A two part preview of the first year of varsity competition for Minot North

The start of the 2024 school year offers great excitement and anticipation for the Minot community as there will now be two eponymously named high schools in the Magic City. The wait is over as the new campus in town, for the Minot North Sentinels, is here and ready to help foster students towards a better future.

Academics is justifiably the priority of a successful institution of learning, regardless of grade levels. For some students sports is a desired complementary factor that enhances their scholastic experience. Thus it would be disingenuous to dismiss the role sports has often played in the development of young men and women.

Sports can help foster disciplined student athletes, help students become better communicators, build confidence and develop a drive that carry over to other areas of their lives.

On top of its academic push, Minot North offers sports and competes in the WDA competition. The 2023-2024 school year was the first season of the Sentinels competing in athletics. It was a successful season on many fronts, considering the program was just “getting their feet off the ground” and didn’t offer as many sports right out of the gate as other schools that have been around longer.

“Minot North was able to start the foundation for their programs and have created many opportunities for student/athletes at both Minot North and Minot High in athletics and fine arts.” said Minot North athletic director Mitch Lunde. “I feel that overall the split has gone very well, not perfect, but has put Minot Public Schools activities in position to continue to grow and expand the student/athlete experience.”

The Sentinels season was highlighted by state championship performances in golf and track & field. Both sports had multiple athletes qualify for the state championship during the 2023-2024 school year, along with boys and girls tennis teams that showed a lot of poise and provided much to be encouraged about moving forward.

Ten was the number of Sentinels athletes that qualified for the state championship in their individual event during the school year.

Those state qualifiers include: John Wiliams III, Kasen Rostad, Bennet Bartsch, McKinnely Kragh, Jaelynn Zarr, Josie Rystedt,Emersyn Kopp, Kinsey Welstad, Aaron Garza and Carter Coleman.

One of the top performances came at the 2024 NDHSAA Class A State Track and Field Meet, where Sentinels senior Wiliams III finished second place overall in the men’s triple jump finals with a personal best mark of 46-05. “John is a pleasure to have around. One of the nicest boys on the team and an incredible leader to have around.” Said Minot North boys Co-head coach Jordan Sanford.

“His finishes at State are a result of his work ethic and are truly to no surprise to those who saw the work that went in. One of the most dedicated and locked in guys at every workout”.

This past season Williams III never had a finisher lower than second overall in the triple jump event at a meet. His triple jump finishes in 2024 are five first-place finishes and two second-place finishes.

Williams III finished in the top 10 five times for long jump. He had three first place finishes, which was highlighted by a personal best mark of 22′ 2″at the Shannon Gangl Memorial Track and Field Meet. At the 2024 Minot Invite he finished fourth and also capped off his season with a fifth place finish at the state championship with a 21-11.25 mark.

Williams III’s personal best marks in the long jump and triple jump is not only among the best in the state of North Dakota, but also puts him among the upper echelon of athletes in the entire country.

“It says a lot about the tremendous kids we have. They worked very intentionally all season and it was fantastic to qualify the number of athletes we did.” said Sanford. “We are looking forward to year 2 and have many kids with a bright future.”

The Minot North girls trio: Kragh, Rystedt, and Zarr displayed hardwork and determination this past season, on their way to the 2024 NDHSAA Class A state Track and Field Championships.

“Once these girls met qualifying marks it was so exciting to see the coaches and athletes celebrating with them. Definitely lots of smiles and excitement from them.” said Minot North girls head coach Melissa Solper.

The Sentinel girls showed major progression in their results from the start of the season to the end, which is representative of their persistence and the time they’ve put into their preparation.

“They are hard working, supportive, and driven to get better each day. We cheered, encouraged, and celebrated each meet we participated in.” said Solper.

“It was awesome setting our school records and breaking them each meet. I am proud to be one of their coaches and their biggest supporters. It was definitely a memorable season and super excited to see what our athletes can do this upcoming season!!”

Kragh, a junior, competed in the triple jump, pole vault, high jump events and 200 meter events, along with the 4 x 100, 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 relays team..

“Kragh is a talented athlete for our North team. She competed in a few different events throughout the season but pole vault was her number one event.” said Solper

Kragh had nine top 10 finishes in the pole vault event, which was highlighted by her sixth place finish at the NDHSAA Class A State Meet where she jumped a personal best mark of 10′ 3″ at the biggest and most challenging meet of the season.

“It was impressive that McKinnley placed sixth at state in pole vault in her first year making it to state,” said Solper. “She was excited to compete and was definitely focused on the day of competition. She had the biggest smile on her face once she realized she was in contention to place at state.”

In the regular season, Kragh finished in first place on two occasions, second-place on three occasions, fourth-place on two occasions and sixth place on two occasions.

“McKinnley began the outdoor season with a height of 8-foot, 3-inches and improved as the season went on. She cleared the qualifying height at our last regular track meet and was determined to improve and set her school record even higher at WDA and State. She was super excited to clear 10’3” at State.” said Solper.

Kragh was exceptional in the girls triple jump event. Finishing in first place on three occasions and had two fifth place finishes during the past season.

Kragh also had two first place finishes in the high jump event at Minot Fair Weather Meet and DHS JV/ Varsity Invitational where she jumped a personal best mark of 4′ 10″. She also had a seventh place finish at the Watford City Invite.

Minot North senior Rystedt stood out in the field events, qualifying for the state championship in both shot put and discus events.

