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HARTINGTON — The Hartington-Newcastle girls showed balance across the track and field Wednesday, using strong distance running and relay depth to turn in a solid all-around performance at their home invitational.
Leading the way for the Wildcats was sophomore Vayda Lippert, who turned in one of the top distance efforts of the meet. Lippert captured the 800-meter run in 2:34.57 and added a runner-up finish in the 1600 (5:56.80), giving Hartington-Newcastle a key one-two punch in the distance events.
Lippert’s win in the 800 highlighted a strong showing from the Wildcats in the middle distances, where they consistently stayed in the mix against a competitive field that included Ponca, Pender and Tri County Northeast.
Hartington-Newcastle also made its presence felt in the sprints. Senior Lainey Morten placed eighth in the 200 (29.75), while Jade Ford added a fourth-place finish in the long jump (15-7½) and helped power the Wildcats’ 400-meter relay team.
That relay — consisting of Nora Lange, Morten, Kloe Fischer and Ford — finished fourth in 56.55, showing the Wildcats’ depth in the short sprints.
In the hurdles, sophomore Ella Eickhoff delivered a strong effort with a fourth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles (55.01), while also tying for second in the pole vault by clearing 8-0.
The Wildcats continued to add points in the field events. Karissa Bruning placed fifth in the shot put (29-4), while Ford added her scoring effort in the long jump. Eickhoff’s vault and additional contributions across the field helped round out a balanced team performance.
Hartington-Newcastle also showed depth in the longer relays, finishing fourth in the 3200-meter relay with a team of Jaden Opfer, Kloe Fischer, Hadley Grutsch and Bruning.
