LEXINGTON – The threat of thunderstorms and tornadoes loomed all day Friday during the Don Bader Invitational at Ray Ehlers Stadium.
However, most of the thunder was from the thunderous applause from the crowd on hand.
Many fans were treated to some of the top athletes from across the state as 25 teams were in attendance for the event dedicated to the legendary cross country and track coach.
No team score was taken during the event, but a few records fell as Lexington, Elwood, Overton and Gothenburg represented Dawson County.
Sophomore Lindsie Woolley, nursing a sore groin muscle, was able to pull out a victory in the 100-meter dash, with a winning time of 12.4 seconds, .2 seconds better than her preliminary time.
Junior Hailey Mandelko took third place in the 200-meter dash, falling short of second place by .2 seconds, as McCook’s Whitney Korgan took the gold with a time of 26.5 seconds.
Sophomore Sydney Seberger had a successful Bader Invite, as she took four medals on the day. Seberger took third place in the 100-meter high hurdles with a time of 16.4 seconds. North Platte’s Tenisha Matlock shattered the meet record with her time of 14.8 seconds, nearly shattering the men’s record.
Seberger also took silver in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles with her time of 49.2 seconds. Seberger finally took two medals in the 4×100 (gold) and 4×400 (silver) relay events.
Two of Elwood’s relay teams represented well at the Bader, taking eighth in the 4×100 relay with a time of 54.8 seconds, as well as taking sixth in the 4×400 relay with a time of 4:36.
Overton only had one girl representing at the Bader, as Kayla Stauffer ran both the mile and two-mile runs. Stauffer did not medal in either of the two races.
The boys’ meet put on quite a show for the crowd on hand as a handful of Minutemen, Pirates and Eagles were able to snatch a few medals during the day.
Alex Hovie was a four-time medalist as he took a bronze in 100-meter dash with a personal best time of 11.1 seconds. Hovie took a gold medal in the 200-meter dash with his time of 23.2 seconds. Hovie took two more medals, both in relay races, as the 4×100 relay team captured third place with a time of 45 seconds flat, then took third place in the 4×400 relay race with a time of 3:34.
Lexington senior Zach Schmidt inched closer to breaking the 50-second mark Friday, as he won gold in the 400-meter dash in a winning time of 50.8 seconds. Schmidt was also part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams.
Hawken Albus also nabbed a good share of medals at the Bader, grabbing second in the long jump with his leap of 20 feet, 10 ½ inches, along with third in the triple jump with his jump of 42 feet, 1 inch. Albus also took fourth place in the 200-meter dash with a sprint of 23.9 seconds.
Overton’s Jacob Olmstead represented the Eagle throwers well Friday, as he placed sixth in the shot put with his toss of 48 feet, 4 ½ inches, along with taking eighth in the discus throw with a throw of 140 feet, 7 inches.
Jared Shafer fell in the middle of the pack in the shot, finishing in 16th position and Zach Olmstead wasn’t able to place in the discus throw.
For the Pirates, the 4×800 team took a fourth place finish with their time of 9:00. The 4×400 relay also took a medal, taking sixth place with a time of 3:44.
Lexington is in action next when they travel to Holdrege for the Holdrege Invite on Friday, while Elwood and Overton rest and prepare for the FKC meet, set for April 30 in Elwood.
The FKC track meet is set to start at 10 a.m. Meet results and photos will be in the Saturday issue of the Clipper-Herald.

• Elwood Pirates
• Lexington Minutemen
• Overton Eagles

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