Packer Relays

In what turned out to be a beautiful evening in West Fargo, the Riders competed at the Packer Relays last Friday. This meet serves as an East Region preview of sorts, as most of the EDC schools are represented. Although it was on the cooler side, the wind died down for much of the meet, providing quality conditions for good results. Despite the team underperforming in many events, the Riders once again used overall depth to finish strong in the team standings. Behind first place Davies (131 pts) and runner-up Sheyenne (115 pts), the boys placed third with 75.5 points. 

Final Team Standings:

1. Davies – 131
2. West Fargo Sheyenne – 115
3. Red River – 75.5
4. Grand Forks Central – 74.5
5. West Fargo – 70
6. Kindred – 63
7. Fargo South – 59.5
8. Fargo North – 57.5
9. Valley City – 57
10. Shanley – 36

For full meet results and relay splits-CLICK HERE. 

Track Gods Toy with Brooks/Sprint Relays

Junior Gannon Brooks has inched closer to qualifying all season in the sprinting events. This includes both open and relay events. On Friday, Brooks came within .08 of the 100m standard, clocking a PR time of 11.52. In the 4x200m, Brooks teamed with sophomore Mason Reynolds and the senior pair of Carter Stinson and Sam Kruger to place 6th in a SB time of 1:34.80. The SQ standard is 1:34.24. In the 4x100m relay, Reynolds, sophomore Carter Byron, Brooks, and Kruger placed seventh in a SB time of 45.57. The SQ standard is 45.44. In the night’s final dagger, the quartet of senior Mustafe Abdi, Brooks, Stinson, and Kruger won a thrilling 4x400m relay in a SB of time of 3:35.25, just missing the standard of 3:34.24. Frustrating as it is, the sprint crew performed fantastic and looks ready to jump under all three SQ standards in the meets to come. Kruger provided exciting anchor legs in all three relays, running down a WF athlete in the 4×1 and fighting off another Packer to win the 4×4. 

 

Milers Go 3 for 5

Hitting the SQ standard of 4:35.24 was the goal on Friday for all five athletes entered in the 1600m. In an exciting and competitive race, three of the athletes managed to do so in a 2-3-4-8-9 finish for the Riders. Junior Hunter McHenry led the way, placing second in 4:30.68 (#17 All-Time). Sophomore Jonah Dafoe followed in third, clocking 4:31.04 (#18 All-Time, #2 for sophomores), while Abdi placed fourth in 4:32.28 (#20 All-Time). Senior Broden Diederich was eighth (4:38.00) and sophomore Matt Rongitsch placed ninth (4:38.16). Junior Dameon Zenawick provided the D-Krew’s other highlight, qualifying in the 800m with a time of 2:01.65 to place third. McHenry finished sixth (2:02.45-PR) and Dafoe eighth in the event (2:05.06).  

Byron Qualifies in Hurdles

The other new qualifier from the meet came in the 110m hurdles, where Byron finally put together a clean race and was rewarded with a huge PR and SQ time of 15.96 (3rd place). Sophomore Lukas Heydt also hit a new PR at 16.00 to place fifth. In the triple jump, Heydt (6th-38’8) joined with junior Simon Haug (5th-39’3.75) and Kruger (7th-38’7.25) to score key team points. 

Weightmans Relay Puts on a Show

An annual tradition at the Packer Relays is the Thrower’s 4×100 Relay. This year was no different and the RR team did not disappoint. Sophomore Cooper Schweigert got the team off to a blistering start, eating up all athletes to his outside. Sophomore Kellen LaFountain (infamously known only as ‘Kellen from South’ in 2019, thanks to Jake Jenkins for the reminder) got the baton after some fumbling and poured on the heat, impressing onlookers with his powerful stride. Marshal “Blitzkrieg” Buelow took the third leg and ran admirably before handing off to anchor leg Sam Sather. Sam and his unmatched facial hair treated all in attendance to an excellent display of Large Man Maneuvering. And there was much rejoicing. 

