Familiar faces returned to Burke Stadium on Saturday for the first day of the USA Track and Field Nebraska Junior Olympics.

Many of the stars of both the Nebraska and Iowa girls state high school championship meets participated in the meet that's the first step toward qualifying for the National USATF Junior Olympics next month in Sacramento, Calif.

The top six finishers in each event at the meet, which concludes Sunday, advance to the Region 8 championship meet July 8 to 11 at Indianola, Iowa. From there, the top three are eligible to move on to Sacramento.

One of the most competitive races was the Young Women's (ages 17-18) 100-meter dash as six of the top eight sprinters from last month's Class A final met again.

Maia Reynolds of Omaha North again emerged victorious, winning in 12.40. Breunna McCarty of North finished second in 12.52, 0.01 ahead of Millard South's Clara Nichols. It was Nichols who edged McCarty for second at the state high school meet.

Also advancing to the regional meet in the fourth through sixth positions were Neeia Cooperwood of Omaha Marian, Edna Johnson of Omaha Westside and Janesha McGhee of North. Last month McGhee was fourth, Johnson sixth and Cooperwood eighth in the Class A final.

LaQue Moen-Davis of North, who became the first Nebraska high school jumper to break 20 feet, won the long and triple jumps. She also finished second in the 100-meter hurdles to Alex Gochenour of Missouri Valley, who had the top time running for Lo-Ma at the Iowa state meet.

Gochenour just missed the Nebraska Association record of 14.0 set by Jackie Washington of Omaha in 1977 by winning in 14.02, while Moen-Davis finished second in 14.18. The two are scheduled to duel again in Sunday's 200-meter dash along with Reynolds, Nichols, McGhee, McCarty, Johnson, Cooperwood and three other sprinters.

Earlier in the week at the association multi-event championships, Gochenour topped Ashley Selig's Young Women's heptathlon record of 4,674 points by scoring 5,142.

Three other girls all-class gold medalists won events Saturday. Omaha Roncalli's Kristie Mullen won the Young Women's 800 in 2:15.13, more than three seconds ahead of Scottsbluff's Aubree Worden (2:18.36). Melissa Parks of Norfolk finished third in the 800 before winning the 2,000 steeplechase in 7:51.77.

Papillion-La Vista graduate Lauren Welch won the pole vault by clearing 12-5, a mark that was nearly five inches higher than her gold-medal leap last month, and Omaha Burke's Michelle Wallerstedt won the Intermediate Girls (15-16) discus with a throw of 143-5.

In the boys meet, all-class discus winner Brady Rutt of Hastings won his specialty with a throw of 161-4. Rutt also finished second with a 51-8¼ in the Young Men's shot put to the 53-9¼ by Drew Staskiewicz.

Xavier Thompson of Bellevue West, who tied for the all-class gold in the high jump in 2009, won the Young Men's title in that event by clearing 6-5.

Contact the writer:

444-1201, alexsdad@mail.com

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