Sprinters spark Crete to Yowell Classic title

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BY RON POWELL / Lincoln Journal Star

YORK — The speed that helped Crete win the last two Class B state football titles was on full display on the track Saturday at the Yowell Classic.

The Cardinals’ domination in the sprints carried them to the team title in the eight-team meet, outscoring runner-up York 114-101. Crete went 1-2-3 in the 100-meter dash, 1-2 in the 200 and won the 400 relay in rather easy fashion.

The common denominator in all of those races was senior Josh Wohl, the outstanding male athlete of the meet. He came from behind and leaned past teammate Garrett Reckling to win the 100 in 11.0 seconds, with another Cardinal, Ethan Shunkwiler, a close third. Wohl edged teammate and Nebraska football recruit John Levorson to break the tape in the 200 in :22.7.

Wohl joined Cody Wockenfuss, Shunkwiler and Levorson on the victorious 400 relay that finished in :43.8, tying a meet record. Wohl’s first gold medal of the day, however, came in the 400, where he ran a :49.8, a school record and the fastest time in the state this spring.

Levorson and Shunkwiler added individual golds of their own, as Levorson won the high jump (6 feet, 4 inches) and Shunkwiler was triumphant in the pole vault (14-0).

Just how deep are the Cardinals in the sprints? Levorson finished fourth last year at state in the 100, but during the 100 on Saturday, the Super-State football player was relaxing in a sling chair in the infield watching his three teammates battle it out for the gold.

“That kid is quick,’’ Levorson said of Wohl, who almost looks like Levorson’s twin with a 6-foot-3 frame and floppy blond hair. “I can keep up with him during workouts, but he seems to have another gear when we run meets. He’s having a great season.”

Wohl has steadily been bringing his 400 times down since running an impressive :52.35 indoors   in the first meet of the season.

“Running so many curves, that time blew my mind. That told me I could have a good year,” Wohl said. “If I keep going hard in practice, I think I can get my times down even farther.”

The sprinters have to go hard in practice just to survive. With so many standout runners, slackers get left behind.

“Having so many fast guys, we push one another,’’ said Reckling, who competed for the first time  since injuring his quad muscle three weeks ago. “When we get toward the end of practice and we’re feeling tired, that’s when it can really make a difference.”

Anne Martin of Waverly was named the outstanding female athlete of the meet for the second straight year, sweeping the jumps and also winning the 200 (:26.1). The junior broke the meet record in the high jump by clearing 5-8, the best mark in the state this season. She went 17-2¼ in the long jump and 36-1 in the triple jump.

“That (5-8 in the high jump) was a great way to start the day, I was happy with that one,’’ said Martin, whose older brother, Lee, has the meet record in the boys high jump. “I was pretty close at 5-9. I’ll get that next week.’’

Beatrice‘s depth pushed the Lady Orange to the team title, overwhelming second-place Norris by a 131-76½ margin. Beatrice’s Gemma Pretzer won the 100 (:12.8) and 400 (1:00.6), while teammates Holly Bishop (discus, 125-5), Devin Choate (shot put, 38-2) and Shelby Walton (pole vault, 9-9) also won gold medals.

Sisson breaks record

Millard North sophomore distance runner Emily Sisson broke her second Kansas Relays high school record in as many days Saturday by winning the girls 1,600.

Sisson, who broke the 3,200 meet record Friday, won the 1,600 in 4:51.42. That shattered the previous mark of 4:58.04 by Elizabeth Lange of Lincoln Pius X in 2004.

Sisson’s time, however, fell short of Lange’s state record of 4:49.3 which she ran in 2003. Sisson moved into second on Nebraska’s all-time 1,600 chart with Saturday’s showing. She’s also second all-time in the 3,200 with the 10:21.71 she recorded last Saturday at the Arcadia, Calif., National Invitational.

Brett Maher of Kearney won the boys pole vault by clearing 15-11¾, which is seventh on the state’s all-time chart. He also finished fourth in the long jump (22-4½).

Millard North hurdler Kianna Elahi broke the tape in the girls 300 low hurdles (:44.75) and added a fourth-place finish in the 100 highs (:15.02).

Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.