When West Platte’s Ahlanna Rutherford cleared the high jump bar at 5 feet and one inch, she didn’t only tie for first place in the event, but the junior also tied the Blue Jays’ program record at the Plattsburg track and field meet on April 14.
The West Platte boys’ track and field team came in second place at the meet, while the West Platte girls finished in third place. The North Platte girls took second place and the North Platte boys ended in third place.
Rutherford wasn’t the only Blue Jay to soar high with school history as junior Charlie Kinslow came within one second of the West Platte boys’ 800-meter run record. Kinslow finished the race in 2:00.17, which is just 0.7 seconds from the record, to take home the gold medal.
Jonah McGivern wasn’t far behind his teammate as the freshman ended in third place with a time of 2:20.19. In the 3,200-meter run, Tristan Newkirk was the fourth-place finisher and Thomas Deffet ended in seventh place – while he also ended the 1,600-meter run in 10th place.
Cameron Williams flashed his jumping ability and speed in the hurdles when the senior finished in third place in the 300-meter and seventh place in the 110-meter. Chad Fowles zipped his way to second place in the 100-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 11.35 seconds.
McLain Zendejas earned a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash, ending the race in 23.74 seconds. Trent Taylor finished in sixth place in the 400-meter dash in 56.63 seconds.
The West Platte boys finished in the top-4 in each relay: first place in the 4x100-meter relay, second place in the 4x400-meter relay, third place in the 4x800-meter relay and fourth place in the 4x200-meter relay. For the North Platte boys, its best relay team finished in fifth place when the Panthers’ 4x400-meter relay team ended with a time of 4:01.64.
Josh Schaffart had one of the best individual performances for North Platte as the junior earned a gold medal in the 3,200-meter run and finished in fourth place in the 1,600-meter run. He ended the races in 10:50.21 and 5:01.57, respectively.
West Platte’s Julia Pattison, above left, and North Platte’s Gracie Ramsey, above right, run close together in the 4x800-meter relay at the Plattsburg track and field meet on April 14.
Noah Heckman was close to his teammate in both races, finishing in second place with a time of 10:50.95 in the 3,200-meter run and in third place with a 5:01 time in the 1,600-meter run. Corbin Britting earned a silver medal in the 200-meter dash in 23.67 seconds.
Britting also took home a bronze medal in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.88 seconds. Jason Shanks finished in ninth place in the 100-meter dash when he sprinted in 12.01 seconds.
In the field events, Liam Servaes had a pair of top-3 finishes when he brought home a silver medal in the shot put and a bronze medal in the discus. West Platte’s McKanan Reade finished in third place in the pole vault, while August Hill earned a silver medal in the long jump and a bronze medal in the high jump; Dalton Hill finished in second place in the high jump with a hop of 5-10.75 feet.
For the girls, Sam Baker joined Rutherford as a West Platte gold medalist in the field events when the freshman leaped 30-10.75 feet in the triple jump. Avery Holmes hopped her way to sixth place with a 27-02.75 foot jump.
Laura Hill won the pole vault with an 8-06.25 foot jump, followed by Cosette Clark in fourth place with a 7-04.50 foot vault. Maddison McMillan ended in sixth place in the javelin when the sophomore had an 86-11.25 foot heave.
North Platte senior Haley Sampson won the long jump with a leap of 15-07 feet, followed by Makenna Cartwright in fifth place with a hop of 13-07.75 feet. Cartwright also finished in fourth place in the triple jump when she plunged 29-07.5 feet.
In the running events, North Platte impressed starting with junior Olivia Rogers who sped past all her competition to earn a gold medal in the 100-meter dash with a 12.71 second time. Rogers also won the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.42 seconds.
Sampson crossed the finish line before anyone else in the 400-meter dash in 1:02.23, immediately followed by Lindsey Ramsey in 1:03.93. Shelby Lingle took first place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:39.96.
Brianna DeBord finished in the top-3 in two long distant events. The freshman earned second place in the 1,600-meter run in 5:53.4 and third place in the 3,200-meter run in 12:34.71.
Panther sophomore Kylee Sipes took second place in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing in 18.36 seconds. Kenedie Summers crossed the finish line in 54.15 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles, earning a fourth-place finish.
North Platte finished in first place in the 4x100-meter, 4x200-meter and 4x400-meter relays while earning a silver medal in the 4x800-meter relay. West Platte took second place in the 4x400-meter relay, along with two bronze medals in the 4x200-meter and 4x800-meter relays.
Julia Pattison had a solid day for the Lady Blue Jays as the sophomore finished with a bronze medal in the 1,600-meter run – finishing in 5:55.05. Pattison also was the fifth runner to cross the finish line in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 12:48.19.
Katie Groom also brought home some hardware, earning third place in the 100-meter dash with a 13.07 second race. West Platte had a pair of sixth place finishers in longer distanced races: Libby Vandel in the 400-meter dash and Kaitlyn Reinke in the 800-meter run.
Reinke also finished in tenth place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 20.6 seconds. Haley Peters took second place in the 300-meter hurdles when the freshman crossed the finish line in 52.13 seconds.