Carlton County kids hold their own at State track meets

Carlton County was well-represented at last week’s Minnesota State High School League Track & Field State Meet.

As the largest school in the county, Cloquet was the only school to send athletes to the Class AA meet.

Cloquet sent a total of eight athletes to state: Olivia Jameson in both the girls 100-meters hurdles and the high jump, Jordan Allen in the boys 3200-meter run, and the boys 4x800 meter relay team of Mario Genereau, Dennis Osvold, Blaine Bong and Logan Dushkin, with alternates Cale Prosen and AJ Maijala.

Jameson, a freshman, was the top performer at state for Cloquet, tying for eighth place in the high jump with a top jump of 5 feet, 2 inches. Her personal record is 5-5, which she achieved at the Section 7AA meet to qualify for state. In hurdles Jameson placed 10th, less than a second behind the ninth-place finisher, who advanced to the finals for the 100 hurdles race.

“There was a lot of people there and lots to see,” said Jameson, who is in her second year on the varsity track team. “One girl jumped 5-10, that met the state record. That was pretty fun to see.

Cloquet head coach Tim Prosen said Jameson has improved “by leaps and bounds” over the season. He also said she faced some extra challenges because the high jump competition was going on at the same time as the hurdles.

“She’s used to that, jumping two events and racing in two hurdles,” he said, noting that judges will accommodate jumpers when they have to leave between jumps. “It’s an extra dynamic that she had to deal with, but it’s also good, because she went to multiple events.”

The Cloquet boys 4x800 team of Genereau, Osvold, Bong and Dushkin just missed the medal stand, finishing in 8:17.04 and fifth place.

Jordan Allen placed 16th in the 3200-meter race.

Class A

Athletes from several schools in the county competed in the Class A meet.

Barnum coaches Jill Litfin and Rich Newman traveled to the state meet at Hamline University with a good-sized group that included three athletes with previous state experience, including Reese Miletich in the girls 100-meter dash, Alexis Bonneville in the girls discus and Samuel Goodwin in both the boys shot put and discus.

Bonneville was the top finisher for Barnum, taking third place in the discus.

“Her 124-5 throw pushed her right up there toward the top on her second-to-last throw, that was really nice to see,” Litfin said of the junior. “She had a couple goals she met when she went down there.”

Litfin said Goodwin had a lot of scratches at state, so it was a tough meet for the senior. His top toss was 47-7 ½.

“The shining light for us is he’s not done,” Litfin said. “We are looking forward to seeing him compete at Moorhead State in football and track.”

She praised the volunteer coaches, Louis Bonneville and Chuck Beberg, who coach the kids in shot put and discus.

“They run their program and know what they’re doing. Our job is to be there and help with anything they need,” she said. “All the credit goes to those two coaches, and the kids, of course.”

Also in a return trip to State, freshman Miletich took eighth in her heat in the 100-meter dash, then anchored Barnum’s 4x100 meter relay team with Gracie Nelson, Brooke Doran and Danna Weets (Makenzee Schleret was an alternate). That team took ninth place in its heat.

Litfin noted that the relay team was made up of two juniors and two freshmen, so she’s looking forward to next year.

“We have some growing to do and it will be fun to see what they can do next year,” she said.

Bonneville will also return next year, and will have an excellent chance of competing at State in both discus and shot put.

“Overall it was a really good season,” Litfin said, noting that they returned a lot of athletes, including 11 seniors, to this year’s team. “I think everyone on the team PR’d (got a personal record). We focus on that a lot as coaches. Firsts are nice, but what’s your goal, what do you want to reach?”

Esko sent two relay teams to state: the boys 4x100 meter relay team of Aaron Moore, Elijah Blue, Shane Snaza and Luke Wagemaker finished eighth in its heat, while the boys 4x200 team of Moore, Blue, Dylan Edland and Wagemaker finished in seventh place in their heat.

In discus, Esko’s Gage Stankiewicz had a top throw of 140-11 and didn’t place.

Cromwell-Wright star jumper Shaily Hakamaki made her second trip to State in both the long jump and triple jump: she finished ninth at state in the long jump with 15-10. She took fourth in her flight for the triple jump at 34-1 ½, so didn’t advance to finals in that event.

Cromwell-Wright’s Ben Hansen took fifth in his heat in the boys 400-meter dash, and didn’t advance.

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Class AA Academic All State

A total of 16 Cloquet High School track and field athletes were named “academic all-state” by the Minnesota State High School League. To qualify, the student athlete needed a 3.6 grade point average and to have been named all-conference, made the state track meet or met the state honor roll (a distance, height, or time that puts the athlete at elite status for the state).

The following students achieved the honor:

Riley Leslie

Alex Leuzzo

Dylan Heehn

Maddie Dostal

Jordan Allen

Olivia Jameson

Kendra Kelley

Katelyn Kelley

Ilei Benson

Dennis Osvold

Mario Genereau

Logan Dushkin

AJ Maijala

Cale Prosen

Makayla Suominen

Addie Loeb