It was a unique weekend for the Havre High cross country teams, but the Blue Ponies saw success across the board after running in two varsity races this weekend.
On Thursday the Central A Blue Ponies were in Helena for the Capital City 7-on-7 Invitational. And on Saturday, the Ponies were in Browning for the Browning Invitational.
In Helena the HHS boys finished as the No. 18 team with 140 points, and the HHS girls finished as the No. 9 team with 81 points. And in Browning, the HHS boys were the No. 4 team with 191 points, while the HHS girls were the No. 2 team with 77 points.
The Helena meet was ran by the usual Blue Pony varsity runners, and the meet in Browning was ran by the junior varsity squad, all of whom were trying to prove they deserve a spot in the divisional lineup.
And in the unique format of the 7-on-7, the Ponies found good success as well as had fun.
“It was just a really good meet,” Havre High head coach Kyle Fisher said. “The girls were ninth out of 45 teams and second in the Class A, so that was good. And the boys, they were 18th out of 49 teams and are moving right a long. They all did a nice jog and we are seeing good things out of both teams.”
It was especially a good outing by the HHS girls.
In the No. 1’s race Jess Wiken finished as the No. 22 runner with a time of 20:03, and in the No. 2’s race Trisha Kinsella finished in a time of 19:57 as the No. 13 runner. In the No. 3’s race Katie Christianson finished in 12th with a time of 20:32, and in the No. 4’s race Ashlynn Van Voast finished as the ninth-place runner with a time of 20:20. And Larissa Price was ninth in the No. 5’s race with a time of 21:22, while Chanelle Standing Rock was the ninth runner in the No. 6 race with a time of 21:22. Mikell Kinsella had the best finish for the Ponies, landing in seventh place in the No. 7’s race with a time of 21:24, also earning a medalfor the Ponies.
Havre High also found good success in the boys races.
Marc Klimas ran the No. 1’s race and finished in 16:36 as the No. 22 runner. Garrett Aguillard was in the No. 2’s race and ran a 16:43 for 14th place, and Dolan Tuss finished in 17:47 in the No. 3’s race for a finish as the No. 27 runner. Derek VanDessel ran in the No. 4’s race and was the No. 16 runner with a time of 17:30, while Desmond Fialkosky finished in 17th with a time of 18:00 in the No. 5’s race. In the No. 6’s race Dylan Stuart was the No. 22 runner with a time of 18:44 and Dillon Seely finished in the No. 22 spot as well, finishing with a time of 19:23 in the No. 7’s race.
“It was tough for some of our runners who usually pace themselves off of other runners,” Fisher said. “But it was also a learning experience for some of our kids like Jess Wiken who are in their first year. But everybody went out and ran hard and we just paced ourselves off of kids we have ran against this year, so they did a great job. It was an awesome day for all of our kids all the way around.”
While in Browning, the Ponies' younger runners got a chance to prove themselves.
The HHS boys were led by Nick Rhines who placed No. 25 with a time of 20:57.
And for the girls, all of the HHS girls placed in the top 25. Shelby O’Neil was sixth (23:20), Kiana Robertson was 13th (24:05), Darlena Bradley was 17th (25:28), Paige Sedahl was 26th (26:06.20), McKenna Barkus was 21st (26:06.55), Maddie Hanson was 22nd (26:45) and Kayla Berg was 23rd (26:54).
Rhines earned a spot on the team that will compete in divisionals for the boys team, and Robertson and O’Neil als earned their way onto the divisional team for the HHS girls.
“They all had a great day,” Fisher said. “Both teams did. And it was great to see our younger kids get out and compete with varsity teams. A few of the kids were nervous, but it was just a great day for them.”
The Ponies are back in action on Saturday when they compete in the Central A Divisional in Livingston.
Havre Individual Finishers in Helena
Boys
Marc Klimas 16:36
Garrett Aguillard 16:43
Dolan Tuss 17:47
Derek VanDessel 17:30
Desmond Fialkosky 18:00
Dylan Stuart 18:44
Dillon Seely 19:23
Girls
Jes Wiken 20:03
Trisha Kinsella 19:57
Katie Christianson 20:32
Ashlynn VanVoast 20:20
Larissa Price 21:22
Chanelle Standing Rock 21:22
Mikell Kinsella 21:24
Saturday
at Browning
Boys
Team scores
1. Browning 15; 2. Cut Bank 59, 3. Shelby 123, 4. Havre JV 191
Top 25 Individuals
1. Emerson Connelly, 17:04, Browning; 2. Wyatt Mad Plume, 18:20, Browning; 3. Emmette DustyBull, 18:24, Browning; 4. Brendon RunningWolf, 18:37, Browning; 5. Derrick Meineke, 18:42, Browning; 6. Kurt RedCrow, 18:45, Browning; 7. Ashton HeavyRunner, 19:04, Browning; 8. Austin Mercer, 19:37, Cut Bank; 9. Jacob D'Isidoro, 19:38, Cut Bank; 10. Brandon Trombley, 19:04, Browning; 11. Kaz Harwood, 20:01, Cut Bank; 12. Shawn Bullchild, 20:07, Browning; 13. Jared Berkram, 20:09, Cut Bank; 14. Brook Hoyt, 20:15, Browning; 15. Greg Hall, 20:16, Browning; 16. Tanner Raph, ,20:16, Shelby; 17. Nick Omeasoo, 20:23, Browning; 18. Dayln Morgan, 20:24, Cut Bank; 19. Brady Stone, 20:27, Browning; 20. Michael Carette, 20:32, Cut Bank; 21. Jake Conant, 20:38, Shelby; 22. Jonathan Skunkcap, 20:40, Browning; 23. Vince Omeasoo, 20:52, Browning; 24. Robby Miller, 20:55, Shelby; 25. Nick Rhine, 20:57, Havre.
Girls Team scores
1. Browning 15; 2. Havre JV 77
Top 25 Individuals
1. Courtney Juneau, 21:34, Browning; 2. Shaylea Tatsey, 22:14, Browning; 3. Kayla Hall, 22:39.54, Browning; 4. Shanell CreeMedicine, 22:39.93, Browning; 5. Rebecca Running Crane, 23:03, Browning; 6. Shelby O'Neil, 23:20, Havre; 7. Ashley Heavy Runner, 23:10, Heart Butte; 8. Olivia Carette, 23:21, Cut Bank; 9. Maggie Fretheim, 23:35, Shelby; 10. Wendy MadPlume, 23:45, Browning; 11. Brooke Ball, 23:48, Cut Bank; 12. Shelbi Fitzpatrick, 24:02, Cut Bank; 13. Kiana Robertson, 24:05, Havre; 14. Joni Murray, 24:20, Browning; 15. Rylee Doore, 25:09, Cut Bank 16. Shania Hoyt, 25:23, Browning; 17. Darlena Bradley, 25:28, Havre; 18. Ashley Bielawski, 25:32, Shelby; 19. Tiah Lorenzo, 26:04, Browning; 20. Paige Sedahl, 26:06.20, Havre; 21. McKenna Barkus, 26:06.55, Havre; 22. Maddie Hanson, 26:45, Havre; 23. Kayla Berg, 26:54, Havre; 24. Sarita Iyua, 27:20, Browning; 25. Kelby Grotbo, 27:22, Shelby.
