A freshman beat state track and cross-country champion Hailey O'Daniel in her last 1,600-meter race.
The Arlington Eagle took the loss to Sandy Creek's Madison Shaw how a proud senior can — in stride.
“Middle-schoolers, right now, they're running crazy times,” she said. “This sport is just going to get faster and faster.”
O'Daniel closed our her prep career with two Class C silver medals Saturday during the the final day of the NSAA State Track and Field Championships at Omaha Burke Stadium. Dallin Franzluebbers, a senior, and sophomore Hayley Arp added a pair of fifth-place results, too, as coach Kyle Buckingham's Eagles combined for 24 team points.
O'Daniel score 16 of them. She first earned second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:17.75 — just 0.67 behind Syracuse's Jayden Meyer — before the 1,600, the race she won in 2024.
While last fall's cross-country champ finished the mile in 5:17.09, Sandy Creek ninth-grader Madison Shaw won the race in 5:16.15.
“I wish I had a little bit more for the end to get that girl,” the AHS senior said. “But I'm proud of myself. Two state medals is an amazing achievement. There's not much more I could ask for. Just blessed.”
O'Daniel put a lot into her last spring on the track as she prepares to jump into the college rodeo world at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“Knowing that this is my last season, I knew I had to just leave everything out there,” she explained. “I'm never going to run a track race again.”
The 1,600 wasn't the Arlington champion's last race, though. The final one was with classmates Whitney Wollberg, Kelise Krivohlavek and freshman Corinne May in the 4x400 relay.
“Saving the last race to be with my girls is probably my favorite thing of this whole meet,” O'Daniel said. “I've ran with Whitney and Kelise my whole life, basically.”
It was those two classmates who convinced her to run cross-country in sixth grade, she explained.
“I wouldn't even be in this sport if it wasn't for them,” the senior added.
O'Daniel didn't realize all of the memories she'd acquire and experiences she'd learn from along the way. It's just too bad her last race with her friends was the 1,600 relay.
“It may not be our favorite race,” the senior said, cracking a smile. “But it's with each other.”
The Arlington squad, which also earned 10th in the 3,200 relay, finished 15th in its finale.
Franzluebbers, Arp claim medals
Franzluebbers, meanwhile, capped his final AHS track season in the rain. The clouds spared him Friday during his 400-meter dash heat, but not during the 200.
“When I looked at the forecast, it was, you know, 10 percent,” he said from under tent cover after the last race of the spring. “It isn't bad, but it's not good.”
Franzluebbers finished 13th across 200 meters, but was fifth across 400 earlier in the day. The senior clocked in at 50.33 seconds during the longer race, earning a spot on the Class C podium one more time after he also found himself up there during the Eagles' state runner-up team finish in 2024.
“I got second in my heat, but, overall, it felt good,” he said. “Time wasn't what I wanted it to be, but still fifth place. I'm happy with that.”
Altogether, Franzluebbers said he enjoyed his track and field experience.
“It's taught me hard work and friendship — how far it can take you,” he explained. “Met some really great guys and great coaches throughout. It's really helped me.”
They, the senior explained, earned their share of his state medal, too.
“Credit goes to friends, family and coaches, really,” Franzluebbers said. “They pushed me every day.”
His teammate, Arp, also earned a fifth-place finish at the state meet. Her medal-winning 38-foot, 2.25-inch attempt came on her second of six throws.
Usually, the Eagle said, she's better toward the final heave, but Saturday's order of events worked, too.
“It was a lot easier to throw again after I knew I already had one good one,” Arp said.
The sophomore has now medaled in back-to-back state meets to start her career. As a freshman, she earned fourth in the discus.
“Discus didn't really work out this year, so I just hoped that I'd make finals (of shot),” Arp said. “And then I made finals.”
As a soon-to-be junior, though, the AHS standout wants more.
“Next year I'm hoping to place in both,” she said.
5 more Eagles compete at state
While they didn't medal in Omaha, Kolby Tighe, Wollberg, Krivohlavek, May and Rylie Kyllo also competed during the NSAA Track and Field Championships.
Krivohlavek was a senior member of the aforementioned relay teams, while Tighe closed out his high school career in the individual 1,600 and 3,200 runs. He took 10th in the 2-mile first, clocking in at 10:02.8, before a 16th-place result in the 1-mile race.
May ran the 1,600 in addition to the relays, claiming 18th in 5:43.78 during her first state meet.
Wollberg was 22nd in the individual 400 to go with her relay races and also claimed 13th in the pole vault, the event she medaled in as a junior. She cleared bars set at 8-6, 9 and 9-6 Friday afternoon.
Kyllo, meanwhile, was 16th in the pole vault during her state debut. The sophomore cleared 8-6 on her first attempt, but couldn't clear 9 feet, finishing ahead of four of her fellow Class C state qualifiers
NSAA STATE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
CLASS C
Top-10 boys teams: Perkins County 61 points, West Holt 57, North Platte St. Patrick's 40, Syracuse 39, Lincoln Lutheran 31, Battle Creek 31, Freeman 31, Albion Boone Central 27, Wahoo Neumann 24, Valentine 21, Stanton 21. Also: 36, Arlington, 4.
Top-10 girls teams: Kearney Catholic 79 points, Syracuse 50, Wahoo Neumann 47, West Holt 45, Battle Creek 29, Ord 27, Niobrara/Verdigre 23, Sandy Creek 23, Lincoln Lutheran 22, Hartington Cedar Catholic 22, Johnson-Brock 22, Southern Valley 22. Also: 14, Arlington, 20.
ARLINGTON RESULTS
Friday Field Event
Girls pole vault: 13, Whitney Wollberg, 9 feet, 6 inches. 16, Rylie Kyllo, 8-6.
Friday Running Events
3,200 relay: 10, AHS (Kelise Krivohlavek, Corinne May, Hailey O’Daniel, Wollberg), 10:10.3.
400 dash: 5, Dallin Franzluebbers, 50.33. 22, Wollberg, 1:02.67.
3200 run: 10, Kolby Tighe, 10:02.8.
200 dash prelims: 13, Franzluebbers, 23.13.
Saturday Field Events
Girls shot put: 5, Hayley Arp, 38-2.25.
Saturday Running Events
800 run: 2, O’Daniel, 2:17.75.
1,600 run: 2, O’Daniel, 5:17.09. 16, Tighe, 4:39.84. 18, May, 5:43.78.
1,600 relay: 15, AHS (Krivohlavek, May, O’Daniel, Wollberg), 4:17.
