Sports

Bottineau searches for starting point

By Tyler Ohmann

04/03/2012

With several returners who competed at state last season, both the Bottineau Braves and Stars track teams are hoping to qualify once again, and hopefully bring some titles home this season.

But where can they start?

“On the boys side I think we will be strong on the short distance runs, the sprinting,” said head track and field coach David Hoff. “The long distance runners are young, but they have another year in so, who knows.”

“We have some strong throwers too, experiences leaders, which should help,” Hoff added.

Returners from the 4x400 meter relay team that qualified for state include: junior Trevor Wettlaufer, sophomore Cody Beaver and freshman Ethan Kerslake.

Also returning is defending Class B boy’s state pole vault champion Harrison Aide. The sophomore is one of five Bottineau athletes competing in pole vault this season.

The other four are girls: senior Whitney Page, sophomore Courtney Gallagher, freshman Maria Diepolder and eighth grader Megan Fix.

Page won the state pole vault title as a sophomore.
Gallagher, Diepolder and Page are returners from last year’s 4x100 relay team that took fifth at state last season. The other member of that is senior Ashleigh Aufforth, who is also returning.

Aufforth, Diepolder, Gallagher and Fix each competed at state in the 4x200 meter relay as well.

Page and Diepolder also competed in the pole vault and long jump at state.

Hoff sees strengths in similar areas for the girls.

“The girls are similar to the guys. We have the relay team back and lots of experience,” Hoff said.

Another strength Hoff mentioned for both sides is the throwers. Senior’s Trista Bjerk, Heidi Artz and Laura Tonneson anchor the squad for the girls.

“Hopefully all the throwers can do well all year long and make it far,” Bjerk said. “We all get along super good, so we’ll have a lot of fun this year.”

Personally, Bjerk hopes to qualify for state in the discus.

“I hope I can make it to state this year,” Bjerk said. “I am really working on the discus a lot, because I was close last year.”

“I am going to try javelin and shotput this year too,” Bjerk added.

Bjerk enjoys track compared to other sports (she started varsity in both volleyball and basketball) due to the individual nature.

“I like track because it is in individual sport, and you are the only one who can make yourself better,” Bjerk said. “It’s more of a mental focus, and I like to push myself.”

Hoff hopes that the experience of the team will carry them, but knows that they need to stay healthy too, which was a concern a year ago.

“We’re healthy, knock on wood, and injuries were big last year,” Hoff said. “Harrison (Aide) was banged up and Whitney (Page) was fighting injury down the stretch.”

Bottineau has been practicing outside for nearly the entire past two weeks, and Hoff is glad they were able to get outside so early.

“I think the kids are excited about it,” Hoff said. “You can only tell them that working indoors is important so many times.”

Hoff said it is important for the athletes to get off to a good starting point.

“I think we need to find a starting point and go from there,” Hoff said. “Sometimes they want to start where they left off last year, and it doesn’t always work that way.”

Bottineau’s first meet is on April 10 in Hazen.