The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Johnson takes 1,600, Bickett javelin; girls’ 4x800 captures state title —
Carrington javelin thrower Ryder Bickett captured his first-ever state championship in the event, throwing a school-record 189 feet, 10 inches at the State Track Meet. The junior broke the CHS mark for the restricted-flight (tipped) javelin throw several times this season, which was held by Kirk Zink (181'10") since 1992.
Madison Johnson, left, outstrides Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark's Brynn Hanson at the finish line to take the 1,600-meter state championship at the State Track Meet on Friday, May 24. One day earlier, Johnson led late in the 3,200 before Hanson made a late charge to overtake her, and the senior took second. The two battled once again in the 800 on Saturday, with Hanson winning her second title of the meet and Johnson placing runner-up once more.
The girls' 4x800-meter relay team, consisting of Edyn Hoornaert, Kenadie Pazdernik, Madison Johnson and Marah Johnson, capped the night off on Friday by taking the state championship in a time of 9:49.86.
While battling injury this season, senior standout and last year's 400-meter champion, Logan Weninger, took second in the 300-meter hurdles (39.58) and sixth in the 110 hurdles (16.22), the first year he has run the latter event.
Junior Mercedes Lura placed fifth in the girls' pole vault, clearing 9 feet, 6 inches.
Junior Isabel Wendel (center) runs alongside NR-S' Emmie Belquist (left) and Grafton's Chloe Woinarowicz in the 100-meter hurdle finals. Wendel placed seventh in the event.
Peyton Harrington runs in the 300-meter hurdle preliminary heats.
Paxton Harrington, center, completes the handoff to anchor McKade Zink in the 4x100-meter relay preliminaries.
Marah Johnson competes in the 800-meter run.
The Carrington track and field team, at least on the girls' side, had an outside shot to deliver the 10th state team championship in school history, all won under the watchful eye of retiring Coach Greg Hoeckle (see related article).
It didn't come to pass in the end, but the Cardinal girls and boys had some of their best performances of the spring to end the 2024 season on a strong note at the State Track and Field Meet at the MDU Resources Community Bowl May 23-25.
The Cards placed fourth in the girls' division with 54.5 points, and was briefly in position to overtake eventual champion Bowman County with the 4x100 and 4x400 remaining. The Bulldogs finished strong, and took their eighth championship (first since 2008) with 72 points. Carrington would finish just 3.5 points out of second, trailing last year's co-champion Central Cass (58) and Fargo Oak Grove (55) in the second and third spots.
CHS got three championship performances over the three-day weekend, one of the highlights being the Friday afternoon victory from junior Ryder Bickett in the boys' javelin.
Bickett's throw of 189 feet, 10 inches, was over 20 feet farther than second-place finisher Jordyn Bittner of Lisbon. With his showings this spring, Bickett now owns the school record in the tipped javelin, breaking Kirk Zink's 32-year-old standard of 181'10".
Over her three days of racing, senior Madison Johnson was in contention for three state titles in the middle to long-distance races, and her Friday event was where the magic finally happened.
Johnson was ahead for much of her 3,200-meter race on Thursday, but Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark multi-title winner Brynn Hanson overtook Johnson with a furious finish to win, 11:27.68 to 11:30.80.
The three-time defending state cross country champion for the Lakers also had another tussle with Johnson in the 1,600, but the Cardinal standout fended off Hanson this time for her first title in a clocking of 5:11.29 and winning by .37 seconds.
In both events, junior Kenadie Pazdernik provided valuable backup points, with a fifth place in the 3,200 (12:04.09) and sixth in the 1,600 (5:25.98).
Johnson's best run, however, came in a race where she would finish second again to Hanson. She would break her own school record in the 800 with a 2:19.10, but her rival, Hanson, showed off her sprint speed to blaze across the line in 2:17.20.
The third title for the Cards came under the Community Bowl lights, as inclement weather in the Bismarck area postponed the start of the Friday events until 1:00 p.m.
Following last year's heartbreaking runner-up finish in the event, the Cards won the 4x800-meter relay with strong running from members Edyn Hoornaert, Kenadie Pazdernik, Madison Johnson's younger sister, Marah, and the elder Johnson herself. Their time of 9:49.86 was just over three-and-a-half seconds ahead of second place Bowman County.
Thursday highlights featured junior Mercedes Lura placing fifth with a pole vault effort of 9'6".
In the 100-meter hurdles Saturday, junior Isabel Wendel was seventh in a career-best 16.57 seconds, improving her preliminary time by .15 seconds.
On the final day, the 4x400-meter team was a third-place finisher. Team members Harper Kollman, Lura, Pazdernik and Wendel ran 4:09.46 for six team points.
The 4x100 group, featuring Sierra Friedt, Lura, Kollman and Wendel, advanced to the finals as the eighth seed (51.83 in prelims), but finished ninth in finals and out of the points.
