Bemidji track teams finish strong at home invite before sections

Bemidji High School used its final regular-season meet to sharpen for the postseason, and the Lumberjacks left the home invite with enough to suggest they are peaking at the right time. The girls finished second with 67 points and the boys took third with 82 at Wednesday’s meet in Bemidji, a useful late-season test against TrekNorth, Grand Rapids and Hibbing before section prelims begin next week.

The clearest sign of postseason potential came from Bemidji’s girls 4x800 relay, which won in 9:37.66. In a meet that was less about the final standings than about timing, depth and execution, that kind of relay performance matters because it shows the Lumberjacks can put together four strong legs under pressure. Relays often become separating events in section competition, and a win like that gives Bemidji a result it can point to when the pace quickens next week.

The home invite also served as a clean read on where the program stands against a mix of local and regional competition. TrekNorth, Grand Rapids and Hibbing gave Bemidji a field that was competitive without being unfamiliar, which is exactly the kind of setting coaches want before section prelims. The girls’ runner-up finish and the boys’ third-place result suggest both squads held their own in the final regular-season checkup, even as the bigger goal now shifts to advancing individual events and relays into the next round.

For Bemidji, the value of Wednesday’s meet was not just in the points. It showed which athletes are carrying momentum into sections, which groups are working together cleanly and which events may still need sharper execution. The 4x800 relay’s win points to a program that has at least one event ready for the postseason grind, while the overall team finishes at home indicate the Lumberjacks will enter section prelims with a solid base of confidence and a clearer picture of where a state path remains realistic.