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CITY, N.D (NewsDakota.com) On National Signing Day, Coaches will cheer and drop their heads all within minutes, while young athletes will sign letters of intent to prolong their athletic careers for another four years, if not longer.
Wednesday was no different in Valley City. Four Hi-Liner athletes (Madison Taylor, Austin Berg, Austin Meyer and Dustin Lindgren) decided where the next chapter of there playing career would take place.
Madison Taylor, who was a stand out on the volleyball court, will continue the sport starting next season with the Lake Region Royals. Last year, the 5’10 outside hitter helped the Hi-Liners to a fourth place finish in the Eastern Dakota Conference regular season.
Austin Meyer and Austin Berg will continue their Baseball careers just down the road from their high school home at Valley City State. Austin Meyer spent much of the season as a catcher last year in Legion play, while Berg showed off his athleticism playing numerous positions in the outfield. The hometown duo will look to add to a strong Vikings team that currently stands 4-4 after the fall portion of the season.
The last Hi-Liner to sign on the dotted line was Dustin Lindgren who will play football next season for Valley City State. In his last season with the Hi-Liners, Lindgren carried the ball 138 times averaging 6.7 yards a touch and scored nine touchdowns. The Valley City native also played on the defensive line and earned the Most Valuable Defensive Lineman Award from his team.
As busy a day as it was at Valley City High, Valley City State football coaches were adding to their roster.
On signing day, the team announced the addition of 22 recruits. Head Coach Dennis McCulloch said, “ We are extremely excited about this group of incoming student-athletes.” He continued, “ We have a good mix of play makers on both offense and defense joining our program. These Young men have proven themselves at the high school level, and were excited to see them excel at the collegiate level over the next four years, both in the class room and on the field.”
The newest class of Viking includes two running backs, six linebackers, one wide receiver, six members of the secondary, six offensive and defensive linemen, and one tight end.
The Vikings finished last season with a 5-5 record and shared the North Star Athletic Association regular season title with the University of Jamestown after finishing 3-1 in the conference.
Below is a list of the newest member of the Vikings football team.
North Dakota (10)
Dustin Lindgren: FB, 5-8, 184 lbs, Valley City, N.D.
2013: 138 carries, 926 rushing yds, 9 TDs, 6.7 yards/carry, 5 rec, 69 rec yds, TD; 1st Team All Region, 2nd Team All State
Tanner Kessel: LB, 5-10, 230 lbs, Steele, N.D.
Stats: 200+ career tackles, 3x All Region, 2nd Team All State, Shrine Bowl
Trenton McCloud: C/DE, 6-1, 250 lbs, Rolla, N.D.
2013: 50 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery; All Conference, All State
Grayson Marty: LB, 6-0, 225 lbs, Rolla, N.D.
2013: 72 tackles; All Region, 1st Team All State
Devin Arp: DE/TE, 6-4, 205 lbs, Cogswell, N.D.
2013: 43 tackles, 3 TFL, 7 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 4 pass deflections; All Region, Shrine Bowl
Zachary Schmidt: WR/CB, 5-11, 155 lbs, Flasher, N.D.
2013: 990 rec. yds, 16 rec. TDs, 21 total TDs; All Conference, All Region, All State
Austin Rinas: DL, 6-2, 215 lbs, Bisbee, N.D.
2013: 47 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 blocked punt; 2nd Team All Region, Team 4 Year Award
Hunter Slemmons: LB, 5-11, 205 lbs, Fargo, N.D.
2013: 71 tackles, EDC leader in tackles; All EDC, 2nd team All State
Marc Wagner: TE, 6-4, 210 lbs, Jamestown, N.D.
2013: All WDA
Devin Poitra: DB, 5-10, 160 lbs, Belcourt, N.D.
Minnesota (6)
Hayden Sturdevant: OL, 6-0, 245 lbs, Perham, Minn.
2013: All Conference Honorable Mention
Maxwell Kollar: LB, 6-1, 190 lbs, Underwood, Minn.
2013: 97.5 tackles; All Conference, All Section, All State, Conference Most Valuable Lineman, Academic All State
Thomas Tabatt: OL, 6-5, 285 lbs, Little Falls, Minn.
2013: All Conference, All Area, Team Lineman of the Year
Austin Richter: DB, 5-8, 160 lbs, Walker, Minn.
2013: 55 tackles, 3 INT, 30 rec., 253 rec. yds, 3 TDs; All Conference, Conference Offensive Player of the Week
Kyle Dickson: DL, 6-4, 195 lbs, Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Dan Ingebrand: LB, 6-1, 235 lbs, Perham, Minn.
2013: 59 tackles; All Conference Honorable Metion
South Dakota (1)
Tyler Masat: LB, 5-11, 210 lbs, Redfield, S.D.
2013: 65 tackles, 6 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 INT, 3 blocked punts; Academic All State, All Conference
Colorado (3)
Demetrius Graves: RB, 5-10, 200 lbs, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2013: 800 rushing yds, 2nd Team All Conference
Darius Graves: DE/OLB, 6-2, 205 lbs, Colorado Springs, Colo.
2013: 77 tackles, 24 TFL, 17 sacks, 7 touchdowns, 2 kick return touchdowns; All Conference, All State, League Defensive Player of the Year
Wesley King: DB, 5-10, 170 lbs, Greeley, Colo.
Alaska (1)
Khalil Steward: CB, 6-1, 190 lbs, Fairbanks, Alaska
Transfers
Beau Winchester: DB, 5-9, 180 lbs, Mililani, Hawaii (College of the Redwoods)