Ponies make strides in Helena

Running at one of the toughest races the Havre High cross country program will compete in all season long, the Blue Ponies were still able to take positive strides last week.

Last Thursday the Central A Ponies were in Helena. HHS ran at the Bill Roberts Golf Course in the Capital City 7 of 7 Invitational, and the boys and girls teams both did a lot of good things. The Ponies were also scheduled to run in Browning on Saturday, but instead the varsity harriers rested for the upcoming divisional race in Havre.

In the boys field, the Ponies performed very well, probably the best they have performed all season long. That is a huge leap forward, as the majority of this boys team has never ran in a race of this format before.

The HHS boys finished with 177 points and as the No. 25 team overall. They were also the No. 10 Class A team overall, as they were led by Marc Klimas in the No. 1's race with a time of 17:05. Running with the No. 2's, Desmond Fialkosky ran an 18:03, while Elijah David ran an 18:04 with the No. 3's, Sundance Lodge ran an 18:30 with the No. 4's, Dylan Stuart ran an 18:48 with the No. 5's, Dakota Christianson ran a 20:00 with the No. 6's and Bren Broadhead ran a 19:18 with the No. 7's.

"They did great," Havre High head coach Kyle Fisher said. "And honestly, it is probably the hardest I have seen them run as a team this season. They did a great job as a team, and I can't really say enough about how well they ran. It was awesome.

"This is the first time a lot of these guys ran this race," Fisher added. "and This is the closest their pack time has been all season. It was a good day for them, and one through seven, they just did outstanding."

The girls on the other hand, ran extremely well, but didn't perform at the level coach Fisher knows they can compete at. The Ponies have proven to be one of the top Class A teams in the state this season, and had a chance to earn a statement finish on Thursday.

HHS did finish with 92 points, and as the No. 12 team overall. Their 92 points were also good enough to make them the fourth-best Class A team. But with Fisher knowing just how talented this team is, he wants more out of this team.

"The girls, as a team," Fisher said. "They just didn't run as well as they could have. I know that these girls are used to racing with each other, and I don't want to make any excuses for them, but not running together did affect them. But I think we are a very talented team, and it just wasn't a good showing. We are capable of being a lot better than we ran today (Thursday)."

But Fisher was still proud of the girls team, and made sure to highlight their accomplishments.

Trisha Kinsella ran with the No. 3's, and finished with a time of 19:46, good enough for the sixth best time in that race. Kinsella was the only HHS runner to medal. But Katie Christianson, running with the No. 2's also had a solid race finishing in tenth place in the race, and finishing with a time of 20:05. Liz Facio ran with the No. 6's and earned a personal record by 30 seconds with a time of 22:28. Morgan Mazurkiewicz also earned a personal best running with the No. 5's, shaving off 17 seconds for a time of 20:58.

Jess Wiken also ran a 19:15 with the No. 1's, while Lorissa Price ran a 20:58 with the No. 4's, while Kiana Robertson ran a 23:08 with the No. 7's.

Both teams ran well and took several more positive steps forward. And with Divisionals just around the corner, in Havre on Saturday, the Ponies continued to improve, but hopefully still have not peaked.

The Central A Divisional meet will be held this Saturday in Havre.

Capital City 7 of 7 Invitational

Bill Roberts Golf Course, Helena

3 miles

GIRLS

Team scores: Bozeman 11, Billings Senior 19, Billings West 25, Corvallis 36, Billings Skyview 40, Missoula Big Sky 60, Lewistown 76, Hamilton 77, Missoula Hellgate 79, Helena High 80, Missoula Sentinel 84, Havre 92, Butte 108, C.M. Russell 118, Kalispell Glacier 128, Kalispell Flathead 128, Helena Capital 133, Twin Bridges 134, Belt 139, Polson 140, Belgrade 164, Loyola Sacred Heart 164, Dillon 175, Browning 177, Hardin 179, Bigfork 187, Anaconda 188, Hobson 195, Red Lodge 200, Livingston 203, Manhattan 209, Deer Lodge 209, Cut Bank 216, Townsend 218 , Three Forks 219, Great Falls 220, Ennis 222, Whitehall 223, Boulder 225, Harrison 229, Darby 230, Gardiner 231, Philipsburg 232, Augusta 235, Manhattan Christian 237 , Big Timber 238, Ryegate 240.

