Class D state track roundup: Central Valley girls 400 relay claim title, Nebraska Christian's Falk takes 100 hurdles (2024)

OMAHA – The Central Valley girls 400 relay team say that race is one of the most nerve-racking there is on the track.

Each handoff has to be perfect with each runner leaving at exactly the right time as well as not jumping early before the gun goes off.

“It takes a lot of practice because any small thing can go wrong and you have to practice until it’s literally perfect,” Central Valley’s Alexis Johnson said about preparing for the 400 relay.

As it turned out, the Class D 400 relay did go literally perfect for the Cougars. Johnson joined Kendra Cargill, Maddie Clark and Taylor McIntyre in taking the 400 relay at 50.69.

Central Valley coach Chip Bartos said the four really worked on a lot of their handoffs during the course of the week.

“The girls said during practice this week that their handoffs were shaky and were inconsistent. As a coach, that gets you worried a little bit,” he said. “But they just went out and did what they had to do. They trusted each other and that’s all that we can ask for. They did great. I’m happy for them and I hope they enjoy this moment forever.”

Cargill and Johnson did their part in the early portion of the race as the Cougars were in second place when Clark handed McIntyre the baton. Once McIntyre got it, she just took off and left no doubt. She raised her arms into the air as she was crossing the finish line.

“I couldn’t believe it at first as I was kind of in shock,” McIntrye said. “I’m just so proud of my teammates and my coaches for teaching us how to do this. This is pretty awesome.”

Johnson said she knew McIntyre would win when she saw Clark hand off to her on the big screen.

“She is just super fast and we have so much faith in her,” she said.

McIntyre said the Cougars were confident going into the race as they finished second in the 2023 meet as she and Johnson were part of that relay.

“That really helped push us because we really wanted to get that state title,” she said.

McIntyre also brought home two more medals from the state meet. She placed third in both the 100 at 12.52 and 200 at 26.37. Bartos said McIntyre had a big meet for the Cougars.

“She was disappointed she didn’t make state in the triple jump but she made up for that in finishing with two medals in the sprints races and helping us win the 400 relay,” Bartos said. “She worked really strong in the two races as she was working on her blocks all week and on the curve in the 200. It came through for her.”

Falk claims gold in 100 hurdles race

Going into each 100 hurdles race, Sheridan Falk treats each hurdle as one race.

It’s a piece of advice the Nebraska Christian sophom*ore gets from Eagle hurdle coach Dave Gee about the 10-hurdle race.

“He tells me that every hurdle I go over is a different race,” Falk said. “So I have 10 different hurdle races. When I get over one hurdle, I tell myself that I have nine more races to go.”

As it turned out in the Class D 100 hurdles final, she won all 10 races in winning the gold medal in the event with a school-record 15.00.

“She attacked each hurdle like it was a new race,” NC coach Carl Ostrand said. “She just ran her race and I’m just proud of her effort.”

Falk pretty much led throughout the entire race from the third hurdle on and cruised to the win. Wallace’s Kendyl Flaming was second behind Falk, coming in 15.33. Burwell’s Mieke Van der walt had the top time going into the finals, but tripped on the third hurdle. That slowed her down as she finished eighth with a 16.60 time.

“My start felt really good and everything just felt good during the race,” Falk said. “I feel really good because there are a lot of good hurdlers in this race and they all had good races and were amazing. It feels good to accomplish this.”

Ostrand said Falk is deserving of being a state champion.

“She’s a great athlete that works very hard and is very coachable,” Ostrand said. “She just loves to compete and always gives a great effort.”

Falk finished eighth in the 300 hurdles at 47.02. She also placed third in the long jump with a 17-4 1/4 leap on Friday.

While happy with her accomplishments from the state track meet, Falk said the glory goes to God.

“It felt good that I was able to win the 100 hurdles, but I could not have done this without God because he’s the reason I’m in this,” Falk said.

Hannah Swanson, Taytum Perdew, Isabelle Brumbaugh and Kadeya Sanborn also brought home medals for the Eagle girls on Saturday. Swanson was third with a 5:34.81 time, while Perdew was fourth in the triple jump at 35-2 1/4, Sanborn finished tied for seventh in the high jump, clearing 5-0 and Brumbaugh was eighth in the 800 at 2:28.04.

Those efforts helped the Eagles finish fourth with 41.5 points.

Other Class D medalists include:

- Nebraska Christian’s Jacob Swanson and Brody Flynn each brought home medals in the 1,600. Swanson placed second at 4:36.32, while Flynn was fifth at 4:42.39.

- Riverside’s Dane Schalk placed fourth in the discus with a 151-11 toss, while the 400 relay team of Trevor Carraher, Drew Carraher, Nicholas Berger and Jack Molt placed third at 44.53. Molt also placed fourth in the 200 at 22.40 and fifth in the 100 at 11.09. Also, Grace Mahoney took third in the 300 hurdles at 46.51.

- Giltner’s Phillip Kreutz took fourth in the boys 800 at 2:00.54, while Jordan Margritz was sixth in the girls 100 hurdles at 16.12.

- Van der walt brought home two more medals from the state meet for Burwell. She placed fourth in the 300 hurdles at 46.70.She also joined Katie Hughes, Regan Smith and Aiva Koenigsberg on the 400 relay that placed eighth at 52.35.

- The Central Valley boys 400 relay team of Gunnar Vanosdall, Zaden Wolf, Boston Wood and Zavyer Wolf was fifth at 44.85. Zaden Wolf also brought home two more medals in the 100 and 200, placing eighth in both at 11.20 and 23.21, respectively.

- The Fullerton boys’ 1,600 relay team of Fletcher Dubas, Kane Wetovick, Nolan Dubas and Aiden Norman finished fifth at 3:33.46.