Bryan Soukup wasn't too concerned about the who, the what and the where.
Instead, the Blair High School track and field coach was more preoccupied with the when. More than anything, he just wanted his Bears to run, jump, throw and vault last week — the first official week of spring sports competition.
A school cancellation forced BHS to withdraw from Thursday's Sandhill Division meet at Concordia University in Seward, but decision-makers were still able to get their athletes into Friday morning's Bulldog Track & Field Challenge session.
Facing largely unfamiliar competition from smaller schools and communities in the Forest Division, the Bears earned a team title in the girls' team race, while they earned fourth in the boys' standings. Brynn Lundgren, Nadia Davey, Jade Wickwire, Lainey Bilau, Ryleigh Schroeter, Kate Wulf, Colin McCabe, Chase Cottle and Hayden Daggett all left Seward with first-place finishes during the season-opening meet.
Notably, Cottle and Daggett split first-place honors in the high jump, clearing the bar set at 6 feet, 2 inches. Cottle said he was thinking about his event even when practices weren't possible due to weather last week.
“I felt really competition-ready,” he explained. “It's been a real bummer dealing with injuries in the past, but to come back with a big mark like this is huge for the rest of my season.”
Cottle expects competition to continue between Daggett and he for the rest of the spring, too.
“We're going to push each other a lot,” the Bear said. “We're both jumping similar marks. We've always been jumping the same heights together, and it's been great competition — not only at meets, but in practice.”
While the McCabe brothers competed for first and second in the 400-meter dash, too — Colin won in 53.37 seconds — Wickwire, Bilau, Schroeter and Wulf worked together to win the 3,200 relay. The team earned first in 10:52.04, securing the first of the BHS girls' three event wins.
Davey earned the next, stopping the clock in 13:22.17 during the 3,200 run. Lundgren then won the 200-meter dash in 27.07 after securing a second-place result in the 60 dash.
Blair's Hailey Roewert (high jump) and Wulf (800 run) added second-place individual results, too, while Emma Himes (3,200 run), Haylie Jensen (60 hurdles and long jump) and Mia McClain (pole vault) added bronze medal finishes. Bears Jordan McGill, London Larsen, Lucy Lindau, Ella Donner and Emma Ammon worked to secure team points with top-six finishes for the Forest Division champions, too.
On the boys' side, Brooks Ray joined Daggett and the McCabes for a second-place finish in the 1,600 relay. Declan McCabe was third during the individual 800, too, while Daggett's third points-scoring finish came in the 60-meter dash.
With the season-opener now behind it, Coach Soukup's track and field squad now looks forward to Friday's 10 a.m. Omaha meet inside the College of Saint Mary's indoor facility. Blair goes into the event with one meet down.
BULLDOG TRACK & FIELD CHALLENGE
Friday at Concordia University, Seward
Forest Division
BOYS
Team standings: Central City 122.5 points, Lincoln Lutheran 66, Doniphan-Trumbull 51, Blair 51, Mead 30, West Point-Beemer 23, Howells-Dodge 17, Fillmore Central 15, Yutan 12.5, Deshler 12, Osceola 10, Winside 10, Diller-Odell 8, Omaha Brownell-Talbot 4, Meridian 2.
Blair Top-Six Finishers
60-meter dash: 6, Hayden Daggett, 7.37 seconds.
400 dash: 1, Colin McCabe, 53.37. 2, Declan McCabe, 53.83.
800 run: 3, D.McCabe, 2:07.18.
1,600 relay: 2, Blair (C.McCabe, Daggett, Brooks Ray, D.McCabe), 3:37.71.
High jump: 1(tie), Chase Cottle and Daggett, 6 feet, 2 inches.
GIRLS
Team standings: Blair 91.5, Central City 68, Yutan 64.5, Osceola 55, Lincoln Lutheran 41, West Point-Beemer 40.5, Brownell-Talbot 22, Doniphan-Trumbull 20, Howells-Dodge 10, Fillmore Central 9, Winside 7.5, Deshler 2, Meridian 2, Schuyler 1.
Blair Top-Six Finishers
60-meter dash: 2, Brynn Lundgren, 8.19 seconds.
200 dash: 1, Lundgren, 27.07.
400 dash: 5, Jordan McGill, 1:06.53.
800 run: 2, Kate Wulf, 2:34.42.
1,600 run: 4, Jade Wickwire, 6:07.19.
3,200 run: 1, Nadia Davey, 13:22.17. 3, Emma Himes, 13:46.8.
1,600 relay: 5, Blair (McGill, London Larsen, Lucy Lindau, Ella Donner), 4:41.56.
3,200 relay: 1, Blair (Wickwire, Lainey Bilau, Ryleigh Schroeter, Wulf), 10:52.04.
60 hurdles: 3, Haylie Jensen, 10.2. 5, Emma Ammon, 10.4.
Long jump: 3, Jensen, 15 feet, 9.75 inches. 5, Ammon, 15-6.75.
High jump: 2, Hailey Roewert, 5. 5, Ammon, 4-10.
Pole vault: 3, Mia McClain, 8-6.
