6/7/2006 – News
Volume 123, Number 18
Two-vehicle accident
An accident at about 7 a.m. June 3 sent a Minnewaukan man to the hospital with a broken ankle and cuts and bruises. Leon Pfeifer, 52, of Minnewaukan was northbound on US 281 in a 1994 Dodge dually pickup and was preparing to make a left turn when Bradley Armentrout, 42, also of Minnewaukan, attempted to pass with his 1994 Buick LeSabre. The two vehicles collided and both ended up in the ditch with extensive damage. Pfeifer was not injured. Cathy Nord and Allan Nord of the Minnewaukan Ambulance Service are in the foreground treating Armentrout, who is seated in the grass. Troy Backstrom and Tom Lang of the Minnewaukan Fire Dept. are on the left assessing damage to the vehicles. Armentrout was taken to Mercy Hospital and transferred to Altru Hospital in Grand Forks. He was charged with passing when unsafe. Deputy Sheriff Jeff Bercier investigated.
Join Leeds honor society
The Leeds National Honor Society recently held induction of new members. Inducted were, left to right, back row, Shawn Swanson, Michael Anderson and Matthew Pepple. Front row: Callie Brossart, Amber Bracken, Nikki Herman and Lindsay Anderson. During Teacher Appreciaton Week the Leeds National Honor Society named Joel Braaten as teacher of the year and Kathy Benson as staff person of the year.
Laura Jo Hausmann congratulates Kathy Benson on being chosen the Leeds School Staff Person of the Year.
Laura Jo Hausmann of the Leeds National Honor Society congratulates Supt. Joel Braaten for being named Leeds School Teacher of the Year.
Students make quilt
Leeds kindergarten students decorated quilt squares the last week of school. They decorated their squares with fabric paint and then the pieces were tied together to make a lap quilt as a gift for their teacher, MiChelle Nybo. The project was initiated and guided by Karla Pepple. Left to right, sitting, are Ryan Wangler and Luke Pepple.
Kneeling are Rochelle Hansen and Garrett Johnson. Standing are Arnikka Thompson, Danielle Schwanke and Braydon Follman.
Caregivers honored
Maddock Memorial Home employees nominated for the North Dakota Long Term Care Association Caregiver of the Year Award are pictured. Left to right are Deb Hovland, who was nominated by Dimo Christianson; Roxann Georgeson, who was nominated by Brent Grondahl; and and Deanna Johnson, who was nominated by Veloy Vallier.
Benson County Wildcats girls 2nd at State
Track and Field Meet Track teams made the trip to the Community Bowl on the campus of Bismarck State College May 26 and 27 for the North Dakota Class B High School Track and Field Meet. The Benson County Wildcats had athletes who qualified and participated in the event. Benson County is the co-op between Leeds, Maddock and Minnewaukan.
The Bottineau girls’ team led the team competition on the first day of the meet. The Stars amassed 35.5 points, 25.5 of which came from the pole vault. Benson County, the 2005 state champion, was in second with 27 points. Hazen, Richardton-Taylor and Watford City were in a three-way tie for third with 14 points, rounding out the top five.
The next day Bottineau, sparked by its dominant throwers and vaulters, won its first girls’ track and field state championship with 99.5 points.
Benson County wound up second with 69. Rounding out the top five were Watford City with 47, Carrington with 45 and Lisbon with 44.
Unlike last year’s state track meet in Grand Forks, where cold and rainy conditions plagued area athletes who were competing, temperatures Friday and Saturday in Bismarck soared well into the 90s. Though last year was a worse day in regards to weather, wind played a major factor in timing. Friday’s gusts reached 20-25 miles per hour. The Wildcats battled the wind, the temp and the competition as well as they could.
"What our team has done at the state championships over the past four years is by far the most successful sports accomplishment in our area. The great thing is the future looks just as good," said Wildcats Co-Coach Jeff Manley.
"Our athletes had a great state meet and a great season," added Manley. "We scored 76 points to win last year and lost 23? points with Krista Anderson graduating. To come back this year and score 69 with the same kids minus Krista, shows how great our girls really are."
"This was Bottineau’s year," said Wildcats Co-Coach Bobby Hoffner. "It has some great seniors and had a very good state meet. Our girls should be very proud of the season they had and we are already excited about next year because we have everybody back."
GIRLS
The state 1,600 meter didn’t change hands this year. Lindsay Anderson of Leeds made it four in a row in the Class B 1,600 on Friday. The sophomore covered the distance in 5:04.55, which was nowhere near her state record time of 4:56.96 last year. Earlier in May, Anderson ran a 4:56.30.
Anderson kept the 3,200 crown in the family Saturday when she ran the distance in 11:14.36.
She led the 3,200 from start to finish, just as she had in winning the 1,600. Her older sister,
2005 graduate Krista Anderson (now competing at Iowa State), had won the state 3,200 the previous five seasons.
Benson County got a second from Anderson in the 800 (2:16.15). Lindsay actually led the 800 until Watford City standout Christine Bruins passed her with about 60 meters remaining. Bruins picked up her fourth consecutive state championship, winning in a time of 2:15.86.
