ALEXANDER, N.D. (AP) - The Alexander High School Comets sports teams will once again be blazing their own way, thanks to the oil boom in western North Dakota.
The school board in the oil patch city has decided to bring back football, basketball and volleyball in the fall now that the school has enough students to field teams. Enrollment has more than tripled in the past five years, to about 180 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, according to administrative assistant Jami Hudson.
Alexander has dissolved an athletic cooperative agreement with Watford City so it can begin competing on its own. Restoring the athletics program is a point of community pride, school board member Lashell Tjelde told The Bismarck Tribune (https://bit.ly/1brEPAf ).
“People here will be very involved and are very excited about having sports back,” she said.
Freshman Grace Nelson was a little girl the last time she saw basketball players displaying the Comets nickname. She’s looking forward to playing volleyball on a hometown team.
“I was here when it got taken away, and I’m here when it comes back. That’s really exciting for me,” she said.
The football program will start small, entering six-man competition with nearby Montana teams.
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Information from: Bismarck Tribune, https://www.bismarcktribune.com
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