All three Washington County high school track and field teams were under the same roof Friday afternoon and evening.
Inside the College of Saint Mary Flames Fieldhouse, the Blair girls earned first during the CSM-Douglas County West Invite. Coach Bryan Soukup's Bears scored 80 team points, besting second-place Yutan by nine.
The Arlington and Fort Calhoun girls, meanwhile, tied for fifth, while the Pioneer boys led their county with a third-place result behind Gretna East and Milford. BHS' boys took fifth and the Eagles earned 10th.
Lundgren, relay lead BHS girls
Friday's meet was the Blair Bears' first time inside the College of Saint Mary's indoor facility.
“We're thankful to be here,” Soukup said prior to the day's first race. “It's always fun watching our kids compete. We're just hoping to build off of what we did last week and continue to see improvement.”
The BHS girls' title win was the result of multiple top finishes, including two event wins. The 3,200-meter relay squad — Jade Wickwire, Lainey Bilau, Jordan McGill and Kate Wulf — earned first in 10:37.11, while sprinter Brynn Lundgren secured her own gold medal in the 200 dash. The senior won the 200 in 27.12 and was second in the 60-meter dash.
Each win produced 10 team points, while several Blair athletes combined for meet-winning scores across multiple other events. Hailey Roewert, Emma Ammon and London Larsen, for example, tallied 15 points with second-, third- and fifth-place finishes in the high jump. Roewert was second with a leap over the bar set at 5 feet, 2 inches.
In the girls' 3,200 run, the Bears' Nadia Davey was second and Ryleigh Schroeter was third for 14 combined points. Davey finished the race in 13:09.98, while her teammate clocked in at 13:15.3.
Ammon was apart of a 13-point event for BHS, too. She was second in the 60-meter hurdles, while Haylie Jensen and Jacy Schueth took fourth and sixth, respectively.
Notably, Mia McLain was third in the pole vault, too, as Coach Soukup's squad hit its 80-point total.
Hayden Daggett, meanwhile, led the Blair boys in Omaha. He won the 200 dash in 23.22 seconds, the 400 in 50.94 and was third in the high jump with a 6-foot effort.
Declan and Colin McCabe added second-place results in the 1,600 run and 60-meter dash, too. Colin McCabe, the sprinter of the two brothers, was third in the 200 dash as well, while Jackson Barta earned a fourth-place Bears finish in the long jump.
It was warm enough outside for a meet Friday, but Soukup was just pleased to be competing for the second-straight week to continue the season.
“It's nice to have a second indoor meet to guarantee us a meet,” he said, noting past March cancellations during previous seasons.
FCHS' Taylor, Namuth win events
Fort Calhoun coach Mandy Taylor was excited for a couple of things going into Friday's meet in Omaha.
One of them was to watch the girls' 1,600-meter relay team.
“I think they're going to go after it against Yutan and St. Alberts from Council Bluffs,” Taylor said. “That'll be fun.”
Maelie Nelson, Ari Nelson, Madi Larrick and Kaylee Taylor delivered on their coaches' optimism, winning the event in 4:21.47. St. Alberts didn't end up running it, but Platteview took second and Gretna East was third.
Kaylee Taylor, Coach Taylor's senior daughter, added two more Pioneer event wins, too. She was first in the long jump with a 16-foot, 4.75-inch effort, while clearing 34-2.5 in the triple jump for another 10 team points.
Additionally, FCHS girls Maelie Nelson (60 dash), Raeann Massey (1,600 run), Afton Byelick (pole vualt), Isabel Wray (shot put) and the team of Anna McMahon, Sam Engen, Lauren Lammers and Massey (3,200 relay) added top-six event finishes.
On the boys' side, senior Andrew Namuth notched an event win, too. The thrower covered 48 feet, 2 inches with his best shot put effort.
Seth Waters, Chris Post-Whiteowl, Merritt Olberding and Will Dennis, meanwhile, earned second in the 3,200 relay with a time of 8:51.71. Logan Brewer earned a silver medal as well, taking second in the long jump with a 20-8.25 effort.
Calhoun's Matthew Kelly was third in the 60-meter hurdles, too, while Clay Bohenakmp (60 dash), Michael Maxon (60 and 200 dash, and long jump), Trey King (60 hurdles), Waters (800 run) and TJ DeMilt (pole vault) added their own top-six individual event finishes.
“Everybody's always working to improve,” Coach Taylor said.
AHS makes season debut
Arlington finally started its season Friday during the College of Saint Mary-DC West Invite.
“I think we're pretty excited,” Coach Kyle Buckingham said beforehand. “This is our third first meet because the other two got canceled.”
The Eagles were missing some athletes due to other school commitments, too, but the coaching staff was still pleased to be ending its first normal week of the spring with a competition. State basketball, spring break and the March 19 blizzard had previously made March a challenge.
