HARLAN -- With spring temperatures on the rise and the wind finally starting to idle down, track athletes across the state are looking to use the upcoming week as a springboard toward qualifying for the Drake Relays later this month. If Tuesday’s Ken Carstens Cyclone Boys Invitational was any indication, the chase for Drake is well underway. Despite some lingering chill and breeze in the air, performances were on the upswing in Harlan as two

 EARLHAM -- With the team’s top hurdler sidelined, Harlan Community freshman Chloe Hansen stepped up in a big way at Tuesday’s Earlham Co-Ed Relays. Hansen posted impressive times in winning both the 100-meter hurdles (16.94 seconds) and the 400-meter hurdles (1:10.04) as HCHS scored 126 points to claim its first team title of the season. The Cyclone girls won six events in all, set a pair of meet records and scored 23 times in 18 events, impr

 ASHLAND, NEB. -- Harlan Community Activities Director Mitch Osborn has been named honorary chairman of Nebraska’s 7th Lymphoma Walk, scheduled for Saturday, April 23 at Mahoney State Park near Ashland. The fundraising event, which is a 5K walk, will start at 9:00 a.m., rain or shine, and will be followed by a free lunch that all participants are invited to attend. There is no cost to register, but donations are encouraged.

 NEOLA -- Sophomore sprinter Gage Clay added to his collection of gold medals in the 100 and 200-meter dash Monday night, winning both events to help AHSTW finish sixth out of 10 teams at the Tri-Center Boys Invitational track meet. Facing a brisk northwest wind, Clay posted first-place times of 12.11 seconds in the 100 and 24.30 in the 200, well off his season-best times of 11.19 and 22.98 which both rank in the state’s top 30 (all classes).

 HARLAN -- A balanced scorecard highlighted the meet for Harlan Community Tuesday as the Cyclone boys improved to 2-0 with a dominating 47-stroke win over Lewis Central, 162-209. Kevin Campbell paced HCHS with a medalist round of 39, followed by Matthew Bjoin (40), Max Langenfeld (41) and Shane Chamberlain (42).

 HARLAN -- Tri-Center’s overall speed and ball-handling skills proved too much for the Harlan Community girls soccer team Monday night as the 9th-ranked (1-A) Trojans scored in bunches and blanked the Cyclones, 7-0, at Merrill Field. Junior Samantha Brich finished with a three-goal hat trick and Emma Dahir added two goals for T-C, which led 3-0 at halftime and took full control by scoring three times during a three-minute stretch early in the

 CARROLL -- Winning its fourth straight low-scoring, one-goal decision, the Harlan Community boys soccer team improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in Hawkeye Ten Conference play with a 1-0 win at Kuemper Catholic Monday night. Senior Ethan Knudson provided the only score of the game by converting a penalty kick with 28:48 left in the second half.

 HARLAN -- Conditions were certainly less than ideal, but it didn’t stop quality performances from going on the board in Thursday night’s 19th annual Koos Relays girls track meet at Merrill Field. With temperatures falling into the 40s, athletes battled northwest winds gusting up to 40 mph on the back stretch that also provided a nice push on the final straightaway. Harlan Community scored 96 points and placed third out of 10 teams on its home

 HARLAN -- Amber Gross and Maggie Langenfeld of Harlan Community both carded a 54 for the top scores Thursday, but Denison-Schleswig’s balance prevailed in the end as the Monarch girls topped HCHS by 18 strokes (246-264) in a windy season opener at the Harlan Golf and Country Club. Gross notched the only par of the dual with a four on number two and took medalist honors over Langenfeld on a tiebreaker handicap hole.

 DENISON -- Max Langenfeld’s two-over-par round of 37 easily earned medalist honors Thursday and led the Harlan Community boys golf team to a triangular sweep over Denison-Schleswig and Charter Oak-Ute at Majestic Hills. HCHS finished with a 169, followed by Denison’s 195 and the Bobcats’ 224 as high winds made an already challenging course that much more difficult to navigate. Langenfeld’s round included two birdies, three pars and four bogey

 SIOUX CITY -- One poor stretch of defense made the difference Friday night as the Harlan Community soccer girls dropped a 6-3 decision at Sioux City West. HCHS, now 1-1 overall, led 1-0 until the Wolverines punched home three goals in the last 12 minutes of the first half and added another during the opening two minutes of the second. Cyclone junior Haley Arkfeld scored twice in the 44th minute to make it a 4-3 game, but West’s Fernanda Serna

 HARLAN -- The Harlan Community girls tennis team ran into a tough matchup in Thursday’s season opener, losing all nine varsity matches against a senior-laden Denison-Schleswig squad. HCHS did prevail in junior varsity action, winning 6-5. Northwest winds gusting over 40 mph made it important to hit shots low and firm, especially on the four unprotected courts north of the high school.

 DENISON -- The Harlan Community boys tennis team came up one victory short at Denison on Thursday, losing a 5-4 dual decision that puts the Cyclones at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the Hawkeye Ten. Isaac Stitz and Josh Cheek won singles matches for HCHS while the doubles teams of Stitz and Alec Plagman and Cheek and Kaleb Kaster also earned victories.

 CLARINDA -- Harlan Community scored 69 points and placed fifth out of eight teams in the Class 3-A division of Friday’s Clarinda Boys Cardinal Relays. The top four finishers were Lewis Central (153 points), Glenwood (124), Atlantic (86) and Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson (76). Shenandoah won the Class 2-A team title and Nishnabotna prevailed in Class 1-A.

 DUNLAP -- The IKM-Manning track teams combined to win five gold medals and both placed fifth overall at Friday’s Denison-Schleswig Co-Ed Meet held in Dunlap. The Monarchs handily won both team titles on the night with the Logan-Magnolia girls and Treynor boys each placing second. The IKM-Manning girls placed fifth with 73 points and the boys were fifth with 58 points.