NHS Track Boys Stay
Persistent, Effort Pays Off
Maximum effort became the driving force behind the Newkirk
High School boys' track and field team during the 2007 spring
season. Jeff Wilson, in his second year leading the program,
expected it from his athletes, and in retrospect, he was pleased
with the efforts they made.
As a team, the Tigers confronted several obstacles such as inclement
weather, illness, and injuries but kept churning ahead and made
runner-up finishes three times at Pawhuska on April 5 and
in the Class 4A division at Ponca City on April 10 then in their
own meet at Holtby Field on April 21. Also, eight NHS boys qualified
for the 3A State Track Meet in a total of five events, including
the 3200-meter relay team of junior Brady Wilson, senior Cory
Spotted Bear, senior Nick Felix, and junior Justin Perry. Also,
freshman Thomas Rodgers and Perry competed in the 3200 run at
State, sophomore Daniel Pameticky ran in the 110 hurdles, seniors
Kelly Mantz and Stephen Thomas participated in the high jump,
and Mantz made his mark in the pole vault, clearing 11'6"
to claim a sixth-place medal at State.
After what he termed as a slow start, Coach Wilson liked the
way the Tigers "picked it up". And he credited several
of the members of the senior class, which featured a total of
eight in the group of Felix, Chase Johnston, Tyson King, Mantz,
Barry Phillips, James Rodgers, Spotted Bear, and Thomas for embracing
the concept of participating in multiple events so that the team
could prosper.
"We had a bunch of seniors come out that hadn't been out
the year before," the coach depicted. "I said before
that I probably could not have gone through the high school and
picked out a better group of guys to have come out at that time.
... We had Stephen (Thomas) out and we had Cory (Spotted Bear)
out, and those were two good guys that scored a lot of points
for us (during the 2006 season), but I would certainly have liked
to have those other guys out at least last year. I think it would
have really helped them. But those guys did everything I asked
of them, and they may not have as many medals or those kind of
things, but I think I got 100% out of those guys."
Pointing out several runners who displayed diligence, Coach Wilson
proclaimed, "I would rather have these kind of guys that
are good people and want to work hard, and maybe they don't win
every race, but they give you 100%. I'd rather have those kind
of people than people with all kinds of ability that don't use
it. I'd rather work with these guys that want to be here."
Mantz made the most of his opportunity, excelling down the stretch
in not only the pole vault but all of his events. Coach Wilson
assessed, "Kelly (Mantz) was a definite bright spot, scoring
for us in the pole vault at State. He equalled his personal best
at the conference meet (April 23) at 10'0", then he set
a new personal best at 11'0" at the Regional Track Meet,
(April 28), then he reset his personal best again at the State
Meet with 11'6" (May 5). I was very pleased with Kelly's
progress. I thought he kind of stepped it up and performed well
when the pressure was on."
The coach continued, "Kelly ended up scoring in four events
at the Regional Track Meet. He stepped in on two relays (400
and 1600) for us. He got the high jump and pole vault to the
State Meet. When we looked at our Regional pairings, I thought
the transition Stephen (Thomas) made from the 200 to the 100
certainly helped him. He ran a pretty good 100 at the Regional
Track Meet for us (finishing in :11.20), and it wasn't quite
good enough to get him to State, but that's all he had. He gave
us 100% in that 100 run."
Looking back on the high points of the season, Coach Wilson offered,
"We got to run against Tonkawa, the Class 2A State champions,
a couple of times, and I thought we competed with them pretty
well in our 3200 relay, which was one of their strengths. They
won it (at State), so they were pretty good at it, and we just
kept getting closer and closer to them."
B.Wilson filled the starting position on the 3200 relay team
and ran the best split for much of the season "Brady (Wilson)
really came along," Coach Wilson explained. "He was
definitely one of our bright spots. He's very competitive, and
he continued to improve. ... You kind of know what you're going
to get with Brady in that 800. He always gives himself a chance
to win."
Spotted Bear stood out as well, according to the coach, who expressed,
"Cory had a good season and was consistent in his races.
... We don't have a lot of guys that can run a :54 (400) walking
around, so we're certainly going to miss him. When we changed
up the order on the 3200 relay a little bit, we saw Cory kind
of step it up and compete a little more. He brought his time
down another four or five seconds from his personal best down
to a 2:09, which is really fun to watch."
