Great Bend Post
Jun 23, 2025

Great Bend's Ohnmacht finishes 14th at Nike Nationals in Oregon

Posted Jun 23, 2025 5:02 PM
File photo - Mike Courson
File photo - Mike Courson

By MIKE COURSON
Special to Great Bend Post

Cooper Ohnmacht had to travel more than 1,600 miles to find some competition. The junior at Great Bend High School has won Class 5A state championships in the triple jump in each of the past two seasons as the state's overall leader in the event. Sunday, he tried his talents against the nation's best at the Nike Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. Ohnmacht's leap of 47-1 was good enough for 14th place.

As a freshman, Ohnmacht set the GBHS record in the triple jump. Last month, he reset that record by winning a regional title at 48-3, the best mark in Kansas this spring. He won his second state title a week later, beating the 5A field in Wichita by 18 inches at 47-1.5.

Ohmacht's career-best would have been good enough for just eighth place in Sunday's loaded national championship event. Yehven Zhmailo, a 16 year old from Washington State, won the title by nearly a foot with a mark of 52-0.75. That would rank No. 1 all-time in Kansas by five inches. Zhmailo smashed his own Washington state record by 13 inches.

Miles Nesmith, a 17 year old from Memphis, was the only other jumper over 51 feet Sunday at 51-2.25. Nesmith entered the event as the nation's top high-school triple jumper.

Ohnmacht was also a third-place finisher in the long jump at state this year, and a state qualifier in the javelin. He also debuted in the high jump as a sophomore.