MINUTEMAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEET: Potter-Dix boys', girls' collect runner-up finishes

BAYARD – On multiple occasions Saturday morning, Leyton distance runner – and now conference champion – Rhett Dye felt sick to his stomach.

But with little warning, Dye laced up his cleats under the hot Bayard sun, put on his game face and ran the race of his life.

With Minuteman Athletic Conference titles on the line, local athletes from the eight MAC schools gave all they had at Bayard High School with the hope that they too could earn the title, "Conference Champion."

Host Bayard took both the boys and girls titles by narrow margins over Potter-Dix as the Tigers edged the Coyotes 127-126 in the boys meet. The Coyotes girls were edged out by just eight points as Bayard finished with 118.

Among the other local schools, the Leyton boys picked up 62.5 points for fourth place, while Creek Valley picked up six for eighth. The Leyton Warriors girls' team finished just behind the Coyotes in third with 104 points with the Storm fourth at 62.

Potter-Dix

The Potter-Dix boys were powered to their strong finish by seven event wins including a pair of relays.

The Coyotes boys whose efforts landed them on the top step of the podium included Kelsey Rozelle who finished on top in a pair of events including the the long and high jumps. Meanwhile, Coby Hicks made his mark in the pole vault as a new personal best put him a foot past his closest competitor.

Other conference champions from the Coyotes' camp were Cameron Purcell (800 meters), Jake Johnson (1,600 meters) and the 4x400 and 4x800-relay teams. Both winning realy teams were comprised of Cooper Hicks, Johnson, Sam Bogert and Purcell. Johnson was just .51 behind HIcks in the open 800 to take second.

On the girls side, three events championships were earned by Lady Coyotes athletes including the 4x400-meter relay. The relay team included sisters Regyn Hicks and Ryley Hicks as well as Presley Christensen and Trinity Langley. In the individual events, Alexus Rozelle made another sweep of the throwing events by winning the shot put and discus. Cortney Lewis made a strong showing as well in the shot by earning the bronze.

While Kelsey Rozelle won two events, his only minor disappointments came on the track in the 100 and 200-meter dashes as he was second in both. But he was far and away the best in both of his field events. He was three inches better than the field in the high jump and his long jump was nearly two feet the best.

"I went for 6-3 in the high jump just because I haven't tried it before," said Rozelle who won with a 6-1 and has a personal best of 6-2. "I kept just barely missing it. I've been working on my arch and trying not to drop my butt too much. I take seven steps in the high jump, maybe I should take eight to build up more speed."

Coby Hicks was helped on his way to victory in the pole vault with a healthy knee. He had been bothered by the injured joint since early in the season. He was also fourth in the 110-meter high hurdles.

"Now that (my knee) is feeling better I can run a little faster and that really helps," said Hicks. "I felt pretty good today. My coach, Mr. F. (Dale Frerichs), really pushes us and motivates us really well and that's always a big help."

Additional top finishes for the Coyotes boys included Cooper Hicks who was second in both the 400 and 300-meter hurdles. Noah Nelson took sixth in the long hurdles. Cole Christensen backed up Rozelle in the high jump by finishing fourth. In addition to Coby Hicks taking the top prize, the Coyotes placed two other leapers including Bogert (3rd) and Nelson (fourth). Purcell was fifth in the long jump.

The Lady Coyotes were benefitted from Savannah Shaw's effort with her third at 200 meters while Trinity Langley was sixth. Hope Shepard was runner-up in the 400 with Presley Christensen sixth. Regyn Hicks took silver in the open 800 while Ryley was second in the 3,200. Payge Hoffman crossed the line third in both hurdles events while Payton Franklin was one place behind in the 300.

Hope Shepard, Hoffman, Christensen and Regyn Hicks finished a close second to Leyton in the 4x400. Anna McLaughlin was the bronze winner in the high jump. Potter-Dix placed a pair of athletes in the pole vault with Franklin second and Ryley Hicks fourth. Langley scored a sixth-place point in the triple jump.

Leyton

Dye began his quest for a conference championship by running neck-and-neck with Bayard's Alex Araujo for several laps. During the first half of the race, Dye passed Araujo, but was passed right back. He quickly decided to let the Tigers' freshman take the lead.

