Gardner, Flaming lead Wildcats in Omaha

Mariah Gardner capped her Wallace track career with two medals at Friday and Saturday’s Nebraska Class D State Championship, while Kendyl Flaming brought home a medal of her own in her first appearance in Omaha.
Wallace Head Coach Danielle Snider said she’s proud of her team’s performance.
“State track is a whole new animal and can be very intimidating for those who have not been before. I think with most of the girls that qualified…they definitely made some noise while down there,” Snider said.
Gardner started off her meet with the anchor leg in the 3,200-meter relay with Ashley Robertson, Ryleigh Hanson and Reagan Pelster.
“The girls did so much better this year. The pressure kind of got the girls last year making their performance less than impressive. The ladies were competitive and had an under 11:00 time  which I was happy with,” Snider said.
Gardner also tackled the 3,200-meter run on Friday. Gardner took seventh place and ran a PR, as did Robertson.
Snider said Gardner set the goal of medaling at state and she did that and more.
Gardner wrapped up her meet Saturday with a third-place finish in the 1,600-meter run, also finishing with a PR.
Behind the two PRs over the weekend, Snider said Gardner definitely left it all out on the track.
“We all thought for a minute she was going to win the mile but just came up short. We were more than happy with a bronze medal. After peeling her off the track she was so happy and proud of herself,” Snider said.
Snider added that Robertson did great as rookie in Omaha.
“She ran a PR in the 2 mile and had the fast split in the girls 4x800. I cannot wait to see what she can do next season.”
Flaming also got her first action Friday with the 100-meter hurdle prelims. Flaming finished third in her heat and had the sixth fastest time in prelims. In the finals Saturday, Flaming placed sixth.
Flaming finished just off her Friday in the 300-meter hurdle preliminaries and didn’t reach finals.
Flaming had an outstanding season, getting better and better every meet, Snider said.
“At the beginning of the season she just wanted to break 18 in the 100 hurdles, and now she is cruising at a steady 16. Bringing home some hardware was just the icing on top of the sundae,” Snider said.
Brooke Bryant started off a chilly Saturday morning tackling triple jump. Bryant did not advance to finals.
Snider said Bryant’s attitude was great and she got three good jumps in.
State Track Meet
Girls’ Class D—1. North Platte St. Pat’s, 46; 2. Sterling, 40; 25. Wallace, 11.
1600 Meters—1. Kate Stienike, 5:38.74, North Platte St. Pat’s; 3. Mariah Gardner, 5:39.40, Wallace.
3200 Meters—1. Darla Nelson, 12:01.47, Wausa; 7. Gardner, 12:47.60, Wallace; Ashley Robertson, 13:30.61, Wallace.
100m Hurdles—1. Macy Richardson, 15.17, Sterling; 6. Kendyl Flaming, 16.58, Wallace.
300m Hurdles—1. Carli Bailey, 47.20, Ansley-Litchfield; Flaming, 49.79, Wallace.
4x800 Relay—1. St. Francis, 10:02.93; Wallace (Robertson, Ryleigh Hanson, Reagan Pelster, Gardner), 10:55.20.
Triple Jump—1. Macy Richardson, 36-07.00, Sterling; Brooke Bryant, 30-03.25, Wallace.