Track & Field, Boys

Troy Thorson - Distance

Coach Thorson has been coaching distance runners at Sheyenne since 2014. Troy started his coaching career in 2003 at Minot High.  He has also coached boys and girls XC in McLaughlin, SD.  While at McLaughlin he led the boys teams to a State Class A XC title and was named Region 8 XC Coach of the Year in 2006. Before coming to Sheyenne, he was the Head Girls XC Coach at Fargo South where he was the EDC XC Coach of the Year in 2012. Thorson was named Asst. Coach of the Year by the NDHSCA in the spring of 2022 for track. Troy currently works at NG Gaming LLC and is married to Heidi Thorson.  They have three boys; Henry, Charlie and Rylan. 

Josh Karch - Throws/Shotput
Coach Karch has been coaching the shot put throwers at Sheyenne since 2015. Karch also serves as a varsity football coach at Sheyenne, where he is also a technology coach and science teacher.

Eric Braasch - Throws/Javelin
Coach Braasch has been coaching the javelin throwers at Sheyenne since 2018. Braasch also serves as an assistant football coach at Sheyenne, where he is a science teacher.

Matt Kingland - High Jump
Coach Matt Kingland has been coaching the high jumpers at Sheyenne since 2022. He arrives to Sheyenne after a collegiate career at UM-Morris. Matt works at Aldeveron in Fargo and is married to Sheyenne discus coach, Jess Kingland.

Jess Kingland - Discus
Coach Jess Kingland currently coaches discus for the boys and girls programs. She competed collegiately at UM-Morris where she was an All-American thrower. She currently works as a fifth grade teacher at Legacy Elementary School and is married to Sheyenne high jump coach, Matt Kingland. 

Parker Sander - Horizontal Jumps
Coach Sander has been coaching the long and triple jumpers at Sheyenne since 2021. Parker also serves as an assistant football coach for Sheyenne. He works at All-Terrain in Fargo.

Jacob Van Dusseldorp- Pole Vault
Coach Van Dusseldorp join the Sheyenne staff in 2026 to coach boys and girls pole vault. Van Dusseldorp is an accomplished collegiate pole vaulter at NDSU having cleared 17-0 in the event. He currently resides in Fargo and works as a financial advisor when he is not coaching. 

Luke McDonald – middle distance
Coach McDonald started coaching middle distance runners at Sheyenne in 2025 and also serves as an assistant cross country coach for the Mustangs. He currently works as a paraprofessional for Fargo Public Schools. 

Ty Schlichting – sprints
Ty Schlichting joined the Sheyenne staff in 2025. He graduated from Sheyenne in 2023 where he was a standout sprinter and long jumper and currently is in the top five in school history in the 100m, 200m, long jump, 4x100m and 4x200m.

Bryce Westphal – throws
Bryce Westphal began helping coach all three throwing events at Sheyenne High School in 2025. He also currently serves as an assistant coach for the Sheyenne football team.

Jared Slinde - Head boys coach
Jared Slinde took over as head boys track and field coach in 2025 after working as an assistant coach focusing on middle distance runners and long sprinters for the Mustangs since 2018. Before coaching at Sheyenne, Slinde spent two seasons coaching distance runners at Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton High School and one season coaching at Velva High School. He has worked at USA Track & Field from 2011-2013 where he was a part of the team staff for multiple U.S. Olympic Trials and one World Indoor Championships. Slinde competed at NDSU running the 400m and 800m and currently teaches photography and graphic design at Sheyenne High School.