Speaking of Sports

By John Fragodt, Sports Reporter

It takes a lot to put together a top-notch track program.  You not only need excellent athletes that can place high in several events, but you also need to have depth and you have to have almost all the events covered with athletes capable of scoring points in all of them.  I competed in track at Benson High School and it was always fun to be able to compete against other teams for team titles.  We had a great team with most of the events covered, which is what the Lakers’ track program has.  Not only have the Minnewaska Area track teams been placing very high in area meets, but they have the numbers and depth to give it a chance to win most meets.

The girls team is loaded in the sprints, middle and long distance, relays, hurdles and weight events.  The Lakers weren’t picking up many points in the long, high and triple jumps early in the season, along with the pole vault, but the team has also been picking up points in those events lately.

The boys team has also been a pleasant surprise this year.  I knew they’d be strong in the middle and long distance, hurdles and relays, but the team has been picking up major points in the sprints this year and the field events have also been producing consistent points all season.

I thought the hurdles would be decent for the boys team this spring, but Owen Meulebroeck and Hunter Stadsvold have been consistently in the top four all season in the 110 and 300 meter hurdles.

There are 18 events in high school track and field and most events are scored 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 for the top eight place finishers.  That means if a team places first and picks up 10 points, another team can place second and sixth and earn more points (11).  

With so many points awarded during a track meet, you can’t afford to have an event that isn’t capable of earning some points because other teams will use that to their advantage and pile on the points.  

One season at BHS we didn’t ever pick up any points in the two-mile (3200 meters) or 100 meter dash.  Other teams would stack those events, place high and rack up a bunch of points and we’d be playing catchup the rest of the way to try and catch them for the team title.

Minnewaska Area moved from Section 5A to Section 6A this year and that’s a very good thing for the girls track team, which will avoid EVW-Kimball this year.  The Laker girls have won five meets this year and placed second in two others, while the boys team has one first, five seconds and one third.

The Minnewaska Area girls placed second to Barnesville earlier this year, but then beat Barnesville in a meet later, while EVW-Kimball is the only other team to beat the Laker girls.

Barnesville will be among the teams to beat in the upcoming girls Section 6A Track and Field Meet, but before that, the Lakers will rely on their depth at the Section True-Team Meet at Montevideo, Tuesday, May 7.  In the boys field, Sauk Centre is considered one of the favorites, but the Lakers almost beat the Mainstreeters at home last week so you never know how it’s going to go.  Go Lakers!