LCC Bears third at L&C meet, win Jim Winch Invite

LAUREL — Laurel-Concord Coleridge’s boys ran its way to a third-place team score at the Lewis & Clark Conference Track meet at Winnebago on May 3 then turned around May 5 and won the Jim Winch/Winside Invitational at home on May 5.

As the track season winds down, with districts looming this week, the Bears made the most of some “trackable” weather last week scoring

126 points to win the Jim Winch/Winside meet here in Laurel and 76 points in the Lewis & Clark Conference Meet for the show.

Wynot was second in the Winch meet with an even 100 points, Tri County Northeast was third with 85.

The Bears didn’t dominate the meet with respect to winners in each event, but they certainly scored enough points from second down to sixth to come away with the team-win by 26 points.

Laurel-Concord-Coleridge did get wins from Deagan Puppe as usual in the 110-meter high hurdles; the 4X100 relay of Daniel Puppe, Markus Martin, Wilton Roberts and Deagan Puppe and first from Dillon Olson in the 3,200.

Olson has been somewhat in the background throughout his career for the Bears but that is far from his value to the team and far from a measure for success.

What is termed mainly a distance runner, he and his brother Tyler also throw the discus and finished just one spot from the finals in the Winch meet.

“I have set running goals to break 5:10 in the 1,600 and 11-minutes in the 3,200,” Olson said. “I try to push every day to be the best I can be in whatever I’m doing.”

He hit 11:03.00 at home last Thursday and ran a touch over 11:04 at the conference meet.

Dillon has also been a member of the Bear’s cross country team in the fall and qualified for the Nebraska State Cross Country Championships last year.

“My mom and dad have been very helpful in getting me where I’m at,” Olson said. “I’m very excited to see how far I can get here at the end of the season - I’ll keep trying to reach the goals I have set then move on to another.”

Deagan and Daniel Puppe finished first and second in the 110’s in both meets with Deagan winning each time.

Deagan is the returning state champion in the event and expects to be back on the podium in Omaha later this month.

“It takes a lot of hard work and a little luck to get there,” Deagan said. “I try to get better each time I step on the track.”

He was also third in the Winch meet in the 300-hurdles and ran a leg in the winning 4X100 relay squad.

Shane Benson had a great meet on his familiar track, placing third in the 100-meters and the high jump and placed fourth in the triple jump.

Evan Haisch was second in the shot put, fourth in the 400 and ran his leg in the relay.

At the conference meet in Winnebago,  Ponca used a strong performance in the throws and enough additional points to come away with the team title with 97.5 points followed by Hartington-Newcastle with 94.

The Wildcats won the final event of the meet but the Indians came in third to hold them off for the team title.

Puppe was a Lewis & Clark Conference Champion in the 110 hurdles with his brother less than a half-second back to grab the runner-up medal.

Daniel Puppe also was runner-up in the 300 hurdles, Deagan was fifth.

The LCC relay teams were paced by the 4X100 team which earned a conference title as Daniel Puppe, Markus Martin, Wilton Roberts and Deagan Puppe circled the track in 46.30 seconds.

The 4X800 team of Carter Kvols, Landen Leonard, Carter Korth and Preston Rose was sixth while the 4X400 squad of Martin, Lucas Rasmussen, Wilton Roberts and Haisch placed eighth for a point.

Four Bears placed fifth in various individual events; Haisch in the 200, Benson in the high jump, Daniel Puppe in the pole vault and Dylan Taylor in the triple jump.

Carter Kvols was sixth in the 800 and Dillon Olson finished a spot ahead of his brother Tyler at sixth in the 3,200.

Benson added another medal with a seventh in the triple jump behind Taylor and Aaron Bloom continued a successful spring in the throws with a seventh in the discus. Wilton Roberts was eighth in the open 800 as was Korth in the 1,600.

The Bears travel to the Hartington Community Complex for the C-3 District Meet May 12.