SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. – Instead of heading to the Pine Bluffs Invitational, the Southeast Cyclones competed in the Twilight Invitational in Scottsbluff on Friday, with the boys taking seventh and girls finishing eighth.
Chase Lovercheck was the only Cyclone to pick up a first-place finish in Scottsbluff. In the 800-meter run, Lovercheck turned in a time of 2:01.00 to reach the top of the podium. D.J. Homer clocked a time of 2:29.92 in the same event to finish 14th.
In the shorter distances, Jacob Cushman was the only Southeast boy to reach the finals of either the 100 or 200-meter dash. During the prelims of the 200, he turned in a time of 23.28 seconds to reach the finals, where he finished fifth with a time of 24.54 seconds. Porter Ross just missed the cut for the finals, finishing ninth in the prelims with a time f 24.39 seconds.
Cushman was the best sprinter for Southeast in the 100, finishing 11th in the prelims with a time of 11.87 seconds. Ross (14th, 11.95 seconds) and Connor Humphrey (17th, 12.34 seconds) both missed the finals in the 100-meter dash.
Wyatt Lackman was the fastest Cyclone in the 400-meter dash, taking 21st with a time of 1:05.44. Andrew Cox took 23rd in the 400 with a time of 1:11.52.
The relay team of Brady Fullmer, Jacob Schmitt, Lovercheck and Humphrey linked up for a third-place finish in the 1600-meter relay with a time of 3:38.58. Lovercheck, Schmitt, Luke Haas and Patrick Swank clocked a time of 9:35.39 in the 3200-meter relay to take sixth.
Ross had the best finish in the field events for the Cyclones, taking seventh in the long jump with an 18 foot, 7.5 inch effort. Chance Werner was not far behind, taking 10th with a jump of 17 feet, 10 inches, and Homer finished 23rd after clearing 14 feet, 11.5 inches.
In the triple jump, Werner recorded a jump of 37 feet, 2 inches to finish 11th and Greg Logsdon slid into 18th with a jump of 32 feet, 5 inches.
Fullmer had the best finish in the throws for the Southeast boys, taking 11th in the discus with a throw of 111 feet. Hunter Woodruff took 19th in the same event, clearing 91 feet, 6 inches. In the shot put, Woodruff finished 19th with a throw of 35 feet, 11.5 inches. Swank and Haas finished back-to-back, taking 33rd (28 feet) and 34th (26 feet, 10.5 inches).
The Cyclones tied Alliance, Neb. for seventh after racking up 25 points on the day. Gering, Neb. amassed 143 team points to capture the boys’ team title.
Kelci Lovercheck proved herself for the Lady Cyclones, turning in a time of 1:07.01 in the 400-meter dash to finish second. Hailey Anderson and Ellie Schmitt were the only other two to compete in sprints for the Southeast girls. Anderson finished seventh in both the prelims and finals of the 200-meter dash, where she clocked a time of 29.73 seconds in the finals. Schmitt completed the 200 in 30.51 seconds to take 13th in the prelims.
Kendall Haas just missed the cut for the finals in the 100-meter hurdles, turning in a time of 18.86 seconds to take ninth in the prelims. In the 300-meter hurdles, she finished in 56.13 seconds to take 12th.
Schmitt, Lovercheck, Emily Buchanan and Jayden Hopkins combined to finish the 3200-meter relay in 11:10.51, earning them the third spot. Buchanan, Schmitt, Anderson and Lovercheck clocked a time of 4:33.23 in the 1600-meter relay to finish fifth.
Schmitt had the best finish for the Lady Cyclones in the field events, taking fourth in the high jump after clearing 4 feet, 6 inches. Haas took 11th in the long jump (13 feet, 8 inches) and Buchanan finished 11th in the triple jump (27 feet, 7.5 inches).
In the throws, Candee Coxbill recorded a throw of 95 feet, 1 inch in the discus to finish seventh. Kylie Carson took ninth in disc with a throw of 89 feet, 3 inches. Morgan Ekwall had a throw of 77 feet, 9 inches to take 16th. The trio took 12th, 13th and 14th. Ekwall led the way (29 feet, 0.5 inches), with Carson (28 feet, 9 inches) and Coxbill (28 feet, 5 inches) not far behind.
The Lady Cyclones tallied up 20 points to finish eighth in Scottsbluff. Gering also took the girls’ team title, racking up 116.33 points.
The Southeast boys and girls return to the track on Saturday in Lusk.
