Ryan Divish
Havre Daily News Sports Editor
rdivish@havredailynews.com
For people who have never been to it, the Mountain West Classic cross country meet is pretty tough to describe. It's a three-mile race like every other cross country meet in the state, but there are slightly more teams and competitors - almost triple the number at a normal meet.
The Havre High cross country teams got the chance to experience the unique race on Saturday and had solid showings.
The Pony girls finished an impressive 11th out of 45 teams, while the Pony boys finished 29th out of 45 boys teams. It was a certainly a learning experience for the kids, who ran in their first classic.
"It's tough to describe," said Havre High head coach Tim Ranes. "There really is nothing like it in the state. It's probably the biggest and the best race in the Northwest."
Facing some of the best competition from Montana, Washington and Utah, the Pony girls showed that they are one of the elite teams with their top 15 finish. Their performance was even more promising, considering they were missing a few key runners. Normal varsity runners Mandi Nystrom and Christina Armstrong did not make the trip, leaving Ranes' team with two runners, whose first varsity appearance would come at the toughest meet of the season.
"The girls had a very good showing considering the circumstances," Ranes said. "I think we can be better, but we ran with some new girls."
One person who was familiar with the situation was junior Darci Briere, who was the highest-finishing Pony girl in 29th place with a time of 19:33.51.
"Darci ran her fastest time she's ran all season," Ranes said. "I know she was very happy with how she did. Finishing in the top 30 of this race is a good accomplishment."
Senior McKayla Patterson finished 55th with a time of 20:06.59, while the ever-improving Meredith Hanson was 82nd with a 20:35.32 and Kristine Keltgen was 115th with a 20:59.94. Varsity newcomer Jaleesa Barthel was 116th with a 21:00.39, Danika Patterson was 192nd with a 21:59.64 and Jessica Obrecht rounded out the Pony competitors, finishing 213th with a 22:17.17.
"Jaleesa Barthel really surprised me," Ranes said. "She improved by almost a minute and a half. Meredith just keeps improving every week. It's amazing."
In terms of direct competition, Havre finished second among Class A girls schools. Western A power Ronan was eighth with a score of 397. The Maidens got a strong performance from Terinee McCready, who finished fifth.
"Ronan is good," Ranes said. "Their No. 1 runner will probably win the state individual title. We just need to make up that gap with our four and five runners. They're are by no means unbeatable."
While the Pony girls were sizing up the teams trying to take their state title, the Pony boys were laying groundwork for a solid showing at this year's state meet.
The HHS boys' 29th-place finish was very pleasing for Ranes considering the lack of varsity experience his team possesses.
"We finished sixth out of all the Class A schools," Ranes said. "But I really think we could do better. We were missing Jade Nystrom and I think some of the kids were a little intimidated by the size of the race."
Robert Brooks led the Ponies, finishing 120th out of 331 runners with a time of 17:17.63 in his first varsity race of the season.
"Robert looked pretty good for his first meet of the season," Ranes said. "I really think he could have ran under 17 minutes, but the race got bottlenecked down some and it slowed him down to almost a stop."
Andy Keim finished 132nd with a time of 17:22.53, C.J. Leeds was 146th with a 17:30.94, Marcus Campbell was 165th with a 17:41.23 and Jeff Hedstrom rounded out the Havre scoring with 17:58.50. Also competing for Havre was Richard Jarvis, who finished 247th with a 18:49.03 and Justin McLeod was right behind in him 249th place with an 18:51.46.
"The state meet is being held on the same course and I really think the boys will run much better at state," Ranes said. "It really is like no other race they will compete in all season."
Judging from the Class A teams he saw in Missoula, Ranes believes his team should be in the mix to get a trophy at the state meet.
"I really think we should finish in the top five," he said. "Ronan is very good and Hardin has a kid that could win the individual race. Browning is always good, but we're right there. We just need to keep on improving."
The Ponies will now prepare to host their own meet on Saturday as the Havre Invitational will start at 9 a.m. in front of MSU-Northern's Cowan Hall.
Girls
Team scores
Bozeman 94, Billings Senior 128, Kalispell 170, Mead (Spokane) 219, Helena Capital 225, Mt. Spokane 282, Lewis and Clark 301, Ronan 330, East Valley (Spokane) 336, Billings West 354, Havre 397, Butte 415, Shadle Park 429, Walla Walla (Wash.) 457, Bingham (Utah) 464, Gonzaga Prep (Spokane) 548, Miles City 607, Helena High 612, Missoula Loyola 640, Billings Skyview 657, Lewistown 658, Great Falls High 677, Missoula Sentinel 686, Great Falls Russell 775, Polson 786, Whitefish 790, Idaho Falls 791, Hardin 793, Shelby 809, Missoula Hellgate 859, Missoula Big Sky 886, Cut Bank 895, Hamilton 899, Dillon 936, Frenchtown 939, Cascade 949, Thompson Falls 992, Lincoln 1,047, Belgrade 1,075, Mountlake Terrace (Wash.) 1,083, Browning 1,095, Columbia Falls 1,216, Anaconda 1,266, Shelton (Wash.) 1,315, Harrison 1,332.
