The South Loup track team was well represented at the Class C Nebraska High School Track & Field Championships in Omaha on May 23-24, as four boys and five girls qualified for the competition. One of those athletes ended his high school career with his best performance ever.

Ethan Furne competed in the first event of the weekend for the Bobcats in the long jump. “Coming into the competition Ethan was sitting in 5th place, so we were excited for the opportunity to improve and see what could happen!” said Head Coach Andy Schwarz.

During his three jumps in the preliminaries, Ethan was able to hit a jump of 21’ 9.5” which would put him in second place entering the finals. On his second attempt in finals Ethan jumped 22’ 1.5”, good enough to put him into first place entering the final jump of the competition. Another athlete jumped 22’ 6.5” to pass Ethan, but luckily Ethan had one more jump and he hit a big one 22’ 6”!

He came home from Omaha with a PR, a new school record, and a silver medal – just half an inch short of winning the gold.

“We were all so excited to see him excel and show he is one of the best jumpers in the state this year!” Schwarz said.

The team’s second event of the day was the 4x100m relay. “Our goal coming in was to break our own school record and possibly a podium finish,” Schwarz explained. “In the 4x100 relay handoffs are key and unfortunately, we were off a little and did not reach our goal.”

Though the relay time did not achieve what they had hoped they would in Omaha, their time was still good enough to be in South Loup's top 5 ever at 44.89 seconds. Schwarz commented, “Conner Paulsen, Dylan Pandorf, AJ Starr, and Ethan Furne did a great job all year and are current South Loup record holders at 44.27 seconds.”

For the girls’ team, the first event of the weekend was EvaLynn Wonch in the discus. EvaLynn qualified for the state championships on her last throw at the district meet and would add more excitement at the state meet. She competed in the first flight of the discus and would have to wait to see if she qualified for the finals through the next two flights.

Her throw of 112’ 10” inches was good enough to get her into the finals. EvaLynn would not improve on her distance but did finish on the podium, earning the 8th place medal.

Ella Cool competed in the 3200m run. “Her time coming in put her in the back half of the pack, but her positive attitude, competitive drive, and training were on her side,” said Coach Schwarz.

Ella finished in a time of 12.22.60, which was the fastest she had run that distance by 18 seconds. Her PR was good for a 12th place finish.

In the final race of the day, the girls competed in the 4x400m relay. Jade Bierman, Ivy Tullis, Ella Cool, and Erin Fitzgerald are the current South Loup record holders at 4:19.68. The team ran a time of 4:22.14 to finish in 16th place.

“The girls ran a fantastic relay and showed great heart and determination,” Coach Schwarz said.

The state track meet was the final appearance as a South Loup Bobcat for four members of the track team: AJ Starr, Ethan Furne, Ella Cool, and Ivy Tullis. Their leadership and work ethic has set an example for their underclassmen teammates and leaves a legacy for South Loup track and field.