The Gothenburg track teams were in action on April 8 at the Broken Bow Invitational, and despite being down a number of competitors due to State FFA and battling some potentially intense weather conditions, performed well against a tough field of athletes.
“I thought the weather ended up being much nicer than anticipated,” co-head coach Bryson Mahlberg said. “Our athletes did a great job competing and getting some personal bests, as well.”
The Lady Swedes had four personal bests notched on the day, as well as a handful of season records that keep the girls pacing with better marks each week.
Sophomore thrower Madison Smith has provided consistency in a number of events this season, most notably in the discus.
On April 8 at Broken Bow, she launched the disc 129 feet, 8 inches to win yet another gold and set a new season record for herself.
“Madison has really worked hard at being a consistent thrower and that has shown as she has not lost a discus competition this year,” Mahlberg said.
Smith also placed third in the high jump with a leap of 4 feet, 7 inches for a new personal best. The event is one she has worked to continue to improve and this year is making her presence known at the mat.
“She ended last year with a lot of confidence (in the high jump). And it was an event we thought she could really find some success in,” Mahlberg said. “We look forward to seeing her improve throughout the year.”
The Swede boys have found their stride in the mid-to-long distance events with some steady support in the field events.
“Our boys mid-long distance crew have been able to consistently score in all of our meets this year and we look for that to continue as the year progresses,” Mahlberg said. “Coach Neels does a good job with those guys and they continue to work hard in practice and push each other and that should bring good things for that group later this season.”
The 4 x 800 meter relay team of Isaiah Urman, Nathan Sager, Yahriel Gaeta and Parker Graves raced to second place in the event with a time of 8:57.50.
Ethan Olsen took the silver in the 3200 and bronze in the 1600 meters and Gaeta took second in the 800 meters.
Zach Harbur pulled through in fifth place in the 400 meters amongst a tough field and Trey Stevens took fourth in the 110 meter high hurdles and sixth in the high jump, setting new personal records in both events.
The Swedes will play host to the 10-team Dutch Zorn Invitational on April 14 at Gothenburg High School.
The Zorn meet has been one that many teams have circled on their calendar each season as it is used as a benchmark for upcoming big meets as the season gets closer to conference and districts.
For the Swedes, it is the first of two opportunities to defend their home track.
“We always love being able to compete at our home track, especially with such a great group of competitive teams,” he said. “We also get to host the conference meet this year so it will be nice to get on our track early and then see that again towards the end of the season.”
Beyond the excitement of being at home in competition, Mahlberg continued to say that this is an excellent opportunity for the Swedes to set some baselines and gain the confidence they need for the April 30 SWC meet at GHS.
“I think it will allow the athletes to get a very good gauge at where they stand in the conference and what they can do in the next three weeks to hopefully see that improve,” Mahlberg said.
The April 14 Dutch Zorn Invitational at Gothenburg High School will begin at 2 p.m. with the pole vault.
Field events will begin at 2:30 p.m. and the first starters’ pistol will sound at 3:30 p.m.
Broken Bow Invitational
April 8, 2022
Individual Lady Swede Results
100 Meters Varsity – Prelims
16. Clara Evert 14.15
400 Meters Varsity – Finals
17. Hayden Ricley 1:14.91
800 Meters Varsity – Finals
12. Hayden Ricley 2:57.45
300m Hurdles – 30″ Varsity – Finals
11. Logan Hilbers 55.94
4×100 Relay Varsity – Finals
8. Gothenburg 56.31
Taryn O’Hare, Kaileigh Gilligan,
Clara Evert, Ava Weyers
4×400 Relay Varsity – Finals
7. Gothenburg 4:42.65
Clara Evert, Taryn O’Hare,
Ellarey Harm, Logan Hilbers
Shot Put – 4kg Varsity – Finals
18. Carly Jensen 29′ 4.5
24. Taryn O’Hare 27′ 9.5
26. Addisyn Streeter 26′ 7
Discus – 1kg Varsity – Finals
1. Madison Smith 129′ 8
5. Ellarey Harm 101′ 0
11. Carly Jensen 94′ 6
High Jump Varsity – Finals
3. Madison Smith 4′ 11
8. Kaileigh Gilligan 4′ 7
Triple Jump Varsity – Finals
16. Clara Evert 28′ 6.5
Individual Swede Results
100 Meters Varsity – Prelims
15. Sean Graff 12.06
24. Sean Meints 12.42
200 Meters Varsity – Prelims
15. Sean Graff 25.07
20. Caden Neels 25.37
400 Meters Varsity – Finals
5. Zach Harbur 54.41
13. Kurt Kuhlman 57.13
800 Meters Varsity – Finals
2. Yahriel Gaeta 2:09.87
12. Isaiah Urman 2:15.72
1600 Meters Varsity – Finals
3. Ethan Olsen 4:55.06
4. Parker Graves 4:56.37
3200 Meters Varsity – Finals
2. Ethan Olsen 10:32.16
12. Abel Flores 11:46.01
110m Hurdles – 39″ Varsity – Finals
4. Trey Stevens 16.56
110m Hurdles – 39″ Varsity – Prelims
7. Trey Stevens 17.26
300m Hurdles – 36″ Varsity – Finals
11. Sean Meints 48.27
4×100 Relay Varsity – Finals
5. Gothenburg 46.89
Sean Graff, Alaric Jesseph,
Caden Neels, Zach Harbur
4×400 Relay Varsity – Finals
9. Gothenburg 3:58.58
Alaric Jesseph, Caden Neels,
Yahriel Gaeta, Bronson Long
4×800 Relay Varsity – Finals
2. Gothenburg 8:57.50
Isaiah Urman, Nathan Sager,
Yahriel Gaeta, Parker Graves
Shot Put – 12lb Varsity – Finals
28. Caleb Thomalla 34′ 6
29. Tucker Keith 34′ 4 31. Aiden McKenna 31′ 11.5
Discus – 1.6kg Varsity – Finals
21. Tucker Keith 107′ 9 27. Aiden McKenna 95′ 1
33. Caleb Thomalla 80′ 6
High Jump Varsity – Finals
6. Trey Stevens 5′ 9
12. Kooper Koehn 5′ 3 Long Jump Varsity – Finals
13. Alaric Jesseph 18′ 9.75 24. Bronson Long 17′ 5.75 28. Kooper Koehn 16′ 5
Triple Jump Varsity – Finals
9. Zach Harbur 38′ 11.25
TEAM SCORES
1. McCook 124
2. Aurora 83
2. Broken Bow 83
4. Scottsbluff 70
5. Gothenburg 43
6. Ord 40
7. O’Neill 33
8. Cozad 21
9. Holdrege 14
10. Alliance 10
11. Kearney Catholic 6
