Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Kimball's Brady Kilgore displays his record breaking form in the high jump at the Morrill Early Bird Track and Field invite Saturday. Brady won the event with a new meet record height of 6 feet 3 and 1/4-inch, which was also a new personal record for the Kimball senior and is the second best jump ever by a Kimball High athlete.
Kimball High got the 2019 track season underway at the Morrill Early Bird Invite this past Saturday and despite the cool and soggy conditions, had a good opening meet according to coach Gene Mohr. Kimball was scheduled to host their own Invite on Saturday but had to cancel because of weather conditions causing the decision to take a limited squad to Morrill. "We took about half of our squad and didn't participate in some events because we were not ready to do so," Morh said.
Senior Brady Kilgore stole the spot light for the Longhorns at Morrill with a record breaking performance in the high jump winning the event at 6'3.24", also a personal best for the talented and versatile young athlete. This mark also moved him into the second bet jump ever by a Kimball High jumper as he moved ahead of Quinn Martin who held that spot at 6'3" set in 1996. Jeff Schneider holds the school record at 6'6" set in 1983.
Kilgore was a triple winner on the day as he also won both hurdle events taking the 110 meter highs in 15.64 and winning the 300 meter hurdles in 43.14. Along with his three individual gold medal performances, he also ran a leg on the 4x100 meter relay team that finished fifth in 50.63, teaming up with Christian Allen-Van Pelt, Ethan Ratzlaff, and Zach Wagner. This speedy four some looked like they may have been in position to battle for yet another gold before a miscue on a handoff dropped them back in the pack.
Other outstanding performances by the Kimball boys were Zach Wagner's second place finish in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:19.11 and it is great to have Zach back on the track after missing last season with a broken leg injury. The Kimball boys did well in the distance races with freshman Thomas Muldoon running third in the 1600 meter run with a time of 5:24.87 and team mate Thomas Lenzen in fourth with his time of 5:30.38. The 4x800 relay team of Lenzen, Muldoon, Wagner and Chris Barker ran third with a time of 9:55.58. Corey Travis came through with a good effort in the shotput to take third with a shove of 40'1".
The Kimball boys finished fourth in the team standings of the field of 13 schools scoring 62 points. Coach Mohr felt the Horns could have made a run at winning the meet had they brought all of their athletes and had they entered in all events. "We did not enter any of our horizontal jumpers, or pole vaulters, as they simply hadn't had the chance to practice in these events. We feel we could score well in these events, both boys and girls," Mohr said. Bridgeport won the team championship for boys with 81 points followed by Garden County with 69, Morrill with 69, Pine Bluffs 21, Bayard 21, Gurensey-Sunrise 11, Hay Springs 8, Sioux County 8 and Niobrara County 4.
The Kimball girls were without some of their prospective point getters also but had some good showings on the day, especially by some of the younger girls. The high jump event was a point getter for the girls also with Jenna Greenwood matching her career best with a leap of 4'6" to bring home second place and the silver medal. Coach Larry Pahl said she was so close to clearing 4'8" and was proud of both Jenna and Brady for their meet opening performances. Jenna also teamed with Maddison Marryfield, Raven Johnson, and Chantel Malson to run second in the 4x100 meter relay with their time of 56.13. Merryfield, a freshman ran sixth in the open 100 meter dash with a time of 19.52. Malson, also a freshman, has both speed and endurance as she ran third in the 3200 meter run in 14:04.86. Malson also had a great cross country season putter her name into the record books for Kimball High.
The Kimball girls finished ninth in the team standings with 23 points, but again, were without some of their other expected top point scorers. Sioux County and Morrill tied for top team honors with 71 points each. Bridgeport had 61, Burns 58, Bayard 26, Gurnsey-Sunrise 31, Hemingford 31, Kimball 23, Niobrara County 22, Leyton 15 and Hay Springs 12.
The weather forecast looks like the Longhorns may have a couple of nice days to practice in this week before they head to Bayard this Saturday for the C-D meet that starts at 9 a.m., but this weekend looks like more cold and wet weather for all of our area tracksters. There is always a possible cancellation or postponement too, so be aware and check for sure before you head out Saturday. The Horns are also scheduled to take part in the Creek Valley Track Invite on Monday... April 1st, with a 9 a.m., start.
