Class A Boys
1. Lincoln High
2. Lincoln Southwest
3. Fremont
4. Omaha North
5. Kearney
Class A Girls
1. Lincoln Southwest
2. Millard West
3. Kearney
4. Papillion South
5. Omaha North
Full Rankings with comments:
Class A Boys
1. Lincoln High - They may have finished runner-up at the Whitehouse Invite this week in Omaha, but look closer and you will see this: Darius Luff hurdles in 14.5 and 40.5, Zion Perry sprints to 10.94 and 22.28, LeeAaron Burks runs a 1:57.3 in the 800, 3 triple jumpers get out to nearly 44 feet or better, and they run strong, State Meet projected 4x1s and 4x4s. That closer look makes this Links squad the early team to beat in Class A. They may not take home many invite plaques now, but the 1st boys State Track Title in a glass case in Lincoln High since 1960 is possible in 2018.
2. Lincoln Southwest - The Silverhawks are looking for their first state boys track and field title and have a strong and deep group led by Jesse Lewis and Blake Van Ert in the jumps, Anthony Banderas in the throws, and the Nolley's in the distance events. The Silverhawks dominated a large field at the Concordia Indoor earlier this season. We shall see how they look as they move outdoors. This may be one of the few teams able to keep up with the Links at State this year.
3. Fremont - After a disappointing State finish in 2017, the Tigers are poised for a championship run led by vaulter Jake Sellon, distance runner Jose Gonzalez and company, and sprinter Lucas Arps. Knowing they will have strong relays, the Tigers will undoubtedly be a very dangerous contender come May.
4. Omaha North - Though not as deep in State Meet scoring as #1, #2, or #3, Omaha North has great talent in 9th grade thrower Tristan Gray, jumper D'Juan Jones, and sprinter D'Shaun Samuels. Expected strong 4x1, 4x4s, and other talent with potential make the Vikings a team you want to keep an eye on.
5. Kearney- We initially had the Bearcats outside of our top 5, but their strong performance in
Columbus showed us they have a path to a top finish and it's a path that will surprise no one in Class A. Under new Head Coach Broc Howard, the Bearcats have their old formula working. They can throw, sprint with Miko Maessner, sprinkle in hurdle points, and with expected strong relays the Bearcats should be moving back up again near the top come May. Kearney beat #3 Fremont in Columbus on Thursday with their amazing invitational depth, but Fremont has more quality State Meet point possibilities than Kearney right now.
Contenders - Grand Island, Creighton Prep
Class A Girls
1. Lincoln Southwest – The Concordia University Indoor on the opening weekend gave us a preview of what could be the battle for the state championship trophy in May. The Silverhawks showed that they were without a doubt the clear frontrunner. They easily overwhelmed their competition including #2 rated Millard West, placing two girls in the top 10 of all but three events in this 14-team mini indoor state championship. Led in the sprints and hurdles by Caelyn Christiancy and Taytem Coleman and the distance events by Carson Fischer and Danielle Rinn they might have too much fire power for anyone to catch them. If they can get solid performances in the field events in May there might not be a team that can compete with them at Burke Stadium.
2. Millard West – The strength of the Wildcats team lies in their distant events. Gabby McGinn, the returning state runner-up in the 3200m, and Abby Heffner both put up great opening performances at Concordia and Doane. The question is can they find enough depth to take down the clear frontrunner Lincoln Southwest. Millard West does have some quality athletes who could score some big points at the state meet such as Alyssa Schlaht, in the high jump and hurdles, and freshman phenom, Lindsay Adams, in the hurdles and long jump. If they are going to defend their 2017 state championship they are going to have to have these athletes put up some points in the sprints and field events. They should be able to put up enough points to make it interesting, but only time will tel if it will be enough to derail the Silverhawks.
3. Kearney – The Bearcats sport one of the top athletes in Class A with Daisy Maessner, returning state runner-up in the 100-meter dash, and will be looking to crash the dual that might ensue between Southwest and Millard West. It appears from the results at the Buffalo Bill Invitational that Kearney might have one of the elite sprint crews in the state and this could carry them to the top of the podium if they can find a little more depth in the other events on the track. They will without a doubt put up a sizeable amount of points in the field events in May with Ella Godfrey back in the throws and a fleet of jumpers led by Maessner and Bailee Sterling, but will it be enough? If they can find a couple of athletes that can make some noise in the distance events, which we saw some solid early performances they could vault into the #1 or #2 spot.
They are not far behind the Silverhawks and Wildcats.
4. Papillion South – The Titans look to be a very strong team and have a lot of depth. Early on this season they have been led by Olivia Sattlefied, Nina Cuevas and a solid distance crew. While Sattlefield could score big at the state meet in May as she is one of the early state leaders in the hurdle events, they will have to find some other athletes capable of doing the same in other events if they are going to have any hope of jumping the top three above them. It may be realistic as they will be in the mix for the gold in all three relays and there is a lot of talent in Papillion if they can make some major strides here in April.
5. Omaha North – The Lady Vikings get the fifth-place spot based upon their track record over the last 4-5 years. They have dominated the sprints and hurdle events over this time and will be looking to continue that dominance. Zerada Knox, Artavia Bosan, and Dariauna Lewis all return and put up big points at State in 2017. They have very little room for error as they rely so heavily on the sprints and don’t seem to have any points coming their way in the distance or many of the field events.
Contenders – Omaha Benson, Omaha Westside, Lincoln Pius X
