On Wednesday, May 18 and Thursday, May 19, the Millard West Varsity track teams competed against top athletes at the State meet.

The meet began with four Wildcats competing in the jumping events. On the girls side, senior Sadie Millard competed in the long jump where she placed 20th with a distance of 15 feet and 6.75 inches. Senior Layla Hopkins placed 14th in the high jump with 5 feet and 1 inch. On the boys side, senior Jessie Cauble was the first Wildcat to medal as he tied for third in the high jump with six feet and four inches. Cauble also placed seventh in the long jump with 21 feet and 5.75 inches. In the boys triple jump, freshman Joshua Lima placed 24th with a distance of 38 feet and three inches. 

In the throwing events Millard West only had senior Mallory Merrick qualify in the discus. She placed 17th with a distance of 100 feet and three inches.

In the hurdling events, the Wildcats had three boys competing. Junior Noah Shrader and sophomore Jacob Young both failed to qualify for the 110 meter hurdle finals, with Shrader finishing 14th and Young in 18th. In the 300 meter hurdles, junior Grant Barrett medaled in sixth place with a time of 41.13 seconds. On the girls side of the 300 meter hurdles, sophomore Thea Kutash finished in 11th place with a time of 48.14 seconds.

Millard West fielded a smaller number of athletes in the short distance events. In the girls 400 meter dash Millard and Hopkins both medalled, Millard finishing first and Hopkins in fifth. Freshman Kate Ebmeier also competed in the event but did not qualify for the finals as she placed 20th. In the boys 400 meter dash, senior Nathan Peterson medaled in eighth, with a time of 51.38 seconds.

“I still can’t believe that I won the 400,” Millard said. “This has been a goal of mine all four years of my high school career, and for it to finally come true is really special to me.”

In the girls 1600 meter, junior Isabelle Hartnett crossed the line in seventh with a time of 5 minutes and 9.91 seconds. Senior Sydney Beaudin placed 14th with a time of five minutes and 24.21 seconds. In the girls 3200 meter the same two runners competed for the Wildcats, with Hartnett finishing fifth and Beaudin ninth. 

In the boys 800 meter dash, sophomore Jack Witte placed fourth overall with a time of one minute and 55.22 seconds. Junior Sean Murphy placed 14th in the event with a time of one minute and 59.21 seconds. The boys team also found success in the 1600 meter. Witte placed fourth with a time of four minutes and 20.38 seconds. Seniors Sam Kirchner and Cole Haith also competed in the event, with Kirchner placing seventh and Haith ninth. In the boys 3200 meter Kirchner placed fifth, junior Piercze Mashall tenth, and Haith fifteenth.

However, it was the relay events where the Wildcats really shined.  The girls 4×400 relay team finished second place with a time of three minutes and 59.43 seconds, while the boys team finished third with a time of three minutes and 23.98 seconds. The girls 4×800 team finished in seventh with a time of nine minutes and 48.76 seconds, while the boys team finished second with a time of seven minutes and 53.69 seconds. Neither of the 4×100 teams ran as strongly, with the girls finishing 12th and the boys 13th.

“I was so proud of all of my teammates after that race,” Millard (who competed in the 4×400) said. “I know we came in with the fastest time and got second, but I think that it is still such an accomplishment for everyone that was in the relay.”

Overall the boys team finished in seventh place with a total of 41 points. The boys side was won by Fremont with 84 points. The girls team finished in 10th place with a total of 28 points. The girls side was won by Lincoln Southwest with 89.66 points. Despite losing a strong senior class this off season, both the boys and girls team will work hard during the offseason to hopefully capture a State title next season.