HHS boys capture Glasgow team title

Both the Havre High boys and girls track and field teams got the 2003 season off to a good start as they performed well on Saturday afternoon at the Glasgow Scotties Invitational in Glasgow.

The Pony boys team took first- place honors with a team score of 120, and the girls team finished second with a total of 83 team points. Plentywood won the girls meet.

Havre head coach John Ita was obviously pleased with the results from both teams after the first weekend of competition.

"I really liked what I saw out of both teams this weekend," Ita said. "We got a chance to put the kids out there and find out what they could do. We had some great performances from a lot of different individuals."

The boys team scored team points in 13 events, and senior Steve Heberly picked up right where he left off last season. Heberly captured the 100 meters with a time of 11.5 and the 200 meters with a time of 23.7. Heberly also anchored Havre's winning 400-meter relay team, which includes Steven Harman, Joey Howland and Scott Robinson.

Harman and Robinson also had a big individual day in Glasgow. Harman finished second in the 100 meters with a time of 12.1 and captured first-place honors in the long jump with a final leap of 20-6. Robinson captured the 400 meters with a time of 52.5 and was also part of the winning 1,600-meter relay team, along with Jeff Sprinkle, Casey Barsotti and Evan Olson. Evan Olson joined Robinson in the 400 meters by capturing fifth place.

The Ponies also got team points from Anthony Bonavida, who captured third place in the high jump and fourth place in the long jump. Justin Kegel finished third in the triple jump, and the Ponies got a first-place finish from Mark Benjamin and a second-place finish from Joey Howland in the pole vault. Patrick Wirtzberger placed fifth in the 300-meter hurdles while Sprinkle and Evan Olson placed second and fifth, respectively, in the 800 meters. Sprinkle and Barsotti finished second and fourth, respectively, in the 1,600 meters to round out the scoring for the boys team.

"I was really pleased with the way the boys team competed," Ita said. "Probably the biggest surprise was the day Scott Robinson had for us. He really showed us that he is capable of scoring some points."

The girls team scored points in 11 of 17 events and got big performances from Alicia Overcast and Brooke Schwan.

Overcast captured first place in the 300-meter hurdles and finished second in the 400 meters. She also teamed up with Schwan, Rylee O'Connell and Sheri Winchell to garner second-place honors in the 400-meter relay with a time of 54.07. Schwan captured first place in the high jump with a final jump of 4-10. She also placed fifth in both the 100-meter hurdles and the triple jump.

O'Connell led the way for the Ponies in the sprints by finishing second in the 100 meters with a time of 13.9 while Kelsey Smith finished in third place with a time of 14.3. Smith also captured first place in the 200 meters with a time of 28.9 and she grabbed fifth-place honors in the pole vault competition.

The Ponies got a fourth-place finish in the triple jump from Sheri Winchell and a sixth-place finish from Darcy Rindal in the 800 meters. Rindal also combined with Mandi Nystrom, Kelsey Malsam and Whitney Barnekoff for a sixth-place finish in the 1,600-meter relay to round out Havre's scoring.

"Alicia Overcast really stepped and showed that she is ready to compete this weekend," Ita said. "And Brooke Schwan and Sheri Winchell also had really nice days as well."

"Overall I was really pleased with the whole team effort from the girls," Ita added.

The Havre High track teams will be back in action when they travel to Great Falls to dual the GFH Bison on Thursday afternoon. They will participate in the Chinook Invitational in Havre on Saturday.