MADISON REIBER
reibermj@lopers.unk.edu
UNK track and field hosted the Charlie Foster Classic winning 13 events. The women were second with 81.50 points and the Loper men won with a score of 116 points.
UNK didn’t have many of their athletes participate because it was a smaller meet, but of the ones that did, there were many excellent performances displayed.
“We had a solid meet across the board at the Charlie Foster Classic,” head coach Brady Bonsell said. “Although we didn’t compete with our full team, those who did compete took a step forward. Every week we want to continue the process of building towards the MIAA Championships, and we certainly did that on Friday.”
Among the athletes that placed was pole vaulter Lindsey Larabee (Aztec, NM) who won the meet with a personal best of 15 ft 7.75 inches. This allowed him to move into tenth on the UNK all-time top 10 list.
Kyler Banks (Hershey) was runner up to Larabee with a 15 ft. 3.75-inch mark. On the women’s side, Baylie Bryant (Holdredge) was second clearing 11 ft. 9.25 inches.
UNK senior shot putter Tanner Barth (Utica) placed first with a heave of 56 ft 0.50 inches improving his Division II ranking.
“Friday overall was a successful meet, we had a lot of great performances and we continue to get better as a team each week,” said Barth.
High jumper Montrez Jackson (Trenton, FL) who was initially on the national list, placed second with a jump of 6 ft 6.75 inches.
Other male winners were junior Nate Pierce (Lincoln) in the 3,000 meters clocking in with a time of 9:02.81. Trever Matousek (Holdrege) came through in a time of 2:00.18 in the 800-meter run to take gold.
The women picked up four titles with Destiny Reinke (Imperial) winning the 800 with a time of 2:22.73. Adding another gold was Gothenburg freshman Hannah Anderson who ran a 1:31.54 in the 600.
In the shortest event on the track, sprinter Cassidy Mcintire (Chelsea, OK) placed third in a time of 7.88. She was less than a tenth of a second behind Daisy Maessner and Julah Wilson of Hastings who ended up finishing first and second respectively.
“I felt like the meet went smoothly,” Mcintire said. “I think I had a great overall performance, but I didn’t perform as well as I wanted. It’s a smaller meet, but that just helps the athletes gain confidence.”
Overall Mcintire has been pleased with her start to the season.
“This is a strong start to the season because I have only run two 60’s this year,” Mcintire said. “I know I will get closer to my PR. This is only the beginning.”