Coach Wilson continued, "Nick (Felix) came out and supplied
us with a good leg on that 3200 relay. He's pretty competitive,
and after watching him run on that relay the first time, we knew
he was going to be one of the guys that would work for us. On
our 3200 relay, we had a hard time kind of finding our fourth
guy. ... We tried three or four guys, so I talked to Justin (Perry)
about it, and we knew it was going to hurt his 3200 run time,
but he was willing to step in and fill that role for us, which
I'm very appreciate of from him. I think that was probably part
of his performance at the State Track Meet. He left quite a bit
on the track in that 3200 relay, but that's just the kind of
competitors that we have."
Illness kept sophomore Maxx Goad from competing in the postseason.
Coach Wilson detailed, "Maxx was definitely a bright spot
for us in the 400 (dash) and the 400 relay and 1600 relay. I
thought he was on the upswing. He cleared 5'10" in the high
jump at Tonkawa, and he had run a :53 quarter in the relay and
on the open (400), but unfortunately, he had the injury along
with the illness. ... That's one of the things that's tough.
When you see a kid work that hard all year, then he doesn't get
the opportunity to compete, I think that's kind of disheartening,
but that's just the way it is sometimes."
An injury slowed junior Colton Leaming. "We tried Colton
in a couple of different relays, and we kind of fit him into
the 1600 relay and were looking at him in the open 400, but then
he had his injury, and he didn't run for a few days. He was able
to come back, and compete in one event at the Regional Track
Meet, but he wasn't back to 100%. He just kind of ran that race
on all guts, I thought, and he didn't run that bad of a time
(:57.34 in the 400)."
A few more developments also stood out to Coach Wilson. He liked
what he noticed in the 138-point performance by the Tigers on
their home track. "I thought we came out and competed harder
at our track meet than we did the year before," Coach Wilson
forwarded. "And it may have been a little higher caliber
of competition that we saw, but I thought that they represented
Newkirk in a very strong way."
The efforts of T.Rodgers and Phillips also drew praise. "I
thought Thomas (Rodgers) came along there at the end," stated
Coach Wilson, citing Rodgers' 11:04.14 clocking for fourth place
at the Regional level. "Barry (Phillips) ran well for us
all year. Again, I wish we would have had him the other years,
but in Barry's first year out for (high school) track, he was
willing to try anything that I asked of him, which was kind of
the same thing with all these guys. But Barry ended up running
the second leg on our sprint (400) relay, and he ran the two
hurdle races (110 high and 300 intermediate). He's a pretty coachable
kid, and he certainly improved a tremendous amount."
In looking ahead to the future of the program, Coach Wilson wants
more hard-working male athletes like Phillips to take up the
challenge of track participation. J.Wilson finished, "We're
going to be a little thin next year since we're losing this big
class of seniors. Hopefully, there will be some underclassmen
that maybe haven't been out in a year or two that kind of recognize
the success these guys have achieved and would like to have some
of that success, too. Track is not an easy sport, and you're
going to get out of it whatever you put into it."
Lady Tiger Track Team
Produces Best Showing
At Regional Meet
Gradual gains allowed the Newkirk High School girls' track
and field team to produce some outstanding feats during the 2007
season. As a team, the Lady Tigers managed to work around injuries
and illnesses and some uncooperative weather to make a total
of seven top-three finishes in the team standings over the first
nine meets of the year, and several individuals also excelled
over the course of the spring.
The NHS girls forged a runner-up showing at the Class 3A Regional
Track Meet in Stroud on April 28, racking up 113 points in the
14-team gathering and sending 10 athletes for the 3A State Track
Meet in a total of 10 events. During the season, the Lady Tigers
placed atop the 4A division at Ponca City (April 10), came in
second at Pawnee (March 29) and Tonkawa (April 16), and finished
third at Pawhuska (April 5), Newkirk (April 21), and the Big
8 Conference competition at Tonkawa (April 23).
At State (May 4-5), the Lady Tigers set a school record with
a time of 10:07.43 in the 3200 relay as the team of senior Erin
Sheik, freshman Sara Felix, sophomore Kaylyn Pulley, and sophomore
Hayley Luis took fourth in the race. Individually, Pulley ran
sixth in the 100-meter hurdles.
"I think we had some really strong events, and we scored
well in those events all year long," NHS Head Track &
Field Coach Jeff Wilson described. "At the State Meet, we
obviously scored well in the 3200 relay, and we scored in the
hurdles. Those were the only two races we scored in. There were
just some events leading up to that that kind of handicapped
us a little bit."
He continued, "But I was happy with our performance as far
as the 3200 relay goes, and there were some individuals that
kind of stepped up at the right times. I was really happy with
the way some of our first-year people kind of stepped up there
towards the end. Erin (Sheik) was a senior, but that was her
first year out with me. Sara (Felix) definitely stepped it up
towards the end. Then, Hayley (Luis) and Kaylyn (Pulley)
are competitors all the time. Courtney (Landis) kind of peaked
a little bit early, but those are some of the problems that kind
of handicapped us a little bit, some of the medical problems
she had."
