Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
It’s almost time for spring sports to get underway, beginning with the indoor track season.
The first meet New Rockford-Sheyenne will be attending this year will be the Fighting Hawks Classic in Grand Forks on Saturday, March 16.
As per usual, the large NR-S track program will be competing for high placements in a number of different events, but there will be a major difference between this track season and previous years.
This season, students from Four Winds will also be competing as Rockets with the NR-S track program.
The track-only co-op agreement was initially proposed late last year, and was soon approved by both the NR-S and Four Winds school boards. And now, it’s also been approved by the North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA), making the proposal a reality.
On December 11, 2023, when NR-S Athletic Director Elliott Belquist brought the co-op to the school board’s attention, he said it was Four Winds Athletic Director Rick Smith who first approached him about the possibility.
Four Winds hasn’t had a track program of its own in 11 years, despite having an excellent track facility and plenty of high-level athletes. When the proposal was first presented, five females and eight males from Four Winds had already expressed interest in joining track and field.
Four Winds’ co-op agreement with NR-S is similar to the co-ops NR-S has with Carrington Public Schools for wrestling and softball.
Nothing will change regarding the team’s name, its participation in Class B, its jerseys or expenses. It simply allows more local athletes to compete in high school sports who would otherwise be kept from doing so.
Meanwhile for NR-S, the co-op comes with the benefit of a full track in Fort Totten which can be used for practice, something NR-S doesn’t have.
NR-S does, however, have a new practice location in New Rockford, which features a brand new 100-yard two-lane straightaway. The straightaway will allow the Rockets’ sprinters to get out of practicing in the halls of NR-S, and the dedicated practice field promises to boost an already thriving track program.
The new practice area is located west of the Jim Johnson Memorial Field, where the Rockets play football and the Black Sox play baseball.
Also new this year will be the Rockets’ participation in pole vault, an event NR-S hasn’t been able to compete in because they didn’t possess the necessary equipment. This year, however, the Carrington School District is generously providing their old pole vault setup to the Rockets.
With so many great new practice facilities, the NR-S track program hopes to have another successful season with multiple students attending the state tournament.
Unfortunately for NR-S, however, track star Kelsie Belquist won’t be able to compete due to a knee injury suffered toward the end of basketball season, dampening hopes to repeat in several state championships.
However, with exceptional athletes like Connor Knatterud, Ava Peterson and several more coming over from Four Winds, there’s still plenty to look forward to this season.
