Season IV

First day of cross country practice, and we're so excited for Season IV! We definitely have our work cut out for us with this crew, but it is all going to be awesome.

Team Community Service Week

This week, we had a couple of opportunities to give back to the community that has been so supportive of us. The Corcoran Night to Unite brought hundreds of neighbors together to celebrate community, crime prevention, and strong police/community partnerships. We helped with food and games there. The Hanover Harvest Festival is a big, one-day event that begins with a 5K run and continues with a parade, games, vendors, bands, and lots of other activities. We set up several large tents, tables, etc. in preparation for the action. Everyone were all super appreciative of our help as we had solid crews working at different times over the course of the week. Great work, everyone!

MSHSL "No Contact" Week: July 1-7, 2017

Just a reminder that we're coming into our "no contact" week per MSHSL rules and will therefore not be hosting or organizing summer runs during that time. Feel free to meet on your own, but we coaches will not be available for consultation. Enjoy your holiday!

Catching Up

Catching up on some recently published articles--just had to share. :)

http://pressnews.com/2017/06/08/nighthawk-runner-gains-ground-at-sections/

http://pressnews.com/2017/06/05/nighthawk-runners-place-at-sub-section-track-meet/

http://pressnews.com/2017/05/06/nighthawk-runners-place-at-maple-lake-track-meet/

Season Finale

Congratulations to Erika Swanson for a great Section meet, and thanks to the team for coming to cheer her on! Erika represented the Nighthawks well as she improved her standings over last year's event, taking 7th in the 1600m (5:30.71) and 4th in the 3200m (12:05.41).

Being the only competitor from your team at a big meet like this is tough. But you couldn't ask for a better support crew--several carpools made the trek out to St. John's--which says a lot about the team. We're hoping to develop more Section qualifiers by next year, which will make the experience that much better for everyone. (The enthusiasm for summer running and cross country will certainly help!) We've had a great season of improvement in many ways and are pleased with all that these student-athletes have accomplished on both personal and performance levels.

One of the best things about this sport is how generous the other teams' coaches and athletes have been in helping us in these program-building seasons. Rockford has been especially supportive of our bringing more participants to the sport, and our athletes have made new friends through regular competition. It's been a lot of fun.

Steeple

Rockford's Last Chance Meet is an annual favorite (do it twice and it becomes a tradition, right?)--an opportunity for one more try at that PR or to enter something new and different. This time the hosts kicked up the fun a notch by introducing the steeplechase. It was supposed to be 2000m; but official lap counting was a bit lost in the fun, so some ran 2400-ish meters when it was all said and done. A great memory for our seniors as they finish their Nighthawk careers, too. Congrats to all who gave it a try!

2017 T&F Subsection Championships

Congratulations to all of the JV/Varsity Nighthawks who competed at the Subsection 17A Championships yesterday at Maple Lake! Both the men's and women's teams scored more points than last year. Point scorers include Erika Swanson (2nd place women's 1600 - 5:32; 3rd place 3200 - 12:01) advancing to the Section 5A Championships in both events; Jerilynn Simmer (5th women's 800 - 2:38; 7th 1600, 5:47); captain Gus Spencer (5th men's 400 - 0:57.37); Luke Swanson (5th men's 3200 - 10:44) with a new team record; Drake Fraser (7th men's 1600 - 5:09); Peter Weber (8th men's 400 - 0:59.38); Gus Spencer, Phillip Kippley, Peter Weber, Jake Bendickson (6th men's' 4x400 relay - 4:06). Congratulations also to Josh Springfield for throwing team records in the shot put (34' 10") and discus (99' 9"). Hard work paid off with several other personal records, season bests, and gutsy performances. We are proud of all our athletes and the sportsmanship they show at these events as we get to know the other teams. Fun times!