True Team State - In Their Own Words

Class A Girls

Section 1 Champion - Grand Meadow/Leroy-Ostrander/Kingsland/Southland

"Our GMLOKS team is a conglomeration of four rural schools, Grand Meadow, Leroy-Ostrander, Kingsland, and Southland. Although we compete against each other in other sports we are very good friends, more like family, during track season. We all work through the differences we have to achieve more as a team. During practices, we made it clear how far we wanted to go this track season and we worked as hard as possible even when we did not want to. Making it to State True Team was one of our biggest goals this season. We were thrilled when we made it to the meet knowing that we were so close last year. We are very excited to hopefully see some younger athletes step up at this important meet. The most important thing for us is at the True Team State Meet is to have fun and to continue improving. We are all very excited about this opportunity!" - 8th Grader Anika Reiland

Section 1 Wild Card - Lanesboro/Fillmore Central/Mabel-Canton

Something most people don't know about us is that we run on a 550 meter grass "track", yet we compete hard and do well. Although it makes handoffs, blocks, hurdles and quality workouts harder, I actually think it makes us stronger.

"The Chargers' track team is a co-operative between Minnesota Valley Lutheran and New Ulm Cathedral.  We have four seniors on the team supported by a strong group of 13 juniors, 5 sophomores and 8 freshmen. Last year, we were able to upset many time section winner, Blue Earth, to win the section for the girls' first time ever.  This year we had to battle through some injuries to key athletes during the section meet.  While the coaches were scrambling to rearrange the roster, the girls did what they have been doing all year - compete!  As a result, we were able to once again claim the section true team title. It is truly exciting to watch these girls bond and work together to find success.  When they are not competing, they are encouraging each other and just plain having fun.  We know that the state true team meet will bring us some new competition and tough challenges, but we are excited to be able to participate in this meet.  Last year we finished 8th, and we hope to better this year." - Head Coach Rollin Timm

Section 3 Champion - Canby/Minneota

"This will be the second straight year our girls have qualified for the True Team State Meet, after never qualifying before. While our team doesn't boast a lot of top individual state placing athletes, we've found that when competing at True Team, a well-balanced team is what wins. The past 3 or 4 years our team has really focused more on the TEAM aspect of the sport, rather than just being worried so much about the Individuals. This focus has brought our team closer together and has made the athletes more accountable to "pull their own weight" for the benefit of the team rather than just themselves.

Section 4 Champion - Maple Lake High School

"The Maple Lake girls track and field team qualified for the True Team state meet for the 7th time in 8 years. We are the defending state champions and are grateful to the founders and committee that make up True Team happen. Our focus is True Team, where every athlete is valued. Every athlete has a story, personality, and a role. We have superstars and role players, and we all come together to form one team. We are proud also of our school and community. Last year our school had four state championship teams: volleyball, baseball, softball, and girls track. We are proud of the fact that we were able to win state during the same season as our championship softball team with a completely different set of athletes. This year we have a talented group of seniors that will be missed next year, and we would love to see them go out on top with a repeat of a state championship. Most of all, we are honored to compete against such great athletes who push us to be the best we can be at the state meet." - Head Coach Ben Youngs

"Last year we graduated our largest senior class in a long time, so going into the year we knew we had lots of holes to fill. The best part about that is many of these girls knew that and were 100% willing to try new events to fill some of the spots because they knew that would be the best for the team! Some of the ideas these ladies throw at me for their meet line ups are all but insane, but they are willing to do it for the team! Pretty special when you have individuals who are willing to sacrifice a little personal success for the overall success of the team! At the Section 4A meet we knew it was going to be a very tough meet. Last year, Maple Lake (1st) and Concordia-Roseville (2nd) came from our section as well, so we knew it wasn't going to be easy. With that in mind, we had to anticipate that not only were we racing the 14 teams in our section, but we were also racing essentially the entire state for one of those coveted wildcard spots!" - Head Coach Andy Hertwig

Section 5 Champion - Minnewaska Area High School

"The Minnewaska Lakers Girls' Track & Field Team consists of 50+ girls in grades 7-12. We are a very young team consisting of only one senior. We are a team we thought would be in somewhat of a building year as we lost 8 seniors from our last year's team, who won the West Central Conference, 5A Section True Team, along with Sub-Section 6A in 2018.  These young women have a drive and determination to work hard in practice during the season and participate in our Speed & Strength program in the off season. Minnewaska has been fortunate to have good numbers which in turn has created competition within our own system. This has been our driving force which pushes kids to always work hard and compete at a higher level. I am not going to lie, some of our young girls have forced everyone to step up their game. Even making statements to the upperclassmen that they are going to try to beat them in the next meet. Our experienced tracksters also have that attitude that no matter how well they do, they can always do better. The leadership from our experienced kids and the determination from our younger kids have everything to do with any success we may have.  It means a lot for our program to have won the Section 5A True Team meet and advance for the second year in a row to the State Meet.  Our entire team has worked very hard for this honor and I am very proud of their efforts & accomplishments! We feel we have a team that can compete for the Championship and are so excited for the opportunity to compete in the State True Team Track & Field Meet again this year." - Head Coach Jennifer Johnsrud

