Riders Close in on Region Meet

  • May 19, 2022

The regular season has now ended with the running of the Bob Zimney Last Chance Meet on Monday. All that remains on the 2022 schedule are the two postseason meets, the East Region and the State Meet. Here’s how things played out in the lead-up to the biggest meets of the year.   

Fargo Classic

This meet has changed drastically from what it once was, a true East-West showdown with the top teams in the state. Now, only Minot is involved from the West. Nevertheless, it still proved to bring out the best in many athletes. Wind was the major theme of the day and it proved to play a key role in nearly all events. The boys amassed 159 points to place 2nd in the team race. 

Final Team Scores:

  1. Davies 173.5
  2. Red River 159
  3. West Fargo 112
  4. Minot 91.5
  5. Grand Forks Central 78
  6. Fargo South 77
  7. West Fargo Sheyenne 25

The Return of the Triple Threat

The storied tradition of Red River throwing is well-documented. Despite the numerous state champions, placewinners, athletes on the all-time top marks list, and collegiate throwers, we believe only four RR male athletes have ever qualified in all three throwing events in one season. This elite group includes Tom Homstad (‘80), Rick Kraft (‘83), Ryan Reynolds (‘96), and Dave Kurtz (‘97). After Friday’s shot put concluded, Logan Arason (‘23) can be added to the list. Logan’s prowess in the javelin and discus thus far in 2022 is no secret, he leads the state in both events. However, the same kind of success has always eluded him in the shot put (partly due to an injury last season that prevented him from any work in that event). After fooling around with the spin in the early stages of the season, Coach Fischer got down to business and switched Logan to the glide. This proved to be a wise decision after his 49’9 inch heave Friday, earning 2nd place and etching his name in the RR TRack history books. Not to be forgotten, he also won the discus (157’5) and javelin (171’11), bringing home 28 points. He is the current team leader in scoring. Other highlights from the throws included freshman JB Walters with three PR’s (SP-40’1, DT-114’2, JT-142’5, John Bjerke in SP (PR-34’0), Hudson Kilgore with a big discus PR (6th-129’5), and Quinn Nelson launching the spear 151’3 to get within striking distance of the 160’ qualifying standard. 

Short Sprinters Have Field Day

What felt like gale-force winds barreled down the homestretch at Fargo South on Friday. This was fantastic if you ran the 100, 200, or 110 hurdles. Breakout sprint star Caleb Severson enjoyed the conditions, racing to an 11.09 clocking and 4th place finish in the 100. This ties him for #8 all-time in school history. Junior Mikey Mallory came painfully close to qualifying, missing by only .03 in an 11.47 PR time. Mason Reynolds also hit a new PR at 11.60. In the 200, the wide curves at Fargo South and slight wind direction change created almost perfect conditions for the race, with a hefty tailwind for most of the race. Reynolds and Severson put on a show in the second heat, hitting monster PR’s of 22.61 (3rd) and 22.65 (5th). Those performances put Reynolds in a tie for 7th all-time and Severson in 11th. Lukas Heydt battled the wind for the first 100 of the 300 hurdles, then cruised to a new PR of 40.42 (2nd place). In the 110 hurdles, he won the event in a lifetime best of 15.24. Heading into the Region, he ranks #2 in both events in the EDC and #2/#4 in Class A. Also posting nice PR’s were sophomores Ben Strand in the 110s (16.28, just missing qualifying) and Josh Neil in the 300s (45.85).  

Byron Leads Jumpers

Junior Carter Byron, co-winner of the most valuable jumper award in 2021, hit a big PR (20’9.25) in the LJ Friday to win the event and qualify for State. Freshmen Isaiah Gaye placed 4th in the TJ (41’4). Other jumps scorers included Hudson Flom (3rd-11’6) and Jack Kouba (T-5th-10’6) in the PV. In the HJ, Ben Strand set a new PR after clearing 5’6. 

Other Notable Performances:

  • Athletes in any event requiring one lap or more on the track faced brutal winds, which showed in the times of the athletes. 
  • Senior Tanner Schiller ran a smart race and was rewarded with a 2nd place effort in the 400 (54.13). 
  • Hunter McHenry (4th-2:03.32), Dameon Zenawick (5th-2:04.54), and Elijah Dafoe (7th-2:06.63) all placed in the 800. 
  • Junior Jake Jenkins and sophomore Micah Larsen-Schmidt might have had it worse Friday, fighting the wind for eight laps in the 3200. Jenkins placed 4th (11:02.94) and Larsen-Schmidt was 6th (11:25.39). 

