Ponies field full teams for Fergus

They say that April showers bring May flowers. In the world of Montana high school sports, when April turns to May it usually means things start to heat up a lot faster than the weather does.

For the Havre High track team things have been pretty serious for a while now. The Ponies have been going up against top level competition for several weeks now.

On Saturday in Lewistown, they will have one more opportunity to fine-tune things before the Central A divisional track meet in Havre in two weeks.

After Saturday's meet in Lewistown, the Ponies will have almost two weeks to prepare for the divisional meet and that is something that Havre head coach John Ita likes about his schedule.

"We have been doing that for a long time," Ita said. "As coaches we love that week of rest. It gives us a chance to rest the kids that need it, as well as work the kids that are healthy. Typically, it has really worked out well because we seem to go into the divisional meet very sharp."

As for this Saturday, the Ponies will participate in the usually competitive Fergus Invitational. The meet usually features most of the teams from the Central A Division as well as Malta and other surrounding Class B and C schools.

"I am not really sure who will be in Lewistown at this point," Ita said. "I am secretly hoping that most of the Central A schools will be there so we can get a good look at them before the divisional meet.

"No matter who is there, I am sure that it will be a good meet and our kids will get very good competition," Ita added.

For the first time all season the Ponies will be taking a very full team, and Ita said that bringing all his athletes to Lewistown is one of his main objectives for this meet.

"We are excited about bringing the whole team to this meet," Ita said. "It is the last chance for kids who are on the divisional bubble to meet our standards or show the coaches their times and distances.

"All of the coaches have certain standards that the kids have to meet in order to qualify for divisionals and this meet will be the final determining factor for some of those kids. We are definitely looking forward to it," Ita added.

The Fergus Invitational will get under way at 10 a.m. and all the action will be at the Fergus High Sports Complex.