Pony runners race hard to the finish line

The Havre High cross country teams put the finishing touches on the season on Saturday, with both the Blue Pony girls and boys running strong at the state meet.

The Central A Ponies competed in Helena on Saturday at the Class A state championships, and ran into a tough field of competition. The Pony girls entered as the two-time defending conference champions, while the boys entered as the No. 4 team out of the conference. And after the grueling three-mile course, the HHS girls finished in seventh place with 161 points, and HHS boys finished in 13th place with 313 points.

Corvallis, with 56 points took the state title for the girls, and Whitefish, with 96 points took the title for the boys.

"I would say that this probably wasn't the best showing we have ever had for Blue Pony cross country," Havre High head coach Kyle Fisher said. "For team scores especially. But we still got some good individual performances, and like I said, for team performances, it just wasn't a good day. A team that our girls beat the weekend before (Lewistown) took second, so that just shows what we were capable of and I don't think our team points were a good showing of that, or how talented this whole group of kids are."

For the Ponies, Jess Wiken has led the girls squad all season long, and didn't disappoint over the weekend. In her senior season, Wiken has been the Ponies' No.1, but after Saturday, she was also the No.4 runner in the state, as she finished with a time of 19:34.7. Katie Christianson also had a standout afternoon, as she claimed the No. 12 spot with a time of 19:56.1. Both Wiken and Christianson earned All-State honors with their performances.

And for the boys, Marc Klimas has also led the Blue Ponies all season long, and turned in another solid performance in his final prep race. Klimas was the only HHS boy to earn All-State honors, and did so with a blazing time of 16:48.1, and a No. 13 finish overall.

"We had three All-Staters," Fisher said. "And that is the most we have had at the state tournament since I have been coaching. That was definitely a huge success for us. Jess became a two time All Stater and Katie became an All Stater for the first time. Marc also earned the honors, so that was huge for our seniors and it was nice to see their hard work paid off for them."

Also finishing for the Pony girls was, Larissa Price (29) with a time of 20:54.5, Trisha Kinsella (34) finished with a time of 21:03.9, Kiana Robertson (87) finished with a time of 23:11.1, Liz Facio (88) finished with a time of 23:18.4, and Morgan Mazurkiewicz (91) finished with a time of 23:24.7. And for the boys, Elijah David (63) finished with a time of 18:25.1, while Sundance Lodge (70) also finished in 18:35.5, while Derek VanDessel (73) finished in 18:40.9, Desmond Fialkosky (95) finished in 19:13.9, Dylan Stewart (107) finished in 19:47.0, and Bren Broadhead (115) finished in a time of 20:10.1.

Price, a senior, and sophomores David, and Lodge also had great individual performances as well, and coach Fisher was impressed. They have steadily improved all season long and really stepped up again in the biggest race of the season.

"Larissa Price ran the best race I have probably seen her run," Fisher said. "She moved up to our number three spot, and did everything she could do for this team. She really did a nice job, and has done a lot for this team, especially in the last two weeks of the season.

"And for Elijah David and Sundance Lodge," Fisher added. "Getting to state and competing like they did was huge. We have a very talented group of sophomore boys that will be pretty tough the next two years. The way they ran for us was a success in itself."

Overall, the Pony teams may not have placed as high as they hoped, but a lot of individuals really stepped up. And with a lot of young talent still on the squad, the Ponies are now looking to the future.

Class A Championships

at Helena

GIRLS

Team scores: Corvallis 56, Lewistown 79, Laurel 137, Hamilton 154, Glendive 156, Polson 160, Havre 161, Columbia Falls 226, Whitefish 244, Dillon 259, Billings Central 280, Belgrade 326, Hardin 327, Miles City 343, Livingston 350, Browning 368, Frenchtown 429, Sidney 522.

