Top Ten to feature plenty of Pony power

The spring track season is winding down, but not before some of the top Havre High boys and girls are rewarded by a trip to a special meet.

Today the Central A Blue Ponies will take a solid group of athletes to the Noth/Central Top Ten meet in Glasgow, where they will put their top talent up against some of the top talent in the state.

Havre High's Joey DeVries lets go of the discus during the Cal Wearley Invitational track meet last month in Havre. DeVries is part of a large group of Blue Pony boys and girls who've qualified for today's North/Central Top Ten Meet in Glasgow.

"We are going to go down there and take this as reward and accomplishment for these kids' hard work," Havre High head coach Trever VanCampen said. "We are going to enjoy this and enjoy watching some of the best competition in our region. But we are also going to go down there to compete and hopefully some of our kids can make a name for themselves.

"This is going to be an excellent meet," VanCampen added. "We are a very young team, so any experience we can get outside of ourselves will only benefit our athletes."

Representing the HHS boys will be Michael Richards in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles, Mason Chase in the 100 and 200 meters, Kendall Murie in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter,s Marc Klimas in the 3,200 meters, Garrett Aguillard in the 1,600 meters, Joey DeVries in the shot put, Trent Nystrom in the javelin and Zach Plum in the pole vault. Both the HHS short and long relay teams also made the cut for the Ponies.

Evan Flathers and Corderro Strickland also made the Top 10, but won't compete due to injury. Flathers would have competed in the 110 and 300 hurdles, and Strickland would have competed in the relays as well as the long jump.

And representing the HHS girls is Sammy Evans in the 200 meters, 400 meters, long jump, triple jump and high jump, as well as Kaylie Gilman in the high jump, Ashlynn VanVoast in the 300 hurdles, Peyton Filius in the 800 and 1,600 meters, Brooke Jappe in the 800 meter,s Larissa Price in the 1,600 meters, Katie Christianson in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter,s Paighton Gilman in the shot put and Jay Ceynar in the pole vault. The girls' long relay will also compete today.

The Ponies are well represented in the Top 10 Meet, which features the top 10 times, heights and distances in the region this season, and they qualified those numbers through just four regular season meets.

The Havre High track team is young this season. They have faced a lot of cancelations, but also faced some top talent. But as they prepare for what is important, divisionals and state, this meet will give some much-needed experience to those who are most likely lead the Blue Ponies through the post season.

"This is another stepping stone," VanCampen said. "And hopefully this will build up some confidence heading into divisionals and give the team some leadership from some of more experienced athletes."

There will also be athletes from Chinook and other area Hi-Line schools in today's meet.

The Top 10 Meet in Glasgow is slated to get under way at 3 p.m. Havre will close out its regular season on Saturday with a triangular against Malta and Lewistown at the Havre Middle School Track.

g