Goessel track teams qualify 15 for state years ago
By DELBERT PETERS
Contributing writer
It was a gorgeous day for a regional track meet Friday, and the Goessel High School track team took advantage.
Seven Bluebird girls and seven boys qualified to compete in the biggest track spectacle Friday and Saturday for high school sports in the state of Kansas — the state track meet.
The boys' track team won the regional 1A meet as a team for the third year in a row.
"Several of the kids are complaining of aches and bruises," coach Sandy Banman, said, "but I can't let them rest the whole week before the state track meet. They'll be ready."
Brett Goerzen will be involved in the maximum four events as he qualified in the 100-meter dash, pole vault, long jump, and 4x100m relay.
Garrett Hiebert also will be in four events at state, participating in the triple jump, javelin, 400m dash, and the 4x400 relay.
Craig Banman will run in both relays and also represents the Bluebirds in pole vault and the 300m hurdles.
Sheldon Goerzen will be in both relays and the 300m hurdles.
Martin Koppitz qualified in the triple jump and 1600m run.
Weston Hiebert and Cameron Stultz will be part of their relay teams.
"We are really strong running this year," senior Brett Goerzen said. "It's awesome to actually qualify in all four events. This is the first year that I made it in the 100m dash," he continued.
Three seniors (Brett and Sheldon Goerzen and Garrett Hiebert) helped the Bluebirds to their third championship in a row at regionals.
Koppitz, an exchange student, came up with some of his best performances at the end of the season.
Banman set a school record with a vault of 13 feet in the pole vault.
Kylee Nikkel and Tricia Fensky are the two senior girls for the Bluebirds to advance to the state track meet.
Nikkel will participate in shot put for the first time at state, after taking fourth at regionals.
Fensky will return to the pole vault event at state. She vaulted 8-6 at regionals, setting a school record
Three freshmen and an exchange student (Sara Bowman, Lindsey Wedel, Kristen Hoffman, and Susi Schraml) will take the 4x800m relay to the state track meet. Their time of 10 minutes, 49.2 seconds set a school record.
Aspen Frey took second at regional in the 1600m race with a personal best of 5:41.
The top four finishers in each of four regional track meets advanced to the state meet this weekend at Wichita State University.
Each class of schools compete against only their class, but track fans get to see phenomenal athletes from all size schools compete in the same arena.
