Danae McCorkle, Blair Dixon sign with Doane track program

John J. Mesh/McCook Daily Gazette McCook High School senior Danae McCorkle signed a letter of intent Tuesday to compete in track and field at Doane College in Crete, where she will be a teammate of MHS alum Kelsee Meissner from the Class of 2008. McCorkle is the Bison girls school record-holder in the pole vault with a mark of 11 feet. She placed fourth in Class B at the 2008 Nebraska State Track Meet. McCorkle also played softball at MHS. Front row, from left: mother Jill McCorkle, Danae McCorkle, father Terry McCorkle. Back: McCook assistant coach Bill Ramsay (who coaches the pole vaulters) and Doane College head coach Ed Fye, a Wauneta native.

Doane College track coach Ed Fye knows there is a potential wealth of talent in the Southwest Nebraska area and he is going back to the well.

Fye, who currently has Kelsee Meisner (McCook) on the women's roster and Scott Ohlson (Imperial), Brandon Park (McCook) and Brett Cribelli (Cambridge) on the men's roster, signed McCook pole vaulter Danae McCorkle and Wauneta-Palisade sprinter/hurdler Blair Dixon on Tuesday for the 2009-10 season.

Rochelle Schmidt of Indianola and Republican Valley High School (now Southwest) was a standout for the Tigers several years back.

Dave Vrbas/The Wauneta Breeze Wauneta-Palisade High School senior Blair Dixon signed a letter of intent Tuesday to compete in track and field at Doane College in Crete. Front from left: father Brad Dixon, Blair Dixon, mother Mindi Dixon. Back: Wauneta-Palisade track coach Rich Einspahr, Wauneta-Palisade track coach Dawn Doetker, Doane College track coach Ed Fye and Wauneta-Palisade High School principal Randy Geier.

Fye said McCorkle made an impression on him several years ago.

"We had her at track camps and saw her work ethic," Fye said. "We got along very well. She's one of the best we've got to work with. She should be able to come in right away and compete at a national level. I don't know how high she will jump. She should be able to qualify for the national meet."

McCorkle said she chose Doane over Sioux Falls, the University of Nebraska-Kearney and Concordia University in Seward.

"I'm glad I was able to make a decision," McCorkle said. "It's nice to know what you're doing the next year."

McCorkle said she will focus on track and won't play softball at Doane College.

McCorkle is the school record-holder in the pole vault with a personal-best mark of 11 feet.

McCorkle placed fourth at state last year with an effort of 10 feet and qualified her sophomore year.

She thinks the Bison girls will again be very good. McCook finished second as a team at state last year.

"I just want to be consistently around 11 feet," McCorkle said. "We have a lot of young girls who will fit in well. I think we should do as well as last year."

McCorkle and the Bison softball team posted an 18-13 record and lost in the Class B-6 district tournament.

She owns the school's single-season RBI record.

In 2007, the Bison went 26-6 and lost in the first round at state.

McCorkle said she looks forward to having Dixon as a teammate and reunited with Meissner.

McCorkle, the daughter of Terry and Jill McCorkle, plans to major in biology specializing as a pre-physicians assistant.

Dixon said she is glad to sign now before track season starts.

"It's one less thing to worry about," said Dixon, who chose Doane College over offers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Her brother Taylor plays football in Lincoln for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Dixon placed in four events last year at the state track meet. She won gold medals in the 200-meter dash, 400-meter run and the 100-meter hurdles. She placed second in the 100-meter dash.

Dixon posted her best times in the hurdles and the 100 during the regular season last year and posted her best times in the 200 and 400 at state.

Fye should know the area well. He is a Wauneta High School graduate who competed in track at Doane College 30 years. He was driven to Crete for his first visit by Dixon's grandfather.

"He's always been friends with my mom and dad," Dixon said. "I knew he'd treat me good at Doane."

Dixon is also a standout in basketball and volleyball. The Bronco girls basketball team lost in the first round of the Class D-1 state tournament this season.

However she plans to stick with track at Doane.

"I think it would be too overwhelming to do anything other than track and my studies," said Dixon, who plans to major in pre-nursing and pre-med.

Dixon is the daughter of Brad Dixon and Mindi Dixon of Wauneta.