“They came back and practiced pretty good,” Buckingham said. “Our practices have been pretty good this week.”
Sophomore Hayley Arp displayed the skills built during practice in the shot put. The thrower produced AHS' lone event win in it, covering 36 feet, 6.5 inches with her best attempt.
Whitney Wollberg and Dallin Franzluebbers added second-place efforts, too. Wollberg — who also claimed fifth in the 400-meter dash — cleared 9-6 in the pole vault, while Franzluebers raced to runner-up honors in the 200 (23.36 seconds) and the 400 dashes (52.3).
The Eagles' Hailey O'Daniel finished third in two individual events in Omaha as well. She finished the 800 run in 2:28.07 and cleared 16-3.25 in the long jump, respectively.
CSM-DC WEST INVITE
Friday at College of Saint Mary, Omaha
BOYS
Team standings: Gretna East 76 points, Milford 62, Fort Calhoun 55, Platteview 54, Blair 53, Elkhorn Mount Michael 38, Ralston 21, Douglas County West 18, Yutan 16, Arlington 16, Council Bluffs St. Albert 14, Raymond Central 9, Elmwood Murdock 2.
Top-6 Washington County Finishers
60-meter dash: 2, Colin McCabe, Blair, 7.18 seconds. 5, Clay Bohnenkamp, Fort Calhoun, 7.26. 6, Michael Maxon, FC, 7.29.
200 dash: 1, Hayden Daggett, B, 23.22. 2, Dallin Franzluebbers, Arlington, 23.36. 3, McCabe, B, 23.54. 5, Maxon, FC, 23.73.
400 dash: 1, Daggett, B, 50.94. 2, Franzluebbers, A, 52.3.
800 run: 5, Seth Waters, FC, 2:09.05.
1,600 run: 2, Declan McCabe, B, 4:44.09.
3,200 run: 6, Kieran Flynn, B, 11:13.26.
1,600 relay: 5, Fort Calhoun (Alex Schuler, Blake Welchert, TJ DeMilt, Matthew Kelly), 3:46.84.
3,200 relay: 2, Fort Calhoun (Waters, Chris Post-Whiteowl, Merritt Olberding, Will Dennis), 8:51.71.
60 hurdles: 3, Kelly, FC, 9.22. 5, Trey King, FC, 9.36.
Long jump: 2, Logan Brewer, FC, 20 feet, 8.25 inches. 3, Maxon, FC, 20-8. 4, Jackson Barta, B, 20-3.25.
High jump: 3, Daggett, B, 6.
Pole vault: 3, DeMilt, FC, 12-6.
Shot put: 1, Andrew Namuth, FC, 48-2.
GIRLS
Team standings: Blair 80, Yutan 71, Gretna East 63, Platteview 44, Arlington 41, Fort Calhoun 41, St. Albert 39, Ralston 29, Raymond Central 17, Milford 4, DC West 3, Elmwood-Murdock 1.
Top-6 Washington County Finishers
60-meter dash: 2, Brynn Lundgren, Blair, 8.16 seconds. 6, Maelie Nelson, FC, 8.45.
200 dash: 1, Lundgren, B, 27.12. 3, Whitney Wollberg, Arlington, 28.6.
400 dash: 5, Wollberg, A, 1:04.68.
800 run: 3, Hailey O'Daniel, A, 2:28.07.
1,600 run: 4, Kate Wulf, B, 6:00.25. 5, Corinne May, A, 6:02.4. 6, Raeann Massey, FC, 6:02.43.
3,200 run: 2, Nadia Davey, B, 13:09.98. 3, Ryleigh Schroeter, B, 13:15.3.
1,600 relay: 1, Fort Calhoun (Maelie Nelson, Ari Nelson, Madi Larrick, Kaylee Taylor), 4:21.47.
3,200 relay: 1, Blair (Jade Wickwire, Lainey Bilau, Jordan McGill, Wulf), 10:37.11. 4, Fort Calhoun (Anna McMahon, Sam Engen, Lauren Lammers, Massey), 11:22.9.
60 hurdles: 2, Emma Ammon, B, 10.12. 4, Haylie Jensen, B, 10.21. 6, Jacy Schueth, B, 10.41.
Long jump: 1, Taylor, FC, 16 feet, 4.75 inches. 3, O'Daniel, A, 16-3.25.
Triple jump: 1, Taylor, FC, 34-2.5.
High jump: 2, Hailey Roewert, B, 5-2. 3, Emma Ammon, B, 5-2. 5, London Larsen, B, 4-8.
Pole vault: 2, Wollberg, A, 9-6. 3, Mia McClain, B, 9. 4, Afton Byelick, FC, 8-6. 6, Rylie Kyllo, A, 8-6.
Shot put: 1, Hayley Arp, A, 36-6.5. 5, Isabel Wray, FC, 32-2.5.
