North Platte senior Olivia Rogers earned a gold medal in all four events she competed in - including setting two school records - to help the Lady Panthers win the Class 2 District 8 Meet.
In pursuit of another state championship, the North Platte girls’ track and field team has taken a step in the right direction, becoming district champions on May 6.
In the Class 2 District 8 Meet at West Platte High School, the Lady Panthers brought home their first district title since 2015. The North Platte boys also sent five athletes to sectionals – a feat that the top-4 of each event earns – in seven events.
North Platte senior Olivia Rogers carried a large load for her squad, claiming a gold medal in all four events she competed in. Rogers won the open 100 and 200-meter dashes, along with being on the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays.
Rogers set the program record in both of her individual races, winning the 100 in 11.88 seconds and the 200 in 24.62 seconds. She had a pair of teammates right behind her in both races who will also be competing in sectionals as Kalli Schuster took fourth place in the 100 and Lindsay Ramsey took second in the 200.
North Platte earned first place in all four relays, starting the day off with Shelby Lingle, Chloe Heckman, Jessa Cassity and Brianna DeBord winning the 4x800 in 10:06.2. Lonee French, Bella Kitmitto and Schuster were on the two shorter relays – with Rogers being the second leg in the 4x100 and Ramsey being the anchor in the 4x200 – that crossed the finish line in 50.13 seconds and 1:47.17, respectively.
Rogers was joined by Ramsey, Schuster and Graci Williams in the district champion 4x400-meter relay team. Those four ran a time of 4:12.36 to close out the day.
Brianna DeBord came out with a pair of individual gold medals in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs at West Platte High School on May 6.
In the 400-meter dash, Ramsey became a district champion and Williams claimed fourth place. Ramsey crossed the finish line in 58.85 seconds and Williams ended in 1:03.9.
The Lady Panthers kept the success going in the long-distance events, with DeBord and Heckman finishing back-to-back in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs. DeBord won both and Heckman earned two silver medals.
Lingle was in a battle in the 800-meter run but pulled out a first-place finish down the stretch. The senior beat the runner-up by 1.02 seconds with a final time of 2:31.03.
For the North Platte boys, junior Corbin Britting advanced past districts in all three events he ran in. Britting took third place in the 100 and 200-meter dashes – crossing the finish line in 11.25 seconds and 22.9 seconds, respectively – along with earning fourth place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.97 seconds.
The Panthers also qualified two long-distance runners in two separate events. Noah Heckman was the district champion in the 3,200-meter run and Josh Schaffart claimed fourth place in the mile.
Cameron Wortham took third place in the discus and Coen Rainsbarger ended in third place in the long jump. Wortham had a 130-05-foot throw and Rainsbarger leaped 20-01.5 feet.
For those who made it past districts, there will be one more meet ahead of state. Those who make it past sectionals at Plattsburg High School on May 13 will make the trip to Jefferson City for the Class 2 State Track and Field Meet on the following weekend.