Cronin Leads Badgers at Norfolk with 3 Gold Medals

The 2025 Norfolk Classic was held on Thursday, May 1st. Valentine qualified several track and field athletes for the Northeast Nebraska Invitational. It was a great day for a track meet, and the Valentine Badgers brought home several medals. Junior Aiden Hand brought home 6th place with a jump of 5'0 in the girls' High Jump. Isaac Cronin jumped 6'4 and was the champion, with Andon Olson jumping a personal best of 6'2 and earning the 5th place medal. Isaac was the champion of both hurdle events with a new PR and school record of 14.89 seconds in the 110s and a personal best in the 300s with 39.57 seconds, just shy of the meet record. He was also the 3rd place finisher in the long jump with a jump of 20'7". Paige Sprenger earned the 6th place medal in the 100 m hurdles with a time of 15.91 seconds, and Maeli Patterson was the 4th place medalist with a season best of 26.29 in the 200 m run. The boys and girls 4x00 meter relay qualified but did not medal. The boys' team was made up of Dominic Beebout, Andon Olson, Trystan Beebout, and Jekhi Williams, and the girls ' team was made up of Joni Cox, Maeli Patterson, Danika Janssen, and Paige Sprenger. The girls 4x800 meter relay finished just short of the medals but ran a personal record of 10:27. This team is made up of Addison Stec, Clarrah Beebout, Aiden Hand, and Annalena Nelson. Other qualifiers for the day were Paige Sprenger in the 300 m hurdles, Annalena Nelson in the 800 m run, and Jekhi Williams in the 200 m run.