At the Williston invitational meet on March 19th, two Sentinel track and field athletes declared their prestige as a team, earning state berths in the season’s opening weeks.

Junior Malia Magee launched herself into the state spotlight with a long jump of 16 feet, 10 inches, a leap that not only turned heads at the meet but punched her ticket to the state track and field championship later this year. A typical long jump requires athletes to jump from a 20 cm wide board and fly through the air into a sand pit where their distance is measured by judges. Their best jump from 3-6 attempts is recorded. It’s the kind of mark that takes years of work to reach, and Magee made it look like business as usual.

Joining her at State later this year will be McKinnley Kragh, who cleared 10 feet, 3 inches in the pole vault, a height that earned her a state qualifier alongside her teammate. Pole vaulting is usually regarded as one of the most technically demanding events in all track and field, requiring equal parts athleticism, precision, and nerves of steel. The sport involves creating high potential for consequences, but also high stakes for success. Kragh displayed both in Williston.

To have two state qualifiers from a single school at one of the season’s first major meets is no small feat. It speaks to the depth of Minot North’s girls’ track program and sets an early tone for what could be a memorable spring.
Pitching the ball over to Minot North softball, the team resumed practices on March 15th, and the mood inside the program is one of hungry determination. The team is pushing for a season better than the last. The 2025 Sentinels finished 13-19 overall, going 7-11 in conference play. A winning record away from home showed flashes of what this team is capable of, but too many close ones slipped away on the neutral and home fields. This spring, the returners remember every one of those losses and the lessons learned.

Firing up this team with some stellar players, Seniors Kinzy Welstad, Tiecyn Hertz, Kate Coleman, and Aven Kelly headline a core that has grown up together in this program within travel and school ball. They enter their final season with something to prove. That kind of senior leadership, players who know the program, know each other, and know what it feels like to fall short, is the engine that might just drive a turnaround year.

The Sentinels softball open their season Thursday, March 27th, when both the softball and baseball programs play their first games of the year. For the softball squad, it’s the first chance to show that 2025 was a foundation, not a ceiling.

The Sentinels won’t stop at softball and baseball on opening day. Girls tennis opens its season on Sunday, March 30th, rounding out a week that marks the full arrival of spring athletics at Minot North.

It’s a busy, promising stretch for the Sentinels across the board. With state qualifiers already secured in track, a softball roster loaded with senior leadership and young firepower, and tennis and baseball joining the mix within the week, Minot North fans won’t have to look hard to find a reason to show up this spring.