ESKO, Minn. - When the season began for Esko girls track and field head coach Tim Lindquist, his Eskomos had won three straight Section 7A crowns.
And after this year, his girls can now call it four!
Lindquist's Eskomos used their strength, speed and, most of all, their experience to win another section title en route to advancing a number of athletes to the Minnesota State Track and Field Championships at Hamline University in St. Paul.
But their success on the track is no secret - they're just fast.
"We've got some really fast kids," said Lindquist about his group that has taken home the Polar League Conference title eight years in a row now. "The girls were focused and worked hard all year long. To be on this roll is something special and they've definitely earned it."
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Highlighting the girls squad throughout the season were their relay teams - all four advanced to the state finals - as well as the individual athletes in the open events. After all was said and done, the Esko girls won handful of local meets, while 11 Eskomos earned All-State honors. Their speedy 4x100-meter relay team of senior Kelli Rengo, junior Katie Tonner, sophomore Alyson Glumac and freshman Delany Pearson finished third in the state - the highest finish of any Northland team at the championships.
"The girls ran some of their fastest times all year long and to compete with the best in the state, they really came through," Lindquist said. "They worked so hard all season long and really showed how fast they were at the end of the year."
On the boys side, the Eskomos were guided by junior standout Phillip Wirtz, who placed second in the section and 13th in the state in the pole vault, while freshman star Jackson Lindquist ended his season with a second-place finish in the section and 15th-place finish at state in the 3200-meter run.
The Esko girls will now lose eight seniors, while the boys will lose seven, but come next spring, one thing is for certain - the Eskomos will have their eyes set on their fifth straight section crown.