Section 6 Wild Card - Barnesville High School

"The Barnesville Girls Track and Field Team is full of a lot of great competitors advancing to State True Team this year. Our roster this year consists of Ava Foster, Kenadee Gray, Hadley Pearson, Lindsey Rotz, Mya Askegard, Belle Peterson, Emma Rietz, Emily Smith, Emily Bredman, Mathea Jablonsky, Kaitlyn Leverson, Sydney Rustad, Emily Schoenecker, Sidney Ahles, Samantha Passa, Jordan Tschumperlin, Kya Anderson, Grace Schindler, Tessa Herman, Claire Meyer, Elora Passa, and Emily Spilde. Our team's talent is spread out from seventh grade to seniors competing. Though we are so spread out, we are a very close team. We work really hard at practice, but also make it fun and enjoyable for everyone. We have been working really hard to accomplish this achievement of going to State True Team for many years. Though we have been close many times before, we are excited to see this dream of ours come true. The last time our team made it was in 2007, so to be able to make it again over 10 years later makes it an even greater accomplishment. Now that it is finally happening, we get to go and show how our hard work has paid off. At True Team this year we all have our own individual goals and personal records we want to beat, but overall as a team we all want to go there, show how we can truly compete as a team, and have fun while doing it!" - Junior Kya Anderson

Section 7 Champion - Mesabi East

We are Mesabi East located in Aurora, about 60 miles north of Duluth.  We have 95 students from 7^th - 12^th grade participating in track out of a total 7-12 grade student body of 371.  Our girls' varsity team consists of about 35 athletes, depending on how many are allowed in a meet.  The weather doesn't usually cooperate with our track season and most times we are not outdoors for a meet until late April.  We also don't have a track facility.  We practice indoors, in parking lots and streets. When the weather has been warm and dry for some time, our old grass covered cinder track is where we would have practice for our runners.  Most of our practice for the jumps, hurdles and relay exchanges occurs at meets when we have some time before it begins, or the "practice" is the event. With that said, I believe it gives our team an edge on mental toughness.  Running on roads or grass, throwing from a circle in a parking lot and jumping a hurdle in the hallway makes a track venue seem a bit easier.

Section 8 Champion - West Marshall Fusion (Warren-Alvarado-Oslo/Stephen-Argyle)

"West Marshall Fusion is the coop between the schools of Stephen-Argyle Central and Warren-Alvarado-Oslo located in Northwest Minnesota. The track and field coop was established in the spring of 2008 and now includes cross country, baseball, softball and golf. The Fusion track and field program has made trips to the State True Team meet many times over the years. It is one of the goals of both the girls and boys teams to qualify for this outstanding meet each and every year. Our team enjoys the six and half hour bus trip to Stillwater and we see it as an opportunity to allow the student/athletes from the two schools to strengthen relationships. This meet is treated like any other state competition by our administrations and communities. In the past we have had police, fire truck and ambulance escorts out of town. We stop at the elementary school to allow those students the opportunity to celebrate with us. It is a big deal when the Fusion qualify for the State True Team meet. Although we are a coop between two neighboring schools our overall enrollment is still quite small. We take a lot of pride in our track and field program and the success that we have been able to maintain while competing against larger teams. We view the State True Team meet as another opportunity for our athletes to compete against the best from around the state of Minnesota. That being said a vast majority of our student/athletes will not qualify for the MSHSL State Track and Field Meet so this is an unbelievable opportunity for them to run, throw and jump on a big stage against great competition . This meet provides them with an experience that they will never forget. One of our jobs as coaches is to get as many people as possible to compete in the meet while attempting to keep our team as strong as possible. It is not always an easy task but one we look forward to. The Minnesota Track and Field Coaches Association sponsored True Team meet is one of the main highlights for the West Marshall Fusion each and every year. We look forward to our section meet and the opportunity to qualify for the State Meet. We are proud to represent Section 8A this year." - Head Coach Gary Kotts

Section 8 Wild Card - Crookston High School

"When I found out we were going to State True Team I was so excited that I was in denial. As an eighth grader making it to a state competition was more than what I could have expected this year. I'm so proud to be a part of the Crookston Pirate Girls Track and Field team. We have some great leadership, dedication, and hard working athletes. As a team we are all very excited to be back to Stillwater for the second year in a row! I think this trip builds a bond between the team that you can't get at practice. Also our coaching staff has put countless hours into making our life easier and we cannot thank them enough because we would not be here if it wasn't for them. I couldn't be more excited to participate in my first state track meet, or proud to wear a pirate jersey." - 8th Grader Libby Salentine