Posted: 4/14/04

Theyíre big in number and in size

Joe Drennan
Sports Editor

The Forest Lake High School boys track and field team may be large in numbers, close to 70, but close to 50 of the athletes are freshmen and sophomores.

Leading this seasonís team will be senior captains Lorin Skoglund and Brian Maloney.

Skoglund will be the top runner for the 400-meter races after placing third at last seasonís section race. Maloney will be one of the top returning jumpers on the team.

The throwing core could prove to be the most impressive aspect of the Forest Lake boys track and field team as there are over 20 throwers out this season including sophomore state participant Brandon Peterson. Peterson set the school record for shot put last season at the conference meet when he threw 53 feet.

ìTheyíre a big group,î head boys track and field coach Paul Kendrick said of the throwers. ìThey are fairly young with a few upperclassmen, but the core is fairly solid.î

Of the freshman throwers, there is a group of six of them where the shortest one is six-foot-two with an average weight of 225 lbs.

ìWeíll go to a meet and people are going to look,î throwing coach Cam Streeter said.

Seniors Tim Bridgeman, Tryn Almendinger, Andy Beane, Eric Wilson and sophomore Peterson will give the Forest Lake team its strength. The throwing team will also have many first time throwers from the football team that are out for track for the first time and could potentially compete at the varsity level.

ìThe attitude of this group is great,î Streeter said. ìTheir work ethic and focus is great, and this is the nucleus that is maybe going to turn things around for the future.î

In jumping, senior captain Maloney will most likely emerge as the leading jumper after finishing ninth in the triple jump at the section meet last season. Maloney worked hard at the National Sports Center in Blaine over the winter.

ìWeíre hoping he can be all conference and qualify for the state meet,î Kendrick said of Maloney.

Junior Brandon Neujahr had some promise last season in the triple jump and could help give Forest Lake a potent one-two punch behind Maloney.

ìOur strengths this year will probably be in the 400 on the track,î Kendrick said. ìWe have probably seven returning freshmen as sophomores that broke 56 seconds last season and three returning sophomore hurdlers that are back looking strong and should add talent in their areas.î

Dustin Kendrick, Nate Robertson and Jeff Cass are the returning hurdlers. John Sweitz ran the 800 and 400-meter races for the first time last season and is back again helping the team this season.
In distance running, Kelly Weise trained during the winter at the National Sports Center and should be the top distance runner for Forest Lake.

Pat Taylor, Alex Boreum and Ryan Turry are the returning pole vaulters who made some good progress last season.

ìWeíre hoping for some good things from them this year,î Kendrick said.

With such a large team and the season just barely underway, it is still too early to say exactly who is going to do what, but with such a large number of underclassmen, many will have a chance to compete for varsity positions.

ìThere are a lot of positions open for people to compete for,î Kendrick said. ìWe really have a young group and some people are going to have to step forward.î

Competition

In the Suburban East Conference, Stillwater, White Bear Lake, Roseville and Mounds View have been notoriously strong programs and Kendrick doesnít see a reason why they wonít be that way again this season. Hastings and Park (Cottage Grove) are generally just behind the top teams in the conference.

ìWeíre hoping to be right there in the middle,î Kendrick said. We're shooting for a fourth place finish in the SEC.î

SEC Relays

The season started Wednesday for Forest Lake as they competed in the SEC Relays.

ìWe tried to get as many kids as we could into different events,î Kendrick said. ìWe werenít too worried about scores.î

The shot put relay team took second place at the meet. Peterson led Forest Lake throwing 52.9 feet followed by Pat Van Beckam who threw almost 49 feet.

Forest Lake took second in the mile relay. The relay team was made up of John Sweitz, Aaron Skoglund, Jack Witrock, and Jessie Kolbow.

A top five finish was also registered by the 110-meter hurdles relay team of Kendrick, Jeff Cass, Nate Robertson, and Matt Hansman.

ìOverall I think we had a good performance and I got to see where the kids were at,î Kendrick said.
The top pole vaulter for Forest Lake was Alex Boreum who vaulted to 10í6í.î

The next meet for Forest Lake is Saturday at the Park (Cottage Grove) relays.

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