FINISH LINE IN SIGHT

For every cross country team in the state of Montana, there is one goal, and that's to peak at the All-Class state meet. Well, for every classification, the state meet is Saturday in Missoula and that means crunch time has finally arrived.

For the Havre High cross country teams, the work started back in August and at the first meet in Cut Bank in early September. Now, fresh off the Eastern A Fall Classic, both Blue Ponies teams will head to Missoula for the Class A state meet, hoping to finish the season strong. The race for the Class A girls will be at 1:10 p.m., and the Class A boys will follow soon after at 2:20 p.m.

"The kids are really excited," HHS head coach Josh Holt said. "They have been working really hard and they are ready to go. I know they are looking forward to it, but I can also sense that they are a little nervous too."

While neither Havre team is expected to contend for a top-three spot in the team competition, the Ponies do have a couple of individuals with All-State potential, starting with Kadia Miller, who achieved All-State honors last year with a 12th-place finish and a time of 20:33.

"Kadia has really been working hard," Holt said. "She has been looking strong and I expect her to do really well at state."

Miller will be the top runner for the Havre girls this week, and after getting third at the Eastern A Fall Classic, she has plenty of confidence going into the final meet of the season.

"I am excited about state," Miller said. "I like running in Missoula. I like the course. The Mountain West is always fun and I am looking forward to running against some really good runners. I want to run against Hardin again."

Hardin should be a strong contender in the girls competition, after winning the Fall Classic in Havre last week. The Bulldogs are also the defending state champions. Joining Miller in representing the Ponies this Saturday will be Tamera O'Leary, Hannah Haslem, Emma Gillen, Grace Loftus, Lilly Taly and Savannah Stewart, as HHS tries to improve on its sixth-place finish at state a season ago.

"For the girls, I want to see them get another top six finish," Holt said. "They have to perform, but they have the ability. They are ready, it's just a matter of going out and performing. If they can do that, we will see good things."

As far as the Havre boys are concerned, they will face a challenging field that includes Hardin and Lewistown, which both finished in the top five a season ago. Other teams like Polson, Columbia Falls and Frenchtown should also be in the mix after taking home trophies last season.

The Havre boys finished 10th at state last season and saw one runner, Austin Jones, earn All-State honors. Jones has since graduated, but Jakob Keller, who finished 19th at state in 2017, is back at state for the fourth time, with a top-15 finish squarely in his sights.

"That would really mean a lot to see him get that," Holt said of Keller getting All-State. "I have watched him work for these past four years and he has the ability to. He just needs to go out there and run his best and fight through. But if he does that (All-State), it will mean a lot. It's hard to put into words

In addition to Keller, the Ponies have some other experienced runners returning to state for another year, such as Cameron Pleninger and Noah Azure. Yet, Havre also has some fresh faces, such as Dylan Young, who has turned into one of the top runners for the boys, as well as others such as Sidney Moffitt, Sergio Tamayo and Kendall Pleninger. Ethan Durward will be the alternate.

"For the boys, I also want to see them improve from last year," Holt said. "They all have the ability to run really well, they all have it in them, they just need to believe in themselves and really push through that pain."

The state meet will be held in Missoula. The Class A meets will get underway at 1:10 p.m. (girls) and 2:20 p.m. (boys). All the action will be held at the University of Montana Golf Course.