Cloquet girls win title at Proctor Invite

PROCTOR, Minn. – After seeing the number of talented kids show up for the first day of practice this spring, Cloquet track and field head coach Tim Prosen had a feeling that his boys and girls were going to have a lot of fun this season.

Last Tuesday, the Lumberjacks took their skills to the Proctor Quad Invitational, where the girls took home the title and the boys finished in fourth place.

The always-entertaining four-team event included athletes from Cloquet, Proctor, Duluth Denfeld and Ashland. The Cloquet girls tallied an impressive 87.5 points – 10 points higher than any other squad – while the boys posted 48 points on the afternoon.

Out of 18 events, the Lumberjack girls won three and placed second in nine throughout the day to roll to their top finish. Cloquet ran away with both the 4x200-meter relay and 4x800-meter relay titles, while senior Taylor Sautbine was crowned the 100-meter hurdles champion.

On the boys side, the Lumberjacks won five events throughout the afternoon. However, in five events they did not place, resulting in their fourth-place finish. Seniors Simon Thill and Nolan Dokken were crowned champions in the 200-meter dash title and 300-meter hurdles, respectively. RaRa Jones also leaped his way to winning the high jump, while Cloquet placed first in both the 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter relays.

Even with this impressive success after having just two outdoor practices this season, Prosen explained that this early time of the year is more about fun for the kids.

“This first part of the season is pretty loose,” said Prosen, explaining that his athletes are free to sign up for whatever events they want. “We just let them have fun and use these early meets to start to prepare for the later varsity season.”

So far this year, the Lumberjacks have had five meets, including a pair of trips to Proctor and the University of Wisconsin Superior, as well as Hermantown. And with both the boys and girls teams placing high and a number of individuals winning a boatload of events at every meet, Prosen couldn’t be much happier with the fun his team is enjoying.

“The program has great numbers this year and we’re really excited to build some strong relays down the stretch. We also have some hurdlers and throwers who could make it to state,” he said. “If the kids keep working hard and having fun, they definitely have the potential to go somewhere this season.”

Prosen is preparing for the Lumberjacks’ first real varsity meet of the season – the Cambridge-Isanti Invitational on Friday, April 24.

Tags: track and field, sports