WESTON – The bleachers were full in the always competitive KCI Conference Track and Field Meet at West Platte High School on April 27.
West Platte junior Augie Hill won the 200-meter dash in 22.47 seconds, beating senior teammate Will Shafer and the rest of the KCI Conference sprinters at West Platte High School on April 27.
West Platte used its home track to its advantage, earning second place on both sides. North Platte also had a nice outing with several all-conference athletes, which is awarded to those who finish in the top-4 of an event.
The West Platte girls scored points in every event at the meet and junior Sam Baker set the program record in the 200-meter dash when she crossed the finish line in 25.56 seconds, claiming third place. Julia Pattison was the third-place runner in the mile and 2-mile with times of 5:39.6 and 12:51.41.
Hailey Peters had a pair of season best times in the hurdles, being a top-3 finisher in both. She ended in second place in 16.68 seconds in the 100 and third place with a time of 49.95 seconds in the 300.
Maddison McMillan and Addison Bailey led the way for the Lady Blue Jays in the field events, earning second place in their respective events. McMillan threw the javelin 33.58 meters – 2.39 meters shy of the program record she set earlier this year – and Bailey had a 10.14-meter triple jump.
Sophie Grier, Avery Holmes and Peters were on three all-conference relays and Klaira Groom joined them in the third place 4x100, McMillan joined them in the second place 4x200 and Pattison joined them in the third place 4x400.
Blair McHenry, McMillan, Holmes and Pattison were on the KCI champion 4x800 that ended in 10:26.86. The Blue Jays had two more first-place relays on the boys’ side.
What ended up being the fastest 4x100 in the history of the KCI Conference Meet, Augie Hill, Alex Kinslow, Jonah McGivern and Brady McMillan crossed the finish line in 43.67 seconds. McMillan, Miles McHenry, Will Shafer and Colton Depetre finished the 4x200 in 1:33.13.
Hill was the fastest sprinter in the conference, winning the 100 and 200-meter dashes with times of 11.01 seconds and 22.47 seconds, respectively, and had a fourth-place high jump of 1.75-meters. Shafer took fourth place in the 100 in 11.49 seconds and third in the 200 with a season-best time of 23.05 seconds.
Kinslow rebroke his own West Platte 300-meter hurdle record with a time of 40.85 seconds, taking second place. McHenry outlasted Kinslow by .25 seconds and one place in the 110-meter hurdles as the senior took third place in 15.79 seconds.
McHenry took third place in the 300-meter hurdles in 42.9 seconds and was the runner-up in the javelin with a 49.94-meter throw. McGivern came from behind in the final stretch of the 400 to win by 0.1 seconds with an official time of 51.55 seconds – two places and .67 seconds ahead of McMillan – in addition to a third-place long jump of 5.97 meters.
On the North Platte side, junior sprinter Lindsay Ramsey stood out when she earned the triple crown with a first-place finish in the 100, 200 and 400, along with being the anchor of the conference champion 4x400 in 4:15.29. She had a season best time of 11.99 in the 100, which was only .11 seconds shy of the KCI Conference record, held by former teammate Olivia Rogers.
Ramsey crossed the finish line in 25.16 seconds in the 200 and 56.39 seconds in the 400. Graci Williams and Morgan Ball were the fourth and fifth place finishers in the 400 with times of 1:04.25 and 1:05.2.
Chloe Heckman claimed second place in the mile and 2-mile. She ended in a season-best time of 5:35.27 in the mile and 12:16.79 in the 2-mile.
Brianna DeBord also scored some points in the long-distance events in addition to the fourth place 4x800 that ended in 10:58.59. She took third place in the 800 in 2:40.09 and fourth place in the mile in 5:41.4.
Noah Heckman was the only North Platte boy to win a KCI Conference Title, finishing the 2-mile in 10:35.58, along with a third-place mile time of 4:43.95. Drake Keraus was the runner-up in the mile and 2-mile, ending with times of 4:36.64 and 10:58.39, respectively.
Corbin Britting impressed in the sprinting events, claiming second place in the 100 and 400. He crossed the finish line in 11.31 seconds and 51.56 seconds, respectively.
Coen Rainsbarger pole vaulted 3.5 meters to take second place. Caleb Wright took fourth place in the high jump, clearing the 1.75-meter bar