The Class B District 3 Track and Field Meet concluded Tuesday with the home team celebrating a second school record at Krantz Field.
Blair High School runners Chase Cottle and Colin McCabe embraced four-event winner Hayden Daggett so hard beyond the finish line that he lost his grip on the 1,600-meter relay baton.
Altogether, the trio and teammate Declan McCabe were four of the 11 Bears who qualified for the NSAA Class B State Championships with top finishes in their hometown. Emma Ammon, Gaige Bolton, London Larsen, Brynn Lundgren, Hailey Roewert, Jade Wickwire and Kate Wulf were the others.
Coach Bryan Soukup's boys team finished third in the standings behind first-place Bennington and Fort Calhoun, while the girls were fourth with 55 points — 104 less than the first-place Badgers.
The 1,600 relay squad's record-breaking time was 3:21.87.
“Coming off on that curve after the 100 and seeing those guys in front of me, I was just thinking, 'Go get them,'” Colin McCabe said of his contribution. “And that's what I did.”
It was a memorable moment for the runner, who also qualified for state in the 100- and 400-meter dashes with second-place finishes.
“It feels so nice to just go and catch somebody in that race,” he said. “Coming down that home stretch, I just felt so light.”
Daggett called the relay win his best of the day, though he won three other events, too.
“I just love how we put that all together,” the Bear said, noting how BHS had only run the mile-long relay race a handful of times this season. “Everybody ran a solid split today.”
While Declan McCabe added a state-qualifying finish in the 800 run, Daggett won the 200- and 400 dashes Tuesday. He ran the 200 in 21.99 seconds and set a new school mark in the 400 with a time of 48.91, which bests the 2010 time of former BHS standout Zach Morris.
Daggett and Cottle finished first and second in the high jump, though, too. Daggett was first with a 6-foot, 3-inch effort, while his teammate cleared the bar set at 6-1.
The high jump duo made just two of five Blair state qualifiers in the event, though. Second-place Roewert (5-feet, 5 inches), third-place Ammon (5-5) and 10th-place Larsen (5-1) all earned their way on the girls' side, too.
Larsen, notably, secured her first Class B state qualification by clearing the automatic qualifying height.
“(It) was just my whole focus,” she said. “Just get 5-1.”
Once she did, Ammon and Roewert swarmed her in celebration.
“It definitely made me tear up a little bit,” Larsen said. “I've always known they had my back. They're always cheering for me, hoping for the best.”
Daggett credited returning event coach Darren Harsin, who formerly led the track program at BHS, for the high jumper's overall success.
“Harsin's doing a great job,” the Blair athlete said. “There's a lot of things, like, little mechanical things that he's working on (with us).”
Bolton, meanwhile, secured a state berth in his own field event. The senior cleared 43-0.5 in the triple jump, taking third.
Wulf, Wickwire, Lundgren and Ammon added qualifications on the track, though, too. Wulf was second in the 1,600 run, Wickwire took second in the 3,200 and Lundgren was an additional qualifier in the 100-meter dash after a 12.69-second effort.
Ammon added to her high jump duties at state with an additional qualifying time in the 100 hurdles, too.
Next, the Bears compete at the Class B NSAA Championships. The event begins 9 a.m. next Wednesday at Omaha Burke Stadium. Running events start at 1:30 before the meet continues 9 a.m. May 22, too.
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 Blair Finishers (top-3 qualify for state)
100-meter dash: 2, Colin McCabe, 11.05 seconds.
200 dash: 1, Hayden Daggett, 21.99.
400 dash: 1, Daggett, 48.91. 2, Colin McCabe, 50.73.
800 run: 3, Declan McCabe, 1:59.47.
1,600 relay: 1, BHS (Declan McCabe, Colin McCabe, Chase Cottle, Daggett), 3:21.87.
Triple jump: 3, Gaige Bolton, 43 feet, 0.5 inches.
High jump: 1, Daggett, 6-3. 2, Cottle, 6-1.
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 Blair Finishers
100-meter dash: 4, Brynn Lundgren, 12.69 seconds.
400 dash: 6, Jordan McGill, 1:04.08.
1,600 run: 2, Kate Wulf, 5:35.68.
3,200 run: 2, Jade Wickwire, 12:14.34. 4, Nadia Davey, 13:29.61.
400 relay: 4, BHS (Jacy Schueth, Lundgren, London Larsen, Mia McClain), 52.
3,200 relay: 3, BHS (Wickwire, Ryleigh Schroeter, Lainey Bilau, Wulf), 10:11.86.
100 hurdles: 5, Emma Ammon, 15.89.
High jump: 2, Hailey Roewert, 5 feet, 5 inches. 3, Emma Ammon, 5-5. 10, Larsen, 5-1.
Pole vault: 4, Schueth, 8-8.
