Havre High harriers ready to start the race

Each and every season the Havre High boys and girls cross country teams strive for conference titles as well as state hardware. And with a new season starting up this weekend, it is back to business for the Blue Ponies.

Both Central A Blue Pony squads have already been hard at work. And with a few big names to replace, as well as running in a very dominant conference, head coach Kyle Fisher is already seeing that extra work paying off in practice. And that hard work will come to fruition when the Ponies open the season Friday morning at the Cut bank Time Trials.

"A lot of our kids put in a lot of time this summer working out and going to camps," Fisher said. "That really paid off coming into the first week of practice, we've seen a huge difference from the last couple of years to this year in that first week of practice. I am looking forward to watching them compete."

Kendall Murie, Chazley Hulett and Greg Rhines will all be absent from the boys roster this season, a tough situation to be in, as all three were very successful for the Ponies over the last few years. And Brittanee Wood-Korb and Courtney Bricker will be absent form the girls' roster this season, another big hit for any roster.

"It's always tough to replace those seniors," Fisher said. "But I believe we have some younger kids that are stepping up for us this year and those spots will be filled."

It's hard to imagine anybody filling the void Murie leaves, but HHS has some up-and-coming stars in Marc Klimas, Dolan Tuss and Garrett Aguilard. Klimas and Tuss have been in the mix for several seasons now, but Aguilard brings another talented runner to the roster in his first season in cross country.

And for the girls, Katie Christianson, Trisha Kinsella, Mikell Kinsella and Ashlynn Van Voast

all return as the Ponies top runners. Jess Wiken is a new runner for the girls, but she should also find a spot amongst the top girl runners this season.

"Our girls are going to be competing for a conference title," Fisher said. "And probably even a trophy at state if they keep up what they are doing right now. And the boys are doing an excellent job for us too, and we should also see some really good things out of them."

The Ponies also have some talent waiting to move up in the ranks. Kiana Robertson is a sophomore transfer student for the girls, while the boys have runners like freshman Alec Drew and Dakota Christianson.

The rest of the Pony roster includes Austin After Buffalo, McKenna Barkus, Kayla Berg, Neya Bischoff, Shelbi Brough, Desmond Flalkosky, Mathew Handley, Madison Hanson, Shannon Herring, Sydne Huston, Mrgan Jappe, Natalen Kinsella, Patricia Kinsella, Jaden Korb, Julie McKinney, Cole Milligan, Skylah Morsette, Jennifer Nordulen, Larissa Price, Megan Rainey, Nicholas Rhines, Shelby O'Neil, Paige Sedahl, Dillon Seely, Dustin Seely, Marvin Spotted Bird, Chanal Standing Rock, Doranda Standing Rock and Derek Van Dessel.

With the new and retuning talent, as well as the hard work the Ponies have put in already this young season, the Ponies look to be in excellent position moving forward. The girls have been together for several seasons now and really want state hardware. And the boys are just as hungry, and are loaded with new and returning talent as well, but still need to come together as a team. But in each case, the Blue Ponies have the same goals, to win.

Today the Ponies will start their season in Cut Bank at the Cut Bank Invitational, a race the Ponies traditionally run well at.

The Ponies' season includes the Havre Invitational on Oct. 1. The course at MSU-Northern will again be used for the HHS meet and it's widely considered one of the most difficult courses the Ponies run on all season long. The season winds up with the Central A Meet in Livingston and the Class A state meet Oct. 22 at the University of Montana Golf Course in Missoula.

Havre High's Mikell Kinsella (middle) races in the 2010 Havre Invitational cross country meet last fall. The talented Blue Pony girls and the experienced HHS boys open the season Friday at the Cut Bank Time Trials.