Stepping up to the challenge were many Gothenburg, Cozad and Maids athletes that competed in the B5 Girls District Track and Field Championships held in Lexington on Thursday.

The Gothenburg girls were third overall in the team race with 72 points, trailing only Holdrege (126) and Northwest (88). Lexington was fourth, right behind the Lady Swedes with 63 points. The Lady Haymakers were sixth overall with 48 points scored.

Putting on an impressive display throughout the day of competition was Tiani Reeves of Gothenburg, winning a trifecta of individual gold medals and having a hand in a fourth gold medal effort. Reeves won the 200-meter dash by burning up the oval in 25.57 seconds. In the sand, Tiani starred with top gold medal efforts of 17’6” in the long jump and 38’7.75” in the triple jump.

Reeves teamed up with fellow Lady Swedes Regan Geiken, Aryn Meisinger and MaKaela Franzen to win the 1600-meter relay in 4:07.

Also showcasing her skills on the oval for Gothenburg was Regan Geiken with a 1:01.4 clocking to win the 400-meter dash, just in front of silver medalist Aly Leger of Lexington in 1:01.7.

Cozad senior Ellen Laird was golden in the discus with an event-leading throw of 120’9” to win the gold hardware. Not fair behind, earning the bronze medal was Emily Franzen of Gothenburg with a toss of 114’6”.

The battle for Burke in the shotput was a very close-knit skirmish. Maid Andrea Garcia defended her home ring with a silver medal effort of 37’11.75”. Finishing third overall was Cozad’s Courtney Geiger, as she powered the iron ball past 37’11”.
Fighting off injury, Lexington senior Casey Seberger went deep to the tune of 36’4.75” in the triple jump to win silver medalist accolades.

Getting better and better every meet, Lady Haymaker Hannah Gilg had a breakout performance in clearing 5’2” to finish in the runner-up position in the high jump.

Putting in the mileage paid off for Odaliz Santoyo and Vanessa Ambriz of Lexington. Santoyo was the bronze medalist in both the 1600 (5:40) and the 3200-meter (12;09) run. Ambriz was close behind in the eight-lap affair, where she finished fourth in 12:17.

Showcasing great endurance and speed, Cozad’s Sandra Pelayo was the bronze medalist in the 800-meter run in 2:28.

Lexington started the day off right with a runner-up finish in the 3200-meter (10:16) relay and finished the day with a bronze medal effort of 4:09 in the 1600-meter relay.

The Lady Swede sprint relay covering 400-meters, stopped the watch in 52.37.

Cozad’s distance depth covered the 3200-meter relay in 10:42 to finish fourth.

For the complete story, please see the print edition of the TRIBUNE