OMAHA – After missing her mark the previous two weeks at the Central Conference and District track meets, Alexis Bliven wasn’t entirely confident on how her State Track and Field performance would shake out.
“At the district meet in Aurora, I didn’t jump the best. I was scared to go jump at state,” said Bliven. “I had been jumping in the higher 16’s. I was wanting to jump a big jump.”
Prior to heading out to Omaha, Bliven did what she knows best: she got back to work.
“Coach Jantzi decided it would be a good idea to get back to the pits and work on my mark to make sure I was on the board. We did a lot of run throughs.”
This work ethic wasn’t anything new to Bliven, who had dedicated herself to finding excellence by working through the off-season:
To top off matters, Bliven entered her final attempt in Omaha behind others she was competing against. Having to jump early in the final flight, Bliven knew this would be her final opportunity to make that big leap.
Bliven describes the moment she knew she had a chance at being the Class B State Champion:
“I looked at Coach and I saw him say, ‘That was a good jump’. That is when I knew I had a chance,” added Bliven.
“It was an honor to get first. Hearing the audience, the coaches, my family, especially my dad. I held my excitement until I knew I had won after everyone else had jumped. It was just amazing,” said Bliven.
After a successful senior season for the Holdrege Dusters, Bliven will take her talents to Northeast Community College to pursue a pre-Nursing degree while playing basketball with the Northeast Women’s team.
