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Chisago Lakes vs. North Branch

The Wildcats and Vikings tangled in a dual meet Tuesday, April 24 at Chisago Lakes. The Vikings finished on top in both the boys and girls competition, winning 85-56 in the boys meet and 86-47 in the girls meet.

Boys

The Wildcats got first place performances from Christian Swanberg in the 100 meter dash (11.62 seconds), Chris Golv (5 feet, 10 inches) in the high jump and long jump (18 feet, three inches), Dan Sandgren in the pole vault (9 feet, 6 inches) and Taylor Lindeman in the shot put (42 feet, 10 inches) and discus (127 feet, 10.5 inches). The four by 100 meter relay team of Swanberg, Hunter Heggerston, David Berget and Mark Shaleen also came in first place.

"This meet gave us a chance to move some kids around and try some different things," said Wildcat head coach Ken Orwoll. "And we were able to get some of our injured guys running. A number of kids did well. Hunter Heggerston had personal bests in both the triple jump and the shot put. It's good to see a rookie senior keep improving. And distance runner Zach Hunter had a good day winning the 3200 and branching out a little bit to come in second in the 300 meter hurdles. Zach loves the hurdles and would like to run them more, but I need him at distances."

Girls

Brenna Coyle set personal bests in the discus (109 feet, 4 inches) and shot put (37 feet, 4 inches) and won both events. Lindsay Fowler-Wacholz came in first and established her personal best in the triple jump (30 feet, 8 inches). Other first place finishers for the Wildcats included Danielle Vitali in the 3200 meters (13 minutes, 9.37 seconds), Kristen Tengwall in the 800 meters and the four by 100 meter relay team of Shana Meath, Shannon Monson, Gretchen Richter and MacKenzie Maher (55.05 seconds)

"Brenna showed some nice improvement again," said Orwoll. "Lindsay was consistent. Kristen Tengwall had an outstanding day, running a personal best in the mile and a competitive 800 after that."

Cambridge Invitational

The Wildcats ran in the nine-team Cambridge Invitational last Friday, April 27. Team results have not yet been published.

Boys

The Wildcat boys had two first place finishes on the day. Chris Golv won the high jump with a jump of exactly 6 feet, and the four by 200 meter relay team of Golv, Brian Jennissen, Josh Nielsen and Christian Swanberg came in first with a time of 1 minute, 34.2 seconds. The only second place finish for the Wildcats was Swanberg, back from an injured hamstring, in the 200 meter dash. Wildcat third-place finishers on the day were Swanberg in the 100 meter dash and Josh Nielsen in the 400 meter dash.

"The four by 200 team ran a great race," said Wildcat head coach Ken Orwoll. "It's good to have Swanny (Christian Swanberg) back in there. All four guys ran a great race, and the handoffs went well. Freshman Josh Nielsen did great in the 400, coming in third against really good competition. Taylor Lindeman had a good day in the shot put. Golv keeps improving his performance in the high jump and long jump. He's getting back to his old form as he recovers from his ankle injury. He had a very good meet. Swanny had a great day, getting points in all three events in which he participated. He said he feels good after he runs. And having no pain is a good thing. And it's nice for the team to get points from a kid like Brad Reineccius, who finished sixth in the pole vault and eighth in the high jump."

Girls

The girls didn't have any first or second place finishes on the day. But, Orwoll was still pleased with several performances. "The four by 200 team really ran well, taking third," said Orwoll. "And the four by 100 team, which finished fourth, handled the pressure well. They're not used to performing in a meet like this, with all eight lanes filled. Kristen Tengwall had her best time of the year in the 800 meter run and continues to improve. MacKenzie Maher had a good meet. She was an important part of both the 100 and 400 relays and finished eighth in the 200. She's improving and looking strong."

"Both the boys and the girls had a decent day," said Orwoll. "It's encouraging that we were right on the edge of picking up points from a lot of ninth place finishes.

Hamline Elite Meet

The Wildcats were missing one of their top performers, Brenna Coyle, for the Cambridge meet. But Coyle had a good excuse. She was the only Wildcat to qualify for this year's Hamline Elite Meet, which took place at the same time as the Cambridge meet. Coyle finished ninth out of 12 competitors at Hamline. "We're really proud of Brenna" said Orwoll. "She's having a great season and getting invited to the Hamline meet shows the rest of the state what we already know about her up in Chisago."

BY DAVE AMBERS

Sports editor

The North Branch track teams defeated Chisago Lakes on the Wildcats' track Tuesday, April 24. The Viking girls beat the Wildcats 86047 and the boys team earned 85 points, compared to CL's 56.

Ninth grader Sara Swanson led the Vikings to 11 first places in the 17 event meet. Swanson won the 100, 200, 400 and the long jump. Senior Randi Zentner swept the hurdle events by winning the 100 and 300 meter races. Other individual winners for the Vikings were Miranda Charley in the 1600 and Beth Walter and Amanda Johnson, who tied for first in the high jump.

In the boys' competition, NB collected 11 wins of 18 possible. Brian Grand was a double winner by taking the 100 and 300 hurdles. Other Vikings who finished first included Mike Heidelberger (1600), Aaron Cedergren (400), Cody Good (800), Jared Grams (200), Josh Ditsworth (shot put), TJ Leason (high jump) and Joe Klun (triple jump).

"Sara Swanson is having another great season. We had a lot of PR's (personal records) and that's what we want to keep doing at this time of year," said North Branch head coach Brian Hasleiet.

Cambridge Invitational

"Our athletes at Cambridge did very well. I was especially pleased with our fierld events. They really started to step up at this meet and we need to continue for our field events to improve," Hasleiet said. "The girls 4x200 relay had a great race in winning. We have our really big meets coming up within the next couple of weeks and we seem to be starting to peak at the right time."

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