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!

Early-season Meets

Just a few of the favorite pics from last week's meets. Team records and PR's continue to fall! So proud of our Nighthawks for all the new events they're trying this season. Love this crew and the great people we get to work with. (BTW holding a competitor's blocks is high-class sportsmanship...)

Nighthawks in the News

Season preview. Fun to have so many Nighthawks recognized for their hard work!

http://pressnews.com/2017/04/14/northwest-nighthawk-home-school-track-team-heads-into-second-season/

Second Season, First Meet

Special congratulations to the following for setting Nighthawk team records: Josh Springfield (both shot put and discus), Maria Lundy (100m), Jacob Binsfeld (100m), Gus Spencer (200m), and Drake Fraser (3200m). Also congratulations to Erika Swanson for meeting the State Honor Roll standard in the 3200m. Lots of PR's out there, too. Looking forward to a great season!

Track Time

One big improvement this season is more on-the-track time. Super thankful!

Fieldhouse

Riding arena by day, shot put fieldhouse by night... We told the runners they could simulate beach running if they didn't mind dodging the shot. Kidding. Sure would be nice to see the sun after all this cloudy weather, though!

Rolling

The face pretty much sums up early-season soreness...

2017 Track & Field: First Day!

Ahh, Minnesota in March. The first day of the 2017 Track & Field season was mentally tough running indoors, but this crew was on it. I have to say how impressed I was with the overall positivity out there! Of course I was too busy to think about taking pictures during the run, so you'll have to take my word for it. What does the t-shirt say, "Our sport is your sport's punishment"--or is it "Your sport is our sport's cool down"? :D O.K., we do have a few basketball players and other sharp-shooters on the team, and the rest were good sports about picking up a lively game of Lightning at the tail-end of practice. And first-day juice boxes for all. :) Thanks to everyone for being patient and flexible with these early day-to-day changes!

2017 Track & Field Registration is now open!

The team registration meeting was held 2/13, but you can still register even if you missed it! Practices begin 3/13. See the Registration page for your next steps.

2016 Track & Field Slideshow (promo length)

There you have it: The inaugural season summarized in less than 4 minutes...

Celebration

Each individual involved in this team was exactly who our inaugural track & field season needed, and each athlete was invited to the front to be recognized at our end-of-season banquet. The goal is not only to reward performance character strengths but also to highlight moral character strengths—the actions and instances of growth that lead to better relationships with others. Lots of food, fun, and hugs; memories shared, awards given, and senior batons signed. Thanks again to all the families who committed their time to each other this season!

In the News

Fun read in our local paper and several Nighthawks mentioned! Visit this post to see our favorite photos from the meet.

Section Track & Field Meet

Good day yesterday at St. John's University for the Section 5A Track & Field meet. The facilities were amazing and the weather was cool and breezy. Erika represented the Nighthawks well, placing for points in both events, taking 6th in the 1600m (5:30.99) and 7th in the 800m (2:31.14). The 800m was a fun surprise as she was time-seeded into the slower heat (two heats of 8 runners each) but ran fast enough to place and score points. Never give up based on what you see on paper! Good racing and valuable experience--by far the best competition we've watched all year.

It was a great day for team relations, too, as athletes and coaches said good-bye for the summer and exchanged emails. Nighthawk meet scorecard: one new penpal, one meet invitation for next year, and one medal. :)

That's a wrap--time to prepare for the end-of-season celebration and switch gears for cross country. Thanks to all who made this possible!

Last Chance

Last week's meets (Subsection and "Last Chance") were season wrap-up opportunities for most--that last shot at racing for the season. With the Section qualifiers resting, the Last Chance meet offered a little more room on the podium and brought a new level of excitement. At the same time, the week was bittersweet as it closed our seniors' first and last track season. Congratulations to everyone for successfully completing the challenge of running track! So many great memories to be thankful for.

Too. Much. Fun!

This meet had a particularly enthusiastic announcer, so any time we placed in an event, it was "...Northweeeest Nighthaaaawks!" Oh, and apparently "arm wrestling" has been added to the list of field events...

Connections

The Nighthawks were on the road last week with a trip to Medford. This was a special event for us being our only season meetup with the Rochester Jaguars, the "other" homeschool track & field team in our state. We connected last fall through cross country and have a fun relationship with them, so it was great to be competing together. And of course a long drive requires a Chipotle stop on the way home!

Picture Day

Team picture day is always a practice of sense-of-humor maintenance. We'd waited plenty long for a nice, warm day; but we finally gave up. Of course it was raining, but being representative of the season, we went for it. :D Big thanks to our sponsors for helping fund this inaugural season: Heppner's Legacy Homeschool Resources, Three Goats in a Tub, Hanover Athletic Association, Northwest Area Jaycees. And of course all the family and friends who donated personally to help make this happen. We appreciate every single one of you!