By Head Coach Larry Lasch

Sending 15 athletes to Bismarck for the NDHSAA Class ‘A’ State Championships, the Wahpeton track and field teams found great success. Scout Woods repeated as state champion in the shot put and was state runner-up in the discus, Jaida Fobb placed in three events and our relay teams all ran great time exceeding their seedings.

The team endured rough weather Friday with the day starting with rain, strong winds and temperatures hovering in the low 40s much of the day, then, Saturday found absolutely perfect conditions with no wind, sunshine and temperatures near 70.

Thursday afternoon the team got off to a good start despite windy conditions with Scout Woods taking 2nd place in the discus with a throw of 133’08”. Usually very consistent, Woods had a foul on her first throw, then had a low release on attempt two, and on her third, and potentially final attempt throw, she ripped one down the right sector line that narrowly landed in fair territory and placed Woods in sixth place, entitling her to three more throws in finals. Once in finals, Woods settled down to improve her throws and slid into second place.

Fobb competed in the high jump Thursday evening. Windy conditions did not make the event easy. Fobb was able to clear 4’11”, which was good for eighth place and earned her the first of three trips to the awards stand.

On the track Thursday evening, the girls 4×200 relay team consisting of Taylor Mauch, Jaida Fobb, Halle Miller and Leah DeVries ran a season-best time of 1:47.17, moving them from the No. 11 seed into fifth place and a spot in the finals on Saturday. The boys 4×200 team consisting of Treyton Mauch, Jackson DeVries, Cayden Barth and JD Gomez also ran a season-best time of 1:33.17. Their 15th-place finish did not make finals.

Friday morning the meet was delayed due to miserable weather condition. Once the meet commenced Treyton Mauch, JD Gomez and Leah DeVries raced in the 300-meter hurdles. Mauch and DeVries each placed 13th with times of 42.33 and 50.47, respectively. Gomez was off to a great start but clipped the fifth hurdles and fell on the wet track, finishing 21st in 45.49.

Treyton Mauch also competed in the long jump Friday. His 19’02” effort was good for 39th place. Fobb ran the 400-meter dash in a good time of 59.8 to finish seventh and qualify for the finals Saturday. Jackson DeVries also competed in the 400-meter dash, placing 18th with a time of 52.30.

Both 4×100 relay teams ran their season-best times and left the meet with better places than their seeding ranks.  The boys team of Treyton Mauch, Jackson DeVries, Barth and Gomez finished in 16th place with a time of 44.55.   The girls team placed 12th with a time of 51.27, running Taylor Mauch, Hayden Matejcek, Miller and Leah DeVries.

Scout Woods took advantage of improving weather conditions Friday evening and left little doubt why she was undefeated in the shot put this season. Woods took the lead on her first throw, then exploded for a career-best 43’10 ½” toss on her second attempt, breaking her own school record. The next best throw was 40’03”. Woods capped off a brilliant season in both the shot put and discus. Next year, she’ll look forward to the three-peat.

Saturday would be the last day of high school track and field for seniors Jaida Fobb, Leah DeVries and Noah Berge. Fobb was instrumental in leading the girls team on the track and high jump the past few years. DeVries switched from fast-pitch softball to track this season. She was an instant superstar on the track team, helping three relays qualify for the state meet and finding success in the hurdles. Berge has also been on the team for several years and led our middle-distance runners.

Leah DeVries and Fobb got Saturday off to a great start by teaming with Miller and Taylor Mauch to place fifth in the 4x200m relay after shaving two more seconds off their time to 1:45.84. Fobb had just enough time to step off the awards stand, take a picture, and get ready for the 400-meter dash finals. Fobb had a huge one-second time drop to 58.78 and placed sixth for her third trip to the awards stand.

Berge, along with Jackson DeVries, Carter Hocket and Gomez capped their season with a season-best time of 3:31.85 in the 4×400 relay, good for 14th place. Berge, 54.0, DeVries, 51.3, and Gomez 51.7, all ran their personal-best splits. Fobb and Leah DeVries teamed with Lucie Comstock and Gracie Falk to place 13th in a time of 4:14.97, a time just off their season best. DeVries ran a career-low 1:02.9 split and Fobb ran a solid 59.8.

The Huskies will miss Jaida, Leah and Noah, but the future holds promise as four of the nine girls at the state meet were eighth graders — Taylor Mauch, Matejcek, Comstock and Falk.  Freshman Gracie Norling was a relay alternate, and Miller and Woods will be seniors next year.

The boys will return Treyton Mauch, Jackson DeVries and Gomez as seniors. Hocket and Cayden Barth are a sophomore and freshman, respectively. The Wahpeton coaches would like to extend a huge thank you to the parents at the state meet for making the kids comfortable, warm and dry at the state meet, and thanks to all the parents all season for all your support and encouragement.