Blair High School celebrated its senior track and field athletes Thursday during the mid-meet break at Krantz Field.
All 14 were introduced to the crowd during the Mike Lehl Invite.
“It doesn't even feel like I'm a senior right now,” Jade Wickwire said. “Yet.”
“Bittersweet,” Gaige Bolton added, describing the occasion.
“It's definitely sad, but I'm happy with the past four years,” Brynn Lundgren said. “It's been super fun.”
Coach Bryan Soukup's Bears took sixth in the boys' standings and were eighth on the girls' side, scoring 54 and 22.5 team points, respectively. The Seward boys and the Bennington girls each claimed first, finishing with 101 and 122.
BHS seniors, though, accounted for four top-six finishes at home. Hailey Roewert tied for third in the high jump with junior Emma Ammon, while both Ryleigh Schroeter and Lainey Bilau earned a sixth-place 3,200-meter relay finish with underclassmen Jordan McGill and Emma Himes.
Lundgren, however, earned third solo in the 100-meter dash. The 12.66-second effort was satisfactory to the sprinter.
“I've done better this week than I have been doing in the past,” she said.
Though the season and her prep career are winding down, Lundgren continues to work to better herself. Block starts and finishes are key.
“Coming out harder and, then, finishing as hard as I can,” she clarified.
Bolton, meanwhile, was third in the triple jump event.
“Hurt myself on my second jump, but I just tried to push through,” he explained.
His best jump of the Mike Lehl meet — 41 feet, 4 inches — was a new personal best.
Wickwire didn't place in the 3,200-meter run, but she, too, set a personal record Thursday.
“I felt really strong in it and the outcome was really good,” she said. “I made the top-10 charts and PR'd by 40 seconds.”
The Missouri Western cross-country recruit credited coach Sam Whyrick and her teammates for the success.
The most successful Blair Bears of the home meet, however, were juniors Chase Cottle, Colin McCabe, Hayden Daggett and Declan McCabe. They earned third in the 1,600-meter relay together, but excelled individually, too.
Cottle and Daggett earned first and second in the high jump, clearing the bar set at 6-5. It was a career best for both athletes.
Daggett then went onto finish second in the 400 dash in 49.49 and fifth in the 200.
Colin McCabe, meanwhile, was fifth in the 400, but also second in the 100-meter dash. He finished the latter sprint in just 10.89 seconds.
Declan McCabe added a fourth-place result in the 800, too, adding four team points to the Bears' total. With the start of May now in the past, Blair is preparing for the biggest meets of the season.
“I'm looking forward to EMC coming up next week,” Bolton said at the end of the Mike Lehl.
The Eastern Midlands Conference Championships are 11 a.m. today at Gretna High School. BHS' Unified track team — which was recognized Thursday, too — will also compete on the Dragons' track.
MIKE LEHL INVITE
Thursday at Krantz Field
BOYS
Team standings: Seward 101 points, Elkhorn North 77.5, Elkhorn 75, Omaha Skutt 59, Bennington 58, Blair 54, Elkhorn Mount Michael 34, Aurora 33.5, Omaha Roncalli 22, York 12.
Top-6 Blair Finishers
100-meter dash: 2, Colin McCabe, 10.89 seconds.
200 dash: 5, Hayden Daggett, 22.87.
400 dash: 2, Daggett, 49.49. 5, Colin McCabe, 51.59.
800 run: 4, Declan McCabe, 2:00.23.
1,600 relay: 3, BHS (Colin McCabe, Declan McCabe, Chase Cottle, Daggett), 3:26.16.
Triple jump: 3, Gaige Bolton, 41 feet, 4 inches.
High jump: 1, Cottle, 6-5. 2, Daggett, 6-5.
GIRLS
Team standings: Bennington 122 points, Elkhorn North 94.5, Seward 88, York 53, Aurora 51, Skutt 47, Elkhorn 40, Blair 22.5, Roncalli 9.
Top-6 Blair Finishers
100-meter dash: 3, Brynn Lundgren, 12.66 seconds.
800 run: 5, Kate Wulf, 2:28.97.
3,200-relay: 6, BHS (Ryleigh Schroeter, Jordan McGill, Lainey Bilau, Emma Himes), 10:59.45.
High jump: 3, Emma Ammon and Hailey Roewert, 5 feet, 1 inch.
Pole vault: 5, Jacy Schueth, 8-2.
