Stephanie Croston

    The Seward girls' track team finished in fifth place in the Class B team standings at the state track meet May 16 and 17 in Omaha.
     The Jays scored 35 points and tied with Norfolk Catholic.
     "It was fun," Coach Brent Jackman said. "We don't have any headliners, but we had eight girls medal."
     He said the team was nervous on the first day of competition because so many had not competed at state before. The second day, however, they were ready to go.
     Third-place medals went to Anna Meyer in the 1,600-meter run and to the 4x800-meter relay team of Kelsey Christensen, Meyer, Liz Damman and Natasha Mueller. Meyer's time was 5:18.672, a new Seward High record.
     "She looked really strong. She wanted to go out with a bang, since it was her last race in high school," Jackman said. "She's been real steady. We'll miss her."
     The relay team finished in 9:49.573, and splits were Christensen 2:26.8, Meyer 2:28.7, Damman 2:28.9 and Mueller 2:24.1.
     "They ran pretty good," Jackman said. "We thought we could run with Wahoo and Neumann, but Kelsey couldn't stay with the leaders."
     Alyssa Kamphaus also scored third-place points for the Jays in the shot put. Her throw of 41-4 was a season best.
     "She really got after it," Jackman said, adding that Kamphaus didn't throw well in the discus, finishing with a toss of 116-0.
     Meyer finished fourth in the 3,200-meter run with another school record of 11:43.356.
     The 4x400-meter relay team also placed fourth with a time of 4:08.256, its best time of the season. Team members and their splits were Damman 1:01, Lisa Kozisek 1:00.9, Kinzi Roth 1:03.5 and Mueller 1:02.8.
     Jackman said the Jays were kind of mad because they'd had a frustrating day to that point.
     The 4x100-meter relay team, which included Kozisek, Roth, Damman and Zoie Smetter, whiffed on its first handoff, Jackman said, and finished out of medal contention.
     Damman had competed in the 800-meter run and although her time was 2:21.203, she did not place. Mueller finished fifth out of the slow heat with a time of 2:20.323.
     Kozisek finished eighth in the 200-meter dash in 27.016 after running a 26.501 in the preliminaries.
     "She ran an absolutely great race in the prelims," Jackman said. "If she ran the same in the finals, she'd be fifth."
     So when it came time for the 4x400-meter relay, the Jays had some frustrations to take out.
     "We didn't know what to expect," Jackman said.
     Keri Volnek also scored for the Jays, placing in a tie for sixth in the pole vault. She cleared the bar at 10-0 and had a good attempt at 10-6, Jackman said.
     "She was so disappointed last year at districts. She was really happy about this," he said.
     Christensen did not place in the 1,600- or the 3,200-meter runs, although she ran well in both. Jackman was excited about the freshman's future.
    Bogenreif wins
     Nick Bogenreif finished his high school career with a state championship in the pole vault, winning at 14-8.
     Jackman said Bogenreif had broken one of the school's 15-foot poles during the week, and a Concordia pole vaulter had broken the other. Bogenreif was struggling with the 14-foot pole at state and ended up borrowing a pole from another school.
     "It was rated for his weight, but he needed a stiffer pole," Jackman said. "He had to use good technique to clear 14-8. He really did a nice job."
     This was Bogenreif's fourth trip to state and third medal.
     Blaze Novak was Seward's other medal winner, placing fourth in the 200-meter dash. His preliminary heat time was 22.885 seconds, and he beat that in the finals with a 22.691-second effort.
     "He was motivated by Josh Wohl (of Crete, who was in lane eight) in the finals," Jackman said.
     Novak was the only non-senior in the 200-meter dash finals this year, Jackman said.
     In the discus, Ryan Haskin advanced to the finals but did not place. His best throw was 143-2. Taylor Majerus struggled in the discus at state, throwing 134-6 in his best effort.
     Jake Suhr entered the 110-meter high hurdle competition with the 22nd-best time of the 24 competitors. He ended up 12th with a time of 15.733, his best of the season.
     "He ran a really great race," Jackman said.
     The 4x800-meter relay finished out of the medals with its time of 8:31.051. Team members and their splits were Grant Vlasin 2:05.9, Jacob Imig 2:09.7, Daniel Buss 2:09.2 and Tyler Hackbart 2:06.3. Vlasin also ran in the 800-meter run and finished in 2:04.856.
     Jackman is excited about the future of the boys' team, which loses just three seniors-Hackbart, Haskin and Bogenreif.