Blue Pony track teams head to Lewistown meet

Just a handful of days after the Cal Wearley track meet, the Havre High track teams are moving from one big meet to another.

Local teams are taking full advantage of the mild spring, wasting almost no time in between meets. The Central A Blue Ponies are coming off of a great second outing on Wednesday, and will look to keep rolling with another solid meet on Saturday. This time around, the Ponies will return to the road. Traveling to Lewistown, the Ponies will take on 19 other teams with the hopes of a strong performance at the Central Montana Invitational put on by the conference rival Lewistown Golden Eagles.

Joining the Eagles and Ponies will be Class A squads like Belgrade, Livingston, and Billing Central. But Class B and C programs like Stanford/Geyser, Winnett/Grass Range, Dutton, Sweet Grass, Cascade, Fort Benton, Shelby Hays-Lodge Pole, Roy/Winifred, Hobson and Centerville will also challenge for top team finishes.

The HHS boys team is led by a standout group of pole vaulters. They have a shot at sweeping the event week in and week out, and will look for Thurman Holdsclaw, Matt Emge, Zach Plum, Thomas Gruber and Gunnar Aageson to perform once again. But the HHS boys will also look for Marc Klimas to carry the load in the distance races, as well as Plum and Holdsclaw in the long and triple jumps. Charlie Christianson also proved he has some hops, and will look to keep improving in the high jump.

Kade Rismon and Ryne Antley will also look to pitch in points in the throwing events, as it will take a very strong team effort for the Ponies to finish near the top this weekend. Increased production by Alec Drew (throws), as well as Nate Rismon (jumps), and Dakota Christianson (middle distance/jumps) will also give the Blue Ponies a stronger finish overall.

Peyton Filius has been the early leader for the girls, and her production will be key again. Filius is coming off of a performance on Wednesday, where she placed in three individual events, the 200, 400, and 800-meters. But Skylar Vukasin, Katie Christianson, and Lacey Waid also have what it takes to give the Ponies another top finish. The Ponies finished in second place on Wednesday. Vukasin shines in the 100 and high jump, while Waid shines in the high jump and the pole vault. Christianson will look to continue her success in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs.

The HHS girls have a solid core, while Megan Erickson, Haley Ohm, and Martha Stocker will also be key moving forward. And if another handful of girls also continue to step up and improve, the Ponies have a solid shot at making some noise late in the season.

Havre will be tested on Saturday, as Belgrade, Livingston, and Lewistown will show the Ponies exactly where they fit into the Central A conference scene, both on the boys and girls side. And depending on how they compete this weekend, the Ponies will know exactly what they have to do to improve moving forward.

Saturday the Ponies will compete in Lewistown. Havre hosts the annual Lions Havre Invite April 13.