A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
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After graduating six seniors from last year's team, the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls swim team is hoping to reload and have another successful season. "Returning powerhouse seniors are captains Julia Peterson, and Amy Schwoch along with Rilee Durovec in diving," said CEC head coach Rachel Peterson. The Lumberjacks also have a strong group of juniors led by Nattie Butler. Freyja Lopez is a newer addition to the team, but is already making waves as a returning junior. "Rounding out our juniors are...
The Cloquet football team opened the season at home on a beautiful night last Friday against a strong Two Harbors squad. The Agates dominated the first half. The young hometown team mounted a comeback in the second half but ultimately lost 37-14 to their opponents. "Two Harbors did some things that we weren't expecting out of them from what they've traditionally done in the past," said Cloquet head coach Jeff Ojanen. Two Harbors features one of the top athletes in the area in all-purpose player...
An early season volleyball matchup between neighboring towns is always exciting. It was no different Aug. 30 when Barnum and Moose Lake/Willow River did battle in Moose Lake. In the end, the Bombers overcame a slow start in the first game to notch a 3-1 road win. "Moose Lake/Willow River came out flying in that first game," said Barnum coach Amanda Nordstrom. "It's always a big rivalry game when we meet them, and they were ready." The Rebels took Game 1 by a 25-16 score. "We came out and our...
Duluth East gained an early advantage in Thursday's game against Esko and held on for a 24-14 season opener for both teams in Esko. It was the first regular season loss for Esko since 2020, and a dramatic reversal from past matchups with East. Esko dominated the Greyhounds the past three seasons, scoring an average of 57 points each game in outscoring them 172-6. It was a whirlwind night for the Esko program, but its coach is hopeful for a return to the norm. "For the most part, as...
Neighboring rivals Cloquet and Esko did battle for the first time at the Members Cooperative Credit Union athletic complex Tuesday in Cloquet. It was a wild 1-0 win for the Lumberjacks. "I really believe these are two of the better teams in the area," said Esko coach Sharon Lahti. "You know every year it is going to be a battle, and it was again tonight." Esko came into Tuesday night's fray with a 2-0 record, with wins over Cambridge-Isanti and Proctor. The Lumberjacks sported a 1-1 record with...
The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls tennis team has a new head coach and an early season schedule that has them jumping into the proverbial frying pan. The Lumberjacks had a 4-3 record after just the first week of the season. "We have a lot of girls out who played last year, and we have a lot of seniors," said first-year coach Emily Hallgren. "Some of those seniors are new, but many of them have some varsity playing time from the last year or two." CEC opened the season on Aug. 19 at Mora, where...
1No one knows exactly when the annual Chub Lake cross country meet started, but everyone is in agreement that it was a long time ago and it remains a fun kickoff to the season for area teams. "I know Jerry Zimney was one of the guys who originally started the meet, but what year, we have no idea," said Esko cross country coach Jerimy Hallsten. At 10 a.m. Aug. 22, the tradition continued. Hallsten is the main organizer of the event that is about as laid back as it could possibly be. "We don't...
Car racing has been a part of the Carlton County Fair in Barnum for as long as most people can remember. This past week, the tradition continued as nearly 6,000 fans watched local drivers compete for $40,000 in prize money. "I've been either involved with the fair or coming to the fair for a long time and these events draw many people who might otherwise not attend the fair," said Steve Loucks, president of the Carlton County Fair Association. According to Loucks, more than 150 drivers...
The road from Cloquet youth player to Division I college hockey, professional hockey, and now coaching, has been a fun one for former Lumberjack hockey player Westin Michaud. Last week it was announced that Michaud was named head coach and general manager of the Ice Bats, an Austin, Texas, team in the North American Tier III Hockey League. "After I decided to hang up the skates, I was contacted by seven or eight different junior teams," Michaud said. "I was offered a bunch of assistant jobs, but...
The Esko Sports Alliance held its sixth Hall of Fame induction ceremonies Saturday with three new members being inducted in ceremonies at Esko High School. "This was a real solid class of athletes," said Steve Knutson, president of the Esko Sports Alliance. "Our inductees are some very special athletes and coaches, and we are very proud of welcoming them into the hall of fame." Joining the hall this year are longtime football coach Bob Peterson, former three-star athlete 1976 graduate Kevin...
The final step in becoming an Eagle Scout - the highest rank for Scouts - is to do a project that will make a difference in the community. Bryce Sweere came up with a unique idea for his final project this summer: A skinny bike course in Cloquet's Pine Valley Recreation Area. Mountain bikers call wooden features on a trail "skinnies," but the Esko senior-to-be built a criss-crossing course of four different features. His efforts will give people something completely new in the popular biking...
The Arrowhead Girls Fastpitch League wound up the season last week with Barnum winning the championship in the U16/U18 Division. Barnum picked up four wins on the way to the title with a team composed entirely of U16 players. "We're a U16 team that includes a lot of our high school varsity softball players," said Barnum coach Dustin Collelo. "A couple of years ago this same group won U14 Gold Division in the summer league, so they are really progressing as a group nicely." The opening game of...
The sixth annual Northland Baseball Classic drew 59 teams ages 9-14 to Cloquet last weekend. The teams played at four different locations in the Cloquet and Carlton area over the weekend. Champions were crowned in five different age groups. "We had games being played at Pinehurst Park, Mettner Field and Braun Park in Cloquet as well as at Chub Lake Park in Carlton, said tournament director Nate Knutson. "We had teams from all over the state of Minnesota as well as Canada." It was a group...
