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Using remarkable consistency up and down their lineup, the North Branch girls track and field team captured their fourth straight True Team Section Championship on a cold, damp day in Cloquet.

“I knew when they stepped off the bus it was going to be a great day,” Head Coach Norm Nagel said. “And they did not disappoint.”

In a True Team competition, each athlete who finishes a track event or has at least one non-disqualified attempt in a field event scores points for his or her team.  All relay teams that finish an event also earn points for their team.  With 12 teams and two entrants in each individual event per team, the first place participant would get 24 team points, second 23, and so on, all the way down to one point for 24th place.  So, even if a team doesn’t have a lot of first place finishers, they can do well if they have a lot of athletes that score in the upper third of their event.

The consistency started from the beginning in the 100 meter dash. Despite no North Branch runner winning the event, they got a third and fourth place finish from Aliah Williams and Sadie Harper, and got plenty of points in doing so.

In the 200 meter dash, Harper finished third while Williams came in fourth, and so would be the prevailing theme for the Vikings throughout the day, placing both competitors in each event in or near the top 10.

Harper’s day also included a win in the 400 meter dash, backed up by Keeley Ertl’s 12th place finish in the event, and a fourth place finish in the long jump.

Rhianna Rinke also had a strong day as always, winning the 1,600 meter run, finished third in the 800 meter run as well as holding down spots in the 4x800 relay and 4x400 relay. The 800 race was an interesting one for her since she took a tumble on the second lap and was actually stepped on, but still got back up to take the third place spot.

With Rinke in the 1,600, Jillian Yerges took on the field in the 3,200 meter run and got a nice fourth place finish for NB.

The 4x100 relay team also scored big points, getting second place. The foursome included Emily Kristo, Williams, Paige Bauer and Mikayla Johnson.
The field events have been strong all year for North Branch, and they didn’t disappoint come True Team time.

In the high jump, Williams finished in second place while Amanda Heinen finished in ninth.

In the pole vault, Johnson and Katie Burnside tied for first place, splitting the points evently at 25.5 each and earning 51 total points for the Vikings. Nagel explained that once they had the top two spots wrapped up, he shut them down. “It might be the only time Katie gets to tie or beat Mikayla,” he said. “So, she gets to rub it in this week.”

In the triple jump, gymnasts-turned-tracksters Ertl and Alexys Olson finished in second and third place to give the Lady Vikes a big boost in that event. Olson jumped 33’2.75 while Ertl was just behind in 32’7”.

Josee Axberg powered her way to a second place finish in the shot pu and a fourth place finish in the discus, and Miranda Swanson gave her all the support she needed, finishing in fourth place in the shot put and fifth place in the discus.

All the points mattered, too, because it was a close tally at the end. North Branch won the meet with 619 points and Hibbing came in second with a total of 602 points. Cloquet was in third with 596.5.

“All the girls had an outstanding  day!” Nagel said excitedly. “Overall it was nice to leave Cloquet  and take  home the Section 7AA True Team Championship.  Four years in a row for the girls is pretty impressive.

“Thanks to all the parents that braved the elements and to our coaches to make this all happen.”

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