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Throughout day one of the track and field meet, the occasional burst of sun was quickly subdued by the dark, fast-moving clouds that produced a heavy rain in the middle of the day.

The rain proved to have a molasses-like effect on running events for the most important meet of the year for four North Branch athletes on Friday, June 5.

Jared Grams, who was fresh off of a 10.99 in the 100-meter dash in the Section 7AA meet, ran an 11.47 time in the preliminary rounds, and failed to advance to the next round.

The Jamestown College-bound senior wasn't far off the qualifying pace, but too many others thrived in the damp conditions. Grams' time placed him in 20th place in the prelims.

"Jared is the only boys sprinter to qualify for the state meet in over 15 years," Head Coach Brian Hasleiet pointed out. "He's had an excellent season and career at North Branch."

Catie Bettendorf drew the always-tough outside lane in her bid for the 300-meter hurdles crown.

Her 48.18 second time in the event was a phenomenal time for Catie, but at the state meet, it's the best of the best, and she finished in 13th place.

"Catie's one of the hardest workers we've ever had in our program, and her hard work paid off this year," Hasleiet gushed about one of his senior leaders. "She improved her time by over seven seconds in the event from last year."

Brian Grand, the only underclassman at the state meet for North Branch, had perhaps the best showing of all Viking athletes.

Grand qualified for the 110-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles, and his impressive leaping ability wasn't slowed by the rain-soaked track.

In his first event, the 110-meter hurdles, Grand narrowly missed the finals by running a 15.31. Grand's time left him on the outside looking in as the top nine advanced and he finished 10th.

He did, however, earn his way to a second day on Saturday, June 6, with a seventh-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles. He ran the race in 40.54 seconds.

On the second day, Grand earned his way to the medal stand with a seventh place finish in the finals.

The sophomore ran a personal record time of 40.05 in the finals to earn the superb finish. "Brian had a great year, and only being a sophomore, he has a great future ahead of him," Hasleiet noted.

Grand was the only sophomore in the finals. Senior Uche Ogbonnaya of Irondale won the race with a time of 38.51. Three of the boys who finished in front of Grand were seniors, and three were juniors.

The last of the batch of North Branch state entrants was senior Amanda Johnson. She turned in her second best pole vault of her career with a nine foot, six inch jump.

Johnson was the very first girl from North Branch to qualify for the state meet in the pole vault. "She is a true role model for all of our young vaulters by showing them how hard work and determination are keys to success," Hasleiet said.

The state meet signaled the end to the 2008 season, but Hasleiet is already eyeing a promising future for 2009 and beyond.

"We really had a good season this year. The state meet was a nice way to finish our season, but we had so many people who did so well this year," he said. "Jared, Amanda, Catie and Brian created the opportunity for themselves to compete at state, but so many people improved so much this year. It will be tough to lose our seniors, but we have most of our girls and boys teams back, so next year should be another exciting one."

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