Celebrating success on track

Spring sports are a crap shoot. One week, we don’t have anywhere to go. The next, we have all the places and not enough people to go.

We get it all in every chance we get. On Tuesday, your local newspaper had four people at five different events.

New Rockford hosted a doubleheader of high school baseball, first Carrington vs. LaMoure, followed by SNR vs. LaMoure.

In the NR-S gym, the elementary club volleyball team took on the Benson County Wildcats.

Carrington hosted softball, where Carrington took on Nelson County/Midkota. Later in the evening, Carrington High School held its annual Honors Night.

Because I have kids competing in track, I chose the Lloyd Memorial Invitational in Fessenden. It wasn’t the first time I had covered a track meet, but for a few reasons I felt like a newbie.

It was a beautiful sunny spring day. There was no crazy wind or rain hampering the many activities happening that night.

The evening before was not as pleasant. The SNR and Nelson County boys played 6 1/2 innings of junior varsity baseball in the midst of wind, rain and chill.

On the track, I felt like a newbie because it took me awhile to get myself set up for success in the photography department. That’s right, I wasn’t just there to watch. I wanted to capture on camera these athletes in their element.

The last two times I’ve covered track, I recall that the cloudy skies made adjusting the settings a little easier. I also didn’t get a gallery full of photos

What I love about track is the opportunity to celebrate the success of athletes from several area schools at the same time. There are many “winners” at a track meet.

I couldn’t help but yell when Carter Engebretson of Benson County made a state-qualifying throw in shot put. The attendant called out 46-10 and everyone in the area cheered, athletes, parents and friends wearing all different colors. Carter was a force on the NR-S/M Rockets football team this past fall, and it was fun to watch him excel in another sport.

My mouth dropped open when Keaton Keller of Harvey/Wells County state qualified in javelin. His dad was there, helping marshal the event, and his mom was right there on the other side of the fence to see it happen.

I watched my daughter as she was called for the women’s discus finals. I was also there when she ran the 4x100 relay as a substitute, and her team finished in fourth place. Not bad for a thrower!

 Meanwhile, another NR-S relay team blazed down the track, and had state-qualifying times in both the 4x100 and 4x200 relays. Congratulations to Lucy, Jaida, Emmie and Katie!

However, I wasn’t there when my daughter’s boyfriend threw his personal record in discus AND finished first in the event, and he let me know it.

“Where were you for disc finals?” he asked when he located me on the track later.

At the time, I was watching the 200-meter dash. My relay shots didn’t turn out well, so I wanted another chance to capture runners doing what they love.

“People enjoy this?” my oldest daughter asked as she watched the 3,200-meter run. She is the only one of my children who didn’t compete in track. She was on her way back from a certification in Minot, and I told her to stop by on her way home.

Fessenden has a great venue for track. They put in the time, effort and preparation required for a great meet. Kudos to my hometown on a great event! I look forward to attending more meets there. Even if the weather isn’t nice, at least I’ll have an excuse to pick up Rosa's Pizza – the world's best – on the way home.

It was also the first time I had watched a banana relay. It’s a Fessenden track meet tradition, apparently. How could I have grown up in Fessenden and not known about this?

According to Lane Moellenkamp, sports correspondent for the Foster County Independent, the first banana relay happened about 20 years ago. Well, now I’m showing my age, because I’ve been out of high school a little longer than that!

“It’s very random!” Lane said. They only do one banana relay per season, if at all. Tuesday was a perfect opportunity, because the weather was fair, there were fewer schools participating and the scheduled events were over early enough to allow time for fun.

Anyway, the schools put together relay teams who pass a banana in place of a baton. Then, at the end of the relay, one person peels and eats the banana. The “finish line” is a fully-consumed banana. New Rockford had a couple of teams competing, and my daughter was on a different team than my son.

My daughter was also the official “banana eater” of her relay team, and I managed to capture a shot of her with a fully-loaded banana mouth! What a great way to end a fun day in Fessenden.

My takeaways: I do enjoy watching track, when the weather is nice. I’d like to have a second person taking pictures though. When there are five events and four available photographers, I won’t see it all but I will take in as much as I can.