Skari, Hoffer return to Jamestown as state placers
Layna Hoffer cleared 5-3 for third at state, and Aiden Skari brought back a podium finish as Jamestown turned a strong spring into Bismarck hardware.
Aiden Skari and Layna Hoffer brought Jamestown back a reason to cheer from the 2026 NDHSAA Class A and B State Track & Field Meet in Bismarck, returning home as state placers after the season’s biggest stage at the MDU Resources Community Bowl.
Hoffer delivered the clearest podium result for the Blue Jays. The Jamestown High School junior finished third in the girls high jump with a mark of 5 feet, 3 inches, tying Camryn Ulmer of Mandan and Haylie Hahnert of Fargo North. For a Jamestown program that has spent the spring building momentum, the finish capped a stretch in which Hoffer kept clearing higher bars and answering bigger meets.
That rise was already visible before state. Hoffer won the girls high jump at the Class A West Region Championships at Dickinson State University’s Biesiot Activities Center with a personal-best 5 feet, 6 inches. She also took the high jump at the 2026 Class A Indoor meet in Fargo with 5 feet, 5 inches, giving Jamestown one of the most reliable vertical jumpers in the Class A field. Michael Dietz said Hoffer had been excellent lately, and Friday’s result matched that reputation.
Skari’s return to Jamestown as a state placer added to the sense that this was more than a one-athlete weekend. He arrived in Bismarck after a strong late-season run that included wins in the 100 meters, 200 meters and triple jump at the Bill Jansen Last Chance meet in Valley City on May 11. Before that, he won the 400 meters and triple jump at Fargo North’s Mailloux Unlimited Invitational on April 29, showing the kind of speed and versatility that makes a track athlete dangerous in multiple events.
The Blue Jays’ results also reflected the strength of the program behind them. Jamestown High School, which had 722 students enrolled in 2024, is coached by Ken Gardner, with Michael Dietz among the boys track and field staff. The school’s athletes have been collecting wins and top finishes all spring, and Skari and Hoffer turned that groundwork into a state-meet payoff in Bismarck. For Jamestown, the finishes were not just individual honors. They were another sign that the Blue Jays are producing athletes who can compete, place and deliver when North Dakota’s best are on the same runway and track.
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