George Ferguson
Havre Daily News Sports Editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
Another year, another Central A cross country championship for the Havre High girls. The Ponies on Saturday ran away from the field to finish first at the 2005 Central A divisional cross country meet in Livingston.
Havre finished the day with a team score of 29, which put it well in front of second-place Lewistown. The Eagles finished the race with 59 points. Browning was a distant third.
“I am really pleased with how our girls ran on Saturday,” Havre High head coach Tim Ranes said. “They were very focused and determined this week, and it showed in how they ran their race.”
Individually, the Blue Ponies' dominance in the race came from all five of their scoring runners. As expected, Darci Briere and McKayla Patterson turned in top-five finishes. Briere took third place with a time of 19:27:95, and Patterson finished right behind her with 19:56:95.
What surprised Ranes a little was the efforts of his next three runners. Meredith Hanson turned in a strong fifth-place showing, and sophomore Jaleesa Barthel took eighth. Barthel's time of 20:33:17 was less than a second faster than teammate Kristine Keltgen's, who finished 10th, rounding out the scoring for the Ponies. Mandi Nystrom and Danika Patterson also had solid showings for Havre, finishing in 15th and 19th place, respectively.
“What was really nice about the girls' day was their pack time,” Ranes said. “For the last two weeks, they have been striving to get it down under a minute and they did that on Saturday. If they do that again at state, we will be in pretty good shape.”
The Havre High boys had a strong showing but could not catch first-place Browning. The Indians won the meet with a score of 19, while the Ponies finished the day with a score of 39. Belgrade was a distant third with a score of 81.
“I was really happy with how our boys team did,” Ranes said. “This was the first time we were healthy all year, and to see them get out and compete that hard was a lot of fun.
“This is only our second year as a varsity sport and with everybody back next season I think things are headed in a real positive direction,” he added.
The Ponies also got a strong finish from Andy Keim, who placed second overall. Keim ran an outstanding time of 16:38:62 to finish just behind overall champion Jeremy Johnson of Browning.
“I was not surprised that Andy led our team because all of our guys are capable of doing it on any given day,” Ranes said. “But it was fantastic to see him get his time down that much.
“He had a great day,” Ranes added. “And he ran a tremendous race.”
The trio of Robert Brooks, Marcus Campbell and Jade Nystrom also finished in the top 10. Brooks finished the race in eighth place, and Campbell and Nystrom finished ninth and 10th, respectively. C.J. Leeds rounded out the scoring for the Ponies by finishing in 11th place overall.
Jeff Hedstrom and Richard Jarvis rounded out the day for the HHS boys. Hedstrom finished in 15th place and Jarvis came in 17th.
“It was a good weekend for both of our teams,” Ranes said. “All of our kids really went out and competed hard and I am very proud of how all of them did this weekend.”
The Havre High girls and boys will now prepare for the Class A state cross country meet in Missoula. The HHS girls are the defending Class A champions.
2005 Central A Divisional
Boys
Team scores
Browning 19, Havre 38, Belgrade 81, Park High 117.
Individual results
Jeremy Johnson, Browning, 16:23.47; Andy Keim, Havre, 16:38.62; Kenny Bird Rattle, Browning, 16:50.59; Matthew Bull Child, Browning, 17:01.74; Josh Tail Feathers, Browning, 17:12.80; Ron Ingamham, Browning, 17:13.47; Robbie Brooks, Havre, 17:14.23; Marcus Campbell, Havre, 17:15.84; Jade Nystrom, Havre, 17:17.09; Jason Clevenger, Belgrade, 17:18.32; Dylon Deg Rosier, Browning, 17:18.89; CJ Leeds, Havre, 17:20.21; Jordan Long Time Sleeping, Browning, 17:20.55; Travis Miller, Belgrade, 17:24.44; Bridger Kluczyk, Belgrade, 17:32.97; Jeff Hedstrom, Havre, 17:59.44; Collin King, Livingston, 18:05.87; Richard Jarvis, Havre, 18:06.08; Colin O'Neill, Butte Central, 18:08.10; Trevor Lane, Belgrade, 18:14.26; Kenny Fawcett, Livingston, 18:20.84; Troy Hamon, Belgrade, 18:23.25; Dustin Heimuch, Belgrade, 18:33.96; Alan Kinke, Livingston, 18:58.03; Travis Hotzel, Belgrade, 19:15.41; Russell Curry, Butte Central, 20:21.33; Keenan Brame, Livingston, 20:33.93; David Hutchins, Livingston, 20:55.81; Nick Banks, Butte Central, 21:56.26; Nic Arcangeli, Butte Central, 22:36. 48; Scott Phipps, Livingston, 22:45.26.
Girls
Team Scores
Havre 29, Fergus 56, Browning 84, Belgrade 109, Park High 112.
Individual scores
Emmy Lynn Bentley, Lewistown, 18:55.09; Heather Haug, Livingston, 19:03.53; Darci Briere, Havre, 19:27.52; McKayla Patterson, Havre, 19:56.95; Meredith Hanson, Havre, 20:17.51; Meghan Keigley, Belgrade, 20:22.42; Alexis Digiovine, Butte Central, 20:28.42; Jaleesa Barthel, Havre, 20:33.71; Kristine Keltgen, Havre, 20:34.01; Kathy Running Crane, Browning, 20:38.47; Caatlin Fox, Lewistown, 20:42.86; Lauren Poss, Lewistown, 21:06.50; Tahne Edno, Browning, 21:09.53; Mandi Nystrom, Havre, 21:18.03; Morgan Hecht, Lewistown, 21:28.17; Sperry Des Rosier, Browning, 21:36.09; Emily Damby, Lewistown, 21:39.96; Katie Kohler, Lewistown, 21:49.01; Jessica Payne, Livingston, 21:53.65; Melissa Running Crane, Browning, 21:57.94; Danika Patterson, Havre, 22:15.18; Sarah Skipper, Lewistown, 22:36.95; Tessa Boehnke, Belgrade, 22:40.12; Brittany Saylor, Belgrade, 23:00.60; Aubrey Ground, Browning, 23:15.35; Susan Visscher, Belgrade, 23:27.17; Talia Burns, Browning, 23:30.57; Kelly Gilblom, Livingston, 23:57.23; Shawna Bird Rattle, Browning, 24:39.68; Stephanie Livermore, Belgrade, 24:43.18; Megan Wiltshire, Livingston, 24:58.81; Cassie Burns, Livingston, 25:05.08.
