Lady Indians finish tied for second place

OMAHA - Pawnee City's Lady Indians added another piece of hardware to the school's trophy case Saturday, finishing in a tie for the Class D girls team runner-up honors at the Nebraska State High School Track and Field Championships.

The Lady Indians finished tied for second with Ansley with 30 points.

Humphrey St. Francis won the Class D girls team title with 52 points.

“When we first started, we figured we'd be in third place,” Pawnee City coach Alan Strong said. “But as the meet went along, the points got spread out a little bit and it opened up and gave us hope.

“We were pretty excited about getting that opportunity.”

Pawnee City was the defending state Class D girls champions, but lost several seniors off last year's title team.

“We knew we didn't have as much coming in as we did last year,” Strong said.

This year's Lady Indians' drive for another state trophy was powered by senior Sam Musil, who was a double gold medal winner in Class D.

Musil won the girls discus championship Friday, her third in three years, and followed that up with a repeat title in the girls shot put Saturday.

Musil's winning put was 44-11.

“Sam has done a lot for our track program for the last four years,” Strong said. “She's been a tremendous role model for all the kids in our school.”

Strong said Musil is very unselfish and does whatever the team needs her to do to win.

Alicia Marteney earned points for the Lady Indians in the 1600-meter run, finishing fourth in 5:27.85.

Marteney also competed in the 800-meter run Saturday, but did not place with a time of 2:28.03.

“There was a lot of competition in those distance races this year,” Strong said.

Strong said Marteney ran her best time of the season in the 1600 to get fourth place.

Musil and Marteney, along with teammates Heather Blecha and Dani Burgess, also competed in the 1600-meter relay, but the team did not place with a time of 4:17.56.

In boys action, Pawnee City also scored points on the track and in the field.

The Indians' Ben Rogers followed his state-medal performance in Friday's 3200-meter run with a third-place finish in Saturday's 1600. He finished in a time of 4:39.67.

Pawnee City's boys 400-meter relay team of Derek Burgess, Tyler Spitser, Michael Musil and Taylor Baumert finished fourth overall the event in 45.12.

Pawnee City's Tyler Derby finished second in the long jump with a leap of 20-9 1/4.

Sterling's Tessa Thiel picked up her second state medal Saturday, finishing second to Pawnee City's Musil in the shot put with a put of 39-2 3/4.

The Jets' Brandon Nieveen also earned a state medal, finishing sixth in the boys 1600-meter run in 4:43.42.

Adams Freeman picked up a fourth-place finish in the girls 400-meter relay in 52.03. Team members included Jasmine Hagemeier, Megan Milke, Kelsey Schuster and Katie Schoen.

Lewiston's Ryan Thomas earned a pair of state medals a the Tigers only state meet participant.

Thomas finished fifth in the 400-meter dash in 51.98 and was sixth in the 200-meter dash in 23.61.

Daykin Meridian's Amanda Hansel picked up two six-place finishes Saturday.

Hansel was sixth in the 300-meter hurdles in 47.68 and sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 34-4 1/2.

Sunland area Class D athletes competing in Saturday's state finals, but not placing, were:

Freeman's Denae Wolken, who finished the 800-meter run in 2:24.68. Wolken also qualified for state in the 1600-meter run but did not run the race.

Pawnee City's Spitser, who finished the 400-meter dash in 53.41.

Sterling's K.T. Salberg, who had a best effort of 4-10 in the high jump.

Pawnee City's Alex Wood, who had a best effort of 11-6 in the pole vault.

Nebraska State High School Track and Field Championships

Class D

Final Boys Team Standings

Axtell 52, Falls City Sacred Heart 52, Elwood 46, Loomis 33, Clay Center 26, Pawnee City 25.75, Stuart 22, Scribner-Snyder 21, Bloomfield 20, Minatare 18, Humphrey St. Francis 15, Overton 14, Leigh 13, Newcastle 13, Chambers 12, McCool Junction 12, Alma 10, Rock County 10, Allen 9, Eustis-Farnam 8, Hampton 8, Maywood 8, Cambridge 8, Crawford 6, Kenesaw 6, Nebraska Lutheran 6, Sandhills 6, Sargent 6, Orchard 5, Sterling 5, Johnson-Brock 4, Bruning-Davenport 4, Lewiston 3, Amherst 2.750, Bertrand 2, McPherson County 2, Ansley 2, Arnold 2, Stapleton 2, Litchfield 1, Dundy County 1, Callaway 1, Sioux County 1, Sumner-Eddyville-Miller 1, Winside 1, Bancroft-Rosalie 0.75, Clearwater 0.75.

Final Girls Team Standings

Humphrey St. Francis 52, Ansley 30, Pawnee City 30, Arnold 28, Winside 25, Bertrand 24, Newcastle 24, Silver Lake 22, St. Mary's 20, Thedford 20, Medicine Valley 19, Eustis-Farnam 16, Allen 16, Wauneta-Palisade 16, Cambridge 14, Bancroft-Rosalie 14, McCool Junction 12, Amherst 12, Sterling 12, Falls City Sacred Heart 11, Mullen 11, Scribner-Snyder 10, Alma 10, Dodge 9, Osceola 8, Clearwater 7, Giltner 6, Leigh 6, Palmer 6, Potter-Dix 6, Freeman 4, Harvard 4, Lawrence-Nelson 4, Hitchcock County 2, Loomis 2, McPherson County 2, Bruning-Davenport 2, Meridian 2, Nebraska Lutheran 2, Pope John 2, Lynch 1, Pleasanton 1, Rock County 1, Sandhills 1, Stuart 1.