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Granger, Wolfe and Rugby’s relay state champions in Class B

Photo special to MDN/Al Christianson New Town’s Ryan Wheeling (yellow/blue) edges Kenmare’s Jacob Rodin (maroon) in the half mile.

By ALEX EISEN

Staff writer

aeisen@minotdailynews.com

BISMARCK — Harvey/Wells County senior Kari Wolfe had a realistic chance to win four state titles on Saturday at the state track and field meet in Bismarck. She only got one, but set a new state record in the process.

Wolfe launched a javelin 144-feet, two inches to beat the previous record by three inches. That took away some of the agony of finishing second not once or twice, but three times in the 100, 200 and 4×100 relay.

Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood junior Beau Driscoll clears the bar in the Class B boys high jump. Driscoll placed 10th. The event was won by Harvey/Wells County’s Payton Granger. Photo special to MDN/Al Christianson

Those 34 points, however, were a large chunk of the 40 points that gave the HWC girls a fourth-place tie with Park River/Fordville-Lankin in the final team standings.

For the Hornets on the boys side, senior Payton Granger shined in the high jump with a leap of 6-feet, four inches to top Trenton-Trinity’s Austin Smith and Watford City’s Cole McGorman by an inch.

“My jumps, until my last height at 6-6, went pretty well,” Granger said. “My drive and my approach was right and my form as well. I guess at the end the excitement got to me a little bit.

“There were a lot of competitors out there with a lot of guys left in some of the lower heights. Then, at 6-2 which is the state qualifying (height), just have the competition there kind of pushes you to go for more.”

The Rugby boys 4×100 relay put together the other state championship with Dustin Herold, Kade Leier, Kaden Jaeger and Cade Heilman. They posted a time of 43.90 seconds to hold off Trenton-Trinity (44.14) and Hillsboro/Central Valley (44.48). Jaeger also placed eighth in the 100-meter dash earlier in the day.

Going back to the field, Glenburn junior Colby Mediola turned some heads with a throw of 47-feet, eight inches in the shot put. He threw half a foot farther than his seed placing. Griggs County’s Wesley Odegaard won the event comfortably with a throw of 52-10.5.

“At first my goal was to reach 50 (feet),” Mediola said. “My speed was good, I just couldn’t get enough power out. I stayed consistent with most of my throws and I’m proud with what I accomplished.”

Kenmare junior Jacob Rodin placed third in the 400 behind DLBLC’s Mark Medalen and Dickinson Trinity’s Noah Sickler. Then, later in the evening, Rodin went one spot better in the 800. He lost out to New Town senior Ryan Wheeling, who also won the mile final on Friday and took second behind teammate Jalen Chase in the two-mile earlier on Saturday.

“We had a good start,” Rodin said in describing how the 800 went. “Then Ryan (Wheeling), being the great runner that he is, had the guts to finish. But, overall, it was a great race.”

The Stanley-Powers Lake boys’ short relays took third in the 4×200 and fourth in 4×100.

Transitioning back over to the girls, there were a few shining individual moments from freshmen for a couple teams: Parshall Cedar Hall (fourth, 400), Garrison-Max Kaitlyn Klein (fifth, 100) and New Rockford-Sheyenne Hannah Haley (seventh, 300-meter hurdles).

Westhope-Newberg sophomore Abbie Jiles couldn’t replicate her state winning leap in the long jump on Friday and took eighth in the triple jump. Rugby eighth grader Brooke Blessum finished two spots ahead of Jiles in sixth.

The Panthers also received points from freshman Kristina Brossart taking seventh in the 100.

Lastly, Harvey/Wells County scrapped up a few points with senior April Hagemeister placing sixth in the 300-meter hurdles and eighth grader MacKenna Arnold survived the two-mile for seventh.

Alex Eisen covers Minot High School, Minot State athletics and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.

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