Landis, a freshman who competed in four events early in the season,
was limited to just one late in the season, due to a health condition.
Early in the season, the Lady Tigers lost sophomore Callie Case
to injury. As a freshman, she qualified for State in the high
jump and as a member of the 3200 relay team.
Wilson summed up, "But all in all, I think we had the puzzle
put together correctly. Now that I look back at it, one or two
little switches is all I would have changed. It's really not
much, so I think we had people in the right spots for them to
score at the State Meet, had everything went like it should have."
While their performance at State came up short of what they desired,
the Lady Tigers experienced plenty of exhilaration at the Regional
level a week earlier, winning a total of five events. The 3200
relay team prevailed, and individually, Luis (400 and 3200) and
Pulley (100 hurdles and 3200 hurdles) both snared a pair of individual
gold medals. The Lady Tigers also advanced to State in the 1600
relay with the team of junior Lauren Leven, junior Taylor Voegele,
Luis, and Pulley in a season-best time of 4:18.94; the shot put
and discus with senior Courtney Baldridge, the high jump with
sophomore Katelyn Peters, and the 800 run with Felix. Landis
joined Pulley as a State qualifier in the 100 hurdles, and sophomore
Meeka Gentry joined the Lady Tigers' State contingent as an alternate
runner on the 1600 relay team.
"I definitely think the Regional Track Meet (at Stroud)
was probably our highlight of the year for the girls," Wilson
assessed. "We had so many personal bests on that day. The
kids really delivered. They ran well and threw well and jumped
well when we had to have them. I thought we certainly put a scare
into Henryetta (128 points) for the Regional title. We were second
with 113 points, and that was one of our highest point totals
(of the season), and it came against some pretty quality teams."
Reflecting further on the season, Wilson commented on the gains
he observed, declaring, "Our 3200 and 1600 relays really
came along. Obviously, our 3200 relay ran well at State, and
our 1600 relay, I was proud of those girls at the State Meet.
I thought they ran as well as I could have asked them to at that
time. Our 3200 relay kind of established itself early (in the
season), but our 1600 relay, we used a lot of different lineups.
I'm not sure we used the same lineup more than once or twice
in a row. Using the competitive edge and making it kind of a
reward for having the best time in the (open) 400, I kind of
think that maybe brought some of our times down."
Due to the demands of her other races, Luis was unavailable for
the 1600 relay at State. Sheik and Felix moved into the lineup
to join Voegele and Pulley, and the group ran a 4:20.05 in the
preliminaries, narrowly missing the finals and coming in barely
a second off their season-best time.
At the outset of the season, Pulley made a smooth transition
to the hurdles and she began the season by winning the 300 hurdles
the first nine times she ran the race. Wilson explained, "Switching
Kaylyn (Pulley) from some of the distance races into the (100
and 300) hurdles was kind of a big step for her, and I thought
she kind of embraced that and kind of took it as a challenge.
And had we not had a couple of bad things happen to her in the
prelims of that 300 hurdle race (at State), I think she would
have definitely come home with a medal in those also."
The coach elaborated on Pulley's impressive streak, emphasizing,
"When you can race the defending State champion in 3A (Pawhuska's
Rachel Smith) in the 300 hurdles three times and beat her every
time, I think that tends to build your confidence. And she was
pretty confident in that race, but odd things happen at the State
Track Meet, but it's just one of those things that you really
don't have any control over."
Several more developments also delighted Wilson. Felix's late-season
surge helped the 3200 relay, but she also emerged on her own
in the 800 run and impressed her coach with her will to run the
1600 at the Regional meet where she finished fourth. "I
kind of like that attitude," Wilson forwarded. "Down
at the State Meet, I talked to the people I had ready if we needed
them (in the 1600 relay), and she was ready to go, and she was
ran a great leg for us."
He lauded the individual strides made by a couple of Lady Tigers,
stating, "Lauren (Leven) made some gains during the season
that I was pleased with. ... At the Regional meet, I thought
Courtney (Baldridge) stepped it up and had her two best throws
of the year, so I'm definitely proud of that."
Baldridge and Sheik the two seniors on the girls' squad
drew great appreciation from their coach for the direction
they provided. "Those two girls are really quality individuals,"
Wilson issued. "Their attitudes and work habits all year
set a real good example for the younger girls. We're really going
to miss those girls, not only by the way they scored for us in
our track meets, but we're going to miss their personalities,
too."
