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With the exception of the Rum River Conference relays, the North Branch boys track and field team had been playing second fiddle to Chisago Lakes all season. But the winds of change were blowing, rapidly.

Last Tuesday, they blew northward, all the way to Hibbing for the section 7AA True Team meet. Brian Hasleiet figured it was the perfect time for his Vikings to provide some payback. They did, winning the meet, advancing to the state True Team meet in the process for the first time in school history. Chisago Lakes finished second.

Sweet revenge.

“We knew we had been close (to beating Chisago) in the past,” said Hasleiet, North Branch head track coach. “It was just a matter of getting a bit more in certain areas. We got Phil Olson back. He threw in his first meet all year so it was really the first time we had our full line-up all season. We knew we had a good shot.”

Ken Orwoll thought the same thing. As a matter of fact, he felt it.

“I felt it and I think the kids felt it a little bit more,” said Orwoll, Chisago Lakes head track coach. “They had a couple guys back in action and they really made a difference. We had some injuries that we were dealing with. We didn’t get anybody to step up and they did. They performed really well.”

How well? Not only did the Vikings win the meet, they won it by 48 points, going above and beyond the call of duty.

Topping the list was the relays, a spot where most of the points come from at True Team. Of the four relay races, the Vikings grabbed one first and three seconds, earning a total of 87 points in just four events. In addition, sophomore Josh Beach finished first in the high jump and 300 hurdles, while Al Moore, Billy Oehlers, Bowie McClaskie, and Phil Olson each grabbed seconds. The second by Olson came in the discus, his first competitive meet since last year’s state tournament.

“Phil had a second and fourth, so he did really well for just coming back. Al (Moore) had an injured leg but he still came up with three thirds and one second so he really sucked it up. A lot of guys had personal bests, everybody scored,” mentioned Hasleiet. “Our relays were the bright spot. Relays score more points than individuals do. They did really well, scoring us a lot of points. When you can do well in the relays, it really helps you.”

It helped the Vikings right into the state True Team meet on May 22nd in Blaine. The True Team meet is not a State High League event. Instead, it is runs by the Coaches Association. It’s also one of the meets the Vikings highlight on the schedule before each season.

“It’s one of the meets we focus on. A lot of meets we do, team scores don’t matter a whole lot, but at the True Team, your team score is everything,” commented Hasleiet. “It’s big because it shows you where your weaknesses are, it shows how much depth you have. Everyone matters so you have to be strong in every event if you want to do well.”

The events kick off on the 22nd at 3 p.m. The Vikings will be representing section 7AA.

As for the Wildcats, the variables were just too much to handle. Injuries, mistakes, and pressure combined to give the ‘Cats fits all day. Favored to win the meet heading in, Chisago finished more than 40 points behind the Vikings.

“Favorites? I guess people could have called us the favorites going in but how do you really know?,” said Orwoll. “We hadn’t been through a meet like that this year. There definitely was some disappointment after the meet was over but what do you do?”

What do you do besides give it your best. The Wildcats did. Hobbling, the ‘Cats finished with three firsts and two seconds. Chris Hitchcock provided one of those firsts, winning the 110 hurdles. Andy Olness and Devin Swanberg also grabbed blue ribbons.

“Hitchcock had a breakthrough day,” replied Orwoll. “Our jumpers always do really well. Andy jumped well. Our horizontal jumps are doing really well, they are so consistent.”

Unfortunately, the Wildcats did not share the Vikings success in the relays, picking up two thirds, one fourth, and one sixth. While North Branch racked up 87 points with their relays, the ‘Cats countered with 60 points.

“North Branch did an outstanding job,” said Orwoll. “Their relays were big. We had poor hand-offs and that hurt us. Plus, without Jungmann (Joe) in the 400, I knew we would be off.”

The Wildcats still have a slight chance to advance to the state True Team meet via a wild card spot. However, Orwoll gives them about a two to three percent chance of making it.

Section 7AA True Team meet

Boys team results-

1. North Branch 388.50

2. Chisago Lakes 340.50

3. International Falls 334.50

4. Proctor 282

5. Hibbing 265.50

6. Eveleth-Gilbert 259.50

7. Duluth Central 237.50

8. Mora 194

Individual Results- Top 10

(CL & NB only):

4 X 800 relay-

2. North Branch 8:53.60

4. Chisago Lakes 9:04.90

110 hurdles-

1. Chris Hitchcock (CL) 16.40

2. Al Moore (NB) 16.80

3. Josh Beach (NB) 17.30

8. Derek Johnson (CL) 19.81

100 dash-

7. Brian Arndt (CL) 11.71

4 x 200 relay-

1. North Branch 1:37.90

3. Chisago Lakes 1:40.00

1600 run-

5. John Leaf (CL) 4:44.40

7. Nick Ramberg (NB) 4:49.20

9. Greg Stignani (CL) 4:59.30

4 x 100 relay-

2. North Branch 47.80

6. Chisago Lakes 48.00

400 meter dash-

5. Lloyd Keli (NB) 54.70

6. Sam Solberg (CL) 54.90

8. Blane Maher (CL) 55.37

300 hurdles-

1. Josh Beach (NB) 44.40

3. Al Moore (NB) 46.10

5. Bryan Loesch (CL) 47.20

8. Erik Lee (CL) 49.50

800 meter run-

3. Ben Dery (CL) 2:06.90

8. Sam Suparat (NB) 2:13.70

10. Mike Ferguson (NB) 2:15.20

200 meter dash-

7. D.J Paulson (NB) 23.70

3200 run-

3. Nick Ramberg (NB) 10:25.90

4. John Leaf (CL) 10:27.10

7. Greg Stignani (CL) 10:44.30

4 x 400 relay-

2. North Branch 3:38.50

3. Chisago Lakes 3:39.70

Pole Vault-

2. Bowie McClaskie (NB) 12’0”

5. Joe Lofboom (NB) 11’0”

5. Rob Sandgren (CL) 11’0”

Long Jump-

1. Andy Olness (CL) 18’9”

5. Chris Golv (CL) 18’0”

6. M. Vanden Heuvel (NB) 17’11”

8. Gavin Hall (NB) 17’8.5”

Triple Jump-

1. Devin Swanberg (CL) 40’9.5”

2. Andy Olness (CL) 38’7”

3. Al Moore (NB) 37’6”

6. Andy Fairbanks (NB) 36’7.5”

High Jump-

1. Josh Beach (NB) 6’0”

2. Devin Swanberg (CL) 6’0”

3. Al Moore (NB) 5’10”

4. Chris Golv (CL) 5’10”

Shot Put-

2. Billy Oehlers (NB) 48’6.5”

4. Phil Olson (NB) 44’3.5”

8. Mike Seabloom (CL) 40’4”

Discus-

2. Phil Olson (NB) 145’10”

4. Zack Backus (NB) 136’0”

6. Charlie Frame (CL) 122’7”

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