Boys take second at Section True Team meet

The Pequot Lakes Patriots boys' track team finished second behind Sartell-St. Stephen at the Section True Team meet on Thursday, May 13, at Staples-Motley.

A dominant Sabres team won the boys' title with 539 points, followed by Pequot Lakes 443.5 and Perham 407.

Event winners for the Patriots were Kellen Braren, 800 run; Jordan Anderson, 300 hurdles; Brad Tiedemann, pole vault; and the 4x400 relay of Adison Runberg, Cole Engen, Anderson and Kellen Braren.

Runner-up finishes for Pequot Lakes were by Matt Michaelson, long jump; the 4x100 relay of Michaelson, Engen, Anderson and Parker; and the 4x800 relay of Sam Headlee, Jacob Headlee, Runberg and Braren.

In the girls' meet, Pequot Lakes finished ninth with 253.5 points while Sartell-St. Stephen won with 582. Top event finishers for the Patriots were Kendra Johnson, third in the shot put; Kirsten Noska, fifth in the long jump; and the 4x200 relay of Vanessa Lane, Rachel Mott, Mattie Lueck and Kendra Johnson. Noska, a senior, suffered a serious knee injury while competing in the field events.

"We had quite a few personal bests, and the team really had to come together after Kirsten's injury," said Pequot Lakes girls' coach Brian Kazmierczak. "(Noska) was a big part of our team in four events. I had to make about a half-dozen adjustments because of the format of the meet (one relay and two Patriots in each event)."

Kazmierczak noted that Mattie Lueck replaced Noska on the 4x200 relay while Kaycee Nelson filled in on the 4x400 relay.

"In past years, we wouldn't have been able to move kids around like that," he said. "I'm very happy for our depth this season."

The coach added that his athletes did come through despite the injury setback.

"Sarah Rudlang ran the 400 because we needed her to perform, and she came through tremendously," he said. "Kaycee (Nelson) was able to make it through the 4x100 after fighting illness, and Kylie ran well in her new event - the 300 hurdles."

Kazmierczak added that it's difficult for the schools the size of Pequot Lakes, Staples-Motley and Bagley-Fosston to compete with larger schools like Sartell-St. Stephen.

"Something needs to be looked at for the True Team (format) because schools are already eliminating themselves from the competitions," he said.

The Patriots, who were scheduled to compete at the Mid-State Conference meet at Park Rapids on Tuesday, May 18, then travel to the Wadena-Deer Creek Invitational on Thursday, May 27.

Section True Team:

BOYS:

Team scores: 1-Sartell-St. Stephen 539.5, 2-Pequot Lakes 443.5, 3-Perham 407, 4-Little Falls 365.5, 5-Staples-Motley 342, 6-Fergus Falls 341.5, 7-East Grand Forks 328, 8-Detroit Lakes 313, 9-St. Cloud Cathedral 264, 10-Thief River Falls 247.

Pequot Lakes results:

100-meter dash - 3-Jack Parker 11.65, 12-Mike Christianson 12.33

200 - 7-Matt Michaelson 24.41, 9-Brady Niskanen 24.58

400 - 4-Cole Engen 54.0, 9-Jacob Headlee 55.59

800 - 1-Kellen Braren 2:01.3, 6-Adison Runberg 2:06.8

1,600 - 4-Jacob Headlee 4:41.51, 7-Jake Braam 4:47.39

3,200 - 11-Jake Braam 10:33, 18-Nathan McDonald 12:19

110 hurdles - 9-Nic Greer 17.59, 11-Brad Tiedemann 17.72

300 hurdles - 1-Jordan Anderson 42.25, 8-Greer 44.9

4x100 relay - 2-Pequot Lakes (Matt Michaelson, Engen, Jordan Anderson, Jack Parker) 44.98

4x200 relay - 6-Pequot Lakes (Michaelson, Mike Christianson, Tyler Tappe, Jack Parker) 1:38.55

4x400 relay - 1-Pequot Lakes (Runberg, Engen, Anderson, Kellen Braren) 3:36.85

4x800 - 2-Pequot Lakes (Sam Headlee, Jacob Headlee, Runberg, Braren) 8:33

Pole vault - 1-Tiedemann 12-0, 6-Jacob Carpenter 10-6

High jump - 8-Cade Mickelson 5-6, 18-Michael Goerges 5-0

Long jump - 2-Michaelson 19-5, 15-Goerges 17-1.75

Triple jump - 11-Anderson 37-6, 13-Goerges 37-4.5

Shot put - 14-Michael Sullivan 38-8.75, 18-Luke Landecker 37-1.5

Discus - 5-Sullivan 124-9, 11-Casey Derkson 105-8

GIRLS:

Team scores: 1-Sartell-St. Stephen 582, 2-Detroit Lakes 486, 3-Fergus Falls 395, 4-Staples-Motley 390.5, 5-Little Falls 386, 6-Perham 335, 7-East Grand Forks 330.5, 8-St. Cloud Cathedral 296.5, 9-Pequot Lakes 253.5, 10-Thief River Falls 119.

Pequot Lakes results:

100-meter dash - 8-Vanessa Lane 13.2, 15-Sarah Rudlang 14.04

200 - 7-Kendra Johnson 27.7, 15-Rudlang 29.3

400 - 10-Rudlang 66.09, 18-Abby Palmer 68.37

800 - 10-Sydney Johnson 2:35.73, 17-Danielle Albert 2:47.81

1,600 - 15-Emily Lueck 5:54.11, 20-Samantha Zabukover 6:40.12

3,200 - 12-Jackie Brine-Doyle 13:08, 18-Jordan Roy 14:06

100 hurdles - 10-Kaycee Nelson 18.4, 17-Carley Hoffman 20.2

300 hurdles - 11-Kylie Beltz 54.82, 19-Hoffman 61.8

4x100 relay - 6-Pequot Lakes (Nelson, Kendra Johnson, Rachel Mott, Lane) 53.12

4x200 relay - 5-Pequot Lakes (Lane, Rachel Mott, Mattie Lueck, Kendra Johnson) 1:52.96

4x400 relay - 9-Pequot Lakes (Sydney Johnson, Mattie Lueck, Beltz, Palmer) 4:37.86

4x800 - 6-Pequot Lakes (Albert, Sydney Johnson, Emily Lueck, Beltz) 10:41

Pole vault - 10-Samantha Allen 6-0

High jump - 11-Mott 4-4, 12-Nelson 4-4

Long jump - 5-Kirsten Noska 15-9, 20-Josie Nistler 12-4.75

Triple jump - 15-Michelle Hayes 27-8, 18-Elise Runberg 37-4.5

Shot put - 3-Kendra Johnson 31-8.5, 19-Palmer 18-8.75

Discus - 13-Mott 72-9, 18-Allen 63-9