Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Naomi Terry, Havre Track and Field

Naomi Terry is one of the best athletes at Havre High School. She is also one of the busiest, competing in volleyball, basketball and track.

And while her favorite sport is basketball, the sophomore currently has track on her mind as she and the rest of the Blue Pony track team members are preparing for the Class A state meet, which is this Friday and Saturday in Laurel.

Even though Terry is in just her second year of competing in athletics at the high school level, she is no stranger to the big stage. Last season in track, Terry competed at state in both the 400 and 1,600-meter relays as well as in the long jump.

The three-sport standout was also a member of the girls basketball team that captured the Class A state title in 2014 and was a key component of the 2015 team that made it to the state semifinals before falling to Hamilton, which went onto win the state championship.

In 18 regular season games this past season for the Ponies, Terry averaged 10.4 points per game and connected on over 30 percent of her 3-point attempts as she earned second-team Central A All-Conference honors on a team that finished with a 17-6 overall record.

While a lengthy basketball season forced Terry to rest for the first week of track practice due to fatigue, she has once again risen to the challenge as the season has come to a close. Last weekend at the Central A divisional track meet in Belgrade, Terry finished fourth in the 300 hurdles with a time of 51.67 and also ran for the 400 and 1,600 relay teams that each qualified to run at state.

Even though Terry is just a sophomore, she is one of the veterans on a Pony girls team that has one senior and just a few upperclassmen. That means she will have a slight edge as she competes at state for the second time, which is something many of her teammates have never experienced before.

As Terry and her teammates went through some of their final preparations for the state meet, the Havre Daily News caught up with her for five questions before the Ponies depart for Laurel.

HDN: How does state track compare to state basketball?

Terry: “One thing about state track is there are a lot more kids there. You never really see all the teams at state basketball, just the teams that you play against. So I think at state track you can get a little more nervous at times, because there are so many good kids and you hear about how fast they are all the time.”

HDN: What advice would you give to your younger teammates that will compete at state track for the first time?

Terry: “Make sure that you go all out. You want to make sure that you don’t have any regrets. I remember last year there was one event I didn’t go all out and I wish that I did. It just feels so much better if you give 100 percent, especially at state because it’s the last meet. Even if you aren’t going to place, you still want to try and set a PR (personal record).

HDN: Has track always been important to you or do you just do it to stay in shape for other sports?

Terry: “At first it was just for me to stay in shape, but then it became a lot more important to me than I thought it would be, especially last year. I started to like it a lot more than I thought I would, so it’s pretty important.”

HDN: So you are busy throughout the school year with sports, what is your summer like?

Terry: “I will be doing a lot of stuff with (Coach) Kraske but I will also be doing some stuff on my own. I am going to go to the Carroll (College) basketball camp and then my dad is getting into lifting weights. Ever since he became a (football) coach at Northern, he has had those guys helping me out with lifting.”

HDN: Do you like to watch sports? And if so what ones and who is your favorite team?

Terry: “Yeah I do. I like watching college basketball. I don’t really watch track other than during the Olympics. Sometimes I will watch pole vaulters do like 17 feet but that’s about it. I like North Carolina a lot, my older brother liked them a lot when I was little, so I just kind of got on that bandwagon.”