"I past him once and then he passed me right back so I decided to let him break the wind for me," Dye said. "I only had about five minutes before the race when I found out I was running. I didn't think I would run anywhere close to that fast. I was only five seconds from breaking the school record."

Dye toppled his previous personal best by about 40 seconds. Jacob Frerichs added octane to the Warriors two mile as he also bested his previous peak to finish sixth. Jacob Ernest is another conference champion for Letyon as he was nearly seven feet better that the field in the shot put. He was runner up in the discus and Zach Hellie was fourth.

The Leyton girls benefitted again from the performances of Kaitlyn Berner. She easily outpaced the field in the 800, long jump and triple jump. The Warriors' senior has been a state qualifier in all three events.

The Warriors also found gold in the 4x400 relay with Berner, Dani McKay, Jessica Houk and Cheyenne Nickel. Abbe Draper, Taylor Berner, Shaela Jenkins and Jessica Houk combined to take the prize in the 400-meter relay. Houk's speed carried her to a silver at 100 and 200 meters. Nickel was second at 200.

In the 100-meter hurdles, the consistent threesome of Jenkins, Taylor Berner and Draper again all placed. Jenkins was second, Berner fourth and Draper fifth. Draper earned silver in the 300-hurdles and was fifth in the high jump.

Other high finishes for the Warriors boys included a second-place finish by the sprint relay team of Cody McKay, Jared Westman, Hellie and Kordell Maestes. Teghan Osborne, Rushman, Ernest and McKay pooled their speed for a silver medal in the 4x400. Rushman was also fifth at 800 meters. Kenny Ernest and Drew Brenner finished fifth and sixth respectively in the high jump.

In the distance races, Rhett's younger brother Kort Dye scored fifth-place points for the Warriors in the mile. Ernest picked up a point for Leyton by taking sixth in the triple jump.

Creek Valley

After getting over the effects of a bad spider bite, Jesse Straber is back in form as she was crowned district champion in the high jump. She equalled her personal best with leap of 5-0 which left her alone at the top.

"The Best of the West was bad," said Straber who went out at 4-10 last week in Scottsbluff. "I'm used to the antibiotics I've had to take for the spider bite. But last week my whole eye was really swollen.

"To get 5-02 maybe I need to take a longer approach, but I'm used to getting really close. I've been working on it in practice, but I'm not comfortable doing in in competition at this point in the season. Next year for sure."

Straber's day also included a personal-best throw in the discus which left her in third place. Teammate Hannah Schievelbein scored for Creek Valley in sixth.

Freshman Payje Misegadis helped the Storm's cause by medaling in several events. She was third in the 100 meters, third in the pole vault and fifth in the triple jump. Chandra Smith backed up the Misegadis in the sprint by taking sixth.

The youth movement for Creek Valley included multiple placings by Sami Schmid. She was fourth in the mile and sixth in the pole vault. Senior Stefanie Mitchell placed fourth in the high jump and third in the long jump.

William Payton picked all the boys points with his bronze-medal finish in the shot put. He missed 40 feet by just an inch. Josh Schievelbein also made the shot finals but missed out on a medal by two places.

Creek Valley will be at the Best of the Midwest on Tuesday at Sutherland. Potter-Dix and Leyton take to the track next at Sidney on Saturday for the Cheyenne County meet. Leyton is the host school for the event.

MAC RESULTS

At Bayard H.S.

BOYS – Team Scores

1. Bayard, 127; 2. Potter-Dix, 126; 3. Garden County, 83.5; 4. Leyton, 62.5; 5. South Platte, 35; 6. Banner County, 28; 7. Minatare, 22; 8. Creek Valley, 6.

100 Meters

1. Ryan Smith, Garden County, 11.91; 2. Kelsey Rozelle, Potter-Dix, 12.04; 3. Joe Ferrero, Bayard, 12.27; 4. Tyson Dahlgrin, Banner County, 12.48; 5. Loren Haase, Bayard, 12.64; 6. Rowan Ford, South Platte, 12.68.

