (BRI)
39-08.75; 6. Maddie Schneider (GICC)38-06.25; 7. Ryann Sabatka (HSC) 37-09.75;
8. Ava Larmon (S-RC) 37-09.75; 10. Lexi Eickhoff (CC) 37-05.75; 24. Addison Walter (CC) 34-08.75.
Discus: 1. Caitlin Guenther (CRO) 133-07; 2. Schneider (GICC) 131-03; 3. Dean (BRI) 130-10; 4.Hayley Arp (ARL) 128-03; 5. Grover (G-R) 127-08; 6. Larmon (S-RC)
124-07; 7. Heusinkvelt (SUP) 123-07; 8. Sabatka (HSC) 122-01; 18. Eickhoff (CC)
111-03.
