Ponies geared up for meet, but have no place to run

The Havre High cross country teams have had a very promising season so far on the course.

Though the year has had some ups and downs, the teams are looking to be in good shape to go far this year.

The Blue Pony harriers had planned to race on their home-course Saturday at Montana State University-Northern for the Havre Invite Saturday giving the team a nice break from traveling and the opportunity to compete on familiar ground. But moisture and lingering snow from last weekend's storm has left the course too wet for racing.

Havre High head coach Josh Holt was excited for the invite and ready to see his teams race on the course.

"It's good for the kids," said Holt. "The kids like running it. Having a whole meet like this is great for the family experience."

But the Ponies and their families will have to wait another year for their home-meet experience.

The teams that were to attend the Havre Invite are among the Class A spectrum, with many teams that have run well in previous meets in the season, such as Browning, Lewistown, Glasgow, and many other Class B and Class C teams along the Hi-Line.

Holt had been expecting fast times from his runners on their home course.

The Havre course is a deceitful one, with hills being a major aspect of the race. The course is also tougher than it appears, meaning many runners will most likely underestimate the course's true difficulty.

"It's a fairly tough course," Holt said. "It's lots of hills. That's about the best way I can describe it. It doesn't look as hilly as it is, but when kids are done running that's what I usually get, 'it's tougher than it looks.'"

Another big factor that can, and did, alter the meet is the weather. Even though it is supposed to be warmer over the weekend, moisture from last weekend's snowstorm has left the ground too wet for Saturday's meet.

The varsity teams for the Blue Ponies have been working hard and improving every meet they have attended. After last week's meet in Missoula being canceled for the teams due to the unfortunate weather conditions, the teams were ready to get on the course and do their best.

The Havre team is made up of some consistent and talented harriers who have proven their skills in multiple meets the season.

On the boys team, junior harrier Dylan Young has made his mark as the team's most consistent runner. At almost every meet, Young has placed in top spots and has put forth great times for the Ponies. At the Greats Falls invite, Young placed 34th overall with a 17:11.54, putting himself in a good position surrounded by a lot of Class AA and Class A teams that attended.

Another runner, senior Cameron Pleninger, has also been a good athlete for the Havre boys' team. Pleninger is another one of the Ponies' standout harriers and has put forth great work every meet he has attended. Though some meets may not have been the best for him, Pleninger makes it known that he does not quit until he crosses the finish line.

For the girls team, junior Tamera O'Leary has done a great job so far as a harrier for Havre, putting up good times and often seeing leading the girls' team at meets. Another junior, Hannah Haslem, has also done a good job at keeping consistent with her meets, often helping push the Blue Ponies to achieve good results at every meet.

The girls team has improved quite a bit since the start of the season, and the team had been hoping the meet at home in Havre would give them a good boost. All the Pony harriers were planning to use the home meet to assess their skills on a course that could be both a familiar race, but also an unpredictable one. Havre has a lot to look forward to Saturday and aims to impress on their home-course.

The Havre harriers will compete next in Helena Oct. 10 at the Capital City 7 of 7 Invitational starting at 10 a.m.

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Pam Burke contributed to this article.