Havre High track teams get off to good start

On the first Saturday in April, the Havre High track teams took part in their first action of the season and for once, they were blessed with some decent weather.

The conditions were good for Havre as the Blue Ponies competed in the Central Montana Invitational in Lewistown and the fair weather led to solid performances by both the girls and boys teams, which finished fourth in their respective meets. The HHS boys totaled 80 points, trailing first-place Lewistown, which had 159, second-place White Sulphur Springs, which had 102, and Belt, which was third with 85.

On the girls side of things, Lewistown also took home the team title with 97 points. Belt was second with 78.25 and Livingston was third with 78. The Pony girls were fourth with 68.

“It was a beautiful day,” HHS head coach John Ita said. “It was about 70 degrees and there was a light breeze so it was very nice. We didn’t have a full team by any stretch of the imagination. We are trying to be sensitive to any kinds of aches and pains this early on, so we had some kids that we pulled out of some events, but I think we came through it OK.”

Yet, even though the Ponies didn’t win on the team stage, they had a number of individuals, who managed to win their events. Five different athletes on the boys team took home first-place prizes led by Michael Loftus, who won both the 100-meter dash and the 200 with times of 11.13 and 23.07.

However, Loftus wasn’t the only sprinter that stood out on the day for Havre as Jacob LaBrie won the 400 with a time of 54.06. Luke Karnauskas also had a stellar day for HHS, winning the high jump with a jump of 5-8 ½, while also coming in second in the 400 with a time of 54.8 and third in the 800 with a time of 2:17.

Ivar Aageson also got his season off to a promising start as he garnered the individual title in the pole vault after posting a mark of 10-6. Thomas Keith was the other Havre boy to place, finishing third in the shot put with a throw of 39-9.

The boys 1,600 relay team, which on Saturday featured LaBrie, Loftus, Karnauskas and Aageson also took home first place with a time of 3:35, six seconds faster than second-place Belt.

“The boys mile relay (team) is just studly,” Ita said. “We have six kids that we can plug in there. Karnauskas and LaBrie ran 54s in the open and that was their first time out. And Loftus ran a 51 split and Ivar ran a 53 split and we haven’t even put Rismon in there yet and he will probably run a 51 or a 50, and that’s early. We also have Ethan Roberts, who will help our 400 relay and he could help on our 1,600 relay. He’s a great athlete, so we are going to have six kids competing and it’s going to be week-to-week and who’s doing the best. It’s a neat problem to have, they all like it and want to be on it, so that’s a good thing.”

When it comes to the girls team, just one individual managed to take home a first-place finish, but there were a number of athletes who placed in 11 different events for HHS. The lone individual winner for the Ponies was Loni Waid, who took home the title in the pole vault with a vault of 8-1. Kaylee Nystrom also finished fourth after vaulting 7-0. Kassidy Compton also finished sixth posting a mark of 6-0.

The only Havre girl to place in multiple events in the meet was senior Rachel David, who was third in the 400 with a time of 1:04 and second in the 800 with a time of 2:34. Freshman Taylor Marinkovich also put together a good showing, placing third in the 200 with a time of 27.06.

“Rachel was very impressive,” Ita said. “But she did end up having an issue with a blister and that’s something that she’s going to have to deal with this coming week.”

Havre also had a couple of girls place in the hurdles as Ireland Coyne was second in the 100 hurdles with a time of 17.71 and Logan Huebsch was third in the 300 hurdles with a time of 53.12.

In the throwing events, Havre also placed a pair of athletes as Jordan Keith finished third in the shot put with a throw of 30-1 and Kristen Nash was sixth in the javelin with a throw of 89-11.

“We were really happy with our throwers, both the boys and the girls,” Ita said. “They really picked up where they left off from last season. There is still some technique work that we need to do, but we were very happy with our throwers.”

The Havre High track teams will be back in action this Wednesdaywhen they will compete in the annual Cal Wearley track meet, which is hosted at the Havre Middle School track.

