The Sierra Lutheran boys and girls track teams pose for a photo at Liberty High School, where the Falcon boys were crowned Class 1A state champions. The Sierra Lutheran girls just missed out on their own state title, finishing second.
The Sierra Lutheran track and field teams were both doing some math during the NIAA state track and field meet at Liberty High School in Henderson.
Both teams were calculating how many points were necessary and what positions they needed in order to earn state crowns over the weekend.
The Sierra Lutheran boys team did just that, winning the Class 1A state title with 120 points, besting second place Green Valley Christian (106).
“It feels good that the hard work paid off,” said senior Flynn Scheibe. “The (100) actually ended up going exactly the way it thought it would. Our sprinting core was nuts this year.”
“We wanted to win and we did.”
The sprinters set the tone for the boys team as Scheibe, David Luhr Immen and Hunter Rowlatt went 1-2-3 in the 100-meter dash.
All three ran sub-12-second marks, which was a goal for the sprinting crew.
Scheibe, who said he’s dealt with more injuries this season than he ever has, turned around with a second-place finish in both the 200- and 400-meter dashes. Meanwhile, Rowlatt was fourth in the 200, just in front of teammates Charles Miles and Nathan Tack.
Tack was fourth in the 400, as well.
Joshua Fox was third in the 1,600 in 5 minutes, 14.55 seconds and fifth in the 800 in 2:13.50, picking up a combined 10 team points for the Falcons.
In the 3,20, it was Max Woelfel leading the way with a third-place finished, followed by Chandler Ricks and Fox.
The Falcons’ 4x400 squad of Matthew Alpers, Cale Cooms, Miles and Tack took second in 3:56.25. Meanwhile, Sierra Lutheran’s 4x800 relay team was fourth.
In the high jump, Luhr Immen took second place after clearing 5 feet, 10 inches. He was also sixth in the long jump at 18-2. He says he hopes to reach the school record in the high jump next season.
“I was just constantly working on my form, trying to get stronger to jump higher and further,” said Luhr Immen. “Then it was to get out of the blocks, so a lot of changes.”
It was Luhr Immen’s first season of track.
Rowlatt also served as a thrower for the Falcons, taking second place in the discus with a mark of 115-11.
“I have quite the variety, so practices were spent doing a lot of sprinting and a lot of throwing,” said Rowlatt. “With throwing, it’s more mental. You get your ups and downs.”
The boys team fed off intra-squad battles, adding they always looked forward to competing against each other.
Along with its state title, Sierra Lutheran also has back-to-back Class 1A North regional championships.
SL girls wind up second
The Sierra Lutheran girls’ second-place finish was led by all four of the Falcons’ relay teams.
In the 4x100, Sierra Lutheran took second as Kayla Carpenter, Chloe Friend, Riley McHenry and Sydney Sufka put together a 56.31.
Friend, Sufka, Carpenter and Francesca Antonucci combined for a second-place finish in the 4x200 as well.
The Falcons’ 4x800 team, consisting of McHenry, Faith Phillips, Saige Gregory and Kailey Fitzpatrick took second in 12:06.85.
McHenry said the 4x400 — which took fourth — has been her favorite event to run in high school, teaming with Fitzpatrick since elementary school.
“We’ve been running that since we were in fifth grade. It’s our thing and we’ve always been doing it together,” said McHenry.
Kayla Carpenter picked up six team points with a fourth-place finish in the 400 meters in 1:05.14 and was seventh in both the 100 and 200.
Gregory was second in both the 1,600 and 3,200, picking up eight points in each event.
Gregory and Fitzpatrick were fifth and sixth in the 800.
Lydia Carpenter won the 1A girls pole vault title, clearing 6-9.
“It takes practicing every single day to get the form right and for a long time it didn’t pay off, until the last couple meets,” said Carpenter. “It’s all about the form. It takes the perfect combination of steps, knee drive and twisting over the bar.”
Carpenter also put together a time of 54.30 to take fourth in the 300-meter hurdles.
Friend added three more points for the Falcons with a sixth-place finish in the shot put.
It’s a solid finish for a program that will be making the leap to Class 2A next season.
With the season ever-so-slightly in the rearview, Sierra Lutheran’s head coach said she was impressed most by the comradery.
“They really cheered each other on and encouraged each other at practice,” said head coach Hannah Krenz. “I give them workouts and they go out and do them together. (I was impressed) by how hard they worked.”