Havre High Finishers

Jess Wiken 19:15

Katie Christianson 20:05

Trisha Kinsella 19:46

Larissa Price 20:58

Morgan Maz 20:58

Liz Facio 22:28

Kiana Robertson 23:08

Top 10 individuals

No. 1 – 1, Makena Morley, Bigfork, 16:50.5; 2, Chiara Warner, Townsend, 17:25.8; 3, Christina Aragon, Senior, 17:59.3; 4, Sadi Henderson, Corvallis, 18:09.3; 5, Caroline Hardin, Bozeman, 18:15.4; 6, Rachel Jones, West, 18:23.0; 7, Cambria Hassell, CMR, 18:29.3; 8, Sabrina Sterbis, Big Sky, 18:34.2; 9, Olivia Wood, Anaconda, 18:46.2; 10, Kennedy Robbins, Skyview, 18:59.7.

No. 2 – 1, Andie Creel, Bozeman, 18:19.0; 2, Courtney Hutton, Senior, 18:35.6; 3, Keegan Day, Skyview, 18:49.1; 4, Kaycie Stewart, Corvallis, 18:56.5; 5, Emily Sterbis, Big Sky, 19:05.7; 6, Keisha Stensby, West, 19:05.8; 7, Sarah Foster, Lewistown, 19:31.5; 8, Ellen Ipsen, Hellgate, 19:36.1; 9, Morgan Thomas, Sentinel, 19:55.8; 10, Katie Christianson, Havre, 20:05.0.

No. 3 – 1, Bridget Creel, Bozeman, 18:46.0; 2, Brenna Cockburn, Senior, 18:56.4; 3, Taylor Grove, West, 19:23.4; 4, Amanda Nelson, Skyview, 19:25.2; 5, Isabella Pape, Corvallis, 19:36.1; 6, Trisha Kinsella, Havre, 19:46.2; 7, Jacki Copenhaver, Helena, 19:57.2; 8, Ellen Ruby, Hellgate, 19:58.0; 9, Madison Owens, Ennis, 20:00.2; 10, Kaitlyn Poss, Lewistown, 20:02.7.

No. 4 – 1, Katie Stephens, Bozeman, 18:57.8; 2, Molly Langland, Big Sky, 19:46.4; 3, Britney Grove, West, 19:47.2; 4, Addison Stapleton, Senior, 19:51.4; 5, Mikaela Wahl, Skyview, 20:14.9; 6, Hanna Smith, Corvallis, 20:20.0; 7, Raeanna Richards, Sentinel, 20:24.0; 8, Hallie Hartnett, Helena, 20:25.1; 9, Addie Melvin, Hellgate, 20:32.7; 10, Sarah Del Rae, Hamilton, 20:43.3.

No. 5 – 1, Beth Jansma, Bozeman, 19:04.3; 2, Jessica Raty, Senior, 19:25.8; 3, Bailey Bomar, West, 19:42.0; 4, Lakyn Connors, Corvallis, 19:52.3; 5, Jenny Smith, Hamilton, 19:57.0; 6, Ashlee Richards, Skyview, 20:18.0; 7, Talia Zook, Big Sky, 20:34.4; 8, Annika Sohlberg, Hellgate, 20:38.5; 9, Madi Seaman, Flathead, 20:39.4; 10, Erika Ackerlund, Helena, 20:45.0.

No. 6 – 1, Maddie Powers, Bozeman, 19:11.5; 2, Cate Hanna, West, 19:51.3; 3, Rachel Eaton, Senior, 20:08.3; 4, Rachel Lindley, Big Sky, 20:27.3; 5, Rachel Wissenbach, Corvallis, 20:31.8; 6, Haeley Harmon, Helena, 20:31.9; 7, Sidney Byrn, Skyview, 20:32.3; 8, Tess G. Clancy, Hamilton, 20:40.2; 9, Morgan Clark-Gaynor, Hellgate, 20:54.0; 10, Faith Stevenson, Hobson, 21:16.6.

Team scores: Kalispell Flathead 27, Bozeman 30, Billings West 44, Helena High 45, Missoula Hellgate 48, Missoula Sentinel 64, Hamilton 71, Billings Senior 73, Helena Capital 81, Lewistown 89, Hardin 92, Missoula Big Sky 92, Billings Skyview 93, Browning 94, Belgrade 101, Corvallis 111, C.M. Russell 114, Glacier 121, Red Lodge 151, Great Falls 152, Dillon 153, Polson 160, Butte 162, Livingston 164, Havre 177, Manhattan 185, Loyola Sacred Heart 196, Bigfork 200, Anaconda 207, Hobson 210, Butte Central 213, Twin Bridges 215, Cut Bank 223, Townsend 232, Darby 236, Boulder 240, Whitehall 244, Manhattan Christian 244, Belt 246, Three Forks 248, Deer Lodge 250, Willow Creek 253, Ennis 253, Big Timber 254, Harrison 254, Gardiner 261, Ryegate 276.

