New Rockford-Sheyenne high jumpers leaping toward state meet

May 15—NEW ROCKFORD, N.D. — There are not a lot of teams around the state that can claim to have three athletes in the top six of an event, but the New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets track and field team is one.

As of May 13, Deng Deng, Dalen Leftbear and Bennett Meier are in the top six for the high jump for Class B. Deng leads all jumpers with a leap of 6 feet, 7 inches, while Leftbear is in a tie for second with a leap of 6 feet, 5 inches. Meier is sitting in sixth with his jump being 6 feet, 3 inches.

Meier said he was excited and relieved when he qualified for the 2024 NDHSAA State Track and Field Meet.

"It means quite a bit," Deng said. "It's another accomplishment I could get. It's another way to challenge myself and develop another skill and another chance to compete at the highest level which is state track."

At the Class B level, the Rockets are one of three teams with three or more athletes in the top six of an event, alongside Bowman County and Northern Cass.

"They're athletes, take some pretty good athletes and put them on the track and find a place for them to excel," Rockets head coach Elliot Belquist said. "They're all basketball players and that correlates with the high jump and they're starting to figure it out."

This is the first season doing track for Deng and Leftbear after Four Winds/Minnewaukan and New Rockford-Sheyenne became a co-op for the sport. Belquist said Deng and Leftbear have been learning how the program works and working on technique.

"I think it's great because many of the Four Winds athletes never did track before since we never had a team," Deng said. "So it's great to get in the track environment and make new friends with the New Rockford guys and compete alongside with them and showcase our talents."

Deng and Meier said they wanted to join the Rockets team to help fuel their competitive nature and have fun. Deng said he and Leftbear are first cousins and they grew up together. Deng said the two are becoming closer with Meier through working out together this season.

Deng's success is not only limited to the high jump. He also qualified for the state meet in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.14 seconds and as a part of the Rockets 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams. Deng said his best skill as a track athlete is his athleticism and his vertical leap.

Deng is not only a track athlete but also a basketball player and a football player for the Indians.

"I feel like it translates 100% ... I wouldn't say my form's that good but if I can jump and dunk a basketball then I can jump over a bar that's pretty high," Deng said. "I feel like it transfers definitely."

Despite being a junior, this is only Meier's second year on the track team. He was previously part of the school's baseball and golf teams. Meier reached the state qualifying measurement in what was his 14th-ever meet.

"It's really motivating," Meier said. "I'm excited about next year as well because I feel like I'll be able to improve like I have from last year to this year too."

Although he only has one more year of experience than his teammates, Meier said he is teaching Deng and Leftbear some of the finer points of high jumping. Meier said Deng and Leftbear are teaching him about warmups and stretching before they leap.

"I do have more experience than them," Meier said. "So I guess my form is a little better than theirs. They have something to, a visual, to look at. So that probably helps them."

Deng said when the three are practicing together, they are pushing each other to get better.

"We compete at every meet," Meier said. "Usually, it's us at the top three. So we usually have fun with it and see who can beat who."

Belquist said the fact that three athletes also play other sports helps the athletes on the track.

"We stress that in our program that we want kids out playing everything," Belquist said. "We want kids in baseball and track. We promote two-sport athletes and two-sport spring sports. We try to be flexible so kids can have those opportunities. We understand small schools, we need our kids out doing stuff, if we want successful programs we need them all to participate."

Meier said it would mean a lot to him to win the state title this year.

"It'd be crazy," Meier said. "I know I got two really good teammates. I know they can jump higher than me but it'd be something."

Once track season ends, Deng has a busy summer ahead of him, as the 2024 Mr. Basketball award winner will participate in the 2024 Lions All-Star Basketball Games on July 15-16. Between track and the basketball games, he will be going to Grand Forks to start working out as a member of the University of North Dakota football team.

"I'm pretty hyped for that," Deng said about playing in the Lions All-Star Basketball games. "That'll be pretty exciting. That'll be my last time playing an organized basketball game. So I'll be looking forward to it."

As of May 13, the Rockets have two meets remaining before the 2024 NDHSAA State Track and Field meet. Before the final meet of the season, Belquist said he wants the three to continue to work on their technique to try to increase their leaps. Belquist said the team is sending a lot of athletes to the state championships.

"After regionals, you just hope they can go and perform," Belquist said. "You're really not doing a lot of practicing, conditioning's in and it is what it is. So that last week it's up to them to fine-tune what they need to work on and go and perform."