Ponies finish strong at Cal Wearley

The Havre High boys and girls track and field teams competed in a field packed with Class B and Class C talent, but that didn't mean the Blue Ponies d

Havre High sophomore Thomas Gruber attempts to clear the bar in the boys pole vault in Tuesday's Cal Wearley Invitational at the Havre Middle School track.

idn't have their hands full in only their second meet of the season.

Tuesday the Central A Blue Ponies competed at home, but at the North Star Knights' Cal Wearley meet.

And with teams like the Augusta Elk, Belt huskies, Big Sandy Pioneers, Box Elder Bears, Cascade Badgers, Chinook Sugarbeeters, Chester/J-I Hawks, Cut Bank Wolves, Denton Trojans, Dodson Coyotes, Fairfield Eagles, Frazer Bearcubs, Fort Benton Longhorns, Geraldine Tigers, Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds, Hinsdale-Saco Panthers, Malta Mustangs, North Star Knights, Power Pirates, Rocky Boy Stars, Roy-Winifred Outlaws, Simms Tigers, Sunburst Refiners, Turner Tornadoes and Whitewater Penguins in attendance, the Ponies found themselves facing a lot of top talent from all over the state.

The HHS boys finished in third place with 85 points, following Fairfield with 105 and Malta with 89. And the HHS girls finished in second place with 72 points, following on the Knights, with 76 Points.

The Pony girls were led by Sammy Evans, Ashlynn Van Voast and Peyton Filius.

Evans grabbed two No. 1 finishes and a No. 2 finish, while Van Voast placed in three events and Filius placed in two. Evans finished first in the long jump with a leap of 34-8, and first in the high jump, clearing 5-2. Evans also placed second in the long jump with a distance of 16-9. VanVoast was fourth in the 400-meter with a time of 67.0, and was fifth in the 200-meter with a time of 29.4. VanVoast had her best performance in the 300 hurdles, grabbing a No. 1 finish with a time of 52.2. And Filius stepped up as well, grabbing a No. 2 finish in the 1600-meter with a time of 5:53.5, and a No. 3 finish in the 800-meter with a time of 2:35.0.

But the Pony production continued, with four more girls grabbing top spots on Tuesday.

Kaylie Gilman was able to place in the high jump and pole vault. In the high jump she cleared 4-8 for a fifth-place finish, and in the pole vault, she was able to clear 7-0 for a sixth place finish. And rounding off the top HHS girls, Jennifer Nordgulen was sixth in the 100-meter with a time of 14.4, while Skylar Vukasin was third in the high jump, clearing 4-8, and Lacey Waid cleared 7-6 for a fourth-place finish in the pole vault.

The Blue Pony boys also got a lot of good production from their field of athletes, including a dominating presence in the pole vault. Four HHS pole vaulters placed at the Cal Wearly, including Thurman Holdsclaw, who was tied for first place with a cleared height of 12-0. Matt Emge finished third with a heaight of 11-6, Zach Plum finished fourth with a height of 10-6 and Thomas Gruber finished in sixth place, clearing 10-0 for the Ponies.

Mason Case, Garret Aguillard and Marc Klimas also gave the Ponies a boost.

Case grabbed two No. 1 finished, outracing the competition in the 100 and 200 meters. Case ran the 100-meter in a time of 11.4, and the 200-meter in a time of 23.9. And Aguillard placed in three events. Aguillard was second in the 1,600-meter with a time of 5:04.9, second in the 3,200 and fourth in the 800-meter with a time of 2:11.0. Klimas grabbed a third place finish in the 1,600-meter with a time of 5:07.0, and a first place finish in the 3200-meter with a time of 10:37.1. Kade Rismon also placed third in the shot put with a toss over 38 feet, while the short relay team was fourth with a time of 47.1.

It was just the second meet in the young season for the Blue Ponies, but they have already seen improvement from one meet to the next. They continue to grow and get better, and have shown what is hopefully just the beginning of a successful season. The Ponies will be back in action on the 14, when they host the Lions Invite in Havre.