Track and field: Record-setting year honored for Osakis – Osakis Review

By Eric Morken Today at 9:20 a.m.

Osakis boys track and field award winners are (left to right) Ivan Bererra, Most Improved; Daniel Savageau, Will to Win; Ben Paulson, Most Valuable Field; Jacob Backes, Most Valuable Track; and Matt Peikert, Silverstreak Award. (Submitted photo)1 / 2

Osakis girls track and field award winners are (left to right) Camryn Hoffarth, Silverstreak Award; Tianna Stanek, Most Valuable Track; Elizabeth Pahl, Most Valuable Field; Kiley Kranz, Most Improved; and Lexi Spychalla, Will to Win. (Submitted photo)2 / 2

The Osakis track and field teams combined to break eight school records this season between the boys and girls and both programs handed out awards to honor many of those athletes.

In awards voted on by their teammates, Elizabeth Pahl was named the girls most valuable field athlete and Jacob Backes earned the boys’ most valuable track athlete after both set two of those school records.

Backes’ high mark in the pole vault is 13-feet, 9-inches and his 300-meter hurdles time of 41.13 seconds set the new Osakis record. Pahl leaves Osakis as the record holder in both the shot put (41-11.5) and discus (133-7. Both Backes and Pahl were Prairie Conference MVPs and represented the Silverstreaks in the state meet this past season.

Fellow senior Tianna Stanek was the Osakis girls’ most valuable track athlete. She set a school record in the pole vault this spring by clearing 9-feet, 3-inches, while also anchoring the sprint events for the team.

Lexi Spychalla earned the Will to Win Award for the girls. Kiley Kranz took home the Most Improved Award and Camryn Hoffarth was the recipient of the Silverstreak Award.

On the boys’ side, junior Daniel Savageau earned the Will to Win Award after he helped lead the distance runners. Savageau (1,600-meter run, 4:38.39) and Carter Grove (3,200-meter run, 10:18.81) both set new Osakis records in individual distance events. Both also were a part of the 4×800 relay team with Brently Boogaard and Jarron Kurth that set a new school record time in 8:26.06.

Ivan Bererra earned the Osakis boys’ Most Improved Award. Matt Peikert got the Silverstreak Award, and Ben Paulson was the most valuable field athlete for the boys after leading their throws group.

The Osakis season included many accomplishments on the track and in the field. Both the boys and girls won the Prairie Conference championship, while the boys finished eighth in their first-ever trip to the true team state meet, but both programs were equally as impressive in the classroom.

The boys and girls earned the academic all-state gold team award. The boys had a team GPA of 3.90 and the girls were at 3.92. Stanek, Pahl, Makenzie Lien, Grove, Savageau and Duncan Vandergon all earned individual academic all-state honors for having a GPA of 3.6 or higher and meeting performance standards.