Spartan Sports Blurbs

GIRLS GOLF
The girls’ golf season has come to a bittersweet end. Through the season, they’ve consistently performed in the 5th to 65th ranking range, showing dedication and improvement. Their hard work and perseverance were evident, but when the moment arrived for them to secure a spot at the state level as a team, they fell just a little short of being among the top 6 teams that would advance. Despite the disappointment of missing the state tournament, hopefully, the “sting will encourage the girls for next year,” as Coach Chad Christensen said. The team still did very well throughout the year, “They are a really good group of girls. This was the first year that we hadn’t had a solid top 6 player and it was fluctuating, it’s good to have moving parts,” said Christensen.
Though the team didn’t make it to state, juniors Kate McComb and Olivia Kalbus made it to Grand Forks. There, they had a tough time playing, especially on the second day, when the wind reached up to 30 miles per hour, but they still played beautifully. Kalbus finished with a two-day total of 171, in 24 place and McComb finished with 178 in 43 place. They had lots of fun and many smiles especially when the coaches remember to bring them snacks.
FOOTBALL
As the final whistle echoes across the field, the regular football season has drawn to a close. But for those athletes, the end of a “normal season” is just the beginning of something extraordinary. Senior Xzavier Buckmiller said, “This year is going good, but we have hard times ahead of us for the playoffs, because the undefeated record does not matter in the playoffs, we lose this upcoming game we are done.”
The real battle is yet to come, and their journey is far from finished. However, before we can focus on their upcoming battle, let’s focus on some of their amazing accomplishments from this season. At North’s last game of the normal season on Oct.19 against Jamestown, they won 46-22, leaving them undefeated. A cool fact is that North hasn’t gotten the chance to beat Jamestown in the past 13 years. Of course, when they won on senior night on Oct.14 against West Fargo, 31 seniors were ready to face them down. Some personal accomplishments of the guys on the team would be when senior Peder Haugo broke the record of rushing yards at Fargo North. Senior Max Watson was committed to MSUM, and there are also a few other seniors who have already been committed. Many players got player of the week, one of which was senior Xzavier Buckmiller. North just played against Valley City, which could have been the end of their season. However, North beat Valley City 41-7 and went off to the semifinals against West Fargo Horace. North left the field with a victory of 40-14 against them on Friday Nov. 3, and are off to state this week. They play off against Grand forks Central on Friday Nov. 10. The Spartan football team has been working there butts off this whole year, let’s cheer them in for one final game to really see if they can be undifferentiated all season.
VOLLEYBALL
Girls volleyball has been on an impressive winning streak this year, boasting a remarkable record of 20-2 to lead the EDC. This amazing accomplishment showcases their dedication, teamwork, and exceptional skill on the court. With just two losses in their entire season, they have dominated their competition and proven themselves to be a force to be reckoned with. The players, coaches, and supporters of the team can be proud of this outstanding achievement and it’s clear that their hard work is paying off in a big way. Some personal accomplishments this year have been when senior Evy Berg got 1000 digs. Senior Betsy Schiltz also got a shout-out to be a player to watch. The Spartans start postseason play Tuesday, Nov. 7 against Fargo South. North beat South 3-2 in the Dig Pink game Oct. 31.
BOYS TENNIS
The final volley echoed on the court, and the boys tennis season drew to a close, leaving behind a trail of exceptional accomplishments that will be celebrated for seasons to come. Some highlights of the year include on senior night when there were 8-1 wins, a good way to go on senior night for 4 boys. There was the big 9-0 win against Valley City, which is amazing. Some personal highlights include when senior James Lanners and sophomores Brady Demers and Nate Wilson received their first varsity wins. As well as at EDC, senior Garrett Tostenson and junior Nick Webb made it to state for signals. At EDC, they also made the all-EDC team, a remarkable achievement in itself. At state, Webb didn’t make it to the second day but did an amazing job. Tostenson did make it to the second day and then ended with sixth place. As a team, they didn’t make it to state, but they had a wonderful and fun year. Who knows what will happen next year, but hopefully, we’ll be cheering them on.
BOYS SOCCER
As the final whistle echoed across the field, it marked the bittersweet end of the boys’ soccer season. Though it concluded in a sorrowful manner, their journey was a shining testament to excellence in a year filled with challenges. The varsity team will not be able to compete at state, ending the year for 18 seniors on a somber note. However, this year’s season has been different from the others. They had some impressive wins, and only two of their wins were not a sweeping win. They ended the year 7-8, when normally they have been on the lower sides of the wins. State rank has been higher than most years, as they ended the year in sixth. Some personal accomplishments of the team would be when Senior James Lien and junior Aden Nojang made the second and first All-EDC teams, respectively.
BOYS XC
At state, senior Owen Sondag crossed the finish line as a champion for the 5k run, in a time of 15:52. It was not only his first XC state championship, but also the first win for a Spartan since 1970. What a way to end senior year. Junior Gus Hillmer finished just out of the top 20, and North’s next finishers were sophomore Isacc Cerney, and juniors Christian Pochmara and Ian Rasmussen, for a seventh place team finish. It was a fun year for XC.
GIRLS XC
The girls XC season finished with a messy run at the state meet. Junior Claire Bartell, North’s top finisher at EDC was sick and unable to run at state. Junior Macy McShane, freshman Maria Gates, eighth-grader Sadie Medders, and senior Sami Trogstad were North’s top finishers at state. Seniors Elsie Anderson and Aletta Olson also competed in their final meet as Spartans.