CHADRON, Neb. -- March 21, 2023 -- With about 300 athletes participating, there was plenty of strong competition Saturday during the annual high school track and field meet sponsored by Chadron State College inside its Nelson Physical Activity Center.

The sprints and the field events drew the most entries. Forty boys and nearly 30 girls entered the 60-meter dashes while there were about 30 contestants in both shot puts.  There also were more than 20 male pole vaulters and numerous long jumpers.

No records were broken but sophomore Ciana Stiefel of Custer, S.D., tied the pole vault record of 12 feet even that was set by Meagan Bauer of Gering in 2004.

There were three double winners.

 For the second year in a row Hans Bastron, a junior from Scottsbluff, ran away with both the 1600- and 3200-meter races, but he was considerably faster this year.  He won the 1600 Saturday in 4 minutes, 55.49 seconds, an improvement of about 15 seconds from a year ago, and
then lowered his 3200 time to 10:44.62, nearly a minute and 40 seconds faster than last year.

Also in the boys' action, Jonah Amill of Alliance won both the long and triple jumps by going 19-feet, 5 inches and 41-9.  Amill edged Chadron's Tyler Spotted Elk of Chadron by just a half inch in the long jump, but was the only triple jumper to exceed 40 feet.

The third two-time winner was Scottsbluff's Taryn Spady, who swept both the 60- and 200-meter dashes in 8.29 and 27.91 seconds.  Spady also ran on the winning 4x400-meter relay team.  Two of her relay teammates also won individual events.  Payton Burda won the 400 and
Paige Horne captured the 60-meter hurdles.

Even though it didn't last long, the boys' 60-meter hurdles was undoubtedly the meet's most exciting event.  It featured the three Chadron seniors who placed in the hurdles at last year's Nebraska State Meet.  Xander Provance, the all-class gold medalist in the high hurdles in Omaha
last May, was the winner in 8.45 seconds while Malichi Swallow was second in 8.69 seconds and Rhett Cullers a close third in 8.74.

The day's final event saw the talented trio join with sophomore Quinn Bailey to win the 4x400 relay in 3:38.05.  Earlier, Swallow had won the 60-meter dash and Bailey was the 200 winner after also placing third in the 60.

Chadron girls won two events. One was Kyndall Carnahan, who ran the 1600 meters in 6:08.16 while topping last year's winner, Jadyn Scott of Gering, even though Scott's time this year was 12 seconds faster than her first place mark of a year ago. 

The other was Grace Pyle, who cleared five feet to win the high jump and also was second in the 800 by just .23 of a second behind Alliance's Macey Seebohm.

 Besides, Seebohm, another Alliance event winner was Jaelynne Clarke, who won the triple jump and also placed second in the 400.  Both also ran on the Lady Bulldogs' first place sprint medley relay along with Kayel Lambert and Josie Sanders.

Another girls' event winner was Shelby Ekwall of Southeast High at Yoder, Wyo., who captured the shot put for the second year in a row.  Her mark Saturday was 38-6, compared to 36-11 last year.

Ekwall's teammate, Tyler Stoddard, didn't snare a first, but she was the runner-up in four events—the 200 dash along with the shot put, long jump and triple jump.

The Cyclones' Dawson Mullock won the boys' high jump.  Winston Prill of St. Thomas More High School in Rapid City won the pole vault by clearing 13-6. 

Chadron State College football recruit Kyan Allen of Scottsbluff won the boys' 400 meters for the second year in a row.  Although just a sophomore, the Bearcats' Ryan Hinman was the shot put winner.

Gering's only individual event winner was Eli Marez in the 800. In addition, he anchored the Bulldogs' first place sprint medley relay. 

Bayard's Danika Hassel was the long jump winner.