In a record-setting spring for snow and cold in northern Minnesota, all the high school spring sports have been confined indoors in 2013. So we were excited to head over to Virginia for our first outdoor meet. About halfway through the 4½-hour meet, we were wishing we were back indoors. With temperatures in the high 30s and a 10-15 mph north wind blowing right down the finishing stretch, you had to have a parka and boots over multiple layers to stay warm. And none of us—athletes, coaches or fans—were truly prepared. But it was nice to get in a competition with 10 other teams, led by track powers Virginia, Moose Lake, Eveleth, South Ridge and Mesabi East.
The Vikings are a senior dominated team, with 10 seniors among our 35 competitors. We have our usual mix of seasoned veterans and newbies, some of whom haven’t competed in high school sports before, let alone track (which way do we run, what are the lines for, how far is it?) .
Senior co-captain Peter Warren is leading the charge for the boys. He has placed in Sections the last three years in the 100 and/or 200-meter dash, with a best of 4th in the 100 last year. He really wants to get to state this year – with a top 2 finish required. He’s worked extremely hard, but two of the top three sprinters ahead of him return, including two from Virginia. The Vikings’ distance runners are traditionally our strength, and this year is no different, with cross-country standouts Ben Seaton, Sarissa Falk, Audrey Summers and Joey Chmelik providing our leadership. Unfortunately, the last-minute change to this meet meant that 10 athletes couldn’t join the team due to other commitments. Oh well, runners take your marks….
First up is the 4×800, the longest relay. Our girls’ team of Sarissa, Audrey, Maya McHugh, and Morgan Weyrens-Welch got us off on the right foot, with a fine 11:29, 2nd place finish with all the girls running under 3 minutes. The boys were not so fortunate. A combination of lack of a very clear starting call and some inattention caused them to miss the start. Live and learn. We redeployed them to other events since we were short staffed.
Then we moved to some of the sprints. Senior Meadow Adams got her season off to a great start, placing 5th in 19.6 in the 100 high hurdles. She returned later to place 3rd in the 300-meter low hurdles in 55.5 – making her our highest scorer on the girls’ team. A nice reward for a lot of off-season work. Kyle Martinson scored for the boys in the 110 high hurdles, placing 5th in 20.1. It wasn’t his prettiest effort, but it was courageous, being his first race since a fall at last year’s Polar League 110s resulted in a badly broken collarbone.
Next up was the 100 meters. As anticipated, Peter was in the fast heat with the top Virginia and Moose Lake sprinters. He was excited, as we all were. First-year runner Luke Fenwick joined him in that heat. With a bird’s eye view holding down his starting block, a coach couldn’t ask for a better spot. Unfortunately, he reacted slowly to the gun, coming out of the blocks last, ½ step behind. He held his form though, moving up to 3rd in 11.9. Luke had a fine run of 12.8, finishing 10th in the 30 runner field. Jessica Berg-Collman led the girls in the 100 with a 10th in 15.4 plus a 14th by Libby Zafft in 15.8.
Meadow and Danielle Hanson joined Jessica and Libby in the 4×100 where they placed 10th. Doing triple duty, Jessica was joined by junior high runners Alyssa Martinson, Alicia Smith and Wellesley Howard-Larsen in the 4×200, which also placed 10th. Noah Warren, Will Lamb, Finn Garry and Roman Schnobrich represented the boys in the 4×100 scoring team points by placing 8th. Kyle led Will L., Roman and Noah to a fine 7th place finish in the 4×200.
Then we hit the 400 and 800 middle distance runs. Our attention was focused on the girls’ 800, where Sarissa was trying to see where she stands. A top cross country runner, she had never run track, although she is planning to run both in college next year. The 800 is a tricky run too. Too long for sprinters, but very fast for distance runners. With a field of 18, and three top section runners, this would be a good test. At the start, she got boxed in, sitting in about 8th. She worked her way up to two other girls, but had lost touch with the top two. She timed her sprint well, finishing 3rd in 2:42, and learned how hard an 800 can be.
Meanwhile, teammates Alyssa and Matea Acero placed 10th and 11th in 2:55 and 2:57 respectively. It was a rewarding run for Matea, one of our top distance runners who has been fighting a hip injury since last fall.
Ben led the boys in the 800 with a fine 2:23 run, good for 6th place. Not very far back, Roman and Will Seaton tied in 2:41, with Will Lamb just behind in 2:43. The girls’ 400 got us more points than we expected. Molly Thomas, a very talented 8th grade middle distance runner, dominated the slow heat and finished 5th overall in 1:10. Alyssa, our Miss Steady, was 10th in 1:16.
The distance runs are usually big scorers for the Vikings, and this meet was no exception. Audrey was our highest scorer, running an outstanding 13:14 in the two mile, finishing 3rd in a very strong field. Ninthgrader August Carpenter took a big step up, placing 7th for the boys in 13:07. In the mile, Ben finished 5th in an excellent early season time of 5:18, his brother Will and 10th grader Rusty Day had big personal bests, running 5:45 and 5:49 respectively. Rusty’s progress has been phenomenal. Two years ago he was running 9 minutes, now he is under 6. And he has earned it with a lot of off-season (and on his own) miles. If you drive through Grand Marais, I’m sure you’ve seen him running. For the girls, young cross country stars Maya and Morgan ran 6:28 and 6:30 in conditions they didn’t appreciate much.
Sprinters wrapped up with the ½ lap 200. Peter got out to a good start and dominated the field with a 24.7 win. It was a little tarnished to Peter, as the top Virginia runners didn’t run the 200. The boys and girls both placed 5th in the 4×400. Peter led the team of Ben, Will S. and Luke to a 4:01. His lead-off leg of 53.8 was outstanding – looks like he’ll get to try the open 400 next meet! Meanwhile, Sarissa led the girls’ team of Molly, Maya and Morgan to a 4:59.
In the abbreviated field events (due to melted snow), Will L. PR’d in the triple jump with a 29’ 4” jump. Will S. threw the discus 78’ 6” leading our boys. We had fun with Luke, Danielle, and Jessica in the discus. None of them had tried it before the meet. We were out in a baseball outfield learning the basics. Luke responded with a 75’5” throw, while Jess just missed placing with a 68’ throw and Danielle threw 55’.
Overall, the girls placed 6th in the team competition, while the boys were 7th. We look forward to real track weather and a full team when we return to the Iron Range for the big Eveleth Invitational.
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