Boys’ 400 meter relay leads way for CCS in Omaha

Though five seniors were part of the Chase County boys’ track contingent in Omaha, four underclassmen got an introduction to the state track meet.
The 400 meter relay team featured a mix of veterans and younger runners. Runners were senior Brandon Mintling, junior Ryan Bernhardt, senior Chase Rowley and sophomore Dawson Mollendor.  
It was an interesting race Saturday. The girls’ relays were run in the rain and mist, but the precipitation backed off for the boys’ heats.
CCS joined Norfolk Catholic and Wakefield in the first, and supposedly, slower heat.
After the smoke cleared, Norfolk Catholic placed first, followed by Wakefield, then Grand Island Central Catholic and Aquinas Catholic.
CCS placed fifth.
CCS Head Coach Carl Zuege was extremely happy with the relay’s performance.
The team took nearly a half second off their PR, which is a lot in that race, Zuege said. The relay ran 44.38 at state after qualifying at districts with a time of 45.08.
“I could see our handoffs getting better with more reps this past week, and I would say we ran our cleanest race of the year in terms of handoffs and not letting the baton slow down during exchanges,” Zuege said, adding he was really excited for Rowley and Mintling to be able to go out with a state medal.
The coach is also happy Bernhardt and Mollendor will be back as the foundation to build what coaches hope to be another very competitive 400 meter relay team next year.
Young hurdlers Kade Anderson and Easton Fries were on the track Friday.
Zuege thought Anderson ran a good race in the 110 hurdles. After a PR at districts, his time of 16.75 was right near the top of his performances this year.
Fighting a head wind Friday afternoon, Zuege said Fries did a nice job staying strong to break 44 seconds again in the 300 hurdles.
Between the hurdle races was Dawson Mollendor’s 100 meter dash prelim and Cedric Maxwell’s prelim run in the 400 meter dash.
While it wasn’t a perfect start to the race for Mollendor, Zuege said the sprinter held his own and even gained ground on most of the field.
Zuege was satisfied with Mollendor’s time of 11.53.
Running in lane seven was a tough lane assignment for Maxwell, Zuege said, after the senior ran in the middle of the track throughout the season.
“He handled it well,” Zuege said, adding that his time and effort were very good despite a head wind for a chunk of the race.
Saturday started off with pole vaulters Brit Gockley and Carter Leibbrandt in action.
Leibbrandt finished 11th after a personal best vault of 13’0”.
Gockley, a senior, vaulted 12’0” and finished 15th.
“Brit just hit one of those spots where he was easily over the bar at 12’6”, but just nicked it each time at that height,” Zuege said. He pointed out that although Gockley was disappointed, he vaulted really well all year and joined Chase County’s all-time top 10 list in pole vault.
Leibbrant, a sophomore, fought off a leg injury and had an excellent day, Zuege said.
“For him to get to state and then set a PR there is a huge boost going into next year,” Zuege added.
Senior Clay Meeske ran in the day’s first race, the 800 meter dash.
“He ran his first lap a little faster than he had all season, which he knew was necessary in order to give himself a chance in the race. And, while he wasn’t able to make up the ground on the leaders, I thought he gave a great effort and he certainly had an excellent season overall,” Zuege said.
With four underclassmen in Omaha, Zuege emphasized it was important for them see the environment and atmosphere.
“I think that after a year off, getting this experience at the state meet will be huge for our progress going forward next year,” the coach said.
With a lot of freshmen and sophomores on the track in 2021, Zuege said the team will be even younger next year, making this state experience a huge positive for the Longhorns.
Volunteers vital
Zuege said the team’s success this season couldn’t have been realized without the contributions of volunteer assistants.
With Dan Lenners in the throws and Troy Hauxwell in the high jump as the team’s  only paid assistants, Zuege said his workload was huge, and he certainly needed help.
“Some awesome people were able to step in and give us the help we needed,” Zuege said.
Travis Luhrs helped Zuege get athletes organized and get practices running smoothly, plus Luhrs worked with all of the high school and junior high jumpers.
Matt Jablonski was joined by Kale Gockley to coach the high school and junior high pole vaulters.
“Matt is as good a vault coach as there is around this area, so we are very fortunate to have him, along with Kale who was a very good vaulter for us in high school and is now passing his knowledge down to our current athletes,” Zuege said.
Josh Fries stepped in when Al Zuege was sidelined with health issues and worked with the hurdlers.
“Josh went above and beyond for our hurdlers this season. He worked with both boys and girls from junior high all the way through high school,” Zuege said, with help and guidance from A. Zuege.
“All of these people have other jobs and are very busy throughout their days, but they are willing to come in and spend time with our athletes,” Zuege said.
“They are instrumental to the success of our program and we couldn’t do any of this without them. Lots of teams have volunteers, but I would venture that very few of them have a group of volunteers that bring the knowledge, enthusiasm and experience that ours do. We are very fortunate to have all of them,” Zuege added.
Results:
100 Meters—1. Connor Bradley, Southern, 10.73; Dawson Mollendor, CCS, 11.53.
400 Meters—1. Bradley, Southern, 49.67; Cedric Maxwell, CCS, 53.67.
800 Meters— 1. Holden Ruse, Freeman, 1:55.76; Clay Meeske, CCS, 2:07.47.
110m Hurdles - 39”—1. Deagan Puppe, LCC, 15.18; Kade Anderson, CCS, 16.75.
300m Hurdles - 36”—1. Jack Pille, Oakland Craig, 39.75; Easton Fries, CCS, 44.26.
4x100 Relay—1. Norfolk Catholic, 44.16; 5. CCS, 44.38.
Pole Vault— Eli Wooden, Centura 14-00.00; Carter Leibbrandt, CCS, 13-00.00; Brit Gockley, CCS, 12-00.00.