VALLEY CITY - The Watford City girls cross country team won its first state team title at Bjornson Public Golf Course.

Watford City scored 82 points and had five runners place in the top 25. They were Sibee Jokela (fifth), Kade Ross (10th), Stephanie Deutsch (18th), Olivia Sundeen (24th) and Kristen Stenehjem (25th).

Not even an early fall could deny New Town senior Justin Many Ribs the boys state title.

At the front of the pack at the race's onset, Many Ribs took a tumble on the first turn of his race.

"I had to get up, and I didn't know where (Parshall's Ken) Wells was," Many Ribs said. "I had quite a bit of adrenaline going, and I used it to finish that."

Many Ribs crossed the course in 16:22.02 to become the fourth consecutive New Town runner to claim an individual state title over the past six years. Wells' time of 16:46.82 was good for second place.

"I was in Parshall last year," Many Ribs said. "I knew Brian Anderson was a good coach, and so when I got there I tried to learn all I could from him."

New Town's Alex Baker (17:03.47) was third, and Clyde Baker finished seventh overall. But with five runners in the top 20, Rugby claimed team honors by a 64-93 score.

The Panthers' Kyle Volk was the highest-placing Rugby runner with his eighth-place finish (17:31.62) followed by teammate Dylan Yoder. Teammates Erik Wangler, Dustin Jundt and wyatt Thompson were 13th, 14th and 20th.

While the boys' Class B state title was the capstone to a senior runner's high school career, the girls' race crowned a youthful champion.

Dunseith eighth-grader Chandra Yankton became the first Dragon to claim an individual title at the state meet with her time of 15:12.17.

"At first I was trying to keep control of the race," Yankton said. "Then I thought someone was catching me, and I kicked out. That was almost at the beginning of the race."

Yankton's biggest fan, her coach and mom, Lynn Duchaine, admitted she was fighting bigger butterflies before the race than her daughter was.

"Chandra loves to run in the rain," Duchaine said. "She was really happy to see it was raining today."