Full meet results, points, and split can be found HERE. 

Meet Photos can be found HERE. 

 

EDC Boys JV Outdoor

Most of the top teams in the EDC gathered at Sheyenne HS Saturday morning with a look at the future. Competing with predominantly freshmen and sophomores, the Riders rolled to the EDC JV team title, scoring over 200 points. 

Final Team Scores:

  1. Red River 217
  2. West Fargo Sheyenne 147
  3. Davies 128
  4. Fargo South 95
  5. Grand Forks Central 58
  6. Horace 29
  7. West Fargo 21
  8. Shanley 3

Radke Leads Team

Sophomore David Radke continued his fine season by winning the 1600 (5:05.55) and placing 2nd in the 3200 (11:03.66). His 18 points was tops on the team. Also placing from the D-Krew was Joe Quinn in the 1600 (5th-5:15.87) and 800 (4th-2:25.90), Alex Prichard in the 800 (2nd-2:24.01), Asa Berberich (4th-12:08.70) and Sam Dvorak (5th-12:18.05) in the 3200, and Nauman Farid in the 800 (2:29.02). 

Andrade and Sprinters Score Well

Freshman Brody Andrade placed 2nd in the 100 (12.00), 3rd in the 400 (56.86), and teamed with Logan Lambl, Mike Andrei Villas, and Isaiah Gaye to win the 4×1 (47.65). He totaled 16.5 points on the day. Josh Neil also had a nice day, winning the 400 with a new PR (55.22) and anchoring the 4×4 to 1st place with teammates Grant Hoffarth, Aidyn Wadlow, and Jack Helgeson (3:51.23). Gaye also placed 2nd in the 200 (25.34) and 7th in the 100 (12.38) to finish with 12.5 points. The 4×2 squad of Kyle Schafer, Mbanzendore Urbain, Carter Flom, and Jack Helgeson placed 1st in a time of 1:42.09. Schafer would also place 5th in the 200 (26.01) and 3rd in the 4×1. 

Brown Wins Javelin

Sophomore Rylan Brown won the javelin Saturday, hitting a distance of 126’9. Freshman Cameron Klefstad placed 6th (119’9), as well as 7th in the SP (37’4) to round out the placers in the throws. Also notching PR’s: Michael Belluk in the DT (92’10), Jacob Foss in the SP (34’5.5), Owen Hallanger in the SP (31’3), and Garrett Krefting in the SP (21’10). 

Other Notable Performances:

  • The triple jump alone brought in 25 team points. 
    • 1. Ben Strand-39′ 0
    • 3. Kai Pasch – 35′ 11.25 
    • 4. Max Martens – 35′ 6.75
    • 5. Carson Blegen – 35′ 1.75

Full meet results, points, and split can be found HERE. 

Meet Photos can be found HERE. 

 

Bob Zimney Last Chance

The Bob Zimney Last Chance Meet, named after the longtime RR coach, is typically a smaller meet for RR, GFC, and area Class B teams. With the terrible spring weather we’ve had, a much larger than normal amount of teams and athletes entered Monday’s meet. This turned the competition into a marathon that didn’t finish until 9:30 PM. A huge thanks to all athletes, coaches, and volunteers who chipped in to work the meet. We would still be trying to finish the long jump and discus if that didn’t happen. On the team side, the boys piled up points in all events to win the team title. Adding significance to the meet was presence of Bob Zimney himself, who had a great time congratulating the seniors and watching the Riders perform well. His enormous legacy lives on!

Final Team Scores:

  1. Red River 344
  2. West Fargo Sheyenne 210
  3. Grand Forks Central 196
  4. Hillsboro/Central Valley 196
  5. West Fargo 102
  6. Shanley 88
  7. Thompson 82
  8. Davies 72
  9. Grafton 52
  10. Griggs Midkota 50
  11. Nelson County 32
  12. Hatton-Northwood 16
  13. Drayton/Valley-Edinburg 12
  14. Fargo South 12
  15. Pembina County North 10
  16. Midway/Minto 6
  17. Larimore 2

An 800 to Remember

Many of the top half-milers in the EDC converged on the track Monday to run a fast 800 and/or qualify. Incredible conditions and environment produced one of the fastest races we’ve seen in some time in Grand Forks. The top 12 finishers all qualified for State! The top three athletes broke existing school records at their perspective schools. For the Riders, Jonah Dafoe and Dameon Zenawick got the qualifying time they were looking for, placing 6th and 7th. In the second heat, Tanner Schiller led after one lap and closed like a banshee to smash a new PR by five seconds. Freshman Elijah Dafoe just missed qualifying by less than a second to set a new Freshman Record. He now owns the top mark in school history in all three distance events. To illustrate how deep the field was, he only placed 13th in the event. 

