We may never forget the way the 2013 spring sports season began. And Pequot Lakes’ sports fans will always remember how it ended.

First, there was a memorable delay to the start of the outdoor spring season due to the late winter conditions around the state. The snowfall and cold temperatures resulted in one of the most challenging outdoor conditions in recent memory. But the long wait to start the season was worth it for the Pequot Lakes’ athletic program.

Pequot Lakes junior Kayla Miller waited two seasons for a chance to take over this spring as the starting shortstop for the Patriots’ softball team.

And Miller was taking advantage of the opportunity with an admirable season at the plate and in the field. Everything was going great, and she was looking forward to the playoffs as the Patriots were the West Subsection 6AA top seed.

The Pequot Lakes girls’ track and field team made history on Thursday, May 30, when the Patriots captured the first team track title in school history at the Section 6A meet at Moorhead State University.

The Patriots finished with 70 to outdistance runner-up Perham with 59 and Long Prairie-Grey Eagle with 55. It was the first section track title for Pequot Lakes’ girls or boys, according team officials.

John Wallin was honored for his lifetime of sustainable forest management work by recently being chosen the 2013 Minnesota Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year.

The annual award recognizes outstanding sustainable forest management on family-owned woodland property. Wallin is also one of the few lakes area residents to win the award, said Dean Makey of the DNR forestry office in Brainerd.