Pierce Takes Five Medals at State Track
By Natalie Kosch
On Wednesday, May 18, the PHS Track team sent fifteen from their team to compete at state at Burke High School in Omaha. There they competed for two days and competed very well, bringing home five medals and one state champion.
Starting on day one was Isaiah Yarde in boys high jump where he tied in 14th with a jump of 5-10.00.
Next was the boys triple jump, Gavin Sullivan placed sixth with a jump of 43-11.25, which was the first medal of the meet for Pierce.
Then in boys shot put, Benjamin Brahmer placed seventh with a throw of 53-04.00, claiming the second medal for the Bluejays.
For the girls 4x800 meter relay, Hadleigh Collision, Zoey Ebmeier, Morgan Moeller, and Abigail Cone, ran a time of 10:12.38, earning them 12th place.
Following in the boys 110-meter hurdles, Addison Crohgan ran a time of 15.71 placing him in 11th.
Next, in the boys 300-meter hurdles, Brahmer placed 13th with a time of 41.42.
Ending the day was Bethany Kaup in the 200-meter dash, where she placed 23rd with a time of 27.399.
On day two, to start off the day was Claudia Riggert in girls high jump, tying in fourth with a jump of 5-01.00, which placed her on the medal stand.
Following in the boys long jump, Sullivan jumped 20-07.00 landing him in 11th place.
Then, the boys discus, Dawson Raabe earned first place, making him a state champion with a throw of 162-11, and Carter Meier threw 131-00 landing him in 19th place.
For the boys 4x100, Sullivan, Keenan Valverde, Karter Wolfe, and Brahmer placed 12th with a time of 43.98.
In the boys 110-meter hurdles, Brahmer placed eighth with a time of 15.00, being the only dual medalist for Pierce.
Following in the boys 1600-meter run, Brenden Bolling ran a time of 4:45.35 landing him in 22nd place.
Concluding the day was the girls 4x400-meter relay with Hadleigh Collison, Riggert, Moeller, and Cone placing 14th with a time of 4:14.35.
“This year has been a really fun year as my first time as a head coach, and our kids competed very hard,” coach Les Painter comments. “I am very proud of this year's Pierce High track team and congratulations to all our state competitors. I would also like to recognize Dawson Raabe on his trifecta for winning for being a three time gold state medalist in all of his sports for his senior year.”
This concludes the Pierce High track season.
