BISMARCK - There was a bit of confusion Friday over Kristen Killoran's first two triple jump attempts, in part because an opponent accidentally moved her mark on the runway.
Killoran then moved the record mark on the North Dakota Class B girls event.
The Maple Valley-Enderlin sophomore won the triple jump in the state track and field meet at the Bismarck Community Bowl with a mark of 38 feet, 1½ inches, bettering the old Class B mark of 37-7½ set in 1994 by Alycia Cummings of Cavalier.
Killoran's top effort, a personal best by 5 inches, came on her third and final try in the preliminaries. The No. 1 seed entering the meet, she failed to mark on the first two due to a series of mishaps that included a stutter step, a toe drag and the moved mark.
"I was a little frustrated," Killoran said of scratching, something she rarely does. "I thought I've got to get into the finals, at least, and then I knew I had to pound it out."
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Facing elimination, she adapted, adding height to the first phase of her jump to take advantage of a strong side wind. The leap felt good when she landed and even better after event officials decided they needed to measure it a second time.
The verdict: 38-1½ and more than enough length to give Maple Valley its first girls track champion since 1976. Her next three jumps ranged from 37-8 to 37-11; nobody else in Class A or B topped 36-3¾.
"I felt a lot more confident going in and a lot more relaxed and ready to jump," Killoran said.
As the defending Class B boys javelin champion and the baby of his athletic family competing in his final meet, Lisbon senior Joe Krivarchka was on the opposite end of the emotional spectrum.
Yet, like Killoran, he had first place in the bag before his final attempt, when he uncorked a throw of 184-10 to expand the final margin of victory to 7 feet, 7 inches.
"I felt a lot of pressure coming in after winning it (last year), but it came out not to be a bad day with the weather," said Krivarchka, who will play football at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., next year even though Lisbon track coach Joe Howell believes baseball may be his best sport.
Benson County sophomore and event record holder Lindsay Anderson helped put her school in first place in the girls division with 27 points by defending her title in the 1,600-meter run at 5:04.55, more than 17 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
Likely the only female in the wind-blown complex that could have kept up was sitting in the stands - sister, Krista Anderson, now a freshman runner at the University of Iowa.
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"I definitely miss having her around, especially on training runs," said Lindsay, who will also be the top seed in today's 3,200-meter run - an event Krista won last year. "We always train together and it's always fun to have her with me."
Fun doesn't begin to describe what Jon Griffith has had this year. After leading Richland to the 9-man state football title and the Class B boys basketball tournament, the 5-foot-7 senior captured the triple jump title at 44-10¼. The Colts are in third place in the team race with 22 points, eight back of Dickinson Trinity.
"Just kind of like icing on the cake, I guess," said Griffith, who will compete next year in track and football at Jamestown College.
SPRINTS: Future college basketball players Ethan Evenson of Hillsboro/Central Valley (Mayville State) and Central Cass' Calvin Kraft (Valley City State) finished third and fourth, respectively, in the boys 1,600. ... Lisbon freshman Ashley Berg qualified for today's finals in the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and the 400. ... Carrington senior Whitney Carlson, a 13-time state champ, had the top preliminary times in the 100, 200 and 300 hurdles, while Milnor-Wyndmere-Lidgerwood led the prelims in the girls 400 and 800 relays. ... Bottineau senior Kelsey Aide set an all-class record in the girls pole vault at 12-4, while classmate Sara Neubauer broke the Class B javelin record at 143-2.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Terry Vandrovec at (701) 241-5548
