On the morning of Wednesday, May 17th, the 6th Edition of the Bi-annual 3rd Grade Pirate Cup took place under slightly windy and borderline chilly conditions at the Grantsburg High School track. The fastest third-grade girls and boys set off in a race for two laps around the quarter-mile synthetic oval.
First up were the male competitors. Participants included: Lyman Briggs, Jude Gonzalez, Chase Meyer, Vinny Schiefelbein, David Ciotta, Ben Peterson, Kian Norenberg, and Zander Kaiser. As the defending champion, Briggs had the inside lane, and he opened up a big lead and led every lap on his way to collecting another Pirate Cup trophy. Meyer finished one spot better than in the Fall, crossing the line in second place. Following Meyer in a photo finish for third were Kaiser and Schiefelbein.
The girls were next, and the runners taking to the lanes were: Maleah Luke, Whitney Goldman, Kyndal Northquest, Elise Zarowski, Emma Wicklund, Bria Martin, Ariya Paulson, and Kylie Bistram. Maleah was the defending champion for the girls, hoping to break the school record she narrowly missed in the Fall. However, the story on this day was Goldman. Coming off a serious leg injury, Goldman showed tremendous speed and resolve. She not only pulled away to win the race, but she beat Ayla Danielson’s school record set last year. Luke had a strong second-place finish, and she was followed to the stripe by Northquest.
Strong competition and good sportsmanship were on display for the bleachers full of fellow GES students and parents who had a strong showing of support. The seventh edition of the 3rd Grade Pirate Cup is slated to take place in September 2023.