Pony girls capture Whitefish meet

Despite the fact that they had never been to this meet before and the fact that they left Havre at 4 a.m. for a nearly five-hour bus trip on Saturday, the Havre High track team performed pretty well at the ARM Invitational in Whitefish Saturday afternoon.

A makeshift Havre boys team captured second place with 102 points. The host Whitefish Bulldogs ran away with the meet with a whopping 188 points.

The Havre High girls team also made the most out of its first trip to Whitefish by scoring 116 points to capture first-place honors in the girls meet. The host Bulldogs finished in second place with 103 team points.

The performances by both teams pleased Havre track coach Mark West.

"The kids performed really well at this meet under pretty tough circumstances," West said. "To get up at 4 a.m. and make that trip and then perform as well as they did is really nice to see."

The Havre High girls were catapulted to the team title by a couple of outstanding overall performances by several individuals. Kelsey Smith won the pole vault with a personal best height of 9-6. She also finished in second place in the 200 meters and third in 100 meters.

Alicia Overcast also had a big day for the Ponies. She won the 400 meters with a meet record time of 59.76 seconds. Overcast also finished in third place in the 300 hurdles and also competed on Havre's two second-place relay teams.

"Kelsey Smith had an amazing day for the girls team," West said. "We also had a lift from Alicia, as well as Sherry Winchell and Brooke Schwan. All those girls had personal-best days and they all made a big difference for the team title."

Another area in which Havre completely dominated the girls meet was in the long distances. The Ponies owned the 3,200-meter race, which was won by Kelsey Malsam. Mandy Nystrom finished second behind Malsam, and McKayla Patterson came in right behind Nystrom. Darcy Rindal also contributed to the Ponies- 3,200-meter dominance with a fifth-place finish. In the 1,600-meter run, Malsam also finished second, while Nystrom finished fifth and Rindal took sixth.

"I think our distance runners made the real difference this weekend," West said. "They owned the 3,200 and competed well in all the races. At times it seemed like it was a cross country meet for them."

While the girls team was able to get past Whitefish for the team title, the Havre High boys team got perhaps its biggest test of the season as it came up short against the host Bulldogs.

"We were missing a couple of key guys like Jeff Sprinkle, Justin Kegel and Curt Leeds," West said. "Those guys would have made a big difference, but the kids performed extremely well. Whitefish has a phenomenal team and they really pushed us all day long and that is something I think our guys needed."

As expected, Havre High standout sprinter Steve Heberly stole the show in Whitefish, but it wasn't a walk in the park. Whitefish sprinter Cody Henning pushed Heberly to the limits in what many people touted as the best 100- meter race of 2003. Heberly finished with a blazing time of 10.6 and Henning came in at 10.7. Heberly then held off Henning in the 200 meters by better than .6 seconds.

"It was an amazing race to watch," said West of the 100-meter race. "The whole place came to a standstill to watch the race, and those two guys put on a great show."

While Heberly set the tone for the sprinters, two of his Havre High teammates also had personal-best days on the track. Steven Harman turned in a personal-best time of 11.26 in the 100 meters and also captured the long jump title. Scott Robinson finished fourth in the 200 meters and third in the 400. Robinson also scored for the Ponies with a third-place finish in the 800 meters. Harman, Robinson, Heberly and Joey Howland combined to win the 400-meter relay, capping off a tremendous day for Havre sprinters.

"It seemed like in every event Whitefish and us were neck-and-neck," West said. "That is why this meet was so good for us in preparation for the rest of the season because we faced some great competition. The kids got really fired up and took the competition to the next level."

While the Blue Pony varsity was competing in Whitefish, Havre head coach John Ita had his junior varsity troops competing in the Cut Bank Invitational. The Havre JV boys scored nine total team points in the meet while the girls team scored 12.5 points.

Grant Neuens led the way for the Ponies, finishing in second place in the high jump with a leap of 5-8. Neuens finished in sixth place in the long jump with a leap of 19-6.

Emily Kostelecky led the way for the Pony girls with a fourth-place finish in the 1,600 and a fifth-place finish in 3,200-meter race. Kim Jestrab finished in sixth place for the Ponies in the 800 meters. Kim Collins performed well in the shot put with a fourth-place finish.

"Our JV kids performed pretty well in Cut Bank," Ita said. "It was a tough day weatherwise, but we got through it. This was a really good experience for these kids because they don't get a lot of action on the track. It will only benefit them in the long run."

Havre will be back in action on Tuesday night as several Pony competitors travel to Glasgow for the annual Top 10 meet. The Pony JV team will travel to Chinook on Thursday for dual action and the Pony varsity team returns to action with a trip to Lewistown on Saturday.

ARM Invitational At Whitefish

BOYS

Team scores: Whitefish 188, Havre 102, Eureka 71, Columbia Falls 70, Ronan 40, Libby 34, Charlo 22, Troy 0

100 - 1. Steve Heberly, H, 10.60; 2. Cody Henning, W, 10.70; 3. Steven Harman, H, 11.26; 4. Tucker Ferda, W, 11.46; 5. Chris Phillips, R, 11.62; 6. Tyse Rogers 11.65.

