AVOCA – There were 257 registered before organizers cut it off at Saturday’s reboot of the Avoca Quack Off.

Brandon Goodyear, a mechanic from Lincoln, placed fourth in 2019 and won the championship at the 41st duck race.

 

Goodyear: “I just quacked at him and he took off … quack, stomp the foot and he was gone.”

Emily Carlson of Medford, Ore., and biochemist Sheila Day had a photo finish.

Day: “We’ve been coming to the duck races for 25 years. It’s just a fun event. So out of the 25 years, we’ve placed three years, but we don’t’ care. We just like coming and supporting a small town. We like doing this event because it’s just something fun to do in Nebraska in January.”

Shianne Walther, a 24-year-old  equine manager from Springfield, Mo., is a first-year racer.

Walther: “I was trying to really get on his level and really like move him forward and it just wasn’t working out, but it’s okay.” (Will you be back next year?0  “Yeah, for sure.”

The Avoca Quack Off, which raises funds for the volunteer fire department, was not held during the coronavirus pandemic.