State Meet Concludes 2017 Season
After two days of intense competition in Bismarck, the Red River Boys finished in 6th Place Saturday at the North Dakota High School State Track and Field Meet. With a multitude of quality depth across the state, the 2017 season produced one of the deepest collection of teams in years. Only 16 points separated the teams in places 4-8. For the Riders, this marks the 19th Top-7 finish in the past 20 years.
Just as it’s been all season, the team’s biggest point hauls came from the triple jump, 110m hurdles, and javelin throw. With a mighty crosswind and temperatures fluctuating regularly, conditions were not ideal for big jumps. Nevertheless, the boys entered the competition ranked 1-2-5 and with high hopes. The team’s first jumper was 8th grader George Nyanforh. With the confidence of a seasoned veteran, George asked the crowd for some rhythmic clapping to help his concentration. Many in the crowd scoffed at the nerve of a middle schooler to involve the crowd on his first attempt. Middle schooler or not, George harnessed his focus into a PR 43’7 first jump, ensuring him a place in finals and turning plenty of heads in the crowd. Next in line was Carlos, who also used the power of the crowd to leap a new PR of 45’7, emitting numerous “oohs and ahhs” from the jump spectators. Devon, the defending champion, struggled slightly with his first jumps and some questioned whether or not he could repeat. With most of the boys and girls team now gathered by the sand pits for the prelims, the audience’s clapping became louder, which attracted even more people to watch the great athleticism displayed by the state’s best bounders. On his final prelim attempt, George managed a new PR of 44’1, which effectively silenced any of the doubters in the crowd. Heading to finals, the Riders sat 1-3-4 after Devon also hit a 44’1 jump. Looking to break up the trio was Legacy’s Brandon Lewis and Bismarck’s Dane Allen, who both managed 44’+ jumps to move into places 2-3. Devon reached 44’11 to continue his crawl upwards, but still sat behind Carlos. Now, with only one attempt remaining, almost all counted out Devon to repeat. Somehow, like he’s done at so many meets this year, he found a way to come up with the jump he needed on his last attempt and move into first with a 45’9 jump. Carlos, who jumped terrific during the whole competition, finished in 2nd and George ended in 5th to score 22 big team points for the Riders. Collectively, the group formed the best trio of triple jumpers from one school in state history. Devon finishes his career #2 All-Time at RRHS, with Carlos currently #3 and George moving to #6.
No other points were scored on Friday, but athletes who advanced to Saturday’s finals included Tyler Enerson and Peter Wysocki in the 110m Hurdles, Enerson in the 300m Hurdles, and the 4x200m Relay team of all three triple jumpers, plus Tyler Burian. Also crucial to current and future team success were the many athletes who competed but did not place in their events. Just making it to the state meet is an accomplishment in itself and all athletes should be proud of this achievement.
Enerson got things started Saturday morning on the track with a seventh place finish in the 300 hurdles in a lifetime best time of 40.40. This was followed by the 4x200m Relay (Burian, Pope, Martin, Nyanforh), who also finished seventh with a season best time of 1:31.16 (#8 All-Time in school history). The fact that five teams in the final broke 1:30.00 and four teams ran times faster than our school record of 1:29.48 illustrates the fantastic sprint depth shown across the state this year. By 1:00 PM, it was javelin time, featuring our six state qualifiers. Ty Ogren set the tone early and led the competition through the prelims, with Seth Hanson (164’8) and Liam Ogren (157’2) also throwing well and sitting in sixth and eighth. Into the finals, Ty managed two throws over 180’, with his 182’10 throw the second-best of his career. Coming up with the big toss was Legacy athlete Matt Kraft, who moved Ty into second after hitting 186’9. Seth and Liam held place and to give the Riders 12 points and a 2-6-8 finish. On the All-Time list, Ty ends his career #7 All-Time in school history.
With a stiff headwind erasing any chance of a PR time, Enerson and Wysocki were forced to forget about times and compete for places. The hurdle duo ended up placing second and seventh, giving the team an extra 10 points. Tyler’s fine hurdling career ends with three consecutive trips to the podium in the 110m hurdles (8th-2015, 4th-2016, 2nd-2017) and a #8 ranking in school history, while Peter’s PR puts him #9 on the deep RR 110m Hurdle All-Time list.
As team totals began to be announced, it was clear the projected dogfight for Top-5 places was definitely going to happen. With four events remaining, the Riders sat in a three-way tie for fourth place, with four more teams close behind. The only remaining events were the long jump and 4x400m Relay. As the 10th seed coming into the meet, the 4×400 team had to run in the slow section, with only two other teams. A blessing in disguise, the position put Pierson Painter, Burian, Cody Robertson, and Nyanforh at ease and without the added pressure of being the last-ranked team in the the fast heat. All four athletes ran relaxed and won the heat in 3:31.13. As often happens, two teams in the fast heat underperformed, giving the Riders an 8th place finish, a trip to the podium, and a much needed one point for the team standings. The solitary point moved the team ahead of Williston, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the long jumping points scored by Bismarck and Davies, who leaped in fro. In the end, the team finished in sixth place, a tremendous finish against some phenomenal track and field teams.
Results (finish line/podium photos)-CLICK HERE
Final Team Placing:
Men - Div A - Team Rankings - 18 Events Scored
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1) Bismarck Legacy 128 2) Bismarck Century 109
3) Minot 86 4) Grand Forks Red River 49
5) Fargo Davies 48 5) Williston 48
7) Bismarck High 46 8) Fargo South 44
9) West Fargo Sheyenne 41 10) Fargo North 34
11) Mandan 28 12) West Fargo 23
13) Dickinson 11 14) Wahpeton 7