The annual Mike Lehl Invite came down to its final race Thursday at Blair High School's Krantz Field.
Coach Bryan Soukup let Bears Caleb Funk, Hayden Daggett, Colin McCabe and Ethan Baessler know what needed to happen for them to surpass Elkhorn North and win their home track and field title.
“All you've got to do is place top-three in the 4x4 and you win the meet,” Baessler said, recalling his coach's message. “So, that was pretty easy for us to do.”
BHS actually won the race in 3:26.54, earning the senior class' 18th career invite championship in its final opportunity to do so at home.
“To win the whole meet, yeah, I'd say it makes the day just better,” said Baessler, one of nine seniors celebrated by their home crowd Thursday. Reese Beemer, Allie Czapla, Funk, Reece Ewoldt, Ben Holcomb, Greta Galbraith, Braden McGill and Audie Keeling were the others.
Altogether, the Blair boys outscored Elkhorn North 95-89.5 for the Mike Lehl victory. The girls, meanwhile, finished fourth behind the champion Wolves, Seward and Bennington.
In addition to the 1,600-meter relay win, the Bears also claimed the boys' 400 relay at home. Holcomb, Baessler, Daggett and McCabe finished it in a school record 43.4 seconds.
Baessler notched individual 100- and 200-meter dash wins, too.
Ewoldt, meanwhile, notched the Blair girls' lone victory Thursday. She broke her own school record in the 3,200 run again, clocking in at 11:09.41, but also added a second-place result in the individual mile.
Dominant for most of the season, Ewoldt was disappointed with her 1,600 time, but also made sure to remain level-headed with result, knowing not every race will go exactly as planned.
“It's good to have goals like that for every meet, but you've got to be realistic,” she said.
Rainy weather made for an interesting start to the Mike Lehl, but things improved as the day went on, McGill said. He was second in both the shot put (47 feet, 4.5 inches) and discus (158-7) events.
“The day lightened up a lot,” the senior said. “It was definitely a lot better conditions to throw disc than shot.”
Improved weather was beneficial to McGill's overall success, but so, too, was his teammates' support.
“That really helped,” he said.
Galbraith and her fellow pole vaulters had to deal with rain, too, keeping towels nearby during warmups.
“It was kind of stressful,” she said. “It cleared up as it was kind of going on.”
The soon-to-be graduate ultimately earned a silver medal at home, clearing a bar set at 10-8.
“I had a strong plant today, but we need to do better,” Galbraith said.
McCabe (400 dash), Holcomb (300 hurdles), Emma Ammon (high jump) and Blair's 3,200-meter relay girls — Czapla, Kate Wulf, Jade Wickwire and Lainey Bilau — added second-place results Thursday, too. Daggett, Funk, Ammon and Beemer notably notched bronze-medal efforts as well.
All of it contributed to a successful day on the Bears' home track.
“It was fun to see family and friends come out and watch, so that meant something,” Baessler said.
It was the final time for BHS' seniors to experience just that at Krantz Field.
“It's a happy-sad feeling,” Galbraith admitted. “I'm so proud of everybody that I can't be sad right now.”
Ewoldt always looked forward to the Mike Lehl Invite each year.
“It's one of my favorites,” she said. “I'll miss the home meet for sure.”
The Bears next compete 1:30 p.m. today during the Eastern Midlands Conference Meet. Lincoln Northwest High School hosts the annual track and field event.
MIKE LEHL INVITE
Thursday at Krantz Field
BOYS
Team standings: Blair 95, Elkhorn North 89.5, Omaha Skutt 71, Elkhorn 61, Bennington 55, Omaha Roncalli 39, Elkhorn Mount Michael 35.5, Seward 33, Aurora 26, York 22.
Top-6 Blair Finishers
100-meter dash: 1, Ethan Baessler, 10.62 seconds.
200 dash: 1, Baessler, 22.11.
400 dash: 2, Colin McCabe, 51.24. 3, Hayden Daggett, 51.49.
800 run: 3, Caleb Funk, 2:00.71.
400 relay: 1, BHS (Ben Holcomb, Baessler, Daggett, McCabe), 43.4.
1,600 relay: 1, BHS (Funk, Daggett, McCabe, Baessler), 3:26.54.
3,200 relay: 6, BHS (Funk, Declan McCabe, Chase Cottle, Charlie Gutzman), 8:30.8.
300 hurdles: 2, Ben Holcomb, 42.4.
High jump: 3, Daggett, 6-1. 4, Chase Cottle, 5-7.
Discus: 2, Braden McGill, 158-7.
Shot put: 2, McGill, 47-4.5.
GIRLS
Team standings: Elkhorn North 98, Seward 95, Bennington 94, Blair 64, Elkhorn 47, Skutt 43, Aurora 27, York 26, Roncalli 25, Omaha Mercy 8.
Top-6 Blair Finishers
100-meter dash: 3, Reese Beemer, 12.54 seconds.
800 run: 6, Kate Wulf, 2:30.22.
1,600 run: 2, Reece Ewoldt, 5:19.77.
3,200 run: 1, Ewoldt, 11:09.41.
3,200 relay: 2, BHS (Allie Czapla, Wulf, Jade Wickwire, Lainey Bilau), 9:58.4.
Long jump: 3, Emma Ammon, 16 feet, 4 inches.
Triple jump: 3, Ammon, 33-8.
High jump: 2, Ammon, 5-3. 4, Hailey Roewert, 5-1.
Pole vault: 2, Greta Galbraith, 10-8.
