Riders Retain Region Crown
The Red River Boys defended their 2016 East Region Title Friday, edging Fargo South and Fargo Davies in a tight team race for EDC supremacy. The championship is the fifteenth region title in school history, coming during Red River’s fiftieth overall season of track and field. Here’s how things unfolded on Friday, where all athletes who met the qualifying standard or who placed in the Top-6 earned a trip to the State Meet in Bismarck:
The day started with heartbreak. In the first track event of the meet, the boys 4×800 team of Thomas O’Halloran, Marcelles Sartwell, Zach Simon, and Will Valentine finished in an agonizing 7th place, just missing a trip to the state meet. Valentine, the lone senior, received the baton an estimated 40 meters behind places 5-6 on the anchor leg. Gradually, Valentine gained ground on the teams ahead of him, setting the stage for a final kick on the homestretch. He actually passed a GFC runner for a brief moment, only to be outleaned at the finish line. His split of 2:02.1 was, far away and away, the best split of his career and the team this season. Although the state meet was lost for the 4×800, the rest of the team, inspired by the herculean effort from Valentine, began work on the task ahead.
With two of the boys’ marquee field events set to begin first, it wasn’t long before the Riders started adding points in bunches. The triple jump trio of Devon Pope, Carlos Martin, and George Nyanforh started things off first by all running a leg on the 3rd Place 4×200 team. Along with Tyler Burian, the time of 1:31.75 places the team #9 in school history. Using the relay as a warm-up, the trio managed a 1-2-4 finish, good enough for 23 points (1st-Devon-45’3/2nd-Carlos-43’11.75/3rd-George-41’6.25). Not far from the sand pits, Tandeski’s much-vaunted Javelin Army put together the most impressive point haul of the meet, placing 1-2-3-6-7. Leading the group was junior Seth Hanson (173’4), who succeeded Ty Ogren as Region Champion from 2016. Red River athletes have now won 12 of the past 14 East Region Javelin titles. Joining the party was Ty Ogren (2nd-168’7), Liam Ogren (3rd-164’5), Brett Klefstad (6th-151’2), and Sam Schumacher (7th-150’0). By placing sixth, Klefstad became the sixth RR boy to qualify for state in the javelin this season. Although 29 points from the javelin put the Roughriders in fine position, the meet was by no means over.
The shot put, sandwiched between the triple jump and javelin, also proved to be a huge event for the team. Seniors Mason Benefield and Nick Stahl managed big PR’s to finish 5th (47’10) and 6th (47’4), qualifying for state. Benefield’s mark was especially impressive, considering this is his first season out for the sport. On the track, Tyler Enerson ran a personal best time of 40.46 to finish 3rd in the 300 hurdles, with Peter Wysocki finishing in 6th place. The 4×100 relay team of Wysocki, Burian, Riley Benson, and Pope ran 44.72, finishing in 5th. Also adding a 5th place finish and important team points was junior Tim Dunham, who ran 4:36.29 in the 1600. This was followed by the Riders other signature event, the 110m Hurdles. Here, the Riders managed a 1-2-6-7 finish, with Tyler Enerson (15.02) leading the way. With Enerson’s win, Red River athletes have won 8 of the past 9 East Region titles in the event. Wysocki continued his strong senior season, placing second in 15.23. A surprise qualifier turned out to be freshman Bryce Enerson, who finished sixth in a PR of 16.11, with Martin placing seventh. The hurdling depth added 23 more points to the team total.
With the meet winding down, coaches began calculating team totals. Meanwhile, running alone and out of the second heat in the 800 was Valentine, setting a new personal best time of 2:05.49 to finish 8th. With only the discus, 3200, long jump, and 4×400 remaining, Red River held a mere 7.5 point lead on South, with Davies lurking right behind. The gun fired for the 3200 and immediately, senior Ben Hutchison started racing with a purpose. After just missing qualifying on four occasions thus far, Hutchison left nothing to chance and ran possessed, placing third in 9:59.69. The mark is a season best and a state qualifying performance. Also gaining big points was junior Dalton Byrne, who placed fifth in 10:02.63. With Davies closing the gap in the 3200 and South’s formidable quarter-milers chomping at the bit, even more importance and excitement was placed on the 4×400 relay.
As long as the Riders stayed within sight of South and managed to place, things were looking good. Junior Pierson Painter ran the strongest split of his career (52.7) to lead off the relay, with 400 newcomer Tyler Burian filling in for an injured Thomas O’Halloran on the second leg. Burian responded with a brilliant leg (52.2) to keep the team in great position. Third leg Cody Robertson (54.1) got the baton to anchor leg Nyanforh (52.09), who crossed the line in 5th. With South placing second, the Riders were feeling good, but didn’t want to jinx anything with the long jump the lone event remaining. After Enerson and Pope both hit new personal bests of 21’9.75 and 21’4.5 to move to second and fifth place, the team title was secure. In the end, the Riders outperformed South by 14.5 points, with Davies five points back from South.
In recognition of his outstanding career, Enerson was named Co-Senior Athlete of the Year, along with Hunter Lucas of Fargo Davies.
The team now looks to the only competition remaining on the schedule, the ND State High School Track and Field Meet, set for Bismarck on Friday, May 26th and Saturday, May 27th.
Updated Season Stats/Top Marks
Final Team Standings
1) Red River 143.5
2) Fargo South 129
3) Davies 124
4) West Fargo 106.5
5) Fargo North 95.5
6) West Fargo Sheyenne 83.5
7) Shanley 25
8) Wahpeton 16
9) Grand Forks Central 14
10) Valley City 3
11) Devils Lake 1