It was a year of near misses for the Park Rapids boys track and field team.
The Panthers finished third at the Section 8A True Team meet after winning that title in 2015, saw their five-year run as Subsection 8-29A champions end with a runner-up finish, and failed to send anyone to the state Class A meet for the first time since 2010.
Even though the Panthers failed to reach their main goals, head coach Andrew Lachowitzer was pleased with how the season went.
"Overall, we had a very good season," said Lachowitzer. "We had a lot of kids very close to going to state and we were very proud of their efforts in a tough section."
For the season, 26 individuals competed in a varsity meet. That group featured seniors Tristan Breitweser, Jacob Engst, Remington Hagan, Isaac Kosel and Jordan Yliniemi; juniors Per Jorgenson, Adam Jacobi, Brandon Day, Kaleb Carlson, Teodor Wik and Wyatt Soderberg; sophomores Matthew Benson and Bradley Graham; freshmen Seth Breitweser, Spencer Fritze, Zach Fritze, Preston Renneberg, Jake Reish, Kole Gieseke, Chris Day, Payton Hill and Jeremiah Engst; and eighth graders Max Crist, Keegan Moses, Hunter Brandt and Avery Wolff.
ADVERTISEMENT
Grand Forks Red River dominated the season-opening Lions Invitational at Bemidji State University with 216.50 points as the Panthers took 16th out of 19 teams with 6 points. Park Rapids followed by placing ninth at the 24-team Little Amik Invitational at BSU with 26 points as Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton took first with 84 points.
In their outdoor debut, the Panthers scored 53 points to tie for fifth place at the 10-team Perham Invitational. Perham took first with 142.50 points.
At the Park Rapids Lions Invitational, the Panthers placed fifth out of 10 teams with 70.50 points as Detroit Lakes claimed the title with 153.50 points.
The Panthers led the field at the five-team Park Rapids Enterprise Invitational with 170 points before tying for third place at the Walker May Day Invitational with 89.50 points. Pequot Lakes won that meet with 148 points.
D-G-F claimed the team title at the 14-team Crookston Invitational with 112.50 points as the Panthers placed sixth with 53.50 points.
Norman County won the team title at the Mahnomen Invitational with 101.66 points as the Panthers took ninth out of 15 teams with 38 points.
At the Section 8A True Team meet, the Panthers placed third with 704 points as Norman County led the field with 816 points. Roseau was second with 771 points.
Park Rapids finished fourth at the five-team Mid-State Conference meet at Vern Weekley Field with 38 points as Detroit Lakes claimed the title with 169 points. Earning all-conference honors for the Panthers with winning efforts were Kosel, Brandon Day, Hagan and Tristan Breitweser in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 relays.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Panthers had their streak of being the subsection champs end as Walker-Hackensack-Akeley compiled 138.50 points to edge Park Rapids' 135.50 total at Bagley. Winning subsection titles for the Panthers were Jorgenson in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles; Kosel, Brandon Day, Hagan and Tristan Breitweser in the 4 x 100 relay; Tristan Breitweser, Brandon Day, Jorgenson and Hagan in the 4 x 400 relay; and Reish, Wik, Gieseke and Seth Breitweser in the 4 x 800 relay. Taking second were Kosel, Brandon Day, Hagan and Tristan Breitweser in the 4 x 200 relay; Jacob Engst in the pole vault; and Renneberg in the 1,600 run.
Also advancing to the section meet were Jacobi (third in the 3,200), Carlson (third in the pole vault), Tristan Breitweser (fourth in the triple jump), Zach Fritze (fourth in the 300 hurdles) and Moses (fourth in the 1,600).
The other subsection competitors were Reish in the high jump (tied for fifth) and long jump (seventh); Zach Fritze in the 110 hurdles (fifth) and 200 (sixth); Seth Breitweser in the 800 (fifth) and high jump (10th); Spencer Fritze in the 300 hurdles (fifth), long jump (10th) and 100 (16th); Wik in the 800 (sixth); Yliniemi in the 200 (seventh) and 100 (12th); Gieseke in the 400 (eighth); Benson in the discus (fifth) and shot put (11th); Hill in the pole vault (sixth) and discus (11th); Crist in the 110 hurdles (seventh), high jump (eighth), long jump (ninth) and 400 (11th); Chris Day in the triple jump (eighth) and 100 (17th); Jeremiah Engst in the triple jump (ninth); Renneberg in the 800 (12th); Graham in the shot put (15th) and discus (15th); and Soderberg in the shot put (17th).
At the section meet, the Panthers just missed advancing to state in three events as Jorgenson placed third in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles and joined Tristan Breitweser, Brandon Day and Hagan on the 4 x 400 relay that placed third. The 4 x 100 relay team and 4 x 800 relay team finished fourth as did Jacobi in the 3,200 run. Also placing at the section meet were Jacob Engst and Carlson in the pole vault (tied for 10th), Renneberg in the 1,600 (12th), Tristan Breitweser in the triple jump (16th), Zach Fritze in the 300 hurdles (16th) and Moses in the 1,600 (16th). The 4 x 200 relay team was disqualified.
During the regular season, the Panthers had nine first-place finishes. The 4 x 400 relay team featuring Brandon Day, Tristan Breitweser and Hagan won three titles with Jorgenson, Seth Breitweser and Wik running on that relay once each. The 4 x 200 relay team of Kosel, Yliniemi, Hagan and Tristan Breitweser took first once as did the 4 x 800 relay team of Reish, Wik, Gieseke and Seth Breitweser. Also taking first once were Jorgenson in the 110 hurdles, Hagan in the 400, Renneberg in the 1,600 and Jacobi in the 3,200.
Tristan Breitweser was named the Panthers' MVP while Hagan compiled the most points. Other awards went to Jacobi (Best Attitude), Carlson (Hardest Worker), Brandon Day (Rookie of the Year), Zach Fritze (Most Improved) and Kosel (Coaches Award).
Looking ahead to next season, the Panthers have to replace their top sprinters and pole vaulter, but return several talented individuals who will be looking to contend for the True Team and subsection titles and qualify for the state meet.
"It's always hard to have a good group of seniors like this class graduate that scored points in so many different events," said Lachowitzer. "However, we have a lot of talent coming up and we are excited for next season. We expect to compete and be one of the top competitors in both our True Team and our individual section next season."
