June 16, 2005 at 7:48 a.m.
Lofboom, Oehlers lead the pack at state meet
Lofboom, Oehlers lead the pack at state meet
Case in point, Joe Lofboom finished third in the pole vault, vaulting 14 feet. Billy Oehlers took fifth in the shot put and Jenny Anderson came through with her best effort in the 100 hurdles, narrowly missing the finals by less than half a second. And that was just the beginning.
“I liked the way things ended for us,” said Hasleiet, North Branch head track coach. “We had some great performances. The competition was unbelievable. We were competing against the best of the best in the state of Minnesota and our kids held their own.”
Ken Orwoll agrees.
“I was happy with things,” mentioned Orwoll, Chisago Lakes boys track and field head coach. “I think for the most part, we met our expectations. It was a fun way to end the year.
The action began last Friday. In the pole vault, Lofboom soared through the air with some of his best jumps yet. Lofboom made every vault up to 14 feet, which placed him third overall when it was all said and done. Isaac Molin of St. Francis won the meet with a vault of 14’6”.
“Joe had a great day, he didn’t miss until his jump at 14 feet three inches,” mentioned Hasleiet. “Getting third was great. I think it was about as good as he could’ve finished considering the competition.”
Billy Oehlers also saved his best for last, throwing 54 feet last Friday in the shot put. That toss put him fifth overall, just over two feet off the pace.
“It was a great day for him also. That throw of 54 feet was one of his better throws,” remarked Hasleiet. “He threw over 55 feet at one other meet, but most of the year he was throwing around 51 feet so to get 54 was great. He came through in the clutch.”
Friday was also a busy day on the track for the ‘Cats and Vikings. In the 3200-meter finals, Chisago Lakes senior John Leaf just missed breaking the 10-minute mark. Leaf crossed the finish line with a time of 10:04.52, which placed him 15 out of 17 runners. Rob Finnerty, a ninth-grader, won the race with a time of 6:06.80.
“John was hoping to break 10 minutes,” said Orwoll. “The pace just got too fast for him. He started off really well. He went up there and tried to run with the top runners for the first mile. He got pumped up late in the race and passed some kids so he finished strong. It was a good race for him.”
As for the rest of the track events, the preliminaries were held last Friday. If athletes finished in the top nine they would then advance to the finals.
Jenny Anderson came the closest to doing that. Anderson motored down the track in the 100 hurdles, coming through with her best time ever in that event. Just to show the competition she was going up against, despite a personal record time of 15.77, it still wasn’t enough to get her into the finals. Anderson finished 10- the top nine advanced to the finals.
“That was her best time she’s ever had in the hurdles,” said Hasleiet. “Sure, she was disappointed because she didn’t make the finals, but she really gave it her all. She had a tremendous race. It just goes to show the type of competition she was up against.”
The same can be said for Chisago’s Ben Dery and Chris Hitchcock. Hitchcock, running in the 100 hurdles, finished 16th overall, crossing the finish line in 16.29 seconds. Running in his first state track meet, Hitchcock stumbled out of the gates. The competition never allowed him to recover.
Meanwhile in the 800 run, Ben Dery just missed breaking the two-minute mark, finishing with a time of 2:00.44. Despite the fact that it was one his best times of the year, Dery came in 14th overall out of 16 runners. Only the top nine finishers qualified for Saturday’s final.
“With Chris, he knew that he had a tough road ahead of him if he wanted to get to the finals. He hit the hurdle right after the start and never really recovered from that. He finished hard and ran a great race, it was a great experience for him,” mentioned Orwoll. “Ben went out to run with the top runners on the first lap and he did that. After the first lap, they all went around the corner and they just kicked it in gear; Ben had to hold on for dear life. Some of those runners were amazing. Still, Ben almost ran a personal best time. It was a good race for him. I think he was happy with the way he ran.”
With Friday under their belts, day two of the state meet last Saturday was a little less hectic for both North Branch and Chisago Lakes. Still, that didn’t mean they could relax.
Up first was the Vikings 4 X 800 relay team, the same four-some who won the section 7AAA meet last weekend. The squad of Nick Ramberg, Nick Sausen, Aaron Cedergren and Cody Good tried to keep pace with Alexandria who was easily the top team in the field. The Cardinals four-some took first by running the relay in seven minutes and 51 seconds. As for North Branch, the Vikings finished 11 overall with a time of 8:21.72.
“Those were some unbelievably fast teams,” smiled Hasleiet. “Still, it was pretty impressive to have three sophomores and a senior do as well as they did. To have three sophomores on a relay team that makes it to state is pretty tough. It was a great experience for them and hopefully they can get back next year.”
While youth was served on the track, in the triple jump pit, two seniors were putting the finishing touches on two tremendous careers. Al Moore from North Branch, who finished first at the section 7AAA meet, and Chisago’s Devin Swanberg (second at the section meet) put it all on the line. Moore, who jumped a personal best at the section meet by almost a foot, finished 16th overall with a jump of 41’6”. Eric Buss of Coon Rapids won the event with a leap of 47’10.5”. As for Swanberg who was battling a serious ankle injury, the senior finished right behind Moore, taking 18th overall. Swanberg’s best jump of the day measured 39’4”.
“Devin hurt his ankle on the first day at sections,” commented Orwoll. “It was still swollen and it really affected him. It was hard for him mentally because he couldn’t do his best. It was a very tough day for him but he handled it well and did the best he could. I think he showed a lot of heart.”
In the team standings on the boys side, North Branch placed 21st, scoring 13 points. Roseville won the meet with 72 points. Lakeville won the girls state title with 81 points.
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