October 23, 2013

Ready for State

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

As the Watford City High School Cross Country teams spend their final week preparing for the State Class B Cross Country Meet, Greg Brown, Wolves’ head coach, is looking forward to a good showing in Valley City.
“Asha Smith is currently ranked as the No. 2 runner in the Class B ranks,” states Brown. “I expect that she will do very well at State.”
According to Brown, Smith’s time at Region, 15:03, was just one second behind Carrington’s Ashley Neumiller.
“I’m expecting a very exciting finish at State from both of these runners,” states Brown. “And you have to look at Symbria Bell from New Town to be among the leaders, plus Ashley Perez, who is the returning State Champion.”
But according to Brown, this year’s State Champion on the girls side is really going to boil down to heart.
“The runner who is the most focused, and who wants it the most, taking it in the last couple of meters, is going to win the title this year,” says Brown.
While Smith will be anchoring the girls team, Brown is hoping that a strong team effort from the boys team will result in a top five finish.
“It all comes down to how fast can they run,” says Brown. “I feel that it will take times of all five boys running under 19:30 to get a top five in State.”
And that means that Watford City’s top runners will need to be running around 17:45.
“After New Town, it is a very competitive team field,” says Brown. “It’s up for grabs after New Town. The final four team spots at State will be extremely competitive.”
The 2013 State Cross County Meet will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Bjornson’s Park Golf Course in Valley City.
The Class B boys will run at 2:15 p.m. with the Class B girls running at 3 p.m.

WATFORD CITY WEATHER