With just a handful of days left in the school year, the Cloquet track team is continuing its spring tradition of success.
The Lumberjacks’ boys and girls teams qualified for the Class AA state True Team meet during the Section 7AA meet May 18 in Esko. True Team meets focus not only on the top two or three finishers in a race, but awards points for up to 14 places in individual competitions.
“Even that kid in 14th place has an incentive to work hard — so every person matters,” Cloquet coach Tim Prosen said.
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Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are eight separate competitions taking place around the state with three teams at each meet. The electronic results are submitted and winners declared after all the results are collected.
The Lumberjacks received an escort from the Cloquet Police Department to the Carlton County line on Highway 33 on their way to Grand Rapids Tuesday, May 25. The motorcade led by police cruisers took the athletes past cheering students at Washington Elementary School and then headed across the St. Louis River and out of town.
Prosen said he didn’t know what to expect from his team after missing all of 2020, but he has been happy with the results so far this year, which also included the Lumberjacks’ sixth consecutive Lake Superior Conference title.
The athletes show up with a great attitude and are ready to work, Prosen said, but, more importantly, they have fun and support each other, even through the team’s toughest practices.
“We have a track full of kids, and they’re running ten 400s, and that is an absolutely brutal workout,” Prosen said. “But they’re having so much fun with it. The music’s playing, they don’t realize they’re doing legit, intense workouts. But they support each other, help each other through it and, of course, the results are taking care of themselves.”
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