Ponies roar at annual Lions Invite

While some prep sporting events were delayed and canceled across the state last week due to typical Montana spring storms, the track season marched on for several area teams in Havre.

Havre High's Jennifer Nordgulen races in the 400-meter relay during Saturday's Lions Havre Invitational track meet at the Havre Middle School Track.

Saturday, the Havre High Blue Ponies hosted the annual Lions Havre Invitational at the Havre Middle School track in Havre. Shelby, Chinook, North Star, Malta, Fort Benton, Big Sandy, Rocky Boy, Box Elder, Conrad and Harlem all competed against each other as well as against the Ponies in the annual meet.

Havre High's Jon Faber clears the bar during the boys high jump at Saturday's Lions Invitational.

The Blue Pony girls captured a team title with 120 points. Shelby finished in second with 82, while Chinook was third with 75. North Star also finished with 52, while Malta finished with 49, Fort Benton finished with 43, Big Sandy finished with 20 and Conrad finished with 18.

HHS finished in third place in boys action, finishing the day with 94 points. Malta took the No. 1 spot with 110 points and Chinook was second with 102. Fort Benton also finished with 87, while North Star finished with 34, Rocky Boy finished with 32, Box Elder finished with 24, Conrad finished with 18, Shelby finished with 12 and Big Sandy finished with two.

Havre's Thomas Gruber clears the bar in the pole vault competition at Saturday's Lions Invitational track meet in Havre.

"This was a good weekend," Havre High head coach Trevor VanCampen said. "It was pleasant to see how well the kids competed, and how they pushed themselves to finish races and put up big numbers. They all worked extremely hard this week in practice, and our kids are doing everything they have been asked to do. We are

Havre High sprinter Megan Erickson carries the baton in the girls 1,600-meter relay Saturday afternoon at the Lions Havre Invitational track meet at the Havre Middle School Track. The Havre High girls finished first overall in the meet, while the Blue Pony boys placed third. For more coverage on how other local individuals and teams fared Saturday in Havre, see Tuesday's Havre Daily News sports section.

excited for where we are, we are half way through April and the kids are still healthy and still competing hard."

A lot of youthful and new talent stepped up for the Ponies.

Megan Erickson was able to finish in third place in the 800 meters, as she turned in a time of 2:46.5. Alicia Borst also finished the 200 in sixth place with a time of 32.2, while Carlene Rennick and Martha Stocker both excelled in three throwing events each. Rennick placed third in the discus (80-08), third in the shot put (27-11), and fourth in the javelin (86-4). Stocker also finished in second place in the shot put (31-6), as well as finished fifth in the javelin (81-11), and sixth in the discus (57-1).

HHS's Peyton Filius, right, runs the long relay during Saturday's Havre Invite.

Many of the Ponies' consistent point earners also stepped up.

Hayley Ohm ran the 3,200 in 13:19.2, good enough for a second-place finish. She also ran the 1,600 in a time of 6:25.4, good enough for a third-place finish. Neya Bischoff also placed fourth in the discus (78-9) and second in the javelin (101.5), while Jen Nordgulen was third in the 100-meter (14.2) and fourth in the triple jump (30-7). Peyton Filius continued her standout season and placed first in the 800 with a time of 2:32.9 and second in the 400 with a time of 1:06.6.

Corissa White also placed in the 100 and 200-meter sprints, while also placing in the pole vault for the first time. White was fifth in the 100 (14.31) and fourth in the 200 (30.6), but also cleared 6-6 in the pole vault, good enough for a third place finish.

The 4x400 relay team placed second with a time of 4:41.1.

Pony senior Marc Klimas races in the 3,200 meters Saturday at the Havre Middle School Track.

"The girls have noticed how well they can compete as a team," VanCampen said. "They have been more willing to try new and different events, and have found success doing that. It has paid off, and that has been rubbing off on all of the girls, showing they are willing to do an extra event to earn team points. The boys are just as talented, and if they are willing to start picking up more events as well, and start practicing them during the week, then they will start to see the same results. That is a challenge for the boys moving forward."

On the boys side, the Ponies continued to show their improvement in the throwing events, as Kade Rismon placed in the discus, javelin, and shot put. Rismon was second in the javelin with a throw of 145-8, while also placing fifth in the discus (111-1) and fifth in the shot put (39-1).

HHS's Michael Compton throws the shot put during Saturday's Havre Invite.

Thurman Holdsclaw and John Faber also placed in multiple events, while a handful of other Ponies also pitched in across the board.

Holdsclaw won the triple jump with a leap of 40-6 and took second in the pole vault with a height of 12-0. And Faber took sixth in the 200 (26.2) and sixth in the high jump (5-2). Also placing, Thomas Gruber won the pole vault after clearing 12-6, while Marc Klimas was second in the 3,200 (10:42), Charlie Christianson was second in the high jump (5-8), Matt Emge was third in the pole vault (11-0), Gunnar Aageson was fourth in the pole vault (10-0), Nate Rismon was fifth in the pole vault (9-0) and Brock Ross was fifth in the 3,200 (12:07.8). The short relay team was also third with a time of 48.10.

The Ponies continue to perform well this season, but will now be challenged by the Class AA Great Falls High Bison on Tuesday in Great Falls.

Havre's Haley Ohm runs the distance in Saturday's Lions Havre Invite.