Esko, Carlton fare well at Virginia Invitational

Having less than a third of his team Saturday, one could say Tim Lindquist’s Esko girls track and field squad was a little short-handed.

But not in the scoring department.

His Eskomos tallied over 100 points – again.

The Esko girls again led Carlton County by placing second at the Blue Devil Invitational meet in Virginia.

Lindquist had just nine of his nearly 30 girls suited up, yet totaled 124 points and was only beaten by Greenway-Nashwauk-Keewatin.

“We had nine kids,” he said. “I was impressed with their performances up there. Everyone placed and did a great job all the way around.”

Esko was missing a majority of their strong squad because a number of them performed in the Christian-based drama “New Wine” in Cloquet that same day.

“Of the girls that went, they battled,” Lindquist said. “And they even got try out some new events they’ve never done before.”

Esko won seven of the 18 events Saturday. Their 800-meter relay team was victorious, while four individuals were crowned winners.

Kate Shelerud won the 800-meter run and her inaugural 100-meter dash, while Haylee Goranson claimed top honors in the shot put and discus. Amanda Bergstedt also earned the high jump title and Kate Marquis won top pole vault honors.

Esko’s boys weren’t too shabby either, scoring 105 points to take third place behind Eveleth-Gilbert and Virginia.

“It was a good opportunity to get out and race,” said Esko boys head coach Gary Beaudot. “The boys are really putting up some good times this spring.”

Three individuals earned top spots for Esko – Jake Stainbrook claimed the high jump, Max Reinertson the triple jump and Dain Brademan the long jump crown.

“We had some nice performances out of our jumpers,” continued Beaudot, who has been a part of Esko track for roughly two decades. “They really did well up there.”

Carlton girls attended the meet as well and placed fourth with 64 points, while their boys finished in sixth with 28 points.

“I was proud of how our kids performed,” said first-year head coach Andy Wyman. “It was windy up there, which made it tough, but the kids really worked hard and right now, are giving their best efforts.”

The Bulldogs were led by juniors Matt Lund and Jacob Gran in the distance department, while sophomore Lindsey Dahl-Holm and senior Hallie Raisanen stood out for the girls.

Along with winning the 3,200-meter relay title, Carlton’s Dahl-Holm won the individual 3,200-meter run and Raisanen was crowned the 100-meter hurdles champ – with a repeat performance at Deer River Tuesday afternoon.

“We’re pretty strong in the distance races,” said Wyman, who came to Carlton this spring after two years at Wrenshall and is now assisted by Matt Webb. “The kids are doing pretty well.”

And according to the coaches, so is the weather.

“We’ve been lucky with this weather,” said Beaudot. “It’s been nice to get the kids outside so early to train.”

“We’ve gotten an early jump to the season, no doubt,” added Wyman. “We’ve been outside for over a month now. The kids aren’t used to it, but I like it.”

Tags: track and field, sports, track, esko, carlton