“Who is the Fastest Nebraska Schoolboy in History Dream Race” - The Semifinals

This may be the toughest piece of writing I have ever attempted. As most of you know, I will not do any type of prep ratings, nor will I predict winners of any high school contests. It’s not the way I do things. So choosing winners in order is way outside the box for me, but during these current unsettled times I’ve had some extra time to think and rehash the many state track meets I’ve witnessed.

So, I’ll walk on the “wild side” just this one time and let my memory recall, logic and judgement take over. While we all know the advantages the current track athletes enjoy; the superior training techniques, the state-of-the-art weight rooms and the nutrition programs available, it is important to realize the sprinters from years gone by still possessed god-given ability.

And now we’ve come full circle and are right back where we started. You are either Fast or you’re Not.

But…..anyone that knows the sport does indeed realize the current, modern day sprinter/athletes SHOULD BE much stronger and faster because of the evolution of the sport of track and field. Two sides of the story here.

When I initially had the idea of tackling this project, I realized there was one puzzle piece missing here. One “step” if you will.

There needs to be a SEMIFINAL ROUND here. These legendary athletes are just too skilled to jump from a preliminary race straight to the Finals. There needs to be a little “Ironman” twist to this Dream Race, and with that in mind, we will indeed do a semifinal round.

Here are the qualifiers from each preliminary heat. Those advanced to this upcoming Semifinal Round.

Heat One Qualifiers:

1st - Kenzo Cotton-Papillion LaVista - (competed 2016-2019)

2nd-Roger Sayers-Omaha Central - (competed 1958-1959)

3rd - Willie Vinson-Omaha Burke - (competed 1980-1982)

4th - Ricky Davis-Creighton Prep - (competed 1985-1987)

5h - Nate Probasco-Scribner-Snyder - (competed 2000-2003)

Heat Two Qualifiers:

1st - Bobby Williams-Lincoln High - (competed 1959-1961)

2nd - Paul Phillips-Omaha Central - (competed 1930-1932)

3rd - Ahman Green-Omaha Central - (competed 1993-1995)

4th - Ronnie Doss-Omaha Benson - (competed 1991-1993)

Heat Three Qualifiers:

1st - Kent McCloughan-Broken Bow - (competed 1958-1961)

2nd - Randy Brooks-Creighton Prep - (competed 1974-1977)

3rd - Broc Howard-Kearney - (competed 1998-2001)

4th - KJ Cotton-Papillion LaVista - (competed 2015-2017)

5th - Mike Thompson-Omaha Holy Name - (competed 1971-1974)

Heat Four Qualifiers:

1st - Terry Williams-Omaha Central - (competed 1960-1962)

2nd - Dylan Kautz-Norfolk Catholic - (competed 2016-2019)

3rd - Eugene “Red” Littler-Mitchell (competed 1935-1937)

4th - Mike Ockerman-Bellevue West - (competed 1979-1981)

*The Semifinals will be run in TWO HEATS, and the qualifying process will be a simple formula.

Preferred Lanes – 9 lane track: 5,6,4,7,3,8,2,9,1

The top four finishers, plus the next fastest time from Heats One and Two of the prelims will make up SEMIFINAL HEAT ONE. The top four finishers, plus the next fastest time from Heats Three and Four will make up SEMIFINAL HEAT TWO.

*This is the lane assignment process I used for the Semifinals*

SEMIFINAL HEAT ONE

Lane 1 - Fastest 5th Place time from Heat One/Two

Lane 2 - Fourth Place Heat One/Two - (Next fastest 4th place time gets Lane 9)

Lane 3 - Third Place Heat One/Two - ( Next fastest 3rd place time gets Lane 3)

Lane 4 - 2nd Place Heat One/Two - (Next fastest 2nd place time gets Lane 4)

Lane 5 - Winner of Heat One/Two - (Next fastest in Lane 5)

Lane 6 - Winner of Heat One/Two - (Fastest time gets Lane 6)

Lane 7 - 2nd Place Heat One/Two - (Fastest 2nd place time gets Lane 7)

Lane 8 - Third Place Heat One/Two - (Fastest 3rd place time gets Lane 8)

Lane 9 - Fourth Place Heat One/Two - (Fastest 4th place time gets Lane 9)

SEMIFINAL HEAT TWO

Lane 1 - Fastest 5th Place time from Heat One/Two

Lane 2 - Fourth Place Heat One/Two - (Next fastest 4th place time gets Lane 9)

Lane 3 - Third Place Heat One/Two - ( Next fastest 3rd place time gets Lane 3)

Lane 4 - 2nd Place Heat One/Two - (Next fastest 2nd place time gets Lane 4)

Lane 5 - Winner of Heat One/Two - (Next fastest in Lane 5)

Lane 6 - Winner of Heat One/Two - (Fastest time gets Lane 6)

Lane 7 - 2nd Place Heat One/Two - (Fastest 2nd place time gets Lane 7)

Lane 8 - Third Place Heat One/Two - (Fastest 3rd place time gets Lane 8)

Lane 9 - Fourth Place Heat One/Two - (Fastest 4th place time gets Lane 9)

And now, the SEMIFINAL lineup:

SEMIFINAL HEAT ONE

Lane 1 - Nate Probasco-Scribner-Snyder - (competed 2000-2003)

Lane 2 - Ricky Davis-Creighton Prep - (competed 1985-1987)

Lane 3 - Willie Vinson-Omaha Burke - (competed 1980-1982)

Lane 4 - Paul Phillips-Omaha Central - (competed 1930-1932)

Lane 5 - Bobby Williams-Lincoln High - (competed 1959-1961)

Lane 6 - Kenzo Cotton-Papillion LaVista - (competed 2016-2019)

Lane 7 - Roger Sayers-Omaha Central - (competed 1958-1959)

Lane 8 - Ahman Green-Omaha Central - (competed 1993-1995)

Lane 9 - Ronnie Doss-Omaha Benson - (competed 1991-1993)

SEMIFINAL HEAT TWO

Lane 1 - Mike Thompson-Omaha Holy Name - (competed 1971-1974)

Lane 2 - KJ Cotton-Papillion LaVista - (competed 2015-2017)

Lane 3 - Broc Howard-Kearney - (competed 1996-1999)

Lane 4 - Mike Ockerman-Bellevue West - (competed 1979-1981)

Lane 5 - Kent McCloughan-Broken Bow - (competed 1958-1961)

Lane 6 - Terry Williams-Omaha Central - (competed 1960-1962) x

Lane 7 - Randy Brooks-Creighton Prep - (competed 1974-1977) x

Lane 8 - Dylan Kautz-Norfolk Catholic (competed 2016-2019) x

Lane 9 - Eugene “Red” Littler-Mitchell (competed 1935-1937)

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Next up ... .the results of the SemiFinals and the lineup for the Dream Race Finals.