Sara Kraft/Photo by Noah Clooten
The Firebirds who qualified throughout the track and field season finally got to compete among North Dakota’s best this past weekend.
Devils Lake was one of 23 teams represented in the Class A State Meet held from May 23-25 at Bismarck State College. The overall results were tough on the Firebirds, given that it was exclusively state qualifiers competing (most of which were from bigger towns than Devils Lake). But there were still a few performances worth mentioning.
The best showing for a Devils Lake athlete came from Sara Kraft. She competed in four events, tied with Drew Hofstad for the most on the team. Her best mark was in the long jump, where she finished right in the middle of the pack, 15th out of 31 finishers. She also came in 20th out of 29 contestants in the triple jump, and 16th out of 21 contestants in the 100-meter hurdles. April Miller also competed in the triple jump and came in 27th.
The Devils Lake girls had three relay teams compete. The group of Gabrielle McLaurin, Aubrie Lebrun, Tenley Triepke and Dottie Goss finished 15th out of 16 in the 4×800. The other two quartets — McLaurin, Isabella Tangedal, Ella Wass and Kraft; and Raeleigh Myklebust, Trinity Kus, Ealynn Yoder and Mallie McCloud — came in last in the 4×200 and 4×100, respectively. Still, they both finished ahead of a disqualifier and were within decimal points of the previous finisher.
The two boys’ relay teams fared a little better. Reggie Cavanaugh, Leo Franco, Wylee Delorme and Hofstad finished 15th out of 23 teams in the 4×100. Then Cavanaugh, Hofstad, Oliver Wirth and Adam Sobolik came in 19th out of 21 groups in the 4×200.
Joel Nelson also had a solid showing in the high jump, tying for ninth out of 15 finishers. It was a tight race; eight contestants all recorded a mark of 5’10’’, only separated by fractions of inches. Nelson was placed the highest out of the eight. The next-best mark was 6’0’’, shared by four jumpers. Wirth came in last despite also having a 5’10’’ score.
Nelson didn’t fare quite as well in the long jump, coming in 42nd out of 45. Delorme and Hofstad were also among the bottom three finishers in that event.
Over in the shot put, Braxton Rance represented Devils Lake by placing 16th out of 22 participants. Meanwhile, Sobolik came in 20th out of 24 finishers in the 400-meter dash.
Bismarck High School took home the gold for both the boys and girls. Devils Lake did not record an official score on either side.
The hard work should still be commended for all the athletes who made it to state. After a season that started slowly, a drove of Firebirds all qualified down the stretch, earning them a place on the biggest stage. The year only featured one home meet for Devils Lake, partly due to the way the schedule was set up and partly due to weather.
That concludes the 2024 track and field season.
