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In
this Sept. 1, 2017, photo, New Town High School runners Robert
White, front, and Jaiven Hale, right, lead the pack in the
Mouse River cross country meet in Minot. The Eagles went on
to win their sixth straight Class B state championship and
10th crown in the last 12 years. Hale went on to become the
individual winner in state and White finished second. Both
are underclassmen. (phoho by Alex Eisen/MDN)
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The most common sights
on North Dakota's Fort Berthold Indian Reservation are oilfield
trucks and long-distance runners, neither of which can be stopped
by the brutal weather and both of which leave everything behind
them in the dust.
While running has long
been a tradition at New Town High School, which encompasses five
towns, the last decade or so has been a boom particularly for the
boys cross-country program. The Eagles have won 12 North Dakota
small-school titles in the last 14 years, including six in a row.
The years they didn't win, they finished second.
The Eagles are so talented
and deep that they routinely win Class B meets by more than 100
points, including last fall's state championship when their runners
finished first, second, fourth, seventh and 15th. They regularly
win events that include larger Class A schools. They have fans from
across the state cheering for them and other athletes asking them
for advice.
"You do feel like
a celebrity sometimes," Eagles senior DJ Lebeau said.
Lebeau said he and his
teammates also take seriously their roles as representatives of
a reservation made up of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes,
and including the towns of New Town, Twin Buttes, Mandaree, Parshall
and White Shield. He hopes their success will influence and inspire
younger people on the reservation, where tribal officials are dealing
with ongoing health problems like obesity and diabetes.
"Growing up on the reservation,
I feel you have to work twice as hard as everyone else," Lebeau
said. "We're just a little Native American team from western North
Dakota and we are proud of what we have accomplished. It's great
that so many people look up to us and we've got to act that way."
The secret to success?
New Town coach Brian Anderson, who took over the program as it began
its championship run 14 years ago, said he was fortunate to have
a good team that first year. Its accomplishments resonated with
younger students, and more students every year wanted to be part
of it.
"The kids took care
of a lot of the program-building because they encouraged other kids
to come out for cross-country and track," Anderson said. "It
just kind of snowballed from there."
The New Town runners
cited several factors when asked about their elite status in North
Dakota high school athletics. Junior Jaiven Hale, the individual
champion in last fall's state meet, said he began by trying to chase
down two older brothers who competed for the Eagles. He was also
influenced by his father, Jay Hale, an assistant coach and former
college runner.
Senior Jalen Chase, the
team's top college prospect, said it's about "kids seeing other
kids having success every year."
All of them say they
feel more pressure in practice than at meets. One of their most
difficult practice runs is a path that follows the Lewis and Clark
Trail, named for the two explorers who navigated uncharted territory
in the western United States. It's a jaunt through rugged Badlands
terrain that overlooks scenic Lake Sakakawea and ends with a half-mile
uphill gut check.
"We don't mess around
in practice at all. We hold each other to a high standard,"
Lebeau said. "The meets are a lot more fun. You can just let
loose and run."
Edgeley-Kulm's Isaac
Huber, who finished third in state behind New Town's Hale and Robert
White, said he has been influenced by the Eagles' program and likes
exchanging ideas about running and training with them. Huber attributes
New Town's supremacy to "repeated success and great coaching."
"I remember when I
was younger watching these New Town boys dominating the distance
events. I thought that was pretty neat," Huber said. "Then
I got to know them my freshman year and I always look forward to
running against them. Cross-country is almost like a family."
Just a week after the
Eagles claimed their sixth straight title, another boys cross-country
record came to an end in the Desert Southwest. Lebeau said he and
his teammates were aware of the tradition at Hopi High School, located
on a reservation in northeastern Arizona, but didn't know that Hopi's
streak of 27 consecutive state titles was broken in November.
"Oh my goodness, that
is insane," Lebeau said.
Many New Town runners
have parlayed their athletic success into college degrees, jobs
and high-ranking military service, Anderson said.
"They have used that
dedication and responsibility to go out and do other good things
in society," Anderson said. "Cross-country shows you that
you aren't going to get anything unless you put in a lot of hard
work."
Chase, whom Huber calls
"the most natural runner" he has ever seen, took a recruiting visit
earlier this month to North Dakota State five hours east,
in Fargo, the state's biggest city.
He said his goal has
always been to live in a larger city.
"To be honest, I never
really liked running at first, but once I took it seriously, I could
see the opportunities it could present for me in college and elsewhere,"
Chase said. "Running has really opened up a lot of doors for
me."
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