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Sports Spotlight: Ben DeForest

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Sports Spotlight: Ben DeForest


BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Bismarck High Wrestlers win a lot of titles.

“We’re striving for a state championship, that’s where the bar is set,” said Bismarck High Wrestling head coach Mark Lardy.

Three of said titles belong to the top-ranked 133-pound wrestler in North Dakota, Ben DeForest.

Now, Ben’s going for number four.

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“It would mean everything to me,” said Ben DeForest. “There have been some great wrestlers from BHS that have been four-timers it would just mean a lot for me to add my name to that list.”

”He led a lot by example in the past,” said Lardy. “Now he leads not only by example but his voice in the room is heard.“

Even when his BHS days are over, Ben has another chapter to write in his story: He’s committed to Wrestle at UMary.

“We pride ourselves on trying to keep and retain as many local North Dakota kids here at U-Mary and we’re just very thankful that Ben chose to come here and wrestle for us as well,” said U-Mary Wrestling head coach Adam Aho.

The state champ has a bigger goal in mind.

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“His goal is way beyond what our room is going to give him. This is just a stepping stone,” said Lardy.

Ben wants a national championship.

“We need every guy to have that type of mentality,” said Aho. “Without it, we will never be relevant on the national scene.”

”Once you get your hand raised you realize, all those morning practices you didn’t want to go to and all those lifts that you were like, uh I don’t know, it’s worth it. It’s worth it,” said DeForest.

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Rare T. rex find in North Dakota, mammoth fossil digs ‘significant’ for research

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Rare T. rex find in North Dakota, mammoth fossil digs ‘significant’ for research


The North Dakota Geological Survey has found a new Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton at a dig site in southwest North Dakota. Researchers first discovered the bones in September 2024 while searching for crocodile fossils in Bowman County, according to State Paleontologist Clint Boyd. Tuesday was the first time the find was publicly announced. Since work at […]



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Area places four on North Dakota Class B all-state volleyball team

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Area places four on North Dakota Class B all-state volleyball team


GRAND FORKS — Langdon Area-Munich’s Hilary Haaven helped power the Cardinals to a North Dakota Class B state championship last weekend in Bismarck.

On Monday, she was one of four area players recognized with North Dakota Class B all-state honors.

Haaven and Park River-Fordville-Lankin’s Lauren Bell were all-state first team choices, while Drayton-Valley-Edinburg’s Elizabeth Fedje and Griggs-Midkota’s Kelsey Johnson received second team honors.

Haaven, just a freshman, recorded 23 kills and 39 digs in the state title match as Langdon Area-Munich repeated as state champions by pulling off a reverse sweep of Medina-Pingree-Buchanan. Haaven already surpassed 1,000 career kills in October.

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Haaven was the only member of the 24-member all-state team who is younger than a junior in high school.

Bell, a junior middle hitter and repeat all-state choice from 2024, racked up 520 kills, 393 digs, 43 aces and 84 blocks this season.

Fedje, a senior middle hitter, racked up 521 kills and 296 digs. Fedje, who has been the D-V-E kill leader each season since 2022, has more than 1,300 career kills in 347 career sets played.

Johnson, a senior outside hitter, finished with 255 kills this season and 353 digs. She also had 31 aces and 12 blocks.

Brynn Sorenson of Medina-P-B was named the Outstanding Senior Athlete, while her coach Jacie Connell was named Coach of the Year.

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Miller has covered sports at the Grand Forks Herald since 2004 and was the state sportswriter of the year in 2019 (NSMA, NDAPSSA), 2022 (NSMA, NDAPSSA) and 2024 (NDAPSSA).

His primary beat is UND football but also reports on a variety of UND sports and local preps.

He can be reached at (701) 780-1121, tmiller@gfherald.com or on Twitter at @tommillergf.





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Yale, Harvard get bids in Ivy debut in FCS field

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Yale, Harvard get bids in Ivy debut in FCS field


INDIANAPOLIS — The Ivy League is participating in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the first time this season, and the conference will be well represented.

Yale, which defeated rival Harvard for the Ivy title on Saturday, and the Crimson are in the 24-team tournament field, which was announced on Sunday night on ESPNU. The Bulldogs (8-2) will play at Youngstown State (8-4), and Harvard (9-1) will play at Villanova (9-2).

“I am incredibly proud of our players and entire staff. They have poured their hearts into the work that brought us to this moment, and earning the opportunity to win a championship and become the first team to represent the Ivy League in the FCS playoffs makes it ever more special,” Yale coach Tony Reno said Saturday after the win. “Our players made a true commitment to one another and never stopped believing in our mission or in the goals we set together. This is an exceptional group of men, and I could not be prouder of everyone.”

In the 141st chapter of the rivalry known as The Game, Yale outlasted previously unbeaten Harvard, 45-28, as quarterback Dante Reno completed 15 of 19 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns in the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut.

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“Our defense is one of the best in the league,” Reno, a sophomore, said. “They’ve been proving that all year. It took us a little bit to start offensively earlier this season, and we kind of clicked over the last couple of weeks.”

At the top of the FCS board, defending national champion North Dakota State will lead a record-tying six teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference into the tournament. The MVFC champion Bison (12-0) were named the No. 1 seed and will be making their 16th consecutive appearance.

All told, the field is made up of 11 automatically qualifying conference champions and 13 at-large selections. The first round begins Saturday with unseeded teams paired with teams seeded 9-16 primarily according to geographical proximity. The championship game is Jan. 5 at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

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North Dakota State has won 10 of the past 14 FCS titles. The Bison beat St. Thomas-Minnesota 62-7 on Saturday to extend their winning streak to 16 games.

Montana State (10-2), the runner-up to NDSU last year, earned the No. 2 seed after beating rival Montana 31-28 to clinch the Big Sky Conference championship. Montana (11-1) is the No. 3 seed. Tarleton State (11-1) of the United Athletic Conference is the No. 4 seed.

Patriot League champion Lehigh (12-0) is No. 5, Southern champion Mercer (9-2) is No. 6, Southland champion Stephen F. Austin (10-2) is No. 7 and the Big Sky’s UC Davis (8-3) is No. 8.

The top eight seeds receive a first-round bye and will play their second-round game at home.

The rest of the first-round games are: Illinois State (8-4) at SE Louisiana (9-3); Central Connecticut State (8-4) at Rhode Island (10-2); North Dakota (7-5) at Tennessee Tech (11-1); New Hampshire (8-4) at South Dakota State (8-4); Drake (8-3) at South Dakota (8-4); and Lamar (8-4) at Abilene Christian (8-4).

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.





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