Above: Zoe Nonnemacher ran strong to the finish line in the girls’ 4×200 meter relay at the track meet held in Esko. Far left: Tarin Hanson, below left, ran a fine leg in the girls’ 4×800 meter relay. Left: Jack Haussner, pressing hard, helped the boys to a second place finish in the 4×800 meter relay.
The Cook County Vikings Track and Field team was finally able to get outside for a meet this past week. We competed both at Two Harbors on Tuesday, May 3 and at Esko on Saturday, May 7. With a team of over 40 kids (most between 7th and 10th grades) it will be a fun group to watch develop over the years.
At the Two Harbors meet we had some great performances in field events. Claire Sherburne threw the discus 76 feet, Alicia Smith threw it 71 feet and Emily Jacobsen threw the discus 69 feet. Jacobsen placed fourth in the shot put with a throw of 28 feet 8 inches. Two Harbors gave us a good beginning point for our athletes so we could see their growth throughout the season.
Despite the 20-mile-per-hour gusts at Esko on Saturday we had many wonderful performances. Our 4×800 meter relay team of Will Surbaugh, Leif Anderson, Jack Haussner, and Andy Kern finished in 2nd place with a time of 10:19.
Our 4×200 relay team of Vaughn Swindlehurst, Will Lamb, Jerod Spry, and Henry DeArruda-Weaver finished in 5th place with a time of 1:55.
Meanwhile Andy Kern and Tate Crawford finished in 7th and 8th place in the 1,600 meter race with times of 6:06 and 6:19. These were both PRs for them. Leif Anderson finished in 3rd place in the 400 meter dash with a time of 57.06, which is a big personal record (PR) for him.
Keenan Hingos, Ole Sorensen, Doran Acero and Kestrel Pollock finished in 6th place in the 4×100 relay with a time of 1:05.
This year we have two young guys who are brave enough to try the 300-meter hurdles and already they are bringing down their times by over four seconds within the first two meets. Jack Haussner finished in 5th place (54.2) and Henry DeArruda-Weaver finished in 6th place (1:00). Jerod Spry and Will Lamb raced the 200-meter dash and they finished strong in 5th pace (27.55) and 6th place (27.91).
We ended the meet with several exciting events for the boys. In the two-mile Will Surbaugh raced for a PR but somehow managed to miss PRing by one second as he finished in 2nd place with a time of 11:41.
Kevin Viren gave the two-mile a go and did a great job as he ran in a time of 13:43 and he placed 6th.
Our 4×400 meter relay team (Lamb, Anderson, Haussner, and Spry) placed 3rd with a time of 4:17.
Our two triple jumpers had a big day of improvement. Haussner jumped four feet further than his previous meet and finished in 6th place (31’04”) and DeArruda-Weaver jumped two feet further and finished in 8th place (29’08”).
The girls started the meet with a different event called the sprint medley relay. This event consists of two 200m legs, a 400m leg and an 800m leg. Our team consisted of Sophie Eliasen, Claire LaVigne, Molly Thomas, and Maya McHugh, in that order. These girls finished in 2nd place with a time of 4:50. This set a great tone for the meet and the kids were excited.
The Vikings’ 4×800 meter relay of Louise Ramberg, Tarin Hanson, Marin Hay and Aurora Schelmeske finished in 4th place with a time of 12:28.
Meanwhile, our 4x200m relay (Zoe Nonnemacher, Chloe Blackburn, Payton Dobin, and Ellen Callender) finished in 3rd place with a time of 2:17. Sophie Eliasen finished in 2nd place in the 400m dash with a time of 66 seconds with Molly Thomas in 4th place with a time of 70 seconds. Sister duo Robin and Linnea Henrikson finished in 5th (59.91) and 8th (68.54) place in the 300m hurdlers despite running in to a strong wind. Breaking 60 seconds for Robin was a big moment.
Finishing in 4th place in the 800-meter run (2:46) was McHugh who then came back to be on the 4×400 meter relay team which finished in 3rd place with a time of 4:41 along with Eliasen, Jacobsen, and Thomas. Claire LaVigne had a strong showing in the 200m dash and finished in 2nd place with a time of 29.98, which was a PR.
Despite it not being a PR kind of a day we had several in the field events. Emily Jacobsen threw the discus 74 feet and the shot put 29.01 feet. Abbey Stoddard had a long jump mark that was 9’ 2” and Sophie Eliasen triple jumped 25’10” and finished in 6th place.
We will have a small group of the kids competing on Friday, May 13 at the Matt Kero Invitation at Public School Stadium in Duluth. Events begin at 4 p.m. Come and cheer on your Vikings.
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