On the girls side, Kimball’s youth came into play--particularly in the speed events. Sophomores Kelly Green and Brooke Hager made it to the 100 meter dash finals, but finished fifth and sixth, respectively. It was the same story with freshman Jordyn McDowall in the 200 and sophomore Shelby Vogel’s 400 meter dash. Freshmen Hanks and Hailee Simpson participated in the 300 hurdles for the first time.

“I’ve never run before,” Simpson said of her sixth spot. “I’m proud of myself.”

The Longhorns’ team of Hanks, Regan Hinton, Angel Palmer and Darbi Klinkhammer earned runner up in the 4x800 relay--a first for Hinton.

“It wasn’t as as bad as I thought,” she pointed out. “I gained confidence when I passed Hemingford.”

The 4x100 group--Hager, Vogel, Green and senior Annie McCloud--wound up in third, a mere two tenths behind Mitchell.

“I thought we had a pretty good chance,” reported Hager, who ran the third stint. “By the end of the year we should be faster than last year’s team.”

Hanks provided the highlight when the Longhorns’ took to the field. Her discus throw of 93-06 grabbed second in the event--the side’s best mark on the day.

“I’d say that’s a good start to the season,” she said, naturally excited.

McCloud took third in the discus and added a third in the triple jump.

Banner County’s girls saw several bright spots, in addition to Raisanen, who beat out teammate Amanda Harrison on both individual distance events and joined with her, Kodee Muhr and Rebecca Brenner to capture the 4x800 crown. Meanwhile Harrison, Muhr, Brooke Wyatt and Ashlynne Hanan nipped Pine Bluffs for second in the 4x400.

While distance seemed to be the Wildcats’ strength on the track, Muhr did edge Hanan for the win in a tight 300 hurdles race.

“I heard ‘she’s coming’--I was pretty scared,” Muhr recalled. “But first is the best way to start the season.”

Hanan and Wyatt earned podiums and critical points in the long jump and high jump, respectively. Sophomore Maegan Coffman’s 30-08 heave on the shot put range earned second spot behind Kodi Ragsdale of Pine Bluffs. But senior thrower Lindsey Soule struggled to cope with the remnants of last fall’s knee injury, fitting into a hopeful third in the shot, but falling to sixth in the discus.

“I’m learning how to compensate,” she explained, admitting to some weakness on the push off. “I’m happy with my footwork and consistency; precise technique helps.”

Kimball and Banner County--joined by Potter-Dix--travel to Bayard on Saturday.