“Right now, the biggest thing is that we just need to mature,” Ita said. “We have a very young team and we have a lot of kids that this was their first varsity meet, so they had no idea what to expect. So we have some things we need to work, things like timing and warming up properly, but that’s just evidence on having young teams for both boys and girls.”but that's just evidence on having young teams for both boys and girls."

Central Montana Invite

Girls

Team scores – 1. Lewistown 97; 2. Belt 78¼; 3. Livingston 78; 4. Havre 68; 5. Fort Benton 57¼; 6. Hobson 40; 7. Harlowton 37; Winnett-Grass Range 34½; 9. Roy-Winifred 12; 10. White Sulphur Springs 11; 11. DGS 9; 12. Great Falls Central 2; 13. Centerville 1.

100 – 1. Jaree Mane, Lew, 12.84; 2. Ally Martin, Har, 12.97; 3. Ginny Meissner, Bel, 13.13; 4. Maddy Thompson, FB, 13.24; 5. Marissa James, Lew, 13.37; 6. Courtney Brand, Lew, 13.59.

200 – 1. Jaree Mane, Lew, 26:68; 2. Ally Martin, Har, 26.81; 3. Taylor Marinkovich, Hav, 27.06; 4. Leah Gannon, FB, 27.39; 5. Ginny Meissner, Bel, 27.70; 6. Marissa James, Lew, 27.94.

400 – 1. Ally Martin, Har, 1:01.43; 2. Leah Gannon, FB, 1:02.47; 3. Rachel David, Hav, 1:04.81; 4. Catrina Schuchard, Har, 1:05.25; 5. Sara Anderson, Bel, 1:06.22; 6. Felicia Sappington, Cen, 1:07.32.

800 – 1. Kaitlyn Bird, FB, 2:33.49; 2. Rachel David, Hav, 2:34.24; 3. Kita Weingart, WGR, 2:38.85; 4. Kendyl Pierson, Liv, 2:42.23; 5. Ella McKenzie, Liv, 2:44.77; 6. Catrina Schuchard, Har, 2:46.23.

1600 – 1. Ella McKenzie, Liv, 5:57.29; 2. Kendyl Pierson, Liv, 5:57.67; 3. Kaitlyn Bird, FB, 5:58.65; 4. Kita Weingart, WGR, 6:01.50; 5. Chloe Derks, Hob, 6:20.25; 6. Kaitlyn Lodahl, Lew, 6:23.24.

3200 – 1. Ella McKenzie, Liv, 13:41.05; 2. Kendyl Pierson, Liv, 13:51.51; 3. Kaitlyn Lodahl, Lew, 13:59.76; 4. Madison Rodgers, Lew, 14:11.31; 5. Ashley Brand, Lew, 15:07.05; 6. Makayla Murphy, Bel, 15:46.32.

100 hurdles – 1. Ember Drivdahl, Hob, 16.50; 2. Ireland Coyne, Hav, 17.71; 3. Auriel Krumwiede, Lew, 18.17; 4. Kendra Murnion, WGR, 18.22; 5. Bailey Collins, Lew, 18.48; 6. Mesa Williams, WSS, 18.58.

300 hurdles – 1. Kaitlyn Bird, FB, 49.60; 2. Ember Drivdahl, Hob, 51.68; 3. Logan Huebsch, Hav, 53.12; 4. Zooy Strober, Lew, 53.69; 5. Sophia Mindt, GFC, 54.58; 6. Bailey Collins, Lew, 54.64.

400 relay – 1. Belt, 53.09; 2. Lewistown, 53.12; 3. Havre 56.44; 4. Harlowton, 56.50; 5. Roy-Winifred, 58.10.

1600 relay – 1. Belt, 4:34.71; 2. Fort Benton, 4:35.43; 3. Lewistown, 4:43.40; 4. Winnett-Grass Range, 4:47.31; 5. Havre 'B', 4:48.72.

