The Holton boys and Nemaha Central girls were victorious on Thursday afternoon claiming Big 7 track and field titles for 2023. 

Girls: Nemaha Central finished atop the leaderboard with 204.5 points while Holton finished in second place with 121 points. 

Sabetha (68), Royal Valley (66), Perry Lecompton (48), Jefferson West (46.5), Hiawatha (42) and Riverside (14) rounded out the team scoring. 

The Thunder swept the relay events winning the 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800. Cami Dalinghaus won both the shot put and discus while Julie Rottinghaus won the triple jump and Makenna Sloop claimed the high jump. 

Hailey Nordhus added a first place finish for the Thunder in the 400 meters. 

Holton had a solid afternoon finishing runner-up with first place finishes from Eva Cortes in the 3200 meters and Tiara Dodd in the 100 meter hurdles. 

Sabetha was led by Mary Lukert who won both the 800 and 1600 meters.

Royal Valley picked up first place finishes from Samantha Klotz in the 200 meters and the long jump. Addilyn Lefferd also earned 10 points for the Panthers as she won the pole vault. 

Hiawatha's Darcy Lierz and Dani Morton won the 300 meter hurdles and 100 meter dash events respectively while Perry Lecompton's Taylor Damme finished first place in the javelin. 

Boys: Holton claimed their first Big 7 track and field title in 17 years as they finished the day with 150 points while Nemaha Central finished in second place with 116 points. 

Perry Lecompton (104), Hiawatha (98), Sabetha (80), Royal Valley (37), Jefferson West (23) and Riverside (1) rounded out the team scoring. 

The Wildcats had a handful for first place finishes with Gary Booth winning both the 100 and 200 meters while Brayden Peek won the 400 meters. 

The Wildcats also won both the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays. 

The Thunder were led by Connor Deters who won both the shot put and discus events. Carter Rottinghaus added a first place finish in the long jump and John Langill won the 3200 meters. 

The Kaws were led by Kael Gorski who picked up a couple of top spots in the 110 meter hurdles and high jump while Gunnar Ball won the 300 meter hurdles. Kamryn Kaniper finished first place in the javelin. 

Hiawatha landed top finishes from Jordan Hodge in the 800 and 1600 meters along with a first place finish in the 4x800 meter relay. 

Royal Valley's Quinton Nelson won the pole vault and Sabetha's Nohl Niehues won the triple jump.