The Nebraska State Track & Field Championships in Omaha on May 19-20, marked the end of their high school career for eight Bobcat athletes. Here is a look back at what those seniors accomplished in the 2023 season.

Silas Cool competed in the 800m this season, where he earned a total of six gold medals and one silver. He finished in 15th place overall at the Class C state championships. His best time was 2:02.57, recorded at the elite Best of the Midwest Invitational on May 2, where he earned one of his first place medals. Cool was also a member of both the state qualifying 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams. The 4x400 finished in 6th place, and the 4x800 in 10th. He was the only senior member of either team.

Jonathan Lamphear competed in shot put, where he finished 16th at the Hershey Invite on April 11. However, by the May 5 Dave Blevens Memorial Invite Lamphear had improved enough to earn a 2nd place medal, with his season best throw of 30’ 9.5”.

Fellow senior thrower Lance Jones competed in both shot put and discus. In shot put, his highlights include winning gold at the Burwell Invite and silver at Overton. He saved his best throw of the season for the state meet, where his toss of 45’ 0.25” earned him the 8th place medal. In discus, Lamphear picked up the gold at Overton, and earned silver medals at the Hi-Line, South Loup and Burwell Invites. He collected a bronze medal at the Blevins Memorial Invite, and finished no lower than 7th place all season heading to state. However, he was not quite able to match his season best throw from early in the season of 141’ 2.25”, and finished in 8th place at districts.

Clay Witthuhn also competed in both discus and shot put. His best finish of the season in shot put was 5th place at the first meet of the year. His best throw of the season was 41’ 7” at the district meet. His season best in the discus was 99’ 6” at the Burwell Invite.

For the girls, Abby Stallbaumer had a stellar season in the discus, bringing home the Class C gold medal with her personal best throw of 141’ 10”. She also won gold in the event at districts, the Dave Blevins Memorial, and Overton. She claimed the silver medal at the South Loup Invite, Hershey Invite and MNAC. Her lowest finish of the season was 4th place. Stallbaumer also competed in the 400, and on the 4x400 relay team which earned the silver medal at districts.

Talli Martin competed in the 1600m and 3200m, qualifying for state in both events. She also recorded her best time in both events at the state meet. On the way to state, Martin earned five 1st place - including gold at districts - and three 2nd place finishes in the 1600m, finishing no lower than 4th. At state she ran a time of 5:31.27, bettering her time by more than 10 seconds, to finish in 10th. She had nearly an identical season in the 3200m, collecting four golds, and four silvers - one of those coming at districts. She finished just off the podium in 9th place at the state meet with her season best time of 11:58.54. Martin also competed on both the 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams, both of which finished 2nd at districts.

Ava Pandorf competed in the 800m and triple jump. Her best finish in the 800m was 7th place at the Blevins Memorial with a time of 2:50.20. In the triple jump, Pandorf finished 4th at the Hershey Invite with her season best leap of 28’ 6”. Pandorf was also a member of the district silver medalist 4x800 relay team.

Halie Recoy is a sprinter, and represented the Bobcats in the 100m and 200m races. She fell just shy of qualifying for state in the 100m, finishing 3rd at districts. Her season best time in that event was 13.01 at Overton, where she finished 3rd. Recoy also had her best finish in the 200m at Overton, clocking a time of 28.12 for the bronze medal. She was also a member of the 4x100 relay team who finished 4th at districts.