Carrington girls eyeing championship

They won six consecutive state Class B girls track and field championships from 1999 to 2004, and the Carrington Cardinals will be taking a crack at the school’s seventh team title starting today in Bismarck.

Carrington enters this year’s state track and field championships at The Bowl carrying the state’s top time or distance in six events. The Cardinals have placed fourth at state the past two seasons and dominated last weekend’s South Central Region Meet in Bismarck by 74 points (211.5) over second-place finisher Hazen.

“Any time you go into something like this we just try to stress to the kids that things up to this point are still on paper,” Carrington and 2011 state Class B coach of the year Greg Hoeckle said. “We still have to go down there and compete and try to do our best.

“(Today) is kind of a big day for us. If we can get our people through the prelims and into the finals, hopefully that will put us in a good position come Saturday.”

All eyes will be on Carrington throwers Sierra Rosenau and Kayla Hochhalter today in the javelin starting at 12:30 p.m. Rosenau, a senior, is the defending state champion in the javelin, as the duo finished 1-2 in the event at state last season.

Rosenau has the top javelin toss in the state at 143-7, which would be a new Class B state record if she could duplicate that toss today. The current record of 143-2 was set by Bottineau’s Sara Neubauer in 2006.

Hochhalter, however, won the South Central Meet in the javelin last Saturday with her best toss of the season at 135-6, which is the second-best toss in the state this year. Rosenau finished second in the regional with a throw of 132-8.

“There’s a lot of competition between the two of them, and it kind of goes back and forth,” Hoeckle said. “We’ve kind of noticed that in some instances due to the weather, the javelin we throw makes a difference too. Kayla decided to go back to an older javelin (during the regional) that they’ve used before, and it seems to work better in windy conditions.”

Rosenau won the javelin last year with a toss of 138-11, while Hochhalter, a sophomore, finished second with a heave of 130-4. Both Rosenau and Hochhalter will also be competing in the shot put and the discus. Hochhalter has the third best shot put toss at state (40-5) and the fourth best discus throw (120-2).

Rosenau, however, won the discus at regionals, reaching 119-5, which is the fifth-best toss coming into the state meet.

But a second consecutive title and setting a new state record in the javelin is something Hoeckle said Rosenau has been eyeing all season.

“Just like anything else, the weather plays a part,” Hoeckle said. “Right now it looks like (today) is going to be rain-free and it might give her an opportunity to go for it.”

Carrington’s Josey Page is also primed for what could be a huge day for the junior speedster. Individually, she’ll be running in the 100 and 200 prelims today, where she holds the top time in both events with a 12.14 and a 25.44, respectively.

Page is no stranger to the state meet. She has finished third in the 100 the past two years, while picking up a fifth-place finish and a sixth-place finish, respectively, in the 200.

“She’s a tough competitor. She works hard in the offseason and does the things in the weight room that she needs to do to get her to this point,” Hoeckle said. “She’s put in the time and very well deserves to be at the top of the list coming in. Josey is a big part of our sprinting core, and for us to do well as a team we have to go on how well she does too.”

Page will also be running a leg on Carrington’s 400 and 800 relay teams, which also carry the top times in the state with a 50.54 and a 1:47.24, respectively. Joining Page on the 400 relay are Jacey Engelhorn, Hannah Lipetzky and Becca Scherr.

The Cards’ 800 relay team consists of Page, Engelhorn, Lipetzky and Maartje VanBedaf. Carrington is the defending state champion in the 400 relay.

“One of our main goals is to win the team title, and in order for that to happen we have to do well in those events,” Hoeckle said. “We are putting our best people in there.”

The Cards finished second to Hazen in the 400 and 800 relays at the regional, but they were the region champs in the 1600 relay. Page Anderson, VanBedaf, Claire Endres and Lipetzky make up that team, and their top time this season of 4:08.84 is second best in the state.

Carrington sophomore Madison Wendel is tied with three other individuals for the top leap this season in the high jump at 5-3.

“In the region this past weekend, one of our goals was to be focused from start to finish and that’s what they did and I think they are very ready for this meet,” Hoeckle said. “The expectations are high. The girls want to be back on top again and that’s what they are shooting for. If we go in and do what we are capable of doing that should be a very good possibility.”

On the boys’ side, Carrington’s Scott Burnham has his sights set on a possible long jump title. Burnham has the best leap so far with a 22-02. He’s also tied for fifth best in the high jump at 6-0.

“It was kind of to our advantage we got moved into the South Central Region and got a chance to compete in Bismarck before the state meet, and the conditions were absolutely terrible in the morning,” Hoeckle said. “(Burnham) went clean through 6 feet and that was a very good sign for him to do well in that area. In the long jump he had a good jump coming in and jumped 21 over there.

“The expectations are high for him as well.”

Carrington freshman Seth Abaurrea will be attempting to make the finals in the 100 (11.39) and the 200 (23.14) today. Junior Cole Hendrickson will have his eye on a finals appearance in the 400 (52.21).

Sun sports writer Michael Savaloja can be reached at (701) 952-8461 or by email at mikes@jamestownsun.com

Tags: class b, sports, track