Esko takes boys track title; girls are second

The Eskomos boys track team captured the 2019 Polar League Track and Field Championship crown last week in Esko while the girls team took a close second to Two Harbors. The Esko boys finished ahead of Two Harbors with a team total of 145.5 points while the Agates ended with 88 points, one point ahead of the third-place Moose Lake-Willow River Rebels. Barnum took fourth place for the boys teams.

Esko’s Sam Rengo was a two-event winner on the boys side, capturing the 800-meter race with a time of 2:09; he also was part of the 4x400-meter boys relay team, with Luke Bourgeault, Aaron Moore and Dylan Edland, which took home another first with a time of 3:32.42.

Edland was also a two-event winner last Wednesday as he took first place in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 43:39.

Cromwell-Wright’s Ben Hansen won the 400-meter dash with a time of 53:12; Hanson was also on two first-place relay teams for the Cardinals. Hansen, Cameron Cahoon, Jayden Gronner and Cameron Dickey won the 4x200-meter relay with a time of 1:35:91, and Hansen, Dickey, Noah Foster and Marcus Pocernich finished first in the 4x800-meter relay with a time of 8:52.54.

Barnum’s Sam Goodwin continued his outstanding spring in the weight events, finishing first in both the shot put and discus. Goodwin had a toss of 4-6 in the shot put, and a throw of 134-1 in the discus.

“This is one of the best meets we have all spring as all the conference schools come together and for the seniors,” said Barnum boys head track coach Richard Newman. “It’s one last chance to compete against all the schools they have competed with throughout their school careers.”

The Agates topped the girls side with 135 total team points while Esko finished with 112 points overall. The Rebels also ended up in third place on the girls side with 99 points.

Although the Cromwell-Wright girls team took fourth place, the Cardinals’ Shaily Hakamaki had a banner day. Hakamaki broke two conference records in the girls long jump and triple jump. Hakamaki closed the long jump with her record setting 16-6; she finished with a distance of 36-2 ½ in the triple jump.

While Two Harbors dominated most of the running events, a few local athletes did take the top spots in the girls competition. Barnum freshman Reese Miletich finished first in the 100 meters with a time 13:08. In the field events it was the Eskomos’ Zoie Johnson taking the top spot in the shot put with a throw of 37-6. Barnum’s Alexis Bonneville earned top honors in the discus with a toss of 123 feet.

Polar League Championships, Esko

Boys teams

1, Esko, 145.5; 2, Two Harbors, 88; 3, Moose Lake-Willow River, 87; 4, Barnum, 84; 5, South Ridge, 60.5; 6, Cromwell-Wright, 57; 7, Cook County, 55; 8, Carlton, 36; 9, McGregor, 31; 10, Wrenshall, 24; 11, Silver Bay, 15; 12, Floodwood, 11.

