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Head coach Dave Randgaard was very impressed by the performance of the Bulldogs. "The team had an outstanding start against top notch competition," he said.

The coaches were really surprised the Bulldogs looked so strong. "As the meet went on, we kept getting positive results and we were very excited with our teams' performance," said Randgaard.

The Bulldogs had nine personal bests in the indoor meet, including two by ninth grader Tara Schmidt. She had personal bests in the 55-meter hurdles, placing seventh, and in the 55-meter dash, placing fifth.

Ninth grader Brooke Schmitz also had two personal indoor bests. She ran her personal best in the 800-meter run, taking second and coming in just five seconds behind the first place finisher. She also competed in the long jump for the first time and placed fourth.

Schmitz also ran the opening leg in the 3,200-meter relay, which finished in third place. Her teammates were eighth grader Tanis Beireis, senior Mandy Mayer, and senior Jen Berg.

Eighth grader Kacy Nehowig ran her personal best time in the indoor 3,200-meter (two-mile) run. She came in third, against some tough competition.

Other top finishes were recorded by senior Morgan Martinson, fourth in the shot put with a personal best; sophomore Brittany Lieser, fourth in the high jump with a personal best; and Mayer, fifth in the triple jump.

Individual Results
55-meter hurdles: Tara Schmidt, seventh, 10.11 (personal best);
55-meter dash: Schmidt, fifth, 7.8 (personal best);
400-meter dash: Jen Berg, 10th, 1:11.20; Megan Reeck, 12th, 1:11.5 (personal best);
800-meter run: Brooke Schmitz, second, 2:27.09 (personal best); Tanis Beireis, ninth, 2:45 (personal best);
1,600-meter run: Sheena Hoekstra, 13th, 6:43;
3,200-meter run: Kacy Nehowig, third, 12:07.19 (personal best);
Spring medley relay: Schmidt, Bari Behling, Maggie Frieler, Amanda Mayer, seventh, 2:08.10;
1,600-meter relay: Berg, Nehowig, Schmitz, Reeck, seventh, 4:45.58;
3,200-meter relay: Schmitz, Beireis, Mayer, and Berg, third, 10:48.18;
Shot put: Morgan Martinson, fourth, 33' 3 1/2" (personal best);
High jump: Brittany Lieser, fourth, 4' 10" (personal best); Kelly Herzberg, ninth, 4' 8" (personal best); Frieler, 23rd, 4';
Long jump: Schmitz, fourth, 14' 1 1/2"; Berg, 17th, 12' 8";
Triple jump: Mayer, fifth, 29' 11"; Tanya Whitcomb, seventh, 19' 8".

Season preview
The Bulldogs are sporting a very young team this year. However, the team returns 11 letterwinners. The team has four seniors, with three of them being captains: Berg, Mayer, and Martinson. Track newcomer Kelly Schultz is also a senior.

Juniors on the team are Bari Behling, Jessica Paul, and Peggy Thompson. Sophomores are Kendra Johnson and Brittany Lieser.

The biggest group this year are the 11 ninth graders. They are Maggie Frieler, Kelly Herzberg, Sheena Hoekstra, Yolanda Johnson, Jessica Kotten, Megan Reeck, Schmidt, Schmitz, Kacie Wander, Tanya Whitcomb, and Lindsey Wyffels.

Two eighth graders - Kacy Nehowig and Tanis Beireis - have been pulled up to varsity to help the team.

Randgaard is the head coach again, assisted by Kyle Nehowig and Todd Spanier, who are splitting the coaching position held for many years by the late Scott George. The girls are dedicating their season to George, who passed away earlier this month. He will be remembered at every meet and will be missed greatly.

The girls' next meet will be another indoor meet at St. John's University on Saturday, March 29. Start time is 6 p.m. There will be 10 schools at the meet.