200 Meters

1. Ryan Smith, Garden County, 24.07; 2. Kelsey Rozelle, Potter-Dix, 24.39; 3. Joe Ferrero, Bayard, 25.21; 4. SkyLee Miller, Bayard, 26.01; 5. Julius Dickmander, South Platte, 26.25; 6. Kalen Krantz, Bayard, 26.28.

400 Meters

1. Ryan Smith, Garden County, 50.92; 2. Cooper Hicks, Potter-Dix, 52.43; 3. Joe Ferrero, Bayard, 52.67; 4. Bryce Burry, Bayard, 54.93; 5. Teghan Osborne, Leyton, 57.60; 6. Roger Roach, Bayard, 59.65.

800 Meters

1. Cameron Purcell, Potter-Dix, 2:08.07; 2. Jake Johnson, Potter-Dix, 2:08.58; 3. Bryce Burry, Bayard, 2:09.50; 4. Declan Jefferies, Garden County, 2:18.07; 5. James Rushman, Leyton, 2:22.47; 6. Tate Coss, Garden County, 2:29.70.

1,600 Meters

1. Jake Johnson, Potter-Dix, 5:07.03; 2. Declan Jefferies, Garden County, 5:15.58; 3 Jason Nolting-Farrier, South Platte, 5:21.41; 4. Alex Araujo, Bayard, 5:33.28; 5. Kort Dye, Leyton, 5:40.38; 6. Robert Niezwaag, Bayard, 5:44.88.

3,200 Meters

1. Rhett Dye, Leyton, 11:09.09; 2. Jason Nolting-Farrier, South Platte, 11:22.07; 3. Alex Araujo, Bayard, 11:32.70; 4. Tate Coss, Garden County, 11:55.73; 5. Robert Niezwaag, Bayard, 12:32.16; 6. Jacob Frerichs, Leyton, 12:56.82.

110-Meter Hurdles

1. Tyson Dahlgrin, Banner County, 15.53; 2. Bryce Hargens, Bayard, 16.31; 3. Tyler Koke, Minatare, 16.50; 4. Coby Hicks, Potter-Dix, 17.54; 5. Mitch McKibbin, Bayard, 18.98.

300-Meter Hurdles

1. Bryce Hargens, Bayard, 42.39; 2. Cooper Hicks, Potter-Dix, 43.41; 3. Tyson Dahlgrin, Banner County, 44.21; 4. Mitch McKibbin, Bayard, 46.90; 5. Jacob Hoff, Bayard, 47.20; 6. Noah Nelson, Potter-Dix, 49.74.

4x100 Relay

1. Garden County, 46.49; 2. Leyton (Cody McKay, Jared Westman, Zach Hellie, Kordell Maestas), 47.95; 3. Bayard, 48.31; 4. Potter-Dix (Noah Nelson, Ed Barnes, Coby Hicks, Cole Christensen), 50.61; 5. South Platte, 51.80.

4x400 Relay

1. Potter-Dix (Cooper Hicks, Jake Johnson, Samuel Bogert, Cameron Purcell), 3:43.06; 2. Leyton (Teghan Osborne, James Rushman, Kenny Ernest, Cody McKay), 3:53.52; 3. Bayard, 3:54.35; 4.Banner County, 4:08.52; 5. Garden County, 4:26.36.

4x800 Relay

1. Potter-Dix (Jake Johnson, Samuel Bogert, Cameron Purcell, Cooper Hicks), 8:51.03; 2. Bayard, 9:29.41; 3. Garden County, 10:00.69; 4. Leyton (James Rushman, Kort Dye, Triston Hume-Gartner, Aaron Schrotberger), 10:24.91.

Shot Put

1. Jacob Ernest, Leyton, 47-5; 2. Tristan Hunter, Bayard, 40-10; 3. William Payton, Creek Valley, 39-11; 4. Felipe Palomo, Bayard, 38-11; 5. Bryce Olsen, Banner County, 38-9; 6. Dustin Bleidt, Garden County, 38-1.

