Hectic pace doesn’t slow Olson, Kearney track teams

By Stu Pospisil, WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER


OMAHA — No track meet the rest of the season will have as hectic a pace as what Kearney junior distance runner Jacob Olson faced Thursday at the Omaha North Invitational.

Olson had about 40 minutes between the 1,600 meters, in which he lowered his state-leading time by more than four seconds, and the 800 meters. In that race, he took third. Given the conditions, he wasn’t disappointed. “This was a great meet,” Olson said. “A 4:18 has been really my goal since last year. That’s what our sophomore record is, and it took me until this year to get there.”

His time is apt to go lower in the final three meets of the season — the Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference on May 5, districts on May 10 and the state meet May 20 and 21 in Omaha. At state, there’s about four hours on the final day between his two primary events.

Olson didn’t push it in either race Thursday. Kearney boys coach Roger Mathiesen said Olson’s last lap in the 1,600 was 61 seconds as Olson finished four seconds ahead of runner-up Cory Poehling of Fremont. In the 800, Olson said, “I wanted to see how long I could hang with the leaders. It was a good run.”

He was about four seconds behind state leader Mach Dojiok of Omaha Benson, who broke 1:55 for the second time this season. Tyler Soderberg of Fremont was second. Kearney collected its 128th consecutive invitational title over 19 seasons by outscoring runner-up Grand Island 134-107.

“The streak, that’s what I wanted to come here and keep going,’” Olson said. “It’s our second and third guys in events going out and placing.” Kearney’s girls beat defending Class A champion Omaha North for the second time this season. The Bearcats outscored the host school 183.5-132 as Katie Smith set a meet record with her high jump of 5-8.

“Our senior leadership just did an outstanding job,” Kearney girls coach Pat McFadden said. “A high jump like hers, that gets you going. “Lauren Psota broke 60 (seconds) in the 400, Bailey Roeder had a PR (to lead a 1-2-3 Kearney sweep) in the shot put.”

With North in the field, McFadden said, “you have to show up and give everything you have. We had great efforts, a lot of effort that go unseen except by teammates and coaches. “We’re getting tougher. Our middle-distance runners have made a tremendous move.”

North didn’t push Texas A&M recruit LaQue Moen-Davis, who’s nursing a sore knee. Her 5-7 high jump was her season best and she set a meet record in the long jump at 19-2¼ in her only events Thursday. The Vikings’ foursome of Bre’unna McCarty, Alexa Whitehall, Nakita Brewer and Brianna McGhee lowered the meet record in the 4x100 relay to 47.11 that ranks second all-time behind the school’s gold-medal champions last year at 46.84.

Mathiesen was concerned enough about Thursday’s meet, because of the mix of opponents, that he was charting points for the three leading teams. “We had some things not go so well, but we were solid in a lot of areas. The hurdles, middle distance, the weights. Our vaulting was a little better,” he said. “To me, this streak is far more amazing than the state titles that we’ve won.”