ARAPAHOE – The Elwood track teams were on the road Wednesday as some of Class D’s best were on hand for the Arapahoe Invite.
The boys got a chance to compete with some of the best track athletes in the area, and competed quite well as the Pirates took seventh place.
Jake Rogers, in a very difficult 100-meter dash heat, finished well as he was in a tie for 13th place with a time of 12.5 seconds. Ben Kugler of Eustis-Farnam was the winner of the 100 with a time of 11.3 seconds.
Braeden Banzhaf is writing his own unique finish to his high school sports career, one that would include a successful senior track season. Banzhaf finished in fifth place overall in the 400-meter dash with his time of 54.8 seconds.
Senior Jesse Roberts also continues to have a successful senior year, taking two medals Wednesday. Roberts finished in fourth place in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 1 ¾ inches. Roberts also took a bronze medal in the triple jump with his jump of 41 feet, ¾ inches, just two inches short out of second place.
The relay teams took three medals in the relay races, as the 4×100 team took third place in 46.5 seconds, finishing behind second place Alma by only .10 seconds, The 4×400 team taking a silver medal with their time of 3:39.60, finishing behind winner Bertrand by only one second. The 4×800 relay team took a fifth place finish with their time of 9:20.20.
Elwood finished with 40 total team points, which was good enough for seventh place overall. Cambridge was the overall team winner with 93.5 points.
The Lady Pirates didn’t see as much success Wednesday as the boys team, but still managed to come away with a few medalists overall.
Lexie Remmenga took fifth in the long jump with her jump of 14 feet, 9 inches. Cayla Polston of Arapahoe was the winner with her leap of 15 feet 3, ¾ inches.  Remmenga was also in a tie for seventh in the 200-meter dash with her time of 29.5 seconds. Remmenga fell short of sixth place by only .10 seconds.
Molly Weissert fell just a few tenths of a second away from taking a medal, as she finished in seventh place overall with a time of 18.3 seconds. Weissert finished behind sixth place Brook Juhl of Cambridge by only .4 seconds.
Skyler Wigstone failed to pick up a medal for the first time all season in the sprinting events, not qualifying for the finals in the 200-meter dash and finishing in eighth of the finals in the 100-meter dash.
Freshman Rachel Mahlberg nabbed a sixth place medal in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles, finishing in a time of 54.5 seconds.
The girls did take three medals in the relay races, taking fifth in the 4×100 relay, sixth in the 4×800 relay and third in the 4×400 relay.
The Elwood girls finished with 12 points overall, but the standings were unavailable.
Elwood took part along with Overton in the annual Don Bader Invitational Friday afternoon in Lexington.
Elwood will host the Fort Kearny Conference Meet on April 30.
Full results and photos will be in the Apr. 28 issue of the Clipper-Herald.

• Elwood Pirates

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