Wolves advance 23 to State Track
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
It was a great day for Watford City’s track teams on Friday as the Wolves’ varsity track teams ran away from the competition at the Northwest Region Track Meet in Watford City as both the boys and girls teams claimed regional championship crowns.
And for Greg Brown, girls’ head coach, and David Gumke, boys’ head coach, they couldn’t have been prouder of the way their athletes performed.
“The boys stepped up and performed very well at the region meet,” stated Gumke. “We had outstanding performances from all members of the team. They were all very focused and ready to compete. The guys did everything that they had to do to try and qualify.”
Logan Gumke and Brenden Leaming were the only boys that had qualified for State prior by mark going in to this meet. Logan qualified in the pole vault and Brenden in the 100 and 200 meter dashes. But on Friday, nine other Watford City boys earned the right to advance to State by placing in the top three in their events.
“We had a great week, between the Northwest Region Meet and Northwest Conference Meet,” stated Brown. “I am very excited to see how we compete at the State Track Meet.”
Both coaches have every reason to be proud as the Wolves had a combined 14 first place finishes, with the girls squad ending the day with 11 firsts.
Ricki Lindley will be leading the Wolves’ girls track team into the State Meet as she is qualified for six events and holds the state’s best qualifying marks in the triple jump and long jump.
Besides Lindley, other Watford City girls that claimed regional crowns on Friday were Kara Langerud in the 400 meter dash and long jump, Kayla Ogle in the 800 meter run and 1,600 meter runs, Bridget Allex in the 100 meter hurdles, and Nessa Mathews in the shot put.
The Watford City girls also won regional titles in all four relays.
Brenden Leaming will lead the Watford City boys team to State as he is qualified in five events - the 100, 200 and 400 meter dashes, and as a member of the 800 meter and 1600 meter relays.
During Friday’s regional meet, Logan Gumke and Bo Cook captured regional titles in the pole vault and long jump, respectively, while the boys 1,600 meter relay team also took first place.
The Wolves will be advancing 23 individuals to this weekend’s Class B State Track and Field Meet at the Bismarck Community Bowl.
Northwest Region Meet - Boys Division
200 meter dash: 4. Brenden Leaming, 23.40.
400 meter dash: 3. Brenden Leaming, 53.33; 8. Keegan Kaczmar, 58.75.
800 meter run: 3. Kyle Cook, 2:09.88; 7. Raehs Puetz, 2:17.38.
1,600 meter run: 4. Raehs Puetz, 4:58.98.
3,200 meter run: 6. Devin Schmitz, 11:38.33.
110 meter hurdles: 3. Rait Elliot, 16.43; 4. Conner Dennis, 17.06; 5. Cole McGorman, 18.51; 6. Trevor Alveshere, 19.11.
300 meter hurdles: 2. Conner Dennis, 42.55; 4. Rait Elliot, 45.14; 6. Carter Zenz, 45.47; 7. Trevor Alveshere, 46.27; 8. Keegan Kaczmar, 47.28.
400 meter relay: 2. (Bo Cook, Conner Dennis, Carter Zenz, Justin Schwartzenberger), 47.03.
400 meter relay: 2. (Bo Cook, Kyle Cook, Justin Schwartzenberger, Brenden Leaming), 1:36.70.
1,600 meter relay: 1. (Kyle Cook, Logan Gumke, Conner Dennis, Brenden Leaming), 3:37.78.
3,200 meter relay: 2. (Raehs Puetz, Devin Schmitz, Logan Gumke, Kyle Cook), 8:58.45.
High Jump: 2. Cole McGorman, 6’0”.
Pole Vault: 1. Logan Gumke, 12’0”; 2. Justin Schwartzenberger, 11’6”; 4. Trevor Alveshere, 10’0”.
Long Jump: 1. Bo Cook, 19’4.5”; 5. Carter Zenz, 18’8.5”.
Triple Jump: 3. Bo Cook, 39’1.5”; 7. Cole McGorman, 36’9”.
Shot Put: 6. Jaydn Ewing, 38’10”.
Javelin: 7. Rait Elliot, 112’8”.
Northwest Region Meet - Girls Division
100 meter dash: 3. Ricki Lindley, 12.91 SQ; 4. Kara Langerud, 13.31.
200 meter dash: 4. Ricki Lindley, 26.61 SQ; 6. Lindsay Peterson, 27.84.
400 meter dash: 1. Kara Langerud, 1:03.13 SQ; 6. Lindsay Peterson, 1:08.41.
800 meter run: 1. Kayla Ogle, 2:30.94 SQ; 5. Morgan Rolfsrud, 2:47.14.
1,600 meter run: 1. Kayla Ogle, 5:42.70 SQ; 2. Asha Smith, 5:42.96 SQ.
3,200 meter run: 6. Addison Sundeen, 14:38.06.
100 meter hurdles: 1. Bridget Allex, 16.83 SQ; 3. Lea Arndt, 18.10 SQ; 6. Morgan Franz, 19.63; 7. Ashleigh Voll, 19.90.
300 meter hurdles: 12. Lea Arndt, 49.69 SQ; 3. Bridget Allex, 51.86 SQ; 7. Ashleigh Voll, 55.23; 8. Morgan Franz, 56.06.
400 meter relay: 1. (Nessa Mathews, Lindsay Peterson, Bridget Allex, Mikka Haugeberg), 53.95 SQ.
800 meter relay: 1. (Nessa Mathews, Ivy Dodds, Lea Arndt, Ricki Lindley), 1:52.35 SQ.
1,600 meter relay: 1. (Mikka Haugeberg, Lea Arndt, Kara Langerud, Asha Smith), 4:19.43.
3,200 meter relay: 1. (Lindsay Peterson, Morgan Rolfsrud, Kayla Ogle, Asha Smith), 10:12.74 SQ.
High Jump: 2. Kaitlyn Nokes, 4’7” SQ; 6. Tia McGorman, 4’3”.
Long Jump: 11. Kara Langerud, 16’5.5” SQ; 6. Kaitlyn Nokes, 14’5”.
Triple Jump: 1. Ricki Lindley, 37’1” SQ; 8. Brooke Mogen, 28’9”
Shot Put: 1. Nessa Mathews, 35’4.5” SQ.
Javelin: 6. Iida Lehto, 89’10.5”.