Afton Byelick was nervous at the start of the NSAA Class B State Track and Field Championships at Omaha Burke Stadium.
Once the Fort Calhoun pole vaulter cleared 9 feet, though, she settled in. The Pioneer was coach Mandy Taylor's lone medalist last Wednesday and Thursday during the two-day meet.
One of 13 FCHS state qualifiers, Byelick vaulted over the first, second and third heights on her first attempt at each, but had to work her way through 10 feet, 6 inches. She didn't make it over the bar on her first two tries, but did on her third — earning a Class B podium spot and state medal. She was seventh when all was said done.
A longtime school record-holder in her event, Byelick said this season was the best so far. She stepped up and produced at Burke Stadium.
“This year I focused in,” the Pioneer said. “I feel like I got more serious about it, which helped a lot.”
McCook's Leni Henderson and Scottsbluff's Danielle Hunter both cleared 10-6, too, while the second- through fourth-place finishers finished with 11-foot efforts. The state champion in the pole vault — Waverly's Avery Scott — topped 11-6.
Emilee Thayer-Mencke and Seth Waters, meanwhile, produced Calhoun's second-best results in Omaha, earning a pair of finishes just outside of the top-eight. Thayer-Mencke was 10th in the high jump, clearing 5-1 with her best attempt, while Waters earned 10th in the 800-meter run.
Waters' time across two laps was 1:57.56 — a new school record. Before his 800, though, the Pioneer joined Will Dennis, Merritt Olberding and Chris Post-Whiteowl in the 3,200 relay. The team finished 13th in 8:26.01.
Fort Calhoun's 400-meter relay squad was one spot better in 12th Thursday. Alex Schuler, Clay Bohnenkamp, Kaidan Rodriguez and Michael Maxon finished the race in 43.7 seconds. During districts, they'd ran even faster, breaking their own school record.
“We keep improving on our times to where I think we can't go any further,” Maxon said after the state race. “And we just keep pushing the limits and going further than we thought we could.”
Bohnenkamp's inclusion on the team has meant a lot to him.
“We ran it for ourselves and the team, but more for the team,” the senior classmate of Maxon said. “We wanted the happiness of each other more than the happiness of ourselves even.”
Schuler, another senior, was appreciative of his time on the sprinters' squad, too.
“These guys mean everything to me,” he said, recounting a fun aspect of the the relay team's relationship. “Every night after practice, we'd go around each other and we'd make bets for what we were going to run at the next meet. Even had a couple of steak dinners on the line for this one.”
Rodriguez, the lone underclassmen on the team, complimented his seniors as the Pioneers changed back into their street shoes after the race.
“Great guys,” he said. “Great dedication, mentality, and just a lot to look up to.”
Individually, Maxon was 11th in the 100-meter dash and 24th in the 200, too. He was disappointed to not leave Burke Stadium with a medal, but said, “Looking back on the whole state experience, I'm pretty proud that I'm here for three of my four main events.”
Another recent FCHS graduate, Kaylee Taylor, competed at her fourth-straight state meet in two events. She was 15th in the triple jump with a 35-foot, 0.75-inch effort, and was 23rd in the 300-meter hurdles.
The Pioneers' Andrew Namuth took 23rd, too, but in the discus. He was 10 spots behind Dylan Keyser, who earned that spot with a 147-foot attempt after finishing 24th in the Class B shot put, too.
Altogether, FHCS' two state points were good for 39th in the girls' standings.