Havre High Finishers

Marc Klimas 17:05

Desmond Fialkosky 18:03

Elijah David 18:04

Sundance Lodge 18:30

Dylan Stuart 18:48

Dakota Christianson 20:00

Bren Broadhead 19:18

Top 10 individuals

No. 1 – 1, Adam Peterman, Hellgate, 14:26.5; 2, Zach Perrin, Flathead, 14:46.6; 3, Aiden Theard, Anaconda, 15:42.6; 4, Colt Smith, Capital, 15:42.9; 5, Jason Holmes, Bozeman, 15:47.4; 6, Jonathan Eastwood, Belgrade, 15:49.8; 7, Fred Petsch, West, 15:49.9; 8, Patrick Rayl, CMR, 15:50.7; 9, Aidan Reed, Helena, 16:01.2; 10, Anthony Schmalz, Hamilton, 16:03.9.

No. 2 – 1, Chris Herrick, Hellgate, 15:48.9; 2, Easton Albert, Hamilton, 16:07.2; 3, Matt Brown, Big Sky, 16:08.9; 4, Teran Alears, Lewistown, 16:18.1; 5, Nick Hamilton, Sentinel, 16:20.6; 6, Colter May, Bozeman, 16:25.0; 7, Jorey Egeland, Senior, 16:26.7; 8, Ben Moon, Flathead, 16:27.2; 9, Shay Lavallie, CMR, 16:28.2; 10, Conor McGee, Butte Central, 16:32.1.

No. 3 – 1, Michael Martell, Bozeman, 15:56.3; 2, Drew Gottman, Hellgate, 15:58.8; 3, Ty Rather, Big Sky, 16:23.7; 4, Daniel OíLoughlin, Skyview, 16:32.5; 5, Matt MacFarlane, Flathead, 16:33.1; 6, Dylan Walker, West, 16:38.1; 7, Tristen Guillot, Twin Bridges, 16:39.2; 8, Marcus Bearmedicine, Sentinel, 16:49.6; 9, Emmette Dustybull, Browning, 16:51.4; 10, Layne Ryerson, Helena, 16:54.6.

No. 4 – 1, Tazio Scariano, Hellgate, 16:03.8; 2, Michael Dickensheets, Bozeman, 16:13.9; 3, Christopher Grubb, Helena, 16:22.1; 4, Cameron Miekle, Hamilton, 16:22.8; 5, Jordan Engel, Flathead, 16:42.9; 6, Mark Hovland, West, 16:43.8; 7, Danny Provo, Big Sky, 16:49.3; 8, Brandon Minster, Sentinel, 16:55.3; 9, Derrick Meineke, Browning, 17:03.1; 10, Duncan Ellis, Capital, 17:11.4.

No. 5 – 1, John Szekely, Hellgate, 16:28.0; 2, Kyle Kosinski, Flathead, 16:37.5; 3, Carter Gall, Senior, 16:39.1; 4, Greg Beck, Hamilton, 16:41.5; 5, Tucker Costain, Helena, 16:59.1; 6, Hans Pederson, Lewistown, 17:06.3; 7, Isaac Petsch, West, 17:07.2; 8, Joe Swartz, Bozeman, 17:07.2; 9, Quinn Staats, Sentinel, 17:18.2; 10, Logan Harmon, Glacier, 17:22.2.

No. 6 – 1, Andrew McLane, West, 16:48.7; 2, Seth James, Bozeman, 17:06.0; 3, Will Clarke, Hellgate, 17:12.6; 4, Billy Allen, Flathead, 17:17.6; 5, Austin Stenhjem, Helena, 17:19.4; 6, Kale Kelsey, Lewistown, 17:27.7; 7, Austin Seder, Senior, 17:28.2; 8, Tristan Real Bird, Hardin, 17:28.9; 9, Noah Pratt, Skyview, 17:30.1; 10, Riley Jessop, Corvallis, 17:33.0.

No. 7 – 1, Sylas Schutt, Flathead, 16:40.8; 2, Jordan Barrows, Helena, 16:43.0; 3, Jacob Kuilhaug, West, 17:01.8; 4, Todd Jennings, Senior, 17:22.1; 5, Joseph Bremner, Browning, 17:33.0; 6, Parker Webb, Bozeman, 17:34.3; 7, Eric Healy, Corvallis, 17:40.8; 8, Kelly Eller, Capital, 17:44.2; 9, Kole Tison, Hamilton, 18:05.3; 10, Forest Messerman, Sentinel, 18:11.7.