BISMARCK - Hannah Arason took out the suspense early here Friday.
The Grand Forks Red River sophomore won her second consecutive javelin title on the opening day of the North Dakota Class A state high school track meet.
Arason had a winning throw of 139 feet, 8 inches. That came on her initial throw in the prelims.
“I was nervous today,” the sophomore said. “I felt anyone could hit a big throw. But when I hit that first one, I felt comfortable. It definitely took the pressure off.
“Having a good throw early sort of set the mood.”
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After setting the bar high, that early throw held up. No other thrower reached 123 feet the rest of the day. Jamestown’s Jenna Stilwell finished second with a 122-5 toss.
“I didn’t get a better throw after the first one, but I won so I’m happy,” Arason said. “At state, I don’t care if I get a PR (personal record) as long as I perform better than everybody else.”
Two other Grand Forks athletes were just shy of titles. Central’s Camron Roehl in the 1,600 and Red River’s Derek Murph in the javelin had second-place finishes in the boys division.
Roehl ran a strong race, finishing in season-best 4:17.38 to winner Matt Gotta of Bismarck’s 4:16.59. Roehl was in second almost the entire race.
“I’m pretty happy,” Roehl, a senior, said. “It’s the best I’ve ever placed in a state high school event. You have to take that as a positive.”
Murph needed two strong finishes to finish second with a throw of 178-9. The sophomore qualified for the finals on his final prelims throw. Then, on his final throw of the day, he temporarily moved into first place before Fargo Davies senior Kellen Feeney won with a 179-2 effort.
“I was throwing pretty bad today,” Murph said. “But on my last throw, when I found out the distance, I thought it was a winner. But Kellen made his winning throw. I’m happy; I wasn’t too confident today. I didn’t think I’d get a top three.”
Red River senior Cole Kringstad got a fourth in the pole vault as he fell short in his bid for a repeat title. Bismarck’s Lyndon Mertz went 15-1 to win. Kringstad cleared 13-3.
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“I was disappointed in not getting at least a top three,” Kringstad said. “But then I looked at Lyndon’s height and it was congratulations to him. I put so much pressure on myself; that killed me.”
Other local top-four local finishers Saturday were Central teammates Karly Ackley (third, 1,600) and Grace Finney (fourth, pole vault).