However, the bulk of the Lady Tigers return, which gives Wilson
optimism about the promising days ahead for the NHS girls' program.
"We saw a lot of good things from a lot of people, and we're
an extremely young team," he underscored. "We're 65
to 70% underclassmen sophomores and freshmen so I
really think the outlook for our track program over the next
couple of years is really a bright one. With the younger kids
we have coming back and with Taylor (Voegele) and Lauren (Leven)
and Megan (Sweaney) going to be our senior leaders next year,
I really think those girls will kind of set the tone for us,
and with the class of sophomores that will be juniors, I think
they will step right in there and probably be leaders for us
also, so I definitely think it's going to be a good group of
girls again."
Lady Tiger Track Summary: (Season-Best Marks)
Event Lady Tiger Athlete Measurement (Meet-Place)
400 R Team :54.82 (Ponca City-1st)
800 R Team 1:55.68 (Conference-3rd)
1600 R Team 4:18.94 (Regional-2nd)
3200 R Team 10:07.43 (State-4th)
100m Janell Simpson :13.40 (Newkirk-5th)
100m Meeka Gentry :13.80 (Conference-DNP)
100m Mysti Nesiba :14.31 (Newkirk-DNP)
100m Katie Rowell :15.38 (Newkirk-DNP)
100 H Courtney Landis :16.30 (Newkirk-2nd)
100 H Kaylyn Pulley :16.31 (Newkirk-3rd)
100 H Mysti Nesiba :17.87 (Regional-4th)
200m Katelyn Peters :30.12 (Pawhuska-DNP)
200m Janell Simpson :29.49 (Ponca City-2nd)
200m Sara Felix :30.81 (Ponca City-6th))
200m Katie Rowell :33.87 (Pawhuska-DNP)
300 H Kaylyn Pulley :48.41 (Conference-1st)
300 H Courtney Landis :55.18 (DNP-Stroud)
300 H Mysti Nesiba :55.65 (Pawhuska-4th)
300 H Katie Rowell :60.64 (Regional-DNP)
400m Hayley Luis :61.91 (Regional-1st)
400m Erin Sheik :65.66 (Regional-DNP)
400m Taylor Voegele :67.24 (Conference-5th)
400m Meeka Gentry :67.36 (Ponca City-4th)
400m Sara Felix :68.23 (Tonkawa-DNP)
400m Janell Simpson :72.13 (Newkirk-5th)
800m Sara Felix 2:34.19 (Regional-4th)
800m Kaylyn Pulley 2:42.93 (Newkirk-1st)
800m Lauren Leven 2:42.93 (Regional-DNP)
800m Taylor Voegele 2:45.31 (Regional-DNP)
800m Diamond McConnell 3:07.27 (Ponca City-3rd)
800m Janell Simpson 3:14.00 (Pawnee-DNP)
1600m Sara Felix 6:13.22 (Regional-4th)
1600m Taylor Voegele 6:53.18 (Pawnee-DNP)
1600m Diamond McConnell 7:33.56 (Newkirk-DNP)
3200m Hayley Luis 12:21.87 (Ponca City-1st)
L. Jump Erin Sheik 14'2.00" (Regional-DNP)
L. Jump Mysti Nesiba 14'0.00" (Ponca City-1st)
L. Jump Meeka Gentry 13'11.00" (Pawhuska-4th)
H. Jump Katelyn Peters 4'10.00" (Tonkawa-3rd)
H. Jump Callie Case 4'8.00" (Stroud-5th)
H. Jump Courtney Landis 4'4.00" (Newkirk-T-4th)
P. Vault Diamond McConnell 7'6.00" (Okeene-T-2nd)
Discus Courtney Baldridge 90'1.00" (Conference-3rd)
Discus Megan Sweaney 80'8.00 (Tonkawa-DNP)
Discus Jillian Ryan 69'8.00" (Conference-DNP)
Shot Put Courtney Baldridge 32'7.50" (Regional-2nd)
Shot Put Megan Sweaney 29'2.75" (Newkirk-5th)
Shot Put Jillian Ryan 24'7.00" (Okeene-DNP)
400 Relay team consists of Janell Simpson, Katelyn
Peters, Lauren Leven, and Meeka Gentry.
800 Relay team consists of Janell Simpson, Katelyn
Peters, Lauren Leven, and Meeka Gentry.
1600 Relay team consists of Lauren Leven, Taylor Voegele,
Hayley Luis, and Kaylyn Pulley.
3200 Relay team consists of Erin Sheik, Sara Felix, Kaylyn
Pulley, and Taylor Voegele.
Italic indicates school-record performance. The previous
3200 relay record of 10:08.46 was established in 2003.
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