Clippers show mettle in Yutan

Posted

To be the best, you have to beat the best. The Malcolm girls’ track team took that attitude into the April 9 Yutan Invite where the unranked Clippers faced the No. 3 ranked team in Class C in Lincoln Lutheran.

“Our girls were pumped about this meet,” Malcolm head coach Dustin Tobey said. “They were excited to see how they would measure up with Lutheran.”

Turns out, the girls from Malcolm measured up quite well as they outscored Lincoln Lutheran 151 to 123 to take the team title. The Clippers earned 23 medals while claiming gold in seven out of 17 events.

“That medal count shows the kind of depth our team has,” Tobey said. “Lincoln Lutheran might be a little stronger in terms of individuals that can win events, but few teams can match our depth across the board.”

It was a record-setting day for a couple of Clippers as MacKenna Witte claimed the school’s all-time best in both the discus and shot put. The senior flung the discus 131-1 to erase her own record from last year. Her toss of 41-11 in the shot put broke a 24-year-old school record.

“MacKenna continues to be strong,” Tobey said. “I’m excited to see what the next month will bring.”

Logan Thomas broke the school’s 3,200-meter run record as the junior finished in 12:08 to erase a three-year-old school best mark.

“With 300 meters to go, I didn’t think her time was going to be good enough to get the record,” Tobey said. “She dug deep and found another gear and finished really strong.”

The Clippers’ other individual gold medals came from Brooklyn Minzel who went 33-11 in triple jump and McKenzie Teten, who finished the 1,600-meter run at 5:46.

Two Malcolm relays crossed first as the 1,600-meter relay team of Laura Reiling, Bailey Virus, Josephine Holliday and Jaiden Helms edged out Louisville in a tight race.

“Jaiden took the baton and made sure we wouldn’t lose,” Tobey said. “She ran a great split.”

The Clippers’ 3,200-meter relay team of Helms, Reiling, Holliday and Reagan Wondercheck cruised to a first-place finish as they topped East Butler by 22 seconds.

Not to be outdone, the Malcolm boys also brought home a first-place team plaque as they were co-champions with Archbishop Bergan. Each team finished with 119 points while Lincoln Lutheran was third with 117.

“Our guys were pretty shocked when they read the team scores,” Tobey said. “We were down about 25 points before some of the later distance races.”

Those distance races are where the Clippers shine as Devyn Beekman and Dillon Beach went one-two in a 1,600-meter run thriller that had Beekman edging out Beach by less than a half-second. The senior won with a time 4:47.52. The Clippers’ John Swotek crossed four seconds later to finish fourth.

“That was quite a race,” Tobey said. “Our distance guys are easy to coach because they are so competitive with each other.”

Beekman and Beach each medaled in the 800-meter run as Beekman was first with a time of 2:00.34 while Beach finished third.

In the 3,200-meter run, it was Noah Twohig, John Boesen and Ty Brockhaus who earned points for the Clippers with their respective second, fourth and sixth place finishes.

Twohig, Swotek and Boesen joined Dylan Johnson in earning the gold medal in the 3,200-meter relay with a winning time of 9:01.

Wyatt Loga went a season high 6-4 in the high jump to earn the Clippers’ only gold medal in field events.

In addition to the three school records that were broken, the combined boys’ and girls’ teams had 36 personal best marks at the Yutan meet.

“That’s pretty rewarding as a coach,” Tobey said. “It shows these kids have been working hard and keep pushing themselves to get better.”

This week, the Clippers travel to Utica April 16 where they will see several solid teams and some future district competition.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how we measure up against a full Centennial squad,” Tobey said. “The first time we competed against them, most of their team was missing because of some state conventions that were going on.”

This Thursday, six Clippers will be a part of the all-class, Nebraska Track and Field Festival at Papillion LaVista South. Beekman will compete in the 800- and 1,600-meter runs. Bailey Virus will go in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Witte will compete in the shot put and discus. Beach will race in the 1,600-meter run. Loga qualified in the high jump and Thomas in the 3,200-meter run.

“That’s a pretty big honor for our athletes,” Tobey said. “That should be a fun day.”