Blue Ponies race to the finish at home

On a beautiful fall day, one reminiscent of the sport of cross country, the Havre Blue Ponies got to run in front of their hometown fans, homecoming weekend. And it doesn’t get much better than that.

The Blue Pony cross country teams played host to the Havre Invitational Saturday on the campus at Montana State University-Northern. The meet was filled with quality teams like Glasgow, Malta and Browning, Lewistown along with Havre, among others, as well as quality runners from all over. And the races were very competitive.

The girls meet was captured by Class B powerhouse Glasgow, which scored 61 points. Havre finished fifth with 135 points on a tough day. Lewistown was second and Malta was third, while Glasgow’s Josie Braaten dominated the race with a time of 19:28.

The Havre boys were strong among a crowded field of good teams. The Blue Ponies finished in fourth place with 120 points. Browning was dominant, finishing in first with 43 points, while Lewistown was second and Shelby third. Browning’s Emette Dusty Bull won the boys race with a time of 16:55.

“It was a good day to race in Havre,” Blue Pony head coach Darci Heninger said. “The kids are always comfortable at home and it was a great turn out with our hometown fans. There were lots of runners and some great times from each race.”

Havre’s Rachel David and Brandon Robertson certainly took advantage of their home course.

David placed an outstanding third in the girls race with a time of 20:55, pacing the Ponies’ efforts Saturday. Robertson was the top finisher for the HHS boys, coming in fifth with a time of 17:38.

For David, it was her best finish of the season, and she said the fans, friends and family definitely helped her get around the tough Havre course.

“I’m happy with where I placed,” she said. “It was my best time but it was my best finish. So I’m pretty happy with it. Going around the course twice can be tough. But it was great to have so many people here cheering for me. I had family cheering for me pretty much all over the course and it’s really nice to have people cheering you on as you go around the course. I heard it the whole way around and it definitely helped. It was a great day.

“Rachel and Brandon had such a great race. They ran so hard to achieve the times that they had today,” Heninger added.

The Pony boys also had a solid pack on Saturday. Brock Ross finished 25th with a time of 18:29, while Sundance Lodge took 29th at 18:39. Austin Jones finished 30th at 18:40 and senior Jamie Lieberg was one second behind in 31st. Cameron Knapton finished in 37th place with a time of 19:14 while Dylan Stewart finished 45th with a time of 20:40.

Meanwhile, the HHS girls had some strong individual times, but the team score wasn’t what the Ponies were hoping for, as Morgan Mazurkiewicz was forced to drop out of the race with an in illness. Still, the Ponies turned in some of their best individual times of the season.

Rainey Stoner had a career-best 23:46, finishing in 26th place, while Tori Mazurkiewicz nearly crossed the line at the same time. Marca Herron placed 35th with a time of 24:23, while Maya Reed was 44th with a time of 25:23 and Meggie Zook finished 47th at 25:51.

And with so many personal bests, and against so many good racers, Heninger was excited and proud ablout how her varsity and junior varsity runners competed on their home course.

“Everyone ran their best time yet this season. I am very happy with how our kids ran,” she said. “All of the seniors that we have ran great for their last time on our course. I couldnt be more proud of the kids and how they ran today.”

Havre has just one meet left in the regular season. The Ponies will travel to Helena Thursday for the Helena 7-on-7 meet. The Ponies will then make their way to the Central A Divisional Oct. 18 in Lewistown.

Havre Invite

GIRLS

Team Scores

1. Glasgow 61, 2. Lewistown 71, 3. Malta 123, 4. Belt 128, 5. Havre 135, 6. Browning 144, 7. Circle 215.

Top 30

Josie Braaten- 19:28 Glasgow

Tina Gike- 20:28 Hobson

Rachel David- 20:55 Havre

Kenzie Lencioni- 21:00 Belt

Sophia Stiles- 21:05 Malta

Kaitlyn Poss- 21:13 Lewistown

Amanda Wolff- 21:20 Glasgow

Sierra Summers- 21:43 Wolf Point

Kateri Rush- 21:47 Wolf Point

Madison Rogers- 21:54 Lewistown

Maida Walters- 22:17 Lewistown

Brinlie Nelsen- 22:22 Glasgow

Alex Simensen- 22:31 Glasgow

Courtney Brand- 22:43 Lewistown

Lauren Winder- 22:51 Belt

Ashley Bearchild- 22:57 Browning

Abby Belus- 23:09 Circle

Drew Reum- 23:10 Poplar

Marley Manokian- 23:22 Malta

Abbi Fitzpatrick- 23:23 Cut Bank

Jayne Haynie- 23:33 Harlem

Joanie Sjostrom- 23:33 Malta

Samantha Reed- 23:35 Browning

Erika Madplume- 23:39 Browning

Sean Henry- 23:42 Rocky Boy

Rainey Stoner- 23:46 Havre

Tori Mazurkiewicz- 23:46 Havre

Kerry Hoffman- 23:49 Glasgow

Eva Harms- 23:50 Malta

Kat Heiser – 23:51, Lewistown

Havre High Varsity Girls

Rachel David- 3rd 20:55

Rainey Stoner- 26th 23:46

Tori Mazurkiewicz- 27th 23:46

Marca Herron- 35th 24:23

Maya Reed- 44th 25:23

Meggie Zook- 25:51

Havre JV Girls

Brooke LaValley- 14th 27:23

Lainee Van Voast- 17th 28:16

Alara Vogel- 19th 28:42

Rachel Majeres- 20th 28:58

BOYS

Team Scores

1. Browning 43, 2. Lewistown 61, 3. Shelby 115, 4. Havre 120, 5. Glasgow 143, 6. Harlem 176, 7. Cut Bank 221, 8. Poplar 251, 9. Rocky Boy 269, 10. Belt 280.

Top 30

Emette Dusty Bull- 16:55 Browning

Paul Bielawski- 17:00 Shelby

Tristin Gone- 17:26 Harlem

Noah Majerus- 17:32 Lewistown

Brandon Robertson- 17:38 Havre

Josiah Aimsback- 17:42 Browning

Lance Strike- 17:45 Harlem

Hayes Majerus- 17:48 Lewistown

Kyle Skunkcap- 17:45 Browning

Weston Madplume- 17:50 Browning

Jeret Warren- 17:55 Dodson

Gabe Hallock- 17:58 Glasgow

Kyle Heptner- 18:00 Shelby

Ty Parsons- 18:01 Lewistown

Dylan Sipe- 18:06 Lewistown

Walker Allen- 18:09 Glasgow

Dale Young Running Crane- 18:12 Browning

Keahna Little- 18:13 Harlem

Luke Henke- 18:13 Shelby

Danyon Rice- 18:14

Chance- 18:17 Sunburst

Kevin Bingham- 18:28 Hobson

Lane Headdress- 18:28 Poplar

Ty Running Fisher- 18:29 Browning

Brock Ross- 18:30 Havre

Micheal Stripped Squirrel- 18:32 Browning

Kai Krumweide- 18:39 Lewistown

Luke Westbrook- 18:37 Hobson

Sundance Lodge- 18:39 Havre

Austin Jones- 18:40 Havre

Havre Varsity Boys

Brandon Robertson- 5th 17:38

Brock Ross- 25th 18:29

Sundance Lodge- 29th 18:39

Austin Jones- 30th 18:40

Jamie Leiberg- 31st 18:41

Cameron Knapton- 37th 19:14

Dylan Stewart- 45th 20:14

Havre JV Boys

Chris Steinmetz- 26th 22:14

Vander Swensen- 30th 22:44