Above: When she’s not logrolling Jessica Berg-Collman shows she’s also a good runner. Collmann placed 6th in the 100- meter dash at the Barnum track meet to help her team win the meet. Right: Joey Chmelik (L), and Daniel Ahrendt (second from right), placed 5th and 6th in the 2-mile at the Barnum track meet. The boys finished 4th in the meet.
When we were planning for this meet, our goal was to try and score as many team points as possible, rather than our usual plan of looking for individual improvement in anticipation of the upcoming Polar League Championships and Section 7A playoffs. Realistically, there are many scoring events such as high jumping, pole vaulting, long and triple jumping, and throwing that we don’t have the equipment and facilities to practice. So it is tough to compete for team titles. Well, actually we don’t have a track either, but that’s okay, we improvise, get creative and do the best we can.
Not that this meet was a pushover – everyone from the Polar League except powerhouse Esko and Two Harbors would be there, plus Aitkin, a team we only see at Sections. In fact, based on seed times (best results turnedin so far this season), we were a 3rd or 4th seeded team coming in. We carefully spread our top athletes into as many individual events as possible, often to the detriment of recording a best in any single event, and we made sure we fielded relay teams in all the relays. And hoped for a number of positive surprises.
Surprises start the meet
It didn’t take long to get the first big surprise. Sisters Amber and Rachel Todd have been improving in hurdling but were the 7th and 8th seeds. Rachel was put in the slow heat, which she promptly won by a decent margin. Older sister Amber, the slowest seed in the fast heat, was off at the gun, never looked back, and won by a wide margin too. When they put the combined results up, we were ecstatic, not only did Amber win, but Rachel took second – and we had 14 points in the bank.
Next up, 9th seeded Jessica Collman moved up to 6th in the 100-meter dash, getting us another hard-earned point. (Places 1 – 6 score 8-6-4-3-2-1 points respectively). Girls’ team leader Ailee Larson took her assignment of trying to win the mile and half-mile races in stride, doing just that with controlled but solid 5:36 and 2:30 times. Shelby Ahrendt added points with a 2:46 3rd place finish in the 1/2, while Cheyenne Sorlie added a 4th in the mile with a 6:29. We threw young cross-country veterans Matea Acero and Audrey Summers in the most avoided track event, the 2-mile, and they responded with 1st and 2nd places in 13:36 and 14:04 respectively.
We did a little horse-trading with junior long sprinter Molly Zafft. We know she is a top 400- meter racer, but she kept asking (whining?) to do the short sprints. So we agreed on putting her in the 200 here, with a promise to try the 100 next week if she did well. She ran the 400 first, and put in a big effort with a PR 1:03.9 2nd place finish in a great duel with an Aitkin girl who had a 4-second seed advantage. Molly lost by less than a second, and showed the effort—looking so pale we though she might pass out. When we suggested she sit out the 200, which was only 3 events later, she would have none of it. Of course she made me eat my words by winning in her first try at the shorter dash. Meanwhile, Kara Ramey contributed with a 6th place finish in the 400.
Amber returned to lead our field eventers, with a 3rd place 13’ 11” long jump. Mara MacDonell just missed in her very first try at the triple jump, with absolutely no practice, jumping a competitive 25’ 8”. New, but talented junior high thrower, Abby Sutton was drafted for this varsity meet, and she responded with a 5th in the discus and an 8th in the deep shot put field.
Our sprint relay team of Amber, Rachel, Ava McMillan and Jessica won the 4×100 and were 2nd in the 4×200. Mara, Kara, Shelby and Ailee were 3rd in the 4×400, while Shelby, Audrey, Matea and Kara were 4th in the 4×800. When they added it up, we had 94 points and our first win, over Cromwell and Moose Lake with 68, Aitkin at 58 and Barnum at 49. Way to go girls!
Boys 4th in 8-team Sap Run
Our boys’ team, with as many stars as the girls’ team but not as much depth finished 4th behind Moose Lake, Aitkin and Barnum, but not for lack of trying. Sprinter Peter Warren took on his normal 100/200 dash duties, and added the 400 in-between, his first try at the open 400. He responded well with a 2nd in the 100, 3rd in the 200 and 4th in the 400.
Many-time state meet competitor Kieran Scannell’s assignment was the same as Ailee’s, win the ½ mile and the mile. He couldn’t contain himself, however, as he started with the mile. He took off with sub-70 second laps, set a PR of 4:38.4 and won by almost 30 seconds. Rumor has it that put him in 2nd place on the CCHS all-time mile list, passing current teacher Dan Viren. We haven’t seen an official record list, however. It cost him in the ½ mile, as the combination of the effort in the mile and a slow starting pace allowed fresher legs to pass him in the finishing stretch, were he settled for 3rd.
Joey Chmelik and Daniel Ahrendt earned points in the 2-mile with 5th and 6th finishes, as did Kyle Martinson with a 5th in the 110 high hurdles. Our 4×800 team of Levi Axtell, Daniel, Nate Carlson and Joey had our best relay finish with a 3rd, just getting out leaned by Cromwell. Our sprint relay team of Kyle, Bjorn Johnson, Cy Fortunato and Levi placed 5th in the 4×200.
Next week we return to Barnum for the Polar League meet, with Subsection looming ahead.
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