It was not quite the normal hustle and bustle of having a huge number of teams on hand for a track and field meet during Osakis’ season-opening quadrangular on April 15, but it was still competition for these athletes and coaches who have waited so long.

“It felt normal. More normal than practice has felt,” Osakis head coach Lee VanNyhuis said. “There was just a lot of positive energy. I could tell that kids from all of the teams were having fun. Sometimes I forget that it's been almost two years since we've done this.”

Athletes battled some cool conditions, but the Silverstreaks looked like they have another talented group to work with in winning both the boys and girls events. The Osakis girls put up 106 points, while the boys finished with 80.5.

“Duncan (Vandergon) and Tessa (Stanek) looked really solid in the sprints,” VanNyhuis said. “Very good start to the season despite the cold day. We had a good day in the throws also. Kiley (Kranz) has really made some big strides since 8th grade. Isaac (Hetland) is competing in his first meet after joining the team last year. He is going to make a big impact.”

Hetland is one of Osakis’ top athletes in football, and he hopes to be the same in track and field this spring. The senior won the shot put on Thursday with a finals throw of 42-07.5. That was three inches further than Parkers Prairie’s James Grant’s throw. Hetland was also third in discus with a toss of 93-09.

“We knew that he was going to be pretty good,” VanNyhuis said. “He really is a sprinter that throws once in a while in practice. He's still recovering from a leg injury, so he's not running in meets yet. Once he's healthy, he'll be one of our top sprinters as well. He really buys in to strength training and commits to it year round. There's no secret that really good football players are usually really good track athletes and vice versa.”

Sophomore Stewart Jones is another versatile athlete who Osakis can do a lot of things with. Jones won the 110 and 300-meter hurdles, along with winning the long jump and taking second in the triple jump.

“I'm really excited about what he can do,” VanNyhuis said. “Kids that are good at hurdles and jumps are coveted by track coaches. His length and athleticism give him a high ceiling that I feel he's not even close to yet. He has good body awareness, and picks things up fast. Only a sophomore, so we are excited about his future.”

Vandergon won both the 100 and 200-meter dashes for Osakis. The 4x200 relay team of Jack Petrich, Ethan Wiggens, Noah Goodwin, Caleb Goodwin won in 1:48.5, and the 4x400 group of Wiggens, Joseph Aaser, Zackery Bruder, Issack Loverink won in 4:16.2.

Stanek was a big part of this Osakis girls’ team as a freshman two years ago, and she got her junior year off on the right foot. Stanek won the 100-meter dash in 13.4 seconds, and added a win in the 200 dash in 28.4.

“Tessa has been one of our top sprinters since she was young,” VanNyhuis said. “Now her role has changed into that of the leader of a good young group of sprinters that could help continue our tradition of competitive sprint relays. The biggest thing that she can do for our team this year is to instill a calm, confident, fearlessness in her event group. When that happens, I think we could be pretty good.”

The Silverstreaks’ 4x100 relay team of Hailey Walker, Kiana Kendall, Mara VanNyhuis and Stanek won in 54.9 seconds. The 4x200 group of Emma Tenhoff, Carlee Muenzhueber, Bria Hoffarth and Addison Wildman won by more than 13 seconds with a time of 2:06.5.

Alexis Johanson helped pace the Osakis jumpers with a win in the high jump (4-06) and the triple jump (26-04), while Stanek and Kiana Kendall went 1-2 in the long jump. Kranz swept the throws for the Silverstreaks by winning the shot put in 37-02.5 and the discus in 106-05.

Suchy, Ashbaugh, Grant grab wins for Parkers Prairie

The Parkers Prairie boys team was a close second to Osakis with 71.5 points, and the girls were third with 26 points.

Johnathan Suchy won the 1,600-meter run in a time of 5:02.3. The Panthers’ 4x800 relay team also won that distance event in 9:36.

Ryder Ashbaugh had a first-place finish for Parkers Prairie by taking the high jump in a leap of 5-feet, 8-inches. James Grant also won the discus (110-07) after taking second in the shot put.

Ashley Dreger helped the Parkers Prairie girls with a second-place finish in the 200 dash (30.8), a third-place finish in the 100 dash (14.1) and long jump (13-00.75). Dakota Moske added a runner-up toss in the shot put at 29-00.