Boys Individuals

100 — 1, Jack Haussner, CC, 11.79. 2, Aaron Moore, Esko, 11.86. 200 — 1, Haussner, CC, 23.86. 2, Moore, Esko, 24.35. 400 — 1, Ben Hansen, C-W, 53.12. Grant Pettit, ML-WR, 54.30. 800 — 1, Sam Rengo, Esko, 2:02.91. 2, Tyler Nynas, Barnum, 2:06.65. 1600 — 1, Isaac Swanson, TH, 4:30.14. 2, Brenden Seipke, TH, 4:42.45. 3200 — 1, I. Swanson, TH, 10:17.73. 2, Seipke, TH, 10:50.48. 110 hurdles — 1, Haussner, CC, 16.00. 2, Jayden Watson, Carlton, 16.66. 300 hurdles — 1, Dylan Edland, Esko, 43.89. 2, Connor McNulty, Barnum, 44.66. 400 relay — 1, TH (Andrew Hulst, Sam Johnson, Karsen Holm, Jeremy Carter), 46.68. 2, Barnum 47.01. 800 relay — 1, C-W (Hansen, Jaden Gronner, Cameron Dickey, Cameron Cahoon), 1:35.91. 2, TH, 1:39.19. 1600 relay — 1, Esko (Edland, Rengo, Luke Bourgeault, Moore), 3:39.93. 2, CW, 3:44.40. 3200 relay — 1, CW (Hansen, Noah Foster, Marcus Pocernich, Dickey), 8:52.54. 2, Esko, 8:56.97. High jump — 1, Ian Sherman, SR, 6-0. 2, Aiden Litfin, Barnum, 5-10. Pole vault — 1, Jackson Thompson, ML-WR, 9-0. 2, Sasha Ruemmele, Esko, 9-0. Long jump — 1, Sherman, SR, 20-0. 2, Haussner, CC, 19-10. Triple jump — 1, Harrison Nistler, McGregor, 39-5 ¾. 2, Jayden Swanson, Carlton, 39-2 ½. Shot put — 1, Sam Goodwin, Barnum, 43-6. 2, Matt Kilbourn, SR, 42-8. Shot put wheelchair — 1, Danny Lilya, ML-WR, 22-3 (meet and state record). Discus — 1, Goodwin, Barnum, 134-1. 2, Gage Jones, C-W, 132-11. Discus wheelchair — 1, Lilya, ML-WR, 39-7.

Girls teams

1, Two Harbors, 135. 2, Esko, 112. 3, Moose Lake-Willow River, 99. 4, Cromwell-Wright, 78. 5, South Ridge, 58. 6, Barnum, 56. 7, Silver Bay, 48. 8, Floodwood, 47. 9, Carlton, 30. 10, Cook County, 18. 11, Wrenshall, 5. 12, McGregor, 2.

Girls Individuals

100 — 1, Reese Miletich, Barnum, 13.08. 2, Anja Schoenberg, C-W, 13.41. 200 — 1, Corrina Marolt, SB, 27.80. 2, Schoenberg, C-W, 27.87. 400 — 1, Grace Swanson, TH, 1:01.17. 2, Marolt, SB, 1:04.89. 800 — 1, Swanson, TH, 2:30.18. 2, Ingrid Hexum, Esko, 2:30.73. 1,600 — 1, Autumn Smith, TH, 5:41.56. 2, Ana Ridge, SR, 5:52.76. 3200 — 1, Smith, TH, 12:39.87. 2, Jillian Sajdak, SR, 12:43.76. 100 hurdles — 1, Neva Polo, Floodwood, 17.42. 2, Alexis Thompson, Carlton, 17.82. 300 hurdles — 1, Alexxa DeQuevedo, SB, 48.49. 2, Polo, Floodwood, 49.65. 400 relay — 1, TH (Sami Szendrey, Morgan Beardsley, Mya Poe-Johnson, Elise Poe-Johnson), 53.97. 2, SR, 54.08. 800 relay — 1, TH (Beardsley, M. Poe-Johnson, E. Poe-Johnson, Szendrey), 1:52.54. 2, SR, 1:54.41. 1600 relay — 1, TH (Beardsley, E. Poe-Johnson, Sydney Haugan, Swanson), 4:22.10. 2, C-W, 4:27.63. 3200 relay — 1, TH (Isabel Schottenbauer, Karly Holm, Mary Libby, Elisa Galyen), 10:54.77. 2, ML-WR, 11:15.82. High jump — 1, Allison Thornton, Esko, 4-10. 2, Charis Blacklock, ML-WR, 4-8. Pole vault — 1. Skyla Thompson, ML-WR, 7-6. 2, Gwen Lily, Esko, 6-6. Long jump — 1, Shaily Hakamaki, C-W, 16-6 (meet record). 2, E. Poe-Johnson, TH, 15-9. Triple jump — 1, Hakamaki, C-W, 36-2 ½ (meet record). 2, Polo, Floodwood, 33-2. Shot put — 1, Zoie Johnson, Esko, 37-6. 2, Alexis Bonneville, Barnum, 35-3 ½. Discus — 1, Bonneville, Barnum, 123-0. 2, Johnson, Esko, 10.