Killdeer ready for state XC meet

The Killdeer girls cross country team is in good spirits, and for good reason.

The Cowboys won the West Region championship on Oct. 12 in Bismarck.

Killdeer is looking to recreate its performance when it travels to the Class B state cross country meet that begins at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Bjornson Golf Course in Valley City.

"They have been running really well for the last three or four weeks," Killdeer head coach Nathan Horgeshimer said. "We've had a lot of improvements with our faster runners and some who aren't in our top five. The girls were really exciting winning two weeks ago at the West Region meet. That was one of their goals coming into the season was to win that one. That was pretty fun to watch them run well there."

The Cowboys are led by senior Morgan LeMieux, who has competed at the varsity level for multiple years. The rest of the Cowboys' top five are chock full of eighth-graders.

Horgeshimer said there's a little bit of an unknown with younger runners. However, he knows pretty much how well the older runners are able to perform.

"If we continue to compete like the way we have, we are right in the mix," he said. "With the older runners, you kind of have an idea on what they are going to do, but you get those junior high kids you never know when someone is going to drop 40 seconds in a race."

Killdeer's eighth-grader runners, who helped win the West Region title, are Sydney Andersen, Trae Murray and Danielle Benz. Andersen placed fifth and was highest Killdeer finisher at the West Region meet.

"It was a big wake-up call that we beat Shiloh (Christian), who has been the top dog in the state all year," Horgeshimer said. "We've been close to Hillsboro in meets and we've beaten Shiloh."

Horgeshimer said there is definitely confidence on the girls side, but the same goes for the boys as well.

Two of the runners for the Killdeer boys team won't be competing at the state meet because of the first round of the Class 1A football playoffs. Senior Calum Blankenship and junior Lewis Dobitz are in both sports and will play for the Cowboys' No. 3-ranked football team that hosts Velva at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Biesiot Activities Center.

"They rarely leave the field playing football, so they get beat up and it kind of got to point where they couldn't keep running and had to focus on football," Horgeshimer said. "Calum is a linebacker and Lewis is a running back, so they get a lot of wear and tear during a football game."

Dickinson High volleyball looks to get back on track

Dickinson High head volleyball coach Jay Schobinger told his team to take some time off and just rest.

"We gave the girls four days to get refreshed and ready to go and you could see that they were," Schobinger said. "I always to try to build that in, because you need a little break. You've got to get away from the game for a little while."

The Midgets had the luxury of taking some time off because they had a week between their last match against Jamestown on Oct. 16 and their match against Williston at 6:15 p.m. today.

"We try to build a little time there at the end of the season," Schobinger said. "The next couple weeks are going to be busy. We have five matches and four of them are on the road."

After taking four days off, Schobinger said Dickinson has practiced everything under the sun, including going back to some fundamentals. The reason is the Midgets have five West Region matches remaining before traveling to the three-day West Region Tournament that begins Nov. 14 in Jamestown.

"We are really preparing for the final five games," Schobinger said. "We did a lot of basic things and a lot of concentration things. Concentrating on what's going on the floor and what's going on next to us."

Hazen hosts Rugby in first round of Class 1A playoffs

When playoffs roll around, no team can look past another.

Despite being the defending Class 1A football state champions and undefeated at 8-0 this season, Hazen isn't looking past anyone either.

"It's a completely different year and that's the way we are looking at it," Hazen head coach Rick Philion said. "We aren't looking at it as we are the defending state champions. We are just one of the playoff teams that are trying to get there. If you want to be successful, you have to look at it one game at a time."

The top-ranked Bison host Rugby in the opening round of the Class 1A playoffs at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

"We got a good match in Rugby," Philion said. "We thought they would be one of the tougher teams up north and they had some injuries during the year that looks like it cost them some games, but those kids are coming back. It could be a real tough match up for us."

Hazen defeated Killdeer 21-6 in a battle of the two top-ranked teams in the state to close out the regular season. The win gave them the Region 4 title and home-field advantage through the playoffs. Philion said it was the toughest test the Bison have had all season.

"That Killdeer game was hands down the biggest challenge of the season," he said. "We found out real quick where we needed to step up and improve. We had gotten used to doing some things incorrectly and when you have flaws they show up real fast when you are playing a good team. Killdeer showed us where ours were."