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April 2, the North Branch girls track and field team finished eighth out of nine teams at the Rum River Conference Indoor Meet.

Last Thursday, almost two months later, the Vikings finished first at the conference outdoor, completing the biggest turnaround Brian Hasleiet has ever seen in his coaching career. Ever.

“They’ve improved more than any team I’ve ever had,” remarked Hasleiet, North Branch head track coach. “We usually take a little stock in the Indoor results, it gives you an idea of where you’re at and whether or not you're going to be able to compete at the end of the year. Going into the season, I truly didn’t know what to expect from this team, but ever since our first meet, they’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations.”

The Vikings were led by nine all-conference athletes. Among them was Jenny Anderson who was named all-conference in three events after finishing first in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles. Anderson was also apart of the Vikings 4 X 400 relay team which also placed first. In addition, Kacie Ramberg was also named all-conference in three events, and Jill Vanden Heuvel, Allyssa Houle, and Tess-Prouty Kunshier were named all-conference in two events.

“I knew we had a lot of talent. The girls just came together when they had to. It was just exciting for everyone,” smiled Hasleiet.

It was an excitement that grew as the meet went on. Fighting with Foley, Big Lake, and Princeton, the Vikings took control of the meet thanks to the 200 meter dash. Three Vikings placed in the top eight, giving North Branch a boost of momentum. From there, Tiffany Peterson and the Vikings relay teams did the rest, adding a slew of points late to secure the win. After the meet was over, Hasleiet moved to the stands to watch his team celebrate their conference title.

“It was the most enjoyable experience I’ve ever been involved with in all my years of high school sports. To see both the boys and girls win it was just amazing,” commented Hasleiet. “We just had a lot of girls who had personal bests at just the right time. Everything just clicked. For example, Kelsey O’Hern finished second in the triple jump. I don’t think she finished that high all year. It was awesome to see. I told the kids after the meet that this has been the greatest year I’ve had. It was the perfect way for us to head into sections.”

The mood was not as celebratory on the Wildcats side as Chisago Lakes finished sixth out of nine teams. Kari Schmidt, Amber Maher, and Courtney Langer grabbed all-conference honors while the ‘Cats 4 X 100 relay team placed third, making them all-conference honorable mention.

“I really thought that we were going to finish higher than that, but taking into account all the injuries we’ve gone through, the limited numbers we’ve had to work with didn’t help,” said Beth Carlson, Chisago Lakes head girls track coach. “We started off strong, but as the meet went on, we didn’t have enough girls to keep it going. We just didn’t have enough depth.”

The Wildcats actually led the meet early on, thanks in large part to Schmidt’s performance in the discus and shot put. The senior placed first in both, well ahead of second place. While Schmidt dominated in the field, Langer controlled the pits, jumping to a first place finish in the triple jump. In addition, Maher took second in the long jump.

“It was a huge surprise, a wonderful surprise,” replied Carlson, referring to Langer’s first place jump. “She’s one of those athletes who competes in four different events. She’s always willing to try new things to help the team out. It was a great reward for her. And it was great to see Amber take second. She almost won the long jump but she got edged out right at the end. She led most of the way.”

As a team, the Wildcats finished with 71 points, sneaking past Pine City by half a point. The ‘Cats finished nine points out of fifth place.

Up next, both Chisago and North Branch will compete at the North Branch Invite on Thursday. Sections follow next week in Cambridge.

Girls Rum River Conference Meet

Team Results:

1. North Branch 113

2. Foley 98

3. Big Lake 96

4. Princeton 92

5. STMA 80

6. Chisago Lakes 71

7. Pine City 70.50

8. Mora 43

9. Milaca 37.50

Individuals (CL & NB only):

100 meter hurdles-

1. Jenny Anderson (NB) 16.40

7. Laura Biersach (CL) 17.61

8. Courtney Langer (CL) 17.98

100 meter dash-

4. Ellie Fairbanks (NB) 14.35

1600 meter run-

8. Emmy Wold (CL) 5:58.0

400 meter dash-

4. Prouty-Kunshier (NB) 1:03.36

300 meter hurdles-

1. Jenny Anderson (NB) 48.16

800 meter run-

5. Kara Orwoll (CL) 2:37

200 meter dash-

2. Kacie Ramberg (NB) 27.87

4. Vanden Heuvel (NB) 28.00

8. Allyssa Houle (NB) 28.87

3200 meter run-

5. Tiffany Peterson (NB) 13:10.53

4 x 400 meter relay-

1. North Branch 4:12.70

5. Chisago Lakes 4:25.7

4 X 200 meter relay-

1. North Branch 1:52.00

4 x 100 meter relay-

2. North Branch 53.21

3. Chisago Lakes 53.6

4 X 800 meter relay-

4. Chisago Lakes 10:51.0

6. North Branch 10:59.82

Shot Put-

1. Kari Schmidt (CL) 44’3”

4. Sabra Beam (CL) 33’5”

5. Kelli Carlson (NB) 32’5”

6. Claire Williams (NB) 31’0”

7. Shelly Oehlers (NB) 31’0”

8. Kimberly Johnson (CL) 30’10”

Discus-

1. Kari Schmidt (CL) 114’5”

6. Shelly Oehlers (NB) 89’9”

7. Kelli Carlson (NB) 88’9”

8. Chelsey Swanson (CL) 79’6”

High Jump-

5. Jenny Anderson (NB) 4’10”

6. Leah Secord (CL) 4’10”

Long Jump-

2. Amber Maher (CL) 15’6”

8. Vanden Heuvel (NB) 14’2”

Triple Jump-

1. Courtney Langer (CL) 31’01.5”

2. Kelsey O’Hern (NB) 30’11.5”

5. Kristin Kaminski (NB) 25’8”

Pole Vault-

6. Trissica Bye (NB) 8’6”

*First and second place finishers make all-conference. Third place finishers are named all-conference honorable mention.

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