Falls boys tie for 13th
The track and field season began indoors Tuesday for the International Falls boys and girls teams at the Paul Bunyan Invite in Bemidji.
In the girls competition, the Broncos placed third out of more than 20 teams.
Grand Rapids won the meet with 134 team points, followed by Bemidji (90), the Falls (44), Park Rapids Area (41.5) and Pequot Lakes (38) rounding out the top five.
The Broncos’ top individual peformances included a pair of runner-up finishes.
Sophomore Lexi Owen placed second in the 60-meter hurdles in 10.73 seconds.
“Lexi Owen was our big surprise in Tuesday’s meet,” said Falls girls head coach Jen Erickson. “This was her first indoor meet of her track career and she found herself a new event, the high hurdle race.
“In the finals race, there was a problem with the timing system and the race had to be rerun. She made a few mistakes in that first final race, but was all smiles when she found out she was going to get a second chance. She put that second chance to good use and came out with a great hurdle race and a second place finish.”
Shantel Jagol of Fertile-Beltrami won the event in 10.54.
Falls freshman Savanah Olson place second in the shot put with a throw of 36 feet, 8 inches.
“She threw farther this meet than she did at the state meet last year and moved herself into the eighth position on the Bronco girls top-10 list for the shot put,” Erickson said. “She spent a lot of time throwing in the arena this winter and it has really paid off for her.
“She’s more confident this year when she steps in the ring and that gives her an edge she didn’t have last year at her first indoor meet.”
Hayley Solheim of Crookston won the shot put with a toss of 37-1.
The Broncos picked up a third-place individual finish in the pole vault from Amy Auran, who cleared 8 feet.
Auran “looked really good going over her first few heights,” Erickson said.
The winner in the pole vault, Karley Petersen of Grand Rapids, cleared 8-6.
Falls sophomore sprinter Breanna Shofner finished fourth in the 60 dash (8.35) and eighth in the 200 (28.23).
“Breanna Shofner ran exceptionally well in her events, placing in two events that are very difficult to earn points in — the 60 meters and 200 meters,” Erickson said. “There are over 100 competitors in each race.”
Vanessa Lane of Pequot Lakes won both the 60 (8.09) and 200 (27.00).
The Broncos recorded two top-10 finishes in the high jump with sophomore Hailey Fentem and Owen placing sixth and eighth, respectively, after both cleared 4-6.
“Hailey Fentem and Lexi also did very well in high jump, especially Hailey when you take into consideration that this is the first time for her competing in the high jump,” Erickson said.
Molly Illikainen of Grand Rapids won the high jump after clearing 5-0.
Falls’ two other top-10 individual finishes came from sophomore Jaci Scholler, who placed fifth the triple jump (29-10.25), and junior Amber Harms, who came in seventh in the 3200 run (13:15.68).
“Amber Harms ran a strong race in the 3200 meters and just kept getting faster with each lap, which is hard to do when you have to run 16 laps indoors,” Erickson said.
Two Bronco girls relay teams also recorded top-10 finishes.
In the 4X800 relay, Falls’ team of Harms, Auran, Lexi Erickson and Rachel Foss came in fifth in 11:14.3. Grand Rapids won in 10:30.43.
In the 4X200 relay, the Broncos’ Maddie Filipiak, Bekah Ford, Blair Johnson and Shofner placed seventh in 2:01.15. Osakis won in 1:52.20.
Bronco boys 13th
In the boys competition, Falls tied for 13th with 12 team points.
Bemidji (88) took team honors, followed by Roseau (65), Thief River Falls (46), Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (46) and East Grand Forks (43) in the top five.
The Broncos’ best finishes were a trio each coming in sixth — Paul Skoglund in the 60 hurdles (9.77), Kyle Askey in the pole vault (10-6) and Jason Pumper in the high jump (5-8).
Pumper added a ninth place finish in the triple jump (34-4), while Falls senior Alex Henningsen cleared 5-3 to place ninth in the high jump.
The Broncos had a pair of eighth-place individual finishes from two juniors, Nick Janttie in the shot put (40-0) and Logan Veillieux in the 3200 run (11:38.49).
Falls’ 4x400 relay team of Tyler House, Cade MacKay, Charlie Gordon and Marco Griffith added an eighth-place finish in 4:03.31.
The Bronco boys and girls teams will be back in Bemidji for another indoor meet Tuesday when they compete in the BSU Little Amik.
Team scores
Girls: Grand Rapids 134, Bemidji 90, International Falls 44, Park Rapids Area 41.5, Pequot Lakes 38, Osakis 33, Crosby-Ironton 29, Crookston 26, United North Central 26, Cromwell 26, Roseau 26, Thompson ND High School 25, Fertile-Beltrami 24.5, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 24, Bagley/Fosston 11, Floodwood 6, Thief River Falls 4, Cloquet 4, Browerville/Eagle Valley 4, Bigfork 3, Wadena-Deer Creek 3, East Grand Forks 2.
Boys: Bemidji 88, Roseau 65, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 46, East Grand Forks 43, Pequot Lakes 42, Browerville/Eagle Valley 38, Crosby-Ironton 35, Grand Rapids 34, Cloquet 28, Park Rapids Area 23, Osakis 15, Wadena-Deer Creek 12, International Falls 12, Nevis 11, Cromwell 11, United North Central 9, Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin 8, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 8, Fertile-Beltrami 4, Lake of the Woods/Rainy River 4, Floodwood 3.
