Cloquet dominates Last Chance track meet

The Cloquet boys and girls track and field teams won their latest home meet. But they didn’t just win it, they flat-out dominated the field.

The Lumberjacks scored an impressive 186 points on the boys’ side and 154 on the girls’ for a pair of titles at Cloquet’s “Last Chance” meet last Friday at Bromberg Field.

“It was one of last meets of the year,” said Cloquet track and field coach Tim Prosen. “And the kids really had fun and performed well. They ran well and were very solid all around the board.”

A number of other small town squads participated as well, including Lakeview Christian Academy, Esko, Carlton, AlBrook, Wrenshall and Duluth Marshall.

“It’s nice to get the smaller schools over here on our track surface,” he said. “Most of the small teams around here don’t even have the facilities for track, so to see them come over here and compete well was really enjoyable to see here at the end of the season.”

The weather also cooperated.

“That’s two weeks in a row now,” he said. “We hosted a meet a week ago, which was the nicest day of the year, but last Friday was no different. It was absolutely beautiful out there. And that’s just awesome for the kids.”

The Cloquet boys won by more than 100 points last Friday, while the Lumberjack girls ran away by more than 65.

“We tried some kids at some new events,” Prosen said, “and it really worked.”

Cloquet concluded their regular season Monday in Hermantown, and for Prosen and the ‘Jacks, it’s time for sections.

“We’ve been building up all year for this,” said Prosen about the Section 7AA meet set for June 2 and June 5 in Chisago Lakes, Minn. “These kids are contenders and we’re hoping we can send some kids down state.”

But Prosen also said advancing to the state meet is no walk in the park, especially in their section.

“Competition will be tight,” continued Prosen. “We haven’t seen many of the schools that we will be competing against, so that will make things tough, but the kids know where they stand. They have a lot of confidence; we’ll just have to see what happens.”

Regardless, Prosen has been pleased with the Lumberjacks’ season.

“It’s been a really nice year,” he said. “This bunch has some of the best, young talent that I’ve ever seen. We’re excited these days about the sections, but our future of the program is looking pretty bright, too.”

Tags: track and field, daily updates, sports, track