Last week's 800-meter run at the Class B District 4 meet in Columbus was a tough one.
Blair junior Nolan Slominski gutted out a 0.33-second win in the race, describing it as “pretty hard.” He earned his desired result, however, and was able to move onto what's next.
“Just looking forward to state,” the Bear said. “A lot.”
The NSAA State Track & Field Championships begin 9 a.m. Wednesday with two days of Class A and B competition at Omaha Burke Stadium. Slominski is one of 36 Washington County athletes who'll take part in B events.
Overall, coach Bryan Soukup's Bears will be represented by 22 qualifiers during the Wednesday and Thursday meet, while nine of coach Steven Gubbels' Arlington Eagles will contend for medals, too. Five of coach Mandy Taylor's Fort Calhoun Pioneers will compete as well.
The AHS girls, however, may be the county's biggest state championship threat.
When the NSAA combined all times and marks from the six Class B district meets last week, the Eagles' efforts amounted to 53.5 team points — a total good enough for third. Elkhorn North, meanwhile, was the lead team with just 6.5 more.
Arlington senior Kailynn Gubbels, a returning state champion, produced three top Class B results during district competition. The Iowa State recruit had the best high jump attempt by 2.5 inches, the finest 100-meter hurdles time (14.83 seconds) and the best 300 hurdles effort (45.2) — nearly 2 seconds quicker than that of Blair's Erika Roehrs, who earned the fifth-best time (47.04) in the state last week.
The Eagles' Keelianne Green, meanwhile, ran the fastest 800-meter district race in Class B or A with a time of 2:18.59. The junior's top challenger during state could be Elkhorn North's Britt Prince, who finished her district 800 in 2:21.75.
Blair senior Makayla Baughman ran against Green for the first time in Columbus, producing the 10th-fastest district 800 of the day.
“I ran, basically, my 400 pace the first lap and I couldn't do that a second time,” she said.
The county athletes will compete in the same 800-meter run heat again 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
In addition to her foot race, Green produced the third-best Class B long jump and seventh-furthest triple jump in district competition.
Arlington, Blair and Fort Calhoun finished with top-10 district results in 11 more events, too. The Bears' 3,200 relay team of Sophia Baedke, Reece Ewoldt, Kaitlynn Amandus and Baughman logged the third-best time of the week. Ewoldt, Amandus and Baughman were members of last year's title-winning, 2-mile relay with teammate Hailey Amandus.
Arlington's school-record-holding 1,600 relay team produced the fourth-best Class B time in Columbus, too. The team is comprised of Hailey O'Daniel — who also had the eighth-fastest 1,600 run — Gubbels, Whitney Wollberg and Green.
Blair sophomore Ethan Baessler notched the sixth-best Class B 100, while Slominski notched the sixth-fastest 800 going into state. Calin O'Grady, Slominski, Ted Lueders and Caleb Funk's 3,200 relay time was seventh-best across all six districts, too.
Arguably Fort Calhoun's top medal contenders in Omaha will be high jumpers Dala Drowne and Bria Bench. Drowne's 5-foot, 1-inch effort tied for the eighth-highest in the district round.
Arlington's Kaden Foust also produced an eighth-place-standing effort when he won the District 4 long jump.
The Eagles' 3,200 relay team — Nolan May, Kevin Flesner, Dallin Franzluebbers and Colby Grefe — are listed ninth by the NSAA going into state competition, while Bears Allie Czapla (3,200 run) and Sam Cemer (pole vault) had the 10th-best district performances in their top events.
Here's the Class B state track schedule with who from Washington County will be competing in each event at Omaha Burke Stadium:
WEDNESDAY
Field Events
9 a.m., girls pole vault: Sam Cemer and Greta Galbraith, Blair.
9:30 a.m., boys triple jump
9:30 a.m., girls discus
11:30 a.m., boys high jump
11:30 a.m., girls long jump: Keelianne Green, Arlington.
11:30 a.m., boys shot put
Running Events
1:30 p.m., 3,200-meter relay: Blair girls (Kaitlynn Amandus, Sophia Baedke, Makayla Baughman, Reece Ewoldt), Blair boys (Caleb Funk, Ted Lueders, Calin O'Grady and Nolan Slominski) and Arlington boys (Kevin Flesner, Dallin Franzluebbers, Colby Grefe and Nolan May).
2:25 p.m., 100 hurdle prelims: Kailynn Gubbels, Arlington.
2:45 p.m., 110 hurdle prelims
3:05 p.m., 100 dash prelims: Ethan Baessler, Blair.
4 p.m., 400 dash prelims: Reece Ewoldt, Blair.
4:40 p.m., 3,200 run: Allie Czapla and Dawson Fricke, Blair; Ely and Lance Olberding, Fort Calhoun.
5:40 p.m., 300 hurdle prelims: Gubbels, Arlington; Erika Roehrs, Blair.
6:30 p.m., 200 dash prelims
THURSDAY
Field Events
9:30 a.m., girls high jump: Gubbels, Arlington; Dala Drowne and Bria Bench, Fort Calhoun.
9:30 a.m., boys long jump: Kaden Foust, Arlington.
9:30 a.m., girls shot put
TBD, boys pole vault (after the completion of Class A)
11:30 a.m., girls triple jump: Green, Arlington. Kaylee Taylor, Fort Calhoun.
11:30 a.m., boys discus
1:30 p.m., Unified long jump
Running Events (Finals participants are TBD)
1:30 p.m., 800 run: Green, Arlington. Baughman, Hailey Amandus and Slominski, Blair.
2:10 p.m., 400 relay: Blair girls (Galbraith, Audie Keeling, Brynn Lundgren and Roehrs) and Blair boys (Gaven Hammond, Ben Holcomb, Zac Keeling and Zach Lindau).
3:05 p.m., 100 hurdle finals
3:15 p.m., 110 hurdle finals
3:25 p.m., 100 dash finals
3:50 p.m., 400 dash finals
4:15 p.m., 1,600 run: Hailey O'Daniel and Grefe, Arlington. O'Grady, Blair.
4:50 p.m., 300 hurdle finals
5:10 p.m., 200 dash finals
5:45 p.m., 1,600 relay: Arlington girls (Green, Gubbels, O'Daniel and Whitney Wollberg) and Blair girls (Baughman, Ewoldt, Reohrs and Schuyler Roewert).
