CCS boys cap season with historic team win

    The Chase County boys track team medaled in 10 events at this year’s Class C State Track and Field Championships and brought home the school’s first ever boys state championship in the process.
    Junior Easton Fries carried a large load at the meet. Fries qualified for the finals of the 110-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles and the 400-meter dash this year, while also anchoring the 1,600-meter relay.
    Fries finished second in the 110--meter hurdles behind North Platte St. Pat’s sophomore Jaxon Knisley who set a Class C state record in the finals with a time of 14.18.
    Fries also finished second in the 400-meter dash behind Lincoln Lutheran’s Logan Lebo.
    But after a winning run in the 300-meter hurdles, Fries had the last laugh as he held off Lebo to give the Longhorns the win in the 1,600-meter relay.
    Jonathan Sosa and Tristan Jablonski kept CCS in striking distance and Stephen Murray moved the Longhorns into second place. From there Fries took the lead and held off Lebo down the stretch for the win.
    Chase County’s other relays ran well also.
    The 3,200-meter relay placed fourth in the meet’s first running event.
    Head Coach Carl Zuege said Jablonski, Luis Co, Murray and Zach Herbert got the Longhorns going.
    “Everyone who watched their performance on Friday had to be inspired by their effort. They set their PR by seven seconds, and after watching the girls win the 4x800 and then watching our boys and how they competed, there was definitely a confidence and belief that began growing from that moment on,” Zuege said.
    It was the 400-meter relay’s third place finish that made everyone realize a state team title was within reach.
    “Every point that is scored at a state meet is huge, but this was the moment where I sort of stopped and thought, ‘man, I think we’re going to pull this off!’,” Zuege said.
     This relay has been such a rollercoaster all season long, Zuege added.
    The team set the goal of 43.7 at the beginning of the season. The team of Sosa, Tucker Mollendor, Thomas Reeves and Dawson Mollendor stepped up at state, according to Zuege, running 43.77.
    “For these guys to lay down such a clutch performance at the state meet...that was awesome. Also, when I got back to school on Monday I realized that they had also set the school record in the 4x100,” he said.
Wallin wins pole vault
Mason Wallin kept the Longhorns momentum churning Saturday morning with a first place finish in pole vault.
    Wallin was one of two competitors to clear 14 feet, the other being district foe Bryce Hodsden of Mitchell, but Wallin only had three misses to Hodsen’s five.
    “Mason’s focus all season long has been to put himself in the position he was in on Saturday morning, having an opportunity to win a state championship. He made the vaults when he needed to in order to get the job done,” Zuege said.
    “He has really been on a mission all year, and anyone who knows Mason’s story has to be just ecstatic for him and for his family. Coach Anderson has done such an incredible job with Mason and with all of our vaulters since he arrived here, and those guys absolutely love vaulting for him,” he continued.
    Jaret Peterson also pulled in points for the Longhorns that morning thanks to a seventh place finish in the discus.
    Zuege said Peterson is a competitor and knew that he would come back strong on Saturday for the discus after a performance Peterson wasn’t satisfied with in Friday’s shot put.
    “Jaret has a knack for performing his best on the biggest stages, so this was really par for the course for Jaret,” Zuege said.
    Zuege credited Peterson  and Cooper Dillan, a state qualifier in the discus, as being verbal and emotional leaders on this team.
    “So, I was very confident that we would get something out of the discus event. Those two guys bring leadership, enthusiasm, and hard work to every practice and meet,” he added.
    Jensen Olsen picked up points with a fifth place finish in the 110-meter hurdles after barely edging out teammate Kade Anderson to make the finals.
    Zuege said Olsen’s medal was another huge boost for CCS.
    CCS moved up the ranks from third place behind NPSP and Battle Creek throughout the afternoon.
    Following the 400, CCS lead 43 to Battle Creek’s 42 points.
    Fries picked up another 10 points in the 300-meter hurdles, giving the Longhorns a 53 to 46 advantage over St. Pat’s heading into the 200.
    Thomas Reeves failed to qualify for the finals of the 100-meter dash Friday, despite setting a school record, then, in the last event Friday evening, Reeves qualified for the finals of the 200 and made the most of Saturday’s race, finishing sixth. Those points set the table for the 1,600-meter relay to slam the door in Battle Creek and the faces of the Irish.
    Reeves got faster and faster as the year went along, and he is only going to continue to improve over the next two years, Zuege said.
    In addition to spots on two relays, Sosa also ran the open 400 at state.
    “Jonny has been outstanding for us all year starting both our 4x100 and 4x400. He had a bit of a rough open in the 400 on Friday, but he rebounded in a huge way on Saturday in the relays,” Zuege said.
    Kole Clevenger just missed a trip to the long jump finals, being beaten out on two opponents’ final prelim jumps by only one inch.
    “Those last two weeks of the season Kole just began blowing up right in front of our eyes. I can say with confidence that Kole will be a big factor in the Class C long jump for the next two years,” Zuege said.
    T. Mollendor also qualified in the long jump and was Chase County’s only freshman qualifier.
    Zuege said T. Mollendor performed really well this weekend.
    “His leg of the 4x100 was impressive, and having two handoffs to navigate is a lot to ask of a freshman at the state meet, but he handled it like a veteran,” Zuege added.
Saying goodbye to seniors
    Three seniors were active in Omaha.
    Anderson qualified for both hurdle races and the triple jump.
    Zuege said Anderson has been an asset to the program throughout his career.
    “These seniors missed their freshmen year due to Covid, but Kade has been scoring points for us since he arrived as a sophomore. Last year when I asked him to try the triple jump midway through the season, he agreed and excelled at that event, qualifying for two state meets. He has been a good leader for us, and it will be hard to replace his athleticism and versatility,” Zuege said.
    Murray put off shoulder surgery to compete this spring.
    “When he decided to wait until after track to have it done, we were very excited to have him back. Since the day he arrived at Chase County last spring he has been willing to do anything the coaches have asked of him. He was a huge addition to our program and I’m really happy that it paid off for him with a couple of gold medals from the state track meet,” Zuege said.
    D. Mollendor also qualified in the 100-meter dash after missing out last year.
    “For him to come back and run so strong and to qualify in two events and to lead our team to a third place finish in the 4x100, that was very exciting for me, because I know how hard he has worked for us throughout his career,” Zuege said.