Three school records fell as the Fort Calhoun High School track and field team qualified 13 athletes for state during Tuesday's Class B District Meet at Krantz Field in Blair.
Coach Mandy Taylor's Pioneer boys earned runner-up honors to Bennington, while the girls claimed eighth in the team standings. FCHS standouts from both teams next compete Wednesday during the first day of the NSAA Class B State Championships.
Alex Schuler, Clay Bohnenkamp, Kaiden Rodriguez and Michael Maxon are going to Omaha Burke Stadium after earning one of the Pioneers' three event wins during the district meet. The 400-meter relay team broke their own school mark with a 42.73-second effort.
“We always set our sights, sometimes, too high,” Bohnenkamp said when asked how the sprinters keep besting their own mark. “And then we get surprised when we break it.”
FCHS' chemistry around the oval plays its part, too. On Tuesday, Schuler started the race, handing the baton off to Bohnenkamp, who'd told Rodriguez he'd have him in first place for the next 100-meter leg leading up to Maxon.
Bohnenkamp delivered and the Pioneers won, setting up one more race at the state meet.
“Hopefully we can do that again — another big school record,” the straightaway runner said. “And hopefully we get a solid, sturdy place at state.”
The 3,200-meter relay team of Seth Waters, Chris Post-Whiteowl, Merritt Olberding and Will Dennis will be at Burke Stadium, too, after it won its race with a school record time. On a track radiating heat from from the bright sun, Calhoun stopped the clock in 8:20.94.
The FCHS girls' 1,600-meter relay team, meanwhile, finished their race third in 4:11.39 — another school record. Maelie Nelson, Bella McLaughlin, Madi Larrick and Kaylee Taylor finished just shy of a state berth, but hold the new time to beat.
“That's always awesome to do with the team,” said Taylor, who's making her annual trip to the Class B Championships for the last time this season. The senior qualified in both the individual triple jump (35 feet, 3 inches) and the 300 hurdles (47.62 seconds).
“I'm very, very happy,” she said. “It just shows me that all of the work I've put in over the last four years has really paid off.”
Sophomore Emilee Thayer-Mencke will join Taylor in Omaha after clearing the high jump bar set at the automatic qualifying height, 5-foot-1, while Afton Byelick finished second in the pole vault with a 10-2 effort for her own state berth.
The Pioneers' Dylan Keyser, meanwhile, earned two state qualifications Tuesday. He was second in the discus with his first attempt of the day covering 154-3, and took third in the shot put.
“Shot put was a huge PR for me,” Keyser said. “I wasn't expecting to throw (47-6).”
He said his success came from working on his throwing form every day.
Maxon, one of the 400 relay record holders, also earned state spots in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. He won the 100 in 10.9 seconds.
Waters, meanwhile, crossed the 800 run finish line in 1:58, which was good for a state-qualifying second-place result.
Altogether, the B3 district was an enjoyable meet during what Bohnenkamp described as an “enjoyable” senior season.
“Just the team, in general, makes it really fun to run track,” he said with one more meet to go.
CLASS B DISTRICT 3 MEET
Tuesday at Krantz Field, Blair
BOYS
Team standings: Bennington 140.5 points, Fort Calhoun 89, Blair 76, Columbus Lakeview 62, Pierce 53, O'Neill 30, Columbus Scotus 29, Wayne 26, West Point-Beemer 17.5, Schuyler 4.
Top-6 Fort Calhoun Finishers (top-3 qualify for state)
100-meter dash: 1, Michael Maxon, 10.9 seconds. 4, Clay Bohnenkamp, 11.11.
200 dash: 4, Michael Maxon, 22.48. 6, Logan Brewer, 23.62.
800 run: 2, Seth Waters, 1:58. 4, Chris Post-Whiteowl, 2:05.71.
3,200 run: 5, Brayden Bessey, 11:12.05.
400 relay: 1, FCHS (Alex Schuler, Bohnenkamp, Kaiden Rodriguez, Maxon), 42.73.
1,600 relay: 4, FCHS (TJ DeMilt, Logan Brewer, Conner Hart, Matthew Kelly), 3:36.01.
3,200 relay: 1, FCHS (Waters, Post-Whiteowl, Merritt Olberding, Will Dennis), 8:20.94.
Long jump: 4, Maxon, 21-1.25.
High jump: 6, Connor Tobias, 5-9.
Pole vault: 4, TJ DeMilt, 12-6.
Shot put: 3, Dylan Keyser, 47-6. 4, Andrew Namuth, 46-11.5.
Discus: 2, Keyser, 154-3. 4, Namuth, 144-6. 6, Colby Bentley, 137-8.
GIRLS
Team standings: Bennington 159 points, Lakeview 70.5, Pierce 57, Blair 55, Scotus 50, West Point-Beemer 39.5, O'Neill 34, Fort Calhoun 31, Wayne 31.
Top-6 Fort Calhoun Finishers
400-meter relay: 6, FCHS (Ella Bouwman, Ari Nelson, Emilee Thayer-Mencke, Afton Byelick), 53.86.
1,600 relay: 3, FCHS (Maelie Nelson, Bella McLaughlin, Madi Larrick, Kaylee Taylor), 4:11.39.
3,200 relay: 6, FCHS (Raeann Massey, Annaleigh McLaughlin, Lauren Lammers, Anna McMahon), 11:32.37.
300 hurdles: 3, Taylor, 47.62.
Triple jump: 2, Taylor, 35-3.
High jump: 7, Emilee Thayer-Mencke, 5-1.
Pole vault: 2, Afton Byelick, 10-2.
Discus: 6, Isabel Wray, 111-9.
