Several O’Neill Junior High athletes competed at the Nebraska Junior High State Meet in Gothenburg on Saturday, May 17, representing the Eagles against some of the top middle school athletes in the state. Athletes must rank among the Top 24 in Nebraska in their event in order to qualify for this highly competitive meet.
The Lady Eagles were led by Brianna Kallhoff, who had an outstanding day in the throwing events. Kallhoff earned a 4th place finish in the Shot Put with a throw of 35’9.25” and followed it up with a personal-best throw of 109’2” in the Discus to earn a 3rd place medal. Her Discus mark also moved her into 2nd place on the O’Neill Junior High All-Time Records list. Tandi Shoemaker also represented O’Neill in the Shot Put, finishing 18th with a throw of 29’8”.
On the boys side, Kyler Wettlaufer placed 15th in the 1600M run with a strong time of 5:09.37. Wettlaufer also anchored the boys 4x800 relay team that placed 13th overall with a time of 9:45.02. Other relay members included Lane Dougherty, Jase Sanders, and Pierson Classen.
Noah Kaiser competed in both hurdle events, running a personal-best time of 15.31 in the 100M hurdles preliminaries before finishing 16th in the 200M hurdles finals with a time of 29.22. Dylan Kaup represented O’Neill in the Shot Put with a throw of 40’6.75”, while Paxton Mathews cleared 10’0” in the Pole Vault competition.
Congratulations to all of the Junior High Eagles on an outstanding season and for representing O’Neill so well at the state meet. Their hard work, dedication, and success throughout the season made OHS proud.