HHS harriers ready to run on the big stage

The Havre High cross country teams have spent the last couple of weeks easing their way into the regular-season schedule. But this weekend, things will go to a new, much-higher level as both Blue Pony teams will be running in the Mountain West Classic.

The Mountain West Classic, which will be held Saturday in Missoula, will once again features teams, not just from Montana, but from surrounding states such as Idaho, Wyoming and Washington. And that’s what makes it’s not only the most prestigious regular-season meet in the state, but also the most challenging.

“I am looking forward to both our teams competing at the Mountain West Classic again,” HHS head coach Josh Holt said. “It’s going to be on the same course it was two years ago after it was on a modified version of the course last season, and I am looking forward to both our teams having strong performances.”

The boys team, which finished 48th in the meet a year ago, will be looking to place higher in 2016, and to do so it will need a strong effort from its top runner, Austin Jones, who was 199th last season. Jakob Keller, the Pony boys No. 2 runner is also running at the Mountain West for the second straight year and he will also be key to Havre’s efforts.

Barrett Kilgore is the only other Havre boy with previous experience running in the meet, while four newcomers Quinn Reno, Andrew VandenBos, Cameron Pleninger and Trevor Williams will all be looking to test their skills against the best.

On the girls side of things, the top performer continues to be Kadia Miller, who is coming off an impressive fourth-place finish at the Lewistown Invitational, where she was beaten only by four runners from Class AA.

Miller will continue to pace the Pony girls this weekend, but she will join a slew of other runners with previous experience at the meet in Missoula, such as Nicole Parsons, the No. 2 runner, who will return for her second-consecutive trip. Amelia Miller, Hannah Lunak and Meggie Zook will also be back for another year.

The other varsity runners for the HHS girls, which finished 48th in the meet last season, are No. 3 runner Melanie Jones and Kaylee Nystrom, who started the season late but has come on strong in recent weeks.

“A big surprise for us in Lewistown was Kaylee Nystrom,” Holt said. “She ran her first race in the junior varsity meet and finished 13th with a time of 24:37. Kaylee only joined the team a few weeks ago in preparation for her upcoming basketball season, and she is showing great improvements every week. Kaylee will move into a varsity position for this weekend.”

The Mountain West Classic signals the start of a key stretch in the season for the Ponies, as both teams will be in Havre next week for the Havre Invitational. The Central A Divisional meet will take place soon after on Oct. 15, followed by the Class A state meet Oct. 22 in Kalispell.