200 - 1. Steve Heberly, H, 22.08; 2. Cody Henning, W, 22.62; 3. Tyse Rogers, R, 23.38; 4. Scott Robinson, H, 24.00; 5. Terrance Foster, E, 24.41; 6. Devin Schmit 24.56.

400 - 1. Josh Schmidt, W, 51.16; 2. Cody Henning, W, 51.39; 3. Scott Robinson, H, 51.75; 4. Devin Schmit, CF, 52.90; 5. Tyse Rogers, R, 53.04; 6. Terrance Foster, E, 54.36.

800 - 1. Matt Helgath, W, 2:02.77; 2. Cody Martinson, W, 2:04.07; 3. Scott Robinson, H, 2:07.06; 4. Luke Bentley, E, 2:08.17; 5. Jesse Grilley, CF, 2:08.78; 6. Jeremy Grilley, CF, 2:09.55.

1,600 - 1. Matt Helgath, W, 4:45.38; 2. Zanen Pitts, R, 4:52.15; 3. Paul Web, CF, 5:08.98; 4. Devon Shuck, L, 5:13.01; 5. Theron Truman, E, 5:20.47; 6. Michael Faroni, C, 5:23.85.

3,200 - 1. Zanen Pitts, R, 10:12.95; 2. Kasey Barsotti, H, 10:45.91; 3. Theron Truman, E, 11L:05.62; 4. Michael Faroni, C, 11.31.08; 5. John Gibbons, E, 11:40.66; 6. Kyle Middlemist, C, 11:46.25.

110 hurdles - 1. Tucker Ferda, W, 14.82; 2. Josh Schmidt 14.91; 3. Justen Owen, E, 15.36; 4. Matt Delong, E, 16.65; 5. John Weaver, W, 16.94; 6. Shane McMillan, R, 43.71.

300 hurdles - 1. Justen Owen, E, 41.16; 2. Tucker Ferda, W, 41.31; 3. Josh Schmidt, W, 42.06; 4. Brady Lange, CF, 42.69; 5. John Weaver, W, 42.93; 6. Shane McMillan, R, 43.71.

400 relay - 1. Havre 43.92; 2. Whitefish 43.94; 3. Ronan, 45.92; 4. Columbia Falls 46.59; 5. Eureka 46.84; 6. Libby 47.06

1,600 relay - 1. Whitefish (Josh Schmidt, Cody Martinson, Cody Henning, Matt Helgath) 3:35.35; 2. Libby 3:41.27; 3. Columbia Falls 3:42.50; 4. Havre 3:45.87; 5. Eureka 3:49.84; 6. Ronan 3:54.25.

Javelin - 1. Brian Cahoon, C, 167-11; 2. Blaine Baker, L, 166-6; 3. Mike Duthrie, L, 146-6; 4. Philip Bertelsen, W, 145-11; 5. Colter Comstock, E, 132-2; 6. Dan Brua, W, 126-5

Shot put - 1. Curtis Bean, E, 52-41/2; 2. Matt Martinson, W, 47-0; 3. Linsey Holbrook, W, 45-8; 4. Blaine Baker, L, 43-4; 5. Andy White, R, 42-0; 6. Tommy Hodges, W, 41-7.

Discus - 1. Curtis Bean, E, 159-7; 2. Linsey Holbrook, W, 143-3; 3. Jace Ladenburg, CF, 138-11; 4. Matt Martinson, W, 137-9; 5. Evan Jordan, L, 137-5; 6. Andy White, R, 129-10.

High jump - 1. J.D. Knox, W, 6-3; 2. Anthony Bonavita, H, 6-0; 3. Chris Hicks, W, 6-0; 4. Eric Vosen, H, 5-10; 5. Dillon West, CF, 5-6; 6. Jack Scherman, CF, 5-6

Long jump - 1. Steven Harman, H, 20-81/4 2. Kyle Rosenbaum, CF, 20-3; 3. Luke Stacey, E, 20-11/4 4. Anthony Bonavita, H, 19-1; 5. Chris Hicks, W, 18-93/4; 6. Kyle Hatch, CF, 18-6/.

Triple jump - 1. Kyle Rosenbaum, CF, 42-1/2; 2. J.D. Knox, W, 41-5; 3. Chris Hicks, W, 39-81/2; 4. Kyle Hatch, CF, 39-61/2; 5. Luke Stacey, E, 39-1; 6. John Weaver, W, 37-8

Pole vault - 1. James Byrd, CF, 12-6; 2. Mark Benjamin, H, 12-0; 3. Reece Middlemist, C, 12-0; 4. Joey Howland, H, 11-6; 5. Ben Breuer, W, 11-0; 6. Pete Jacobson, L, 11-0

Girls

Team scores: Havre 116, Whitefish 103, Charlo 82, Libby 77, Columbia Falls 77, Eureka 47, Troy 22, Ronan 2

