After seeing the number of talented kids - some 100 - 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.
"It's been great to see these kids progress and improve," Prosen said.
Two senior athletes, Taylor Sautbine and Jes Vork, advanced to the state meet from the large crew, Sautbine in the 100-meter hurdles and Vork in the high jump.
Sautbine, who was competing for the second time at state, ran a personal best of 15.83 seconds although it did not qualify for the final round of competition. Vork, who was recovering from an injury, jumped over the 4 foot 10 inch mark, many inches off her personal best. In all, Vork competed in five state competitions.
Although Prosen will miss the talent the two athletes brought to the team, he said he'll miss their leadership skills even more.
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"Both will be nearly impossible to replace as far as leaders and examples," he said, "But we won conference again this year for the girls and that's a good way to finish up as a team. The huge voids we have to fill will create opportunities for others to step up and we should still be competitive."
Junior Liz Litke has been a "rock solid" competitor for the team and will be one to watch next year, he said.
For the Cloquet boys, seniors Simon Thill and Nolan Dokken will be the greatest losses, according to Prosen, and both also were stellar leaders.
Prosen is also optimistic about the years ahead, especially in distance running.
"We have some nice, young talent that's starting to come around," he said. "I'm also hoping to find a few more surprises out there, have another good 'run' [next season] and push more kids on to state."