Discus

1. Dustin Bleidt, Garden County, 138-0; 2. Jacob Ernest, Leyton, 134-4; 3. Tristan Hunter, Bayard, 125-5; 4. Zach Hellie, Leyton, 115-4; 5. Elliot Epp, Garden County, 111-2; 6. Dale Kahl, South Platte, 108-7 .

High Jump

1. Kelsey Rozelle, Potter-Dix, 6-1; 2. Tyler Koke, Minatare, 5-10; 3. Kadan Huber, Banner County, 5-6; 4. Cole Christensen, Potter-Dix, 5-6; 5. Kenny Ernest, Leyton, 5-4; 6. Drew Brenner, Leyton, 5-4; 6. Mathew McCarthy, Garden County, 5-4.

Pole Vault

1. Coby Hicks, Potter-Dix, 12-6; 2. Julius Dickmander, South Platte, 11-6; 3. Samuel Bogert, Potter-Dix, 10-6; 4. Noah Nelson, Potter-Dix, 8-6; 4. Mark Schwartz, Garden County, 8-6; 6. Brady Tophoj, Garden County, 8-6.

Long Jump

1. Kelsey Rozelle, Potter-Dix, 21-2.5; 2. Rowan Ford, South Platte, 19-7; 3. Jacob Hoff, Bayard, 19-1.25; 4. Bryce Hargens, Bayard, 18-11.5; 5. Cameron Purcell, Potter-Dix, 18-8.5; 6. Mathew McCarthy, Garden County, 18-1.75.

Triple Jump

1. Jacob Hoff, Bayard, 41-1; 2. Tyler Koke, Minatare, 40-5.75; 3. Dustin Bleidt, Garden County, 39-0; 4. Mathew McCarthy, Garden County, 38-2.5; 5. SkyLee Miller, Bayard, 38-2; 6. Kenny Ernest, Leyton, 36-1.5.

GIRLS – Team Scores

1. Bayard, 118; 2. Potter-Dix, 110; 3. Leyton, 104; 4. Creek Valley, 62; 5. South Platte, 55; 6. Banner County, 32; 7. Garden County, 24; 8. Minatare, 10.

100 Meters

1. Jessi Smith, Bayard, 13.25; 2. Jessica Houk, Leyton, 14.13; 3. Payje Misegadis, Creek Valley, 14.20; 4. Autumn Smith, Garden County, 14.78; 5. Liz Brown, Bayard, 15.00; 6. Chandra Smith, Creek Valley, 15.30.

200 Meters

1. Jessica Houk, Leyton, 28.55; 2. Cheyenne Nickel, Leyton, 29.23; 3. Savannah Shaw, Potter-Dix, 29.39; 4. Liz Brown, Bayard, 30.06; 5. McKenzie Hixon, South Platte, 30.18; 6. Trinity Langley, Potter-Dix, 30.20.

400 Meters

1. Jessi Smith, Bayard, 59.11; 2. Hope Shepard, Potter-Dix, 1:04.59; 3. Cheyenne Nickel, Leyton, 1:06.90; 4. McKenzie Hixon, South Platte, 1:07.09; 5. Shelby Richards, South Platte, 1:09.43; 6. Presley Christensen, Potter-Dix, 1:14.22.

800 Meters

1. Kaitlyn Berner, Leyton, 2:33.53; 2. Regyn Hicks, Potter-Dix, 2:43.49; 3. Autumn Smith, Garden County, 2:55.59; 4. Courtney Knisley, Banner County, 2:58.56; 5. Sierra Flores, Banner County, 3:00.78; 6. Catherine Applegate, Bayard, 3:03.09.

1,600 Meters

1. Maddie Schlosser-Ross, Minatare, 6:27.09; 2. Nicole Barker, Bayard, 6:28.50; 3. Shelby Richards, South Platte, 6:34.85; 4. Sami Schmid, Creek Valley, 6:42.53; 5. Audrey Dickmander, South Platte, 6:56.15; 6. Ashley Heelan, Garden County, 7:46.19.

3,200 Meters

1. Nicole Barker, Bayard, 13:58.12; 2. Ryley Hicks, Potter-Dix, 14:53.38; 3. Courtney Knisley, Banner County, 15:17.90; 4. Alexis Mentzer, South Platte, 16:46.71; 5. Bethany Spencer, South Platte, 19:03.09.

