Wacky Cloquet Relays are a hit

For Tim Prosen, every local high school track and field meet is the same. Kids show up, compete and go home. For that reason, the Cloquet coach threw kids a curveball last week.

Hosting the first-ever Cloquet Relays, Prosen welcomed a handful of teams to Bromberg Field last Friday, where he gave out T-shirts to the winners and made things very enjoyable for everyone. A few of the unique relays included a co-ed relay, a thrower’s relay, and the very popular one-mile steeplechase over hay bales.

“I’ve already gotten a few e-mails back from coaches telling me how much fun they had last week,” said Prosen. “We wanted to do something different. It was a good opportunity for the kids to enjoy themselves.”

And according to Prosen, the athletes enjoyed the change of pace.

“It was an excellent meet,” he said.

The meet was initially scheduled a week earlier, but poor weather conditions postponed it. And this time around, the weather couldn’t have been better.

“It was awesome,” said Prosen. “That was the nicest day we’ve had for a meet all year. And that always makes for a good time.”

Without tallying total team points, earning a shirt was the goal for everyone involved.

“The kids loved those shirts; I saw them wearing them around the halls the next day at school,” laughed Prosen. “Every school went home with some shirts.”

Along with the Lumberjacks, Esko, Moose Lake-Willow River, Two Harbors and Proctor participated in the inaugural event. The ‘Jacks, Eskomos and Agates collected the most shirts throughout the afternoon, but Prosen said the event was a blast for all.

“It was a good break for everyone,” said Prosen. “Every track meet around here is run the same way all the time. As one of the last meets of the season, we wanted to do something different and fun. We did that.”

And the list of teams is already beginning to fill up for next year.

“We have some things to tweak,” said Prosen. “But we’re hoping to get some more teams next year. We’re definitely looking forward to it again.”

But with postseason track meets just around the corner, local teams will sport their best squads in hopes of advancing to the state meet come early June.

“It was a perfect way to finish the week,” said Prosen, “but now it’s time for conference and sections.”

Tags: track and field, sports, track