Bulldogs Leave Their Mark at Conference Meet
The NKB Bulldogs went to Walker on May 10 for the Northland and Northwoods Six Conference Meets. When the meet was finished both the boys and girls had earned 2nd place as teams and 18 athletes took home 34 All-Conference Honors. On top of that, three new records were set.
The first record to fall was in the girl's 1600 m. Sophomore Kristi Mills set out to break the old record by Kayla Olson. She had come close in the past but was not quite fast enough. At the meet, Mills and a runner from Pine-River Backus quickly moved ahead of the girls in the field. As the race came to a close, the two battled all the way to the 50 m mark where the Pine River athlete pulled ahead. Mills still finished strong in second place, and with the 5:40.2 was able to eclipse the mark set by Olson back in 2009 of 5:40.8.
In the next race, the boys 4 x 100 meter team of junior Brandon Schmid, senior Tyler Hughes, junior Tristan Williams, and junior Travis Olafson were set to run. Coach Schneider walked by eating a hot dog and giving words of encouragement. The team asked where their hot dogs were and Schneider quipped, "Get me a new record and we will talk." Well, 48.6 seconds later, a later discussion became necessary. The old record had been set earlier this year by the same crew of runners.
The next race was the 400 m. Freshman Jeanette Frenzel took the track looking to earn back her claim on the record that she had lost last year. Frenzel ran a strong first 200 m the turned on the jets as she sprinted up the last 100 m to take third place in 64.2 seconds. The run beat the old record held by Mills of 65.1.
But the day was not just about records. The team really showed up in all aspects of track and field. The Bulldogs returned home with Conference titles in many events. The first champions were the girls' 4 x 800 m relay team of eighth grader Christina Grundmeier, eighth grader Megan Hudec, junior Katey Lutz, and Mills teamed up to run away from the competition with a 10:52 and bring home gold.
Lutz added a second gold medal as she was able to out leap the field in the high jump. Williams, Hughes, Keith Shaughnessy, and Olafson took to the oval and ran a season best time of 1:40.2 to earn gold in the 4 x 200 m relay.
Shaughnessy then later returned to the track and blew away the field with a person best time of 53.8 in the 400 m dash to take the gold. In the longest race of the day, sophomore Paula Pearsall took the early lead in the 3200 m and ran a determined race from start to finish. Pearsall took one and a half minutes off her time to win the race in 14:02.
In the throwing events, eighth grader Rachel Fahey stepped into the circle and threw her personal best 90' 6" to take first in the discus.
The last champions of the day were the girls and boys 4 x 400 m relay teams. The girls easily won their event. The team of Jeanette Frenzel, Hudec, Lutz, and Mills sprinted to a 4:37 and gold.
The boys' team of senior Butch Strand, Williams, and junior Caleb Schneider cruised to an easy win and gold in their event as well. They finished with a time of 3:47.
In addition, many more individuals earned all-conference honors, placed, and had personal bests.
Girls Northwood Six All-Conference Award Winners:
Carrie Carrigan - 2nd Shot Put
Rachel Fahey - 1st Discus
Jeanette Frenzel - 3rd 400 m, 1st 4 x 400 m relay
Justine Frenzel - 3rd 100 m
Christina Grundmeier - 1st 4 x 800
Megan Hudec - 1st 4 x 800 m relay, 1st 4 x 400 m relay
Katey Lutz - 1st High Jump, 1st 4 x 800 m relay, 1st 4 x 400 m relay
Kristi Mills - 1st 4 x 800 m relay, 2nd 1600 m, 1st 4 x 400 m relay
Paula Pearsll - 1st 3200 m
Boys Northland All-Conference Award Winners:
Tyler Hughes - 3rd 110 m Hurdles, 1st 4 x 200
Matthew Jourdan - 2nd 4 x 800, 3rd 3200
Travis Olafson - 1st 4 x 200
Brandon Schmid - 2nd 110 m Hurdles, 2nd 300 m Hurdles
Caleb Schneider - 2nd 4 x 800, 2nd 800, 1st 4 x 400
Keith Shaughnessy - 1st 4 x 200, 2nd 400 m, 1st 4 x 400, 2nd High Jump
Butch Strand - 2nd 4 x 800, 3rd 1600 m, 1st 4 x 400
Michael Tate - 2nd 4 x 800
Tristan Williams - 1st 4 x 200, 1st 4 x 400, 3rd Triple Jump
Other placers:
Jarrett Burns - 6th Long Jump
Rachel Fahey - 5th Shot Put, 5th 800 m, 3rd 4 x 200 m relay
Jeanette Frenzel - 3rd 4 x 200 m relay
Justine Frenzel - 3rd 4 x 100 m relay, 5th 300 m hurdles
Christina Grundmeier - 4th Long Jump, 3rd 4 x 200 m relay and 4 x 100 m relay
Benin Head - 6th 400 m and High Jump
Kelly Heck - 3rd 4 x 100, 5th Triple Jump, 6th High Jump
Megan Hudec - 5th 1600 m
Katey Lutz - 3rd 4 x 200 m relay
Tanyssa Olafson - 3rd 4 x 100, 5th 100 m, 6th 300 m hurdles
Travis Olafson - 5th 100m and Long Jump
Maile Olson - 6th Triple Jump, 6th 100 m
Dominic Palmer - 6th 1600 m and 800 m
Paula Pearsall - 6th Long Jump
Scott Pierson - 4th Shot Put and Discus
Michael Tate - 4th 3200 m
