North Platte junior Lindsay Ramsey and West Platte junior Sam Baker both qualified for state in the 200 with a pair of top-3 finishes at the Class 2 Sectional 4 Track Meet at Adrian High School on May 11.
ADRIAN – Out of the combined 44 possible state qualifying events, West Platte and North Platte qualified 33 past the Class 2 Sectional 4 Track and Field Meet at Adrian High School on May 11.
West Platte was perfect in the relays, advancing all four girls’ relays and claiming first place in all three boys’ relays. The Lady Blue Jays had season-best times in the 4x100 and 4x200 – taking third place in 51.12 seconds and second place in 1:48.06, respectively – and fourth place in the 4x400 in 4:17.74.
The 4x800 finished in third place in a season-best time of 10:22.13. Haley Peters, Sophie Grier, Klaira Groom, Sam Baker, Avery Holmes, Julia Pattison, Maddison McMillan and Blair McHenry filled out the state-qualifying relays.
Augie Hill, Jonah McGivern and Brady McMillan helped a pair of relays not only take first place but set a school record. With Alex Kinslow in the 4x100 and Will Shafer in the 4x200, both relays enter the record books and have moved on to state.
The 4x100 crossed the finish line in 43.57 seconds and the 4x200 did so in 1:31.11. McGivern, Kinslow, McMillan and Shafer won the 4x400 in a season-best time of 3:31.2.
Hill almost made it past sectionals in two more races, taking fourth place in the 100 and fifth place in the 200 in 11.06 seconds and 23.15 seconds, respectively. Kinslow will be competing as an individual at state for the first time in his career in the 300-meter hurdles after earning second place in a season-best time of 40.51 seconds.
Miles McHenry came up shy in the 300 hurdles but took fourth place in the 110 hurdles with a fourth-place time of 15.86 seconds. He kicked off the day with a record-breaking javelin throw of 55.35 meters, winning the event in the process.
Three Lady Blue Jays finished in third place in their individual events, along with three taking fourth place. Baker, Pattison and McMillan were the ones who took third place, whereas Holmes, Peters and Addison Bailey walked away with fourth place finishes.
Baker ran the 200 in 25.91 seconds, Pattison ran the 2-mile in 12:29.65 and McMillan had a 35.05 javelin throw. Holmes ended the 800 in 2:30.81, Peters had a season-best time of 16.54 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles and Bailey triple jumped 10 meters.
The North Platte boys went 7-of-10 in state qualification at sectionals with the 4x800 missing out by two places. Every event that the Lady Panthers made it past districts in ended up clinching a state berth.
It was a typical day for Lindsay Ramsey, earning first place in each race she was a part of. She ran the 100 in 12.15 seconds, the 200 in a season-best 24.93 seconds and the 400 in 55.79 seconds.
Ramsey kept it going in the final event of the night, the 4x400, alongside Graci Williams, Morgan Ball and Kylee Sipes. They crossed the finish line in 4:09.84, winning the relay with a season-best time.
Williams had a season-best time in the open 400, taking fourth place and qualifying for state as an individual with a time of 1:02.97. Williams set the tone in the first race of sectionals with Myla Bailey, Brianna DeBord and Chloe Heckman being the fourth place 4x800 team that crossed the finish line in a season-best time of 10:55.08.
Heckman added to her resume by taking third place in the mile in 5:33.6 and second place in the 2-mile in 12:13.56. DeBord moved on to state in the 800 when she crossed the finish line in 2:30.79, good for third place.
Corbin Britting had three individual races for the North Platte boys and finished top-4 in two of them. His best race was the 400, where he took third place in 51.17 seconds – which was the fastest he’s ran all season.
Britting was the last state qualifier in the 200, taking fourth place in 23.15 seconds. He missed out in the 100 with a seventh-place finish in 11.53 seconds, which was .47 seconds behind fourth place.
Drake Keraus went 2-of-3 as an individual, clinching a state berth with a season-best time of 4:35.86 in the mile, which gave him fourth place. He ran the 800 in 2:08.36, giving him sixth place and being 2.24 seconds shy of state caliber.
Keraus’ long-distance companion Noah Heckman outlasted the sophomore in the 2-mile as both Panthers will run eight laps at state. Heckman took second place in 10:13.41 and Keraus took fourth place in 10:38.56.
North Platte sent both of its sectional qualifying field events to state. Caleb Wright finished in fourth place in the high jump with a leap of 1.77 meters and Coen Rainsbarger earned second place in the pole vault after clearing 3.76 meters.