Ponies earn points at tough Class A state meet

Rolling into the state meet, the Havre High boys and girls teams did not have the numbers to contend for team titles. But still housing some of the top talent in the state, the Blue Ponies did shine in a handful of individual events.

The Central A Ponies spent Friday and Saturday in Bozeman at the Class A state track meet. The HHS girls ended the weekend with seven points and the HHS boys finished the weekend with nine. It wasn't enough to be in contention for team titles, while Corvallis earned the sweep with the girls grabbing 110 points and the boys grabbing 99.5. Lewistown finished second and Whitefish finished third for the girls, and Billings Central finished second, while Columbia Falls finished third in the boys' field.

But the Pony girls did have a couple of individuals step up and all the Pony boys and girls who made the trip to Bozeman stepped up because it was one of the worst state meet's weather-wise on record. Snow fell through much of the event, as well as rain and wind. And temperatures were less than ideal for holding a state meet.

Sammy Evans has been a leader all season long and earned the majority of the points over the two-day state meet. Evans cleared 5-2 in the high jump, finishing in sixth place, but also leaped over 16-1 in the long jump for a fourth-place finish.

Fellow senior Ashlynn Van Voast was the only other placer for the Ponies. Van Voast has also been amongst the top girls all season long, and finished her career with a top spot in the 800-meter run. Van Voast turned in a time of 2:29.27 and finished in fifth place.

On the boys side, the points were a little more spread out for the Ponies.

Mason Case continued to be a leader for the Blue Ponies, and placed in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints. Case ran a 11.66 in the 100 for a fourth-place finish, and ran a 23.30 in the 200 for a fifth place finish.

Garrett Aguillard was sidelined with an injury in the middle of the season, but really came on strong late in the season after his return.

Aguillard was able to qualify for state, and turned in a solid performance in the 1,600, finishing in fifth place with a time of 4:43.11.

Thurman Holdsclaw also turned in a solid performance, clearing 12-6 in the pole vault and landing a sixth place finish. The pole vault was moved indoors because of the wind and wet conditions that hampered the state meet from start to finish.

The Ponies only sent a handful of boys and girls to the state meet this season, so it was good to see some of their top performers continue to step up and compete. They were able to conclude a good season with one last top performance against the rest of the top Class A talent in the state.

Note: HHS head coach Trevor VanCampen was not available for comment.