Falling leaves means... a new beginning

Carrington, Griggs/Midkota, HWC and Medina/Pingree-Buchanan are busy in preparation for another successful year on the field, course, floor, and the track in 2024-25.

First out of the gates are the athletes giving their all for the upcoming fall sports season, which includes football, volleyball, cross country and girls' golf.

Carrington

The Cardinals officially started the season way back on Friday, August 9, when the golf squad started play at a meet in Casselton following just four days of practice (see article below).

Last year, the program participated in the state tournament in Mapleton, and were led by now-graduated senior Kacie Rexin's state runner-up finish. Rexin now plays for the University of Jamestown Jimmies.

Turnout for the team is down this fall, with only two players on the roster. The Cards are coached by Wayne Shipman, with Arick Scherr assisting.

The first home meet of the season is today (August 19) at CrossRoads Golf Club, starting at 10 a.m. Both the regional and state meets will be held at Fargo Country Club, on September 23 and September 30-October 1, respectively.

Next up is the Cardinal football team, coming fresh off a 6-4 playoff season and number two Class A - Region 2 seed in the 2023 postseason. That year ended prematurely with a 27-21 heartbreaking loss to the Oakes Tornadoes in Carrington.

Coach Kyle Smith's group brings a lot of veteran contributors back into the fold, and could challenge near the top spot in the region if all the breaks fall their way.

This year's Region 2 lineup is slightly different, as Thompson has moved to Region 1 and Cavalier returns to 9-man football after one season. In their place is Turtle Mountain, a one-time AA-level program, which brings the league membership to an even eight teams.

The Cards start their season this Friday night, August 23, when Southern McLean (Washburn/Wilton-Wing) comes to town for a non-league contest at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, the Cardinal cross-country team, led by Coach Josh Kerbaugh and All-State runner Kenadie Pazdernik, starts their season at the 'Orr'iginals Invitational at Parkhurst Recreation Area north of Jamestown beginning at 10 a.m.

This year's home meet will be contested at CrossRoads on Tuesday, September 3, beginning at 2 p.m. A total of 15 runners are listed on the Cardinal roster for 2024.

The final team to hit the floor for CHS is the volleyball squad, aiming to take the next step following a 24-12 record last season and fourth place finish in Region 3.

Coach Megan Trautman's team is once again a regional contender with talent, tenacity and drive throughout the rotation, and they hope to make their way to the state tournament in Fargo in this, the final year of the two-class alignment.

Opening night for the Cards will be Tuesday, September 3, when they host the HWC Hornets for A-B-C play beginning at 5 p.m. Two days later, they hit the road for possible future Division A opponent Thompson in another A-B-C showdown.

Griggs/Midkota

Football begins anew for the Griggs/Midkota co-op after a 1-7 season in 2023. Ryan Dockter once again will lead the team, which should be ripe for improvement with one more year of seasoning and maturity.

Starting this year, the Titans will compete in a new alignment as part of 9-man - Region 2, reduced to five teams from nine the previous season when they were designated as Region 1. Four of the teams G-M played within conference action last year are now part of the new Region 1, along with a revived Tri-State program which did not play last year due to low numbers.

G-M's holdover conference mates in 2024 are Enderlin, Maple River and Richland. May-Port-CG takes the spot previously held by Hatton-Northwood, now part of Region 3.

Dockter's team hits the field Friday night, when they travel to LaMoure to tangle with the L-L-M Loboes at 7 p.m.

The G-M cross country program never seems to be short on warm bodies, and Hall of Fame coach Rick Anderson's Titans return a strong lineup which includes eighth grader, Grace City product and All-Region runner Kadence Spickler. Their first meet will be in Northwood Tuesday, August 27.

The Titans will hit the volleyball court this fall with a new head coach, as Abigail Ogdahl takes over for Carissa Mehus.

Last year's G-M team finished at 6-20, and lost out to Oakes in the Region 3 qualifying round.

G-M starts the season at the Northern Cass Tournament in Hunter on Saturday, August 31, and begins regular season play Tuesday night, September 3, by hosting the M-P-B Thunder at MHS in Glenfield. A slate of four matches are scheduled, beginning with junior high at 3:30 and continuing on to C-squad, junior varsity and varsity.

HWC

Like Carrington, the Hornets advanced to the Class A football playoffs last season as the fourth seed out of Region 2. HWC was eliminated in the first round by the eventual state champion Kindred Vikings by a score of 49-6, and finished with a record of 5-5.

Bret Dockter will again man the whistle and headset for HWC, who starts their season at L.C. Loerch Field in Harvey Friday, August 23, to host the Ellendale/Edgeley-Kulm Thunder.

The Hornet volleyball team and Coach Kristi Fike return for their final season in the ranks of Super Region 4.

Last year's squad was smack-dab in the middle of the standings in the region with a record of 10-7 in regulation-length matches, ending up as the number five seed out of 10 and falling in the first round to North Prairie at the regional tournament in Devils Lake.

HWC will have a busy first week, playing their match with Carrington mentioned previously, then hosting Drake-Anamoose that Thursday, September 5, and traveling to the Bottineau Tourney on September 7.

M-P-B

The cross country program for the Thunder has just four runners, all girls, and is coached by longtime program head Tammy Heinrich.

M-P-B will join Carrington as one of the teams at the 'Orr'iginals Invitational in rural Jamestown on August 24.

The Thunder volleyball program under Jacie Connell finished with a record of 24-10 last season, a second place finish in District 6, and appearance at the Region 3 Tournament, where they took a four-set loss to Oakes in the quarterfinal round.

Their first action, like G-M, will be in Northern Cass August 31. The two teams butt heads in the regulation match opener in Glenfield on September 3.

As they have done for many seasons now, Pingree-Buchanan football players are part of a co-op agreement with Carrington. Medina is officially aligned with Jamestown.