George Ferguson
Havre Daily News Sports Editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
In any other season, the Havre High girls cross country team would be calling themselves repeat Class A state champions. But 2005 isn't any normal year, and on Saturday at the Class A state cross country championships in Missoula, the Ronan Maidens proved they aren't a normal cross country team.
Ronan held off a surging HHS team by six points to capture the Class A state championship and end Havre's reign as the defending state champion. The Maidens scored 80 points to the Blue Ponies' 86. Lewistown finished a distant third with 112 points.
“I was really proud of the way our girls ran on Saturday,” said HHS head coach Tim Ranes. “In any other year, 86 points would have won this meet.
“But Ronan has a great team and they had a great day,” he added. “Our girls also ran a great race, and finishing second isn't something to be ashamed of.”
The Ponies didn't just earn another trophy at the Class A meet at the University of Montana golf course on Saturday. They garnered several individual honors as well.
As expected, Darci Briere paved the way for the Blue Ponies with an outstanding fifth-place finish. Briere came in with a time of 19:29.22. Teammate Meredith Hanson was a surprise, finishing seventh overall with a time of 19:34.50.
“Darci had an outstanding day,” Ranes said. “She has been great for us all season and she ran a great race Saturday.
“Meredith Hanson also ran a tremendous race,” he added. “She really stepped up on Saturday and was amazing.”
Havre placed two other runners in the top 30 at the state meet. McKayla Patterson - who had been battling an illness for more than two weeks - finished 17th overall. Sophomore Jaleesa Barthel also performed well, finishing 21st.
“This was another great season for this program,” Ranes said. “The kids performed so well, and I think our program is right where it needs to be.”
The HHS boys program is also right where it needs to be, as it wrapped up its second season as a full varsity sport on Saturday afternoon. The Ponies finished fifth at the Class A boys state meet with 138 points.
Ronan made it a clean sweep in Class A, winning the meet with 80 points. Dillon finished second, while Hardin and Browning finished third and fourth, respectively.
“Our boys performed really well,” Ranes said. “They finished right about where I thought they would.
“They ran very hard,” he added. “And we closed the gap on Browning, so it was a good meet for us.”
Individually, the Ponies placed three runners in the top 30. For the second straight week, Andy Keim led the way for Havre, finishing 18th with a time of 16:48.16. Robert Brooks finished just behind Keim in 19th place. Senior Marcus Campbell finished his outstanding career with a 23rd-place finish.
“I told our boys team that they had a great season and that this is a building block for the future of this program,” Ranes said. “We lose a couple of really good runners, but we have a solid nucleus built and I think we are going to continue to become a very strong program in Class A.”
CLASS A
BOYS
Team scores:
Ronan 80, Dillon 99, Hardin 113, Browning 133, Havre 138, Hamilton 164, Laurel 178, Whitefish 211, Belgrade 216, Frenchtown 279, Polson 282, Billings Central 301, Corvallis 332, Columbia Falls 339, Libby 384, Anaconda 404, Livingston 510, Stevensville 587.
Top 30 individuals:
1, Lynn Reynolds, Dillon, 15:43.82; 2, Michael Fisher, Ronan, 15:44.67; 3, Logan Torgison, Polson, 15:59.05; 4, Jeremy Yellowowl, Browning, 16:00.15; 5, Patrick Casey, Laurel, 16:03.62; 6, Chris Bick, Frenchtown, 16:05.09; 7, Brian Vallie, Hardin, 16:19.01; 8, Chad Naumna, Laurel, 16:23.28; 9, Jerrid Morrison, Hardin, 16:27.44; 10, Nigel Neaves, Hamilton, 16:30.04; 11, Tony Klee, Billings Central, 16:33.35; 12, Andrew Graham, Ronan, 16:35.58; 13, Ian Mallams, Whitefish, 16:37.47; 14, Zach Condon, Laurel, 16:42.63; 15, Brandon Drake, Hamilton, 16:43.30. 16, Drew Coco, Whitefish, 16:45.06; 17, Wade Williams, Dillon, 16:47.45; 18, Andy Keim, Havre, 16:48.16; 19, Robert Brooks, Havre, 16:50.33; 20, Marlin BlackWolf, Browning, 16:54.10; 21, Buddy Cheff, Ronan, 16:58.33; 22, Curtis Enick, Hardin, 17:02.13; 23, Marcus Campbell, Havre, 17:04.41; 24, Jordan Schlender, Dillon, 17:05.42; 25, Collin Fehr, Corvallis, 17:05.95; 26, Ben Jessop, Hamilton, 17:06.42; 27, Trys Gates, Anaconda, 17:06.91; 28, Zach Smith, Dillon, 17:07.42; 29, Dylan Zitzer, Dillon, 17:08.02; 30, Cameron Barber, Ronan, 17:08.29.
GIRLS
Team scores: Ronan 80, Havre 86, Lewistown 112, Miles City 191, Whitefish 199, Dillon 210, Hamilton 237, Billings Central 246, Hardin 247, Sidney 265, Laurel 265, Frenchtown 287, Browning 321, Belgrade 329, Polson 396, Columbia Falls 406, Livingston 453.
Top 30 individuals
1, Heather Haug, Livingston 18:47.12; 2, Terinee McCready, Ronan 18:47.80; 3, Emmy Lynn Bentley, Lewistown, 18:49.05; 4, Sadie McMillan, Ronan, 19:28.96; 5, Darci Briere, Havre, 19:29.22; 6, Meghan Keigley, Belgrade, 19:30.09; 7, Meredith Hanson, Havre, 19:34.50; 8, Alexis DiGiovine, Butte Central, 19:34.97; 9, Beth Donovan, Whitefish, 19:35.34; 10, Lauren Fuglevand, Miles City, 19:35.61; 11, Brooke Andrus, Bigfork, 19:38.23; 12, Dianna Stanley, Miles City, 19:39.79; 13, Helen Pegram, Billings Central, 19:40.50; 14, Melaina Asencio, Hardin, 19:43.61; 15, Talitha Smith, Dillon, 19:47.61. 16, Teri Lea McCormick, Hardin, 19:50.05; 17, McKayla Patterson, Havre, 19:56.79; 18, Jessica Englert, Laurel, 20:13.15; 19, Jenna Welnel, Sidney, 20:20.04; 20, Kaneesha Benson, Ronan, 20:20.25; 21, Jaleesa Barthel, Havre, 20:28.54; 22, Brianna Boettger, Lewistown, 20:31.41; 23, Briana Malmquist, Ronan, 20:35.59; 24, Mykel Ler, Sidney, 20:44.21; 25, Clare Miller, Whitefish, 20:47.85; 26, Caitlin Fox, Lewistown, 20:48.25; 27, Lauren Poss, Lewistown, 20:50.33; 28, Tori Porcella, Hamilton, 20:52.14; 29, Kathy Running CRane, Browning, 20:53.40; 30, Shanna Burke, Frenchtown, 20:54.34.