High jump – 1. Dani Urick, Bel, 5-2 ½; 2. Ember Drivdahl, Hob, 5-2; 3. Jaegen Hughes, Hob, 5-0 ½; 4. Marissa James, Lew, 5-0; 5. Holly Davis, Liv, 4-8; 6. Shelby Browning, WGR, 4-6.

Long Jump – 1. Shelby Browning, WGR, 15-4; 2. Olivia McCafferty, Bel, 14-8 ½; 2. Leah Gannon, FB, 14-8 ½; 4. Jaegen Hughes, Hob, 14-5 ½; 5. Kyra Randel, DGS, 14-4 ½; 6. Ally Martin, Har, 14-4.

Triple jump – 1. Bailey Cooper, Bel, 37-0 ¼; 2. Mesa Williams, WSS, 32-11; 3. Shelby Browning, WGR, 32-10 ½; 4. Holly Davis, Liv, 31-9 ¾; 5. Jaegen Hughes, Hob, 31-4; 6. Ashley Brand, Lew, 30-1 ½.

Pole Vault – 1. Loni Waid, Hav, 8-1; 2. Whitney Weeden, Lew, 8-0; 3. Bailey Collins, Lew, 7-6; 4. Kaylee Nystrom, Hav, 7-0; 5. Jozee Plouffe, Lew, 6-6; 6. Kassidy Compton, Hav, 6-0.

Shot Put – 1. Lauren Emter, Liv, 36-4; 2. Anna Zimmer, Lew, 33-11; 3. Jordan Keith, Hav, 30-1; 4. Emily Stoker, Bel, 29-9 ½; 5. Samantha Carter-Emter, Liv, 28-4 ½; 6. Cassidy Randel, DGS, 28-4.

Discus – 1. Lauren Emter, Liv, 112-0; 2. Samantha Carter-Emter, Liv, 88-9; 3. Cassidy Randel, DGS, 85-6; 4. Anna Zimmer, Lew, 83-10; 5. Jada Kananen, RW, 83-7; 6. Maria Begger, Har, 83-6.

Javelin – 1. Dani Urick, Bel, 130-7; 2. Kaylie Carlstrom, RW, 98-11; 3. Kerstyn Pimperton, Bel, 96-3; 4. Mesa Williams, WSS, 93-0; 6. Kristen Nash, Hav, 89-11.

Boys

Team scores – 1. Lewistown 159; 2. White Sulphur Springs 102; 3. Belt 85; 4. Havre 80; 5. Livingston 24½; 6. Simms 21; 7. Stanford-Geyser 16; 8. Centerville 13; 9. Denton 10; 10; Great Falls Central 4; 11. Hobson 2; 11. Fort Benton 2; 11. Box Elder 2; 14. Harlowton ½.

100 – 1. Mike Loftus, Hav, 11.13; 2. Matt Welsh, Lew, 11.65; 3. Erik Pschernig, Sim, 11.88; 4. Bridger Grover, Lew, 11-89; 5. Bryce Lindbloom, Lew, 11-97; 6. Kaden Hawkins, Liv, 12.03; 6. Gunnar Eoff, Har, 12-03.

200 – 1. Mike Loftus, Hav, 23.07; 2. Matt Welsh, Lew, 24.25; 3. Wylan Lopp, WSS, 24.29; 4. Bridger Grover, Lew, 24.34; 5. Dawson Clayton, WSS, 24.72; 6. Jacob Brulla, Lew, 24.73.

400 – 1. Jacob Labrie, Hav, 54.06; 2. Luke Karnauskas, Hav, 54.80; 3. Matt Welsh, Lew, 55.40; 4. Jacob Brulla, Lew, 56.0; 5. Wyatt Blythe, Lew, 56.23; 6. Briggs Judd, Cen, 56.99.

800 – 1. Ty Parsons, Lew, 2:05.04; 2. Landon Henderson, Lew, 2:12.01; 3. Luke Karnauskas, Hav, 2:17.08; 4. Tanner Trafton, Lew, 2:19.26; 5. Kevin Bingham, Hob, 2:21.29; 6. Alex Wickens, Lew, 2:22.44.