Senior discus competitor Olivia Threadgold had her best-ever toss to advance to the finals with a 118'5" effort, also placing ninth.
Also competing at the meet were Jazmyn Ybarra (11th, pole vault), the 4x200 relay grouping of Friedt, Lura, Kollman and Wendel (11th), Mya Neis (15th, 100 hurdles), Macy Fiebiger (18th, 3,200) and Marah Johnson (18th, 800).
The boys' team finished with 21 points, coming in 13th overall. Bowman County took the title sweep with 95 points, ending runner-up finisher Kindred's dreams of a five-peat. The Vikings were 13 points back, with 82, followed by Hazen (57), Northern Cass (52) and a wildly-successful season from the NR-S/Four Winds co-op (48 points) in fifth.
Logan Weninger battled through injury adversity in 2024 to get two individual placings. He got the top seed by time in the 300-meter hurdles with a 40.84, and improved that to a school-record 39.58 in the finals in losing to Tallen Thorson of HWC.
Weninger overcame a toppled hurdle in the 110-meter event to qualify for finals in the ninth position. He improved on his seed in the finals, placing sixth in 16.22, as Thorson won the event.
Senior Jaxon Schaefer vaulted 11 feet even to take 12th in the pole vault, and Peyton Harrington had the 16th-best time in the 300 hurdles of 45.48, a personal best.
The Cardinal relays had their struggles in Bismarck. The 4x100 (Peyton Harrington, Schaefer, Paxton Harrington, McKade Zink) had a decent time of 45.23 for 14th, but the 4x200 (Peyton Harrington, Weninger, Josh Bickett, Schaefer) had a slip on the exchange and finished 23rd (1:39.03).
The biggest disappointment came in the 4x400-meter relay, where the Cards were leading in the race up to an exchange point and the baton was dropped, thus disqualifying the team.
Full results from the State Track Meet were as follows:
North Dakota State Track and
Field Meet, Bismarck
Thursday-Saturday, May 23-25
Girls' Team Scores (top 10)
plus local finishers
Bowman Co. 72, Central Cass 58, Oak Grove Lutheran 55, Carrington 54.5, Shiloh Christian 54, Hatton-Northwood 39.5, Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark 32, Rugby 30, Velva/Drake-Anamoose 26, Dickinson Trinity 24.
17. HWC 13, 26 (tie). NR-S 9.
CHS Girls' Individual Results
800-Meter Run: Madison Johnson (2nd), 2:19.10 (school record; old record 2:19.34, Johnson, 2024); Marah Johnson (18th), 2:32.66
1,600-Meter Run: Johnson (1st), 5:11.29; Kenadie Pazdernik (6th), 5:25.98
3,200-Meter Run: Madison Johnson (2nd), 11:30.80; Pazdernik (5th), 12:04.09; Macy Fiebiger (18th), 12:51.81
100-Meter Hurdles: Isabel Wendel (7th), 16.57 (prelims), 16.72 (finals); Mya Neis (15th), 17.58
4x100-Meter Relay: Sierra Friedt, Mercedes Lura, Wendel, Neis (9th), 52.14
4x200-Meter Relay: Friedt, Lura, Harper Kollman, Wendel (11th), 1:50.90
4x400-Meter Relay: Kollman, Lura, Pazdernik, Wendel (3rd), 4:09.46
4x800-Meter Relay: Edyn Hoornaert, Pazdernik, Marah Johnson, Madison Johnson (1st), 9:49.86
Discus: Olivia Threadgold (9th), 118'5"
Pole Vault: Lura (5th), 9'6"; Jazmyn Ybarra (11th), 8'6"
Boys' Team Scores (top 10)
plus local finishers
Bowman Co. 95, Kindred 82, Hazen 57, Northern Cass 52, NR-S 48, Lisbon 34, Oak Grove Lutheran 31.5, HWC 27, New Town 25, Central Cass and Dickinson Trinity 23.
13. Carrington 21, 22 (tie). Griggs/Midkota 8.
CHS Boys' Individual Results
110-Meter Hurdles: Logan Weninger (6th), 16.02 (prelims), 16.22 (finals)
300-Meter Hurdles: Weninger (2nd), 40.84 (prelims), 39.58 (finals & school record; old record 39.68, Connor Wendel, 2014); Peyton Harrington (16th), 45.48
4x100-Meter Relay: Peyton Harrington, Jaxon Schaefer, Paxton Harrington, McKade Zink (14th), 45.23
4x200-Meter Relay: Peyton Harrington, Weninger, Josh Bickett, Schaefer (23rd), 1:39.03
4x400-Meter Relay: Peyton Harrington, Weninger, Ryder Bickett, Schaefer (DQ)
Javelin: R. Bickett (1st), 189'10" (school record; old record 181'10", Kirk Zink, 1992)
Pole Vault: Schaefer (12th), 11'0"
