Knatterud commits to University of Jamestown

Another standout New Rockford-Sheyenne athlete has committed to playing sports at the next level.

NR-S senior Connor Knatterud has officially committed to the University of Jamestown to compete in Track and Field.

Knatterud is the latest in a string of NR-S athletes to announce their commitment to a university.

Kelsie Belquist and Lora Wobbema have committed to the University of Nebraska and Lake Region State College, respectively.

And now, Knatterud says he's excited to get started with the Jimmies, and not just for sports.

"They have a great engineering program," said Knatterud, "which is the kind of schooling I'm going into, and ultimately I want good schooling if I'm also going for a sport."

"And they have an awesome track team down there," he added. "They're really fun to be around and compete with."

Knatterud said he was also considering the University of Mary, but the Jimmies were lucky enough to win him over.

At NR-S, Knatterud has established himself as an excellent sprinter.

Last season he qualified for state in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash events, and ultimately took 6th place and 11th place, respectively, at the state tournament.

Knatterud also ran as the anchor in the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x200-meter relay alongside Porter Granger, Trevor Waldo and Easton Benz.

In the prelims of the 4x100-meter relay, Knatterud and his teammates broke the NR-S school record with a time of 44.31 seconds, en route to a fourth place finish at the state tournament.

As his final season of track approaches, Knatterud is hoping to improve on his previous season's results.

Meanwhile, Knatterud has also been an excellent football player for the Rockets, and was a major contributor to their nearly undefeated run to the state championship.

When asked if he ever considered committing for football, Knatterud said he had and that he might still decide to walk on.

No matter the sport, it's clear that Knatterud is a fantastic athlete, and the University of Jamestown will be happy he's not competing for an opponent.

Just as in high school, Knatterud said he'll likely be focusing on the short sprint distances in college, and he's excited to get started.

"I'm looking forward to kind of being around some of my old buddies, and making some new friends up there," he said, "because they're a really fun and competitive team."

Friends, family and Rocket fans will certainly be following along as Knatterud goes on to compete at the collegiate level.