“Josie previously qualified in the shot put as a sophomore in 2023, in 2024 she backed that up by qualifying again and also qualifying in the discus where she set a new personal best of 111” 6” improving almost 20ft from her sophomore year.” Said Minot North co-head coach Logan Krueger.

“Josie is one of the best athletes to be around at practice. She shows up every day, works hard and has the right attitude. Said Krueger. “Regardless if she’s having a good day or a bad she is going to give you everything she has at practice or a meet.”

In the shot put event Rystedt finished in the top 10 nine times, with her personal best mark of 35′ 6″ coming at the Mandan Kiwanis Girls Track Invitational. Rystedt had four top 10 finishes in the discus all year.

In the discus, Rystedt threw an 85′ 10” mark at the Minot Invitational, which was the first meet of the season. She would later improve on that mark by a difference of 20 feet 8 inches after throwing a personal best mark of 111′ 6″ at the Watford City Invite.

“Rystedt is an impressive thrower for our team. She works hard and was driven to get back to the state meet this past year. “ said Solper.“She met [the] qualifying mark in discus first at the beginning of May and was determined to make it in shot put. She met that standard right before WDA. Josie holds our school records in shot put at 35’6” and discus at 111′ 6“. “

Going forward Rystedt is unbounded as she is a proven workaholic, with seasoned coaches and a desire to continue to improve.

“Our biggest emphasis is getting in the weight room to get bigger,faster and stronger. Josie lives in the weight room, drills and practices as much as she can prior to track season.” said Krueger. “A big emphasis that I want to see from all our throwers in 2025 is to be more aggressive and attack every throw like it is the state meet. From the first meet to the state meet Josie made big jumps in both the shotput and discus. She pushed herself in the weight room to get stronger and put in the work at practice drilling every day.”

Minot North coach Krueger mentors the throwers and also reveals a few others to look out for in the 2025 season.

“Two throwers I want to highlight prior to the 2025 season are now sophomore Ethan Howey on the boys side and Senior Kaiya Chell on the girls side. Both have great seasons in 2024 and have been working hard all summer! I am excited to see what they will do for Minot North in 2025.”‘

Junior Zarr competed in the high jump, long jump and triple jump events during 2024. Zarr finished first in the high jump at the 2024 Minot Invite. Zarr also had second-place finishes in high jump at Shannon Gangl Memorial Track & Field meet and also at the Glee Mayer Invitational.

“Zarr is a strong jumper for our team. She started the season at 14’8” in long jump and 32’1” in triple jump and improved each meet. She worked hard during practice to keep getting stronger in both running and jumping,” said Solper.

Zarr’s progressions led to an appearance at the 2024 NDHSAA Class A State Meet, where she finished 12th overall in the long jump against her toughest competition .

Zarr’s win in the long jump event came at the DHS JV/Varsity Invitational, placing first overall with a 15′ 6.5′ ‘ mark. Zarr’s personal best mark in the long jump came at the Last Chance WDA meet where she posted a 16′ 11″ mark to finish in fifth place. Zarr placed second in the long jump at the Glee Mayer Invitational and third at Shannon Gangl Memorial Track & Field meet.

Zarr also excelled in the triple jump, placing first at the DHS JV/Varsity Invitational with a personal best mark of 36’ 1″ which both qualified her for the state championship and put her in sole possession of the Minot North girls triple jump record.

“Jaelynn was all smiles when she met the qualifying mark in triple jump first at the beginning of May and then long jump at our last chance track meet. She holds our school records in both long jump at 16’11” and triple jump at 36′ 1″

One of the interesting things about Kragh, Rystedt and Zarr going forward is there seems to be room for them to continue improving in their marks, for which they are willing to work towards.

Junior Aaron Garza qualified for the 2024 NDHSAA Class A State Meet in the 200 and 400 sprints. In the 200, Garza had four top 10 finishes, with a personal best time of 23.12 coming at the Glenburn Invitational. In the 400, Garza had five top 10 finishes, while running a personal best time of 51.52 at the Soph WDA meet.

Senior Carter Coleman qualified for the 2024 NDHSAA Class A State Meet in the 200, while finishing in the top 10 of the event on five occasions. Coleman ran a personal best time of 22.96 at the West Region meet.

Minot North boys 4 x 400 relay team (Coleman, Jayce Wendt, Nolan Howey, Williams III) ran a personal best time of 3:33.54a at the 2024 NDHSAA Class A State Meet. The Minot North 4 x 200 quartet (Paxton Packulak, Howey, Garza, Coleman) ran a personal best time of 1:35.20. The 4 x 100 relay boys (Coleman, Williams III, Garza, Braxton Thompson ) ran 44.55 at the state championship.

The Minot North performance during 2024 leaves much to be encouraged about and year two could be even better considering most track and field programs are structured for the athletes to reap their benefits in year two and beyond, with year one being a foundational year.

“As a first year program I think it was fun to watch our guys set every school record and compete amongst each other on the top 10 list.” said Sanford. “In year two, we will try to break every school record and continue to raise the standard. We have high expectations for state qualifiers and state placers.”

Minot North track and field coaches, Stanford and Krueger, were first year head coaches, who have made a mark on the program in a short period of time at the helm.

Former Minot StateUniversity athletes, Krueger and Stanford, were encouraged by what they saw in their time at the helm of Minot North boys track & field.

“It was a great first year. We have a great group of kids that are really stepping up and growing into leaders of not only Minot North Track but also Minot North Athletics as a whole. Being able to have a Co-head coach in Logan Krueger was very helpful too as we both navigated our first season.” said Sanford.