Cornhusker State Games in final weekend

Lincoln-Cool and calm weather made for fast times in the Cornhusker State Games triathlon at Holmes Lake in Lincoln early Saturday. Sam Holmes, 24 of Kearney, was the overall male winner in a time of 1:03:17. The female overall gold went to 37 year-old Patricia Kramer of Lincoln in 1:16:58. The top junior male was 17 year-old Noah Burke of Lincoln in 1:08:08, while Rebekah Whittle 17, of Lincoln took the female junior gold in a time of 1:18:07.


In the Hy-Vee IronKids triathlon, conducted in conjunction with the CSG event, a pair of Colorado kids brought home top honors with 13 year-old Matthew Pochocki of Roxborough winning the boys title in 46:14 and 14 year-old Lina Kreuck of Englewood taking the girls gold in 48:50. The IronKids event drew competitors from 12 different states.


For past CSG Senior Athlete of the Year Jim Peter, the triathlon was his fourth event of this year's Games. The 60 year-old Lincolnite had participated in the 10K ENERGY Walk, the 50-mile cycle tour last weekend, before taking on the CSG's new sport, CrossFit and the triathlon. Following the triathlon, Peter skipped out on receiving his age-group gold medal, hurrying off to the second day of CrossFit at Lincoln's Camp Gargano.


The Games' largest ever TaeKwonDo tournament at the University of Omaha's HPER hall saw 192 athletes competing. Co-Directors Hilary and Mike Catron credited the air-conditioned venue and a renewed buy-in from studios across the state with the robust turnout.


"We have six or seven of the highest-ranked black-belt instructors in Nebraska serving as judges," Hilary Catron said. "Uniting the top experts gives the competition credibility with all of their students. When you have that kind of buy-in from the studios, you can have a truly statewide event."


UNO was a hub of activity over the two weekends, hosting today's WalkOmaha event and last weekend's badminton and wheelchair basketball competitions. Officials credited the venue as a key factor in attracting record numbers in all events it hosted.


CSG youth tennis competition concluded Friday with Lincoln's Trent Gardner winning the boys 18 and under singles title. Gardner upset top-seeded Jacob Wenger in the semi-finals before besting two-time gold-medal winner Justin Brinkman in the final. Lincoln's Natalie Cech breezed to the girls 18 and under title. In youth doubles, 12 year-old William Everett teamed up with 16 year-old cousin Carl Sjulin to win gold, while Hannah Everett and Danielle Kostal took the girls doubles gold.


Omaha's Bill Lowther's electronic darts team, appropriately named "Old Man Bill & The Kids", escaped with the open team gold medal, besting Lincoln's "Do Work" team in the final at Uncle Ron's in Lincoln. Kearney's "Three Dudes and a Chick" took the team bronze.


The 28th annual Games conclude tomorrow with eight sports scheduled. See complete results and other information at CornhuskerStateGames.com.

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