OMAHA, NE - The four-day Nebraska High School Track & Field State Championships wrapped up on Saturday. Classes C & D wound things down on Saturday, while Classes A & B finished up their competition on Thursday.

The Syracuse ladies had the best team showing for River Country, securing third place overall in Class C with 40 points. Kearney Catholic took top honors with 86.5 points, followed by Bishop Neumann at 60. Individual highlights for local student-athletes included Jayden Meyer of Syracuse taking second place in the triple jump and third place in the 400-meter dash; while teammate Ashlynn Vestal claimed top honors in the 300-meter hurdles. 

In Class C boys competition, the top River Country squad was Elmwood-Murdock, who tied Bishop Neumann for eighth with 28 points. Chase County took home the title. Top River Country individual finishes included Elmwood-Murdock's Samuel Clements winning the shot put & taking fourth in the discus; and teammate Riley Wilson wound up second in the 300-meter hurdles. 

The Class D girls competition was won by Niobrara/Verdigre at 52 points, while Johnson-Brock finished in 19th to lead the area. Top finishes from River Country included Johnson-Brock's Rylie Beethe finishing fourth in the 100-meter hurdles & fifth in the long jump. The school's 1600-meter relay team also grabbed a fifth place finish.

The Class D boys battle saw McCool Junction & Axtell each finish with 56 team points. Sterling wound up in 19th place to lead River Country. Individually, there was one champ, as Joe Simon of Falls City-Sacred Heart turned in the top time in the 110-meter hurdles.

Earlier in the week, the Auburn girls took home 14th place in the Class B Girls group. Waverly had the most points. The Bulldogs' Addison Darnell won the 300-meter hurdles & finished seventh in the 100-meter hurdles, while the 1600-meter relay team secured sixth place.

DES MOINES, IA - Three days of running, jumping, throwing, and more wound down in Des Moines on Saturday.

The top River Country team was the Shenandoah guys, who took fourth place in Class 2A with 41 points. Mediapolis won the class with 47 points. Both the 400-meter & 800-meter sprint medley relay teams took top honors. Alex Razee snared a runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash.

On the girls' side, Clarinda led local teams with a 22nd place finish for Class 2A. Jerzee Knight took the bronze in the 100-meter & 200-meter dashes. 

In Class 1A, the East Mills guys wound up 35th, while the Fremont-Mills ladies tied for 14th. Zach Thornburg was fifth in the 100-meter dash for EM. F-M got two runner-up finishes - one from the Shuttle Hurdle team & one from Bella Gute in the 400-meter hurdles.

Finally, Glenwood's boys wound up 19th, and the girls finished 25th. For the guys, Bryant Keller was fifth in the 1600-meter run & sixth the 3200-meter run, while the 1600-meter sprint medley relay team found fourth place. The ladies were led by the 800-meter sprint medley relay team's fifth place showing, while Grace Berglund secured sixth in the 3000-meter run & eighth in the 1500.

JEFFERSON CITY, MO - Classes 1, 2, and 3 competed in the State Championships on Friday & Saturday in Jefferson City, Missouri, and resulted in TWO team titles for River Country.

In Class 1, the Mound City boys team piled up 45 points to claim the crown. West Nodaway was also in the top ten at number nine (26 points). Individually, MC's August Meadows won the 300-meter hurdles with a new meet record, and he came in second in the 110-meter hurdles. Also, the school's 800-meter relay & 1600-meter relay teams took second place in their respective races. For WN, Riley Blay was a superstar. Blay won the 1600 & 3200-meter runs and even claimed third in the 800-meter event.

For the ladies, it was a battle of northwest Missouri, as Rock Port finished with 73 points to take the team title, followed by Tarkio in second at 51 points. West Nodaway cracked the top ten at number ten with 22 points. Individually, there were top-three finishes all over the place! For Rock Port, Ella Meyerkorth won the 300-meter hurdles & took second in the 100-meter hurdles, Rylee Jenkins finished first in the discus, Avery Meyerkorth was runner up in the 800-meter run, Norah Watkins grabbed third in the 3200-meter run, the 3200-meter relay team was second, and the 1600-meter relay team wound up third. Tarkio saw Elizabeth Schlueter win the 100-meter hurdles & finish third in the 300-meter edition, Tommi Martin won the javelin & was third in the 800-meter run; the 1600-meter relay team wound up second, and the 3200-meter relay squad finished third. For Mound City, Ava Barnes was second-best in the pole vault & the 800-meter relay team was also second; and West Nodaway had Ava Graham get runner up in the shot put & Paige Hanson finish second fastest in the 1600-meter run.

For Class 3, Maryville wound up in 17th for the boys & 20th for the ladies. Top finishes for the girls included Brylee Acklin grabbing fourth in the 300-meter hurdles & the 1600-meter relay team also taking fourth; and for the boys, it was the 3200-meter relay team winding up third, Wyatt Garner taking fourth in the long jump; and Carson Sterling also picking up a fourth place finish in the discus.