Girls Track: Success despite weather, injuries

Maria Kiminski: MVP, All-State, All-Missota (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Despite one of the latest-arriving springs in decades and injuries to key performers, the Tigers continued to find success.

Farmington finished runner-up at both the Missota Conference Championships and Missota Conference Relays (by one point), took third in Section 1AA meet and scored its highest finish ever finish (second) in a relay at the Class AA state finals.

"We had a successful season with lots of new faces contributing which was exciting," coach Tom Hart said. "We have started to show what we can do as a team and I look for us to build off that going into next season."

Twenty-five Tigers scored the required 25 points to earn varsity letters this spring, including six seniors: Alex Frost, Courtney Johnston, Maria Kiminski, Kesley Lindell, Nadia Lorencz and April Morris.

Underclassmen winning letters included juniors Kathryn Beckett, Morgan Cecchittini, Kelli Elmer, Isabelle Ferm, Aly Grebner and Maricia Pacheco; sophomores Madison Bowe, Sofia Chadwick, Nicole Doran, Megan Graham, Alicia Hett and Destiny Schmitz; freshmen Racquel Beckett, Jordan Walls, Leah Kiage, Jennifer Miller, Maricella Pacheco, Elizabeth Welter and eighth-grader Emma Record.

Kiminski received the team's Most Valuable Player Award while Schmitz was tabbed as "Most Improved." Frost won the Tiger Award for dedication and work ethic,

All-State 4x400 Relay: Megan Graham, Kiminski, Alicia Hett, Isabelle Ferm

 

The 4x400 team of Kiminski, Hett, Graham and Ferm won all-state distinction for its second place finish at the state meet.

Those four along with Chadwick, Frost, Elmer, Doran, Cecchittini, Record, Graham, Schmitz, Miller and Grebner earned all-Missota Conference honors.

"The thing I enjoyed most about this season was our improvement and our depth," Hart said. "We had ladies step up in big moments...Our ability to adjust on the fly was incredible."

The Tiger coach also paid tribute to his team's loyal supporters.

"The parents' support at our meets (none at home) rivaled anyone's," he said. "The crowd cheering so loud for us was awesome."

Besides the weather, Hart said the only down sides of the spring came on the injury front. Lorencz, a Michigan State recruit who won two state titles as a junior, sprained her ankle late and could not recover enough to make a return trip to state. 

All-Stater Ferm repeated as Section 1AA 400-meter run champ (photo by Jim Lindquist)

 

Ferm, another state meet veteran who still managed to defend her section 400-meter title, lower her own school record in the event and anchor the runner-up relay at state, ran through a nagging hip injury most of the year,

Hart said he will miss the contributions of his six graduated seniors next spring but he is optimistic his large group of returnees will carry on the program's rich tradition.

"We will return many athletes with experience," he said. "We had a few athletes this year who just missed qualifying for state and that hunger will drive them to success."

Destiny Schmitz: Most Improved (photo by Jim Lindquist)