Anderson also ran a strong anchor on the Benson County 4×800 relay team. She combined with teammates Erin Leier of Maddock and Jordan Callahan and Katrece Thompson, both of Minnewaukan, to take home second (9:58.99). The team was in fifth place when Lindsay got the baton on the final leg.
Katrece Thompson was runner-up in the 3,200 with a time of 11:48.43. Katrece, who just started running the race not too long ago, sprinted to the finish line against teammate Lindsay Anderson.
Thompson also toughed out fourth place in the 1,600 (5:25.53).
Minnewaukan freshman Bobbi Grann cruised into the finals of the 300 meter hurdles. However, she clipped the last hurdle, fell and wound up ninth in the event.
The 400 meter run provided a wild finish and when the smoke cleared the margin of victory was paper-thin. Two-time state champion Christine Bruins of Watford City had the top time in the race with a 58.32, but Bobbi Grann went 58.48 to follow her in.
Grann picked up team points as she finished in third place in the 800 meter run. One of her closest competitors was teammate Lindsay Anderson, who challenged her as they crossed the finish line. Bobbi clocked a time of 2:18.45.
Grann was also a member of the 1,600 meter relay team which took 11th in the meet. Members of that team besides Bobbi were Jordan Callahan, Katrece Thompson and Erin Leier. The team ran a 4:15.50.
Sharisa Yri of Maddock finished sixth in the preliminaries in the 100 meter dash (13:12) and eighth in the prelims of the 200 meter dash (27.17) and did not qualify for the finals in either event. The eighth grader took home a fifth place finish in the triple jump with a jump of 34’11?".
The Wildcats also saw honors in the high jump. Jordan Callahan placed seventh with a mark of 4’11".
Anderson (30), Thompson (15), Grann (14), Yri (4), Callahan (4) and Leier (2) were the point getters who added to Benson County’s record of success.
BOYS
Dickinson Trinity replaced Lisbon as the state champion of the boys’ competition. Distance dominated. New Town finished in second while Rugby, Bottineau and Park River rounded out the top five. The Benson County boys’ team finished 34th overall.
Mark Wack capped off a great year scoring four points at state with an eighth place showing in the javelin (157’5") and a sixth place finish in the shot-put (47’6"). All the coaches felt this was very deserving for the big junior.
Benson County’s 400 meter relay team missed making the finals in the preliminary run. The team of Paul Rice, Daniel Luhman, Jordan Backstrom and Andy Bergrud posted a time of 46.95. The time placed them in 19th overall.
Jordan Backstrom posted a preliminary time of 11.91 in the 100 meter dash. Backstrom also jumped 19’2?" to take 14th place in the long jump.
Andy Bergrud had a 40’2?" effort in the triple jump. This jump was good enough to place him 16th in the event.
Brandon Lunde added a 16th place in the discus. His throw covered 113 feet, 8 inches.
All are Maddock boys, except for Luhman, who is from Leeds. Their coaches are Larry Moser and Bobby Hoffner.
Photos by John and Donna Grann and Karen Anderson.
Defending state champion, the Benson County Wildcats, earned second at state in Bismarck May 26-27. For the third time in four years, they have finished second. Pictured, left to right, are co-coach Bobby Hoffner, Lindsay Anderson, Bobbi Grann, Jordan Callahan, Katrece Thompson, Erin Leier, Sharisa Yri, Jessie Schwanke and co-coach Jeff Manley. Not pictured is statistician Alyssa Erickson.
Coming off last year’s state championship, the Wildcats were hoping for a repeat, but knew it would be difficult. The girls are proud of their 2006 season. Left to right are Jessie Schwanke, Katrece Thompson, Sharisa Yri, Bobbi Grann, Lindsay Anderson, Erin Leier and Jordan Callahan.
Benson County event record holder Lindsay Anderson continued her domination of the 1,600.
Competing in windy conditions, she won with a time of 5:04.55, more than 17 seconds ahead of the runner-up. It marked the first time in three seasons that the sophomore hasn’t broken the state record in the race.
Sharisa Yri stretches for more distance in the state triple jump. She placed fifth, jumping 34’11?".
Bobbi Grann (left) was second to Lindsay Anderson in the 800. Watford City senior Christine Bruins nipped Lindsay by .29 second and Bobbi by 2.59 seconds to win the gold.
Jordan Callahan cleared 4’11" to place seventh in the high jump.
Benson County went 1-2 in the 3,200 as Lindsay Anderson (right) was followed by Katrece Thompson in second. After taking runner-up the previous three seasons, Lindsay finished as champion with a time of 11:14.36. Katrece ran the race in 11:48.43.
The Benson County team took home second in the 3,200 relay. Left to right are Katrece Thompson, Jordan Callahan, Lindsay Anderson and Erin Leier. The girls ran a 9:58.99 in the race.
Bobbi Grann left most of the field in the dust in the 400 meter run. Just .16 second separated places one and two.
Mark Wack receives his award. He placed in the shot-put and javelin.