Bison track teams sending limited entries to UNK Indoor meet

Steve Kodad/McCook Daily Gazette McCook High School female distance runners Emilyne Nichols (front left) and Jessa Sughroue (front right) lead the pack during drills at the Bison track and field team's practice session Tuesday, March 16, at the high school track. Other Bison runners pictured are Emily Tolliver (back left plus Kelsea Geschwentner and Veronica Bair (partially hidden, back right). McCook will enter a limited squad at Friday's UNK Indoor meet at the University of Nebraska-Kearney's Cushing Coliseum.

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The respective Bison boys and girls coaching staffs planned to enter a limited number of competitors at the season-opening indoor meet at Cushing Coliseum on the Kearney college campus. The Class B portion of the three-day indoor meet is scheduled to start Friday at 1 p.m.

Tom Sughroue is the head coach of the McCook boys team. Veteran coach John Gumb and Sughroue shared head coaching duties in recent years. Gumb will still be a member of the boys coaching staff, but Sughroue will now handle the head coaching duties.

Steve Clapp will again head the Bison girls squad.

The UNK facility has a 160-meter indoor track, as compared to the normal 400-meter outdoor ovals. Both McCook head coaches said Friday's meet is a challenge early in the season, as their competitors don't have a chance to train on the tighter curves prior to Friday.

Several McCook squad members will be absent this weekend on church-sponsored trips, so the Bison will likely enter about 15 contestants in each of the boys and girls divisions at Kearney.

The McCook squads are hoping for spring weather conditions when the outdoor season kicks off Friday, March 26, with a dual meet at North Platte High School.

The Bison boys team will be anchored by returning state meet placers Andy Smith (fifth in the Class B pole vault) and Mark Nichols (seventh in the triple jump). The McCook boys finished 20th at last year's Class B state meet, scoring 20 points.

The McCook girls scored 37 1/3 points to finish fifth at state last spring. The Bison girls won state meet gold medals in the 3,200 and 1,600-meter relays. Three members of the 3,200 quartet return in juniors Jessa Sughroue and Kelsea Geschwentner and sophomore Emilyne Nichols. Sughroue and senior Whitney Korgan also ran on the state champion 1,600 relay team, and Korgan placed in the 100- and 200-meter dashes at state.

McCook will host the annual Leroy Hoehner Invitational Thursday, April 1, at the McCook High School facility.

The Bison boys golf and girls tennis squads have also been enjoying the recent favorable weather in preparations for their season-opening competitions next week. The McCook tennis squad is set to host Lexington and Hershey next Tuesday at the high school courts starting at 1 p.m. The Bison golfers are scheduled to open the season at the North Platte Invitational next Friday, March 26, with a 9 a.m start.