Top 30 individuals

1, Sadi Henderson, Corvallis, 18:37.6; 2, Dalainy Tedesco, Lewistown, 19:17.6; 3, Kaycie Stewart, Corvallis, 19:33.5; 4, Jessica Wiken, Havre, 19:34.7; 5, Isabella Pape, Corvallis, 19:44.4; 6, Sarah Foster, Lewistown, 19:47.8; 7, Olivia Wood, Anaconda, 19:48.9; 8, Lexi Gradwohl, Laurel, 19:49.9; 9, Courtney Little Dog-Juneau, Browning, 19:51.8; 10, Claudia Hewston, Polson, 19:54.0; 11, Sara Amish, Hamilton, 19:55.2; 12, Katie Christianson, Havre, 19:56.1; 13, Courtney Hallock, Laurel, 19:58.3; 14, Rio Frame, Glendive, 19:59.9; 15, Samantha Mundel, Columbia Falls, 20:04.8; 16, Caitlin Lantis, Glendive, 20:14.4; 17, Kaitlyn Poss, Lewistown, 20:23.4; 18, Alexa Horrell, Billings Central, 20:26.1; 19, Lakyn Connors, Corvallis, 20:26.3; 20, Sandra Crossett, Polson, 20:29.9; 21, Austyn Copp, Glendive, 20:38.8; 22, Shae Wiggins, Laurel, 20:41.4; 23, Jenny Smith, Hamilton, 20:43.1; 24, Nikki Korte, Laurel, 20:45.1; 25, Mckenzie Fradley, Lewistown, 20:47.2; 26, Eliska Kulhava, Frenchtown, 20:48.3; 27, Sarah Latcham, Whitefish, 20:48.9; 28, Kaitlin Stromberg, Hamilton, 20:53.6; 29, Larissa Price, Havre, 20:54.5; 30, Hanna Smith, Corvallis, 20:54.6.

Team scores: Whitefish 96, Hamilton 108, Lewistown 131, Belgrade 147, Laurel 167, Hardin 181, Corvallis 202, Glendive 219, Browning 244, Dillon 260, Livingston 271, Polson 303, Havre 314, Columbia Falls 392, Anaconda 394, Billings Central 410, Frenchtown 411, Butte Central 411, Miles City 482, Sidney 547.

HHS BOYS

13 - Marc Klimas, 16:48.1

63 - Elijah David, 18:25.1

70 - Sundance Lodge, 18:35.5

73 - Derek Vandessel, 18:40.9

95 - Desmond Fialkosky, 19:13.9

107 - Dylan Stuart, 19:47.0

115 - Bren Broadhead, 20:10.1

Top 30 individuals

1, Layne Lantis, Glendive, 16:01.6; 2, Tyler Mogan, Laurel, 16:02.2; 3, Jonathan Eastwood, Belgrade, 16:09.6; 4, Fischer Gangemi, Whitefish, 16:10.2; 5, Jace Kalbfleisch, Whitefish, 16:26.8; 6, Aidan Theard, Anaconda, 16:36.3; 7, Anthony Schmalz, Hamilton, 16:39.9; 8, Colton Hegdal, Belgrade, 16:40.7; 9, Charles Vance, Livingston, 16:40.7; 10, Easton Albert, Hamilton, 16:42.7; 11, Cameron Miekle, Hamilton, 16:46.5; 12, Trei Bulluck, Lewistown, 16:47.4; 13, Marc Klimas, Havre, 16:48.1; 14, Sage Schoonen, Dillon, 16:54.7; 15, Gunnar Nabozney, Frenchtown, 16:57.2; 16, Conor McGee, Butte Central, 16:57.4; 17, Teran Alears, Lewistown, 17:08.4; 18, Jalen Two Leggins, Hardin, 17:13.6; 19, Travis Hayes, Polson, 17:16.8; 20, Caleb Knox, Whitefish, 17:17.6; 21, Brady Stone, Browning, 17:22.7; 22, Hunter Harrison, Billings Central, 17:24.8; 23, Keaton Grove, Whitefish, 17:28.1; 24, Hans Pederson, Lewistown, 17:29.9; 25, Morly Jessop, Corvallis, 17:31.2; 26, Morgan Larson, Dillon, 17:32.8; 27, Dane Watt, Corvallis, 17:34.5; 28, Clarence Little Wolf, Hardin, 17:35.1; 29, Karill Apedaile, Hamilton, 17:37.6; 30, Shannon Tempel, Butte Central, 17:41.6.