Shady wins section crown for third year straight

With the temperatures in the 30s and the snow coming down fast and furiously, the Esko girls team dominated the Section 7A girls cross country meet.

Marissa Shady won her third section championship in a row, with a time of 15:30 and Kailee Kiminski came in 12 1/2 seconds behind her for second place.

The Esko girls came in first with a team score of 45 points, substantially ahead of second place International Falls, which had a score of 103.

For the boys, Proctor's Matt Welch came in a full minute ahead of second place Danny Radtke. Welch's time was 16:19; Radtke ran the race in 17:21. Esko's Ben Mattinen (17:30.2) and Joey Johnson (17:31.5) took fifth and sixth place, respectively. The Esko boys team finished second in the section meet, only two points behind Proctor's winning team score of 53.

Read more in next week's Pine Journal.

1/2: A relieved smile on her face, Esko's Marissa Shady crosses the finish line. Jana Peterson/Pine Journal

2/2: Esko sophomore Kailee Kiminski crossed the finish line in second place.