Owen Sondag wins ND Class A boys cross country title, becoming first Spartan victor in 53 years

JAMESTOWN, N.D. — For the first time in 53 years, Fargo North has an individual cross country state champion.

Owen Sondag has been the best runner in the Class A boys division all season and Saturday was no different. The Spartans senior raced to a winning time of 15 minutes, 52 seconds to claim the individual crown at the North Dakota Class A boys cross country state championship contested on a chilly day at Parkhurst Campground.

Sondag, the top-ranked runner in Class A boys, edged second-ranked Bismarck senior Owen Hintz by six seconds to become just the second runner in North history to win an individual state title.

He joins fellow Spartan Bill Watson, who accomplished the feat in 1970.

“I’m definitely really excited about that,” Sondag said. “I’ve been working towards this with my coach for a long time too. So to kind of just make things come together during my senior year is a very cool experience.”

It’s been a long time coming for Sondag, who’s competed in varsity cross country and track and field since seventh grade. He’s come close to winning at the state track meet while his state cross country finishes have improved each year. At last, he stands atop the podium.

“It feels good,” Sondag said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time now … six years of high school cross country and track. So to finally see it come together — something I’ve been working towards for years and years now — it’s really, really cool.”

Sondag was in the lead pack from the get-go, saying he pulled away for good after the first 1,600 meters.

“I think after the first mile or so I had a pretty solid gap,” Sondag said. “I was really trying to just go out kind of hard knowing state always goes out very hard. So getting out to the front of that pack was important to me today and then just really pushing it as hard as I could the whole way.”

Bismarck secured its first team championship since 2015 with a first-place score of 30 points, knocking off two-time defending champion Williston.

Grand Forks Red River was runner-up as this year’s East Region champions tallied a team total of 60 points.

Williston came home third with 126 points, followed by Minot in fourth with 141 and Bismarck Century in fifth with 168.

Seven East Region athletes earned all-state finishes behind Sondag.

Coming home in fourth place was Red River junior Elijah Dafoe in 16:18. He was followed by junior teammate Joe Quinn in fifth in 16:34.

Fargo Shanley sophomore Quinn Carroll was the next highest East Region finisher in ninth in 16:44.

Another Roughrider was next among East runners as senior David Radke clocked in at 16:54 to finish in 14th. Freshman teammate Cohen Dunnigan was 17th with a 17:01.

Rounding out the Top 20 were Shanley freshman Ethan Erickson and Red River senior Micah Larsen-Schmidt.

Erickson came home 19th with a 17:04 while Schmidt clocked a 17:05 for 20th.

For Sondag, it was his second time earning all-state accolades after an 11th-place finish last year. The thing making it sweeter this time around is victory.

“To finally get here and make it happen, this is definitely the highlight of my running experience so far.”

Sondag was voted Class A boys cross country Senior Athlete of the Year by the North Dakota High School Coaches Association. Bismarck’s Scott Reichenberger was voted Coach of the Year.

Team scores – Top 5
1. Williston 30; 2. Grand Forks Red River 60; 3. Williston 126; 4. Minot 141; 5. Bismarck Century 168

Individual Top 20/All-State honorees
1. Owen Sondag, Fargo North, 15:52; 2. Owen Hintz, Bismarck, 15:58; 3. Parker Hintz, Bismarck, 16:15; 4. Elijah Dafoe, Grand Forks Red River, 16:18; 5. Joe Quinn, Grand Forks Red River, 16:34; 6. Gavyn Graham, Bismarck Cenutry, 16:37; 7. Tyler Wahl, Bismarck, 16:37; 8. Gabe Hanson, Bismarck, 16:41; 9. Quinn Carroll, Fargo Shanley, 16:44; 10. Jakson Ensign, Bismarck, 16:47; 11. Dawson Balzer, Bismarck, 16:47; 12. Thomas Haskins, Williston, 16:49; 13. Connor Ensign, Bismarck, 16:49; 14. David Radke, Grand Forks Red River, 16:54; 15. Benjamin Harris, Minot, 16:57; 16. Gabe Hamlin, Bismarck, 17:01; 17. Cohen Dunnigan, Grand Forks Red River, 17:01; 18. Cooper Fjeld, Minot, 17:03; 19. Ethan Erickson, Fargo Shanley, 17:04; 20. Micah Larsen-Schmidt, Grand Forks Red River, 17:05.