Michael Maxon handed off the 400-meter relay baton to Clay Bohnenkamp and yelled out a single word of advice to his Fort Calhoun teammate.
“Go!” the sprinter said Thursday afternoon during the Douglas County West Invite in Valley.
Coach Many Taylor's Pioneer track and field team won the race, and the boys title with six event wins and 104 points. The girls, meanwhile, finished third with three victories and 66 points — 31 behind first-place Yutan.
“I feel like it helps boost morale,” distance runner Lawson Tjardes said of FCHS' event victories. The Pioneers faced stiff competition from larger schools during the first few weeks of the season, but took advantage of an opportunity to finish first against Thursday's 12-team field in Valley.
The Calhoun boys' first victory of the meet came in the first running event — the 3,200-meter relay. Seth Waters, Chris Post-Whiteowl, Will Dennis and Tjardes clocked in at 9:09.17.
“When my turn came up, I was like, 'Oh. Now I've got to run as fast as I can,'” Tjardes said. “(My teammates) got the gap for me, so I've got to extend it or at least hold it.”
Contending for the gold medal was an enjoyable experience.
“It made the race way more fun,” he said.
The Pioneers won the 1,600 relay and the aforementioned 400 team race, too. AJ Duros, Preston Johnson, Maxon and Bohnenkamp finished the 400 in 45.44 seconds, while Johnson, Grayson Bouwman, Maxon and Wyatt Appel won the mile relay in 3:37.66.
Individually, FCHS senior Ely Olberding swept the 1,600 and 3,200 runs in 4:44.81 and 10:26.97, respectively. He claimed the mile by photo finish, edging out Cornerstone Christian's Justin Sherman by 0.04 seconds.
Andrew Namuth, meanwhile, won the discus with an attempt covering 136 feet, 5 inches. Bouwman (second in the long jump) and Matthew Kelly (third in the 110 hurdles) added top-three finishes for the invite-winning Pioneers, too.
Kaylee Taylor and Dala Drowne led the Fort Calhoun girls' effort with their own event wins. Taylor, a sophomore, claimed the triple jump with a 33-4.5 leap.
“On the second jump I didn't foul on, everything was great,” she said, cracking a smile.
The Pioneer hopes to jump farther and farther as the season goes on.
“I'm just going to keep striving to get closer and closer to the record in triple jump,” Taylor said.
Drowne, however, earned her gold medals in the sprints. The senior won the 100-meter dash in 13.56 seconds before claiming the 200 in 28.41.
Fort Calhoun's Bria Bench (second in the high jump) and Grace Genoways (third in the pole vault) added top-three finishes for the girls, too. The 1,600 relay team of Taylor, Bella McLaughlin, Ella Bouwman and Drowne took home a bronze medal in 4:25.52 as well.
Coach Taylor's team is scheduled to compete again 11 a.m. today at Logan View.
DOUGLAS COUNTY WEST INVITE
Thursday in Valley
BOYS
Team standings: Fort Calhoun 104, DC West 99, Yutan 83, Elmwood-Murdock 68, Cornerstone Christian 60, Palmyra 50, Mead 20, Omaha Brownell-Talbot 18, Omaha Concordia 10, Omaha Christian Academy 7, Cedar Bluffs 4, Weeping Water 4.
Top 6 FCHS Finishers
100-meter dash: 6, Clayton Bohnenkamp, 11.82 seconds.
400 dash: 4, Grayson Bouwman, 54.49.
1,600 run: 1, Ely Olberding, 4:44.81. 6, Will Dennis, 4:55.29.
3,200 run: 1, Olberding, 10:26.97. 5, Lance Olberding, 10:52.75.
400 relay: 1, FCHS (AJ Duros, Preston Johnson, Michael Maxon, Bohnenkamp), 45.44.
1,600 relay: 1, FCHS (Johnson, Bouwman, Maxon, Wyatt Appel), 3:37.66.
3,200 relay: 1, FCHS (Seth Waters, Chris Post-Whiteowl, Dennis, Lawson Tjardes), 9:09.17.
110 hurdles: 3, Matthew Kelly, 17.47.
300 hurdles: 4, Kelly, 46.08. 5, Alex Schuler, 46.84.
Long jump: 2, Grayson Bouwman, 20 feet, 1.75 inches. 6, Michael Maxon, 19-4.
Triple jump: 5, AJ Duros, 38-9.25. 6, Bouwman, 38-2.5.
High jump: 4, Wyatt Appel, 5-10.
Pole vault: 4, TJ DeMilt, 9-6.
Discus: 1, Andrew Namuth, 136-5. 4, Dylan Keyser, 131-11. 6, Colby Bentley, 120-5.
GIRLS
Team standings: Yutan 97, DC West 71, Fort Calhoun 66, Palmyra 56, Elmwood-Murdock 48, Brownell-Talbot 46, Cornerstone Christian 43, Cedar Bluffs 35, Concordia 35, Omaha Christian Academy 11, Weeping Water 10, Mead 8.
Top 6 FCHS Finishers
100-meter dash: 1, Dala Drowne, 13.56 seconds.
200 dash: 1, Drowne, 28.41.
3,200 run: 5, Bria Bench, 13:17.67.
1,600 relay: 3, FCHS (Kaylee Taylor, Bella McLaughlin, Ella Bouwman, Drowne), 4:25.52.
3,200 relay: 5, FCHS (Kaitlyn Thalman, Emily Barta, Kylie Perfetti, Bench), 11:46.95.
300 hurdles: 6, Bella McLaughlin, 53.19.
Long jump: 4, Angel Nelson, 15 feet, 6.25 inches. 5, Kaylee Taylor, 15-3.75.
Triple jump: 1, Taylor, 33-4.5.
High jump: 2, Bench, 5. 5, Drowne, 4-8. 6, Afton Byelick, 4-8.
Pole vault: 3, Grace Genoways, 7.
Discus: 5, Raegen Wells, 92-3.
