Like many of the sport teams at Northfield High School, the Raiders’ boys track and field team will be moving to a new Minnesota State High School League classification in 2024.
Northfield had previously competed at the Class AAA level and this year they will be moving to Class AA, which means meeting up with teams like Faribault, Red Wing and Stewartville at the section meet, instead of going up against larger schools like Lakeville South, Lakeville North and Farmington.
“We move down a class to AA, and I think we can do some amazing things in that section,” Northfield senior Evan Loe said. “We’ll have to see how things develop but that is something that is motivating me personally.”
Raider head coach Tyler Balow also added his insight into Northfield’s new status in Class AA.
“One of the biggest things for us moving from 1AAA to 1AA will be the automatic qualifying standards,” Balow said. “There will be a lot of tough competition and our section is still loaded with kids from Faribault, Stewartville and Red Wing has one of the top sprinters in the state. It is still going to be a real big challenge but it will offer a new opportunities and new faces to compete against.”
In addition to the change in classification, Northfield track and field will be meeting the challenge of replacing a large senior class from last year that included many top performers such as Nathan Amundson, Joey Schulz, Bracken Riley, Brayden Brakke and Toby Grawe among others.
“We lost a real big senior class from last year’s team, which means we will have a lot of guys stepping up throughout the entire program…it will be a year of growth for sure. We have a lot of returners who we are happy about but it is still a very young team and it is exciting to see where we will be this year,” Balow said.
An area that Northfield looks to be solid in will be the distance events as the team will benefit from the return of members of the NHS cross country team that placed eighth at the 20 MSHSL Class AA state meet.
“Distance, we’re going to be in good hands. In cross country we had a Section 1AA section runner up team that will give us about seven to eight guys who are ready to step in to our 4x800 relay and the 3200 and 1600 runs,” Balow said. “A couple of guys who will be top dogs there will be Soren Murphy Pearson and Isaac Schleif. They are looking to have breakout seasons in the mile and two mile.”
Loe added, “We have a group of distance runners who ran at the state cross country meet and a lot of them ran over the winter, so that will be really exciting to see how they have developed just from cross country where we already did well.”
In the mid-distance events, seniors to watch include Sam Swedin and Simon Lippert.
“They will be playing a big role in our 400s and 200s along with Ben Flory, who is a sophomore and will hopefully have a break out season,” Balow said.
Lippert will also be a top competitor in the sprints along with Stephen Feig, Kamarion Gant and track newcomer Gavin Novotny, who is joining the team this spring after playing baseball in years past. The 4x100 and 4x200 relays will also be strong with Northfield returning Lippert and Gant from last year’s record setting 4x100 relay that qualified for the Class AAA state meet with a time of 43.28.
In the field events, team captain John Newberg returns for his senior campaign and senior Carter Dumonceaux will be key players for NHS in the throws (shot and discus).
“I know our throwing section will be strong this year. We have good returners with myself and Carter Dumonceaux,” Newberg said. “In the other field events, we also have some good jumpers returning.”
Tops on that list is senior team captain Gant, who placed sixth in the high jump at the Class AAA state meet in 2023 with a career best leap of 6-4 at the state meet. In the pole vault, Feig gained All-Big 9 honors last year and build strength this year as a member of the Northfield weight lifting team.
One area that Balow sees as a team strength will be the team’s leadership group that includes captains Gant, Jaden Hietala, Loe and Newberg.
“We’ve been blessed with a lot of good captains here at Northfied, but this group especially stands out when it comes to leadership,” Balow said. “They’ve almost all been in the program for 3-4 years and they know track, they are outgoing and easy going.,,real solid leaders that other athletes can look up to. We’re really happy that these four are with us, especially with so much turnover from the number of seniors we lost last year. They will be a stabilizing force for us.”
Hietala added, “Track has always been seen as an individual sport but this year with this group of captains, we wanted to create more of a community and a team bond. The most important thing this year will be the team. More than any physical or athletic goal would be to try and leave a legacy and build the program.”
Newberg also provided his insight into the team’s goals and what it means to be a senior captain, “I’m looking forward to having a productive year. For a team goal, we all want to perform well as a team and work as a team…we also want to focus on the brotherhood of the team.
“It’s a weird feeling to think it’s your last year but you have to look and see how we can help improve the boys who are younger and how we can bring new people into the sport. Just trying to build the program below me so that in future years we can be better.”
Loe continued with his thoughts on being a team leader for the Raiders. “With it being my last senior sport, I am excited to have all my friends come together to do track, When it comes to track, we bring people from some many different areas of the school and its super fun to reunite with a different group of kids who might not always be on a team together but then we come together and create something special, so I am just trying to enjoy that.”
Looking ahead to 2024, the Big 9 race will be a strong challenge with the teams from Owatonna and Rochester Mayo being top contenders for the title. In Section 1AA this spring, Faribault will return several top performers from last year’s championship team. Red Wing and Stewartville will also look to make statements at this year’s section meet.
The Raiders will get a good taste of things early as they will open the season on Thursday, April 4 with a trip to the Ted Nelson Invitational at Alexander Park in Faribault with competition beginning at 4:30 p.m.
“The most important thing this year will be the team. More than any physical or athletic goal would be to try and leave a legacy and build the program,” Hietala said.
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