Lee VanNyhuis and his coaching staff have produced one of the top Class A track and field programs in the state over the years, and they are excited to see what this group can do with a good mix of returning athletes and newcomers.
“We feel we have enough athletes out. We just have to find ways of making it work,” VanNyhuis said. “We have some events that we need to develop if we want to compete against the better teams. We are going to have to rely on the juniors and seniors to provide a solid core, and we are going to need a bunch of underclassmen to step up.”
A good bulk of the girls’ roster returns with some level of varsity experience. Seniors Destiny Dorman, Raechel Weir, Madison Nystrom and Kaylee Thompson are a part of that group, as well as juniors Hatti Schmidtbauer, Lexi Spychalla, Mara VanNyhuis, Alexis Johanson, Tessa Stanek and Makenzie Lien. A talented group of girls in the sophomore and younger age classes add solid depth to this team.
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Isaac Hetland, Ben Paulson, Duncan Vandergon, Brently Boogaard and Ryan Engstrom are seniors on the boys’ side. Juniors Ethan Wiggens and Garek Radtke and sophomores Isaac Loverink and Stewart Jones also return with varsity experience.
“We are just happy to be back together,” coach VanNyhuis said. “There are a lot of unknowns going into the season. We know that a lot of the athletes won’t have a lot of experience. The meets might not be the same as in the past. We just need to show up ready to work each day at practice and put the work in.”
VanNyhuis expects programs like Minnewaska and Morris Area to be some of the better teams in the subsection to compete against.
“Pequot Lakes and Perham traditionally do well at the section level,” he said. “In the conference, we hope to be competitive and try to get another string of conference championships started after a year layoff.”
2021 OSAKIS TRACK AND FIELD SCHEDULE
BOYS ROSTER - SENIORS - Isaac Hetland, Ben Paulson, Duncan Vandergon, Brently Boogaard, Ryan Engstrom; JUNIORS - Ethan Wiggens, Garek Radtke, Caleb Goodwin; SOPHOMORES - Issac Loverink, Logan Karnes, McCarter Kirksey, Jack Petrich, Brody Wussow, Joseph Aaser, Stewart Jones, Noah Schultz, John Pahl, Kale Drevlow, Fischer Torgerson; FRESHMEN - Jayden Schlosser, Isaac Ruegemer, Noah Goodwin, Brennen Gustafson, Da’Vontee Guillette
GIRLS ROSTER - SENIORS - Destiny Dorman, Raechel Weir, Madison Nystrom, Kaylee Thompson; JUNIORS - Hatti Schmidtbauer, Lexi Spychalla, Mara VanNyhuis, Emma Tenhoff, Alexis Johanson, Tessa Stanek, Makenzie Lien; SOPHOMORES - Larissa Hoffarth, Madelyn Collins, Madi Douvier, McKenna Moe, Kiley Kranz, Kyrah Oeltjen; FRESHMEN - Bria Hoffarth, Hailey Walker, Lauren Anderson, Madeline Anderson, Carlee Muenzhueber, Eva VanEcker, Kianna Kendall, Emma Nobles, Izabella Nowak, Yasemeen Al-Ameri, Torie Hoeper, Addison Wildman, Stephy Marthaler
COACHES - Head coach - Lee VanNyhuis - 22nd season; Assistant coaches - Justin Dahlheimer, Rebecca Peterson, Patrick Ryan, Alex Mess, Courtney Gerads
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OSAKIS TRACK AND FIELD SCHEDULE
April 15 Osakis Quad, 4 p.m.
April 20 at Battle Lake High School, 4 p.m.
April 22 at LPGE Quad, 4 p.m.
April 29 Osakis Quad, 4 p.m.
May 6 at Sebeka Quad, 4 p.m.
May 13 Osakis Quad, 4 p.m.
