Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Deng, boys' 4x100 relay team deemed state champions
The New Rockford-Sheyenne 4x100-meter relay team – Micah Dutch, Deng Deng, Connor Knatterud and Porter Granger – took first place with a Class B boys' meet record and NR-S school record time of 43.32 seconds.
Katie Allmaras reaches back to grab the baton from Lucy Meier during the girls' 4x200-meter relay. The team finished in seventh place with a time of 1:49.18.
NR-S' Emmie Belquist (left) and Carrington's Isabel Wendel (right) battle to the finish line in the girls' 100-meter hurdles. Belquist finished in fifth place and Wendel took seventh.
NR-S junior Bennett Meier reaches out to grab the baton from eighth grader Koy Zieman during the boys' 4x400-meter relay. The relay team finished in 20th place with a time of 3:49.10.
Fort Totten sophomore Marial Deng attempts to clear the high jump bar at 5 feet, 10 inches. After three attempts, Deng did not make it over the bar and was given a "no height."
Dalen Leftbear (left) takes off after grabbing the baton from Jackson Schumacher (right) in the boys' 4x400-meter relay event.
Kage Walford threw the javelin a total of 149 feet, 9 inches to place 14th at the state track and field meet.
NR-S sophomore Ava Peterson competed in the girls' javelin event and finished in seventh place with a throw of 115 feet, 2 inches.
NR-S eighth grader Jaida Schumacher sprints down the track during the girls' 100-meter dash. Schumacher took 17th place overall with a time of 13.98 seconds.
New Rockford-Sheyenne has a new individual state champion.
Fort Totten senior Deng Deng took the crown in the boys' high jump event at the 2024 North Dakota High School Activities Association Class B State Track and Field Meet on Friday, May 24. Deng had already surpassed 6 feet, 3 inches and was deemed the state champ, but continued to clear additional heights up to 6 feet, 6 inches.
Deng also competed in the boys' long jump event, where he finished in second place overall with a jump of 21 feet, 10 1/4 inches. With this distance, he once again broke the NR-S school record in that event, after he already surpassed it at the Panther Booster in Rugby on May 13.
The boys' 4x100-meter relay team – made up of Micah Dutch, Porter Granger, D. Deng and Connor Knatterud – also earned the rank of state champions. The relay team finished in third place in the prelims of the event with a time of 43.90 seconds, and went on to the finals to finish in first place overall with a time of 43.32 seconds.
The Rockets not only blazed the NR-S school record that was set last year by Granger, Trevor Waldo, Easton Benz and Knatterud, but they also beat the North Dakota Class B boys' meet record. Donavon Lopez, Mark Medalen, Tyson Akers and Josh Knutson of Des-Lacs Burlington/Lewis & Clark set the record back in 2016 with a time of 43.62 seconds.
These four Rocket athletes also ran the boys' 4x200-meter relay, which placed fourth overall with a new NR-S school record of 1:30.60. This record was set last year, once again by Granger, Waldo, Benz and Knatterud, with a tie of 1:33.10.
Besides the two relays, Knatterud and Granger competed in two other events each.
Knatterud ran in the boys' 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. He finished in fourth place in the 100 with a time of 11.40 seconds and second place in the 200 with a personal best time of 22.47 seconds.
Granger on the other hand competed in the boys' long jump, where he finished in 12th place with a jump of 19 feet, 9 inches. He also competed alongside Knatterud in the 200-meter dash and finished in 21st place with a time of 24.40 seconds.
The Rockets had three other high jumpers besides Deng Deng. Dalen Leftbear earned a spot on the podium in seventh place after clearing 6 feet flat. Bennett Meier finished in 10th place with a jump of 5 feet, 10 inches and Marial Deng missed all three jumps at 5 feet, 10 inches.
Leftbear and B. Meier competed alongside Jackson Schumacher and Koy Zieman in the boys' 4x400-meter relay, where they finished in 20th place with a time of 3:49.10.
Other Rocket boys to compete at state were senior DJ Mudgett and junior Kage Walford.
Mudgett competed in the boys' discus event and finished in 13th place overall with a personal best throw of 135 feet, 5 inches. Walford on the other hand competed in the boys' javelin event and took 14th place with a distance of 149 feet, 9 inches.
Overall, the boys' team finished in fifth place with a total of 48 points.
Top placer for the girls' team was NR-S freshman Emmie Belquist.
Belquist competed in the girls' 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles. She took fifth place overall with a personal best time of 16.49 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles and eighth place in the 300-meter hurdles, also with a personal best time of 47.89 seconds.
Belquist was also a part of the girls' 4x100-meter relay and the 4x200-meter relay alongside Lucy Meier, Katie Allmaras and Jaida Schumacher.
The girls' 4x100-meter relay finished in 10th place with a time of 51.55 seconds. In the 4x200-meter relay prelims, the Rockets finished in seventh place overall with a time of 1:49.93. In the finals of that event, they also finished in seventh place, with a better time of 1:48.08.
