Smith wins Watford cross country meet
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
After struggling with a hip injury that has hampered Watford City’s Asha Smith during her first cross country meets of the season, Smith is finally making her presence known.
Smith, who was the No. 1 runner in Class B Girls Cross Country at the start of the season, is now back at the front of the pack.
During the Watford City Invitational Cross Country Meet on Tuesday, Sept. 16, Smith ran away from the competition as she turned in a winning time of 16:17.19. And then at the Anderson/Stavn Meet in Bismarck on Saturday, she finished in 18th place with a time of 16:17.74.
While Smith is improving on her times, Raehs Puetz continues to lead the Wolves’ boys team. At Watford City, Puetz finished in sixth place with a time of 17:39.01, and took 17th with a time of 17:11.05 against a strong field of Class A and Class B runners in Bismarck.
“We had a tough week with two meets, one hilly and one fast,” states Greg Brown, Wolves’ head coach. “ I felt that our runners competed quite well and are working extremely hard to get ready for the State Meet that is coming up in about five weeks.”
This week, the cross country teams will be heading to Montana where all races are three miles long for both boys and girls.
“On Oct. 4, we run at Minot for a Pre-State warmup and then compete in the Regional Meet in Watford,” states Brown. “The regional meet has been moved to Watford City due to scheduling difficulties with McDowell Dam.”
Other Watford City varsity boys placing at the Watford City Invitational were: 19. Dakota Garmann, 20:22.90; 23. Michael Brown, 20:42.87; 27. Osman Leon, 21:35.65; 29. Lathan Smith, 21:44.35; 33. Jack Gillispey, 22:08.25; 36. Hunter DeFoe, 23:01.11; 37. Devin Schmitz, 23:26.83; 38. Cauy Hartel, 24:56.48; 41. Trevor Alveshere, 26:40.78.
Following Puetz across the finish line at the Anderson/Stavn Meet was: 77. Michael Brown, 19:43.00; 81. Dakota Garmann, 19:54.90; 85. Osman Leon, 20:21.05; 88. Jack Gillispey, 21:15.11; 89. Lathan Smith, 21:20.43.
In the boys junior varsity division, Hunter DeFoe took 26th with a time of 20:35.66. Other place finishers were: 56. Devin Schmitz, 22:41.88; 67. Cauy Hartel, 24:04.42; 77. Trevor Alveshere, 25:28.20.
In the girls junior varsity, Addison Sundeen was 29th with a time of 18:56.62, followed by Lea Arndt, 44th, 19:34.02, and Chelsea Cryer, 64th, 20:30.60.
In the girls junior high division, Fabiola Lee-Morales placed seventh with a time of 18:42.30.