OSAKIS QUAD RESULTS

GIRLS TEAM SCORES - Osakis - 106; United North Central - 69; Parkers Prairie - 26; Browerville-Eagle Valley - 24

OSAKIS TOP-FIVE GIRLS FINISHERS - 100-METER DASH - Tessa Stanek - first, 13.4; Kiana Kendall - second, 13.6; Hailey Walker - fourth, 14.2; 200-METER DASH - Stanek - first, 28.4; Hailey Walker - fourth, 31.8; 400-METER DASH - Lexi Spychalla - second, 1:08.9; Carlee Mueznhuber - fourth, 1:12.5; Eva VanAcker - fifth, 1:17.9; 1,600-METER RUN - Lauren Anderson - second, 6:24.3; Larissa Hoffarth - fourth, 6:38.9; 100-METER HURDLES - Mara VanNyhuis - second, 17.8; Bria Hoffarth - third, 20.4; 4x100 RELAY - Hailey Walker, Kiana Kendall, Mara VanNyhuis, Tessa Stanek - first, 54.9; 4x200 RELAY - Emma Tenhoff, Carlee Muenzhueber, Bria Hoffarth, Addison Wildman - first, 2:06.5; 4x400 RELAY - Addison Wildman, Emma Tenhoff, Madelline Anderson, Kiana Kendall - second, 4:47.8; 4x800 RELAY - Madeline Anderson, Emma Nobles, Eva VanAcker, Destiny Dorman - second, 12:41

HIGH JUMP - Alexis Johanson - first, 4-06; Raechel Weir - second, 4-03; LONG JUMP - Stanek - first, 13-05.5; Kendall - second, 13-05.25; TRIPLE JUMP - Johanson - first, 26-04; SHOT PUT - Kiley Kranz - first, 37-02.5; Madison Douvier - fourth, 27-07; DISCUS - Kranz - first, 106-05; Mara VanNyhuis - second, 77-05; Douvier - fifth, 70-07

BOYS TEAM SCORES - Osakis - 80.5; Parkers Prairie - 71.5; United North Central - 39; Browerville-Eagle Valley - 33

OSAKIS BOYS TOP-FIVE FINISHERS - 100-METER DASH - Duncan Vandergon - first, 11.4; Brennen Gustafson - fifth, 12.4; 200-METER DASH - Vandergon - first, 24.1; Caleb Goodwin - fourth, 26.3; Jack Petrich - fifth, 26.5; 400-METER DASH - Joseph Aaser - second, 1:02.2; John Pahl - fourth, 1:02.7; 1,600-METER RUN - Zackery Bruder - third, 5:20.9; 110-METER HURDLES - Stewart Jones - first, 17.7; 300-METER HURDLES - Jones - first, 47.6; 4x100 RELAY - Jack Petrich, Ethan Wiggens, Caleb Goodwin, Duncan Vandergon - third, 49.8; 4x200 RELAY - Jack Petrich, Ethan Wiggens, Noah Goodwin, Caleb Goodwin - first, 1:48.5; 4x400 RELAY - Ethan Wiggens, Joseph Aaser, Zackery Bruder, Issack Loverink - first, 4:16.2; 4x800 RELAY - Kale Drevlow, Issac Loverink, Isaac Ruegemer, John Pahl - second, 10:37; HIGH JUMP - Ethan Wiggens - third, 5-03; LONG JUMP - Jones - first, 18-03; Jack Petrich - third, 15-10; Gustafson - fifth, 15-08; TRIPLE JUMP - second, 37-06.5; SHOT PUT - Isaac Hetland - first, 42-07.5; DISCUS - Hetland - third, 93-09

1/3: Osakis' Brennen Gustafson lands in the long jump on April 15, 2021. Gustafson finished fifth in the event with a mark of 15-08 to help the Silverstreaks to the team win. (Eric Morken / Echo Press)

2/3: Osakis' Mara VanNyhuis clears a hurdle on her way to a second-place finish in the 100-meter race on April 15, 2021. (Eric Morken / Echo Press)

3/3: Osakis' Bria Hoffarth clears a hurdle during the 100-meter race on April 15, 2021. (Eric Morken / Echo Press)