Top 30 individuals
1, Megan O'Reilly, Mt. S, 17:21.31; 2, Kara DeWalt, Dar, 18:13.83; 3, Kim Quinn, Bing, 18:27.76; 4, Katie Gilboy, Cap, 18:32.58; 5, Terinee McCready, Ron, 18:41.62; 6, Kate Dolan, Boz, 18:44.19; 7, Yasmeen Colis, WW, 18:47.57; 8, Ryan Torpie, Mead, 18:47.96; 9, Brooke Andrus, Bfk, 18:52.43; 10, Bridgette Hoenke, Sen, 18:55.49; 11, Elysia Andrews, Kal, 18:57.89; 12, Carly Toepfer, West, 18:58.80; 13, Emily Allison, Boz, 18:59.18; 14, Tayte Cranston, Boz, 19:01.73; 15, EmmyLynn Bentley, Lew, 19:06.46; 16, Auriele Fain Sen, 19:06.89; 17, Sabrina Smith, Cap, 19:11.31; 18, Caitlin Stone, Sent, 19:12.09; 19, Cara Lehman, Sen, 19:12.56; 20, Courtney Zalud, Mt S, 19:13.00; 21, Abby Stusek, West, 19:17.13; 22, Cami Nelson, SP, 19:19.85; 23, Jessica Klier, Mt. S, 19:20.98; 24, Eleanor Siler, LC, 19:23.16; 25, Tara Klein, Kal, 19:24.05; 26, Erika Flowers, Boz, 19:27.38; 27, Brianna Seubert, Shel, 19:32.05; 28, Jo E. Mayer, EV, 19:32.70; 29, Darci Briere, Hav, 19:33.51; 30, Cailyn Torpie, Mead, 19:33.97.
Other Havre runners:
55. McKayla Patterson, 20:06.59
82. Meredith Hanson, 20:35.32
115. Kristine Keltgen, 20:59.94
116. Jaleesa Barthel, 21:00.39
192. Danika Patterson, 21:59.64
213. Jessica Obrecht, 22:17.17
Boys
Team scores
Kalispell 88, North Central (Spokane) 172, Helena High 187, Bozeman 235, Mt. Spokane (Spokane) 260, Billings Skyview 311, Idaho Falls 320, Bingham (Utah) 321, Lewis and Clark (Spokane) 326, Billings West 361, Walla Walla (Wash.) 362, Mountlake Terrace (Wash.) 372, Helena Capital 393, Ronan 480, Missoula Big Sky 484, Hardin 521, Browning 525, Dillon 536, East Valley (Spokane) 539, Gonzaga Prep (Spokane) 543, Shadle Park (Spokane) 552, Great Falls High 586, Missoula Hellgate 604, Missoula Loyola 637, Billings Senior 642, Thompson Falls 684, Hamilton 699, Missoula Sentinel 747, Havre 750, Frenchtown 839, Shelton (Wash.) 868, Polson 877, Belgrade 887, Cut Bank 956, Butte 975, Darby 982, Whitefish 1,087, Great Falls Russell 1,157, Anaconda 1,246, Shelby 1,247, Broadwater 1,286, Arlee 1,329, Great Falls Central 1,343, Corvallis 1,371, Harrison 1,529.
Top 30 individuals
1, Nick Atrwood, EV, 15:29.46; 2, Ryan Zentz, LC, 15:31.88; 3, Elliot Welder, Kal, 15:35.55; 4, Seth Grossman, Kal, 15:42.31; 5, Michael Fisher, Ron, 15:46.91; 6, Joel Bischoff, Hel, 15.48.62; 7, Brian Vallie, Har, 15:49,51; 8, Michael Hartanov, Mt. S, 15:50.86; 9, Joe Stusek, West, 15:51.54; 10, Andrew Scott, NC, 15:53.20; 11, Chris Bick, Ftn, 15:55.40; 12, Jacob Sanders, NC, 16:01.24; 13, Justin Farris, St. S, 16:04.83; 14, Nolan RealBird, Sky, 16:04.83; 15, Logan Torgison, Pol, 16:05.37; 16, Trevor Gardner, IF, 16:06.18; 17, Bobby Batch, LC, 16:06.86; 18, Lynn Reynolds, Dil, 16:07.82; 19, John Fairweather, Kal, 16:08.72; 20, Devan Antczak, Bng, 16:09.16; 21, Hunter Nelson, BS, 16:09.54; 22, Daniel Jackson, Boz, 16:09.93; 23, Jeremy YellowOwl, Bro, 16:10.27; 24, Dan Paine, Shlt, 16:10.60; 25, James Clark, NC, 16:15.30; 26, Dan Renz, SP, 16:15.57; 27, Nigel Neaves, Ham, 16:16.00; 28, Brian Haseman, Hel, 16:16.76; 29, Eric Oravsky, Sen, 16:17.16; 30, Sean Clark, Kal, 16:18.07.
Havre runners:
120. Robert Brooks, 17:17.63
132. Andy Keim, 17:22.53
146. C.J. Leeds, 17:30.94
165. Marcus Campbell, 17:41.23
187. Jeff Hedstrom, 17:58.50
247. Richard Jarvis, 18:49.03
249. Justin McLeod, 18:51.46
Girls JV race
15. Havre 505
Individual results
72. Kelsey Malsam, 23:13.83
86. Amanda Hedstrom, 23:37.94
96. Samantha Boucher, 23:46.53
125. Patricia Toldness, 24:28.57
126. Becka Stone, 24:28.94
Boys JV race
20. Havre 956
Individual Results
109. Michael Morrelli, 18:58.29
138. Kyle McKay, 19:20.15
161. Clay Nottingham, 19:36.58
259. Nolan Holden, 20:55.02
289. Jordan Magelsson, 21:31.98
