HHS runners finish 12th at tough Mountain West Invitational

It was tough for the Havre High cross country team not to be just a little intimidated at the Mountain West Invitational in Missoula on Saturday. Instead of the usual 50 or 60 runners lined up for a varsity girls race, there were 260. The claustrophobia of all those runners packed tight at the starting linewas enough to rattle anyone's focus. Then there was the very tough course winding through the University of Montana golf course with a couple of demanding hills.

But despite all of that factoring against them, the Pony runners turned in a solid performance as the Ponies finished in 12th place out of 36 teams. Havre was the second highest placing Class A squad behind two-time defending State A champ Bigfork, which finished third. Kalispell, led by the dominant Zoe Nelson, finished in first with Kamiakin High School of Kennewick, Wash., in second place.

"The girls ran a nice race," said HHS head coach Kim Ray. "They were a little intimidated by the size of the race and all the runners and they also thought the course was pretty hard."

It wasn't surprising to Ray, who expected her team would have a little trouble navigating a tough course in a crowded situation.

"With so many people, it's hard to move in and out and pass people," Ray said. "You can get caught in packs and you can't seem to get out of them."

Still, Ray's main concerns going into the meet were having her girls run the course, run against some good competition and seeing some of the Ponies' future competition at the State A meet, which will be run on the same course.

"This is the biggest meet they will see all season," Ray said. "At state, there will be about 100 fewer runners. But the good thing was that they ran the course. Even if they thought it was tough, they will know what to expect at state."

Only three Class A teams - Miles City, Hardin and Sidney - did not compete in Missoula. Ray got to see everyone else and has a pretty good idea of who the Ponies' main competition will be.

"Bigfork is the team to beat," Ray said. "They had their top four runners finish under 20 minutes. We know they are going to be solid. Colstrip and Lewistown are also very good and also close to us."

Colstrip finished just behind Havre in 13th place with 484 points and Lewistown was 15th with 528 points. Despite a large discrepancy in points, Ray was quick to point out that in a race with just the Class A schools, the deficit would be much closer.

"It was actually much closer than it looks," Ray said. "Colstrip and Lewistown both concern me a little. We won't see Colstrip again until state. They run a lot like us with all their runners staying close together. Lewistown was missing one of its top runners. But we'll see them at divisionals."

Havre High's top finisher was Mandi Nystrom, who came in 43rd with a 20:10.69, while McKayla Patterson finished in 51st with a 20:17.00.

Both of their times were slower than last week in Lewistown. In fact, with the exception of Kelsey Malsam, all of the Pony times were slower than last week.

"I think it was a little mental," Ray said. "They let things like the number of people and the tough hills get into their minds. Our JV girls all ran faster times than last week. They went with the attitude that 'we're going to run our own race.'"

The Havre High JV squad finished in eighth place of 30 teams in the JV race.

Havre will be at home this weekend for the Havre Invitational cross country race on Saturday at the MSU-Northern campus.

MOUNTAIN WEST INVITATIONAL

Team scores: Kalispell 66, Kamiakin (Kennewick, Wash.) 90, Bigfork 165, Butte 176, Helena Capital 200, Mead (Spokane) 242, Missoula Hellgate 248, Bozeman 266, Shadle Park (Spokane) 295, Helena High 300, Lewis and Clark (Spokane) 307, Havre 349, Colstrip 484, Missoula Sentinel 506, Lewistown 528, Plains 577, Polson 587, Gonzaga Prep (Spokane) 595, East Valley (Spokane) 603, Missoula Loyola 604, Missoula Big Sky 672, Billings Central 697, Columbia Falls 755, Cut Bank 766, Dillon 772, Hamilton 773, Belgrade 800, Browning 808, Cascade 841, Thompson Falls 849, Anaconda 855, Libby 894, Lincoln 941, Frenchtown 953, Dodson-Whitewater 990, Park High 996, Whitefish 1,041.

Top 30 individuals

1, Zoe Nelson, Kalispell, 17:02.30; 2, Elisabeth Driscoll, Bozeman, 17:54.15; 3, Carly Brown, Kalispell, 18:07.65; 4, Whitney Wilson, Missoula Hellgate, 18:33.95; 5, Kim Tritz, Missoula Big Sky, 18:46.71; 6, Shannon Ross, Kalispell, 18:57.97; 7, Brooke Andrus, Bigfork, 19:00.79; 8, Alyssa Bossler, Helena; 9, Dani Schuster, Kamiakin, 19:02.28; 10, Kasey Harwood, Polson, 19:02.82; 11, Stephanie Kirkpatrick, Butte, 19:03.12; Ashley Bakich, Colstrip, 19:06.00; 13, Whitney Porter, Lewis and Clark, 19:06.65; 14, Kaci Calaway, Bigfork, 19:10.25; 15, Erinn Walter, Kamiakin, 19:12.48; 16, Kristin Parker, Helena Capital, 19:13.27; 17, Amy Blodgett, Kamiakin, 19:13.86, 18, Mandi Jourdonnais, Helena Capital, 19:14.48; 19, Kristi Jensen, Kamiakin, 19:15.42; 20, Lauren Dalton, Bigfork, 19:24.53; 21, Krista Jimenez, Kalispell, 19:25.89; 22, Janelle Probst, Mead, 19:26.50; 23, Lesley Dalton, Bigfork, 19:30.07; 24, Samantha Campbell, Polson, 19:35.05; 25, Teri Lea McCormick, Billings Central, 19:35.35; 26, Kayla Jacquet, Butte, 19:35.66; 27, Cami Nelson, Shadle Park, 19:35.97; 28, Rachelle Boquist, Shadle Park, 19:36.31; 29, Julie Charron, Bozeman, 19:36.63; 30, Kelly Turner, Kamiakin, 19:40.49.

