Coyotes cross-country second at state

JAMESTOWN – A young and untested team early, Williston saw its boys’ cross country runners come of age quickly.

The Coyotes followed up a second-place finish at the West Region meet with a second-place showing at the state meet. Williston trailed only Bismarck when it was all said and done, 34-112. Behind an individual title from Joash Osoro, BHS placed seven in the top 20 en route to its fourth consecutive state championship.

Taylor Thompson led the second-ranked Coyotes, finishing seventh, and was followed by teammate eighth-ranked Mark Anderson, who placed eighth. Thompson was ranked tenth in the final individual poll of the season.

“Today we wanted everyone to get out and run tough,” said Williston boys’ coach Clint Chamberlin. “They went out there and battled.”

The Coyotes graduated six runners from last year’s squad and entered their 2008 campaign unranked. To say the team was green, well, that is a bit of an understatement. But with how this season finished, the future certainly looks bright.

“We had our two and three runners back,” explained Chamberlin. “Those two guys (ran in the state meet) as freshmen and are now sophomores.”

Williston got to see a number of runners improve times this year.

“Our No. 5 runner, Aaron Monson, he improved about three-and-a-half or four minutes. It was his first year running last year,” said Chamberlin. “The same with (Nathan) Donnelly. He stuck with it, gutted it out and learned a lot of things.”

Williston did not have exceptional depth to work with this season, but found they could constantly rely on their top five runners.

“We leaned on five guys all year and they responded,” said Chamberlin. “We didn’t place any lower than fourth all year.”

The West Region dominated the team standings, as Bismarck Century rounded out the top three in the team standings with 134 points. West Fargo notched 149 points as the highest-scoring squad from the East Region, while Minot followed closely – just two points behind.

“We had a real good season and I’m thankful to have all the guys on the team that made that happen,” said Chamberlin.

Williston girls finish 11th in standings

The Coyote girls saved some of their best performances for last, as each of the six Williston runners who placed in the race, posted personal records on the state stage.

“It is exceptional to place like that,” said Williston girls’ coach Alan Knutson. “We had some great efforts by a lot of girls today.”

Williston finished the day with 367 points and placed 11th in the team standings.

With so many runners rising to the occasion at the state’s final cross country meet, it is almost easy to forget that the Coyotes are one of the youngest teams in North Dakota. The Coyotes will graduate one senior, Mari Goldade, from a squad that included three juniors, two sophomores and a freshman.

Moriah Juhl, just a sophomore, finished as the top-placing runner from WHS, good for 32nd place overall. She was followed by freshman Hailey Horob, who was battling an Achilles injury and finished in 44th while Goldade was 76th.

The day was marred only by one disappointment, as Whitney Harrison, an all-region runner, began experiencing breathing problems midway through the race and was not able to complete the course. Harrison, a junior, entered the state track meet as the Coyotes’ No. 1 runner.

“When that happens it is always sad,” said Knutson. “She had to drop out and at that point she was in the top 20. But we hope she can come back and she will have a tremendous track season.”

The Bismarck girls completed the sweep of the meet by winning their second-straight title, finishing with six runners in the top 20 en route to 43 points.

State Cross County Meet

At Jamestown

Class A

Boys

Team results

1, Bismarck 34; 2, Williston 114; 3, Bismarck Century, 138; 4, West Fargo 153; 5, Minot 154; 6, Jamestown 160; 7, Grand Forks Central 178; 8, Fargo South 201; 9, Dickinson 213; 10, Fargo North 238; 11, Fargo Shanley-Oak Grove, 257; 12, Turtle Mountain 372; 13, Grand Forks Red River 388; 14, Devils Lake 455; 15, Valley City 458; 16, Mandan 485; 17, Wahpeton 656.

Individual results

(Top 20 all state)

7, Taylor Thompson, Williston, 16:45.91; 8, Mark Anderson, Williston, 16:52.71; 24, Caleb Shaffer, Williston, 17:42.71; 34, Nathan Donnelly, Williston, 18:09.06;

41, Aaron Monson, Williston, 18:17.01; 69, Chris Chamberlain, Williston, 18:58.06; 105, Brennan Goldade, Williston, 19:38.86; 122, Brandon Shaffer, Williston, 20:06.46; 138, Max Longtin, Williston, 20:42.61; 145, Jacob Monson, Williston, 21:00.81

Girls

Team results

1, Bismarck 43; 2. West Fargo 81; 3, Dickinson 107; 4, Minot, 112; 5, Fargo South, 137; 6, Bismarck Century, 147; 7, Wahpeton, 230; 8, Jamestown 247; 9, Grand Forks Central 252; 10, Fargo Shanley-Oak Grove, 339; 11, Williston, 367; 12, Fargo North, 381; 13, Grand Forks Red River 387; 14, Valley City 419; 15, Devils Lake 475; 16, Mandan 551; 17, Turtle Mountain 575.

Individual results

32, Moriah Juhl, Williston, 16:15.27; 44, Hailey Horob, Williston, 16:33.12; 76, Mari Goldade, Williston, 17:08.62; 106, Angel Klontz, Williston, 17:45.77; 109, Angie Goebel, Williston, 17:48.02; 110, Brooke McNary, Williston