100-Meter Hurdles

1. Chellani Parriott, Bayard, 16.66; 2. Shaela Jenkins, Leyton, 17.40; 3. Payge Hoffman, Potter-Dix, 17.78; 4. Taylor Berner, Leyton, 18.28; 5. Abbe Draper, Leyton, 18.44; 6. Audrey Dickmander, South Platte, 20.22.

300-Meter Hurdles

1. Jessi Smith, Bayard, 48.08; 2. Abbe Draper, Leyton, 53.89; 3. Payge Hoffman, Potter-Dix, 54.86; 4. Payton Franklin, Potter-Dix, 55.21; 5. Zoe Buntain, South Platte, 59.13; 6. Haley Schmall, Bayard, 1:04.85.

4x100 Relay

1. Bayard, 52.19; 2. Leyton (Abbe Draper, Taylor Berner, Shaela Jenkins, Jessica Houk), 55.01; 3. Creek Valley (Jessie Straber, Allie Blackwelder, Chandra Smith, Payje Misegadis), 55.27.

4x400 Relay

1. Leyton (Kaitlyn Berner, Dani McKay, Jessica Houk, Cheyenne Nickel), 4:38.13; 2. Potter-Dix (Hope Shepard, Payge Hoffman, Presley Christensen, Regyn Hicks), 4:42.63; 3. South Platte, 4:58.77; 4. Bayard, 4:58.99; 5. Banner County, 5:32.10.

4x800 Relay

1. Potter-Dix (Regyn Hicks, Presley Christensen, Ryley Hicks, Trinity Langley), 11:37.22; 2. Bayard, 11:55.59; 3. Banner County, 12:20.18; 4. South Platte, 14:56.00.

Shot Put

1. Alexus Rozelle, Potter-Dix, 36-8.5; 2. MaKenna Dahlgrin, Banner County, 33-1.5; 3. Cortney Lewis, Potter-Dix, 32-7.75; 4. Lauren Petersen, Bayard, 32-0.5; 5. Jaicee White, Bayard, 31-7; 6. Courtney Leach, Garden County, 31-0.

Discus

1. Alexus Rozelle, Potter-Dix, 114-11; 2. Courtney Leach, Garden County, 99-4; 3. Jessie Straber, Creek Valley, 98-3; 4. MaKenna Dahlgrin, Banner County, 97-1; 5. Lauren Petersen, Bayard, 94-3; 6. Hannah Schievelbein, Creek Valley, 90-10.

High Jump

1. Jessie Straber, Creek Valley, 5-0; 2. Miah Vera, Bayard, 4-10; 3. Anna McLaughlin, Potter-Dix, 4-8; 4. Stefanie Mitchell, Creek Valley, 4-8; 5. Abbe Draper, Leyton, 4-6; 6. McKenzie Hixon, South Platte, 4-4.

Pole Vault

1. Tiffany Hill, South Platte, 9-0; 2. Payton Franklin, Potter-Dix, 8-6; 2. Payje Misegadis, Creek Valley, 8-6; 4. Ryley Hicks, Potter-Dix, 8-6; 5. Ashlee Huestis, South Platte, 8-6; 6. Sami Schmid, Creek Valley, 7-6.

Long Jump

1. Kaitlyn Berner, Leyton, 16-3.5; 2. Miah Vera, Bayard, 16-1.75; 3. Stefanie Mitchell, Creek Valley, 14-8.5; 4. Autumn Smith, Garden County, 14-7.25; 5. Avery Kildow, Bayard, 14-4.5; 6. Tiffany Hill, South Platte, 13-9 .

Triple Jump

1. Kaitlyn Berner, Leyton, 34-6.25; 2. Jessie Straber, Creek Valley, 32-5; 3. McKenzie Hixon, South Platte, 31-11.25; 4. Avery Kildow, Bayard, 30-7; 5. Payje Misegadis, Creek Valley, 30-3.5; 6. Trinity Langley, Potter-Dix, 30-2.5.