In a time where very little seems predictable, there is one constant. That is, the Malcolm girls’ track team dominates the East Central Nebraska Conference. That fact remains in 2021 as the Clippers claimed yet another ECNC title as they put up 125 points in the May 1 conference meet at Freeman High School. Auburn was second with 96 points.
The Clippers made an early statement by earning medals in five of the six field events. Cora Schweitzer led a group of 10 Malcolm girls to earn points with her gold medal toss of 111-10 in the discus. The mark was a personal best for the junior who just took up the event during preseason workouts.
“Cora has done a great job this year picking up the discus technique,” Malcolm throwers’ coach Kim Watson said. “It has been a challenge to balance her natural quickness with the control needed, but she has been very determined to continue learning.”
Kiley Elkins earned gold in high jump on a day less than ideal for jumping. The junior took the top spot by clearing the bar at 4-10.
“It was hot and the wind was brutal,” Clippers’ head coach Dustin Tobey said. “Everyone had to deal with the conditions. You just have to make the best of the situation, and that’s what Kiley did.”
Malcolm added 28 points to its team total in three relays as the Clippers took the top spot in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter relays while they finished second to Falls City in a wild come-from-behind finish in the 400-meter relay. The 1,600-meter team includes Addy Hanson, Lillie Beach, Ashlynn Sehi and Josephine Holliday. Reagan Wondercheck joins Hanson, Sehi and Holliday on the 3,200-meter team. Sehi is joined by Grace Schleining, Elisa Paider and Madison Schultz on the 400-meter relay team.
The Clippers added to the team total with nine individual medalists in running events.
“We don’t have any girls dominating running events right now,” Tobey said. “But, we talked to the girls about how important just placing would be, and we had a bunch of them answer the bell.”
The Malcolm boys joined the girls as conference champions in a much closer team race. The Clippers scored 134 points while Freeman had 120.
The boys earned six gold medals. Vlad Rybak got Malcolm on the board early on with his first place shot put toss of 47-1.
“Vlad has been determined to hit some big marks,” Watson said about the junior. “He hasn’t thrown since eighth grade and had to make some adjustments to a larger shot.
“He’s become a student of the event and puts in a lot of thought as to how he can get better.”
The Clippers opened running events with a dominating performance in the 3,200-meter relay as John Boesen, Matthew Burbach, Bricen Wilkie and Ty Brockhaus posted a time of 8:54 to beat Freeman by 18 seconds.
The team of Dillon Beach, Colby Sizemore, Antonio Sims and Katon Thomas won a tight 400-meter relay with a 45.3-second mark, edging Falls City by .07 seconds.
Thomas added a second gold medal as he posted a personal best 11.1 second 100-meter dash, breaking the tape .09 seconds ahead of Cade Hosier from Elmwood-Murdock.
Malcolm’s long distance runners helped the team out as they took the top three spots in the 3,200-meter run with Boesen running a season best 10:52 with Brockhaus and Burbach close behind. Brockhaus ran a personal best 4:58 1,600-meter run to win the event with Wilkie finishing third and Burbach earning the sixth-place medal.
The Clippers joined seven other schools in Utica at the April 26 Centennial Invite. The Malcolm boys claimed the team title with 132 points with Sutton placing second with 94. The Clippers earned six gold medals. The Malcolm girls were fighting some injuries and placed fourth in the team race with 92 points behind Centennial, Milford and Sutton. The Clippers’ lone gold medal came in the 3,200-meter relay.
Malcolm travels to Geneva on Thursday, May 6, to compete in the Fillmore Central Invite.
“We’ll see some solid competition out there,” Tobey said. “It’s our last chance to fine tune some things and try out some new combinations before districts the following week.”
