LoW track team to send competitors to State

by Ken Johnston
Editor

From 60 kids competing for the Lake of the Woods Schools track teams emerged 15 who travelled to compete in Sections over the weekend. Of those, four Rainy River kids participated in the competitions that would determine who goes to State (equivalent of the All Ontarios).

Mark Washburn, one of the track team’s coaches, said that the season was a good one with two sub-section records getting broken by LoW competitors. The 4X200m relay team, Brock Anundsen, Jon Gubbels, Weston Dornhecker and Cooper Mickelson, as well as High Jumper Kyle Nylander broke those records. The latter had enough height on the jump to qualify for State level competitions, explained Washburn.

Dornhecker will advance to State in the 400m dash as well the 4X200m relay team, of which he is a member will advance to state. In both events LoW came in first. Nylander came in second and will advance to State as a high jumper for LoW.

Matt Nielson of Rainy River High School did not get to compete at the Sections, held in East Grand Forks over the weekend, but served as an alternate for the 4X400m relay. Unfortunately that team did not advance, which Washburn attributed partly to the loss of Cooper Mickelson prior to the 4X200m relay due to dehydration. Once he failed to run in the earlier race he was disqualified from all other races he was registered in.

Another heart breaking story came for Shauna McInerny of Rainy River. In the 200m dash, this sprinter ran the fastest time of the 15 competitors in the two preliminary heats. Then in the finals, as the top seed from the prelims, she false started and was disqualified. Apparently at sections there is no second chance after a false start, something Washburn feels is unfair. He went on to note that her time in the prelims was faster by about 3/4 of a second over the winning runner of the finals. “That would have been about three or four strides faster,” said Washburn.

McInerny as well as Chelsea Ewald of Rainy River competed on the girls 4X100 m relay team. While they came in 2nd, only the top team in relay advances to state.

Shantelle Davidson, who was competing against much older kids, a grade 8 student from Riverview School, placed 9th in the mile race. That said Washburn was good considering she competed against kids at the Varsity level.

State finals are this Friday and Saturday at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota in the northern part of Minneapolis.