It was a crummy day for a track meet. Rain. Sleet. Wind. Lots of wind. The Apr. 6 Malcolm Invite was held in conditions not fit for man or beast. Eight teams showed up and gave it their all and despite the conditions, the Malcolm girls’ and boys’ teams put up some impressive numbers.
With the help of Kiley Elkins, who scored 28 out of a possible 30 points in her three events, the Malcolm girls cruised to the team championship. The Clippers scored 123 points. Milford was second with 87 while Centennial scored 84.
Elkins took the top spot in high jump, clearing 5-feet before winning the 100-meter hurdles with at time of 17.9 seconds. The Nebraska Wesleyan volleyball commit just missed triple gold when she was edged out by Madelyn Lubischer of Raymond Central in the 300-meter hurdles.
“Those points were huge for us to pick up,” Malcolm head coach Dustin Tobey said. “I’d love to have that kind of performance from her every week.”
Comprised of Rachel Lannin, Katie Lewis, Addy Hanson and Lillie Beach, the Clippers’ 4x400-meter relay team dominated the field with a nine second victory, posting a time of 4:42.
Beach added to the point tally with her silver medal performances in the 200 and 400-meter dashes.
“Lillie’s looking good right now as she fights through some pain,” Tobey said. “Her work ethic is a great example for the team. She’s got a great attitude, even as she continues to recover from an injury.”
Sophomore Keira Farritor launched the discus 106-feet-10 to earn the Clippers’ other gold medal.
The Malcolm boys finished third in a loaded field that included Wilber-Clatonia (128 points) and Milford (114). The Clippers scored 102.
“To go out there and score over 100 in a meet with good teams like Wilber and Milford isn’t bad,” Tobey said. “Considering the conditions, we put up some pretty good marks.”
Gavin Zoucha continues to raise eyebrows with his performance in the hurdles, an event he picked up about two weeks ago. Running his second 300-meter hurdle race ever, the senior state wrestling champion edged out Jake Bargen of Centennial to win the race with a time of 44.05 seconds. Zoucha placed fifth in the 110-meter high hurdles.
“With his experience running the open 400 in the past, Gavin is built well for the 300s,” Tobey said. “He has a different attitude when it comes to competition.
“He’s just a leader. He’s making everyone around him better. All of our hurdlers are getting better because of the way Gavin puts in work.”
Logan McGreer had a good day as the freshman had no trouble winning the 400-meter dash with a personal best 54.61, more than a second ahead of silver medalist, Houston Broz of Wilber-Clatonia.
McGreer placed third in the 100-meter dash and fourth in the 200. He also ran the opening leg of the 4x100 relay in which the team including Zoucha, Lucas Christensen and Alex Paider finished second.
“Logan is one of several young athletes putting up good marks for us,” Tobey said. “With what Keira is doing in the throws and Jessica (Sandell) is doing in sprints, the future looks good.”
Sandell –– a freshman -– medaled in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay.
The Malcolm boys and girls had a combined 25 personal bests on the day.
“That shows some mental toughness,” Tobey said. “To not let the weather impact how you compete and go out there and give it what you can, that’s what I like to see.
“After all, this is Nebraska. We’ll have more meets in less than favorable conditions.”
The Clippers' next meet was Tuesday at Yutan. The Malcolm boys were the meet champions, with the girls finishing as runner-up.
Event champions were, for the girls, Lillie Beach in the 400-meter dash (1:03.08), Cora Schweitzer in the discus (114-1) and Katherine Lewis in the pole vault (8-6), and for the boys, Logan McGreer in the 400-meter dash (53.59 seconds), Ty Brockhaus in the 800-meter run (2:16.23), Gavin Zoucha in the 110-meter hurdles (17.14) and 300-meter hurdles (45.54), Ethan Coker in teh shot put (43-1.5) and Drew Johnson in the high jump (6-4).
The Clippers are next in action Tuesday, April 19, at Centennial.
