The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Allison Jarrett clears the pole vault bar at 8 feet, 6 inches, in her last meet as a Cardinal athlete. She placed ninth overall.
The Wendel sisters, senior Kennedy (with baton) and sophomore Isabel, prepare to make the third leg to anchor handoff in the 4x100-meter relay preliminary heat.
Junior Madison Johnson strides to the finish line of the 4x800-meter relay, neck-and-neck with Rugby's Hannah Senechal. Though the Cards gave their best efforts in achieving their best time of the year at 9:53.34, Senechal and the Panthers would prevail in the race by .06 seconds. Still, it was the highest event finish for CHS' girls at the State Track Meet, and they would finish in fourth place in the team race.
Kenadie Pazdernik (5) would place fourth in the 3,200-meter run on Thursday.
To achieve a team title in 2023 for the Class B girls' track race at the MDU Resources Community Bowl in Bismarck, contending schools didn't necessarily have to worry about depth.
This year, it was all about the elite individuals (and a good relay or two) carrying their state contingents to the promised land.
Carrington's tallies in the distance races, middle-to-long relays, and pole vault enabled them to secure a fourth-place tie with Bowman County by scoring 38 points in the overall standings.
In individual honors, junior middle distance ace Madison Johnson took third place in both the 800 (2:21.24) and 1,600 (5:20.07). Kenadie Pazdernik, a sophomore, was fourth in the 3,200 with a personal-best 12:04.67.
The two were part of the CHS girls' closest sniff at an event crown, joining forces with Mercedes Lura and Edyn Hoornaert to finish in 9:53.34, just .06 seconds behind Rugby in a photo finish for the 4x800-meter relay.
Also placing high in the team events was the 4x400 team (4:10.80), also anchored by Johnson with additional members Lura, Isabel Wendel and Hoornaert taking fourth place.
In the pole vault, Lura was also fourth with a 9'9" jump, and senior Haley Wolsky cleared 9'0" for fifth. Allison Jarrett also achieved the top 10 with a ninth-place effort of 8'6".
Wolsky was one place away from qualifying for the finals in the 100-meter hurdles, taking 10th in 16.60.
A total of eight teams were within 16 points of co-state champions Central Cass and Central McLean, each winning with 46 points. It was the second consecutive girls' crown for the Squirrels, while the Cougars of Central McLean got clutch event wins in the final two events, the javelin (see related story) and 4x400, to secure the deadlock and the co-op's first-ever title.
Meanwhile, the third-place NR-S Rockets rode another other-worldly performance from junior star Kelsie Belquist to take third place, only two points away from the championship at 44. Forty of those points came from four more state titles by Belquist in record-setting fashion in the 200 and 400-meter dashes, along with the 100 and 300-meter hurdles.
She became the first female athlete in state history to eclipse the 42-second barrier in the 300 hurdles with a 41.48, breaking her own state record set last season, and also to run under 24 seconds in the 200 (23.94). Belquist very nearly broke 14 seconds in the 100 hurdles as well, running a wind-aided 14.08 in the preliminaries, and is the new Class B record-holder in the 400 at 56.23.
North Dakota State Track and Field Meet, Bismarck
Thurs.-Sat., May 25-27
Girls' Team Scores
Central Cass and Central McLean 46, NR-S 44, Bowman Co. and Carrington 38, Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark 36, Fargo Oak Grove 35, Hatton-Northwood 32, Lisbon 31, Rugby 30, Beulah and Shiloh Christian 25, Kindred 23, Bottineau 21, Oakes 19, Killdeer 17, Southern McLean 16, Hazen 15, Drayton/Valley-Edinburg, Grafton and Hettinger Co. 14, Dickinson Trinity, Kenmare-Bowbells and Kidder Co. 13, Velva/Drake-Anamoose 12, Ellendale and May-Port-CG 10, Grant Co./Flasher 9, Edgeley/Kulm, Enderlin, Garrison, Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich and Northern Cass 8, Griggs/Midkota 6, Richardton-Taylor 5, LaMoure/Litchville-Marion, Pembina Co. North and Surrey 4, Hillsboro/Central Valley, New Salem-Almont, North Star and Trenton 3, Powers Lake/Burke Central and Rolette 2, Benson Co., Sargent Co. and Wyndmere-Lidgerwood 1.
CHS Girls' Individual Results
800-Meter Run: Madison Johnson (3rd), 2:21.24
1,600-Meter Run: Johnson (3rd), 5:20.07
3,200-Meter Run: Kenadie Pazdernik (4th), 12:04.67
100-Meter Hurdles: Haley Wolsky (10th), 16.60; Isabel Wendel (16th), 17.14
4x100-Meter Relay: Sierra Friedt, Wolsky, Kennedy Wendel, I. Wendel (21st), 53.04
4x200-Meter Relay: Mercedes Lura, Wolsky, I. Wendel, Edyn Hoornaert (11th), 1:49.56
4x400-Meter Relay: Lura, I. Wendel, Hoornaert, Johnson (4th), 4:10.80
4x800-Meter Relay: Lura, Pazdernik, Hoornaert, Johnson (2nd), 9:53.34
Javelin: Kacie Rexin (17th), 101'4"
Pole Vault: Lura (4th), 9'9"; Wolsky (5th), 9'0"; Allison Jarrett (9th), 8'6"; Jazmyn Ybarra (13th), 8'0"
