Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
This past year the sports page was filled with highlights from successful athletic contents, including the Rockets’ trip to the State ‘B’, a national championship archer, undefeated softball team, state champion track star and state run in baseball. Here’s a look back at each.
Let’s Go Here Now!
When sports writer Erik Gjovik agreed to fill in for the legendary Gary Lindquist, he surely had no idea what kind of heights the Rockets would go. For the first time since 2005, the Rockets boys basketball team competed in the State ‘B’ after defeating Four Winds-Minnewaukan in the Region 4 Championship game on Thursday, March 7.
Being absent from all the action was difficult for Lindquist, who had sustained a serious injury after a fall in late December of 2018. This was the first season in 25 years that Gary was unable to cover Rockets basketball. In early March, Gary got the surprise of a lifetime when he gained the clearance and support to attend the NR-S pep rally and Region 4 Championship, ultimately witnessing the win against Four Winds-Minnewaukan that sent the team to state. The Transcript featured a photo in which the team proudly showed off the championship trophy which Gary had the honor of holding. In an exclusive interview with the Transcript, Gary conveyed his excitement by saying, “March 7 will go down as one of the best days of my life. I could hardly sleep that night. I wonder why?”
Behold! The Power of Pink Sox!
In only their second year on the slowpitch softball circuit, the New Rockford Park District Pink Sox proved they are a force on the field. Manager Dennis Nybo entered them in the Ponytail League, which included two teams from Devils Lake and area squads from Cando, Lakota and Dakota Prairie. The Pink Sox finished their perfect season with an impressive 20 wins, including the league championship on July 23.
Black Sox finish 4th in State Class B Babe Ruth Tournament
The young 'Sox took home fourth place at this year's event after taking a 16-4 loss in loser-out play to the Casselton Black Stockings Sunday evening, July 28, and finished their season with a 19-4 record. Much of the veteran SNR team graduated up to the Post 30 American Legion club, and we look forward to watching them this upcoming summer.
Belquist earns two state track titles
Over two days of the State Track and Field Meet at the MDU Resources Community Bowl Friday and Saturday, May 24-25, junior Bo Belquist captured the state long jump crown on Friday with a 21’ 8 3/4” effort, then obliterated his own school record in the triple jump Saturday by flying 45’ 6 1/2”.
Along with the two titles, Bo achieved top-10 in both the 100 (11.47) and 200-meter dashes (23.24).
Belquist’s younger sister Kelsie advanced to the finals in both the 300-meter hurdles, where she ran a career-best 47.78 to take seventh, and the 400-meter dash, where her time of 1:00.34 was sixth.
Six other Rocket tracksters also competed in the state meet: Billy Fleming, Parker Granger, Hannah Haley, Brianna Price, Elizabeth Widmer and Nick Berglund.
On Target: NR-S archery yields national champion
On Saturday, April 27, 11-year-old Alex Weisenburger became the first NR-S archer to place at a national championship. He was among the six NR-S students who qualified for the national competition at the state tournament in Minot on March 22 and 23. On Friday, April 26, Alex took aim in the 3D National Tournament in Salt Lake City and landed a score of 280. It was a new personal best, and put him in the top spot in the elementary boys division.
In its third season, NR-S hosted its first National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) Tournament aturday, Jan. 10. A total of 224 archers from 14 schools across the state competed.
