Stiefel tops 13 feet at Chadron meet

Well, that’s a heck of a way to start a season.
Freshman Tenlee Stiefel started the Custer High School track season with a bang last Saturday at the Chadron State (Neb.) College High School Outdoor Track and Field Meet when she topped 13 feet in the pole vault, a height that won the meet by two feet.
Stiefel also broke the school record, becoming the first female pole vaulter in school history to top 13 feet. Her older sister Ciana, a three-time state champion who is now a freshman on the University of South Dakota track team, was the former record holder at 12-9.
Tenlee became the first Stiefel over the 13-foot mark after all three—sister Kelsey did not compete due to injury—had openly stated they wanted to be the first to do so.
Just how impressive was her vault? Consider these facts:
• The vault broke the Chadron State College facility record. No college woman pole vaulter had ever cleared 13 feet, let alone a high school student. The best mark by a college woman there is 12-9.
• Stiefel’s vault would have won the boys’ competition at the meet—by a foot.
• Her vault put her at third in the nation for high school students this year.
Custer head coach Karen Karim didn’t get to witness the vault as she was watching the 100 yard dash, but said prior to the mark Stiefel was soaring over the bar by a foot, and almost got over 13-3.
“It was pretty exciting,” Karim said.
For good measure, Stiefel also placed third in the 200 with a time of 27.21.
Stiefel was not the only Custer champion on the girls side.
Karyn Ellerton won the discus handily with a best throw of 129-9 3/4, while also placing third in the shot put at 37-6 1/4.
The Wildcats got another third-place finish from Siena Schultz in the 100 at 13.23, while Evelyn Garcia was third in the 1600 at 7:15.88. The 400 relay team of Sunshine Surratt, Jasmine Harbison, Gabriella Hardesty and Racina Hagedorn also placed third at 58.80.
Schultz picked up a fourth-place finish in the 200 at a time of 27.37, as did Makayla Dennis in the 800 at 2:41.37. Fifth-place finishes came from Kiran Pesicka in the 800 at 2:41.38, Ava Hohn in the shot put at 29-2, Gabriella Hardesty in the triple jump at 26-10 3/4 and Gloria Keller in the pole vault at 8-6.
In sixth place was Taylor Busch in the 200 at 28.30, Rylan Lowe in the discus with a best throw of 101-1 1/4 and Busch in the high jump at 4-10.
Busch picked up another place in the 100, running a time of 13.4, good for seventh place. Lowe finished seventh in the shot put with a best throw of 28-10 3/4, and Hohn was seventh in the discus with a best throw of 99-5.
Finally, the girls received eighth-place finishes from Myah Keller in the 200 at a time of 29.12 and the long jump with a leap of 14-3 3/4, Makenzi Ham in the 800 at a time of 2:48.97, and Ella Sheffield in both the shot put and discus with top throws of 28-8 1/2 and 94-3, respectively.
The boys had three  champions, including Kian Rusch in the 1600 at a time of 4:51.76, as well as Ezra Wollman, who tied for the pole vault title with a top height of 12-0. Jameson Wiles grabbed the other championship, winning the discus with a top throw of 130-10.
The boys picked up a  second-place finish in the 100 relay, as Marcus Merrill, Daniel Wozny, Eli Kobza and Cheydon McPhee joined forces to post a time of 48.73. Brady Virtue also grabbed a second, leaping 39-8 1/2.
Danny Immormino was third in the long jump with a top leap of 19-8 1/2, as was Carter Cooper in the 800 at 2:13.50, Mason Dirkes in the high jump at 5-6 and Adam Hohn in the 1600 at 5:01.04.
Zach Cooper grabbed fourth in the 400 with a time of 53.50, and Zane Gunnell was fourth in the 1600 at a time of 5:01.15.
Fifth place finishes included Lincoln Golder in the shot put with a best throw of 41-2, Virtue in the long jump at 19-2 and Immormino in the 100 at 11.53. Zach Cooper was sixth in the 200 at 24.85 and Logan Olson was sixth in the discus with a best throw of 108-6.
Wollman picked up another place by finishing seventh in the 200 at 24.87, while other seventh-place finishes included Austin Drew in the 400 at 55.97, Will Kimball in the 800 at 2:21.63 and the high jump with a top height of 5-4 and Jared Cooper in the 1600 at 5:20.35.
Rounding out the placing was Wozney taking eighth in the 400 at 56.82 and Saylor Rice placing eighth in the 800 at 2:22.39.
The meet, which is typically held indoors due to volatile spring weather, was held outdoors for the first time ever. The temperature pushed 90 degrees.
“It was a good place for the kids to start. There were only five schools. It went fast,” Karim said. “We had some kids do pretty well.”
Many of the athletes already set personal bests in events and are matching marks they had at the end of the season last May. That bodes well for the rest of the season, Karim said.
“We also saw some holes in some places we need to work on,” she said.
The Wildcats will be in Newcastle, Wyo., this Thursday for the annual Laura Chord Memorial Meet. That meet is set for a 9 a.m. start.