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Head bumps, trips can't stop Chase title quest
OMAHA, Neb. — One Longhorn pondered if Happy Death Day had arrived in Burke Stadium’s infield grass.
“I was trying to cheer, but I was dying,” senior Kamrie Dillan said about her Chase County mile relay team.
Another had just gotten off the Burke track after tripping and taking quite a post-lap tumble.
“I saw she (Ali McNair) got the baton,” sophomore Jordan Jablonski explained. “So I just had to get off the track.”
Cheering and crawling at the same time?
Yup, that’s what Chase County track-field is all about.
They were hurting at times during the Class C state championship meet, especially when sophomore top distance runner Lucy Spady was literally knocked out of two races.
Spady was running the 3200-meter relay when another team’s competitor turned and accidentally bumped heads with Spady.
Protocols kept Lucy from running either the 1600 or 3200 meters at state.
“Things didn’t always go our way, but that’s track and that’s life,” coach Troy Hauxwell said. “There are a lot of life lessons to be learned through track, and I think you all saw that today. Our team was there in adversity with arms around each other, talking positive truths and confirmation.”
Oh yes, and the Chase girls confirmed one other positive truth Saturday...
Don’t steal a title from them in the final few steps.
Sophomore Bryn McNair saw that happen during her 800-meter race Saturday morning.She settled for a close second place.
When she took that final baton from Ali McNair, Bryn was a far more distant second....
But not for long!
“All I was thinking was to try and run her (the race leader) down,” McNair explained. “I lost my 800 by three-fourths of a second. I wasn’t letting that happen again.”
That’s where all the Longhorns’ extra training and conditioning kicked in.
Remember, Bryn McNair was an eighth-grader when Chase competed at its last state meet in 2019 where those girls finished — you guessed it — a close second as a team.
Not this time.
Bryn did run down the 1600-meter relay leader, passing her with only a few steps remaining and capping Chase County’s first-place finish.
Not just for the 1600-meter relay, but Chase’s entire team had delivered a 19-point win over closest challenger Hastings St. Cecilia.
“We get so much support from everyone in our school and our town,” the four relay runners agreed. “We run for everyone.”
The Longhorns finished 1-2-3 in their three relays where Jablonski proclaimed “it’s so much fun to run for all three of them.”
Kamrie Dillan closed her Chase career by winning the 200-meter title besides a close second in her 100 race.
“Sure, I’d run (a few more years) with them if I could,” she said.
Bryn McNair delivered a 400-meter title (57.12) along with another top three performance in the high jump.
The Longhorns have now won 2016, 2017 and 2021 state team titles.
Hauxwell admits his heart still “breaks a little” for the 2020 seniors who didn’t get to compete. Yet alums like Mallie McNair and Sophie Spady were right there cheering on Saturday.
The Chase County girls were Class C state champions while their boys competed in several events at Burke Stadium last weekend.
Class C girls
Top five teams: 1. Chase County 68, 2. Hastings St. Cecilia 49, 3. Battle Creek 41, 4. Lincoln Lutheran 40, 5. Crofton 38.5.
100 meters: 1. A. Rodencal, Lincoln Lutheran, 12.36; 2. Kamrie Dillan, CC, 12.45. 100-hurdles: 1. Rodencal 14.92; 4. Jerzee Milner, CC, 15.47. 200 meters: 1. Kamrie Dillan, CC, 25.76 (PR); 19. Chloe Dillan, CC, 27.02. 300-hurdles: 1. Rodencal 45.73; 11. Milner, CC, 48.46. 400 meters: 1. Bryn McNair, CC, 57.16 (PR). 800: 1. J. Arens, Crofton, 2:18.21; 2. Bryn McNair, CC, 2:18.24 (PR). Chase’s Lucy Spady did not run the 1600 or 3200 meters due to concussion protocols.
400-relay: 1. Lincoln Lutheran 50.47; 2. CC 50.5 (Milner-K. Dillan-C. Dillan-Jordan Jablonski). 1600 relay: 1. CC 4:04.86 (Kamrie Dillan-Jordan Jablonski-Ali McNair-Bryn McNair). 3200-relay: 1. St. Cecilia 9:45.06; 3. CC 10:06.4 (Lucy Spady-Kora Weiss-Ali McNair-Jordan Jablonski).
Shot put: 1. J. Stieb, Arcadia-Loup City, 44’7 1/2”; 22. Kylie Lotspeich, CC, 32’7”. High jump: 1. J. Moss, Syracuse, 5’6”; 3. B. McNair, CC, 5’4”. Pole vault: 1. M. Zohner, Battle Creek, 11’; 12. Jablonski, CC, 9’6”.
Class C boys
Top 10 teams: 1. Aquinas 53, 2. Grand Island Central Catholic 45.5, 3. Norfolk Catholic 39, 4. Wilber-latonia 36, 5. Freeman 35, 6. Southern 30, 7. Cedar Catholic 26, 8. Sutton 25, 9. Battle Creek 24, 10. Southern Valley 20. Chase County tied for 38th place with 4 points.
100 meters: 1. C. Bradley, Southern, 10.84; 21. Dawson Mollendor, CC, 11.53. 110-hurdles: 1. D. Poppe, Laurel, 15.18; 23. Kade Anderson, CC, 16.75. 300-hurdles: 1. J. Pile, Oakland-Craig, 39.75; 21. Easton Fries, CC, 44.26. 400 meters: 1. Bradley 49.67; 23. Cedric Maxwell, CC, 53.67. 800: 1. H. Ruse, Freeman, 1:55.76; 24. Clay Meeske, CC, 2:07.47.
400-relay: 1. Norfolk Catholic 44.16; 5. CC 44.38 (Brandon Mintling-Ryan Bernhardt-Chase Rowley-Mollendor).
Pole vault: Wooden, Centura, 14’; 11. Carter Leibbrandt, CC, 13’; 15. Brit Gockley, CC, 12’.