Left: Ben Seaton was a workhorse for the Vikings this season. He typically ran the mile and ran several legs in relays. Seaton, a senior, will be missed next year. Above: Showing great form, Rachel Todd (right) placed third in the 100-meter hurdles at the Polar League conference meet. Like Seaton, Todd was a senior and will be missed next year.
As senior sprinter Peter Warren headed to the State track meet, Coach April Wahlstrom took a look back at the great season that just finished for all of the Viking Track Team members.
Wahlstrom said she really enjoyed coaching at the Polar League Conference meet. “Once the Polar League Conference meet rolls around it is always so fun because kids begin to really improve their race times,” she said.
At the Polar League meet on Wednesday, May 15, Wahlstrom said the Vikings put their best foot forward. Cook County girls came in 5th place and the boys came in 6th place. Winning the conference meet for both boys and girls was Esko followed by Moose Lake- Willow River in 2nd place.
The Vikings all showed improvement in the sprinting events. Rachel Todd had great form in the 100m hurdles, running a season’s best and earning 3rd place.
Kyle Martinson also had his best race of the season finishing in 8th place (18.70).
In the 300 hurdles, Meadow Adams ran a PR, coming in 4th place with a time of 54.55.
In mid-distance events, Molly Thomas had a huge personal record (PR) in the 400m dash with 65.67 seconds and a 4th place finish.
Peter Warren earned All-Conference in this event with a 2nd place finish at a time of 55.31 seconds for one lap round the track.
By the time the 800m race rolled around it was quite warm out and our Vikings haven’t had many opportunities to run in the heat. Ben Seaton had a breakthrough race with a huge personal record for his career, running the mile in 5:05 and coming in 5th place. August Carpenter also had a PR with 5:56.60. He has really made great improvements this season.
The heat didn’t get the 2-milers down! Audrey Summers and Maya McHugh both had a breakthrough day. Maya lead the first few laps and then Audrey took over and led Maya the rest of the way. This teamwork led to huge PRs for both of them. They finished 6th and 7th consecutively with 13.05!
Wahlstrom said the relays were exciting, as all of the team members push each other to better and better times.
Field events were equally as exciting, with Mara MacDonell having a PR day in the long jump, making it 13 feet 2 inches. Will Lamb had his best jump of the season, jumping 29’10”.
Coach Wahlstrom said she was equally pleased with the team’s performance at the sub-section meet on May 22, where they were challenged by rain and a hydraulic spill on the track.
Despite the slippery track, there were many outstanding finishes. The overall standings for the Viking girls was 9th place out of 14 teams. The boys finished in 8th place. In overall standings the girls finished in 9th place out of 14 teams in the sub-section and the boys finished in 8th place.
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