800m Results:

  1. 12 Caeden Johnson 1:55.48a PR West Fargo Sheyenne
  2. 12 Regan Bosch 1:56.42a PR Davies
  3. 11 Quinn Roehl 1:56.43a PR Grand Forks Central
  4. 11 Drew Rempher 1:56.87a PR Davies
  5. 12 Lane Dullum 1:58.60a PR West Fargo
  6. 11 Jonah Dafoe 1:59.17a PR Red River
  7. 12 Dameon Zenawick 1:59.30a SR Red River
  8. 12 Justin Smith 2:00.14a PR West Fargo
  9. 10 Aiden Johnson 2:00.27a PR West Fargo Sheyenne
  10. 12 Lincoln Retzlaff 2:00.32a PR West Fargo
  11. 12 Tanner Schiller 2:00.59a PR Red River
  12. 11 Henry Nelson 2:00.86a PR Hillsboro/CV
  13. 9 Elijah Dafoe 2:02.53a PR Red River

Arason Improves Again

Logan Arason hit another barrier Monday, putting the shot 50’0 and winning the event. In the DT, he moved to #5 all-time with a 172’6 bomb. For good measure, he won the javelin as well (166’9) for a 30 point haul. 

Other throws PR’s: 

Javelin – Camerson Klefstad (126’2, Jacob Foss (96’2), Garrett Botnen (85’10), Hamza Hussein (84’3)

Discus – Quinn Nelson (120’5), Foss (109’2), Hussein (82’), Nate Piseno (78’)

Shot Put – Cooper Schweigert (36’9), Michael Belluk (35’10), Logan Wasylow (32’5), Dawson Van Sickle (31’8), Brayden Goulet (26’6), Harley Parsons (25’8). 

Brooks Just Misses Three Times

Senior Gannon Brooks ran three open events Monday, hoping to qualify in the 100, 200, and 400. Unfortunately, he just missed in all three, placing 4th in the 100 (11.45), 7th in the 200 (23.73), and 3rd in the 400 (52.59). On a great note, Brooks teamed with Mason Reynolds, Caleb Severson, and Mikey Mallory to run the 10th fastest 4×1 in school history (44.21). In a fun twist of fate, the squad moved ahead of a 2005 team featuring both Coach Roche and Coach Bakke. Severson also scored well in the open events, placing 2nd in the 100 (11.19) and 3rd in the 200 (23.22). Many PR’s, too numerous to mention, were seen from the sprint squad in all events. A great showing for the Riders. 

Sub 5:00 Club Ends Gets 10

Sophomore Micah Larsen-Schmidt set a new PR in the 1600 with a time of 4:48.43 (5th). In a fantastic last-ditch effort to join the Sub 5:00 Club, six athletes on the cusp gave it their all in the mile. Sadly, only David Radke made his goal. No one can fault the efforts of the others though. It was a great day. 

  • 12. David Radke – 4:57.95a PR Red River
  • 15. Carter Rydland – 5:00.42a SR Red River
  • 17. Kael Berberich – 5:01.39a PR Red River
  • 18. Joe Quinn – 5:01.76a Red River
  • 19. Matt Evans – 5:01.98a SR Red River
  • 20. Eli Zerr – 5:02.13a Red River]

Sub 5:00 Club in 2022:

  1. Hunter McHenry – 4:26.45
  2. Dameon Zenawick -4:32.07
  3. Elijah Dafoe – 4:32.47
  4. Jonah Dafoe – 4:34.67
  5. Micah Larsen-Schmidt – 4:48.43
  6. Tanner Schiller – 4:51.97
  7. Jake Jenkins – 4:55.04
  8. Grant Lelm – 4:57.69
  9. David Radke – 4:57.95
  10. William Krump – 4:58.17

Other Notable Performances:

  • Lukas Heydt again performed well in the hurdles, racing to a new PR of 40.21 (2nd) in the 300H and a near PR of 15.33 (1st)in the 110H. 
  • Freshman Joe Quinn, needing less than two points to earn 15 points and varsity letter, smashed his goal with a 3rd place (6 point) effort in the 3200 (11:05.05).

Full meet results, points, and split can be found HERE. 

Meet Photos can be found HERE. 

The only meets left on the schedule are the two postseason meets, the East Region and the 2022 ND State Meet. Come out to Cushman this Saturday to support the boys!

 

For the current Top Marks list, click HERE.