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Ponies ready to race in the postseason

Havre High harriers look for hardware in Belgrade

The Havre High cross country teams are seeing their season wind down. But like any sport, that means the most important events are on the horizon, which is true for each Blue Pony team as they will compete in the Central A Divisional meet Saturday in Belgrade.

Certainly, both Pony teams are looking ahead to the All-Class state meet in Kalispell Oct. 22, but before that, each will have the chance to test their skills against the rest of the Central A and take a shot at a divisional title. The meet will get underway at 11 a.m. Saturday.

“The kids are very excited,” HHS head coach Josh Holt said. “It’s our divisional meet and they want to try and bring home that trophy. But at the same time, we are still trying to work towards next week.”

Last season, the Havre boys took second place at divisionals, led by Austin Jones, who took home sixth individually. Jakob Keller, who was 13th, and Jones, should both have a chance to do well in Belgrade according to Holt.

“I would anticipate that Austin and Jakob both do very well,” Holt said. “I think that if they run well, they could get into the top 10 or even the top 5.”

While Jones and Keller will lead the way for the Pony boys at the meet, Havre will also have Quinn Reno, Barrett Kilgore, Trevor Williams, Noah Azure and Cameron Pleninger competing at the varsity level.

The girls team, which finished fifth last season, will be looking to improve on its overall performance. Rachel David finished second for Havre last season as a senior, and this year, Kadia Miller, a freshman, will be looking to do something similar.

“I think that if Kadia puts it all together, she could do very well,” Holt said. “She could even have a chance to win. She just keeps getting better and better and she really could do some exciting things.”

Yet, Miller isn’t the only Havre girl poised for a good week. Nicole Parsons, who finished 15th at divisionals last season, should also do well, as should Kaylee Nystrom, who’s been running strong the past few weeks.

“I don’t think that you can count out Nicole or Kaylee,” Holt said. “They have both been running really well, and I think they could put themselves in the mix there as well.”

The other Pony girls who will be running with the varsity team in Belgrade are Amelia Miller, Melanie Jones, Meggie Zook and Lily Tally.

“The kids have really been working hard and getting better,” Holt said. “And looking at the times, I think that we have a chance to do some really exciting things.”

The Central A Divisional meet will take place Saturday in Belgrade. The varsity races will begin at 11 a.m. In cross country, the divisional meet is not a state qualifier, so all of the Blue Ponies running this week will be at next weekend’s Class A state meet in Kalispell.

 

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