1600 – 1. Ty Parsons, Lew, 4:52.00; 2. Harry Groon, Bel, 4:55.20; 3. Devin Nelson, Liv, 4:59.03; 4. Keagan Stroop, Bel, 5:00.99; 5. Noah Majerus, Lew, 5:02.30; 6. Dan Miller, Liv, 5:09.93.

3200 – 1. Kordell Carpenter, Den, 11:03.16; 2. Ty Parsons, Lew, 11:03.49; 3. Devin Nelson, Liv, 11:11.09; 4. Harry Groon, Bel, 11:12.34; 5. Keagan Stroop, Bel, 11:18.99; 6. Dan Miller, Liv, 11:40.37.

110 hurdles – 1. Koltin Haugrose, Bel, 15.69; 2. Ethan Nyhart, WSS, 15.72; 3. Jake Wendt, WSS, 16.98; 4. Dylan Sipe, Lew 17.96.

300 hurdles – 1. Koltin Haugrose, Bel, 40.91; 2. Dylan Sipe, Lew, 43.94; 3. Jake Wendt, WSS, 43.97; 4. Bridger Grover, Lew, 45.12; 5. Rhet Woodhall, SG, 46.47; 6. Dawson Clayton, WSS, 47.31.

400 relay – 1. Lewistown, 45.81; 2. Belt, 46.89; 3. Centerville, 48.47; 4. White Sulphur Springs, 48.60; 5. Stanford-Geyser, 49.31; 6. Simms, 50.97.

1600 relay – 1. Havre, 3:35.50; 2. Belt, 3:41.55; 3. Lewistown, 3:48.95; 4. White Sulphur Springs, 4:02.55; 5. Fort Benton, 4:13.71.

High jump – 1. Luke Karnauskas, Hav, 5-8 ½; 2. Ethan Nyhart, WSS, 5-8; 3. Jacob Berg, WSS, 5-2 ½; 4. Landon Henderson, Lew, 5-2; 5. Cody Helm, Sim, 5-0.

Long jump – 1. Ethan Nyhart, WSS, 18-2 ½; 2. Erik Pshernig, Sim, 17-1; 3. Tiler, Johnson, Cen, 16-10 ½; 4. Nick Wilkins, GFC, 16-7 ¾; 5. Will Collins, WSS, 16-6 ¾; 6. Jess Bodner, Bel 16-2 ¼.

Triple jump – 1. Dylan Sipe, Lew, 40-7 ¼; 2. Ethan Nyhart, WSS, 40-2; 3. Bridger Grover, Lew, 38-5; 4. Cameron Cali, SG, 35-6; 5. Will Collins, WSS, 35-3; 6. Jess Bodner, Bel, 34-7.

Pole Vault – 1. Ivar Aageson, Hav, 10-6; 2. Carson Norskog, SG, 9-6; 3. Finn Walsh, Liv, 9-0; 4. Dylan Sipe, Lew, 8-0; 5. Devin Simmons, Liv, 7-0.

Shot put – 1. Matt Metrione, Bel, 42-2; 2. Matt Harrison, Lew, 40-9; 3. Thomas Keith, Hav, 39-9; 4. Hunter Idso, WSS, 39-0; 5. David Knerr III, Liv, 38-4; 6. Sam Butcher, Lew, 37-11.

Discus – 1. Matt Harrison, Lew, 119-11; 2. Hunter Idso, WSS, 115-10; 3. Jordan Barfuss, WSS, 108-8; 4. Jacob Berg, WSS, 107-4; 5. Sam Butcher, Lew, 106-4; 6. Jaren Maki, Bel, 106-2.

Javelin – 1. Matt Metrione, Bel, 154-7; 2. Jaren Maki, Bel, 151-8; 3. Jordan Barfuss, WSS, 147-9; 4. Erik Pshernig, Sim, 129-2; 5. Elias Duran, BE, 125-5; 6. Charlie Rooney, WSS, 124-6.