BISMARCK -- Wyatt Kainz was nervous and jittery, but remained excited.
He very well should be excited.
The freshman placed in his first event at the Class A state track and field meet, and did good enough to finish in a tie for sixth place with a height of 5 feet, 10 inches, in the high jump on Friday at the Bismarck Community Bowl.
"There were plenty of nerves," Kainz said with a smile. "I didn't think I would get anywhere near placing because some of the guys here were getting over 6-4, 6-5. I was really surprised 5-10 got me a place."
Kainz's road to placing at the state meet is one less traveled. After failing to reach a state-qualifying height throughout the season, Kainz qualified for the state meet by placing in the top six at the West Region Meet.
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"We always tell the kids, 'There is always someone who gets in by place at the West Region and places at the state track meet,'" Dickinson co-head coach Jay Schobinger said. "It happens every year. Fortunately it was Wyatt this year."
He finished with a height of 5-10 at the West Region Meet and has repeated the performance for three straight meets.
"I'm very happy," Kainz said with a laugh. "I've tied my personal best for three meets in a row now. If I can stay consistent, I'll be able to get better over time."
The freshman's confidant throughout the entire season has been junior Levi Jordheim. Though Jordheim didn't place in the high jump, Kainz said he was important throughout the jumps on Friday.
"Levi has pretty much been my mentor," Kainz said.
Kainz was the only Midget to score points on Friday, but the team has multiple runners qualified in the finals.
Senior Austin Mack has qualified in the 300-meter hurdles, the 400-meter dash and will run in the 1,600 relay.
Junior Jace Dukart has a full plate on the second day. He made the finals in the 100, 200, 400 and will also run in the 1,600 relay.
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"I was able to get really good warm-ups today, because it was a little cold out," Dukart said. "It just felt like a really good day. I just ran hard and did the best I could."
The race Dukart is most looking forward to is the 200. He ran a preliminary time of 22.28 seconds, which was the second-fastest time going into finals.
"I was really excited after my (preliminary) 200," Dukart said. "I came into the race as the No. 2 runner and I wanted to see if I could go into the finals as the No. 2 runner. It's looking pretty promising."
The Dickinson girls team had a tough first day. The Midgets didn't score any points and weren't able to qualify anyone to the finals. However, Schobinger said the minor priority is just getting on the board.
The Midgets have a quality chance to have multiple qualifiers set to throw the javelin as senior Rachel Schroeder and freshman Kelsey Calhoun enter with the sixth- and seventh-best throws, respectively.
"The big thing for the girls is that we have to get on the board," Schobinger said. "The javelin throwers are going to be pretty important tomorrow."
Dickinson also has a handful of other field events on the boys and girls side to help some points. The Midgets have senior Meleah Leiss running in the 800 meters for the girls while sophomore Jackson Binstock has the second-fastest time in the boys 3,200.
"We have some nice events for us," Schobinger said. "Jackson has been pretty consistent this year. We'll just see what happens."