 

Central Cass Invite

Athletes who did not compete on Friday traveled to Central Cass HS in Casselton. The Squirrels new athletic facility on the edge of town rivals anything in the EDC and maybe the state. They put on a top-notch meet and our “JV” athletes performed well against the varsity athletes of some of the top Class B teams in the eastern half of ND. In a nice showing of team depth, our squad of mainly underclassmen scored 62 points and placed fifth overall. 

Final Team Scores:

1.	Central Cass	114.5
2.	Thompson	93
3.	Hillsboro/Central Valley	69
4.	Grafton	65
5.	Red River	62
6.	Northern Cass	60.5
7.	Edgeley/Kulm	49
8.	Enderlin/Maple Valley	42
9.	Oakes	41
10	May-Port CG	27
11	Barnes County North	20
12	Kindred	18
13	Richland	17
14	Sargent County	16
15	Oak Grove Lutheran	14
16	Hankinson	10
17	Wyndmere-Lidgerwood	7
18	Grand Forks Central	5
19	Finley-Sharon-Hope-Page	4
20	Midway/Minto	2

 

D-Krew Scores Big

Most of the team’s points on Saturday came in the distance events, with the 1600m alone scoring 18 points. Sophomore Matt Evans spearheaded a 2-4-5-8 finish with a time of 4:54.27. 

Also dipping under 5:00 with new PR’s was freshman Micah Larsen-Schmidt (4th-4:56.26) and senior Abdirahman Ali (5th-4:59.70). Freshman Carter Rydland placed 8th in 5:07.56. In the 800m, Larsen-Schmidt (5th-2:14.62), Ali (6th-2:15.33), and Evans (7th-2:15.38) ran well. Three athletes set new PR’s and placed in the 3200m, with sophomore Jake Jenkins (4th-11:05.55) leading the way. Freshmen David Radke (7th-11:15.82) and 8th grader Joe Quinn (8th-11:22.98) also looked strong. Jenkins, Radke, Quinn, and sophomore Grant Lelm teamed together in the 4x800m and placed second with a fine effort (9:15.02). 

 

Hoffarth Rebounds 

Freshman Grant Hoffarth looked ready for a big PR in the 300m hurdles Saturday. That hope was destroyed when he barreled into the first hurdle and crashed to the track. Running inspired after the mishap, he placed fourth in the 400m with a big PR of 55.05. Lelm (8th-56.91) and 8th grader Brody Andrade (10th-58.20) also hit nice PR’s. In the meet’s final event, the 4x400m relay, Hoffarth, Lelm, Larsen-Scmidt, and Ali placed fifth (3:53.12) while the team of Evans, Rydland, freshmen Mikko Angelo Villas, and 8th grader Elijah Dafoe placed 6th (4:05.16). 

 

For full meet results, relay splits, and points scored-CLICK HERE. 

If you took any photos, please add them to the collaborative album.-CLICK HERE.

 

The Week Ahead

We have reached the final stretch of the season. This week, we have the Fargo Rotary (varsity) on Monday, the Orvik-Radke Classic (varsity) in Minot on Friday, and the EDC JV Boys Outdoor on Saturday (JV) at Cushman Field.

As always, you can follow the team on Twitter (@RRTFXC) and Instagram (@rrtfxc).

 

QUOTABLES:

“With another meet in the books, it’s motivating to watch as our team keeps improving towards state qualifying results and surpassing records. Our energy as a team is unmatched in the region at keeping the boys rallied to the end to win the 4×4 relay.” – Senior Carter Stinson

“As we start to make our way closer to the end of season it’s great to see the improvements the team has made over the course of this season from improving our times to getting closer to reaching state and coming together as a team to represent our school. I think Friday was a good representation of what our team has to offer when we come together to strive for a common goal.”  -Senior Sam Kruger