Pines boys dominate, girls take second in Medford

It was quite a well-rounded performance for the Northland Pines varsity track and field team in Medford last Thursday, as the boys dominated the five-team field by nearly 100 points to take first place in the meet. The girls’ team finished second behind Loyal and ahead of Medford by 10 points.

The boys’ team finished the meet with 185 points, 95 points ahead of the host Raiders, who finished in second place with 90 points.

This was the third consecutive top finish for the Northland Pines boys to start the season.

“The girls’ had their best team finish of the season with a second-place finish. Loyal had a big team with some great athletes, so it was great to see us compete with a great program like that,” said Northland Pines Head Coach Josh Rhode. “The boys kept their undefeated win streak intact as they once again came out on top. We were able to beat another GNC team in Medford, which is always a priority for the team. The boys will face some tough challenges in the coming weeks, but they are starting to believe in their talent and depth.”

Pines controlled the sprints and other short-distance races in Medford.

Senior Jacob Beer and freshmen Bodie Bakken and Mason Nagy swept the top three spots in the 100-meter dash. Beer grabbed first with a time of 11.27, while Bakken and Nagy crossed the line stride for stride at 11.88.

Senior Josh Graves and junior Ryan Rydeski took first and second in the 200-meter, finishing with the only two sub-24-second times at 23.57 and 23.75, respectively. Junior Jackson Olejniczak also finished fourth in the event for the Eagles. He crossed the finish line at 25.01.

Eagle runners also took three of the top four positions in the 400-meter dash, led by Rydeski’s time of 53.65 seconds. He finished ahead of second place by nearly two seconds.

“Ryan is a speedy junior who has become a force, especially in the 400. He is a big part of our successful relay groups and also helps in the 100 and 200,” stated Rhode.

Juniors Xavier Gaffny and Olejniczak took third and fourth place, finishing with times of 56.49 and 56.64.

“Jackson has improved his speed and is now one of our top sprinters in the program,” said Rhode.

Northland Pines also placed well in the 800-meter mid-distance event. Three Pines runners toed the start line and all finished consecutively after two laps around the track. Sophomore Noah Duffek took second place with a time of 2:25.56, freshman Nelson Kirschbaum finished third at 2:28, and junior Hudson Warner was fourth with a time of 2:29.44.

Kirschbaum also took second comfortably in the 1600-meter run at 5:21.27. In the 3200-meter run, freshman Jarrett Grassl, sophomore Logan Manriquez and freshman Ryan McGrath all ran in the race for Northland Pines. Grassl finished at 13:42, while Manriquez took a time of 13:43, and McGrath went 14:18.

The Eagles also had top finishes in the boys’ hurdles, as Layk Evenson-Mortag, Luke Klapatauskas and Illand Shepherdson took first, third and fourth in the 110-meter hurdles. Shepherdson and Evenson-Mortag took second and third in the 300-meter hurdles as well.

The relay teams also fared well for Pines. The 4x100-meter team finished third, one of the two 4x200-meter relay teams took first, and one of the 4x400-meter teams finished second behind Medford.

In field events, senior Ethan Wirth just beat out teammate Tucker Brock to win the shot put. The senior made a throw of 39’6.5”, while Brock had a toss of 38’9.5”. Brandon Ceckiewicz took third for Pines with a 35’11” throw.

Ceckiewicz was one of two athletes to make a throw of over 100 feet in the discus, as he finished second with a throw of 106’11”. Medford’s Logan Langdon took the win with a discus throw of 125’10”.

Sophomore Mikayon Harris won the high jump by clearing 5’4”. The Eagles also had three top-five finishers in the long jump.

“Other notable performances were had by Ethan Wirth, Layk Evenson-Mortag, Josh Graves, Jacob Beer, Kayo Harris, and Brendan Ceckiewicz,” Rhode said about the overall meet.

For the girls, relay races were the star in Medford Thursday night. A blistering fast foursome of junior Ella Hahn, sophomore Tatum Meier, freshman Adelyn Thompson and junior Avery Renkes won the 4x100-meter with a time of 53.08 seconds. Medford finished second at 58.81 seconds.

That same foursome won the 4x200-meter relay by over seven seconds, posting a time of 1:56.26. In individual races, Hahn battled for first in the 100-meter dash but finished in second with a time of 12.98. Loyal’s Addysen Wolf won with her time of 12.87.

Renkes and Thompson took second and fourth in the 200, respectively. Renkes clocked a time of 27.91, and Thompson finished at 28.95.

Sophomore Sophie Hoffman cracked the top three in the 800-meter, finishing with a time of 2:52.58. That was just over a second behind second place.

Sophomores Jessica Linn and Ava Meyer excelled in the 100-meter hurdles by finishing back-to-back in second and third.

The Eagles had one top finisher in field events on the girls’ side. Senior Maria Krueger won the event by an inch and a half with her 12’5.5” jump. The second and third-place finishers from Turtle Lake and Loyal had leaps of 12’4” and 12’3”.

Krueger also took fifth place in the triple jump at 27’5.75”. Meier and Renkes took third and fourth, respectively, in the triple jump.

Meyer was a top-two competitor in the pole vault, as she was just one of two athletes to clear above seven feet. She finished second by clearing 7’6”. She also finished third in the high jump. Meyer just started vaulting in a practice before the Medford meet, according to Rhode.

“In this meet, she placed well in the hurdle events, high jump, and pole vault. She just started vaulting the night before the meet, so for her to place second in the event was quite the feat,” he said.

Senior Bella Nowak was also a top thrower in the shot put, posting a heave of 30’10.5”. She was short of winning the event by about a foot.

“Other notable performances were had by Ella Hahn, Bella Nowak, Avery Renkes, Tatum Meier, and Maria Krueger,” mentioned Rhode.

The Northland Pines track teams will travel to Rosholt this week, Thursday, April 16, at 4 p.m. The next meet for the Eagles is a home relay meet. That is scheduled for Friday, April 24, at 4:30 p.m. Field events will start at 4 p.m.