KEARNEY — The Columbus High track and field teams had some good individual performances at the Kearney High Invitational Friday in Kearney.
The girls scored 56 points to finish fifth, while the boys took sixth by scoring 42 points. Kearney High swept the meet with scores of 173 (girls) and 191 (boys).
Competing against strong teams and poor weather conditions, the CHS boys came away with nine medals.
“I thought it was a very good day. We competed pretty well in everything,” Columbus boys head coach Dan Steiner said. “We had lot of personal bests and saw some really big improvement against good teams. The kids’ effort was awesome.”
Sprinting was the strong point of the team, as the Discoverers took three medals.
Chase Meays finished second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.50 seconds. Grant Meredith took second in the 200 in 23.70, while Saul Rendon’s time of 52.57 was good enough for second in the 400.
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Kyle Rieger also had a strong showing in the 800, fighting hard for a runner-up finish. He fell back to third, but came on strong down the stretch to retake second.
“I was very happy to get second in those races,” Steiner said. “They ran good times and were seeded right up there with the top runners.”
Darin Koci chalked up another strong performance in the pole vault, finishing fourth (13 feet), while Michael Griffith improved his shot put by 2 1/2 feet to finish fifth.
The 1,600-meter relay team also had a good day, finishing third.
Steiner likes the way the team is competing at this point in the season.
“I think the sprints are our strong point,” he said. “But we’re seeing some other kids step up, which makes the season fun.”
The Columbus girls were very competitive, winning medals in 11 different events. However, the Discoverers’ point total fell one point shy of fourth place.
“Overall, we competed very well and did a nice job,” CHS girls head coach Bob Hopp said. “But we had a couple of chances where we could have gotten a couple more points here and there.”
The Discoverers compiled seven top-three finishes on the day. Karo Garcia was the only individual event multi-medal winner for CHS, finishing second in the 3,200 (12 minutes, 15.01 seconds) and third in the 1,600 (5:41.63).
Her performances came as no surprise to her head coach.
“We expect her to do that all the time,” Hopp said.
Columbus showed a lot of improvement in the field events, earning two second-place finishes. Brianna Downs took second in the pole vault (10-0), and Heather Sabata was runner up in the shot put (36-7).
Megan Weber took third in the 400 (1:00.91), while Beth Belrud finished fifth in the 100 hurdles (17.82). Madison Burger placed fifth in the 200 (28.57), and Nicole Hoge came in sixth in the 800 (2:40.58).
All three relay teams also placed for CHS, with a second-place finish by the 3,200 team (10:24.34), being the best performance.
The results were very encouraging to Hopp.
“You’d always like to be better. There’s no question about that,” he said. “But we’re progressing. I think in most cases, our times at this time of the year are much faster than last year. It might not show on the scoreboard, but as far as individuals go we’ve shown great improvement. I hope it pays off at the end of season.”
Columbus hits the track again April 16 in Fremont.
KEARNEY HIGH INVITATIONAL
Friday at Kearney
Girls Team Standings
n 1. Kearney 173; 2. Lincoln Southwest 115; 3. Omaha Marian 95; 4. Lincoln East 57; 5. Columbus 56; 6. Hastings 25; 7. Kearney High JV 5.
Girls event winners, area placers
n High jump — 1. Katie Smith, KEA, 5-7.
n Long jump — 1. Neeia Cooperwood, OMA, 17-3.
n Triple jump — 1. Courtney Coslor, KEA, 35-4.
n Shot put — 1. Shaunice Lyle, HAS, 37-5 3/4. 2. Heather Sabata, COL, 36-7.
n Discus — 1. Alex Rodrigiez, HAS, 125-7.
n Pole vault — 1. Carly Hillburn, KEA, 10-8; 2. Brianna Downs, COL, 10-0.
n 100 — 1. Cooperwood, OMA, 12.76.
n 200 — 1. Kylie Gokie, LSW, 27.02; 5. Madison Burger, COL, 28.57.
n 400 — 1. Gokie, LSW, 1:00.51; 3. Megan Weber, COL, 1:00.91.
n 800 — 1. Lauren Psota, KEA, 2:33.09; 6. Nicole Hoge, COL, 2:40.58.
n 1,600 — 1. Mary Hillis, LSW, 5:28.95; 3. Karo Garcia, COL, 5:41.63.
n 3,200 — 1. Hillis, LSW, 11:43.69; 2. Garcia, COL, 12:15.01.
n 100 hurdles — 1. Tania Carroll, LSW, 16.03; 5. Beth Belrud, COL, 17.82.
n 300 hurdles — 1. Kate Janike, LE, 48.70.
n 400 relay — 1. Omaha Marian, 51.31; 3. Columbus, 53.65.
n 1,600 relay — 1. Omaha Marian, 4:23.03; 5. Columbus, 4:34.08.
n 3,200 relay — 1. Kearney, 10:14.08; 2. Columbus, 10:24.34.
n 400 weight relay — 1. Omaha Marian, 59.58.
Boys Team Standings
n 1. Kearney 191; 2. Lincoln Southwest 85; 3. Hastings 79.33; 4. Lincoln East 67.33; 5. Omaha Creighton Prep 53.33; 6. Columbus 42; 7. Kearney High JV 9.
Boys event winners, area placers
n High jump — 1. Kamal Harris, LSW, 6-4.
n Long jump — 1. Matt Geiger, HAS, 20-4 1/4.
n Triple jump — 1. Trey Anderson, KEA, 42-9.
n Shot put — 1. Zach Maloley, KEA, 55-4 1/4; 5. Michael Griffith, COL, 49-2 1/2.
n Discus — 1. Brady Rutt, HAS, 159-6.
n Pole vault — 1. Christian Sanderfer, LSW, 14-6; 4. Darin Koci, COL, 13-0.
n 100 — 1. John Schneckloth, LE, 11.29; 2. Chase Meays, COL, 11.50.
n 200 — 1. Schneckloth, LE, 23.42; 4. Grant Meridith, COL, 23.70.
n 400 — 1. Tyler Ripperger, HAS, 52.27; 2. Saul Rendon, COL, 52.57.
n 800 — 1. Jacob Olson, KEA, 1:57.98; 2. Kyle Rieger, COL, 2:02.80.
n 1,600 — 1. Olson, KEA, 4:40.27.
n 3,200 — 1. Tim Smith, KEA, 9:57.42.
n 110 hurdles — 1. Josh Banderas, LSW, 15.24.
n 300 hurdles — 1. Zach Waller, KEA, 41.93.
n 400 relay — 1. Lincoln Southwest, 44.43.
n 1,600 relay — 1. Kearney, 3:35.40; 3. Columbus, 3:37.73.
n 3,200 relay — 1. Lincoln Southwest, 8:29.01; 5. Columbus, 9:12.25.
n 400 weight relay — 1. Kearney, 51.77; 3. Columbus, 58.86.