Boone Central’s Jackson Roberts provided himself a graduation present in the 2023 Nebraska State Track & Field Championships at Omaha Burke Stadium May 18, winning the Class B 300 meter hurdles and securing a second consecutive All-Class Gold Medal in the event. It took a deciding lunge at the finish line and Boone Central school record time of 37.69 to accomplish the feat, and in doing so Roberts joined elite company with one of Nebraska’s top performances ever in the 300 intermediates.
Roberts time leaves him ranked 6th in the Top 10 300 hurdle performances in state history. His victory in the 2023 Class B final will be remembered as a triumph in one of the event’s best races in state history, with runner-up Elkhorn North’s Jacob Horner clocking the 7th fastest time in the 300H Top 10 and 3rd place Tyler Carroll of Central City tieing for the 10th best time.
The 300 meter intermediate hurdles All-Time Top 10 (compiled by the Omaha World-Herald) is the following: 1- Aaron Brandt, Wahoo Neumann, 2006 (37.29); 2- Jeremy Buckner, Gr. Island, 1991 (37.36); 3- Jeff Luebbe, Seward, 2002 (37.40), 4- J Jones, Beatrice, 1981 (37.46); 5- Chad Hohnstein, Scottsbluff, 1996 (37.60); 6- Jackson Roberts, Boone Central, 2023 (37.69); 7- Jacob Horner, Rlkhorn North, 2023 (37.70); 8- Stephon Washington, Omaha Burke, 2010 (37.71); 9- Ira Cooper, Omaha Westside, 1998 (37.82); 10T- Drew Anderson, Kearney, 2000 (37.89) / Tyler Carroll, Central City, 2023 (37.80).
