| Gering relays, Scottsbluff's Maag, Worden tops at Best in the West Classic |
 May 05, 2011 By Terry Gaston |
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 Three Gering relays and Scottsbluff seniors Jen Maag and Aubree Worden turned in stellar performances for the Bearcats in winning events at the Best in the West Track and Field Classic last Thursday at Bearcat Stadium. The meet was postponed two days, but the wait for better weather proved worthwhile for area competitors, with the Gering girls taking first in two relays and the Bulldog boys completing a sweep for GHS in the 4x800-meter relays. Maag was the big area winner in taking double individual gold medals while Worden had the day's only meet-record performance. Maag spun the discus 130 feet, 3 inches to outdistance Bridgeport senior runner-up Nicole Hass by 3 feet, 7 inches. Maag won the shot put with an even 42 feet for victory by nearly a yard. Worden, who is bound for Florida State University in the fall, had a record-setting performance for the second straight week by winning 1,600-meter run in 4:459.04. Worden did not compete in the 3,200 run, which she won in a season- and career-best fashion seven days earlier in the Western Nebraska Twilight Meet at Bearcat Stadium. Gering's 4x800 girls' quartet of senior Erin Kautz, junior Bryana Larsen, and sophomores Dakota Gellner and Damaris Martinez finished first in 10:27.74 for nearly a one-second win over Chadron. The Bulldog boys' 4x800 relay then took to the track and won in 8:37.57. Junior Ryan Bustinza, freshmen Christian Groskopf and Gage Winkler, and junior Darrin Gonzales outran runner-up Alliance by 1.17 seconds. The Gering girls then won the 4x100 relay in 51.35 seconds. The Bulldogs' quartet of freshman Aubrey Gonzales, junior Chelsea Wickard, senior Tahlia Schmaltz and junior Morgan Broussard edged Bayard by .29 second, with Bridgeport in third a tenth back. Bridgeport took the girls' 4x400 relay in 4:13.92. Jaslyn Livingston, Peyton Hall, Tara Harding and Jessica Kildow formed the Bulldogs' winning quartet. Broussard led a top-five pack of Gering's double trio of hurdlers with a victory in the 300-meter low hurdles in 47.19 seconds. Schmaltz was second and Wickard was fifth. In the 100 low hurdles, Schmaltz was runner-up by .02 second to Potter-Dix junior Taylor Holz's 15.80-second victory, with Broussard third and Wickard sixth. For the second straight week at Bearcat Stadium, Gering junior Morgan Greene cleared 5 feet, 2 inches and earned victory in the girls' long jump. Other area victories came in a pair of boys' top-three sweeps. Scottsbluff junior Isaiah Castellaw won the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 39.61 seconds, while Gering senior Dylan Wolf was runner-up just .75 second behind and Bayard junior Brandon Stuart came in third. Mitchell senior Richie Burke won the 800-meter run in 2:00.50, with Scottsbluff senior Tyler Brandt taking second and Gering's Bustinza in third. Bearcat senior Reid Schanaman won the 110 high hurdles in 15.28 seconds. Among other area top-three finishers, Scottsbluff sophomore Chrissy Peters and Gering senior Molly Bueide both cleared 9-4 but respectively were second and third on misses to senior winner Kaitlyn Pfister of Lusk, Wyo.-Niobrara County. Gering junior Kayleigh Schadwinkel was second in the long jump to Hay Springs senior Aria Hughes, who was a triple winner on the day with victories also in the triple jump and 200 dash. Scottsbluff senior Trevor Morgan led other boys' top-three results by placing second in the triple jump and third in the long jump. Bearcat sophomore Luke Worden was second on a photo finish in the 100 dash to Torrington's Michael Winget after both hit the line in 11.42 seconds. Gering senior Domingo Torres was runner-up in the 1,600 run and Bulldog junior Danny O'Boyle finished second in the 400 dash. Other area boys' top-three results included Mitchell senior Tanner Rien taking second in the shot put, Bridgeport's Cody Franklin taking third in the 3,200 run. In the boys' 4x400 relay, Mitchell and Gering were second and third respectively behind Sidney's 3:26.74 victory. Gering's quartet was freshman Ryan Schwartzkopf, junior Dilon Wademan, Wolf and O'Boyle. Mitchell also had a second-place finish in the 4x100 relay. Other area girls placing in the top three included the 2-3 finish of Mitchell freshman and Gering sophomore Rachel Huffman in the 800 run, and Gering's Martinez was third in the 3,200 run. Bridgeport's Kildow took third in the 100 dash, and the sophomore also was part of the Bulldogs' third-place 4x100 relay. |
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