NR-S eighth grader Jaida Schumacher competed in the girls' 100-meter dash and finished in 17th place overall with a time of 13.98 seconds.
Lastly, Ava Peterson was the lone thrower for the Rocket girls, as she competed in the javelin event. Overall, Peterson finished in seventh place with a distance of 115 feet, 2 inches.
The girls' team three-way tied for third place with Central McLean and Edgeley/Kulm with a total of nine points.
Central Cass senior Elise Wisnewski was named the 2024 North Dakota High School Coaches Association (NDHSCA) Class B girls track and field senior athlete of the year. Carrington head coach Greg Hoeckle received the 2024 NDHSCA Class B girls track and field coach of the year award.
For the boys, Riley Sunram of Kindred was named the 2024 NDHSCA Class B boys track and field athlete of the year and Jon Jahner of Bowman County was awarded the 2024 NDHSCA Class B boys track and field coach of the year.
Both the boys and girls teams from Bowman County were crowned as champions.
Congratulations to all 1,713 athletes who competed at the North Dakota State Track and Field meet!
NDHSAA Class B State Track & Field Meet
May 23-25, 2024
at MDU Resources
Community Bowl
in Bismarck
Class B
Boys’ Team Scores
Bowman County 95, Kindred 82, Hazen 57, Northern Cass 52, New Rockford-Sheyenne 48, Lisbon 34, Oak Grove Lutheran 31.5, Harvey/Wells County 27, New Town 25, Central Cass 23, Dickinson Trinity 23, Central McLean 22, Carrington 21, LaMoure-Litchville/Marion 20, Hillsboro/Central Valley 19, Wyndmere-Lidgerwood 14, Bottineau 13, Sargent County 12, Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich 12, Thompson 12, Killdeer 8.5, May-Port-C-G 8, Glen Ullin/Hebron 8, Griggs-Midkota 8, Garrison 7, Maple River 6, Oakes 6, Rolette/Wolford 6, Rugby 5, Grafton 5, Stanley 4, Des-Lacs Burlington/Lewis & Clark 4, Edgeley/Kulm 4, Kenmare-Bowbells 4, Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood 3, Nedrose 3, North Star 2, Richland 2, Beach 2, South Border 1, Richardton-Taylor 1, Benson County 1.
Boys’ Individual Results
100-Meter Dash: Connor Knatterud (4th), 11.40
200-Meter Dash: Knatterud (2nd), 22.47; Porter Granger (21st), 24.40
4x100-Meter Relay: Micah Dutch, Granger, Deng Deng, Knatterud (1st), 43.32
4x200-Meter Relay: Dutch, Granger, Knatterud, Deng (4th), 1:30.60
4x400-Meter Relay: Jackson Schumacher, Dalen Leftbear, Koy Zieman, Bennett Meier (20th), 3:49.10
Discus: DJ Mudgett (13th), 135-5
Javelin: Kage Walford (14th), 149-9
High Jump: D. Deng (1st), 6-6; Leftbear (7th), 6-0; B. Meier (10th), 5-10; Marial Deng, NH
Long Jump: D. Deng (2nd), 21-10.25; Granger (12th), 19-9
Class B
Girls’ Team Scores
Bowman County 72, Central Cass 58, Oak Grove Lutheran 55, Carrington 54.5, Shiloh Christian 54, Hatton-Northwood 39.5, Des-Lacs Burlington/Lewis & Clark 32, Rugby 30, Velva-Drake/Anamoose 26, Dickinson Trinity 24, Bottineau 23, Killdeer 23, Drayton/Valley-Edinburg 18, Grafton 18, Bishop Ryan 14, Kindred 14, Harvey/Wells County 13, Beulah 12, Kenmare-Bowbells 12, Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich 12, Richardton-Taylor 11, Ellendale 11, New Salem-Almont 10, South Border 10, Lisbon 10, New Rockford-Sheyenne 9, Central McLean 9, Edgeley/Kulm 9, Richland 8, LaMoure-Litchville/Marion 8, Benson County 7, Sargent County 7, Nelson County 6, Williams County 6, Divide County 4, Powers Lake-Burke County 3, Oakes 2, Pembina County North 2, May-Port-C-G 2, Nedrose 1, Hettinger County 1, Thompson 1.
Girls’ Individual Results
100-Meter Dash: Jaida Schumacher (17th), 13.98
100-Meter Hurdles: Emmie Belquist (5th), 16.49
300-Meter Hurdles: Belquist (8th), 47.89
4x100-Meter Relay: Lucy Meier, Katie Allmaras, Jaida Schumacher, Belquist (10th), 51.55
4x200-Meter Relay: L. Meier, Allmaras, Belquist, Jaida Schumacher (7th), 1:49.18
Javelin: Ava Peterson (7th), 115-2
