Sports & Outdoors

The Agate Girls Track and Field team won first place at the 67th annual Doc Savage Invitational on a cool windy day in Hibbing on Friday, May 5. The Agates didn’t always have a full score of competitors in each event, but in the events that they participated, they were highly competitive. The Agate girls took: 1st and 2nd in the 100 meter dash (Delaney Nelson and Trinity Giddings) 1st and 2nd in the 200 m dash (Delaney Nelson and Jenna Marxhausen) 1st and 8th in the 400 m dash (Grace Swanson and Ella Peterson) 3rd in the 100m and 300 m hurdles (Amaya Grinde) 6th in the 4 x 100 relay (Gwen Fagerland, Chloe Johnson, Ruby Shea, Natalie Tokvam) 1st in the 4 x 200 relay (Delaney Nelson, Karly Holm, Marxhausen, and Giddings) 1st in the 4 x 400 relay (Marxhausen, Lamar Gordon, Swanson, Giddings) 1st in the 4 x 800 relay (Jocelyn Carr, Holm, Gordon, Swanson)

Every member of the Silver Bay FFA (Future Farmers of America) qualified for state this year. Everyone performed well with Ethan Swartout receiving first place in the Diversified Horticulture Proficiency category, and he will be moving onto the national level. Olivia Hendren was awarded second place in the Food Service Proficiency category for her work at Betty’s Pies. Monday, April 24 was the most eventful day of the trip. With an early start, we left the hotel heading towards the fairgrounds and University of Minnesota Campus, where the competitions are held each year. The Forestry and Small Animals teams were dropped off at the University Campus, while the Floriculture team was dropped off in the Home Improvement section of the Fairgrounds. The Floriculture competition totaled three hours, with four, 45 minute sections. It included an exam with questions about flowers and floristry, a 10 question problem solving exam, a “practicum” exam which included constructing a boutonniere, and finally an ID portion where participants identified various plants, flowers, and tools.

Editor’s note: The reluctant editor hung around the shack for a little peace and quiet and just a little more snow due to a certain Camp Shack visitor. Yes, it’s May but there is a snowstorm wherever the Weary Shack Traveler goes.

Teams from the Two Harbors High School Enviro Club are advancing to state competition after last weeks regional Envirothon. Out of thirty-three competing teams Two Harbors teams placed 2nd and 3rd.

Both Two Harbors and Silver Bay were on hand Tuesday at Moose Lake for a meet that was originally scheduled for Two Harbors. Because Athletic Director Scott Ross, in the week before the meet, could not guarantee the state of the home track on the 2nd (the infield is often wet at this time of year) participants in that meet moved to the Moose Lake Meet. It was a sunny afternoon with winds that were significant enough to affect the racers' speeds. The Two Harbors Girls team took first place and the Silver Bay Girls Team took 7th place. The Two Harbors Boys team took 9th place and the Silver Bay Boys' team took 10th place, out of thirteen teams total.

Sophia Blanck was invited to race in the Hamline Elite meet last Friday on the campus of Hamline University in St. Paul. The Hamline Elite meet is an 'invite only' meet based solely on athletes performances at the beginning of each season. Races 400m and under only invite the top 9 athletes in the state due to Hamlin track having 9 lanes. 800-3200m races can invite up to 12 racers, depending on where the natural time break falls. Sophia went into Friday's race as the 10th fastest 800m runner in the state, regardless of school size, with her scorching time of 2:19 that she ran at her first meet down in Rosemount. Only a small handful of other Section 7 athletes qualified this year, including Esko, Rock Ridge, GNK, and Cloquet.

The one pleasant day of the week found both Two Harbors and Silver Bay in Moose Lake for a track meet last Tuesday. Though the grounds were wet, the track was in good condition and the temperatures were in the mid 50s. Two Harbors coach Ryan McIntyre notes: “Tate Nelson's time of 10.7 seconds in the 100m dash broke the school record. The previous record was 10.8 seconds set in 1981 by Dave Keeler.”

The fastest growing sport in the state, according to trap coach Ann Hastings, Clay Target or Tap shooting is one that she says is also one of the safest. “It’s a huge sport in Minnesota, with 1,000 kids shooting target in the worlds largest competition in Alexandria, Minn.