Waverly boys claim first state track title behind solid team effort

The Waverly Boys Track and Field pose with their first place team trophy they won at the Class B State Track and Field Meet at Omaha Burke on May 18. It was the first team championship that the Vikings boys have won in track and field in school history.

Barrett Mayfield of Waverly competes in the prelims of the 400 meter dash at the Class B State Track and Field Meet at Omaha Burke on May 17.

Braxton Smith of Waverly comes around the first curve in the 400 meter dash at the Class B State Track and Field Meet at Omaha Burke on May 17. He qualified for finals in the second position with a time of 49.73.

Braxton Smith of Waverly leads a pack of runners around the curve in the 200 meter dash at the Class B State Track and Field Meet on May 18. He won his prelim race and had the second fastest qualifying time with a 22.18.

Cohen Burhoop of Waverly attempts to clear the bar in the high jump at the Class B State Track and Field Meet at Omaha Burke on May 17. He came in fourth place overall by getting over 6-02.

Daniel Kasparek of Waverly hangs with a Omaha Skutt runner in the 4x800 meter relay on May 17 at the Class B State Track and Field Meet. Kasparek ran a 2:01.44 in his leg which helped the Vikings get third place.

Drew Moser of Waverly battles out of the gate in the 4x800 meter relay on May 17 at the Class B State Track and Field Championships. The Vikings came in third place with a time of 8:04.13

Garrett Black of Waverly battles to the finish line in the 110 meter hurdles at the Class B State Track and Field Meet at Omaha Burke on May 17. He came in 19th place with a time of 16.07.

Pictured left to right are Grant Schere and Austin Neddenreip of Waverly during the prelims of the 100 meter dash at the Class B State Track and Field Meet on May 17 at Omaha Burke. Schere and Neddenreip helped the Vikings win the 4x100.

Jared Schroeder of Waverly battles in a strong 3,200 meter run field at the Class B State Track and Field Meet on May 17 at Omaha Burke. He ended up getting 24th place in a time of 10:33.28.

Keaton Bowker of Waverly battles in the 4x800 meter relay at the Class B State Track and Field Meet on May 17. Bowker was third leg for the third place Vikings and clocked a 2:04.30.

Zach Hartman of Waverly hits the sand in the triple jump pit at the Class B State Track Meet at Omaha Burke on May 17. The senior got 20th place with a jump of 39-10.

AJ Heffelfinger of Waverly takes off in his leg of the 4x400 meter relay at the Class B State Track and Field Meet on May 18 at Omaha Burke. The senior came in fourth place in the 800 meter run.

Austin Neddenreip of Waverly lets out a cheer after crossing the line in the 4x100 meter relay at the Class B State Track and Field Meet on May 18. The Vikings won in a state record time of 42.11.

Braxton Smith of Waverly celebrates after winning the 400 meter dash at the Class B State Track and Field Meet on May 18. The sophomores winning time was a 48.07.

Braxton Smith of Waverly on the medal stand with the gold medal he won in the 400 meter dash at the Class B State Track and Field Meet on May 18. He also helped the Vikings get first place in the 4x400 meter relay.

Drew Moser of Waverly and Kyle Babst of Wahoo battle at the start of the 800 meter run at the Class B State Track and Field Meet on May 18. Moser got fifth place and Babst tooks seventh place in the event.

Gregory Cockerill of Waverly attempts to keep up with the pack at the Class B State Track and Field Meet at Omaha Burek on May 18. He ened up getting 14th in the event with a time of 4:35.07.

Landon Scott of Waverly looks to clear the bar in the pole vault competition at the Class B State Track and Field Meet on May 18. He took first place in the event with a vault of 14-06.

Landon Scott of Waverly smiles after getting his first place medal for the Class B Pole Vault on May 18. The senior cleared a winning height of 14-06.

OMAHA – The Waverly boys track and field team left nothing in doubt as they cruised to their first Class B state title at the Nebraska State Track and Field Championships at Omaha Burke High School on May 17 and 18. Over two days, the Vikings amassed 75 points, with Blair the next closest team with 47 points scored to get second.

"It was rewarding and this group has worked very hard," Waverly Head Coach Brian Benson said. "It's a great group of seniors that had come up short a couple of years in a row. They are just hardworking kids all around and you can tell in how they compete."

The success for Waverly – like it has all season – started with the relay events. Both the 4x100 and the 4x400 raced to first place finishes in Class B.

In the 4x100, the senior group of Preston Harms, Daniel Kasparek, Grant Schere and Austin Neddenreip got to the line in a new personal best time of 42.11. That was good enough to set a meet and state record as well.

To close out the state meet, Braxton Smith, Kasparek, Drew Moser and AJ Heffelfinger won the 4x400 meter relay by getting to the finish line in a time of 3:22.07. The next closest team was Blair, who was over a second behind the Vikings in a time of 3:23.67.

In the field events, Landon Scott won the pole vault over Kalen Knott of Seward. Both vaulters cleared 14-06, but due to fewer misses at previous heights, Scott took home the gold medal.

"This win was really nice and enjoyable and I am just going to try and soak it in a little bit," Scott said. "Ideally it would have been better weather and I would have gone a little higher so that it didn't come down to misses and that way you feel like you earned it a little more. Either way, it's a great memory that I will take with me."

The final gold medal for the Vikings came from sophomore Braxton Smith in the 400 meter dash in a time of 48.07. Three spots back in fourth place was Kasparek, who posted a 49.67.

On top of the 400 meter gold, Smith added a silver medal in the 200 meter dash after getting to the line in a time of 22.08

Waverly ended up with two medals in the 800 meter run with AJ Heffelfinger and Drew Moser. Taking fourth place in a competitive race was Heffelfinger who ran a 1:57.28 and Moser got fifth place after clocking a 1:57.39.

Grant Schere, who was the defending Class B state champion in the 100 and 200 meter dashes, was dealt some bad luck on finals Thursday when he pulled his hamstring in the 100. This would result in an eighth place finish in the 100 with a time of 11.32. He walked the 200 meter dash to secure an eighth place medal and to earn points for his team, posting a 1:48.52 as the crowd cheered him on.

"More than the lack of points, I just felt bad for Grant and I was proud of him for walking out for that 200 just so he could get his last medal," Benson said. "He has been a leader for us for forever and he got us gold in the 4x100."

To start the running events on Thursday, the Vikings took third place in the 4x800 meter relay after running a time of 8:04.13. The relay team consisted of Moser, Kasparek, Keaton Bowker and Heffelfinger.

Cohen Burhoop cleared 6-02 to get fourth place in the high jump. The junior was four inches behind the champion, Nolan Studley of Hastings, who jumped 6-06.

Preston Harms just missed out on the finals in the 300 meter hurdles. He ran a 40.47 and got ninth place overall. On the same day, Jared Schroeder got 21st place in the two mile after clocking a time of 10:33.28.

In the 1,600 meter run, both Gregory Cockerill and Schroeder competed. Taking 14th place in a time of 4:35.07 was Cockerill and Schroeder got 17th place after posting a time of 4:37.77.

Competing in the prelims of the 110 meter hurdles and 400 meter dash were Garrett Black and Barrett Mayfield. Black got 19th place in the 110 hurdles after running a 16.07 and Mayfield posted a time of 53.47 to get 24th in the 400.

Zach Hartman earned 20th place in the triple jump with a mark of 39-10.

Overall, the 2023 track and field season for the Waverly boys was one of dominance. They finished the year as the team champions in every meet they competed in.

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