Montana teams

1. Kalispell (66) - 1, Nelson 17:02.30; 3, Brown 18:07.65; 6, Ross 18:57.97; 21, Jimenez 19:25.89;35, Booky 19:44.95.

3. Bigfork (165) - 7, Andrus 19:00.79; 14, Calaway 19:10.25; 20, La. Dalton 19:24.53; 23, Le. Dalton 19:30.07; 101, McAllister 21:27.03.

4. Butte (176) - 11, Kirkpatrick 19:03.12; 26, Jacquet 19:35.66; 31, Worley 19:41.84; 38, Schulte 19:54.26; 70, Peretti 20:48.71.

5. Helena Capital (200) - 16, Parker 19:13.27; 18, Jourdonnais 19:14.48; 36, Gilboy 19:50.41; 57, Nielsen 20:27.03; 73, McLain 20:56.35.

7. Hellgate (248) - 4, Wilson 18:33.95; 49, Hall 20:16.02; 53, Abell 20:21.60; 54, Bossler 20:23.41; 88, Maus 21:10.16.

8. Bozeman (266) - 2, Driscoll 17:54.15; 29, Charron 19:36.63; 48, Snepenger 20:13.64; 77, Raymond 20:59.42; 110, Brandt 21:34.47.

10. Helena (300) - 8, Bossler 19:01.21; 50, Towle 20:16.43; 68, Garrison 20:47.26; 79, DeWitt 21:01.51; 95, Poore 21:16.69.

12. Havre (349) - 43, Mandi Nystrom 20:10.69; 51, McKayla Patterson 20:17.00; 74, Amy McLain 20:56.35; 85, Kelsey Malsam 21:07.41; 96, Shannon Newth 21:20.77; 121, Kristine Keltgen 21:27.70; 161, Emily Kostelecky 22:32.85.

13. Colstrip (484) - 12, Bakich 19:06; 100, Rosander 21:26.14; 105, Ewing 21:30.52; 128, Brady 21:52.94; 139, Kukowski 22:05.22.

14. Sentinel (506) - 40, Lawson 20:03.46; 47, Little 20:13.02; 114, Madden 21:38.62; 152, Miller 22:18.60; 153, Hamilton 22:21.68.

15. Lewistown (528) - 63, Rogers 20:36.68; 102, Mantooth 21:27.49; 112, Kohler 21:35.90; 117, Miller 21:41.62; 134, Sebek 21:57.22.

16. Plains (577) - 39, Steward 20:02.11; 109, Harvey 21:34.06; 11, Preleyko 21:34.94; 158, Goodwin 22:28.80; 160, Raden 22:30.15.

17. Polson (587) - 10, Harwood 19:02.82; 24,Campbell 19:35.05; 181,Pitts 22:56.25; 184, Bull 22:59.78; 188, Patterson 23:04.28.

20. Loyola (604) - 56, Stergios 20:25.70; 75, Hixon 20:56.98; 119, Giuliani 21:44.64; 127, Fortunate 21:52.29; 227, Diehl 24:41.76.

21. Big Sky (672) - 5, Tritz 18:46.71; 107, Hanson 21:32.84; 162, Roberts 22:33.54; 164, Courage 22:35.64; 234, Scofield 24:59.71.

22. Billings Central (697) - 25, McCormick 19:35.35; 92, Cole 21:13.57; 144, Old Crow 22:09.34; 207, Pegram 23:40.11; 229, Yarlet 24:48.60.

23. Columbia Falls (755) - 72, Marjerrison 20:51.44; 115, McCracken 21:39.66; 173, Hader 22:48.71; 197, Lyman 23:22.38; 198, Wiebelhaus 23:23.90.

24. Cut Bank (766) - 83, Tromblee 21:05.73; 138, Guse 22:04.38; 159, Johnson 22:29.75; 190, Blair 23:06.22; 196, Gilbert 23:16.91.

25. Dillon (772) - 103, Hunt 21:28.71; 145, Kirtley 22:10.12; 151, Rillema 22:17.64; 179, Scott 22:55.11; 194, Husted 23:15.33.

26. Hamilton (773) - 69, Gurgiolo 20:47.97; 120, Walker 21:45.21; 129, Killorn 21:53.27; 222, Nelson 24:31.56; 233, Johnson 24:53.56.

30. Thompson Falls (849) - 123, Conlin 21:49.26; 147, Merriman 22:15.08; 150, Simpson 22:17.14; 178, Syrjala 22:53.87; 251, Kuzma 26:42.84.

31. Anaconda (855) - 132, Calder 21:56.53; 165, Anderson 22:36.38; 175, Vauthier 22:50.85; 191, Duckels 23:10.23; 192, Maes 23:10.83.

32. Libby (894) - 67, Hughes 20:46.39; 186, McLinden 23:02.49; 202, May 23:35.35; 216, Maloney 24:03.45; 223, Kenck 24:38.75.

33. Lincoln (941) - 33, Bentley 19:43.89; 200, Griffin 23:32; 231, Michan 24:50.53; 238, Adams 25:12.73; 239, Mayberry 25:19.92.

34. Frenchtown (953) - 167, Diettrich 22:37.20; 172, Ortola 22:48.33; 187, Lange 23:03.24; 199, Fife 23:29.76; 228, Armstrong 24:44.35.

37. Whitefish (1,041) - 163, Segarra 22:34.06; 185, Knight 23:01.38; 225, Woodbeck 24:39.72; 226, Rozar 24:40.91; 242, Cullen 25:40.62.