Rush City track prepares for tough competition

Coach: Michael Vaughan.

Last season: Boys placed 2nd in Great River Conference, girls placed 4th overall.

Key returnees: Boys — Seniors Owen Dick, Braeden Rood; junior Braden Niessen. Girls — Seniors Lydia Bengtson, Mikayla Ertz.

Outlook: Outside of its five seniors, the Rush City boys and girls track and field team are a fairly youthful and inexperienced bunch.

Composed of mostly eighth and ninth graders, the Tigers lost seven seniors to graduation. But they enter the 2024 spring season with roughly 60 total kids on roster, a promising number for the young program.

Vaughan, who enters his 23rd year coaching, lists a handful of top returnees for the Tigers this season. Dick, a pole vaulter and high-jumper, along with Rood, who’s a triple-jumper, will be a key duo for Rush City on the boys side.

For the girls, Bengtson — who owns the school record in the 100-meter hurdles — will look to lead the girls this season along with Ertz, who owns the school record in the pole vault. Niessen, who’s coming off an injury sustained from this past winter’s wrestling season, is nearing 100%.

Vaughan’s expectations of the team this year consist of performing well in the two biggest meets of the season: the Great River Conference championships and the True Team event.

“It’s going to be different, because Mora and Crosby-Ironton are joining our conference next year, which will change the dynamics of it pretty dramatically starting next year,” Vaughan said. “But we always look forward to competing really well and to first win meets as a team, but also get as many kids to all-conference as we can.”