Knights make it a sweep at exciting Groseclose Memorial

If the last meet of the regular season was any indication of things to come, then the District 9C and 10C track meets should be very exciting this week. On Saturday, Rudyard played host to the annual Jason Groseclose Memorial track meet, and there were great team and individual performances. On the girls side, North Star and Chester/J-I waged an exciting battle. The Knights just edged the rival Hawks 168 points to 167 points. Chinook finished a distant third with 81 points and a shorthanded Big Sandy team was fourth with 38 points. The Knights got plenty of first-place finishes on their home track. North Star swept the sprints with Haylee Anderson capturing both the 100 and 200-meter races and Kali Twedt winning the 400 meters. The Knights also got a clean sweep from senior Britnee Dyrland. She captured all of the throwing events, winning the shot put, discus and javelin. Not to be outdone, North Star's Sarah Helmbrecht pulled off wins in the long jump and triple jump and placed in four events overall. Jordan Spicher also won the 300 hurdles for the Knights, while Lisa Carlon and Shelby Lipp also had strong scoring days. The Hawks battled back with the senior standout Jessica VanDyke winning both the 1,600 and 3,200-meter races, as well as finishing second in the shot put. The Hawks kept pace with the Knights thanks to Katelyn Graff's wins in both the high jump and pole vault, and because of the efforts of Stine Haaland, Britnee Theel, Jocelyn Woods and Jenni Ghekiere. Chinook got victories from both Laramie Pursley (800 meters) and Kayla Hanson (110 hurdles). Both athletes placed in multiple events for the Sugarbeeters, as did Heather McMaster and Ashley Bower. The Pioneers didn't have an individual champion on Saturday, but Quintin Pegar and Matalia Cline were both strong in the sprints for the four-time defending Class C champions. And the boys meet was just as exciting as the girls races. North Star finished first with 151 points, while the Beeters came in a close second with 141. C/J-I also scored 100 points and Turner rounded out the top four with 74 points. Individually, the Knights were paced by star distance runner Kellan Warren. The state title contender swept the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters on Saturday and also placed in six events overall. The Knights also got a win from Zack Halter in the javelin, while Dylan Crittendon placed first in both the 110 hurdles and the high jump. Jordy Donoven also had a solid day for the Knights. Chinook was led by Dylan Miller's win in the 200 meters and Brandon Riphenburg's victory in the 400. Riphenburg placed in all of the sprints on Saturday, while teammate Willie Miller took first in the 300 hurdles and Tyler Molyneaux captured the discus. The Hawks got a huge day from Brandon Graff. He placed in five events and won the pole vault, while Big Sandy got a win from Kaden Beck in the shot put. But perhaps nobody had a bigger meet than Turner's Travis Hofer. He captured first place in the 100 meters, the long jump and the triple jump. Hofer also came back to finish second in the 200 and third in the high jump, and he should be a force in this week's 9C meet. The District 9C track meet will take place on Wednesday at the Havre Middle School Track.