The Ely Timberwolves’ season was put on hold because of the weather, but things are starting to look up.
Mother Nature forced the postponement of the varsity track teams’ season-opening event at Chisholm, as well as a junior high meet that was slated for earlier in the week.
Weeks of practice finally led up to the competition on Thursday, when both the boys and girls teams competed at the Grand Rapids Invitational.
A junior high meet takes place at Chisholm the following day.
Once again, both the Ely boys and girls teams bring back talent and boast plenty of depth.
Just under 80 total athletes are out for boys and girls track between the teams.
That list includes several athletes who have stood out locally, and some even at the state level.
Sophomore Violet Udovich is among the top track athletes in the area, boasting state meet experience, including a second-place finish in the state in 2025 in the 400-meter dash. She also was a state qualifier in the 200 dash.
Meanwhile, Ely returns thrower Kaylin Visser - who also has state meet experience, including an eighth-place finish in 2025 while setting a school record with a throw of 119 feet, one inch.
Rounding out a trio of state returnees is junior Lydia Shultz, who moved on to state last year in the high jump.
Udovich, Visser and Shultz form a talented trio who will lead a deep girls track team this spring.
Shultz, Mattie Lindsay, Molly Brophy, and Miriam Messerschmidt formed a top-four section relay last year in the four-by-400, while Lindsay, Elsa Ellerbroek, Isabella Macho, and Brophy combined for a fourth-place finish in the four-by-800.
Longtime head coach Will Helms leads a young Ely boys team that is poised to improve.
Senior Otto Devine and sophomore Wyatt Devine were both section qualifiers a year ago and both are coming off of big seasons in Nordic skiing.
Ely figures to have plenty of depth in distance events, not only in the 800 with Wyatt Devine but in the 1,600 as well with the return of section placers Oliver Hohenstein and Blake Houde.
Both Devines and Hohenstein form three-fourths of a returning, section-qualifying relay, while Ely could get a boost from eighth-grader Elliot Eastham, who made it to sections in the hurdles last spring.
Thursday’s meet at Grand Rapids starts a regular season that lasts barely a month, with subsection competition slated for May 21.
Ely Timberwolves Track - 2026 Schedule
April 16: at Grand Rapids
April 21: at Two Harbors
May 2: at Doc Savage Invite, Hibbing, 10 a.m.
May 5: at Mesabi East, 3:30 p.m.
May 8: at Chisholm
May 12: at IRC Meet, Aurora, 2 p.m.
May 16: Kerzie Invite at Rock Ridge, 10 a.m.
May 21: Subsection Meet at Aurora, 10 a.m.
May 27: Section 7A Meet at Duluth, 10 a.m.
Meets at 4 p.m. unless noted.
