HHS races to the finish line

The Havre High cross country teams ran the final meet of the season as the Blue Ponies competed against the best runners in Class A at the state meet.

The Ponies had high hopes for the weekend but neither the boys or girls teams managed to finish in the Top 10. The HHS boys finished 12th overall and the girls finished 13th Saturday in Helena at the Bill Roberts Golf Course.

On the girls side of things, Corvallis walked away with the state championship, finishing with a total of 65 points. Whitefish was second with 94 points and Hamilton finished third with 130 points.

In the boys competition, Hamilton finished first and captured the state championship with a total of 50 points. Coming in second was Corvallis, which finished with 69 points, followed by Belgrade in third with 132.

“I thought that we ran well individually,” HHS head coach Darcie Heninger said. “But as teams, we fell back a little bit.”

The bright spot for Havre on the day was the performance of Rachel David, who was the top finisher for the HHS girls, ending up placing 13th with a time of 20:14. Thanks to her high finish, David earned a medal and Class A All-State honors.

“Rachel ran very good (Saturday),” Heninger said. “She kept her head held high and she ran so smart. It was exciting to see her place at state. She has worked so hard all year, and she has run well every week, and she really deserved it.”

After David, the next best runner for the Ponies was Morgan Mazurkiewicz, who finished at No. 26 overall with a time of 20:46. Next, it was Tori Mazurkiewicz, who came in 94th with a time of 23:22.

The rest of the varsity runners for Havre included Rainey Stoner, who finished 97th with a time of 23:37, Maya Reed, who finished 107th with a time of 24:10, Marca Herron, who finished 117th with a time of 24:58 and Brook LaValley, who finished 125th with a time of 26:34.

For the Havre boys, Brandon Robertson was the top finisher and came in at No. 35 overall. He ran a time of 17:22.

“Brandon ran his best time of the season and he was disappointed that he didn’t place,” Heninger said. “But the boys competition is so difficult that it just makes it really hard.”

After Robertson, Sundance Lodge was next, finishing at No. 70 overall with a time of 18:06. Brock Ross finished 72nd with a time of 18:07 and Austin Jones finished 78th with a time of 18:15.

Rounding things out for the varsity boys was Cameron Knapton, who finished 83rd with a time of 18:25, Jaime Lieberg, who finished 90th with a time of 18:31 and Dylan Stewart, who finished 121st with a time of 20:06.

Despite finishing lower as teams than expected, every runner had their best time of the season according to Heninger, which helped end the 2014 season on a positive note for the Ponies.

“Overall, I think that we had a pretty good season,” Heninger said. “We had some ups and down, but I think overall everyone had a pretty good year. Going into state, everyone was so nervous and for the seniors it was their last race, but everyone ran their best time of the season yesterday, so it was a good day for me to watch.”

Class A State Meet

At Helena

Boys – 1. Hamilton 50, 2. Corvallis 69, 3. Belgrade 132, 4. Hardin 151, 5. Lewistown 171, 6. Laurel 194, 7. Glendive 211, 8. Frenchtown 234, 9. Dillon 252, 10. Browning 269, 11. Whitefish 278, 12. Havre 338, 13. Livingston 345. 14. Miles City 366, 15. Billings Central 424, 16. Butte Central 438, 17. Polson 456, 18. Columbia Falls 462, 19. Sidney 469, 20. Libby 646.

