The It was a gold-medal, record setting type of weekend - the sun was shining, the haze had left the sky, the winds were (mostly) calm, and the South Loup track teams were ready to compete. At the end of the weekend, they had claimed three medals and broke six co-op records.

“It was surreal, honestly,” said senior discus thrower Abby Stallbaumer, on winning the NSAA Class C gold medal in the discus. Her throw of 141’ 10” was also a new personal record and a new South Loup co-op record. She is the first girls gold-medal-winner for South Loup since 2015.

Stallbaumer had a tough season, missing meets for other school activities, struggling to find her form and get the comfortable flow. But after the MNAC conference track meet, Stallbaumer, along with coaches Mike Weverka, Katie Berglund, and Diane Spangler, broke down her footwork - from the moment she stepped into the ring to the moment the discus left her hand and rebuilt it entirely.

“I don’t think Coach believed I could do it,” said Stallbaumer of girls head coach Mike Weverka. “I think he was surprised.” In addition to stepping atop the podium, Stallbaumer also accomplished something else she’s been chasing her high school career beating her biggest competitor, Jessica Stieb of Arcadia-Loup City. Stieb is the only thrower that Stallbaumer has never beaten.

Going into the day, Stallbaumer said she was relaxed and ready to have fun in her last track meet of her career. After seeing Stieb land a 137’ throw, Stallbaumer said to herself, “Oh, I can do this!” And that is exactly what she did - let the jitters go and tossed the discus, this time for fun.

“I went to throw my last one and I knew I had secured the win and it was surreal,” she said. “This was my last throw in the ring and to know I had accomplished something I didn’t know I could do.” South Loup junior Cache Gracey also brought home a medal in the 400-meter run. Gracey, who has been fighting a muscle strain since the Dave Blevins track meet in early May, still set a new personal record and a new co-op record with his performance in the finals. In the prelims, Gracey ran the 400 in 51.07 seconds, placing 4th and qualifying for finals. In finals, he achieved one of his goals of breaking the 50-second mark. He finished 3rd in the finals with a time of 49.734. Gracey didn’t let off the gas and kept up with the 2nd place finisher the entire race, just a fraction of a second behind him - 

0.003 seconds to be exact.

His finish broke his previous co-op record, set earlier this year, by nearly a half-second.

“I can’t say enough for both the girls and the boys for the way they competed both days,” said head coach Lance Chesley. “Class C is so tough and we are a smaller Class C school.”

The other medal winners of the weekend was the 4x400 relay team with their 6th place finish. The team of Silas Cool, Dylan Pandorf, Logan Recoy, and Gracey, finished in 3:30.30, which is also a new season record and a new co-op record. They smashed the previous record, set in 2018, by more than 2 seconds.

Recoy, who ran the 1600 meter (1 mile) and Gracey in the 400, had very little recovery time between their races and the 4x400 relay. Despite this, they still cut 3 seconds off their season-best time.

“Dylan has had a great meet for a freshman,” said Coach Chesley.

Distance runners Recoy in the 1600 and Talli Martin in the 3200, both finished just off the podium in 9th place. Recoy’s time was 4:38.79 and a new personal record for the junior.

Martin cut her personal best in the 3200 by 32 seconds and the co-op record set in 2017 by 21 seconds. She also set a new PR and co-op record in the 1600. Her finish of 5:31.27 was 3 seconds better than her previous PR, which was also the co-op record. She finished in 10th place at state.

Also finishing in 10th place was the boys 4x800 relay. Members Trey Connell, Pandorf, Recoy and Cool, set a new season record with an 8:29.05 finish. Rio Remund finished in 10th in the shot put with a throw of 49’ 07”.

Cool ran the 800 in 2:02.45 and finished in 15th place.

Charli Vickers competed in both the 100 high hurdles and the 300 hurdles. While she didn’t finish on the podium, she did set a new co-op record in the 100 high hurdles with a time of 16.47 and a 16th-place finish. She set the previous record earlier this year. In the 300 hurdles, she finished in 19th place with a time of 50.03.

Sophomore Ivy Tullis ran in the 800 and finished 21st with a time of 2:32.17. This was a new PR for her.

Coach Chesley gives credit for the team’s successes to the “great competitors and great individuals” he has on his team. He also credited this coaching staff, Andy Schwarz, Rick Peterson, Nicole Recoy, Mike Weverka, Katie Berglund, and Diane Spangler. “We are a great combination of coaches that try to do the best we can and we have kids that want to excel.”

The Bobcats have a tremendous amount of talent coming back next year. They are losing eight seniors to graduation - Stallbaumer, Halie Recoy, Martin, Ava Pandorf, Cool, Lance Jones, Johnny Lamphear, and Clay Witthuhn.

NSAA Class C State track results Boys 400-meter prelims - Cache Gracey, 51.07, 4th 400 finals - Gracey, 49.734, 3rd (PR, CR) 800 - Silas Cool, 2:02.84, 15th.

1600 - Logan Recoy, 4:38.79, 9th (PR) 4x400 relay - Cool, Dylan Pandorf, Lance Recoy, Gracey, 3:30.30, 6th (PR, CR) 4x800 relay - Trey Connell, Pandorf, Recoy, Cool, 8:29.05, 10th (PR) Shot put - Rio Remund, 49’07”, 10th