RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesAug. 26—EAST GRAND FORKS — Kinsley Beland and Jorja Perkerewicz teamed up on the 4x400 relay at the Minnesota Class AA state track and field meet just a few months ago.
This fall, they're bringing their speed to the soccer field.
East Grand Forks returns most of its key contributors after making it to the Section 8A title game last season.
The forward group includes multiple returning athletes who excelled for the Green Wave track and field team during the spring, such as Beland and Perkerewicz.
"It's fun to watch," head coach Jessica Bina said. "They're just always creating. They're exploiting holes, gaps and seams like there's no tomorrow. I think our midfielders want to get it to them because they're excited about it, too."
Beland competed in
three events as an eighth-grader
at this year's state meet. She placed 11th in the long jump finals and 12th in the 400-meter preliminaries.
Beland and Perkerewicz's 4x400 relay team finished 10th in the prelims.
Beland believes competing in track has her well-conditioned for the coming soccer season.
"I think it really does help," Beland said. "They're close in seasons. We start soccer right away once track season is over in the spring, so it helps with the endurance."
Beland was also one of the leading scorers for the soccer team as a middle schooler.
"What I notice with Kinsley in particular is she's very, very vocal," Bina said. "You can tell she's a year-round athlete. ... She's not afraid to be a quarterback out there and say the right things."
Junior forward Geena Jordheim, last year's leading scorer, also had a strong track and field season. She was a member of the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams that placed fourth and seventh, respectively, at the Section 8AA meet.
Jordheim also finished 13th in the triple jump.
"(Perkerewicz and I) have quite a bit of chemistry," Beland said. "We're in the same grade, too, so that helps. We see each other pretty much every day, we have classes together. And then Geena is another one — she just clicks with everyone. She's a really good player, so everyone is able to click with her out there on the field."
East Grand Forks has a number of multi-sport players beyond the track athletes, boasting hockey and basketball players sprinkled throughout the roster.
"This is my 23rd year coaching, and I always say our best teams are made up of three-sport athletes," Bina said. "What makes this team even more unique is that most of them are at least two-sport athletes. We have to in East Grand Forks, because we offer the same sports and we're a small town. We encourage it, it makes them more athletic."
This year's roster is also surprisingly young, considering the amount of returners. Skyla Rustad, who was named to the Minnesota Class A all-state first team last season, was the biggest offseason loss.
The returners are hungry for another shot at the section championship after losing to St. Cloud Cathedral last season.
The Green Wave have made it to the section title game every year since moving from Section 8AA to Section 8A in 2023.
"I'm super excited," Beland said. "I've been looking forward to it ever since we lost last year in the section championship game. I know the rest of the girls are really looking forward to it."
East Grand Forks opens its season 6 p.m. Thursday at St. John's Prep. The Green Wave will take on Hibbing/Chisholm at noon the following day for their home opener.
EGF Senior High girls
Coach: Jessica Bina.
2025 record/finish: 9-8-1, lost to St. Cloud Cathedral in Section 8A championship.
Key returners: Soph. GK Natalie Drees; jr. D Josie Wawrzyniak; fr. D Ava Vargas; sr. D Lola Pesch; sr. D Lillie Thorvilson; soph. M Breckyn Pemberton; soph. M Caylee Adams; jr. M Ainsley Swanson; fr. M Raleigh Sayler; jr. F Geena Jordheim; fr. F Kinsley Beland; fr. F Jorja Perkerewicz; soph. F Lauren Carpenter.
Top newcomers: Fr. M Aubrey Useldinger; eighth-grader M Makenzie Shipes; soph. M Makayla Manz.
Coach Bina says: "We're young and good. We're young and experienced, because we threw a lot of kids to the fire last year because we lost such a big class the previous two years, back-to-back. The kids put in a lot of work over the summer, and they're track stars. ... There's depth, there's experience, there's athleticism, there's three-sport athletes, there's quickness, there's speed."
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