Boys Individual

1, Jonathan Eastwood, BEL, 15:22.24; 2. Tyler Morgan, LAU, 15:29.21; 3, Cameron Miekle, HAM, 16:05.82; 4, Ronald Venema, COR, 16:09; 5, Karill Apedaile, HAM, 16:14.59; 6, Kole Tison, HAM, 16:15.39; 7, Kyle McLaughlin, BEL, 16:16.62; 8, Caleb Ware, HAR, 16:17.72; 9, Jalen Two Leginns, HAR, 16:21.59; 10, Austin Stradley, CUST, 16:27.44; 11, Carson Jessop, COR, 16:36.25; 12, Ashton Jones, DAWS, 16:39.00; 13, Josh Jessop, COR, 16:39.05; 14, Sage Schoonen, BEAV, 16:44.92; 15, Tanner Lehr, HAM, 16:45.50; 16, Holman Real Bird, HAR, 16:45; 17, Andrew Jessop, COR, 16:54.10; 18, Tate Thompson, BC, 16:55.45; 19, Noah Majerus, FER, 16:55.83; 20, Trey Smollack, ANA, 16:56.02; 21, Jacob Rogers, HAM, 16:56.10; 22, Garrett Ruud, BEL, 16:59.33; 23, Isaiah Girard, BEAV, 17:02.17; 24, Brennan Williams, CORV, 17:02.23; 25, Jaden Rowe, FREN, 17:02.87; 26, Keaton Grove, WHI, 17:05.38; 27, Conor McGee, BUTTEC, 17:06.16; 28, Joel Haas, COR, 17:08.05; 29, Devin Nelson, PARK, 17:11.49; 30, Matt Wilson, HAM, 17:15.68.

Havre – 35. Brandon Roberston, 17:22; 70. Sundance Lodge, 18:06; 72. Brock Ross, 18:07; 78. Austin Jones, 18:15; 83. Cameron Knapton, 18:25; 90. Jaime Lieberg, 18:31; 121. Dylan Stewart, 20:06.

Girls – 1. Corvallis 65, 2. Whitefish 94, 3. Hamilton 130, 4. Polson 149, 5. Hardin 173, 6. Belgrade 182, 7. Lewistown 183, 8. Laurel 208, 9. Columbia Falls 233, 10. Miles City 243, 11. Glendive 297, 12. Billings Central 311, 13. Havre 337, 14. Dillon 361, 15. Livingston 395, 16. Browning 459, 17. Frenchtown 508, 18. Libby 519.

Girls Individual

1, Samantha Mundel, CF, 18:19.70; 2, Sarah Latcham, WF, 18:45.64; 3, Amelia Gardner, COR, 18:59.17; 4, Jaycie Schmalz, HAM, 19:38.14; 5, Albany Jessop, COR, 19:40.54; 6, Kaitlyn Poss, FER, 19:50.21; 7, Ryan Harrop, POL, 19:53.72; 8, Lexi Gradwohl, LAU, 19:57.36; 9, Barrett Gray, WF, 19:58.16; 10, Kaitlin Stromberg, HAM, 19:59.74; 11, Mei Li Stevens, HAM, 20:03.43; 12, Emily Regan, CUST, 20:08.40; 13, Rachel David, HAV, 20:14.08; 14, Grace Kurfman, COR, 20:15.47; 15, Lynn Reynoso, COR, 20:20.16; 16, Lizzie Vosler, BEL, 20:23.34; 17, Cierra La Ve, BILC, 20:32.80; 18, Peyton Twete, WF, 20:33.45; 19, Laura Leininger, BEL, 20:34.15; 20, Izabella Seemann, POL, 20:36.54; 21, Alexa Horrell, BILC, 20:40.89; 22, Larissa Saarel, PARK, 20:41.34; 23, Jael Birdinground, HAR, 20:44.56; 24, Malia Seeley, POL, 20:45.32; 25, Sarah Perez, WF, 20:45.99; 26, Morgan Mazurkiewicz, HAV, 20:46.29; 27, Madison Rodgers, FER, 20:47.12; 28, Mary Royce, COR, 20:49.87; 29, Jetara Pretty Weasel, HAR, 20:54.94; 30, Abbey Dunn, COR, 20:58.57.

Havre – 13. Rachel David, 20:14; 26. Morgan Mazurkiewicz, 20:46; 94. Tori Mazurkiewicz, 23:22. 97. Rainey Stoner, 23:37; 107. Maya Reed, 24:10; 117. Marca Herron, 24:59; 125. Brooke LaValley, 26:34.