100 - 1. Laura Cameron, E, 12.79; 2. Kat Tarr, W, 12.99; 3. Kelsy Smith, H, 13.01; 4. Jenny Woodruff, C, 13.21; 5. Tania Hogan, L, 13.64; 6. Lisa Carter, CF, 13.65

200 - 1. Kat Tarr, W, 26.94; 2. Kelsey Smith, H, 28.20; 3. Megan Keister, W, 28.43; 4. Jenny Woodruff, C, 28.62; 5. Shianne Perry, C, 28.84; 6. Lisa Carter, CF, 28.97

400 - 1. Alicia Overcast, H, 59.76; 2. Kat Tarr, W, 59.79; 3. Megan Keister, W, 1:03.58; 4. Alexa Lipp, H, 1:04.24; 5. Crystal Kain, C, 1:04.24; 6. Emmy Bentley, E, 1:04.26

800 - 1. Cassi Hughes, L, 2:35.08; 2, Aaryn Manning, W, 2:38.30; 3. Emmy Bentley, E, 2:38.77; 4. Andree Peterson, H, 2:40.89; 5. Nicole Bierie, C, 2:46.33; 6. Alicia Rundquist, H, 2:49.91.

1,600 - 1. Aaryn Manning, W, 5:55.77; 2. Kelsey Malsam, H, 6:03.30; 3. Nicole Bierie, C, 6:07.94; 4. Desiree Marjerison, CF, 6:08.72; 5. Mandy Nystrom, H, 6:13:;70; 6. Darcy Rindal, H, 6:23.30.

3,200 - 1. Kelsy Malsam, H, 12:58.09; 2. Mandy Nystrom, H, 13:02.13; 3. Makayla Patterson, H, 13:04.99; 4. Desiree Marjerison, CF, 13:12.81; 5. Darcy Rindal, H, 13:36.41; 6. Brittany Hader, CF, 13:37.31

100 hurdles - 1. Johanna Closson, W, 15.62; 2. Jessica Shotzberger, L, 16.68; 3. Laura Cameron, E, 16.75; 4. Stephanie Sanders, E, 16.80; 5. Brooke Schwann, H, 16.99; 6. Sarah Hislop, CF, 17.19

300 hurdles - 1. Laura Cameron, E, 47.00; 2. Alicia Overcast, H, 47.35; 3. Stephanie Sanders, E, 49.83; 4. Katie Becker, L, 52.28; 5. Ashley Wiebelhaus, CF, 54.27; 6. Emily English, W, 54.59.

400 relay - 1. Whitefish (Amber Cagle, Johanna Closson, Kat Tarr, Megan Keister) 51.82 (meet record); 2. Havre 52.78; 3. Libby 52.78; 4. Charlo 54.49; 5. Eureka 54.52; 6. Ronan 57.57.

1,600 relay - 1. Whitefish (Erin Greiner, Aaryn Manning, Kat Tarr, Megan Keister) 4:23.96; 2. Havre 4:25.93; 3. Libby 4:31.86; 4. Charlo 4:33.60; 5. Columbia Falls 4:37.77; 6. Ronan 4:46.92.

Javelin - 1. Dani Finley, C, 131-3; 2. Kelli Brumbaugh, L, 112-11; 3. Ashley Trulock, T, 110-3; 4. Virginia Thom, L, 110-2; 5. Steph Fisher, CF, 107-1; 6. Sunni Downing, CF, 105-2.

Shot put - 1. Ashley Trulock, T, 38-5; 2. Dani Finley, C, 36-5; 3. Danielle Jordan, L, 34-81/2; 4. Randi Loughlin, C, 32-111/2; 5. Carrie Rasmussen, C, 32-6.

Discus - 1. Randi Loughlin, C, 109-41/2; 2. Steph Fisher, CF, 109-41/2; 3. Shanna Ferguson, CF, 105-111/4 4. Dani Finley, C, 106-6; 5. Jessi Weinman, L, 100-103/4; 6. Carrie Rasmussen, C, 92-1/.

High jump - 1. Sarah Hislop, CF, 5-4; 2. Brooke Schwann, H, 5-0; 3. Kim Pearce, CF, 5-0; 4. Jessica Shotzberger, L, 5-0; 5. Shanelle Swift, CF, 4-10.

Long jump - 1. Cassie Stoneman, L, 14-10; 2. Jessica Shotzberger, L, 14-93/4; 3. Elisha Kampfe, T, 14-61/2; 4. Erin Greiner, W, 14-6; 5. Emmy Bentley, E, 14-41/4 6. Anika Spencer, L, 14-11/2.

Triple jump - 1. Sunni Downing, CF, 34-11/2; 2. Johanna Closson, W, 33-71/4 3. Cassie Stoneman, CF, 33-43/4; 4. Erin Greiner, W, 32-8; 5. Sherry Winchell, H, 32-61/2; 6. Anika Spencer, L, 32-4.

Pole vault - 1. Kelsey Smith, H, 9-6; 2. Nicole Bierie, C, 8-6; 3. Dani Finley, C, 8-6; 4. Crystal Decker, L, 8-0; 5. (tie) Virginia Thom, L; Crystal Kain, C; and Jessica Noble, L, 7-6.