Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

Dahlgrin, Knisley lead Banner in season opening meet

The Banner County track team kicked off the 2015 Saturday with some strong performances at the Kimball Invite.

"Saturday's meet went well," Banner coach Kari Gifford said. "It was good to see our seniors start out with some good performances. The newcomers performed at about where we thought they might for the first meet of the season.

"Regardless of how they performed, we have a mark to improve on, so that will be our goal for this week - improvement on last week's performances."

Leading the way for the Wildcats was senior Tyson Dahlgrin. He won the 300 meter hurdles in 43.70 seconds, and took second place in the 110 meter hurdles in 15.87 seconds.

Senior Kadan Huber had a nice day in the field events, and led the way with a second place finish in the high jump in 5-10. He was just two inches behind Kelsey Rozelle of Potter-Dix, who won the event. Huber also finished sixth in the long jump in 17-11. In the sprints, he also finished fifth in the 200 meter dash.

Freshman Brandon Blickensderfer led the way in distance events with a fourth place finish in the 3200 meter run. He finished the long event in 12:36.51.

The Wildcat relay team of Dahlgrin, Blickensderfer, Garrett Grubbs and Tallion McGowan finished sixth in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 4:28.31

For the Banner County girls, freshman Courtney Knisley led the way in a couple of distance events. She finished second in the 3200 meter run in 14:54.23, and also took fourth place in the 1600 meter run in 6:44.16.

Junior Abby Russell led the team in the throws. She took fourth in the discus in 94-04 feet, and finished eighth in the shot put in 30-01.75 feet.

The Lady Wildcat 4x100 meter relay team also had a nice showing and took fifth place. The squad of Russell, Sierra Flores, Emily Singleton and Erika Geary finished the event in 1:04.95.

Banner County is next on the track Thursday at Bayard.

Boys team standings

1. Mitchell 137.33

2. Kimball 85.33

3. Pine Bluffs 74

4. Potter-Dix 69.33

5. Hemingford 60

6. Banner County 34

7. Minatare 33

Boys results

200 meter dash

5. Kadan Huber 27.34

400 meter dash

12. Tallion McGowan 1:10.70

3200 meter run

4. B. Blickensderfer 12:36.51

110 meter hurdles

2. Tyson Dahlgrin 15.87

300 meter hurdles

1. Tyson Dahlgrin 43.70

4x400 meter relay

6. Banner County 4:28.31

(Tyson Dahlgrin, Brandon Blickensderfer, Garrett Grubbs, Tallion McGowan)

Shot put

7. Bryce Olsen 38-04.75

Discus

14. Bryce Olsen 86-10

15. Kadan Huber 79-09

High jump

2. Kadan Huber 5-10

Long jump

6. Kadan Huber 17-11

Girls team standings

1. Mitchell 153

2. Potter-Dix 121

3. Pine Bluffs 77

4. Kimball 68

5. Hemingford 60

6. Banner County 18

7. Minatare 8

Girls results

400 meter dash

7. Sierra Flores 1:20.13

9. Erika Geary 1:25.69

1600 meter run

4. Courtney Knisley 6:44.16

3200 meter run

2. Courtney Knisley 14:54.23

4x100 meter relay

5. Banner County 1:04.95

(Abby Russell, Sierra Flores, Emily Singleton, Erika Geary)

Discus

4. Abby Russell 94-04

13. Emily Singleton 74-01

17. Erika Geary 60-08

Shot put

8. Abby Russell 30-01.75

Long jump

15. Arielle Whelchel 10-06.5

17. Sierra Flores 9-04