Impressive weather and equally impressive showings made for a great morning on July Fourth as the Sawdust 5K run/walk was held again in the Pinehurst Park area of Cloquet. "It was an awesome day and the weather couldn't have been better," said Sam Jacobson, who is co-race director along with his wife, Julie. "It was a little humid, but times were fast and we had good numbers." More than 300 runners participated July 4, but the most impressive run was turned in by former Proctor and University...
Twenty local basketball teams faced off in the fifth annual 3-on-3 July Fourth basketball tournament in Cloquet. With two half courts going simultaneously at Pinehurst Park, the tournament went off with plenty of impressive basketball. "It is a great tournament and we have some unbelievable talent in the tournament every year," said tournament director Paul Cameron. "We had a huge crowd to start the day and the atmosphere was lively and electric all day long." Many of the teams feature fun and...
In a summer of dodgeball with so much rain, the fourth annual Wood City Classic Softball Tournament went smoothly last weekend at Braun Park in Cloquet. There were plenty of highlights to go around as 32 teams competed in three age divisions. “It was a special weekend,” said tournament director Adam Maslowski. “When we got to the fields on Friday morning they were under water, but our grounds crew busted their tails off and got the fields in great playing shape.” The tournament was started...
Another rainy weekend in the area greeted the nine teams participating in the Cloquet VFW/Junior Legion baseball tournament at Ed Mettner Field in Cloquet last week. Despite the rain the tournament wrapped up late on Sunday with Chetek, Wisconsin laying claim as tournament champs. “The weather affected a lot of things, but our grounds crew was incredible and they worked their tails off,” said tournament director Nate Knutson. Noah and Grady Knutson, Lexi Goranson, Mackensi Lynch and Kade Kol...
The Cloquet Lumberjacks top boys finisher at last weekend's Class AA Minnesota State High School League's boys and girls track and field state meet was Andrew Shepherd, who was ninth in the 800-meter run. The state meet ran last Thursday through Saturday at St. Michael-Albertville High School. Shepherd was also part of the 4x800 relay team which finished 13th, along with Calvin Snesrud, Emmett Prosen and Evan Rothamel. "Shepherd is going to be awfully fun to watch in his next two seasons," said...
Kerry Rodd [email protected] Carlton County was well-represented last weekend at the Class A Minnesota State High School League's boys and girls track and field state meet at St. Michael-Albertville High School. While there was no state champion from the area this season, a number of athletes made the finals and medaled for being in the top 10 places. Barnum's Annaka Bogenholm had the best state meet of all area athletes by finishing third in the discus in Class A and seventh in the shot...
Cloquet-Esko-Carlton tennis player Ethan Lavan continues to make an impression on the statewide tennis scene. After capturing the Section 7A boys tennis title for a second straight season, Lavan played in the Minnesota state tennis tournament at Read-Sweatt Family Tennis Center last week. "Ethan is just one of those players who don't care how people look at him," said CEC coach Derek Johnson. Lavan came out in impressive fashion and won his first-round match easily before bowing out in the...
The Section 7AA boys and girls track meet concluded on Saturday at Members Cooperative Athletic Complex in Cloquet. Chisago Lakes was a double winner, capturing top honors in both the boys and girls division. The Lumberjacks finished fourth in the girls meet while the boys from Cloquet took sixth in the 11-team field. "Both the boys and girls teams this year are the youngest teams we've had in quite a while," said 'Jacks head coach Tim Prosen. "This is such a nice group of kids. All of them are...
Section 7A is one of the largest sections in the state for track, with 22 teams with boys and girls competing to qualify individually for the week's state track meet. A plethora of Carlton County talent was headed south to St. Michael Thursday through Saturday after the May 30 section meet at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Esko won top honors in both the boys and girls divisions with the Esko girls narrowly squeaking by Two Harbors by a point and the Esko boys with an easy victory over the...
A spectacular first season came to a close for the Cloquet- Esko-Carlton boys lacrosse team Thursday as the No. 4 seed Lumberjacks fell 16-8 to the No. 5 seed Centennial Cougars at Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium in Cloquet. "They are a big, physical team and they took advantage of some matchups that were in their favor," said CEC coach Luke Mehelich. The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair and ended in a 4-4 stalemate. After giving up the first goal just three minutes into the...
Esko teams dominated the Section 7A south subsection meet last Thursday in Crosby-Ironton as 12 boys teams and 11 girls teams hit the track with hopes of moving athletes on to the Section 7A finals Thursday in Duluth. Esko won the boys title with 135 points while Barnum and Crosby-Ironton tied for second with 92 points. Moose Lake/Willow River was fourth and Carlton/Wrenshall placed fifth. The Esko girls had 141 points and took top honors. Crosby-Ironton and Two Harbors tied for second with 97...
Playing in the school's first-ever playoff game, the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys lacrosse team eked out a narrow 7-5 home win over Duluth Marshall at Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium Tuesday night. "I told the guys they nearly gave me a heart attack," said head coach Luke Mehelich. "It was a tough game, but we battled through and found a way at the end." The win put CEC into second-round action set for 7 p.m. Thursday at home against Centennial, which took a 17-2 win over Grand...
