Launch the media gallery 1 playerBurwell's Kelley Dominates Centura Invite
September 04, 2018
Reprinted from the Grand Island Independent.--Marc Zavala
CAIRO — Michaela Kelley wasn’t quite as nervous before the Centura Invite this season.
Last year, the Burwell senior was competing in her first ever cross country meet, so it was a learning experience while finishing second.
This season, with a full year of experience under her belt, Kelley went out and took care of business by easily claiming the girls title in 19:43, almost two minutes ahead of Ravenna’s Jordyn Fiddelke Tuesday at Centura Hills Golf Course.
“Last year I was just learning how to run cross country, but this year I know what I’m doing and I know how to pace myself,” Kelley said.
That she did. Kelley was never challenged as she held more than a 40-second lead on Fiddelke after the first mile and gradually increased that lead throughout the race.
Kelley said she wanted to get a personal best but she felt she didn’t go out too fast.
“I don’t usually take off super fast. I like to save for the end and for the last couple of miles,” Kelley said. “I listen to my body and if it’s telling me I can go faster, then I go faster. It was really hilly today.”
Burwell coach Kevin Carson said Kelley ran a good race despite not having anyone around her for a majority of the time.
“With not having anyone close to her, I think she really pushed herself and really controlled herself during the race,” Carson said. “That’s not an easy thing to do sometimes but I sat with Michaela with a strategy, and she’s really good at following the plan and doing what we think she needs to do to be successful in a race. She’s really smart like that.”
Kelley said she wants to keep improving and bettering her time. She also wants to get another medal from the state cross country meet where she finished fifth last year.
“I would like to get under 19 minutes and try to get into the 18:30s if possible,” Kelley said. “I want to get another medal at state and improve on my finish last year.”
The Shelton boys had a pretty good day at the meet.
Ry Cheney claimed the boys race in 17:46. He was one of four Bulldog medalists to help them win the boys title with 30 points, 12 ahead of Kearney Catholic.
Cheney wasn’t as dominate as Kelley was but had no one around him for a good portion of the race as he won the race 20 seconds ahead of St. Paul’s Jeff Moody.
Cheney, who’s a transfer from Cody-Kilgore, said he felt OK during the race, even though he felt the heat got to him a little bit.
“The heat was a factor but I was just going out and ran my best time. I did run my best time this year but not all time,” Cheney said. “I just wanted to go out and set the pace and hold on at the end because I knew I had to go out pretty fast if I wanted to break 18 minutes. That’s what I wanted to do and I did that.”
Shelton coach Matt Walter said Cheney has been a nice addition to the Bulldogs.
“He sets the pace for everyone in practice,” Walter said. “He helps pulls along the other runners to help them be successful. He really performed well for us today.”
Jesus Sauceda (seventh, 18:41), Angel Lehn (ninth, 19:10) and Ethan Dack (14th, 19:36) were the other medalists for the Bulldogs.
Walter said he liked what he saw from Shelton.
“We had a pretty good day today,” Walter said. “I think we had eight runners in the top 25. We have guys that have been stepping up and competing well for us. We have some veterans that have done well and some newcomers that are just getting better all the time. We won the Gibbon Invite last week and it’s a great start.
“But we don’t want to settle for where we are right now. They want to improve their times and they have bigger aspirations. We want to keep improving so we can perform well at districts and hopefully have a good showing at the state meet.”
The Ravenna girls took home the team trophy with 28 points, edging Kearney Catholic by six points. Fiddelke was one four medalists as Kacey Dethlefs was fifth (22:30), Sophia Schroeder came in 12th (24:05) and Savanna Douglas took 13th (24:19).
“Our girls are doing great so far this year, especially Jordan and Kacey,” Bluejay coach Tiffany Jacobsen said. “They are up there all the time and they keep improving. This was a great win by the kids. They definitely competed very well today.”
Heartland Lutheran brought home a pair of medals. Abigail Staehr finished eighth at 23:39 for the girls, while Joshua Rathen was 12th at 19:27 on the boys.
