October 31, 2012

Girls take 7th, boys 9th at State

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

With snow falling and temperatures in the mid-30s, it wasn’t the greatest day in the world for running cross country, let alone a State Meet.
But those were the conditions in Dickinson last Saturday that greeted Watford City cross country runners, as well as competitors from across the state.
And while the conditions were far from being ideal, Watford City runners turned in some of their best times this season with the Wolves placing in the top 10 in both the boys and girls divisions.
The Watford City girls team finished in seventh place with Asha Smith leading the team with a 17th place finish in a time of 16:18.57, which earned her a berth on the Class B All-State Team.
Guy Ross helped lead the Wolves’ boys team to ninth place as he cross- ed the finish line in 22nd place in a time of 18:28.53.
“I thought State went well,” stated Greg Brown, Wolves’ head coach. “The boys team had some very good times at State and many boys ran their personal best times of the season.”
But Brown acknowledges that things didn’t turn out the way he had hoped for the girls team.
“The girls ran well, but something didn’t click at State,” states Brown.  “We still were very competitive with both teams but will have to put in some more time over the year to get better and to be where we, as a team, feel we should be.”
Hayley Moe turned in another good performance for the girls team as she finished in 39th place with a time of 17:13.20, while Addison Sundeen  and McKaylay Haugeberg finished in 69th and 74th place, respectively, with times of 17:54.54 and 17:59.46.
Also placing for the girls team was Lea Arndt, 108th, 18:36.83; Kara Wold, 123rd, 18:53.67; Katie Skarda, 126th, 18:57.87; and Tara Loomer, 149th, 19:55.24.
Finishing in the number two spot for the Wolves’ boys team was Logan Gumke who finished the course in 40th place with a time of 19:03.70.
Also finishing in the top 100 runners was Michael Brown, 65th, 19:43.18; Dustin Kleppen, 74th, 20:01.21; Devin Schmitz, 82nd, 20:19.20; and Braedon Gumke, 100th, 20:54.15.
Also placing for the Watford City boys team was Hunter DeFoe, 136th, 22:04.65; Trevor Alveshere, 151st, 22:41.49; Dakota Garmann, 159th, 22:58.67; and Josh Segneri, 175th, 24:10.50.
“I am extremely proud of each and every one of these athletes for the time and commitment that they gave all season long,” stated Brown. “Now there is the long wait for the Track and Field season to begin.”

WATFORD CITY WEATHER