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North Branch Invitational

First place finishes in several individual events led the way as the Wildcat girls’ track team won the seven team North Branch Invitational last Thursday, April 17, edging out the host squad 140 to 135.  The boys had a good day as well, finishing third, just four points behind second place Hibbing.

Girls

Senior Bene Smith won the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.21 seconds, nearly a third of a second ahead of the second-place finisher.  The Wildcats distance runners piled up the points.  Senior Kaia Osmundson finished second in the 800-meter run, and freshman Averiana Gellerman cam in fourth in that race.  Junior Lauren Kowarsch raced to a third-place finish in the 1600-meter run.  And freshman Annika Hall, a star in last year’s state tournament meet, won the 3200-meter run with a time of 11:11.03, nearly 25 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.  Sophomore Amelia Anderson came in fourth in the 100-meter hurdles, and freshman McKaylie Malek sprinted to a fourth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles.

The Wildcats girls had a great day in the relays.  The foursome of Smith, senior Kendra Warren, junior Rowan Klinker, and junior Janell Eyong won the 4x100 relay in 52.25 seconds, .12 seconds ahead of second place North Branch.  The same four sprinters came in third in the 4x200 meter race with a time of 1:53.55.  The youthful 4x400 relay team of junior Mariana Cooksley and three freshmen - Malek, Grace Olson, and Gellerman – raced to a third-place finish in 4:32.43.  And the distance running team of Osmundson, freshman Kara Hall, Kowarsch, and Annika Hall showed off their skill and depth, winning the 4x800 relay in 9:54.97, nine seconds ahead of second place Hibbing.

The throwers also had a good day.  Senior Laura Carlson won the shot put with a throw of 34’1”, with freshman Madison Eagle coming in third.  Eagle finished second in the discus with a fling of 98’7”, and sophomore Linnea Carlson finished fourth.  Senior Catharine Larson and sophomore Amelia Anderson vaulted their way to third and fourth place, respectively, in the pole vault.  And Chelsea Stipe finished second in the triple jump.

Boys

In a photo finish, Wildcat senior Eddie Morris came in second in the 100 meter dash in 11.35 seconds, just .01 seconds behind sophomore Martin Sleen of Hermantown.  Junior Kaden Osmundson showed middle distance running runs in the family, winning the 800-meter run with a time of 2:08.08.  Sophomore Remy Larson set a personal record in the 1600-meter run, winning the event with a time of 4:50.32.  Sophomore Evertt Otte finished second in the 100-meter hurdles, and senior Azariah Lees came in third in the 300-meter hurdles.  The Wildcat sprint relay teams had a couple of third place finishes.  In the 4x100 relay, the team consisted of junior Ieuan Bailey, junior Caiden Bonds, senior Blake Siefert, and sophomore Judah Appleby.  Nearly the same group raced in the 4x200, with Morris running instead of Bailey.  In the 4x800, each of the four classes had a spot on the team.  Junior Osmundson, freshman Nash Cooksley, sophomore Cian O'Halloran and senior Biruk Killeen finished second, just two seconds behind first place Hibbing.

In field events, star sophomore William Pearson came in third in both the shot put and the discus.  Senior Marcelo Cardoni threw his way to a fourth-place finish in the shot put.  Wildcat seniors swept the top two spots in the pole vault, with Trent Guth coming in first with a vault of 12’6” and Nathaniel Bear vaulting 12’0” for second.

Girls Team Scores

1. Chisago Lakes    140

2. North Branch     135

3. Hibbing                 127.5

4. Proctor                 104

5. Grand Rapids      77.5

6. Mora                    59.5

7. Hermantown      44.5

Boys Team Scores

1. Hermantown      171

2. Hibbing                 128

3. Chisago Lakes    124

4. Grand Rapids      104

5. Mora                    61

6. North Branch     57

7.  Proctor                 46

Track Tidbits

The Wildcats are sending anticipate sending some athletes to the Hamline Elite Meet, which gets underway at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 25, but the list was released after the Press went to print. The rest of the squad will head to Pine City for the 13-team Chengwatana Invite, with a 3:45 p.m. start time.  And next Tuesday, April 29, the Wildcats will invade Cheeseland to compete against seven Wisconsin schools at an invitational at Osceola High School, starting at 3:45 p.m.

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