LARIMORE, N.D. -- Dylan Boura, Jason Anderson and Josh Thompson couldn’t pull off a region title by themselves here Friday.
But they were close.
The trio combined for seven first-place finishes on the track and a total of 99.25 points. That led Grafton-St. Thomas to the title in the Class B Northeast Region meet. The Spoilers repeated as champions with 135 points to runner-up Larimore’s 119. Hillsboro-Central Valley was third with 102.
Hillsboro-Central Valley repeated as champion in the girls division with 162 points. Langdon Area was second with 136.5 points, followed by Park River Area (87).
“We have some friendly competition,’’ Boura said. “We want to beat each other when we race. But we’re not too upset if we lose to each other. We push each other.’’
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Boura won the 100, 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles (with Anderson placed second and Thompson third in the 300 hurdles) while placing second in the 200. Thompson, the region senior athlete of the year, won the 800 and 1,600. Anderson won the 200 and 400 and also was third in the 100.
“All year, (Dylan) gets me in the 100 and I’ll get him in the 200,’’ Anderson said.
The trio wound up being the top three scorers in the boys division, Boura with 38 points, Anderson with 34 and Thompson with 27.25. Brody Nelson was a solid fourth scorer, winning the triple jump and placing second in the long jump to contribute 18 points.
“We figured only four or five of us would score a lot,’’ Anderson said. “We were in events we felt we would do well. And I guess it worked.’’
For the three runners to dominate as they did isn’t out of the ordinary. “When they’re healthy, competing and running well, it’s standard for them to get a lot of firsts and seconds,’’ Spoilers coach Julie McCann said. “They have talent, natural ability and they work hard.’’
In addition to the three Grafton runners, Justin Hanson of Griggs County Central was a double winner in open events. Hanson won the shot put and discus.
Distances spark H-CV
Hillsboro-Central Valley won the Class B girls state cross country title last fall. Several of those same runners sparked the Burros on the track.
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Hillsboro-CV totaled 67 points in the 400 through the 3,200. Annika Rotvold led the way, repeating as region champion in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. Gracie Wright won the 400 to go along with second-place finishes in the 200 and 800.
“We have a lot of girls who can score points in those middle and long distance races,’’ H-CV coach Heidi Eckart said. “It’s a luxury. We have good kids and they work hard. They push each other.’’
The Burros also got a strong performance from Kylie Pastian, who was named the region senior athlete of the year, won the long jump and triple jump, was third in the 100 and fourth in the 200. Her 31 points were second in the meet to the 32 scored by Langdon Area junior Jocelyn Dinius.
Other multiple open event winners in the girls division were Park River Area teammates Beatrice Kjelland (100 and 200) and Elaina Swartz (100 hurdles and high jump) and Thompson thrower Amber Hunsaker (discus and javelin).
