Demons Aim High | Video

Scott Westerburg | 11/30/2012

For the first time since 2008, the Bismarck High boys have reached the pinnacle of high school cross country. Tomorrow, the Demons will run at the Nike Nationals in Portland. The last time Bismarck High made it this far the team finished 14th overall. This week, BHS is ranked 12th in the country, but the Demons have their sights set on proving that ranking wrong.

"Since we kind of accomplished the goal to get there we`ve been wanting all season, so to finally get that is really good, but we`re not going to stop there. The goal is top ten as a team is good, and if we run what we`re capable of, I think we`re a top five team, so hopefully that works out," said senior Jake Leingang.

"We`re going for the win. We don`t expect anything less. We`re going to go there and give it our all. We`re not going to put anyone else on a higher pedestal than us. We`ve worked just as hard as anyone else in the country, we think," said senior Brandon Berg.

As one of the top high school runners in the country, Leingang will be out in front of his teammates, so the strategy for the other four Demons is to stay in a pack. That`s what worked at the Heartland Regional.

"At Sioux Falls, our two through five guys really just ran together pretty much the whole race. To do well at nationals we`re going to need to do the same thing," Kashur said.

The race is scheduled to start at about 1:30 central time tomorrow in Portland. Then next Saturday, Leingang will run at the Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego as one of the top 40 individuals in the country.

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