Sep. 23—GRAND FORKS — Spectators at the Grand Forks Border Battle meet this Saturday in Lincoln Park won’t just be greeted with the Red River region’s best cross country runners.
There will be more food trucks, a bigger starting line and a DJ, in addition to thousands of competitors and spectators.
In short, Year 4 of the Border Battle will be the biggest yet.
There are 2,400 athletes and 96 teams from North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota scheduled to compete.
The meet has grown consistently since it was started in 2022, when it fielded 56 teams. Last year, there were 86 teams and 2,142 runners.
The 2024 Border Battle also saw six new race division records, two 5K course records broken and 2,500 fans in attendance.
As the field has expanded, Grand Forks Central boys cross country head coach and Border Battle meet manager Sean Allan has been intent on making it a memorable experience for athletes and spectators alike.
“We keep upping our game and doing new things every year,” Allan said. “We try to get it a little more, and we have a lot more sponsorship now and stuff, we’ve tried to make it more and more of an event every year.”
This year’s field includes elite programs across the region, such as DYESTAT.COM‘s No. 19 boys team in the country, Sioux Falls Lincoln in South Dakota.
Every ranked North Dakota team, a large swath of elite South Dakota teams and a collection of top-end programs in Minnesota, such as Perham, will all be competing in the Battle for the Paddle on Saturday.
Canadian teams have also competed in the past, but no teams will be making the trip across the border this year.
“We’ve got a lot of the best runners and teams in the Midwest,” Allen said. “All of the ranked North Dakota teams will be there, so it is a big chance to really have a chance at a fast course — our course is very fast — to just go out and compete against the best in the region, and see where you stand.”
Bismarck High earned the top spot in the latest North Dakota High School Class A boys cross country coaches poll. The Demons’ Owen Hintz was ranked No. 1 individually, while his teammate Jacob Windsor came in at No. 3.
On the girls side, Bismarck Century was ranked No. 1 in Class A, featuring the top-ranked individual — Ruby Ihmels — as well. Ihmels is well acquainted with the Border Battle, having captured first place and setting a Class AA record (17:30.0) at the event last year.
Bowman County was ranked No. 1 in both the girls and boys sides for Class B.
Hillsboro/Central Valley’s Claire Grinde, who won the Class A Division at the 2024 Border Battle, currently sits atop the Class B coaches poll.
In addition to traditional team scoring, the Border Battle allots points based on states. North Dakota took home first place in last year’s meet.
Beyond the high school varsity athletes, there will also be runners from sixth through eighth grade, junior varsity and even the community.
The first race on Saturday will be the sixth-grade girls one-mile at 10:30 a.m. Varsity play will kick off at 1 p.m.
The Border Battle will wrap up at 5 p.m. with the community 3K race.
“I really would encourage the people of Grand Forks and Fargo and stuff to come and see this event,” Allan said. “I think a lot of them would be really surprised at the amount of talent in the region, and just to see what this event is like, even if they don’t have someone running in it.”
